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Bedi panel report an eyewash: PDP
Omar-led govt’s performance only on paper: Mufti
Jugal elected BJP state chief amid drama
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BJP, PDP playing divisive politics: Rana
54,000 people bitten by stray dogs in 4 years
Sopore returns to normalcy
Army refutes encroachment charge
Girl held in 2010 stone pelting case
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Bedi panel report an eyewash: PDP
Srinagar, December 22 Calling the report an “eyewash”, PDP spokesperson Nayeem Akhter told the Tribune that the findings of the report had “dealt a blow to the credibility of institutions of justice” in the state. “Why did he (Bedi) take one year to say what everybody here expected him to say?” Nayeem said while commenting on the outcome of the probe by the commission, which has exonerated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of all charges in the case. The one-man Justice (retd) HS Bedi Commission, probing the custodial death of National Conference worker Haji Mohammad Syed Yousuf, in its report has ruled out any foul play in the incident that took place last year. The 96-page report, which was submitted by Bedi to the State Law Secretary today, has attributed Yousuf’s death to cardiac arrest. “It is a case of criminal investigation with many grey elements. It should have been subjected to criminal investigation. We reject this report as an eyewash,” Nayem said. Seeking an investigation into the case was “immaterial” now, he said. “They must have destroyed the evidence,” he said. Yousuf had died at the Police Hospital in Srinagar on September 30, 2011, a day after the Chief Minister handed him over to the crime branch. Mushtaq A Dar, counsel for slain NC worker’s family, said: “We have not see the report as yet. We will comment only after seeing the full report.” “It took the commission a long time to complete the proceedings and submit the report. Besides, several material witnesses, including Chief Minister and some of his colleagues, were not summoned before the commission,” he said.
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Omar-led govt’s performance only on paper: Mufti
Jammu, December 22 Mufti was addressing a function to welcome former bureaucrat Mehboob Iqbal, who along with his supporters joined the PDP today. Calling upon the new entrants to strengthen the party by spreading the agenda of the party, Mufti said change was the order of the day and people of the state were looking towards the PDP to change the present corrupt system. “It is my desire to establish a system where every section of society would get justice and equal opportunities for development and economic growth,” he said. He said the party’s agenda was formulated by accommodating the wishes and aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of the state. Mufti said the PDP during its tenure had carved out a path of peace and development in the state by treating all regions and sub-regions equally. The PDP patron recalled that during the PDP-Congress regime in the state special attention was paid to neglected and remotest areas. He reminded the gathering that tourist circuits to connect Bhaderwah with the rest of the country were set up and a separate Bhaderwah Development Authority was also constituted to establish the belt as an independent tourist destination. He, however, regretted that the present regime had failed to complete the project. He expressed his concern over the slow pace of work on the Bani-Basholi-Sarthal-Bhaderwah road. “Instead of following the visionary policies which were framed by the previous PDP-led regime, this government has reversed the whole process,” he said and regretted that except promises nothing had been done on the ground. |
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Jugal elected BJP state chief amid drama
Jammu, December 22 Sharma is the BJP Legislature Party leader in the Assembly. The “election” to the state president was conducted by a central team headed by national spokesperson for the party and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Sharma was the only one to file nomination papers for the post.
Party sources said former mayor Kavinder Gupta was the front-runner for the post till Friday evening but some members of the central team took stand against his name and even threatened to declare Kavinder’s election “null and void”. “As the visiting central team took a tough stand against Kavinder’s name, a faction owing allegiance to senior leader Nirmal Singh gave consent to Sharma’s name, as he was also in the fray,” sources said. Another senior leader Ashok Khujuria and outgoing president Shamsher Singh Manhas also joined hands to stall the move of appointing Kavinder as the state president. “As Kavinder’s detractors were jointly opposed to his candidature, his loyalists ultimately supported Sharma to fracture the designs of opponents to appoint a third person to the post,” a source said, adding that Jugal was earlier reluctant to accept the post in place of Kavinder but “ultimately agreed”. Sources said the seven BJP legislators, who were expelled from the party on charges of cross-voting in 2011, also played a role in sabotaging Kavinder’s chances of becoming the state president. “Despite being expelled from the party, these leaders, through their supporters, convinced one of the central observers not to appoint Kavinder,” a source said. Rudy, while addressing workers, said: “This culture of unanimity and mutual trust between the workers is the hallmark of the BJP. The transition of the state leadership taking place with warmth and mutual affection is indicative of the healthy democratic temper prevalent in the rank and file of the party.” Fourth time unlucky Kavinder Gupta, a hardcore RSS man, has been a victim of BJP’s internal as well as caste politics for the fourth time in a row In 1996, he was given party mandate from Jammu West Assembly segment but was replaced by Hans Raj Dogra at the last minute In 2002, he was again given mandate from the same seat but the ticket was finally allotted to a JSM candidate In 2008, he was overlooked again after veteran leader Chaman Lal Gupta decided to contest from the same seat Despite party assurance of appointing him as the state president, Kavinder lost out to Jugal Kishore Sharma this time.
