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Post-truce violations, sweets diplomacy takes off partly
Amid protests, Durbar reopens in Jammu
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Rahul to arrive in Jammu tomorrow
Cong all out to make Rahul’s panchayat meet a success
HC: Set up SIT to probe disappearance of youth
Chief Minister given guard of honour
Governor’s secretariat starts functioning in Jammu
Fire breaks out in secretariat, employees douse flames
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Post-truce violations, sweets diplomacy takes off partly
Jammu/Poonch, November 4 The BSF and the Pakistan Rangers exchanged sweets at the octroi border outpost in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district yesterday but no such pleasantries took place at Chakan da Bagh on the LoC in Poonch district. “Yes, we exchanged sweets with the Rangers at the octroi post around 11 am yesterday to mark the festival of Diwali but deliberately kept it a low-key affair because in the recent Pakistani shelling we had lost one BSF personnel and 31 others, including women and children, were injured,” said a top BSF officer. He said eight Pakistan Rangers, including three officers, and an equal number of BSF officers at the commandant level participated in the ceremony to celebrate the festival. “The celebration was held in a congenial atmosphere. There are some instructions to them (Rangers) also to de-escalate tension on the international border,” he said After 10 days of intense Pakistani shelling leading to skirmishes all along the international border, the BSF and the Rangers had a sector-level flag meet on October 29 at the octroi post where both sides had agreed to de-escalate the tension on the border and initiate confidence-building measures to ensure peace. One of the steps included exchanging sweets on major festivals. There was, however, no such celebration on the LoC between the two armies. “There was no exchange of sweets at Chakan da Bagh point on the LoC in Poonch district,” said Jammu-based defence spokesperson SN Acharya. Though the guns have been silent on the LoC for the past four days, both the armies abstained from greeting each other on Diwali, said a top Army source. “For the past four days, there was total peace on the LoC, but today around 1.30 pm Pakistani troops opened small arms fire in the Mendhar sub-sector in Poonch district. We didn’t retaliate,” said the source. He disclosed that the Indian Army was making all-out efforts to de-escalate tension on the LoC. “Following the Director General of Military Operations-level talks, we are now keeping quiet but at the same time no sweets were exchanged at Chakan da Bagh on Diwali,” he said. “Much water has flown under the bridge since JCO Prakash Chander from Uttarakhand of 8 Kumaon was killed along the LoC in Uri sector on October 29. Now, we have to go by
the directions that come to us from the DGMO level,” he said. |
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Amid protests, Durbar reopens in Jammu
Jammu, November 4 Protesters scuffled with the police as they attempted to march up to the civil secretariat “to corner the ruling coalition and highlight their genuine issues”. BJP leaders and activists, including four MLAs, courted arrest in protest against the “discriminatory attitude” of the National Conference-led coalition towards the Jammu and Ladakh regions and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s “controversial” remarks on J&K’s accession to India, while refugees from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and retired State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) workers registered their protest against the ‘failure’ of the Omar Abdullah government to settle their long-pending demands. Hundreds of BJP workers, including women activists, under the party’s “secretariat chalo” programme, assembled at the busy Indira Chowk and were involved in a scuffle with police personnel after the latter tried to prevent them from marching towards the civil secretariat. Led by BJP state president Jugal Kishore Sharma along with leader of BJP Legislature Party Ashok Khajuria, MLAs Sham Choudhary and Sukhnandan Choudhary, national executive members Nirmal Singh and Shamsher Singh Manhas and activists courted arrest near the civil secretariat protesting against the state government’s “discriminatory attitude” with the Jammu and Ladakh regions. “The NC-Congress coalition government has been discriminating against the Jammu and Ladakh regions in matters related to development and extension of welfare schemes. Jammu has also suffered at the hands of Kashmiri leaders because the elected representatives of the NC and the Congress from Jammu have been keeping silent for the sake of power. The Chief Minister is raking up the settled issue of accession of the state to India, which was long back settled by his grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah,” the BJP state chief said. Khajuria, in his address, claimed that J&K was constitutionally and legally an integral part of India and regretted that some elements were raking up the issue of accession or merger to divert the attention of the masses from real issues. In another protest, refugees under the banner of “PoK Displaced Person’s Front 1947, 1965, 1971 and Non-Camp” assembled near the Exhibition Ground and raised slogans against the state government. They also had a minor scuffle with the police after they tried to more towards the civil secretariat. They gave an ultimatum of 15 days to the state government to settle their demands and threatened to intensify their agitation if the ruling dispensation failed to address their issues. Retired SRTC employees also held a demonstration and raised anti-government slogans for its failure to fulfil their demands. Led by Dev Raj Bali, president of the All J&K SRTC Volunteer Retirement Employees Association, the protesters demanded immediate release of around Rs 31 crore to settle their long-pending dues. |
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Miffed with govt, Pandits opt for low-key Diwali in Valley
