Srinagar, May 21
A rally to mark the anniversary of killing of two moderate separatist leaders failed to take off as the top leadership of the moderate Hurriyat faction was placed under detention while the region remained shut on Tuesday.

The rally was scheduled to take place at Eid Gah ground in the old city here.

A spokesman for the moderate Hurriyat faction said most of its top leadership had been placed under detention. The moderate Hurriyat group had earlier this month called for a Valley-wide shutdown and a rally at Eid Gah ground to mark the anniversaries of the killing of the two separatist leaders.

The separatist group’s spokesman said moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was among those detained. Other separatist leaders detained by police include Maulana Abbas Ansari, Aga Syed Hassan, Maulana Masroor Ansari, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and Shahid-ul-Islam, the spokesman said.

The shutdown called by the group led to closing of markets, commercial centres, schools and colleges in the district here.

Passenger traffic across the city, on inter-district routes and in most towns of the region was affected by the shutdown while private cars were plying on some routes.

Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, an influential cleric and a moderate separatist, was killed by three gunmen who barged into his Srinagar residence on May 21 in 1990. The killing was suspected to have been ordered by militant “commander” Abdullah Bangroo.

In 2002, when separatists were holding a rally to mark the anniversary of the killing of Mirwaiz, two gunmen shot dead another moderate separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone at Eid Gah ground.

While the state government says the killers were militants, most in the separatist camp blame it on “unidentified gunmen”.

Srinagar, May 21
The revenue employees who were on strike from April 7 resumed their duties after the state government accepted their demands on Tuesday.

“We had suspended our strike on Monday evening for three days after the assurance that the government would address our genuine grievances. Now that a government order has been issued which addresses our demands, we have called off our indefinite strike,” said the provincial president of J&K Patwar association, Mohammad Yaseen.

An official spokesman in Srinagar said the state cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah approved the “unification in the pay scale of patwaris”.

“The cabinet approved unification in the pay scale of patwaris notionally with effect from December 15, 2005 and monetarily from February 22, 2008,” the spokesman said.

Over 3,000 Patwaris and Girdawars of the state were on an indefinite strike that had begun on April 7. The Patwaris were demanding removal of pay anomalies and also seeking a ban on direct recruitment for the posts of Naib Tehsildar. The strike of revenue employees had badly hit the functioning of the department and the worst sufferers were the local residents who had applied for ration cards, state subject and category certificates.

“It is a huge relief to all of us,” said local resident Mohammad Maqbool. “Processing for the state subject certificate of my child can now progress,” he added.

Srinagar, May 21
The police on Tuesday said it had found two bodies including one of an unidentified man in central Kashmir while two women attempted to end their lives in other parts of the region.

The body of a man, who was later identified as Ali Mohammad Parray (55) of Wayil village of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, was found from Padshahi stream near Nuner in the district, a police spokesman said.

“As per the relatives of the deceased, he was mentally ill and was missing since May 11,” the spokesman said, adding that his body had been handed over to his family. On the city’s outskirts here, the police found an unidentified body of a 33-year-old man near Shalimar Ghat, the spokesman said.

In Anantnag district, a 26-year-old woman consumed poison at her home in Tulkhan village. She was admitted in a hospital where she is being treated.

In north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, a 23-year-old woman, a resident of Chandigam village near Lolab, consumed poison at her home, the spokesman said. She was admitted in Sub-District Hospital, where she was treated.

Srinagar, May 21
The police on Tuesday arrested the head of a religious seminary on charges of raping four minors in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

A senior police officer said Gulzar Ahmad Bhat of Litter Chadoor village, who headed the seminary in Budgam district, has been arrested.

Bhat was arrested after the police received a joint complaint from four minor girls that they were sexually exploited during their stay at the seminary.

The police registered a case under Section 376 of RPC and initiated an investigation.

The statement of the girls was recorded before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Budgam which corroborated the complaint, police said.

Medical examination of the girls, who are from different parts of the Valley, has been conducted.

A police spokesman said an investigation is on.

During the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the seminary, operating for the last several years, provided boarding and lodging to students.

