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Panchayat member, ex-militant
held for aiding Hizb militants
Cong confident of poll victory, to take call on alliance next year
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Small-scale industry seeks repeal of sales tax laws
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah garlands the portrait of BR Ambedkar on his 122nd birth anniversary at a function organised in Jammu on Sunday.
Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh
On the
frontline
The Tulip Garden in Srinagar attracts thousands of visitors every year to the Valley. Tribune photo: Yawar Kabli
57% health centres in state functioning from rented buildings
Trust serves poor patients, offers free medicines at Valley’s hospitals
Geelani embarks on election boycott campaign
63% patients in Valley with gall stones obese: Study
Govt has brought Akhnoor on tourist map, says minister
Farooq demands restoration of internal autonomy
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Panchayat member, ex-militant
held for aiding Hizb militants
Srinagar, April 14 Two persons, including a panchayat member affiliated with the ruling National Conference and a former militant, were arrested on Friday by the police in south Kashmir’s Srigufwara region after the police got a tip-off that the duo had allegedly helped some Hizbul Mujahideen militants in the area. The duo are accused of providing logistical support to the militants. The two arrested persons have been identified as Mohammad Amin Khanday of Banderpora village in Anantnag district and Mohammad Abbas
Sheikh from Rampora village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The police has also a registered a case against the two accused under Sections 451, 506, Ranbir Penal Code, and 7/25 of the Arms Act at Srigufwara police station in Anantnag district. This is perhaps for the first time that the role of an NC panchayat member having nexus with the militants has come to the fore. Besides, the role of an elected panchayat member in helping militants has got exposed at a time when there have been targeted killings of panches and sarpanches in Kashmir by suspected militants. On April 8, suspected militants had killed sarpanch Ghulam Mohammad Lone in Pulwama district. Incidentally, Lone was affiliated to the ruling National Conference. “These two persons were arrested on Friday and a case has been registered against the two in our police station,” SHO of Srigufwara police station Shafiq Ahmad said while confirming the arrests. He said Amin Khanday was an elected panchayat member and Abbas a former militant. However, sources in the police said the two were arrested following information that two Hizb militants, identified as Mubarak and Ashraf Rather, were staying in Khanday’s house. “Subsequently, after the tip-off, an operation was launched to nab the militants, but they managed to flee from the spot. However, Khanday and Abbas were arrested by the police and after questioning, they both confessed to their role”, sources privy to the investigation said. Confirming the arrests, SSP, Anantnag, Ramesh Kumar Jalla refrained from commenting on the issue while saying that a
formal statement would be issued soon. Nexus with Ultras This is perhaps for the first time that the role of an NC panchayat member having nexus with the militants has come to the fore. The role of an elected panchayat member in helping militants has got exposed at a time when there have been targeted killings of sarpanches in Kashmir by suspected militants |
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Cong confident of poll victory, to take call on alliance next year
Srinagar, April 14 “We will emerge as the largest party. We will decide whether to form the government on our own or enter a coalition,” Soz said while addressing a rally at the party headquarters here today. The rally was held to welcome
Soz, who was on his first visit here after being re-elected the JKPCC president recently. Talking to reporters later, Soz refused to comment on reports of fissures in the National Conference-Congress coalition government. On whether it would form an alliance with the National Conference (NC) or the opposition People’s Democratic Party
(PDP), the JKPCC chief said: “Let 2014 come… only then we will decide… no one knows now. We will think over it here and also in New Delhi... the final decision will be taken by the high command.” While the NC-Congress coalition after the last Assembly elections had decided there would be no rotation of Chief Minister, Soz said they would enter a coalition with an equal share of power in the next poll. “We feel that we will emerge as the largest party… we will either form the government on our own or enter into a coalition with an equal share of power,” he said. Other senior Congress leaders, who spoke on the occasion, too dropped hints that all was not well with the NC-Congress coalition. “We want that Soz sahib should be the next Chief Minister,” said MLC and JKPCC senior vice-president Muzaffar
Parray. MLC and JKPCC vice-president Ghulam Nabi Monga said the Congress would form the next government on its “own strength”. Meanwhile, Soz has appealed to all parties, including the PDP and Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), to listen to the “voice” of Kashmiri people while batting for an internal and external dialogue process to address the issues facing the state. He also underscored the need of a “new dispensation” for Kashmir. On the issue of security cover to panchayat members, Soz said: “First, we need to fulfil the promise of providing insurance cover to panchayat members. Talks in this regard are on as security to all sarpanches is not possible. There is no fear among sarpanches and the issue has been blown up… their
(panchayat members) empowerment is more important.”
