The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Pak again opens heavy fire in Poonch sector Tribune News Service Jammu/Poonch, December 12 After a lull of over 40 hours, the Pakistan army again opened heavy fire on Indian posts in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Poonch district late last night. “Pakistan troops targeted Indian forward posts by firing over 1000 rounds of heavy arms along the LoC and also tried to push a group of four to five armed ultras to the Indian side,” said an Intelligence source. Around 9.30 pm, Pakistan troops opened heavy fire from Daku, Battal, Roza, Chuha and Peepal posts targeting Kranti 1, Kranti2, Chajaman and Kirpan posts of the Indian Army, he added. Indian troopers gave them a firm response and both sides traded heavy arms till 11.30 pm before guns fell silent, said the source. However, the officiating Defence PRO, SN Acharya, said around 11 pm a group of four or five ultras tried to infiltrate into the Indian side. “The group opened fire on the Indian soldiers and in the prevailing darkness one mortar and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was also fired but it was not confirmed whether the mortar and RPG were fired by the Pakistan army,” said Acharya. “Therefore, we can’t say for sure that last night’s firing was a truce violation,” he added. The Indian troops also retaliated to thwart the intrusion bid, he said, adding that there was no casualty or injury to Indian troops. The Indian side retaliated to ensure that there was no infiltration by militants under the cover of Pakistan firing. This was fifth incident of firing and ceasefire violation in the past seven days in the KG sector. Intelligence sources said Pakistan had recently deployed 657 Mujahid Regiment on their side of the Line of Control (LoC) opposite the KG sector in Poonch district. It had shifting out 653 Mujahid Regiment from there. He attributed the recent spurt in Pakistan firing to the new regiment (657 Mujahid Regiment) and desperation on the part of Pakistan to push armed militants to the Indian side. “The 657 Mujahid Regiment has at least two men from the artillery in its posts, especially in Daku, Roza and Battal opposite the Kranti, Kirpan and Ghora posts of the Indian Army,” he added. Meanwhile, IG of the BSF Jammu Frontier Rajeev Krishna said Constable Harinder Singh and Sub Inspector Kalu Ram, who had recently sustained injuries in “accidental” mine blasts in the same sector, were recovering. “Constable Harinder Singh is recovering and so is SI Kalu Ram. But in case of the latter his toe had to be amputated. We will see how it can be reconstructed,” said the IG.
	Omar wants Centre to take up border firing issue with Pak Says truce violation hampering peace process Tribune News Service Jammu, December 12 Advocating good relations between India and Pakistan, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said he would urge the Central government to take up the issue of recurring ceasefire violations with Pakistan to ensure peace and tranquillity on the Line of Control (LoC) and in border areas. He said the people living in border areas had to bear the brunt of the ceasefire violations and their agriculture and economic activities got severely hampered by such incidents. “I have always batted for good Indo-Pak relations and resolution of issues between the two neighbours through a peaceful dialogue process. My efforts in this direction would continue,” Omar said while addressing public meetings at Hanjana in Nowshera tehsil in Rajouri district and Mera Mandarian in Akhnoor tehsil in Jammu district. Omar said the governments in India and Pakistan were the only authorities who could sit down and sort out issues between them amicably. “Those (PDP) who blow their own trumpet in this regard by making false claims only exhibit their style of befooling commoners,” he said while adding that people in the state were politically mature enough to understand that international issues were dealt by the Central leadership and not by the local party presidents or state Chief Ministers. Omar said the people were best judges to judge politicians on their performance. “We do not require creating any hype as the work done by the coalition government on the peace and development fronts is before the public and speaks loud and clear for our performance,” he said. Omar said that despite “malicious propaganda” of all sorts unleashed by the detractors, panchayat members had refused to get carried away by hollow slogans. “You voted on the basis of our performance and expressed your trust and faith in the coalition government,” he told panches and sarpanches present at the public meetings in Rajouri and Jammu districts. He said his government was committed to having a three-tier fully empowered panchayat system in the state. “We are eagerly waiting for Saifuddin Soz-led coordination committee report on block panchayat council elections,” he said. The Chief Minister also inaugurated two bridges in Hanjana and Mera Mandarian. The bridges at Hanjana and Mera Mandarian were completed at a cost of Rs 14.13 crore and Rs 24.25 crore, respectively. Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma and Member of Parliament Madan Lal Sharma also spoke on the occasion while legislators Radhey Shah Sharma and Ravinder Sharma were also present on the occasion.
