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AFSPA
Revocation
Shinde moves around Srinagar streets with pruned security
Pak fires on LoC post, BSF man goes missing
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Amnesty International urges state govt to revoke PSA
Winter makes early arrival in Valley
Election
of BDC chairpersons
Without SC quota, block-level poll futile: Experts
Encroachment
on forest land
New gardens to pep up tourism in Valley
State SSA wing claims major boost in school infrastructure
Despite Pak hostilities, security forces back Indo-Pak talks
Kashmir varsity holds workshop on quake risk reduction
CJ opens free legal aid clinic in Anantnag
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AFSPA
Revocation
Jammu, October 14 While the Army Chief, in an interview yesterday, had put the figure of active militants in the state at 400, Shinde has reportedly stated in Srinagar that the time is not ripe for rolling back the AFSPA from the border state. “We have been saying it repeatedly that the time has not come for rolling back the AFSPA from the state. The Army had given a detailed report to the Ministry of Defence, which in turn has already given its views to the Ministry of Home Affairs and that is why the AFSPA hasn’t been withdrawn as yet,” said a top Army source. No doubt, the situation in the state has improved because of the concerted counter-insurgency operations but the facts on the ground cannot be overlooked, said the source. “There have been regular attempts from across the Line of Control to push armed militants to fuel insurgency,” the source added. The Home Minister had reviewed the security at the Unified Headquarters meeting in Srinagar yesterday. “We also feel that the situation has improved in some areas but diluting or withdrawing the AFSPA against the backdrop of 400 militants in the state, presence of hundreds of them in various launching pads on the other side of the LoC and international border may cast a cascading effect on our operations,” he said. Based upon a state Home Ministry report, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had been demanding that to begin with the AFSPA should be rolled back from five districts of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Budgam and Srinagar. The Army describes the AFSPA as an indispensable tool for the operational requirements of its troops in the state where Pakistan keeps on aiding and abetting terrorism. “The Cabinet committee on security has to take the final call and now the Home Minister’s statement on the issue has vindicated the stand of the Army,” said the source. |
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Shinde moves around Srinagar streets with pruned security
Srinagar, October 14 Sources said Shinde and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah planned to tour the city at the Nehru Guest House and decided to take only one escort vehicle along with them. “The Union Minister and Chief Minister did not
keep the security officials in the loop. But when the CM’s special security group (SSG) and other securitymen saw him and Shinde leaving in a private car, they followed them to the historical Lal Chowk and later, to
other parts of the city,” said a source. The Union minister today praised Omar for exhibiting courage during his tour to the city. “I want to thank the CM for giving me his private car for shopping. He exhibited courage. The young CM works in a different way. I am old but I, too, agreed to go in a private car. I bought something for children. I compliment people for
shanti nirman (peace building),” Shinde said in Srinagar today. The unscheduled visit of the Union Minister to the city centre was "symbolic, signalling the return
of peace and normalcy" in the state. “We were on the tenterhooks during the Union Home Minister’s visit
to the city. There was no extraordinary security in place for the visit, which is usually required during such visits. It is for the first time after militancy erupted in 1990 that a Home Minister visited the city centre like a common man,” said a senior police official. Earlier, Shinde went to the Dal Lake, where he was briefed about the measures being taken for its
conservation. |
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Pak fires on LoC post, BSF man goes missing
Jammu, October 14 Though the Army denied any truce violation in the Keri sector and all top BSF officers remained inaccessible on their phones, police and intelligence sources confirmed to The Tribune that a border guard had gone missing during the ceasefire violation by the Pakistan army. “Around 9 pm yesterday, Pakistan troops opened unprovoked fire on the Rector 2 post of the Indian Army in the Keri sector and the exchange of fire continued till 12 night. Thereafter, guns fell silent on both sides till 3.30 am when Pakistan again resorted to unprovoked firing,” said an Intelligence source. In the first spell of the gun battle, BSF border guard constable Surjeet Singh of 76 Battalion, a native of Bulandshahr in UP, who was guarding a rivulet near the Rector 2 post, went missing, added the source. The 22-year-old border guard (belt number 113556) was attached to 16 Sikh Light Infantry under 120 Infantry Brigade of the Army in the Keri sector. The Army has the operational responsibility of the 776-km-long LoC in the state, and the BSF assists it in guarding the borderline. The source divulged that since this morning the Army had pressed into service its sniffer dogs and launched a search operation to trace the missing BSF personnel. Villagers from the Keri sector also confirmed heavy firing in the sector last night. A senior police officer, who declined to be named, also said there had been firing in the Keri sector last night. He admitted that a BSF constable had gone missing during the Pakistan firing. “But we cannot say for sure whether he has absconded from the area or has been taken away by the Pakistan troops,” he said. The BSF has not lodged any complaint with us, he added. The Jammu-based defence PRO, Col RK Palta, said the Army denied that there had been any ceasefire violation in Keri sector last night. |
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Amnesty International urges state govt to revoke PSA