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BJP, PDP playing divisive politics: Rana
Jammu, December 22 Rana was addressing a gathering of supporters and members of the Bharatiya Chetanay Party (BCP) whose state president Rohit Bali joined the National Conference (NC) here today. He said the NC would not allow fringe communal elements either in Jammu or in Kashmir to play the regional card as the design of these elements was detrimental to the cause of the state and was not acceptable to people. He said the BJP was a fountain head of communal politics in the country and was now spreading communalism in the state for petty political gains. He said the party had lost its moorings in the state and was now struggling to re-establish itself by raising issues with communal overtones, thereby attempting to disturb the secular fabric of the state. The political adviser said the PDP, which lacked ideology and was fighting internal crisis due to dissension within party leadership, was trying to somehow keep itself afloat by indulging in divisive politics so that the focus shifted from its internal dynamics. |
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54,000 people bitten by stray dogs in 4 years
Srinagar, December 22 Data by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and the Census Department reveals that for every 13 persons in the Valley, there is one stray dog, putting the dog-human ratio at 1:13.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) sponsored national multi-centric rabies survey (2006) says on an average the human-dog ratio in the country stands at 1:36. “We have three times more dogs in Srinagar than anywhere else in the country as compared with humans,” said Muhammad Salim Khan, member of the Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India.
Experts predict that the rate at which stray dogs are reproducing in Srinagar, their population could overtake the human population in the city by 2015.
“The SMC says there are 1 lakh dogs in Srinagar. There are 11 more districts whose dog population has not been counted. A dog starts reproducing at the age of 2 and gives birth to several puppies at one time. At this rate, Srinagar will be overwhelmed by dogs, which is expected to cross 20 lakh by 2015, in comparison to the expected 14 lakh human population,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, the Animal Birth Control Programme, through which the state government claims to have controlled the dog population, has been flayed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, State Human Rights Commission, political parties and the civil society of the Valley, terming it a failure.
Community medicine experts say the rate of sterilisation of 10 dogs per day is too slow to contain the reproduction rate in dogs. “The dog sterilisation project has already cost the government much and looking at the pace at which the project is going, the problem seems to worsen in the coming years,” said an official at the Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Srinagar, who wished anonymity.
Earlier this year, former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Khalifullah Mir had directed the state government to take speedy measures to remove stray dogs from the roads and put them in dog pounds to be constructed in the city outskirts.
Mir even took a dig at the Animal Birth Control Programme, asking, “When sterilised, will dogs stop biting then?” |
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Sopore returns to normalcy
Srinagar, December 22 Shops, banks and business establishments reopened in the town today. Traffic plied normally and government offices also resumed work. “The situation remained normal in the town,” said a Sopore resident. During the strike, many incidents of stone-throwing were reported from the town, which the local residents said was to “mourn” the killing of the LeT militants, one of whom was a resident of Sopore town. The six LeT militants were killed in a 30-hour-long encounter at Saidpora in Sopore, after the police and the Army cordoned off the village after specific information about the presence of militants. The encounter ended on Wednesday. A Major and a jawan were also injured in the gunfight. Two houses and a cowshed were also damaged in the gun battle. The locals had alleged that the security forces had damaged orchards and uprooted apple trees using an excavation machine. Sopore Sub-divisional Magistrate Syed Haneef Balkhi said, “Officials of the Horticulture Department have done a survey in the village and the residents will be compensated.” |
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Army refutes encroachment charge
Jammu, December 22 On December 20, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had cautioned the Army against extending boundaries of the HAWS in Gulmarg, saying it could lead to confrontation between “us and them” over the threat it posed to the world-famous ski resort in Baramulla district. “The way it (Army) is spreading boundaries of the school (HAWS)... the day is not far when it will either be the Army or the state government in Gulmarg,” Omar had reportedly said after inaugurating a hotel in Gulmarg. The Army maintained that it had not encroached upon the state land in Gulmarg. “There is no truth in it. Not an inch of the state land has been encroached upon. His (Omar’s) charges are totally baseless. Why should we encroach upon state land? The school (HAWS) in Gulmarg stays on the land allotted to the Army strictly in adherence to legal procedures,” said a senior Army officer. “If he has problems with the Army, he should raise them before the Defence Ministry or the Home Ministry instead of raising such issues before the media. Why has he been raising such issues in public domain,” asked the officer. Omar, on December 19, had also accused the Army of creating obstacles in the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the militancy-plagued Jammu and Kashmir. Omar had been advocating withdrawal of AFSPA from Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Srinagar and Budgam districts. |
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Girl held in 2010 stone pelting case
Anantnag, December 22 Reports said Zahida, a resident of Batengoo village in Anantnag district, was detained by the police in connection with a stone pelting case filed against her in 2010. The girl’s family members alleged they were tricked by the police. “The police came to our house on Thursday evening and asked us to produce Zahida at the police station. They said it was in connection with a bullet injury she had sustained in 2010,” said Adil Dar, Zahida’s brother. The girl had suffered a bullet injury after the police and paramilitary forces opened fire at a funeral procession of a slain youth, killing two and injuring many others. The family members said they produced Zahida at the police station on Friday morning but were told that she had been accused of stone pelting. “They detained her under Sections 188, 148, 307, 149, 336 and 427 of the RPC and asked us to get bail from the court,” said Adil. He said they procured bail this afternoon. “She was detained at the police station and was not allowed to even take her medicines,” her brother claimed. The family member denied the police accusations. “We don’t understand why she has been detained. She has been implicated on false grounds. How can a handicapped girl be a threat to the state?” said Rahti, Zahida’s mother. The police officers, however, maintained that Zahida was arrested from her house during a raid. “A case of stone pelting had been registered against her in 2010 and she was arrested,” said Anantnag SSP RK Jalla. Hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in a press release, warned the government of dire consequences if the girl was not released immediately. Case file The girl had suffered a bullet injury during the 2010 unrest The police says she was involved in stone pelting during the funeral procession of a slain youth A case was registered against her under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code.
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Patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said the present regime headed by the National Conference (NC) had failed to carry forward the equitable development agenda which was implemented by the previous PDP-Congress regime in the state.
Devender Singh Rana, political adviser to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said the BJP and the PDP were unleashing a wave of communal and divisive politics in the state to create political instability for petty political gains.
Anantnag, December 22
