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Man held for rape bid on cousin
Government employees to resume protests today; lockout tomorrow
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SMC’s anti-footpath encroachment drive loses steam
People walk along a footpath full of encroachments in Srinagar. Tribune photo: Yawar Kabli
Election notification for choosing new Bar Executive body issued
GB Pant Hospital
infants’ death case
PDP sloganeering to fool people, says CM
Rs 8-cr tourism project on anvil for Gurez, Tulail: Minister
Rafters in action during a tourism festival in Gurez on Tuesday. A
Tribune photograph
Shopian shut for 5th day
Hindu society appeals for peace
Pampore observes shutdown to mourn cardiologist’s death
Shops remained closed in south Kashmir’s Pampore town on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
Rs 3 crore worth losses in Tral cloudburst
Army Wives Welfare Assn honours ‘veer naris’
Gurmeet Kaur, regional president of Army Wives Welfare Association and wife of the General Officer Commanding, 15 Corps, felicitates Tasleema during the ‘Veer Naris Milan’ in Srinagar on Wednesday. Photo: Yawar Kabli
Pandit body cautions mainstream, separatist leaders against ‘lip sympathy
APS Srinagar celebrates Rakshabandan
GMC students, doctors protest against Egypt killings
Students and doctors of Government Medical College, Srinagar, protest against the killings in Egypt on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph Girl found hanging in Budgam Labourer killed in landslide Bear kills man in Budgam APS Domana strike double in basketball tourney
MLA Shah meets Governor
MLA Syed Bashir Ahmad Shah in a meeting with Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph Reasi Akhara win overall trophy in wrestling
meet
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Man held for rape bid on cousin
Anantnag, August 21 Reports said the girl had gone to her family’s apple orchard along with her grandparents when the incident happened. Tariq, who is the victim’s maternal cousin, allegedly took her to a secluded place in the orchard and tried to rape her. When the girl raised a hue and cry, her grandparents and some persons in nearby orchards came to her rescue. However, the accused managed to flee from the spot at that time. A source said, “The girl was rushed to Children and Maternity Hospital (MCH), Anantnag, where doctors confirmed that a rape attempt had been made on her.” People took to the streets in large numbers this morning in Bugam village and clashed with the police and CRPF personnel. They demanded that Tariq, who is in police custody, be handed over to them. “Some persons were injured during the day-long clashes,” reports said, adding that the police resorted to aerial firing and tear-smoke shelling
in their unsuccessful attempt to disperse the protesters. An FIR under Section 376 of the RPC was registered against the accused. “We have arrested the accused and further investigations have been initiated in the matter,” said a senior police official from the area. |
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Government employees to resume protests today; lockout tomorrow
Srinagar, August 21 “We do not want to make people suffer but we are being forced to take to streets in protest and call for strikes. If the government agrees to our long-pending demands, we will call off our agitation,” JCC leader Farooq Trali said. While Minster for Rural Development Ali Muhammad Sagar had yesterday urged the amalgam to enter into talks with the government and avoid "politicising" their issues, Trali said: “The JCC is apolitical and the government should desist from making such statements.” He said the JCC had rejected the recent offer of talks as the government had failed to fulfil the promises made to them during earlier rounds of dialogue. After a series of protests and strikes by the employees last year, the government had reached an agreement with the JCC, wherein the employees were assured that a decision on their demands would be announced by September 30. However, the JCC resumed protests and since then have been calling for regular strikes and demonstrations in support of their demands. JCC leader Abdul Qayoom Wani said they had given "much time" to the government for fulfilling the agreement but it had always "back-tracked from its promises". Their demands include release of arrears recommended by the sixth pay commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers in various government departments. Other demands are inclusion of five years of contractual service of the Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers in the service book and regularisation of education volunteers after seven years of service. The employees are scheduled to protest tomorrow at Sher-e-Kashmir Park here, followed by a march towards the Chief Minister’s residence. In Jammu, they will protest outside the Divisional Commissioner’s office. |
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SMC’s anti-footpath encroachment drive loses steam