Srinagar, November 4 "While we celebrated Diwali yesterday at our homes, there were no loud functions outside. Whenever we celebrate any of our festivals on a grand scale, it gives the authorities a chance to score brownie points," said Chunni Lal, the spokesman for the Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir (HWSK), a body which has been highlighting the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. Stating that the Pandit community, especially the non-migrants, continued to face apathy from the government, Lal said an impression was created that "everything is normal" and all the issues faced by them had been addressed whenever festivals such as Mela Kheer Bhavani, Dasehra or Diwali were celebrated here. "Forget major issues, it seems that the government has completely ignored us. The government was not even able to provide us proper facilities to celebrate Dasehra last October," Chunni Lal said. With the non-migrants trying to keep their traditions alive following the migration of Pandits after the eruption of militancy, the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti had been organising Diwali Milan on the banks of the Jhelum river for the past three years. However, the event was not held yesterday. Earlier, the occasion saw members of the majority community lighting lamps, bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Lal said the function was not organised so as to prevent the government from portraying "a picture of normalcy". Avtar Krishan, a local, said there was no point in "loud celebrations" when their demands were not being taken seriously. "The internally displaced non-migrants are yet to get accommodation at the Sheikhpora Colony and we have for been demanding employment package for non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit youth, who have been neglected," he said. |
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Rahul to arrive in Jammu tomorrow
Srinagar, November 4 Rahul will be accompanied by Union Health Minister and former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and other senior party leaders, including Ambika Soni, who is in charge of the affairs of the party in J&K. After a daylong stay in the winter capital, where he will address the panchayat conference and have meetings with party leaders, he will visit Srinagar. He is scheduled to address J&K Pradesh Congress Committee members on Thursday afternoon. The Congress vice-president will also throw open the extension block of the apple packaging plant at Lassipora in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. This visit is being undertaken after Ambika Soni has had separate review meetings with Congress leaders and cadres at grass-roots level during the last few months. This will be Rahul’s second visit to the state this year. He had visited it in June. During his four visits since the Omar Abdulla-led coalition government took over in 2009, Rahul has been focusing on development through panchayats and involvement of youth and women. He had first visited the state in April 2009 during the Lok Sabha election campaign and addressed a rally in Anantnag in south Kashmir with Omar. — TNS |
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Cong all out to make Rahul’s panchayat meet a success
Congress leaders claim that only panchayat members have been invited to the conference but insiders say the party had asked ministers, legislators and senior leaders to ensure maximum participation in the function to be held on November 6. The BJP has openly challenged the Congress to compare Rahul Gandhi’s function with the forthcoming rally of their party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi likely to be held in the first week of December. This has given another reason for the Congress to mobilise maximum participation for the function. Insiders in the Congress said party ministers had been directed to ensure large crowds for the conference from their respective constituencies. The party is hopeful that with the active cooperation of ministers, the conference would be a show of strength. Similarly, party legislators have also been given directions to ensure that all panchayat members from their constituencies participate in the conference. The opposition BJP has already launched a village-level campaign to “expose” the Congress for its "failure to strengthen Panchayati Raj institutions" in the state. Ridiculing the Congress for organising a panchayat conference, BJP state president Jugal Kishore Sharma said a period of two and a half years had passed after the panchayat elections but "not even a single step had been taken to empower panchayats". "The Congress has ditched the elected panchayat members, which is why there is no reason for the party to hold a panchayat conference,” he said. |
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HC: Set up SIT to probe disappearance of youth
Srinagar, November 4 Asking the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir to constitute the SIT within one week, the court has further directed that the compliance report and status report of the investigation be submitted within six weeks. These directions were issued today by a single bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Margay in a petition seeking to know whereabouts of Showkat Ahmad Paul, a resident of Lawaypora locality in Srinagar, reported missing. The parents of Paul had approached the High Court with a habeas corpus petition in April this year wherein they had sought to know the whereabouts of their disappeared son, who had been dubbed as 'fidayeen' by a section of the media. The court directions today followed submission of an affidavit by the IGP, wherein the media reports about Paul being a fidayeen have been dismissed as "just rumours”. “The court today directed constitution of an SIT headed by a DIG-rank official to investigate the matter. It has also sought a compliance report in this regard within six weeks,” Additional Advocate General Riyaz Khan, representing the government and police authorities, told The Tribune. The court has, in its orders, asked the authorities concerned to constitute the SIT within one week and file status report of the investigation within six weeks. Earlier, on April 10, while admitting the petition, the High Court had directed the J&K police authorities to file a fresh status report in the matter. In the petition before the High Court, the parents of Paul had submitted that their son was “missing” since June 23, 2003, from the Lal Chowk area. “After Paul went missing in 2003, the police, on the directions of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, had registered an FIR in Kothibagh