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Small-scale industry seeks repeal of sales tax laws
Srinagar, April 14 Under the New Industrial Policy 2004, the SSI units of the state are exempted from general sales taxes in case of raw materials procured locally or even imported from other states. However, in case of any missing bill from the purchase statement of an SSI unit holder, the tax will be levied on the whole turnover for the year at a rate of 13.5 per cent. The Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) and the Association of Industrialists Rangreth (AIR), Srinagar, have taken up the matter with Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday, urging them to repeal the laws which cause heavy losses to the SSI unit holders. “The state government should not punish the SSI unit holder in case a bill is missing from the annual statement. The taxes should be imposed on imported good whose bill is missing and not on goods imported throughout the year. This is injustice to the micro and small medium industries which cannot pay a hefty amount as sales taxes due to low turnover,” Syed Mumtaz Ahmad, executive member, FCIK, and president of AIR told The Tribune. The industrial bodies hold that the bills are not concealed intentionally and sometimes may be lost due to oversight, but the taxes they have to pay for one missing bill exceeds even the profits. “Hiding the bills would not benefit any SSI unit holder as the Commercial Tax Department has its check post at Lakhanpur on the Jammu-Kashmir national highway where the official statements are made for each SSI unit holder for the list of imported commodities. Therefore, not producing bills would only lead to loss for the SSI unit holder. However, at times the bill could be lost by mistake as a unit imports hundreds of commodities every year. The state government should be considerate enough to overlook the mistake and only charge tax on imported goods whose bill is missing. This will definitely save us from a lot of trouble,” Mumtaz said.
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Omar promises to empower weaker sections of society
Jammu, April 14 Addressing a function organised by the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes wing of the party, Omar said his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah had initiated historic initiatives to empower the weaker sections and improve their status in society. “I will continue to carry forward this mission which is governed by the high principles of humanism and sincere service to poor people. Doing politics on human issues and programmes for uplift of the poor has never been my family’s or my party’s or my trait,” he said while adding that every effort would be made to ensure inclusive and comprehensive development of weaker sections of society in the state. “You need not raise your voice for your rights because I am here as your voice and protector of your rights. I will continue to champion and advocate your cause,” he assured them. He would work tirelessly for the uplift of the
weaker sections of society without any political considerations, he said. The Chief Minister said that unless children belonging to the weaker sections completed their education, they would not be able to make full use of the
reservation policy. “You have to ensure proper and complete education of your children, so that you reap the benefits of reservation amply,” he said. “My efforts to give a fillip to your socio-economic status and ensure that reservation benefits reach you will only succeed when you educate your children and make them complete their studies without any break,” he reiterated. Omar told them to fight for their rights in unity and in one voice. He asked them not to get astray by hollow slogans and resist the attempts of forces who wanted to “divide them for vote bank politics and vested interests”. Minister for Planning and Development Ajay Sadhotra, Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo, NC additional general secretary Mustafa Kamaal, NC provincial president for Jammu Devender Singh Rana, NC chairman of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes cell Ram Pal and other senior NC leaders also spoke on the occasion.
