|
|
|
|
|
Police begins probe as ‘Hizb’ posters appear in Baramulla
Hizb declares reward for militants involved in Haigam attack
Colleges opened with political considerations: Harsh Dev
Ammunition seized in Rajouri
|
|
|
Manhunt launched to nab graffiti suspects
on the frontline
BJP out to placate Dalits in Jammu
Pesticides linked to brain tumour cases in Valley: Experts
Tulip Garden closes with record footfalls this season
|
|
Police begins probe as ‘Hizb’ posters appear in Baramulla
Srinagar, April 28 The posters have surfaced two days after the militant outfit carried out a deadly attack in Haigam village in Baramulla district which left four policemen dead. The police said that though these posters were not genuine, it had started a probe. “These mysterious posters have only appeared in the old town of Baramulla and it seems that it is the handiwork of some notorious persons who don’t want that stone-throwers in the town should surrender before the police,” Deputy Inspector General of Police, north Kashmir Range, J P Singh told the Tribune. “But in any case we have started a probe to look into it.” The posters purportedly belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen and carrying a stern warning surfaced in the neighbouring villages of Haigam, where militants ambushed policemen on Friday afternoon. The handwritten posters of Hizb were seen pasted on walls in Kanispora and Delina villages and in Baramulla town. “We warn those boys who are working as informers for various Indian agencies. They should desist from this. Otherwise, we will take stern action against them,” reads the handwritten Urdu posters issued on the letterhead of “Hizbul Mujahideen Jammu and Kashmir”. The letterhead also carries the address of Hizb office in Muzaffarabad and Pakistan and mentions the phone number of the outfit's office in Muzaffarabad. The posters also advised clerics, parents and teachers to impart moral education to children. “Society is drifting towards waywardness, so we appeal to parents and teachers to strictly impart moral education and values to their children so that our society is redeemed and, God willing, Islamic law will be established,” it read. “We also ask parents to ensure that their children wear Islamic dresses.” The posters have also warned of stern action against boys and girls if they did not go by the Islamic way of life. “We will take action on such evils on our own,” the poster stated. Sources said after the appearance of these mysterious posters, security personnel removed them.
Sarpanch shot at by militants in Sopore
A sarpanch was shot at by suspected militants at Bomai, Sopore in Baramulla district, on Sunday evening.
The sarpanch, Ghulam Ahmad Bhat, of the ruling National Conference, was shot in his arm outside his residence at Bomai around 7.55 pm, a police officer said. The suspected militants managed to escape from the spot, taking advantage of the darkness. Bhat was rushed to sub-district hospital at Sopore. Block medical officer Syed Masood said Bhat was out of danger. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The police has launched a manhunt to nab the gunmen.
|
||
|
Hizb declares reward for militants involved in Haigam attack
Srinagar, April 28 A Hizb spokesman announced that the outfit would present a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for those who participated in the Haigam shootout. “Hizb men who participated in the Haigam encounter will be rewarded. Hizb chief has congratulated its intelligence section for keeping a strict vigil on anti-movement elements. Hizb operational commander has warned some policemen to mend their ways and not indulge in anti-movement activities,” Hizb spokesperson Baleeg-u-Deen told a local news agency, Current News Service, in a statement. This is also for the first time in recent years, since militancy receded, that any militant group has announced a cash reward for its cadres for
carrying out an insurgency operation. Search operations continued in various parts of north Kashmir against the militants responsible for the killing of the four policemen in Haigam. The police is likely to question Congress sarpanch Ghulam Ahmad Mir again whose phone call led the policemen into
the trap. Mir was released yesterday evening. He told the police that he was used by the militants who asked him to call the Potkhaw police post about the movement of “cattle thief” in the village. “Mir was released after questioning. We analysed his mobile phone data but found nothing adverse. We may call him again during investigation of the case,” said a police officer. Since the attack, the police and the Army have conducted searches in various areas, but so far no success has been made in arresting the militants involved in the attack. A search operation was also conducted today in Kaitangan and Tarzoo villages near Haigam. “We are investigating the case and have not made any substantial breakthrough,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police, north Kashmir Range, JP Singh.
