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NC offers glimpse of manifesto for next Assembly elections
Pakistan targets 10 forward posts in KG sector
Now, Omar has ‘verified’ Twitter account
Panchayats again toughen stand on support to NC-Cong alliance
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LC poll win no indicator of coalition popularity: Mufti
Senior leaders of the J&K Panchayat Conference address mediapersons
in Srinagar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Amin War
Drive against vehicular emissions loses steam
Teachers criticise order to put CM’s photo in schools
Scientists to track movement of hanguls via satellite
‘Minor’ in police stations for 12 days
BSF lodges protest with Rangers
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NC offers glimpse of manifesto for next Assembly elections
Jammu, December 9 Officially, the elections are due in 2014, but the NC, the party that has ruled the state for most of the period since Independence, has been preparing itself for the next elections for quite a long time. Yesterday, it gave a peep into the kind of its election manifesto would be. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been exhorting the cadres to get ready for the Assembly elections, the mother of all polls in this sensitive state, and where he has been hoping that his party would win seats more than 28, the record of the NC of 2002 and 2008 elections. With its political capital having recorded an inspiring rise in the election for four seats in the Legislative Council, which it fought in alliance with the Congress, the NC’s Central Working Committee (CWC) yesterday adopted resolutions, which read more like an election manifesto of a triumphant party, leaving little scope for others to change it or own it. Omar Abdullah, who is also working president of the NC, the sole star campaigner for the ruling coalition candidates in the LC elections, by winning all the four seats, has emerged as a political hero of the day. But that is the beginning; his real test to enter superstardom will lie in the outcome of the Assembly elections. As of today, he stands transformed into a star campaigner by miles from the day in 1998, when he first contested parliamentary elections. That time, he was led by ministers in the NC government headed by his father Farooq Abdullah, today he led them from the front. The 14 resolutions adopted by the working committee, apart from showering praise on the party cadres for ensuring stunning 4/4 victory, had two contentious issues, restoration of the greater autonomy, reversing the state’s semi-sovereign position to the pre-1953 days, and the removal of AFSPA in a phased manner. The usage of the term that the “restoration of autonomy continues to be bed rock of the National Conference’s policy and agenda”, says it all. On both these issues, the Congress is having reservations for the party has to look towards its constituency in rest of the nation. The main Opposition PDP, however, has its ownership of self-rule, not much different from the autonomy, and the recall of AFSPA that shields security forces from legal persecution for any act of omission and commission in fighting terrorism in the disturbed areas in the
state. Twenty out of 22 districts in the state have PCC chief Saifuddin Soz and other party leaders of the state unit of Congress have already conveyed their reservations to their party high command. The Congress sticks to the virtues of the 1975 Beg-Parthsarthy award, which brought party’s founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah back to power as the Chief Minister in 1975, and not to the pre-1953 position when the state had its own “Sadr-riyasat” (equivalent to President) and “Wazir-e-Azam or Prime Minister besides having control on all sectors, barring defence, foreign affairs and communications. The NC’s stress on sustained Indo-Pak dialogue to “find a permanent solution to the Kashmir imbroglio which is acceptable to all the stakeholders and can lead to a lasting peace in the region,” is a political way to propel the issue at the centre stage of the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries. However, it laid full stress on the empowerment of the panchayati raj
Seven main resolutions * That the restoration of the autonomy continues to be the bedrock of the National Conference’s policy and agenda. * That the state must continue its efforts with the Government of India for the revocation of the AFSPA in a phased manner. * That the party appreciates the state government, who with the support of the Union Government, has been able to bring peace and normalcy in the state which has accelerated the pace of development in the state as also improved the economy thereby increasing the per capita income. * That the party advised that the state government should impress upon the Government of India to take up with the government of Pakistan the issue of streamlining of trade across the LoC where in barter system should be replaced by the system of cash transfer. * The party appreciates the measures taken by the government to bring accountability, transparency and efficiency in the governance by implementing the Right to Information Act, the reconstitution of the State Accountability Commission, the promulgation of the Public Service Guarantee Act and urged the government to constitute the State Vigilance Commission at the earliest. * That the state government should take up with the Union Government the issue of opening of the Jammu-Sialkot road, Nowshera Changer-Mirpur road, Kargil-Skardu road and Mendhar Tattapani road.
