Srinagar, July 16
Protests and clashes erupted in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district when the body of a 21-year-old local resident, Abid Ahmad Ganie who had died under mysterious circumstances in Rajasthan on Sunday, reached home.

Local residents took out a protest march from Larsun village, about 26-km from here, as soon as Ganie’s body reached home. The protesters alleged that Ganie was murdered.

The clashes took place when the police did not allow the protesters to march towards Ganderbal.

The police had to fire dozens of teargas shells to disperse the protesters. Sources said six protesters and two policemen were injured during the clashes. Additional deployment of the police and paramilitary personnel was sent to the area to control the situation.

The situation in the native village of Ganie remained tense throughout the day. Strict restriction on the movement of public was also imposed in the village.

Ganie was studying at Darul Uloom Faizani Madina in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city, and was found dead in the Udaipur area of Rajasthan on Sunday morning. He had left the seminary around 15 days ago. The family said Ganie’s death was suspicious.

On Sunday, Omar Abdullah’s political secretary Tanvir Sadiq had visited Larsun village to express solidarity with the Ganie family.

On Sunday, protests and clashes had triggered in Srinagar’s old city as the body of another youth, Parvaiz Ahmad Teli who had died in Mumbai, reached home.

Srinagar, July 16
Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for protests after Friday prayers against the ‘mysterious’ killing of two youths in Mumbai and Rajasthan.

“The Hurriyat Conference chairman has called for peaceful protest and demonstrations after Friday prayers against mysterious killing of two Kashmiri youths,” Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said in a statement here.

“Terming the killings a serious matter, Geelani said until the facts are not known, it is obligatory for us to raise voice against such killings,” the spokesman said.

Parvez, who hailed from Kalamdan Pora, Nawab Bazar, went missing in Mumbai on July 7.

However, his body was found in Mumbai on July 9. His death had sparked protests in Kashmir.

The body of Abid Ahmad Ganai, who was found dead under mysterious conditions in Udaipur, today reached his home in Ganderbal.

Geelani said, “Although nothing is definite with regard to the killings right now, but the administration has attributed the killings with the accident. The way kashmiri youth are treated and terrified outside the state, there is a possibility that the youths might have been subjected to torture,” he said. — TNS

Srinagar, July 16
Normalcy returned to the old city today after remaining disrupted for two days over the mysterious death of Parvaiz Ahmad Teli in Mumbai. A partial shutdown, however, continued to be observed for the third day in Teli’s native locality Nawab Bazar.

Teli, a 23-year-old resident of Qalamdanpora, Nawab Bazar, had gone missing on July 7 in Mumbai and his body was recovered on July 9. Teli’s death sparked protests and spontaneous shutdown in the various localities of the old city on Sunday when his body reached home.

Today, the traffic was back on the roads in the old city. Shopkeepers opened their shops and vendors were back with their stalls.

“There was no report of any protests and clash with the police,” said a police officer in Srinagar.

The Nawab Bazar locality, however, witnessed a partial shutdown.

The state police yesterday deputed an Additional Superintendent of Police along with another officer to verify all the facts regarding the death of Teli.

Teli died in train accident, says Mumbai police

A police spokesman said in Srinagar that they received a communication from the Deputy Commissioner of Police, West Zone Railways, Mumbai, which said Teli died in a train accident.

“On July 9, 2013, one person aged about 36 years was hit by Virar-bound train. He was attempting to cross the track from east to west near KM pole number 9/6. The injured was immediately shifted to the KEM Hospital by the Government Railway police (GRP) with the help of porters. He was declared dead on examination by the doctor. An accidental death report was registered at the Mumbai Control Railway Police Station and investigation was immediately started," he said.

"Statements of motorman Ulhas Panditrao Nandurkar and guard Mohammad Anshar Kasimali Sheikh have been recorded as they are the eyewitness. Statements of porters and GRP men who shifted him to the hospital have also been recorded along with other witnesses. Sahid Rahman Altaf and Firdous Ahmad Teli identified the body of as of Parvez Ahmad Teli, aged 36 years and resident of Kalamdanpora, Srinagar," it said.

The statement said autopsy report had been received by the investigation officer and the report stated that cause of the death was “shock and haemorrhage as a result of injuries to vital organs”.

Srinagar, July 16
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked the State Mission Authority for women empowerment to set definite goals, share programmes and make regular review a constant feature of functioning to ensure success in the stupendous task of women welfare and empowerment.

Chairing the first meeting of the authority for implementation of National Mission for Empowerment of Women of which he is the chairman, the Chief Minister said women-specific and gender-neutral activities had to be underlined in all departments to involve women participation and help their economic and holistic welfare.

“I will stress upon the functionaries of the authority to primarily address the issue of decline in female child ratio, mortality of infants and pregnant women, gender gap in education, dropouts of female students from schools and other similar matters confronting the women in the state,” he said and added that creation of economic opportunities to empower the women by realising specific targets and goals through various programmes should be another area of focus in the task of women empowerment and welfare.

The Chief Minister said it had been observed that most of the girl students leave schools for want of adequate sanitation facilities. “This is a critical area having huge impact on the continuation of education by the girls in schools,” he said.