Srinagar, October 14 The AI in its second report on the law, ‘PSA-Still a lawless law’, which was released on Saturday, has stated that the PSA amendments if applied in practice would improve the current situation. It had released the first report in 2011. Quoting state police officers, the international body in its 27 page report, which is also available online, has claimed that under the PSA, 15,600 persons have been detained by the authorities since the beginning of armed militancy in the state. “The Amnesty International welcomes the repeal of the powers to detain children under the PSA, and believes that the amendments, if applied in practice, would improve the current situation,” the AI stated. However, it has reiterated that the amendments are “far from adequate in their present form”. In April, 2012, the state government carried out five amendments to the PSA through the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety (Amendment) Act, 2012. One of the amendments provided that persons below the age of 18 (minors) should not be detained under the PSA. “Several provisions in the PSA still do not comply with India’s international law obligations,” the AI report read. It states that it is too early to evaluate the impact of the amendments. “However, if the state authorities continue to detain children by falsely registering their ages as above 18, this practice may not be eradicated by the amendments alone,” the report said. In its recommendations, the AI has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to repeal the PSA and any other legislation facilitating the use of administrative detentions in the state. The report has also urged the government to amend the J&K Juvenile Justice Act “to make it compatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”.
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FDI to hit small retailers: BJP
Jammu, October 14 Nalin Kohli, in charge, National Publicity Cell of the BJP, threw light on the subject at the workshop. The workshop was presided over by state president of the party Shamsher Singh Manhas. Kohli said one of the main reasons for price rise was deficit financing resorted by the Central Government as it ‘spent’ more then the revenues received by it. Had the government received the due fees in respect to the 2G Spectrum and coal mines allocation, the deficit financing could have been avoided, he said. Kohli said the FDI in retail business would ‘imperil and squeeze’ small retailers in the country whose number runs in crores. “The FDI in retail business will thus cause penury to a large chunk of our population,” he added. |
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NC, Cong have eroded sanctity of democratic bodies: Mufti
Jammu, October 14 Mufti, while addressing a public meeting at Ramgarh in Samba district, said both the coalition partners were responsible for not being able to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institutions in the state. He said the panchayats formed the foundation of democracy but the state government was not interested in strengthening them. Mufti lamented there was no consensus between the coalition partners on the extension of the 73rd Amendment in the J&K Panchayati Raj Act. “Even without arriving at a consensus, the state government has announced the Block Development Council (BDC) elections to constitute the second tier of the Panchayat Raj institutions,” he said, adding that the entire exercise would prove to be futile. While dubbing the Omar Abdullah-led regime as a total failure and synonymous of corruption, Mufti said this government would succumb to its own misdeeds. “I know how to dislodge such regimes but I will not dislodge this government with manipulation,” he said, adding that the PDP wanted to bring down the government with the support of people. Although Mufti did not clear his stand on the decision of the Centre to allow the FDI, he strongly opposed the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders. “The Congress-led regime at the Centre was working smoothly since 2004. I don’t know why the government has taken this decision,” he said. Mufti also took the state government to task for, what he called, the erosion of sanctity of the democratic institutions. He observed that the deceit tactics of the government to undermine such institutions had badly shattered people’s faith in democracy. He recalled that more than 80 percent voters had cast their votes in the panchayat elections putting their faith in the system of democracy but the government had failed to delegate powers to the
panchayats. |
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Winter makes early arrival in Valley
Srinagar, October 14 “The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at 7°Celsius, which is two degrees below the normal temperature,” an official of the Met Department told The Tribune. Day temperatures ranging between 12 and 21°Celsius at various places of the Kashmir division were also several notches below the normal, he said. Weathermen predict a further dip in mercury in the next 24 hours with an increase in wind chill factor. “It is going to feel colder in the days to come with chill wind factor prevailing and the arrival of western disturbances from the Western Himalayas, which is responsible for winter precipitation,” the official said. “Light to moderate rainfall/ thunder showers are likely to occur in several divisions of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. In Jammu, the temperatures continue to be stable averaging 30-31°Celsius. “Jammu will experience pleasant weather in the following days, whereas those from the Valley will have to brace up for colder days ahead,” he added. |
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Election
of BDC chairpersons