police station in 2005. We want to know his whereabouts,” the family had said in its petition. Subsequently, after allowing the petition, the High Court had, on April 3, directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of the police station concerned to present all case diaries related to the disappearance of Showkat Ahmad Paul by April 10. In the petition before the High Court, Paul family had submitted that they “are constantly being harassed by security agencies after the media reports surfaced”. Paul, the family has said, was a college student when he was allegedly picked up by an Army Major on June 23, 2003, at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Since the day Paul went missing, his family members have been trying to know his whereabouts. They have also visited various jails across the country to trace him. Paul’s mother Fareeda is a member of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons and she has been taking part in the monthly sit-in protests in Srinagar for demanding the whereabouts of their dear ones. |
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PDP urges India, Pak to end border tension
Srinagar, November 4 The PDP had last month announced to hold a “peace rally” against the increasing skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border, which were “threatening to rip apart a decade-long ceasefire”. Lal Chowk has remained an important venue in Kashmir’s history of the past six decades and all major events in its timeline are connected, in some way or the other, to this commercial nerve centre. The marching PDP workers, estimated to be around four to five thousand in number, held banners and placards, and shouted slogans seeking peace for the region. There were tight security arrangements along the route and at the terminal end of the rally, there was a heavy deployment of policemen. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti while addressing the rally said she wanted to convey the message of peace from Kashmiris to India and Pakistan.“Our motive to gather here today is to convey the message of Kashmiris to India and Pakistan. Whether bullets are fired from here (India) or there (Pakistan), it is a Kashmiri who dies and suffers. We have been repeatedly asking to not turn Kashmir into a battlefield,” she said. As Mehbooba pitched for peace between the two countries, she said her party wanted Kashmir to become a “bridge” between the two neighbours. “Kashmiris are not ready for a war today. They will not fight wars for others. They want peace, friendship, development and resolution of the Kashmir issue,” she said. She urged the Congress-led UPA government, BJP leaders and the Pakistan Prime Minister to search for a “peaceful solution” to the issue. “We do not want war, we want friendship,” the PDP president said. |
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Chief Minister given guard of honour
Jammu, November 4 Omar reached the civil secretariat at 9.30 am and was given a guard of honour by personnel of the J&K police (Armed). State Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad and Additional DGP (Armed) Shiv Morari Sahai accompanied the minister during the ceremony. Other senior police officers, ministers and bureaucrats were also present. However, eight council ministers were absent at the ceremony. The Chief Minister inaugurated the newly upgraded and fully computerised administrative halls for various departments completed at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore within a period of six
months. |
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Governor’s secretariat starts functioning in Jammu
Jammu, November 4 He stressed the need for improving maintenance of Raj Bhawan lawns and gardens. He inspected the solar power plant on the premises and took stock of its functioning. The Governor also inspected the CRPF and J&K police camps. The security in and around Raj Bhawan was beefed up well before the shifting of Governor’s secretariat here. |
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Vohra celebrates Diwali with staff at Raj Bhawan
Jammu, November 4 The event was organised in the sprawling lawns, wherein the Governor and his wife extended Diwali greetings and offered sweets to those present on the occasion. |
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Fire breaks out in secretariat, employees douse flames
Jammu, November 4 The fire broke out around 10.30 am in the chamber of Minister for Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies Nuwang Rigzin Jora when around 15 to 20 members of the Non-gazetted Employees Union were sitting there. The minister was not present in the chamber when the incident happened. Fire tenders were called to douse the fire but swift action by employees sitting there controlled the situation. Eyewitnesses said the fire had broken out due to short circuit in a roof light, which had led to the melting of its metal. “It engulfed the ceiling and even the furniture got burnt in the fire. We managed to douse the fire
with water from a nearby washroom,” said Satish Kumar, a non-gazetted employee, whose hands received burn injuries during the process. The Estates Department is the custodian of the civil secretariat and its
engineering wing looks after maintenance of the buildings. Non-gazetted Employees Union president Rouf Ahmad, who also played an important role in dousing the fire, said poor quality lights had led to the short circuit. “It was laxity on the part of officials as they had been apprised many times about the faulty lights, but they did nothing,” he said. However, the officials of the Estates Department defended their position saying the secretariat building was very big and it was not easy to reach everywhere. “We have been working day and night to do quality work but if something remains unattended, it is not our fault," said
HS Sudan, executive engineer, Estates Department, Jammu. He said, “It was due to voltage fluctuation that the incident happened. We have asked for better quality transformers to control the fluctuation.” The minister’s chamber is on the first floor
of the main building of the civil secretariat. The fire spread panic in the civil secretariat and most of the employees came out of the building. Lights were switched off and fire tenders were called to douse the fire. |
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Jammu, November 4