He also underlined importance of compound walling of girl schools as an essential ingredient to ensure girls continue their studies in the secured schools.

Omar said the government had approached the Union Government for providing more women degree colleges to the state to ensure enhanced accessibility to women to pursue higher educational goals.

However, the Chief Minister Omar Abudullah emphasised on taking all measures at elementary school level to ensure reduction in dropouts.

He said creation of befitting sanitation facilities in schools was a thrust area in educational programmes of the state.

Directing for early placing of resource centre and fulltime mission director for implementation of the National Mission for Empowerment of Women, the Chief Minister Omar Abudullah said formulation of programmes, identification of areas, coordination with other departments and monitoring the status of various schemes under implementation in different departments for women empowerment, was of paramount importance and 90 per cent success of the mission would be dependent on the personal dynamism and dedication of Mission Director with a well established and functional resource centre. 

Srinagar, July 16
A large number of Kashmiri Pandits today thronged the ancient temple of Mata Katyayani at Kakran village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district where the annual ‘mahayagya’ was performed.

The second annual ‘mahyagya’ was organised by the All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC). APMCC chairman Vinod Pandit said a large number of Kashmiri Pandits along with other Hindus from other parts of the country reached Katyayani temple yesterday as the ‘mahayagya’ began last night.

He said ‘purna ahuti’ was performed today while devotees thronged the temple throughout the course of the day. He said the temple wore a festive look as the APMCC had completed the restoration and decorative work on the temple premises.

King Bharati, national spokesperson of the APMCC, said the body was working on different fronts to restore all the temples of the Kashmir Valley to their original glory.

It may be recalled that the first ‘mahayagya’ was organised at the Mata Katyayani temple last year during which ‘murti sthapna’ also took place. The temple, which had been completely damaged after the eruption of militancy in the state, was reconstructed with the efforts of the APMCC.

Srinagar, July 16
One person was killed and five others, including a CRPF jawan, were injured in different road accidents across the Kashmir valley since last evening. The police said a tipper bearing registration number JK02G/9784 on its way from Kupwara to Srinagar hit a Santro car bearing registration number JK01P/1934 at Shangergund, Sopore, on the national highway, resulting in injuries to four inmates of the car.

“The injured identified as Mushtaq Ahmad, son of Ghulam Nabi, Shameema, daughter of Ghulam Nabi Shah, Jaseem Nissa and Fatima, daughters of Nissar Ahmad, residents of Tujjr, Sopore, were shifted to the SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, for treatment where Ahmed succumbed to his injuries,” the police said.

The police has registered a case in this regard.

In another accident, a luxury coach bearing registration number GJ12AY/6622 in which Amarnath yatris were travelling and were on their way from Pahalgam to Jammu hit and injured head constable Dev Raj of 96 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the main road Mattan, Anatnag. The injured was shifted to the district hospital, Anantnag, for treatment. A case has been registered in 
this regard.

The police said a Tavera SUV bearing registration number JK03B/5801 hit and injured pedestrian Abdul Ahad Khan, a resident of Barsoo near Awantipora. The injured was shifted to the sub-district hospital, Pampore, for treatment. A case has been registered in this regard.

Anantnag, July 16
Residents of Ashajipora, Monghal and Heevan colonies on the outskirts of Anantnag town face acute shortage of drinking water even during the holy month of Ramadan. The residents said they had been facing shortage of water for quite a long time, but from the past month, the supply had been negligible.

“We have been left high and dry in this holy month without even a drop of water,” said Fayaz Ahmad, a local resident. “People either fetch water from the nearby Jhelum river or wait throughout the night to fill a bucket of water to drink,” he said.

He said people of the area had been pleading with the authorities to take cognisance of their woes, but the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department seemed to be in a deep slumber.

“The day before yesterday, we had blocked the road to Dialgam for about two hours while protesting against the apathy shown by the PHE officials,” said Arif Saleem, another resident of the area.

He said to pacify the protesters, the PHE sent a water tanker to their area. “We were promised that the tanker will make at least one round of the area everyday so that people don’t suffer in the holy month but the tanker never returned,” he added.

The residents rued that while the water supply pipes had been upgraded throughout the Anantnag town, their area had been left out of the up gradation process.

“There has been a substantial increase in the population in our area but the water supply pipes and other infrastructure remains the same,” said Fayaz Ahmad, “Moreover, the department does not even bother to repair the pipes that have been damaged.”

Officials of the PHE department maintained that they had taken cognisance of the matter and water supply to the area would be restored soon.

“Meanwhile, we will be regularly sending water tankers to the area,” said a senior PHE official.

Srinagar, July 16
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today reviewed the functioning of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil at a high-level meeting here in which Chief Executive Councillors Kachu Ahmad Ali and Rigzin Sapalbar and various executive councillors also participated, a statement said here.

Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Urban Development, Qamar Ali Akhoon, Advisor to the Chief Minister, Feroz Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Science and Technology, B R Sharma, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, B B Vyas, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Home, A K Mehta, Principal Secretary, PDD, Mushtaq Ahmad, Commissioner Secretary, GAD, and other senior officers were present at the meeting.