Bhat used to widely publicise himself in local newspapers as having achieved mystical intuitive knowledge of spiritual truth.

Anantnag, May 21
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said Jammu and Kashmir had the second cheapest power tariff in the country, second only to Sikkim.

“Our state sells power to the consumers on rates lower than what the state purchases it for,” Omar said, while talking to mediapersons.

He was answering a question regarding the hike in power tariffs. “Despite the poor economic condition of the state, we are providing an annual subsidy of Rs 1,000 crore on power supply. Moreover, inflation is another factor that has forced a hike in the power tariff.”

When asked about the slow progress of work on various projects across the state, he said the state government was facing acute shortage of funds.

“The yearly plan is yet to get an approval from the Planning Commission in New Delhi. The state government has made an interim arrangement of funds so that the projects do not suffer,” he added.

Omar said the government was making sure the work did not stop on any of the projects. However, unless the yearly plan got a nod from the Centre, a delay in completion of the projects was inevitable.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister inaugurated the mini secretariat-cum-Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kulgam.

Constructed at a cost of over Rs 29.47 crore, the new mini secretariat has three blocks with 193 rooms, which will accommodate 29 government offices.

In the central block of the building, 41 rooms will be occupied by the District Development Commissioner’s establishment, while

other district offices will be located in eastern and western blocks.

Chief Minister, expressing satisfaction over the completion of the mini secretariat, said “I hope that a better work place will also upgrade the work output of the district offices.”

He said having various offices at one place would surely be a relief for the general public also.

Srinagar, May 21
In a significant step to electronically preserve the state’s cultural treasure trove, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture & Languages

has started digitisation of its rich collection of manuscripts, paintings, miniatures, calligraphy specimen, facsimiles and photographs today.

To begin with, the digitisation work was started at Srinagar where the bulk of manuscripts and calligraphy specimen are stored, an official spokesman said.

Later, collections available at the Jammu and Leh offices of the academy would be taken up for digitisation at the respective places. The digitised material would be subsequently put on the academy’s website for worldwide viewing.

The digitisation work began with electronic preservation of copy of 12th century Holy Quran calligraphed by Fateh Ullah Al-Kashmiri.

Academy secretary Khalid Bashir Ahmad, who launched the digitisation project, said the need to electronically preserve the precious collection was being felt for long and he was happy that the work had now started. He said the project would be completed in six months at all the three places.

Describing the collection as rich and very significant, Khalid said it depicts the region’s cultural history spread over centuries. He said among the manuscripts, there are hand-written copies of the holy Quran dating back to several centuries. He said the subjects of the manuscripts are as varied as religion, history, logic, astronomy, mathematics, travel, jurisprudence, calligraphy, music, biography, politics and sociology.

Likewise, the Secretary said the paintings section includes works of greats like MF Hussain, SN Bendre, Subramanyam, Laxman Pai and Sanyal, besides prominent artists of the state including GR Santosh, SN Bhat and others. The academy has a rich collection of samples of world famous Basohli miniatures, outstanding specimen of Arabic, Persian and Urdu calligraphy and old photographs and facsimiles that would also be electronically preserved for posterity.

The academy has engaged M/s Kinsey Bros, New Delhi to do the digitisation work following approval by the Chief Minister who is the president of the academy.

Srinagar, May 21
Several functions were held by Congress leaders here today to remember former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 22nd death anniversary.

The J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) held a meeting at the party headquarters at Maulana Azad Road, where PHE minister Sham Lal Sharma was the chief guest. Sharma said the sacrifice of Rajiv would always be remembered and the best way to pay him tribute was to “follow his footsteps and work for the poor and needy people”.

Senior Congress leaders, including the JKPCC senior vice-president Mohammad Muzaffar Parray and vice-president Gulam Nabi Monga were present on the occasion.

Addressing a one-day convention of Congress workers at Anantnag in south Kashmir, Minister for Haj, Auqaf and Floriculture Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed urged the party cadre to follow the path shown by Rajiv and adopt his ideals in their life. “Following the principles of the late leader will be the best homage to him,” he said.

Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services and Sports Taj Mohi-ud-Din addressed a function organised by the J&K Congress Seva Dal here. He described Rajiv as the “architect of modern India”.

President of the Democratic Party Nationalist (DPN) and Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir also paid tributes to Rajiv. Mir said the former PM had laid his life to uphold the democratic values, unity and integrity of India. He added that his vision to strengthen the country’s economy was pivotal to India’s growth and development.

Srinagar, May 21
A meeting was held in Ganderbal district today to review the arrangements for celebrating Mela Kheer Bhawani at Tullamulla on June 17.

An official said the meeting was chaired by Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal and was attended by the officials of various departments, including Public Health Engineering (PHE), Power Development Department (PDD), Police, Education, Municipal, Tourism, Medical, Fire and Emergency Services.

“Threadbare discussions were held pertaining to establishment of medical camps, sanitation and availability of essentials, traffic management plan and drinking water facilities during the mela and Urs-i-Baba Nagri, Wangat,” the official added.

Srinagar, May 21
Managing Director of the Police Housing Corporation (PHC) Dilbagh Singh and President of the Women’s Welfare Trust, Srinagar, Dr Girija Dhar called on Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhawan here today.

An official said Singh briefed Vohra about the various infrastructure development projects being executed by the PHC.

While lauding the good work being done by the PHC, the Governor urged Singh to ensure quality control and completion of all projects within the envisaged time frame. He also stressed the need to keep environmental concerns in view and to provide for solar energy and rain water harvesting in all housing colonies and commercial complexes.

Dhar briefed the Governor about the activities of the trust and thanked him for supporting its endeavours to revive the two schools run by it.

The Governor complimented Dhar and her colleagues for their commitment towards the promotion of education of the girl child by reviving and running two schools in Srinagar which have a historical background. He assured Dhar of support to the trust.

Srinagar, May 21
The J&K state Srinagar chapter of Indian Association of Adolescent Health (IAAH) was established during its first meeting at Government Medical College, Srinagar. The meeting was chaired by Prof JV Singh of King George Medical University, Lucknow, while Prof Jugal Kishore of Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, moderated it.

The office-bearers of J&K Srinagar chapter of IAAH include Prof Sufoora Bilques as president, Dr M Rafiq Mir as vice-president, Dr Anjum Bashir Fazili as general secretary, Dr S Muhammad Salim Khan as joint secretary, Dr Muhammad Iqbal Pandit as treasurer while the executive members include Dr Khurshid Ahmad Qureshi, Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Bhat, Dr Inaam-ul-Haq, Dr Yasmeen Jan and Dr Qurat-ul-Ain.

“The chapter will coordinate with directorates of health services, school education, higher education and social welfare, NGOs, schools, colleges, psychologists and sociologists,” a spokesman for the IAAH said.

The J&K Chapter will organise CMEs, screening camps and awareness programmes for adolescent population in coming times.

Srinagar, May 21
Around 40 participants from across the country will take part in a 10-day workshop on Research Methodology that was inaugurated at the University of Kashmir (KU) today, a University spokesman said.

Dignitaries at the ten-day workshop on Research Methodology, inaugurated at the University of Kashmir campus on Tuesday. A Tribune Photograph

The workshop is being organised by KU’s Department of Sociology, in collaboration with Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

The inaugural session was attendant by scholars of various disciplines of science and social sciences from various states, including Srinagar. Eminent social scientist and former Dean, Faculty of Education, Prof AG Madhosh, Prof MA Wani, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Head, Department of Sociology, KU and Course Director, Prof Bashir Ahmad Dabla were present on the occasion.

In his presidential address, Vice-Chancellor of University of Kashmir, Prof Talat Ahmad said, “Researchers should provide a comprehensive outlook about the topics they have chosen. Their thesis should be based on statistical methods of research which enable them to make it objective and widely accepted.”

In his inaugural address, Prof AG Madhosh, chief guest of the occasion, said scholars should conduct their studies on contemporary issues to help move society forward. “Universities have a pivotal role to play in the society. They should become the torch bearers. Scholars have a duty towards their society and by doing research on contemporary issues the can help to make the society better,” he said.