	BSF seizes fake currency in Jammu district Tribune News Service Jammu, December 12 The BSF recovered nearly Rs 15 lakh counterfeit Indian currency along the international border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district today evening. “Nearly Rs 15 lakh counterfeit Indian currency was recovered by our alert border guards near the Kharkola border outpost in RS Pura sector around 5 pm,” said a BSF spokesperson. He said the BSF had specific inputs about a possible attempt by the Pakistan Rangers to pump fake currency into the Indian side. Following intelligence inputs, the border guards were on an alert and during a routine patrol they noticed three packets of counterfeit currency on the other side of the barbed fence close to the Zero Line, apparently left behind by smugglers with the help of the Rangers, said a source. He said the fake currency in the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was lying barely four metres from the border fence. “After failing to push militants into the Indian side from the LoC and international border, the ISI is now trying to pump fake currency into the Indian side to sponsor terror activities,” said the source.
	Ladakh reels under intense cold wave Our Correspondent Leh, December 12 Ladakh continued to reel under severe cold conditions with the minimum temperature dipping to minus 8°C this morning. The water bodies in the region have frozen and are covered with thick sheets of ice. The Stakna and Igoo - Marstelang hydro power projects have been closed down due to a low discharge of water into the Indus. People are supplied power from diesel generators only in the evening just for the lighting purpose. The normal life in the region has been affected and severe cold conditions have forced the people to stay indoors. Development activities and construction works have also been suspended since last week.
	NC leader Kamal seeks clemency for Afzal Guru Tribune News Service Srinagar, December 12 A day ahead of the eleventh anniversary of the attack on Parliament, a senior leader of the ruling National Conference (NC) on Wednesday appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee to accept Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy plea. Highly outspoken and controversial NC leader Mustafa Kamal, who is the brother of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah and uncle of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said there were discrepancies in the case against Afzal which had been “acknowledged by many”. “We humbly appeal to Mr President to acknowledge the public opinion and it is also our opinion that his (Afzal’s) mercy petition should be accepted,” said Kamal, who is the NC additional general secretary. After the hanging of Mumbai attack convict Ajmal Kasab last month, there has been a clamour from various quarters against and in favour of hanging of Afzal. While the BJP has demanded that Afzal should be hanged on December 13, which marks the anniversary of the Parliament attack, the separatist groups in the state have warned of an “unprecedented storm” if any harm is done to him. Kamal said Afzal’s hanging could become a “godsend” opportunity for the separatists. “Afzal is neither a militant nor does he have any base in Jammu and Kashmir. His hanging may not have any direct impact on the law and order situation here. However, for the separatists, who are losing their ground and have no agenda left, this might be a godsend opportunity,” the NC leader said. Afzal has been convicted in the Parliament attack case which involved five militants storming into the Parliament compound on December 13, 2001. Kamal said Afzal’s hanging could also give the “much needed boost” to the militants whose number had considerably declined in recent years. Kamal instead favoured life imprisonment for Afzal saying “it is worse than hanging, he will die every day”.
	Katra may soon get air monitoring station Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, December 12 The holy town of Katra, which on an average witnesses the arrival of 35,000 pilgrims from across the country and abroad on a daily basis and over one crore of them every year, may soon have an air monitoring station for checking pollution level. The base camp at Katra for the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage already has two water monitoring stations near the Ban Ganga, a fresh water stream. “A proposal to have an air monitoring station under the National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is under active consideration,” said member secretary of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) Arun Tickoo. Since 1 crore to 1.5 crore pilgrims visit the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi every year, a need was felt to have an air monitoring station to see the air pollution level in the holy town, he added. “In the case of suspended particulate matter (SPM), rains settle down dust particles. But when it comes to vehicular emission, we do inform transport authorities to keep the emissions under control,” said Tickoo. “On the basis of a report on ‘Ecology of Katra’, we had collected detailed data of air, water, and noise, including all the aspects of volume of traffic, sewage and solid waste, in 2008-09. Now, a proposal is being considered to have an air monitoring station,” he said. The objective is to provide detailed information about the quality of air and water in Katra via the environment data bank of the country on the website cpcb.nic.in, he added. Once the air monitoring station comes up in Katra, it will be recording 104 readings in a year and the experts will be studying respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), non-respirable suspended particulate matter (NRSPM), suspended particulate matter (SPM), sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air every eight hours, he said. While in 2009-10 the SPM was on a higher side of the permissible limit in Katra, the latest quarterly report of the water in the Ban Ganga has found BOD (biological oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen demand) and DO (dissolved oxygen) beyond the permissible limits. The BOD should not exceed 2.0 mg per litre, the COD should not exceed 10 mg per litre while the DO (significant for aquatic life) should be more than 4 mg per litre.