During the meeting, matters pertaining to the creation of staff for Council Secretariats, powers of Chief Executive Councillors, administrative matters, grant of divisional status to Ladakh for creation of Police Range, operationalisation of the recently created sub-transmission division of PDD, approval of projects for strengthening of transmission lines, placing of private secretaries, special assistance, PROs and PAs, enhancement of Plan allocation and pensionery benefits to the chairman/CEC and councillors were discussed in detail.

The Hill Development Council Members expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for enhancing the financial powers of the Chief Executive Councillors and helping in the faster development of the region.

The other executive councillors of the Hill Development Councils present in the meeting were Aga Syed Qazmi, Ghulam Rasool Naqviand Haji Ghulam Amir.

Handwara, July 16
For the second consecutive day on Tuesday, residents of Wadipora, Langate, Braripora, Batpora, Handwara and Surmarg protested against shortage of drinking water in their

villages. They blocked Handwara-Rajwar road at Wadipora for several

hours. They raised slogans against Public Health Engineering (PHE) department for its failure to supply the drinking water during holy month of Ramadan.

They said they were suffering immensely due to shortage of water for the past few weeks. They threatened to intensify protests if the water supply was not restored at the earliest.

They said in the absence of drinking water, they were forced to fetch contaminated water from a nearby nullah. "The consumption of contaminated water has led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases like cholera and gastroenteritis and the authorities are indifferent in solving the problem," said Mohd Shafi from Wadipora. The women beat the empty pitchers in protest and raised slogans against the department.

A woman protester from Batpora said, “We will be forced to intensify protests, if the water division did not restore supply tanker service on daily basis. Repeated pleas to the concerned PHE division to restore the water supply continue to fall on deaf ears.”

The locals demanded that round the clock tanker service should be provided during the month of Ramadan. "Only two tankers are providing water and many households fail to get even a single bucket of water. The department should press at least three more tankers into service,” said Ashiq Hussian from Surmarg.

MLA Handwara Chowdary Mohammad Ramzan said he has issued orders to the water division to ensure round the clock water supply especially during Ramadan. "I visited 10 villages including Villgam and Kandi block. People are suffering for want of water and I have asked PHE division to ensure supply of water.”

Executive Engineer, PHE division, Handwara, Mohd Afzal said, “We will press more tankers to ensure sufficient supply to the villages without any curtailment.”

Srinagar, July 16
Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment, Mian Altaf has asked officers of the wildlife department to take necessary safety measures to prevent attacks by wild animals on people.

The minister was taking stock of the recent incidents of man-animal conflict that occurred in north Kashmir, particularly at Hail, Hareshnar, Dowlatabad and Kharchar areas in Sangrama Baramulla district, during a meeting.

Sangrama MLA Syed Basharat Bukhari, Chief Wildlife Warden A K Singh and other senior officers of the Forest Department were present on the occasion.

“The department is monitoring the situation closely and all necessary measures have been taken to check these incidents. The department has taken the services of local hunters for the purpose while combing operation is going on in the affected areas,” an official spokesman said.

“Ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh stands disbursed among four families who have lost their family members in the recent incidents under the jurisdictions of the Forest Circle, North,” he said.

Srinagar, July 16
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today said the capital city had witnessed a total reversal of planned development process under the present dispensation and it had been left to the whims and political priorities of a few ruling politicians.

In a statement, PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said the National Conference (NC) had historically curtailed the development vision of the residents of Srinagar through their emotional exploitation which has reduced the once most glorious habitation of the region to an urban disaster.

“Even though cities and towns throughout the country benefited from the JNNURM for upgrading civic amenities especially the drainage and sewerage system, Srinagar has failed to even make a beginning as a result of the inefficiency and lack of political direction. Even the projects, which could have contributed to the sanitation system of the city, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been derailed,” Akther said.

“Most of the roads, especially in the northern part, have been ripped open for construction of drains and have been in that condition for the past many years. Many people have suffered injuries and some people have even migrated from those areas because of the government’s inability to complete these projects in these areas,” he said.

On the other hand, Akhtar said in most of the other areas the schemes were not even taken in hand as a result the human waste and stagnant water have created a noxious mix which is resulting in stink and disease.

The PDP spokesman demanded the chemical examination of the water coming out of the sewage treatment plants (STPs) as there are reports that none of these is working up to the desired standard.

Srinagar, July 16
A deputation of Bar Association, Anantnag, led by its president FA Saudagar today called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and discussed various matters relating to the Bar and welfare of its members, a statement said here today.

The deputation brought to his notice the paucity of space in the District Court Complex, Anantnag and the difficulties faced by the advocates for want of adequate chambers.

The deputation demanded transfer of vacant old police complex to the Judiciary so that the problem on account of space and accommodation could be solved, it added.

The Chief Minister gave patient hearing and directed his Principal Secretary to get the matter 
examined.“The president and members of the delegation invite the Chief Minister to visit Anantnag Bar.The president said Anantnag Bar is the third largest Bar in the state with over 450 members”.The Chief Minister while accepting the invititation, told the lawyers that he will visit Anantnag Bar after Ramadan.