Srinagar, July 15
A court in Budgam has directed the prosecution to file objections to the bail pleas of six accused in the sexual exploitation case in which fake dervish Gulzar has been charged with raping minor girls.

The six accused, including four women, are alleged to be the accomplices of the fake dervish, who was arrested in May.

“The sessions court, Budgam, has directed the prosecution to file their objections to the bail plea of the six persons,” a counsel connected with the case said, adding that the bail applications had now been put for arguments on July 17.

Gulzar Reshi, alias Syed Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, was arrested on May 21 after four minor girls accused him of raping them in the bogus religious seminary founded by him.

Currently, Gulzar is under judicial custody and the police has charged him with rape under Section 376 of the RPC in its chargesheet presented before a Judicial Magistrate in Budgam early this month.

Besides, the police has also named 12 persons as accomplices of Gulzar and has charged them under Section 109 for abetting the crime.

The accomplices of Gulzar named in the police chargesheet also include four women, whose bail applications were earlier rejected by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Budgam.

Meanwhile, the sessions court today adjourned hearing of the charges against main accused Gulzar in the sexual exploitation case till July 25.

While opposing earlier bail plea of Gulzar, which he had later withdrawn, the police in its report to the court had stated that releasing Gulzar at this stage on bail might hinder the arrest of other accused in the case.

It had further stated that Gulzar used to hypnotise his victims and would play a music player loudly in his “hujra-e-pak” (special room) so that nobody outside was able to hear the cries of the girls whom he used to rape.

'Fake' dervish Gulzar Reshi, alias Syed Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, was arrested on May 21 after four minor girls accused him of raping them in the bogus religious seminary founded by him. Gulzar used to 'hypnotise' his victims and would play a music player loudly in his "hujra-e-pak" (special room) so that nobody outside was able to hear the cries of the girls whom he used to rape

Kupwara, July 15
Residents of Chogal, Braripora Handwara, Kulangam and Tootigund villages of Handwara tehsil today held a protest against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department for its failure to supply drinking water.

The protesters said even during Ramadan, the department had failed to ensure a smooth supply of water. They raised slogans against the department and blocked the Kupwara-Handwara road near

Braripora for about three hours in the afternoon.

They said the shortage of water for the past few weeks was posing a lot of inconvenience for them. They threatened to intensify their stir if the water supply was not provided soon.

The villagers said in the absence of water supply, they were forced to fetch contaminated water from the Pohru nullah.

"The consumption of contaminated water has led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera and gastroenteritis in villages but the authorities are mute spectators to our problems," said Nasim Ahmad, a resident of Braripora.

The protesters, including women, beat empty pitchers in protest and sat on the road.

"Despite repeated pleas, the PHE officials concerned have not restored the water supply. We will intensify our protest if the water division does not restore the supply or provide us round-the-clock tanker service without further delay," said Shameema Begum, a resident of Kulangam.

They demanded that water tankers be provided to them till the supply is restored in the villages.

Another protester, Sharifa Begum, said, "We are forced to fetch contaminated water from a nearby nullah, which has led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. The water division should press water tankers at the earliest to address the problem."

Minister for Consumer Affairs Public Distribution and Transport Chowdary Mohammad Ramzan assured the protesters that their problem would be addressed at the earliest. Following his assurance, the villagers called off the protest.

A senior official of the PHE division, Handwara, said, "We will hire more tankers to ensure supply to the villages which have not been covered so far. We are working hard to ensure round-the-clock water supply to the affected villages but it will take some days."

Srinagar, July 15
A drive to check the sale of tobacco products near schools and hospital was conducted by Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) here today.

During the inspection, a team of officials led by Health Officer Rubeena Shaheen seized tobacco products, including cigarettes and gutka, from shops located near schools and hospitals.

This was the first such inspection after the district administration imposed a ban on the sale of tobacco and related products within 100 yards of hospitals in the city.

The ban came into effect from July 11 when Kashmir Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah stated that violators would be severely punished.

The statement of the SMC read that a large quantity of gutka products was seized from various shopkeepers near hospitals and schools.

Also, a large quantity of stale and unbranded eatables were destroyed during the inspection. Packets of dates without manufacturing and expiry dates were seized in bulk and destroyed on the spot.