Grenade hurled at police party
Suspected militants hurled a grenade and opened fire at a police party near Kanipora chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar this evening. The police said a grenade was hurled towards a police party in the area which did not explode. The suspected militants also opened fire but no one was injured. The police and the CRPF have launched a search operation in the area. |
||
|
Colleges opened with political considerations: Harsh Dev
Jammu, April 28 Former Education Minister and Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh has a reason to lambast at the government for neglecting the deserving areas and opening degree colleges in undeserving regions only due to political consideration. To substantiate his allegations, Singh mentioned the opening of two degree colleges in the Mahore and Dharmari areas of Reasi district. Both the colleges, which are functioning at a distance of just a few kilometres, have been able to enrol less than 100 students. Official documents revealed that the degree college in Mahore has only 23 students while the Dharmari college has a student strength of 76. Another degree college which is functioning in the Baghi-Dilawar Khan area of the Kashmir valley has strength of only 18 students. The degree college in Gool has strength of 80 students, Degree College Jindrah 84, Thatri 48, Kalakote 75, Vailoo Lambo 89, Mahanpur 78 and Hadipora college has strength of 67 students. Interestingly, most of the degree colleges, which has enrolment of less than 100 students, are functioning in the constituencies being represented by influential politicians. Most of the degree colleges in the state are functioning with shortage of staff. Recently, the state government has created 1,129 posts of assistant professor for various degree colleges but these posts are yet to be filled. Out of these 1,129 posts, 700 were created for the Kashmir province and 429 for the Jammu region. As the Opposition parties are creating uproar over neglecting the deserving areas, the state government has constituted a panel to identify other uncovered areas. According to an official document, “the Higher Education Department has constituted a committee to look into the feasibility, other parameters and to devise a mechanism for the establishment of degree colleges in uncovered areas of the state on modern lines. The committee has visited most of the identified areas and the decision with regard to opening of new colleges will be taken only after the submission of the feasibility report by the committee in consultation with
the Planning and Finance Department”. “It is unfortunate that the government has politicised the education sector”, Harsh Dev Singh said. He said many deserving areas
like Majalta and Chennani areas of Udhampur were ignored while sanctioning degree colleges. |
||
|
Rajouri, April 28 In another incident, a farmer, Mohammed Riyaz of Gandote, found a grenade while building a boundary wall in his field at Budhal area of Rajouri. Thanamandi SHO Shaheen Mirza said, “It’s not a militant hideout. The ammunition may belong to the Army as there was an Army post here which was vacated recently.” He also said the bomb disposal squad had been called from Bimber Gali to defuse the explosive. — OC |
||
|
Omar welcomes Vohra’s reappointment as Governor
Srinagar, April 28 In a statement issued here today, the Chief Minister, while highlighting Vohra’s role as the Governor of the state in his first term, said his advice had always been ‘fruitful and to the best interests’ of the people and the state in general. Omar expressed the hope that Vohra would continue to guide the government and be instrumental in achieving permanent peace and prosperity in the state. He extended good wishes and congratulations to Vohra for being reappointed as the Governor. Omar prayed for the Governor’s good health and well-being. Vohra was reappointed the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir for a fresh term as per a Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué issued in New Delhi yesterday. He had joined as the first civilian Governor on June 25, 2008, as his predecessors were mostly retired Army generals. |
||
|
Manhunt launched to nab graffiti suspects
Srinagar, April 28 The first such graffiti appeared on the walls of historic Hari Parbat Fort in the old city last week. “Welcome Taliban, Go India Go Back” were the words written across the wall of the fort, which incidentally has a CRPF camp guarding it. Flags of Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Toiba were also hoisted on the wall of the fort, the police said. A case has been registered and several suspects have been questioned but no arrest has been made in the case so far. Srinagar SSP Ashiq Hussain Bukhari said the graffiti was the handiwork of some miscreants. “This is an unnecessary nuisance spread by a few miscreants. They come in the dead of the night, paint a few walls and disappear,” the SSP said. Bukhari said the police was investigating the matter as the miscreants were vandalising public property and the cultural heritage of Kashmir as in the case of the fort. Similar graffiti has appeared in other parts of the city, with the latest being reported from old Barzulla, police sources said. The sources said the police had at many places painted over the graffiti but new graffiti had been making an appearance every other day. Interestingly, before the ‘Welcome Taliban’, another graffiti which read ‘JKP (Jammu and Kashmir Police), We are coming’ had appeared at several places in the city last month. The police said the graffiti had come up after several media reports suggested that Taliban might enter Kashmir after the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan next year. — PTI |
||
|
on the frontline
The National Conference and the Congress, often deemed to be inseparable allies ruling the state since January 2009, have opened their cannons against each other. The two sides leave no opportunity to gun for each other, be it on the issue of panchayat empowerment or the larger issues of governance and delivery.