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Pakistan targets 10 forward posts in KG sector
Jammu, December 9 The Army gave a calibrated response to the Pakistani troops silencing their guns besides thwarting their attempt to push a group of militants to this side of the LoC. “Last night around 7.30 pm, Pakistani troops again opened unprovoked fire targeting our forward posts in the KG sector with heavy arms. Their unwarranted and unprovoked act prompted the Army to give them a calibrated response,” said an Army officer. “Pakistani troops initially fired small arms and then opened heavy fire using rockets,” he added. The skirmish lasted till 12.30 am today, he said. Intelligence sources said Pakistan had been trying hard to push a group of 16 militants but the Indian troopers have been foiling evil designs of the enemy. “Unsuccessful attempts since November 25 has frustrated the Pakistan army and now it has been opening fire in the KG sector almost daily,” he added. A Defence source said following last night skirmish the situation along the LoC in the KG sector was tense. The source rebutted some media reports that additional reinforcements have been rushed to the KG sector and that Pakistan has occupied some forward areas. Meanwhile, Pakistan army opened heavy fire again this evening in the KG sector
targeting Kranti 1, Kranti 2 and Kirpan posts of the Indian Army. “Around 5 pm, Pakistani troops again opened heavy fire by firing HMG rounds, rocket launchers and mortars on the Indian posts.” The Army has also launched a search operation in the KG sector to track down a group of
militants, believed to have been hiding in the forests between the LoC and fence. Intelligence inputs said due to retaliation from the Indian side, five Pakistani soldiers suffered injuries and villagers of Mandole and Mudarpur in the Pak-occupied Kashmir held demonstrations against the Indian Army. |
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Now, Omar has ‘verified’ Twitter account
Srinagar, December 9 Omar finally got the ‘blue dot - white tick badge’ - which means the account has been verified by the micro-blogging website Twitter as being used by a “legitimate source”. Twitter’s help centre says the verification is used to establish “authenticity of identities”. An elated Chief Minister, who has been on Twitter for last nearly two years, on Sunday reacted by replying to one of his impersonator accounts, saying, “this other one won’t have people thinking it’s the real deal.” “Thank goodness I now have a verified account,” Omar wrote on Twitter. Twitter verifies only “highly sought users” in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, advertising, business and other key interest areas, according to the information provided
by its help centre. Omar has often been criticised by his political opponents for spending too much time on Twitter and been condemned by netizens back home for his political activities and decisions, earning him a sobriquet of “Twitter CM”, “tweet-a-minute CM” and “Twitter Minister”. In August this year, Omar had announced that he would limit his tweeting activity to “tweet a month” but these days he has again returned to lavish tweeting. The Chief Minister’s highly successful tweeting is a rare attempt by a
mainstream Kashmiri politician to connect directly with the people.
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2014 Assembly elections
Srinagar, December 9 “Ours was not an ideological vote. We would have voted for any party in power, be it the PDP or the BJP. We voted for the ruling government because many promises have been meted out by them and we want the same to be fulfilled at the earliest,” All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) spokesman Ghulam Hassan Punzoo told media-persons here. He made the comments days after the NC-Congress swept the four LC seats of the panchayat quota, the elections to which were held after more than three decades. Regretting that the NC-Congress leadership had been "beating drums of their victory against the facts", Punzoo said: “The fact is that the verdict of panches and sarpanches was not an ideological vote but a vote for the sitting government, whosoever was in chair. In case our demands are not met, the NC and Congress should brace themselves up for the 2014 elections as 34,000 elected panches and sarpanches will not extend their support.” He said they had decided to take part in the LC elections after the earlier boycott call only after a written assurance by the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress (JKPCC) chief Prof Saifuddin Soz that their demands would be met. “Not only Prof Soz, even the NC leadership had acknowledged that they were in touch with the AJKPC members during the election campaign but forgot all the demands
after the announcement of results…they even forgot to thanks us,”
he added. Punzoo also said they would celebrate the Republic Day (January 26) as "Mourning Day" if their demands were not met by January 3. Their demands include extension of the 73rd Amendment in the state for panchayat empowerment, grant of monthly honorarium to panchayat members besides security and insurance cover. |
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LC poll win no indicator of coalition popularity: Mufti
