The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	FALLOUT OF BSF FIRING AT RAMBAN: NORMALCY IN JAMMU AREAS, BUT SITUATION TENSE IN VALLEY Amarnath yatra to resume today 1,500 start trek from Pahalgam and Baltal as Kashmir highway opens Ehsan Fazili/Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Srinagar/jammu, July 20 The Amarnath yatra will resume tomorrow. The movement of pilgrims from Jammu started today as 1,834 pilgrims left the Yatri Niwas base camp for Kashmir amidst tight security, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, AK Sahu said. An official spokesman stated that the yatra will resume tomorrow. “The movement of yatris has already started,” he added. Nearly, 1,500 yatris, meanwhile, started the holy trek to the cave shrine of Amarnath from the base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal in Kashmir valley today. Earlier, following improvement in the situation, the 312-km long Jammu-Srinagar national highway was also thrown open for traffic. “Up and down convoys from Jammu and Srinagar, respectively, resumed at 3:30 pm today,” said SSP National Highway Virender Kumar. Traffic is plying smoothly on the Kashmir highway, he added. Meanwhile, the situation throughout Jammu region remained peaceful today, the police said. Earlier, a batch of 1,061 yatris, in a convoy of vehicles, was stopped at Patnitop on the highway on Thursday soon after trouble began in Ramban. This batch of pilgrims reached Kashmir late on Thursday night. A number of yatris are arriving here by air or through private transport. However, the number of pilgrims has been on the decline in view of the situation as most of the yatris with a valid registration for these specific dates, have not been able to arrive in the Valley. At least 998 pilgrims left the base camp of Nunwan in Pahalgam today, while 500 others left the Baltal base camp at Sonmarg in Ganderbal. The total number is far less than 4,650 yatris who left the base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal for the holy trek to the cave shrine yesterday. Shops remained open and traffic plied normally in Kishtwar, Doda, Udhampur, Poonch, Kathua, Samba and Jammu, the police said. Some shops of a particular community remained closed in Rajouri but traffic plied normally. Shops remained closed in Banihal, Dharam and Gool in Ramban. At Mahore of Reasi, shops remained partially closed while in Poonch shops were open and traffic plied normally, the police said. In Kishtwar and Doda, no bandh was observed and shops remained open while traffic plied normally, the police said.
	Bid to set CRPF camp ablaze foiled at Qazigund Suhail A Shah Anantnag, July 20 Protesters in Qazigund tried to torch a CRPF camp after 13 persons were injured in police firing on Friday. A minister’s cavalcade was also stoned by the protesters in Somboora area of Pampore. “A part of the camp was also set on fire by the protesters; however, no major damage was reported and the fire was immediately brought under control,” a senior police official said. According to reports, a large number of people from the adjoining villages had assembled at Qazigund Chowk to protest against the killing of four persons by the Border Security Force at Gool in Ramban. “The protesters were marching towards the Qazigund Chowk peacefully,” eyewitnesses said. “The police blocked their way and fired on them injuring at least 13 persons,” they added. Reports said as soon as news of the firing spread, people came out in even larger numbers and tried to set a CRPF camp ablaze in the vicinity of Qazigund police station. “Dozens were injured while the police and the CRPF used force to disperse the protesters,” sources said. “While many of them had minor injuries, some had to be shifted to different hospitals for treatment,” they said. Meanwhile, protesters threw stones at the cavalcade of Minister for Social Welfare, Sakina Itoo at Somboora of Pampore, in Pulwama. The minister’s guards had to fire several rounds in the air to disperse the crowd. Clashes were reported throughout the day on Saturday from many parts of the South Kashmir region even as the authorities imposed severe restrictions to curb the movement of the residents. The police and the CRPF personnel were deployed in full force across the main towns of South Kashmir and residents remained confined to their homes. Shutdown in Kargil Srinagar: A shutdown was observed at Kargil in Ladakh region against the killing of four civilians by the BSF personnel in Ramban recently. The shutdown was observed on a call given by Anjuman Jamiyat Ullama. All business establishments, private and government offices and educational institutes remained closed in the district today.
	Rights body wants Centre to probe Ramban killings Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 20 The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Centre to appointment an “independent commission” to investigate the killings of civilians in Ramban allegedly by the Border Security Force (BSF). In a statement, the rights body has demanded prosecution of the BSF personnel if the “illegal use of force” by them is established through such an investigation. Four civilians were killed and over 40 were injured at Dharam area of Ramban on July 19 when the BSF personnel fired upon a mob protesting against the BSF. The statement added that an independent enquiry was necessary because of the unclear circumstances leading to the killing of the four civilians. Meenakshi Ganguli, the South Asia director of HRW, said, “Any finding of illegal use of force by the BSF troops should result in prosecutions. Too often, the BSF’s version of events is simply accepted, allowing killing after killing, for which no one is held to account,” she alleged. The Union Home Ministry has already ordered a probe into the firing incident in Ramban district. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had promised that “any excessive use of force will be dealt with strictly.” The HRW said the Centre has “failed to prosecute” BSF personnel responsible for “serious abuses”. The rights body has also urged the government to end the “longstanding impunity of the BSF for large number of killings over many years”. “Inquiries by National Human Rights Commission receive a standard response that fatalities occurred when troops had to fire in self defence,” the statement added. The rights body has also urged the “organisers of protests” to take steps to “deter supporters from engaging in violence, including attacks on the law enforcement officers”.