Srinagar, August 21 However, months later, vendors selling fruits, dry-fruits, fish and other items have again occupied footpaths in the city regardless of the "ongoing" anti-encroachment drive. The SMC and the traffic police had initiated the anti-encroachment drive for the convenience of public. Even though the drive had met with resistance from encroachers, who asked for rehabilitation, the footpaths were relatively cleared. SMC
Commissioner GN Qasbaas today visited Karan Nagar, Lal Chowk, Hari singh High Street, Bemina, Soura and Dalgate as part of the drive. The enforcement wing demolished various unauthorised structures, including a building at Gojwara, downtown Srinagar. A makeshift stall at Malkha and a shop at Buchpora were also razed. Qasba has passed orders disallowing any private company or government department of putting up a billboard or hoarding in the city without prior
permission from the SMC authorities. The SMC also demolished "illegal" kiosks and banners, mostly by telecom companies at various places here. As per the Municipal Act and approved advertisement policy guidelines, no private company or government agency can display an "eye-catching" advertisement in public places or on their own premises. All the telecom companies and other private limited companies have been directed to do away with any such activity without obtaining permission from the Municipal Corporation to evade legal action. |
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Election notification for choosing new Bar Executive body issued
Srinagar, August 21 Stating that the annual elections of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association for electing a new Executive Body were due by August 31, the Bar, in its notification issued today, has said 782 member lawyers were found eligible to vote in the coming elections after scrutiny. “After receiving the objections and suggestions, the enrolment register was reviewed and accordingly, 782 member lawyers were found eligible to vote in the coming elections. The executive committee, presided over by Zaffar Amin Qureshi, finalised the electoral college which consists of 782 member lawyer voters”, it said, adding that “no one should be allowed to vote except the members mentioned in the voter list”. It said in order to conduct the election process in a fair, impartial, independent and transparent manner, the president, in consultation with the office-bearers and executive members, had also nominated a seven-member election commission. The other four members of the commission are Mohammad Ayoub Bhat, Mufti Ishtiyaq, Maqbool A Qadri (member secretary) and Mohammad Ashraf. Accordingly, the notification added, the incumbent Executive Body had made a ‘reference to the election commission so appointed to conduct elections of the office-bearers of the Bar, including the posts of president, vice-president, general secretary, joint secretary and treasurer by or before August 31 so that the new executive body is sworn-in in the first week of September. |
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GB Pant Hospital
infants’ death case Tribune News Service
Srinagar, August 21 In a statement issued today, DAK president Dr Nissar-ul-Hassan said Dr Chowdary's exoneration has sent shock waves across the Valley. "It has hurt the sentiments of people of Kashmir giving them a sense of defeat," he said. The inquiry commission of Bipul Pathak, Commissioner Secretary Information and Technology, has given a clean chit to Dr Javed Chaudhary, exonerating him from all the charges, including the his role in neonatal deaths and dereliction of duty. The inquiry was initiated by the government due to of high rate of infant deaths in the GB Pant Hospital. "We are surprised to see the report submitted by Commissioner/Secretary Information and Technology Department, who on flimsy grounds has given a clean chit to the doctor and exonerated him from all the charges. It is painful to know the medical education minister's endorsement of this fabricated and biased report and his vow to reinstate the doctor," the DAK president said. He alleged that the report had been "made and fabricated in the cozy office of the bureaucrat without knowing the ground situation and without even bothering to visit the paediatric hospital even once". He stated that the report was in contradiction with those of the earlier two committees of the government — one headed by Dr Showkat Zargar, director, Shere-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), and the other by Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Ramzan Chowdary — which while pointing towards the flawed system in the hospital had indicted the then Medical Superintendent. Over 3,800 infants died in the GB Pant Hospital from 2008 to August 2012. During the first eight months of 2012, infant deaths reached 636. The number of neonatal admissions between January and May in 2012 were 2,219. However, only 889 files were available in the hospital. The rest of them were missing.