Jammu, December 9 Pointing towards the results of the Legislative Council (LC) elections, Mufti said the fight in the Valley for the two LC seats was almost at par between coalition and PDP candidates but the response the party had received in the Jammu region was encouraging. “We secured second position in Jammu which reflects that people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were treating the PDP as their real voice,” he argued and added that despite misuse of the official machinery, the PDP candidates had managed to get a good number of votes in Jammu. Taking a dig at the coalition, he said both the National Conference and the Congress had managed to win the elections with the support of each other’s crutches. Mufti, however, hastened to add that winning the four LC seats was not an indicator of the popularity of the coalition regime, which according to him, had failed to connect with the people as the NC had failed to fulfill promises made to the people during the 2008 Assembly elections. Mufti, who was addressing a function to welcome National Conference leader Saleem Chaudhary, who joined the PDP here today, claimed that the PDP’s agenda of development was not only seen positively in the Valley but also in the Jammu and Ladakh regions. He said the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were also treating the PDP as their real voice because the leadership of the party has earned the faith and trust of the people by its convictions and commitments. He claimed that an overwhelming response to the party from all the regions of the state was a clear indication that people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were looking towards the PDP as the only credible political force in the state. He said the PDP’s agenda was to establish peace and tranquillity in the state by changing the present inefficient and corrupt system. “With the support and cooperation of the people, the PDP wants to establish a corruption free system,” he said, adding, “As long as the NC dominates the political scene in the state there are remote chances of stability in the region.” He said the state was poised for a genuine democratic contest for the first time in its history in which the people would have clear options to choose on the basis of performance. He said the emergence of the PDP as a credible regional force had ended the monopolistic politics and introduced a much needed corrective into the democratic system of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Drive against vehicular emissions loses steam
Jammu, December 9 While the vehicles continue to spew poisonous gases on the state roads, it seems the government agencies like the Transport Department, Traffic Police Department and the Pollution Control Board have run out of steam to check vehicular emissions. The state had 94 centres, out of which 78 were functional for nearly 10 lakh vehicles in the state. Admitting that zeal has vanished into thin air, State Transport Commissioner Mehraj Ahmed Kakroo said, “Checking automobile emissions has to be a joint effort of various government agencies. We will definitely look into it.” But we do ensure that vehicle owners produce PUC certificate of their vehicles at the time of their registration and after every six months, he claimed. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1989, every vehicle has to obtain a PUC certificate after one year from the date of its purchase, which has to be renewed after six months. An official of the Transport Department said the department had been given the task of issuing licences to such centres and enforcement aspect had to be primarily looked after by the Traffic Police Department and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). Definitely, the enthusiasm has fizzled out in a striking contrast to the fact that vehicular population is constantly on the rise in the tourist state and continues to spew carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and other poisonous emissions, he added. He further said the traffic police, the SPCB and the Transport Department should coordinate with each other for the purpose. “But our department is without enough manpower and resources,” he added before shifting the responsibility on the traffic police and the SPCB. On the other hand, Traffic Police DIG Shakeel Beigh said, “Being overstretched and understaffed, his department is presently hard-pressed dealing with “life-threatening violations”. “But we have decided to launch a crackdown on vehicles found spewing poisonous gases on the roads from January next year. The vehicles without PUC certificate will be fined heavily,” the DIG said. “The policemen, who stand at busy crossings and rotaries for 10 to 12 hours everyday bear the brunt of vehicular emissions,” he added. An SPCB official said the Board had been conducting checks in the state with the help of two mobile vans, one each in Jammu and Srinagar. “Violators are fined but I must also admit that the drive has lost its steam and is not being done on a desired scale,” he added. |
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Teachers criticise order to put CM’s photo in schools
Poonch, December 9 The teaching fraternity has criticised the order as there is no written direction to display the pictures of national heroes who have sacrificed their lives for the country. Poonch Chief Education Officer (CEO) Krishan Lal Parihar in his letter dated 24/11/2012 has told the schools in Poonch district that he had received telephonic directions from the Director, School Education, Jammu, Gulzar Qureshi, to ensure the fixation of photographs of the Chief Minister in their offices with immediate effect. The Poonch CEO has been caught in a controversy, with the teaching community in particular and social organisations in general asking why he had ignored national heroes in his letter. “This has happened for the first time that the CEO has directed us to display the CM’s picture. It is not wrong, but the question is why has he ignored national heroes in his letter. Is it not sycophancy?” said a senior education officer who wished anonymity. The high demand of the CM’s picture has also invited public attention in Poonch district. Social and political organisations have termed it sycophancy as the CM is also holding charge of the Education Minister and the Director, School Education, Jammu, may be looking for an extension. The demand of the CM’s photographs has increased the income of photographers and stationers in Poonch and shopkeepers are displaying Omar’s photographs in different poses on their shops for sale. Despite several attempts, the Director of School Education was not available for comment. The Poonch CEO said, “Whatever information I received from the Director I conveyed it to the schools. While the matter of ignoring national heroes in my letter is concerned, it is already in our agenda to display their pictures in schools.” — OC