This stoked Soz’s ambitions. His supporters bolstered him up and started a campaign for “rotational chief ministership” in 2010 and profiled him as the future Chief Minister of the state. When things started slipping out of hand, the National Conference turned to Azad, who was the first Congress leader to say: “Omar Abdullah is Chief Minister for six years. This is our agreement… we cannot back out of the pact.” This statement ruled out the campaign for rotational chief ministership that Soz loyalists wanted. Azad even stated that if the security situation had improved and the Chief Minister was asking for the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some of the areas, the demand should be considered. In contrast, Soz had raised a pitch against the recall of AFSPA. Nowadays, there is a proxy war going on within the Congress. Two senior ministers of the Congress, Medical Education Minister Taj Mohiuddin and Public Health Engineering Minister Sham Lal Sharma are trading charges against each other. Sham brought into the spotlight a scam in the PHE Department, the portfolio that was held by Taj before the mid-January ministerial reshuffle. A panel of the legislative council which looked into the scam substantiated some of the charges that Sham Lal had made. Taj while playing the game of one upmanship in this proxy war — backed by some elements in the National Conference — accused Sham Lal Sharma of having presided over the purchase of spurious drugs, which were supplied to Kashmir. Some doctors appealed to separatist leaders to give a strike call to protest against the spurious drugs. It surprised many that a doctor, instead of seeking the intervention of the Chief Minister, was making an appeal to Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. It was immediately understood who was using whom to what end. Sham had earned the wrath of some NC members because he had objected to the Parliament attack accused being profiled as a “hero” in the state legislative assembly. There is a procedure for the purchase of drugs in which purchase committees are formed which make purchases. The Health Minister is not a member of the panel. A probe panel has been formed to find out the truth. It is yet to submit a report. But Taj has already acted as prosecutor and jury and delivered the judgment that Sham Lal is guilty. Another twist that Taj has given is with the allegation that the spurious drugs were supplied to Kashmir, ignoring the fact that the drugs were
supplied across the state and not just to one particular region. Sham saw a design in this. He claimed that his rival faction was trying to communalise and regionalise the situation. “Communalising the situation is bad,” Sham declared. The proxy war started after the ministerial reshuffle. Is it a coincidence or otherwise. No easy answers are forthcoming. |
||
|
BJP out to placate Dalits in Jammu
Jammu, April 28 The fortnight-long campaign to connect with Dalits, which started on the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on April 14, concluded today at the border town of R S Pura. Minister for Local Government, Medical Education and Research
Department Bhagat Chunni Lal was especially invited to address the gathering. The BJP has reason to start a campaign to woo Dalits because the party has been facing criticism from the weaker sections for making its Scheduled Caste (SC) MLAs “scapegoats” in the cross-voting controversy. Out of the seven BJP MLAs expelled from the party on charges of cross-voting, three are from Scheduled Castes and it is widely alleged that they were made “scapegoats” by some Central leaders
to shield their blue-eyed boys whose role was also suspect in the whole episode. In the 2008 Legisative Assembly elections, the BJP had created history by winning three reserved constituencies from the Jammu region. Its candidates had won the R S Pura, Hiranagar and Raipur Domana
segments with huge margins. The party had successfully managed to make inroads into the reserved constituencies but the cross-voting episode has affected the party image. In legislative council elections of 2011, seven out of 11 BJP MLAs had voted in favour of Congress and National Conference candidates by violating the whip of the party. After an inquiry, the BJP had singled out seven MLAs, including three SCs, and expelled them from the party. After their expulsion, the expelled MLAs launched a counter offensive. The SC MLAs publicly stated that they were made “scapegoats” only to protect some MLAs who
have cordial relations with some senior Central leaders. It was the result of the “mishandling” of the cross-voting episode that on the one hand BJP lost credibility, while on the other hand people felt the party had not adopted a proper parameter to identify the wrong-doers. Despite the campaign to woo Dalits, the state unit of BJP has so far failed to counter the campaign launched by “dissidents” against the “loyalists”. The dissidents have succeeded in sending out the message that some
MLAs were victimised in the name of cross-voting just to protect some influential legislators. |
||
|
Pesticides linked to brain tumour cases in Valley: Experts