	Assembly building collapse Probe panel told to submit report by December 14 Tribune News Service Jammu, December 12 A day after a major part of the Legislative Assembly building collapsed causing extensive damage to the office chambers of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, the state government today asked a panel of technical experts (engineers) to submit its report by December 14 and identify areas which were safe or unsafe for use. The General Administration Department, headed by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, finally accorded sanction to the constitution of a committee of experts to “look into the matter of the wall and ceiling collapse of the legislature complex building”. The panel has been asked to identify causes that led to the collapse and structural damage to the existing building, steps taken by the contractor and engineers to safeguard the existing building before the damage was caused and measures required to be taken to prevent further damage to the existing building. The panel comprised Chief Engineer, PMGSY, Jammu; Joint Development Commissioner, Works; Managing Director, JKPCC; Chief Engineer, Public Works Department; and Chief Engineer, Designs, Inspections and Quality Control Department, J&K. The Committee on Petitions of the Legislative Council visited the damaged portion of the state legislature complex today and took stock of the situation. The committee, led by BR Kundal, consists of legislators, Choudhary Nizam-ud-Din Khatana, Naresh Kumar Gupta, Ghulam Qadir Pardesi and Master Noor Hussain. It observed that the building was unsafe and asked the government to shift records and necessary arrangements to an alternative office accommodation for the safety of employees of the Council Secretariat. Secretary, Legislative Council, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Additional Secretary Ashful Ahmed Wani and officials of the Council Secretariat accompanied the panel. The committee also convened a meeting to discuss the action taken report of previous petitions received by the Council Secretariat. A major part of the Assembly building had caved in yesterday following indiscriminate digging being carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation for the construction of a new legislative complex adjacent to the existing structure.
	PDP, BJP divisive political forces in state, says Rana Tribune News Service Jammu, December 12 Devender Singh Rana, political adviser to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, today said the PDP and BJP were two divisive political forces in the state with different colours but the same agenda. Addressing a meeting of party workers at Bani, he said the designs of the PDP and BJP were very similar though they liked to camouflage them in the garb of different political colours. He said the people of J-K had repeatedly given their verdict rejecting these divisive forces whether it was in the 2008 Assembly elections or 2009 parliamentary elections or the recently held Legislative Council elections. Rana predicted that 2014 would mark a historic victory of the secular forces and cast a burial note for the “communal divisive political forces”. He said the BJP had already disintegrated under the weight of internal dissension, while the PDP was cracking under the crisis of faith in the leadership and would disintegrate before 2014 elections. He said people of the state had seen through the divisive designs of the PDP and the BJP and realised that the two were power hungry and indulged in rhetoric and played to the gallery for their political gains. Rana said the forces like the National Conference and the Congress would unitedly fight these forces and defeat them in their designs and strive for the welfare and wellbeing of the people of the state. He said in the last four years the state government under the visionary leadership of Omar had taken landmark initiatives to bring in transparency and accountability in governance with the revival of the State Accountability Commission, enactment of the RTI Act and Public Service Guarantees Act and setting up of the State Vigilance Commission. Former Deputy Speaker Haider Malik, Poonch MLA Aijaz Jan, Sajjad Shaheen Devender Singh Bindu, Ravinder Singh Slathia, Mansa Ram, Gh. Abbas, Prethi Singh, Romesh Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Sanjay Kumar, Suraj Ram, Dhani Ram, Pras Ram Bhagat, Manu Ram Soni, Mushtaq Ahmad, Abdul Latif, Mohammad Sharief, Mohammad Akbar, Haji Israr, Nazir Ahmed, Gias-ud-Din, Master Des Raj, Master Bullu Ram, Beli Ram, Master Paras Ram and others also addressed the meeting.
	Hurriyat delegation leaves for Delhi Tribune News Service Srinagar, December 12 The moderate Hurriyat delegation, which was scheduled to leave for New Delhi on December 15 for a week-long Pakistan visit, rescheduled its travel plan due to bad weather conditions in the Valley and left for New Delhi today. The Hurriyat Conference had yesterday announced that the six-member delegation would leave for New Delhi on December 15, from where it was expected to fly to Islamabad on December 16. The delegation is led by the moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. “The Hurriyat delegation left for New Delhi this afternoon from Srinagar airport,” said Hurriyat spokesman Shahid-ul-Islam. He said the delegation had to reschedule its travel plan due to the prevailing bad weather conditions in Kashmir. The weatherman has said there is a possibility of moderate to heavy snowfall in hilly areas and light to moderate snowfall at many places in Kashmir from December 12 to 18. The Hurriyat delegation includes Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Agha Syed Hassan, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Molvi Abbas Ansari, Musadiq Adil, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and Bilal Gani Lone. All the delegation members except Waza have been issued passports. The Hurriyat Conference is hopeful that he would get his documents on his arrival in New Delhi.