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Scientists to track movement of hanguls via satellite
Srinagar, December 9 Scientists studying the movement patterns of hangul outside the park are planning to tag the animal with collars fitted with GPS (global positioning system) satellite telemetry devices, which is the first such research on hangul using sophisticated technology. The data collected from these devices through satellites, scientists say, is likely to shed more light on the movement patterns and habitat of hangul, whose population has also been sighted outside the Dachigam Park at many places, including Kangan forests, Shikargah Tral and remote Tulail in the Gurez region of Bandipore district in north Kashmir by the researchers. The hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is one of the critically endangered wildlife species and is the only Asiatic survivor of red deer. Hangul is found only in Kashmir at Dachigam National Park, Srinagar, their only home. As per the last census of 2011, the number of hanguls recorded in the park was 218. “Under the research project named ‘Studies on Movement Patterns of Hangul outside Dachigam’, we have procured four collars fitted with GPS”, said Dr Kursheed Ahmad Shah, assistant professor and in charge scientist at the Centre for Mountain Wildlife Sciences, Shere-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir. Khursheed, who is the principal investigator in the research project on hanguls, said they plan to tag the hangul with GPS collar by the end of this month. The project is being funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, with certain amount donated by Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah from his constituency fund. “In the first step, we will dot the animal to fit the collars, which will be done by my co-investigator in the project from the Widlife Institute, Dehradun”, said Dr Kursheed. Once fitted with GPS collars, he said, the movement of the rare animals will then be monitored by the researchers at the SKUAST using satellite telemetry. “After fitting the collars on the animals, we will monitor their movement outside the Dachigam Park for three years. The data collected from these devices will give us an exact picture of the habitation and range of the Kashmir hangul”, he said. Studies reveal that hangul has had a limited global distribution and were once distributed widely in the mountains of Kashmir. The earlier known habitation of Kashmir hangul is believed to have ranged from the forests to Kishtawar in Jammu province to Kishangana in north Kashmir. However, over the years, due to fragmentation of their habitat, the hangul was considered confined to the Dachigam National Park and its adjoining areas. “The data collected from these collars will establish whether there is separate population of hangul in other areas or these are simply the hangul populations of the Dachigam Park which move out of the park during summers”, Dr khursheed said, adding that the research data obtained will also help in better conservation of the animal. Endangered deer |
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‘Minor’ in police stations for 12 days
Srinagar, December 9 The counsels, Syed Babar Qadri and Gowhar Makhdoomi, said he was arrested on November 27. “He was arrested by the Nowhatta police and then shifted to the Parimpora police station where he is lodged at present. The boy’s age is 15 years and 10 months as per the school certificate,” Makhdoomi said. The boy, a resident of old city’s Gojwara locality, has been detained under seven sections of the RPC. The counsels on Friday moved a bail application at a local court and pleaded that the boy was a juvenile under the law of land and international law. “He is a law-abiding child. He never committed any offence or involved in any activity prejudicial to the security of the state,” the application stated. Makhdoomi said the court had granted bail to the boy but ‘when his parents went to the Nowhatta police station, the officer in charge rejected the bail application’. A police official at the Parimpora police station confirmed the boy is in their custody but said he has no idea about his age.
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BSF lodges protest with Rangers
Jammu, December 9 On December 7, the Pakistan Rangers had opened unprovoked fire on Indian posts along the international border in Samba sector to stall the BSF’s maintenance work of the border fence.
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After losing the elections to the four seats of the Legislative Council, Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today put on a brave face and said it was really a matter of satisfaction that after the Kashmir valley, the people of the Jammu region too had expressed their faith in the policies and programmes of his party.
To determine the home range and habitation of hangul (Kashmiri stag), scientists are set to trace the movements of the rare wildlife animal outside Dachigam National park by using satellite telemetry.
Scientists studying the movement patterns of hangul outside the park are planning to tag the animal with collars fitted with GPS (global positioning system) satellite telemetry
devices