Jammu, October 14 Sarpanches and panches believed that it would “defeat” the basic purpose of the exercise as “money and muscle power” would play a major role in these polls if any electorate from the block was allowed to contest the elections. They also criticised the government’s decision of inviting nominations from eligible persons for the posts of chairpersons of the BDCs. The BDC polls would form the second tier of panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir. The state government has, however, reserved the right to nominate six persons to every BDC, including two members each from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and two women. “It is unfortunate that the government is not only inviting nominations from eligible persons for the posts of chairpersons of the BDCs but also allowing any electorate to contest the elections. Under the Panchayati Raj Act, only elected sarpanches and panches are eligible for the elections of the BDC and whatever is happening in the state is just contrary to it,” Anil Sharma, sarpanch of Jandrah Panchayat, and general secretary, All-J&K Panchayat Coordination Committee, told The Tribune. Sharma, who was the part of an eight-member delegation of sarpanches who had recently met Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, said: “By allowing electorate of a block for contesting the election will defeat its purpose as people with criminal background and strong political links will make it to the Council, while the elected members will remain away from such elections.” Vinod Sharma, sarpanch, Vijaypur block in Samba district, said, “The government has started the exercise just to release a grant of Rs 1,500 crore from the Union Government. However, it will turn out to be a futile exercise if the government doesn’t devolve powers to sarpanches and panches by incorporating the 73rd Amendment in the state Panchayati Raj Act. The decision of inviting nominations for the BDCs and allowing people other than elected one will make the panchayat institutions defunct at the grassroots level.” “The government has been trying to politicise the non-political polls at block levels. People with political affiliations will contest the elections and they will try to win elections by all means,” Dewan Singh, sarpanch, Chani Mansar Panchayat, said. The elections of 143 Block Development Councils would be held on November 7. The Election Department has issued a notification asking aspirants to file papers before assistant returning officers till October 17.
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Without SC quota, block-level poll futile: Experts
Jammu, October 14 As Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ruled out reservation for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and women in the BDCs, political parties as well as Constitutional expert said without giving adequate representation to all sections of society, the entire exercise would prove futile. “All sections of society should have adequate representation in the PRIs,” said eminent lawyer Sheikh Shakil. Chairman of the National Society for HRD and Research Hari Dutt Shishu said without bringing a revolutionary change in the existing state Panchayati Raj Act, it was not possible to empower the panchayats in the real sense. “As there is a provision of nomination in the existing Act, the basic purpose of grass-roots level democracy will be defeated as the government will nominate its own blue-eyed boys as chairmen of BDCs,” Shishu, a social activist, said. “The whole sanctity of democracy has been negated by the government by announcing BDC elections without incorporating the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution to the existing Panchayat Act of the state,” said Dr Gopal Parthsarthi Sharma, a social activist and member of the Public Opinion Forum. He said conducting elections under the existing Act would be a “self-defeating” exercise. Advocate Ashwani Kumar Andotra said the entire exercise was against the basic essence of the Constitution. “As there is no provision of reservation for the SCs, STs and women in the existing Act, constitution of BDCs will further complicate the situation,” he said. |
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Encroachment
on forest land
Srinagar, October 14 “I am looking into the documents submitted by the minister and the legislator and will decide soon whether to constitute a house committee or not,” chairman of the State Legislative Council Amit Malhotra told The Tribune. Panthers Party legislator Syed Rafiq Shah on October 11 had submitted documents in the Legislative Council accusing Congress leader and the Minister for Public Health Engineering and Irrigation Taj Mohiuddin of grabbing 13 kanals of forestland in Shopian district. The legislator had demanded a probe into the allegations by the house committee. Mohiuddin had denied the allegations and termed it an attempt to malign his image. After the allegations surfaced, sources said the minister was called by the chairman of the State Legislative Council to explain his position. However, the minister submitted documents to the chairman which showed that the land in question had been in his possession since 1971. “The allegations are part of a conspiracy against me. Some people have gone to the Accountability Commission with these allegations, but the commission dismissed these allegations,” the minister had reportedly told the chairman. After the allegations surfaced, the minister had said he would resign if it was proved that he had encroached one marla of forestland. |
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New gardens to pep up tourism in Valley
Srinagar, October 14 The officials said the initiative would help attract tourists to places other than Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg. “Usually, tourists visit three or four major locales of the Valley which are known worldwide. But Kashmir has something to offer in each of its locations. Hence, these gardens are being developed at places which are not frequented by people and have remained unexplored over the years,” an official said. Moreover, he said, each park would be unique with native varieties of trees on display. “We have chinar, polar, willow, shisham, walnut and almond trees which grow in different places in Kashmir. The Valley is blessed with innumerable species of flora but the state government had not capitalised on this. The development of these parks is a good step in this direction as it will help in attracting tourists and add commercial value to these places,” Akhtar Hussain, a botanist at the Kashmir University told The Tribune. These parks are been established in Tangmarg, Langate, Sopore, Pattan, Kulgam, Gurez, Tral, Dooru, Beerwah and Rafiabad constituencies of Kashmir. Besides these, 25 existing gardens in Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Baramulla are being renovated by the department. “We are roping in floriculturists from outside the state to engage them in developmental works of these gardens,” said an official of the department. |