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On the
frontline
There is no denying the fact that India is one of the worst sufferers of terrorism, which has been exported to it from the soil of neighbouring country Pakistan. Notwithstanding its claims to the contrary, and that of Kashmiri separatists who eat out of the hands of Pakistan, it is a universally known fact that Pakistan and its spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence are responsible for major terror attacks in the world, and India in particular. There is something drearily predictable in the aftermath of any terror attack in any part of the country that it must be the work of militants from the Valley. At that time all the beauty and hospitality of Kashmir — the land where tulips bloom — is forgotten. And those Kashmiris whose wards live outside of the Valley — hundreds of affluent Kashmiris have sent their children to other parts of the country to study or work to save them from the cult of violence in their own land — suddenly tune into TV channels to find out whether their son or sons are among those arrested. That kind of fear is killing. Invariably, the theory goes that there is a Kashmiri link. On several occasions, it has turned out to be true, whether it was the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 or serial blasts in Delhi in 2005, and at times, it’s simply imagination and an action in haste by the police to show that the culprits have been traced. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is right in saying that “all Kashmiris are not terrorists”. His predecessors Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had written letters to their counterparts in other states that such a profiling should be stopped. During Azad’s time, it was suggested that the state police should be taken into confidence before arresting any Kashmiri youth. In part, it is their political compulsion for they are afraid of being caught on the wrong foot in their political battle with the opposition on such issues. It is also equally true that they themselves are responsible for facilitating such an awkward situation. For example, Liyakat Shah had gone to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to launch a war against India and to learn the deadly art of handling and throwing grenades or pulling the trigger of AK-47s — otherwise there was no reason for him and hundreds like him to be in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Omar Abdullah took up the case with Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and got an inquiry instituted by the National Investigative Agency (NIA), which is supposed to bring out credentials of the person, though it would be very difficult to find out what all he was doing in the PoK for the years he was there. The fault line was that the Jammu and Kashmir Police, if at all it had knowledge that such and such person was coming to surrender to reunite with his family, had not shared it with anyone that Shah would arrive with his own family — wife and a child. Moreover, no Central agency was informed about the state government having taken a unilateral decision to include the Nepal route as one of the authorised routes for militants to surrender. That is yet to be listed as a route and there is no holding area where such “returnees” can be debriefed. Jammu and Kashmir enjoys a special status. It has its rule book, but those rules don’t apply to the rest of the country. The other states in the country would be doing a great service to the nation if they inform the state police that such and such terror suspect has been detained, and a bona fide certificate should be furnished. That would remove all doubts and Kashmiris would not have to suffer jail for no crime of theirs. One wrong step and
the alienation grows. It’s avoidable.
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57% health centres in state functioning from rented buildings
Jammu, April 14 There are around 3,000 health institutions (1,859 in Kashmir and 1,142 in Jammu divisions), including district hospitals, sub-district hospitals, primary health centres, allopathic dispensary and sub-centres. A majority of health institutions, especially in rural areas, lack basic infrastructure and equipment to provide first-aid to patients. “Of the total 1,859 health institutions in Kashmir, 906 are operating from rented accommodation while 793 are operating from rented accommodations in Jammu province,” an official source said, adding that three sub-district hospitals, one in Kashmir and two in Jammu provinces, are also functioning from rented accommodations. Fiftyfour out of 226 primary health centres in Kashmir and 35 out of 174 in Jammu are deprived of government accommodation, sources said, adding that some of these institutions are operating from one or two-room buildings. “The number of sub-centres functioning from rented accommodations is high in both regions. As many as 802 sub-centres of the total 1,146 in Kashmir and 700 out of 1,142 in Jammu province still lack government accommodation and are operating from one to two-room rented accommodations,” the source said. What is more worrying is that the Health Department is struggling with manpower shortage, both doctors and paramedics. “All health institutions lack infrastructure and are facing a shortage of doctors and paramedics, including Government Medical Colleges in Srinagar and Jammu and their allied hospitals,” a source said. The sources said the total sanctioned strength of health institutions in Kashmir division was 8,872. “The in-position strength in these institutions is 7,074 and 1,800 posts, including 532 posts of doctors and 1,268 posts of paramedics, are vacant,” a source said, adding that the total sanctioned strength of doctors in health institutions of Jammu province is 1,850, including 25 senior consultants, 428 consultants, 1,161 medical officers and 236 dental surgeons. As many as 734 posts of doctors, including nine senior consultants, 210 consultants, 462 medical officers and 53 dental surgeons, are lying vacant in Jammu province, while the number of vacant posts of the paramedical staff is around 2,070, including 489 nurses and 641 paramedics. Sources said the state government had prepared and submitted an action plan amounting Rs 2,627 crore to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Planning Commission for funding. Minister of State for Health Shabir Ahmad Khan admitted that health institutions, mostly sub-centres and primary health institutions, were operating from rented accommodations and said the government had initiated various measures for shifting these institutions to government-owned buildings. “The government has started the construction of public health centres under the National Rural Health Mission, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and the state plan. We are hopeful that we will be able to provide not all but most of these institutions permanent accommodations by the end of the current financial year,” the minister said.