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PDP sloganeering to fool people, says CM
Srinagar, August 21 Omar said this while addressing a public meeting at Ribbon Khojpora in Wachi Assembly constituency of Shopian district after inaugurating a 190-metre-long Turkwangam Bridge and after laying the foundation of a 50-metre-long bridge at Ribbon. Omar termed PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayed’s recent demand for 40 Assembly seats to resolve the Kashmir issue as a trick to grab public attention. He said, “The PDP patron never talked about resolving the Kashmir issue when he was the Home Minister of the country and the Chief Minister of the State. He claimed that during Mufti’s tenure, the process of dialogue with militant commanders and the rehabilitation plan for the return of youth from across the Line of Control, initiated by the earlier government led by Farooq Abdullah, was blocked. The PDP only knew how to flare up sentiments and exploit people by deception and false promises, he said. Accusing Mehbooba Mufti of ignoring her Watchi constituency, Omar said: “When they (PDP leaders) have absenteeism from Assembly proceedings their habit, how can they look after public issues and get these solved.” |
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Rs 8-cr tourism project on anvil for Gurez, Tulail: Minister
Srinagar, August 21 The festival saw a host of activities at various tourism spots with a focus to highlight leisure, adventure, river and eco-tourism besides art and culture of the Valley. Minister for Tourism Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Gurez was the "crown of Kashmir" and had opened new vistas of growth for the tourism industry. He said the festival was a great success and that more such events would be organised to promote tourism in the Valley. Mir said there was a need to develop the lucrative industry in the state on the European pattern. Highlighting the tourism potential in Gurez, he asked people of the area to build paying guest houses, hotels, restaurants and related infrastructure with advanced facilities so that adequate accommodation and other related facilities could be made available to tourists. "Besides creating tourist-related infrastructure facilities worth crores of rupees, the Centre has in principal agreed to provide funds to the tune of Rs 8 crore to the state government for upgradation of tourism-related infrastructure facilities in Gurez and Tulail valley," Mir said. He said the infrastructure at the Peer Baba Razdan top would also be upgraded and roadside provisions would be made on way to Gurez. He said the concerned authorities had been directed to prepare project reports in this regard for allotment of funds. |
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Shopian shut for 5th day
Srinagar, August 21 The town has been shut since Saturday, when
the hardline separatist faction of Hurriyat Conference, led by Syed Ali
Geelani, called for a bandh in the region to demand the disarmament and disbanding of
government-sponsored village defence Committees. While rest of the region returned to its normal
business activity on Sunday, Shopian continued to remain shut to protest against the alleged desecration of copies of a holy book, which the police claimed had never happened. The shutdown was called by local youth and announced via mosque loudspeakers. Since then, the Shopian town has remained
shut and the youth make announcements of the shutdown every evening for the next day and also put forward the list of demands, a local resident said. The resident said the demands included an apology from the police for barging into houses during protests and desecration of the holy book. The demand also includes release of the youths and withdrawal of cases against them. The police has already termed the allegations of desecration as “totally baseless” and a rumour and arrested two youths on the charges of spreading the rumour. A police official in the area said the situation in the town was peaceful and was slowly returning to normal. The official said the shutdown today was partial and many of the localities had resumed their daily business. Another police official said the situation would return to complete normalcy in a few days’ time. |
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Hindu society appeals for peace
Srinagar, August 21 Regretting reports of stone pelting on the migrant colony of Haal village of Pulwama district, HWSK spokesman Chunni Lal said “Kashmir is known for its centuries old communal harmony. Muslims and Pandits have always extended a helping hand to each other and nobody wants tension. We appeal to the people to maintain peace and mutual brotherhood.” Lal especially appealed to the majority community to come forward and ensure that the minorities live peacefully. He said around 70 pandit families were living at the migrant colony of Haal village. Members of a minority community in the migrant colony of Haal village in Pulwama had yesterday staged a protest against the alleged stone-pelting on their residential quarters by some unidentified miscreants on Monday. Even as nobody was injured in the incident, local MLA Syed
Bashir, besides a team comprising Minister of State for Revenue Aijaz Khan, along with senior officials of the police and district administration, had visited the Haal area separately and assured the residents that strict action would be taken against the
miscreants. — TNS |
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Pampore observes shutdown to mourn cardiologist’s death
Srinagar, August 21 The call for today’s shutdown was given by the management of a shrine body in Pampore on Sunday during the funeral procession of the cardiologist at his native Namblabal Pampore
village. Jalal (64) was critically injured in a suspected militant attack on July 18 at Namblabal
Pampore. Two of his bodyguards had died on the spot. Jalal, a former director of the Valley’s premiere hospital
Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), was shifted to Delhi on July 21 on the instance of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his family. Jalal succumbed to his injuries on Saturday at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The former SKIMS director’s death was condoled by politicians and medical fraternity. |