	Much debate over NC-Cong alliance in 2014 poll Ehsan Fazili/TNS Srinagar, December 12 While panchayat members have made it clear that they voted for the ruling coalition parties for the fulfilment of their demands, a political debate has been generated in the state over their possible alliance in the 2014 Assembly elections. The ruling coalition parties, the National Conference and the Congress, are in focus for “successfully” contesting the four seats of the Legislative Council jointly from the panchayat quota. Over 31,000 panchayat members out of 33,500 participated in the Legislative Council elections. This is not the first time that the coalition is at the helm of affairs in the state, as the coalition mantra has been working well for the past one decade. Earlier, it was between the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the 2002 Assembly elections, which, however, suffered a serious jolt due to the Amarnath land agitation in 2008. The then government, led by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, had to step down only a few months before the stipulated term. As compared to the present NC-Congress coalition, the Congress-PDP coalition was based on a common minimum programme, with three years term each for the PDP and the Congress. Senior leaders of the National Conference and the Congress have indicated that any decision on their alliance in the 2014 Assembly elections would be taken by the party high-ups after deliberations. Both the parties are not in a hurry to take a final decision, with two years left for the Assembly elections. The Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are held after every six years, instead of the five-year term in other states and the Lok Sabha. The Congress has an option for entering into an alliance with any of the two major parties in the state, while the NC and the PDP would have to test their ground in the next elections. None of the three parties — the NC, Congress or the PDP — in the past two elections, have been able to get a requisite majority of elected members to form a government. This had resulted in the coalition arrangements on both the occasions. Before the NC and the Congress take any final decision on their future alliance, they would have to be cautious about avoiding any possible friction, in the wake of experiences of the present coalition. Congress members have often expressed their resentment over the continuity of the NC-led coalition government for the full six-year term. The question remains as to whether the NC would be able to regain its lost ground and get a majority of Assembly seats to avoid dependence on a coalition arrangement.
	Infant with cleft lip abandoned at Srinagar hospital BJP MP files petition before state rights panel, demands inquiry Bismah Malik Tribune News Service Srinagar, December 12 Taking cognisance of the report carried by The Tribune on September 16, “Parents abandon child born with cleft lip at GB Pant Hospital”, BJP MP from Punjab Avinash Rai Khanna has filed a petition before the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), saying the desertion of the baby with a cleft lip was a gross human rights violation. Khanna has demanded an inquiry into the case. Following the complaint by the MP, the SHRC has served notices to Director General of Police Ashok Prasad, Principal of Government Medical College, Srinagar, Dr Rafiq Ahmad Pampori and Medical Superintendent of GB Pant Hospital Dr Muneer Masoodi. “The SHRC has listed the case for hearing on December 17. So far, none of the public authorities, who have been served notices, has come up with a response,” said Tariq Ahmad Banday, secretary of the SHRC. In his complaint, the petitioner has expressed strong resentment over the failure of the police and health authorities concerned in ensuring a secure place and facilities for the infant who came under the media scrutiny when she was lying unattended on the hospital premises. Despite an inquiry being initiated by the CID and the police into the case, the whereabouts of the infant’s biological parents could not be known. After repeated pleas by doctors and staff at GB Pant Hospital for the adoption of the infant, a childless couple from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district had come forward to adopt the girl who is over three months old now. “Her parents are looking for the option of plastic reconstructive surgery. A renowned maxillofacial surgeon of the Valley, who runs a free of cost private project, ‘SMILE’, has agreed to conduct a surgery on the baby, provided she is in a healthy state,” said the GB Pant Hospital authorities.
	Girl killed in explosion Srinagar, December 12 A 10-year-old girl was killed and her two sisters were injured when a stray device they were fiddling with exploded in Kupwara district of north Kashmir around 3 pm today. The police said the incident took place at Warnaw in Lolab when the three sisters, Nusrat (10), Shaista (6) and Kulsum (4), were playing in a field. “The object exploded and killed Nusrat instantly while her two sisters received injuries,” the police said. — TNS