	First bullet came from behind the mob, says injured BSF guard Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, July 20 A BSF guard, who sustained serious injury in his stomach during a clash with protesters at Ramban on Thursday, has claimed that the first bullet was fired from behind the nearly 1,000-strong mob, which hit him. He was airlifted from COB Dharam on the morning of July 18 and hospitalised in the intensive care unit of the Government Medical College and Hospital. Ram Hari, 30, who belongs to Ferozabad in UP, said, “The mob threw stones at our camp and some anti-social elements among them also opened fire, forcing us to hide inside the camp. They even entered the camp.” He said after unseemly fracas with a man on the night of July 17 with a BSF patrol, a strong mob had descended on COB Dharam at 6.30 am on July 18. “They ransacked our post, torched vehicles and threw stones. They had encircled the entire camp. The first bullet had come from the mob that hit me in the stomach,” he said. “I was told that the mob did not even allow the ambulance to take me to hospital. Had I not been airlifted to Jammu, I would have died,” he said. BSF, Jammu Frontier, IG, Rajeev Krishna, said the BSF and the police acted in self-defence.
	Acid attack victim still awaits relief Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, July 20 Even after the Supreme Court order that made medical expenditure and rehabilitation of the acid attack victims a duty of the state governments, an 18-year-old acid attack victim, belonging to a penury-ridden Dalit family from RS Pura subdivision here, awaits ex gratia from the state government. A disgruntled Special Police Officer Sanjeev Kumar had thrown acid on Ruman Lata on May 26 last year because she had spurned his immoral advances. Ruman, who suffered severe burn injuries on her face and arm in the attack, is upset over the raw deal meted out to her by the Jammu and Kashmir government. “A girl from Hyderpora in Srinagar also became a victim of acid attack on January 2. She was airlifted from Srinagar to Delhi the very next day for treatment. Besides, she was also given a job with the state Department of School Education on compassionate grounds. She was also given ~8 lakh for her treatment. In my case, only ~50,000 were given,” she said. On July 18, the Supreme Court directed all states to pay acid attack victims Rs 3 lakh for medical treatment and Rs 1 lakh for aftercare rehabilitation within 15 days of the incident. “The acid attack on me has ruined my family and it seems there is no one in the government to help us,” she said. So far, the penury-ridden family has spent Rs 1.75 lakh on Ruman’s treatment in Delhi. “My father has been borrowing money for my treatment from our relatives and friends,” she said. Ruman also lamented that RS Pura MLA Gharu Ram Bhagat did nothing substantial for her. “He had promised help to my father but not a penny has been given to us so far,” she rued. The MLA claimed that he had taken up the victim’s case with the state government.
	Mehbooba deplores curfew Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 20 Strongly disapproving imposition of curfew and use of force against protesters, the Peoples Democratic Party today said the government was punishing the people for its own incompetence and atrocities. In a statement, party president Mehbooba Mufti said use of force against peaceful protesters had become a standard practise of the government. Mehbooba said the state government and its political leadership had completely abdicated its responsibilities and the charge of silencing the people was given to the police. “There is no use of government in the state if it is the police that has to control the people," she said. “Instead of taking note of the sentiments of the people in the wake of the Ramban incident, the Chief Minister has intervened only to correct the casualty number,” added Mehbooba.