The Health Officer issued a strict warning to the violators. She has appealed to residents to check expiry date before buying eatables and to avoid buying unpacked food items.

The raid
A large quantity of stale and unbranded eatables were destroyed and packets without manufacturing and expiry dates were seized in bulk and destroyed on the spot

Srinagar, July 15
Following protests over the death of a local youth in Mumbai, the Jammu and Kashmir Police today said it would depute a team to the business capital to get a firsthand account in this regard.

The police spokesman said the team would get in touch with the Mumbai police and other witnesses to gather details and circumstances leading to the death of Pervez Ahmad Teli”.

Teli, a resident of Qalamdanpora, Nawabazar, went missing on July 7 in Mumbai and his body was found in the business capital early on July 9.

Meanwhile, the police spokesman said the department had received a communication from the Mumbai police regarding the death of Teli.

“Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Patil has personally verified witness statements and has reported that a missing report was registered on July 8 at the Dahisar police station and during inquiry it was revealed that on July 6, the deceased had sought help and was given help by local Borivali Muslim boys. Dr Rajesh Wandara, who treated him, had asked him to go to Bhagavati Hospital for treatment. He had narrated that someone had assaulted and robbed him but he wanted to go to his cousin’s place. Pervez boarded Churchgate-bound local train that night. This matter, according to these witnesses, was not reported at any police station. Further inquiries have revealed that Pervez was found in injured condition on railway track near Elphinstone station. He was admitted to KEM hospital where he was declared dead on July 9 evening. Accidental death report no. 88/2013 is registered at the Mumbai Central Railway Police Station,” the communication from Mumbai as per the police spokesman here said.

Srinagar, July 15
Havildar Rafiq Ahmad Malik of 15 JAK LI, who scaled Mount Everest on May 20, called on Governor NN Vohra here today.

The Governor had invited Havildar Rafiq to Raj Bhawan to know his experiences about scaling the world’s highest peak. Havildar Rafiq, who belongs to village Kuchipora in Anantnag district, scaled the mountain with a group of 13 other mountaineers.

Earlier, he had climbed Mount Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, and 10 other peaks in India. Currently, he trains NCC cadets in mountaineering at Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. He was an instructor at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling.

The Governor, who has been the president of Indian Mountaineering Foundation for several years, congratulated Havildar Rafiq and expressed hoped that many young mountaineers of the state would emulate his achievement and successfully participate in various mountaineering expeditions and other adventure sports.

Kupwara, July 15
Despite the latest gadgets like sophisticated alarm clocks and cell phones having features of alarm, the centuries-old tradition of waking up people through beating of drums at the time of “sehri” is still alive especially in upper reaches of north Kashmir.

With the advent of alarm clocks and mobile phones, the drum beating tradition during Ramadan may have become irrelevant in urban areas, but the tradition is still thriving in rural areas especially in remote villages. It is not the tune of an alarm clock or cell phone waking up people for pre-dawn (sehri) meals but the high pitch sound of drum beats.

Volunteers, popularly known as “sehar khans”, move in village streets while beating drums to wake up people at “sehri”.

“Although every household in our village has at least one mobile phone but we want to keep the tradition of drum beating alive,” said Mohammad Muzaffar, a resident of remote Kodi village in Lolab valley.

“Despite the growing scare of wild animals, a group of volunteers do the noble job of drum beating on rotation basis,” he added.

Zoona Begum is happy that Kashmir's centuries-old tradition is alive and thriving.

"For some years, we could not hear the drum beats during the “sehri” time. But it is a great feeling that they are again doing this job," said Begum adding that during the holy month she wakes up only after hearing the drums.

"I am 65 years old and I remember the time when there were no watches and this was the only way that people here used to wake up in the wee hours during Ramadan. Even today, people rely on it, whether it is in the city or the village," she said.

The volunteers shout “wakt-e-saher” while beating the drums and move within the interiors of the village a few times to ensure that people in every house wake up to take pre-dawn meals.

"For the whole month, I will do this job as I have some financial issues. At the end of this month, after the Eid prayers, locals will give me some money and I will be able to celebrate Eid with my family," said Hanief. "I'm sure Allah will reward me for what I am doing in my old age," he added.