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Trust serves poor patients, offers free medicines at Valley’s hospitals
Srinagar, April 14 With around 70 volunteers, the HPVT provides free of cost medicines, first-aid boxes and ambulance services to the needy patients and their attendants at the hospitals. “Be it a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a school teacher or a student, as HPVT volunteers they have the same work. Go out to the Valley’s hospitals and help the poor patients. Like a doctor or a paramedic, the HPVT volunteers are a call away from patients,” said HPVT president Farooq Ahmad. “The volunteers are divided into sub-groups which are stationed at various hospitals of the Valley. Each sub-group has a bunch of volunteers who are positioned at important junctions of the hospitals (mainly entry and exit points). Whenever the need arises, our volunteers are ready to help,” he said. The HPVT volunteers spare 2 to 3 hours out of their work schedules and devote time to needy patients at the designated hospitals. Abdul Hamid Bhat, CEO, Rahim Motors, a leading automobile company of the Valley, is one such volunteer who works alongside Abdul Ali Lone, a senior government agriculture officer, and Sajad Ahmad, Class XII student. “The idea of creating such groups is to work together irrespective of the background to help people,” said Farooq Ahmad. “I come here and do whatever work I can. The happiness which I get from helping people is something no amount of money can buy me. I think people should change their mindset and help those who have seen bloodshed,” said the CEO of Rahim Motors. The HPVT started as a small self-help group during 1990s in the Valley and slowly gained strength as more people joined the organisation. Money poured in in terms of donation from corporate honchos, bureaucrats and even small-time employees from all over the Valley. In 2012, the HPVT raised a total donation of Rs 1.25 crore which was contributed by people from all over the Valley who belonged to different economic strata.
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Geelani embarks on election boycott campaign
Srinagar, April 14 “Making elections unsuccessful is the need of
the hour because the government formed with these few votes present the elections as an alternative of the right to self-determination,” Geelani said in
a statement issued yesterday evening. The state is scheduled to go for the Assembly elections in 2014 when votes would be cast to elect 87 representatives to the Assembly while the elections would be also be held for six Lok Sabha seats from the state. Geelani claimed the elections were being used to alter the opinion of the world community and to project the separatist struggle as an “internal issue”. The separatist leader, who has remained under house arrest for most of the time since the summer of 2010, urged the youth to start campaigning for the poll boycott. “From here on, the youth should go to the common man to urge him to boycott the poll. By casting the vote we are reneging on the trust and damaging the sacred mission of the martyrs,” he said. In the past five years, Geelani’s boycott call has failed to get any strong response as hundreds of people from across the region have voted to elect the representatives in three consecutive elections, the state Assembly elections in 2008, parliamentary elections in 2009 and the panchayat elections in 2011. Geelani is a former legislator from north Kashmir’s Sopore constituency and became a full-time separatist in 1990. He has since been an advocate of election-boycott campaigns, believing the elections were damaging the separatist cause. |
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63% patients in Valley with gall stones obese: Study