Srinagar, April 28 Exposure to pesticides, directly or indirectly, has caused death of bears and jackals and is also considered a reason for brain tumour in hundreds of people across Kashmir, experts say. Tonnes of at least 40 different types of pesticides which include fungicides, insecticides, acaricides, weedicides and plant-growth regulators are used each year in the region’s orchards, amounting to an annual market of more than Rs 35 crore. A study conducted by a team of neurosurgeons at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, has found that 90.04 per cent primary malignant brain tumour (also called brain cancer) patients, admitted at SKIMS over a period of four years were linked to pesticides. The results of the study which linked pesticides with brain cancer in orchardists revealed that 90.04 per cent, or 389 out of 432 patients, “were orchard farm workers, orchard residents and children (playing in orchards) exposed to high levels of multiple types of neurotoxic and carcinogenic chemicals”. It named chemicals such as chlorpyriphos, dimethoate, mancozeb and captan - all used as pesticides in the region. Mancozeb is in use for the last 30 years in the Valley, the study says. Dr Abdul Rashid Bhat, who is a key member of a team of four which conducted the study, said extreme exposure to pesticides had led to a change in the “genetic make-up” of patients. “Earlier, these patients only survived for three months. Now, with the medical and technological advancement, their survival rate has increased to several years, but many do die,” Dr Bhat said. The idea to conduct a detailed study of the malignant brain tumour cases struck Bhat when many patients told him about their association with orchards and pesticides. “The entire atmosphere in these orchards is contaminated. It is affecting their children, their women and their newborns. Their children are exposed to pesticides even before they are born,” he said. The study says 97 women, who frequently visited orchards or were part-time orchard workers, were among the brain cancer patients. “Of these, 23 pregnant women had been exposed to pesticides in their antenatal and postnatal periods and 11 were lactating mothers,” it says. The pesticides are not only harming humans in the Valley, but have already taken a toll on the wildlife, including the Himalayan black bears. At least five bears have died in recent years after consuming pesticide-sprayed fruits. “Three were found dead in south Kashmir, Tral, Shopian and Pahalgam. These are cases which have been spotted. Since the life of a bear is not monitored, we don’t know about the actual number of deaths in them,” chief wildlife vetenerarian Mansoor Ahmad Mir said. Mir said five jackals also died in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district when they had licked packets of pesticides. “It happened in winter when there is scarcity of food and wild animals make a try on everything,” he said. Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, whose ministry claims to rigourously enforce pesticide quality control measures, said they had not come across any study which had specified the diseases caused by pesticides. “Pesticides are not only used in Kashmir, but also used the world over. I don’t think it needs any comments from the Agriculture Ministry. We don’t have any study available with us which says some pesticide should not be used. If such study is available with us, we will not allow those pesticides (to be used),” the minister said. Killer Chemicals
|
||
|
Tulip Garden closes with record footfalls this season
Srinagar, April 28 Located in the foothills of the Zabarwan range near the Dal Lake here, the garden was thrown open on March 27. While the garden had put on display 102 varieties of tulips, a record number of visitors thronged it this year. “Over 1.60 lakh visitors came to the garden this season, breaking previous year’s record of 1.4 lakh,” said in charge of Tulip
Garden Javed Ahmad Shah. He said the garden had put on display 24 new varieties of tulip this season out of a total of 102. “In total, over a million flowers were displayed at the garden and we are overwhelmed by the response,” Shah added. Even though tulips can be seen in full bloom for around a month only, the garden has been credited with having extended
the tourist season in the Valley as the prime season would usually start
by April-end. Besides tourists, Shah said the garden was gradually becoming popular with locals as well. “This time more locals visited the garden as well. Earlier, they would visit Mughal Gardens only,”
he said. Apart from attracting visitors, Tulip Garden has become a hotspot for shooting crew this year. While a crew shot for television serial “Mahabharata” at
the garden on Friday, veteran Bollywood star Farooq Sheikh was spotted shooting for another serial
earlier this month. Popular stars of the Kannada film industry Aditya and Radhika too were seen shooting for a song sequence at the
garden this year. Shah said the crew members who had shot at the garden had promised that more film and TV crew would come to shoot at
the picturesque garden next year. Tulip Garden was formerly known as Siraj Bagh and it had been first opened for the public in 2008. Treat for tourists
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Rajouri, April 28
Kashmir is facing a grave threat from pesticides used widely across the region in orchards and farms, leading to fatal diseases and deaths among humans and wild animals.
Exposure to pesticides, directly or indirectly, has caused death of bears and jackals and is also considered a reason for brain tumour in hundreds of people across Kashmir, experts say.
The National Conference has Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister for six years, the Congress has important portfolios. This proxy war has a very strange genesis — first, the National Conference favoured J-K Pradesh Congress Committee president Saifuddin Soz and supported him in targeting Union Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose visits to the state in the initial days of the coalition government were seen as an “undue interference” in the affairs of the state.