	State govt in quandary after PCI's rider on power tariff collection Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, July 20 The ruling National Conference-Congress coalition is in a fix after the Planning Commission of India (PCI) put a rider on the state to collect Rs 2,840 crore from power tariff for expending on development activities in the current fiscal. The worries of the state government can be gauged from the fact that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, during the recent District Development Board meeting for Jammu district, had admitted that placing of such conditions made the situation more difficult for his government. According to the official statistics, more than 7 lakh, barring illegal connections, out of the total 13.81 lakh registered electricity connections, were yet to get electronic meters in the state. Against 13, 81,306 registered consumers, at least 6, 68,589 consumer connections had been provided meters. Only 79,453 electronic meters were installed in the last financial year. A senior PDD official said the installation of the electronic meters was started in 2004-05, but the successive regimes had failed to complete the e-metering project till date. “The Planning Commission of India has expressed displeasure over the performance of the state Power Development Department vis-à-vis revenue collection from power tariff. Until the government expedites the process of installation of electronic meters, it would be a challenging job for the government to meet the revenue collection target fixed by the commission,” the official said. He said the department spent around Rs 4,000 crore on the purchase of power during the last financial year. “The power deficit stood at around Rs 2,500 crore last year as the electricity department collected just Rs 1,415.64 crore as tariff from the consumers. The government will have to take some drastic steps to make the revenue collection process more effective in the wake of the fresh conditions put by the Planning Commission,” the official said. The Planning Commission of India had recently sliced the annual plan projected by the state government. It had approved Rs 7,300 crore for Jammu and Kashmir for the current financial year which was Rs 700 crore less than the projection made by the state. This was for the first time that the state failed to get any step-up in the annual plan allocation. The state had projected 10 per cent step-up over the last year annual plan size of Rs 7,300 crore. The power department had spent Rs 3,703 crore on the purchase of power during the financial year 2011-12. The government had suffered power deficit of whopping Rs 2,530 crore for the period as the electricity department had collected just Rs 1014.56 crore as power tariff from the consumers. The 18th Electric Power Survey report published by the Ministry of Power, the Government of India, said Jammu and Kashmir would have a peak load of 4,217 MW in 2021-22 with an energy requirement of 21,884 MUs. Against this, only 759 MWs electricity is presently being generated from the state-run power projects across Jammu and Kashmir.
	Governor reviews arrangements for Regional Science Congress Event will be held at Kashmir University in September Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 20 Arrangements for the 101st Indian Science Congress on ‘Innovations in science and technology for inclusive development’, which is scheduled to be held at the University of Jammu in February next year, were discussed at a meeting under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra here today. President of the Indian Science Congress Association RC Sobti said the Regional Science Congress, preparatory of the Indian Science Congress, would be held at Kashmir University in Srinagar in the last week of September. Over 100 scientists will participate in the event. The Vice-Chancellors of all nine universities of the state, Director, SKIMS, Srinagar, Director, IIIM, Jammu, Director, NIT, Srinagar, principals of medical colleges at Jammu and Srinagar, Principal of the College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu, and Director, Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar, attended the meeting. The Governor impressed upon the Vice-Chancellors and the heads of various of the institutions to join hands for organising the mega scientific event in a befitting manner. He said the event was important because it was being held for the first time in the state. The event would provide a historical opportunity to the students and scientists to display their talent and scientific skills, he said. Vohra emphasised the need for encouraging scientists at various universities of the state for presenting their papers and participating in the working sessions of the Science Congress. He also exhorted the Vice-Chancellors of the two state agriculture universities to identify themes that were specific to Jammu and Kashmir. He observed that climate change and global warming could be among the areas of focus of the Science Congress. Sobti said more than 10,000 scientists, including a large number of top scientists from the country and outside, were likely to participate in the101st Indian Science Congress. He said the main activities of the event would comprise inaugural ceremony, 14 parallel sessions on identified themes, science communicators’ meet, women science congress, children science congress, science exhibition, book exhibition and valedictory function.
	After militancy hit his livelihood, he made pickle-making his preserve M Aamir Khan Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 20 Name any fruit or vegetable and he will present before you pickles made from it. From cherry to lotus stem and also several non-vegetarian varieties, Haji Ghulam Qadir Senoo (66) has been selling nearly 100 varieties of pickles at his Habba Kadal shop in downtown Srinagar for more than two decades now. “I sell around 100 kg of pickles daily on an average and one can find pickles of every vegetable and meat item at my shop. The maximum sale is done in winter and also during Ramadan,” says Senoo, popularly known as the “pickle man”. Senoo, who was in transport business earlier, started selling pickles in 1992. He switched to pickle business after the eruption of militancy in the state hit hard his previous business. Apart from tickling the taste buds, Senoo claims his pickles have got medicinal value as well. “I use around 10 to 20 masala varieties while making pickles that include those that help digestion… that is why pickles are more popular in the fasting month. Bitter gourd pickle that I sell is good for the diabetic and garlic pickle is good for blood pressure and cholesterol patients,” he said. As per Senoo, his pickle varieties are exported to other parts of the country as well and also Bangladesh while Kashmiris living abroad too get pickles packed from his shop. He also has a regular clientele of pickle sellers from other parts of the summer capital and outside. The mixed vegetable pickles sell at Rs 100 per kg, while fish and chicken pickles cost Rs 400 per kg. Tanveer Ahmad, a pickle seller at Pantha Chowk on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, said he had been buying pickles from Habba Kadal for the last 15 years. “He makes the best pickles in Kashmir and I have buying it for the last 15 years… it is in great demand at Pampore and nearby places,” he said. Another pickle seller at Hazratbal, Rafiq Ahmad, said he too had been selling Senoo’s pickles for several years. “I tried others but my customers forced me to come back and take pickles from here,” he added. Senoo said he received training in basic pickle-making at Ahmedabad in Gujarat but developed indigenous and other pickle varieties himself. Besides the regular varieties, Senoo’s shop is also well known for apricot, grape and knol pickles.