Srinagar, April 14 The study was conducted by Dr Shiekh from July 2010 to January 2012 on 150 gall bladder patients in the age group of 20 to 80 who visited SKIMS during that period. The study was done under the guidance of chairman, surgery and allied specialities, Prof Khursheed Alam Wani; additional professor, surgery; Ajaz Ahmad Malik and associate professor, endocrinology, Mohammad Ashraf Ganaie. The study found out that metabolic syndrome which constitutes various disorders such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, low-HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and high-blood cholesterol levels were also directly linked with the formation of gall bladder stones. “In our study, we found out that 40.5 per cent patients suffering from gall stones had metabolic syndrome which points to the fact that metabolic syndrome is a major contributor to the formation of gall stones,” Dr Shiekh said. Women have been found to have a higher incidence of gall bladder stones as compared to men due to development of obesity problems. “Of the women patients suffering from gall stones, 69.3 per cent are obese, which indicates that women are more obese than men and are vulnerable to gall bladder diseases,” Dr Shiekh told The Tribune. The study inferred that gall bladder stones developed due to sedentary lifestyle, dietary habits and increased stress levels. Gall bladder diseases have been shown to lead to serious health complications such as jaundice, bile duct infection and sudden increase in blood pressure. The study suggests that the problems developed due to gall stones can be curtailed through multidisciplinary treatment, including combining lifestyle modification with therapeutic pharmacotherapy, to prevent or at least delay the development of gall stones. |
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Govt has brought Akhnoor on tourist map, says minister
Jammu, April 14 Minister for Public Health Engineering (PHE), Irrigation and Flood control Sham Lal Sharma was the chief guest. A larger number of people from various parts of the state participated in the function which was held at the right bank of the Chenab (Jia Potha). The spot has historical significance as first Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Gulab Singh was coronated here. The Baisakhi mela is celebrated at the same spot every year. Local artistes presented a colourful cultural bonanza, touching the rich Dogra culture and heritage. The folk singers and artistes mesmerised the audience with their performances. The minister congratulated the people on the occasion and said festivals were the harbinger of peace and prosperity and promoted brotherhood and communal harmony. He said, “Jammu and Kashmir has the unique character of diversity where people from different religions share their joy and sorrows with a deep sense of understanding which strengthens our ties.” Listing the measures initiated to promote the rich heritage of Akhnoor town, the minister said the government had brought Akhnoor town on the tourist map and efforts were being made to connect the town with the Katra-Shiv Khori tourist circuit to divert tourists via Akhnoor. He said all places of religious and historic significance in and around Akhnoor town were being developed to attract tourists from various parts
of the world. The minister said necessary tourist infrastructure would be created for tourists at Akhnoor. He stressed the need for further promoting the bonds of brotherhood through festivals and other available means to ensure peace and prosperity in the state. |
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Farooq demands restoration of internal autonomy
Srinagar, April 14 “Jammu and Kashmir is primarily a political problem and needs to be resolved through peaceful political means. The only way to bring normalcy and permanent peace to the state and subcontinent is to restore autonomy in its pristine form, as guaranteed in the Indian Constitution,” NC president Farooq Abdullah said in his message in the party’s online newsletter. The newsletter was launched during the NC’s Central Working Committee meeting held at Jammu recently with the aim of highlighting its achievements. Farooq chose the inaugural edition of the newsletter to reiterate his party’s stand on the Kashmir issue. “If there existed a solution better than autonomy, which is acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the NC would have no problem in accepting it. But there is no viable solution than autonomy,” the newsletter quoted Farooq as saying.
— PTI
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For years now Kashmiri features — fair complexion and a sharp nose — have fuelled suspicions across the country. It’s a virtual profiling. That is doing more damage to the secular and democratic image of the country than any good to the fight against terrorism with which it is confronted from Mumbai to Srinagar.