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Rs 3 crore worth losses in Tral cloudburst
Anantnag, August 21 Official reports said a road stretch of over 2 km had been completely washed away in the flash floods. “A Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) store, a school building and some infrastructure related to Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) schemes have been damaged,” said Shah Faisal, Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR), Pulwama. "A house belonging to Riyaz Ahmad Dar of Zoo Asthan has also been damaged in the cloudburst," he said. “In total, we have assessed the damage to be worth over Rs 3 crore,” Faisal said. Meanwhile, officials of the police, district administration and the fire department reached the area to take stock of the situation. “The administration has made sure that essential goods are supplied to affected people,” he said, adding the Pulwama Deputy Development Commissioner was personally monitoring the relief work. He said the rehabilitation work would begin soon. |
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Army Wives Welfare Assn honours ‘veer naris’
Srinagar, August 21 A defence spokesman said the aim of the interaction was to honour the veer naris and address the issues concerning them. “They were also educated on various welfare schemes for their benefit and welfare. Various counters were established by agencies like Defence Pension Disbursing Office, Pension Cell and Zila Sainik Welfare Board to address the grievances and problems of the women and to disseminate latest information on various policies of state and Central Government. Representatives of all the agencies were present at the venue and assisted the women in resolving their problems. All veer naris were also provided with medical and other facilities,” the spokesman said. Gurmeet Kaur addressed the gathering and complimented the veer naris for their over whelming response. “She also urged them to draw maximum benefit from the event as it
was organised basically to resolve their problems and to keep them abreast with the recent schemes and policies being issued by various government agencies for
their welfare,” the spokesman said. |
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Pandit body cautions mainstream, separatist leaders against ‘lip sympathy’
Srinagar, August 21 In a statement, KPSS president Sanjay K Tickoo further "cautioned" the separatist camp not to send any such person or leader to the migrant camps whose image was "tinted and are responsible for the exodus and killing of minorities in Kashmir Valley". The statement was issued two days after reports of stone pelting on the migrant camp in Haal village of Pulwama district. “KPSS does not see the Haal incident in isolation. Since Gool and Kishtwar communal violence, a number of such incidences have taken place in Kashmir, which cannot be taken for granted,” he added. Tickoo alleged that on the very night when Gool-Kishtwar communal tension had flared up, few youth had attempted to burn a
temple. — TNS
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APS Srinagar celebrates Rakshabandan
Srinagar, August 21 "It was indeed a very touching moment for the soldiers of Indian Army who are deployed in the Valley, far away from their home, to safe guard and protect our mother land," a spokesman of the school said. "The Army men were pleased when young girl students of the school tied rakhi on their wrist and the regard and love these soldiers got from the students is beyond any reward. The wonderful gesture of affection and respect, shown by the students of APS Srinagar was highly appreciated by everyone and the soldiers expressed their gratitude towards principal Sandeep Marhatta for organising the event," he added. |
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GMC students, doctors protest against Egypt killings
Srinagar, August 21 Calling for an end to the military coup and a restoration of democracy, the doctors said the whole world was with the people of Egypt. Banners carried by
the protesters read "people of Egypt, you are not alone". The doctors later spoke of the importance
of holding such a protest, saying that the world was one and together with the people of
Rabaa, Eqypt. The students later marched within the campus, chanting pro-Egypt,
pro-Morsi slogans, before dispersing peacefully. |
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The anti-footpath encroachment drive which kicked off in May this year has gradually lost steam as almost all the footpaths have been encroached again by vendors in the city. In the initial phase of the drive, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) cleared the footpaths off the encroachments, much to the relief of pedestrians.
The two-day Gurez tourism festival concluded in north Kashmir's Bandipore district today. It was organised by the Tourism Department with an aim to highlight the tourism potential of
Gurez. The festival saw a host of activities at various tourism spots with a focus to highlight leisure, adventure, river and eco-tourism besides art and culture of the Valley.
A shutdown was observed in south Kashmir’s Pampore town to mourn the death of noted cardiologist Dr Sheikh
Jalal, who died on Saturday in New Delhi. Shops and business establishments remained closed in the town, 15 km from Srinagar. Public transport, however, plied normally on the Srinagar-Jammu highway which passes through the town.
In an effort to reach out to the ‘Veer Naris’ of Kashmir Valley, a veer naris interaction, was conducted at Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre by Gurmeet Kaur, Regional President, Army Wives Welfare Association, Chinar Corps.
Students and resident doctors at Government Medical College, Srinagar, today protested against the military coup in Egypt on Tuesday and expressed their solidarity with the Egyptians who have been carrying out street protests ever since the ouster of former President Muhammad
Morsi.
development needs of his area with the Governor.
"Shah also discussed with the Governor the need to ensure efficient and timely implementation of major welfare and development schemes and programmes and other issues relating to the interests of the state," the statement added.