"My family members many times tried to stop me out of fear, but I never listened to them, because I knew that I am doing this job for God." said another drummer, Suhail Ahmad.

"I am not doing this job for money. I feel satisfaction and derive an inner peace from this," he added.

Srinagar, July 15
The police today foiled a seminar by hardline Hurriyat Conference by preventing the entry of participates to the residence of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, which had been chosen as the venue for the seminar.

While condemning the police action and the restrictions imposed on the movement of Geelani, Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar in a statement said the authorities could not break their resolve by resorting to such tactics.

Geelani continues to be under house arrest since March this year, when he returned had from New Delhi.

Ayaz said Hurriyat had decided to hold a seminar and a number of scholars, intellectuals, political thinkers and historians were invited to attend the seminar.

“But they (police) did not allow the invitees to reach the venue,” he said.

Ayaz added that a huge contingent of policemen was deployed at the entry of a lane leading towards the residence of Geelani and prevented mediapersons and participants from moving ahead.

“There was no law and order issue involved or apprehensions about the same, but the authorities without any reason stopped us from organising the seminar and this is for the third time that the administration has prevented us from organising the seminar,” he said, adding that the police even prevented the regular staff members of the Hurriyat from discharging their duties.

Ayaz termed the police action as an “act of frustration” by the government.

Anantnag, July 15
Jammu and Kashmir Corporate Premium League, Kashmir’s own version of the Indian Premier League, is gaining popularity with every match played.

Hundreds of people, particularly the youth, have been attending cricket matches at both the venues -- Kashmir University grounds and Government Higher Secondary School lawns in Bijbehara town. “More than 3,ooo people attended a match here,” said Talha Ashraf, a cricket enthusiast from Bijbehara town, “All the matches played here have witnessed a large number of spectators.”

The matches played at the university grounds in Srinagar too have been witnessing a steady inflow of spectators, which is rising with every match played. “I love playing at the university grounds. The atmosphere is so good with all the spectators young and filled with energy,” said Mohsin, a league player.

Players from Jammu, however, say their favourite ground is the one at Bijbehara. “I have never seen so many people attending a local cricket match in Jammu,” said a player from Jammu.

The league started after some corporate houses of the state joined hands to provide the cricketers of the state a professional platform. 12 teams are competing in the tournament, while nine teams belong to the corporate houses of Kashmir region and the rest of them are owned by Jammu-based business houses.

The players of all the 12 teams were selected after due trials.

However, some of the teams have also purchased players from outside the state too. The organisers say they are very happy with the kind of response the league has been garnering in the Kashmir region. However, according to the league norms every team will have to play at least one match at the venue in Jammu and it remains to be seen how people there receive Kashmir’s first experiment with professional cricket.

Srinagar, July 15
The 70-year-old mango orchard at Raj Bhawan, Jammu, has been rejuvenated by applying latest horticulture techniques and practices, as a result of which the trees have started bearing fruits in good quantity once again.

The Horticulture Department was asked to undertake deep pruning of nearly 350 senile plants under the guidance of scientists from the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu.

The pruning was done in different phases during 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. Many mango trees in this orchard had got affected due to dieback, stem borer and malformation and had started drying up and their fruit-bearing capacity had come down to about 5-10 per cent, besides the fruit had shrunk to miniscule size.

With successful treatment and effective management of the orchard by Kishori Lal, a retired senior horticulture technician, who is in charge of the Raj Bhawan orchard, serving on contractual basis, the fruit trees which had been deep pruned and treated during the first phase. The remainder trees are expected to start yielding fruit from the next season. The mango varieties include dussehri, malda, safeda and sandhuri. To fill existing gaps, Kishori Lal has also planted 65 high density varieties of Amarpali and D-51 in the orchard, which now has over 400 plants.

Kishori Lal has focused on organic farming and for this purpose, eight units of vermin compost have been set up in the orchard area with the support of SKUAST-Jammu.

For the first time, after over 60 years, this orchard has produced a significant crop. The Horticulture Department, at the instance of the Raj Bhawan Secretariat, auctioned some of the fruit-bearing plants this season, yielding income to the department.