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State SSA wing claims major boost in school infrastructure
Srinagar, October 14 The figures were furnished a day after The Tribune reported about the “sorry state of school education sector” in the state due to poor implementation of two schemes of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD). The claim was made during a one-day workshop on “Civil Works under SSA” which was jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the State Project Office of SSA. While the primary objectives of the SSA scheme for opening new primary schools and upgradation of existing primary schools have not been met according to the statistics with the Department of School Education, the state wing of SSA claims that 6,000 school buildings are under construction under the scheme. Figures with the SSA state wing say around 1,808 primary and upper primary school buildings, 2,618 additional classrooms, 464 zonal and cluster resource centres have so far been constructed. Yasha Mudgal, State Project Officer, SSA, said the targets set out under the scheme had been duly completed. Mohammad Rafi, Advisor, State SSA Mission, pinpointed certain "grey areas" in the execution of civil works requiring an increased amount of supervision and monitoring. Rafi also made a case for "capacity enhancement" of field officers and engineers enabling them to meet the timeframe while ensuring quality compliance. The officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development made a PowerPoint presentation on the technological support from the Centre in SSA Civil works and disaster-management related inputs. |
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Despite Pak hostilities, security forces back Indo-Pak talks
Jammu, October 14 “Though the Pakistan army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) call the shots in Pakistan, India should keep the diplomatic channels open with the elected government there because talks alone, and not guns, can find a solution to the problems,” said a senior BSF officer. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, currently on a three-day visit to the state, had on Friday said that he had taken up the issue of frequent truce violations and intrusion attempts along the J&K border with Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik at Maldives recently. “We know Pakistan’s intentions towards India. But diplomatic channels should remain open between the two nuke countries, and especially when the internal situation of Pakistan is going from bad to worse. It would be in the larger interest of peace and stability in the sub-continent,” said the source. “The security forces, like the Army, the BSF and the ITBP, are effectively guarding the frontiers of the country, which is in safe hands. We cannot afford to stop talking to Pakistan when the Taliban has also been compounding the problems of the elected government,” added the source. A top Army source also expressed similar views. “Even the Army feels that India must engage Pakistan via people-to-people contact and military exchanges to reduce animosity,” he said. “Despite Pakistan’s hate-India campaign and its growing ties with China, we feel that New Delhi must engage Islamabad in talks,” he added. But the Pakistani establishment, too, has to take a step forward to check its army, the ISI and radical outfits, which are constantly and systematically engineering a hate-India campaign from Pakistan, said the source. He, however, recalled how unprovoked shelling by Pakistan troops of Indian forward posts in the KG sector had forced suspension of cross-LoC trade and travel in June this year. Under the confidence-building measures, India and Pakistan had agreed on a mutually brokered ceasefire on borders in November 2003. |
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Kashmir varsity holds workshop on quake risk reduction
Srinagar, October 14 Developing a research centre and creating awareness about natural disasters were discussed at a panel discussion on “Road map for J&K to Negate the Effects of Earthquake” held at a workshop on “Urban Earthquake Disaster Risk Reduction” at Kashmir University today. The group of panelists included resource persons from the IITs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), and the Department of Earth Sciences, Kashmir University. As many as three technical sessions were held in which scientists and scholars from various parts of the country gave an insight into various causes of an earthquake and strategy to minimise the damage caused by it. The sessions saw discussions on topics such as seismo -tectonics of Western India, GPS and earthquake, retrofitting of existing structures, training of engineering community and earthquake risk mitigation. |
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CJ opens free legal aid clinic in Anantnag
Srinagar, October 14 Speaking on the occasion, Justice Kumar said the objective of opening the clinic in the jail was to aid detenues, who were not in a position to afford legal costs and to facilitate them speedy justice. He said till date, 134 legal aid clinics had been opened in every nook and corner of the state to ensure quick justice to the people. He said a mobile van, which had been especially designed for the purpose, had been put into service for attending cases in the rural areas and redressing the grievances of the masses on the spot. He urged lawyers to motivate youth to work as paralegal volunteers after their release and help in containing the crimes from society. Justice Kumar also inaugurated a mobile lok adalat at Akad village in Anantnag. As many as 24 cases related to motor accident claims and matrimonial disputes were settled and Rs 1 crore was disbursed as compensation among the beneficiaries by the
Chief Justice. Justice Kumar announced a free legal aid clinic at Akad village, which would start functioning within
one month. Executive Chairman of the J&K State Legal Services Authority Justice Virender Singh and Principal District Judge, Anantnag, Abdul Rashid Malik, were also present on
the occasion. |
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Srinagar, October 14
Srinagar, October 14
