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Tosa firing range Row: Restrictions affect normal life in Srinagar
Army Chief reviews security along border in Jammu |
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First infiltration bid this year in Kupwara district foiled on April 8 night
Poll notifications for Baramulla, Ladakh segments issued
Coalition collapsing under its weight of sins: Mufti
BJP files complaint with EC over security withdrawal
Kalam to attend conference at University of Kashmir
Govt told to file report on regulating mining
Governor praises farm varsity for encouraging organic farming
Kashmir varsity VC meets Guv
Vohra extends greetings on Mahavir Jayanti
Infiltration bid in Kupwara district foiled
REVISED MASTER PLAN FOR PAHALGAM
Students protest lack of transport in Kupwara
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Tosa firing range Row: Restrictions affect normal life in Srinagar
Srinagar, April 12 Mirwaiz, on Thursday, had called for a complete shutdown on Saturday against any attempt of the government to extend the lease of field firing range. The moderate Hurriyat chief had also threatened a “sustained agitation for demilitarisation” of populated areas of the Valley. The lease of the firing range at Tosa Maidan expires on April 18 and villagers surrounding the area have been opposing its extension. They have also been demanding shifting of the range. To prevent any possible protests over the issue, the authorities here imposed strict restrictions in the old city areas of Nowhatta, Rajouri Kadal and Gojwara. The government deployed police and paramilitary personnel in the old city areas and restricted the pubic movement. The authorities also put restrictions in the volatile Palhalan area in north Kashmir. As a preventive measure, the police detained Mirwaiz at his Nigeen
residence. They also detained Molvi Abbas Ansari, Aga Syed Hassan and Mirwaiz’s aide and Shahid-ul-Islam. The police also took Hurriyat member Hilal Ahmad War under preventive custody after raiding his Maisuma residence early today. Meanwhile, in uptown Srinagar, including city centre Lal
Chowk, shops, offices, banks, schools and other business establishments remained closed. Majority of the public transport in Srinagar remained off the roads. The strike, however, evoked mixed response in the civil lines area of the city where many shops and businesses remained open with private vehicles plying on the roads. The strike call witnessed mixed response in other parts of the Valley. Except for minor incidents of stone throwing in Sopore, the situation by and large remained peaceful, the police said. With the extension of lease to the Tosa Maidan becoming a poll issue, any government decision over it, positive or negative, will have political ramifications as three districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal go to parliamentary polls on April 30.
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Army Chief reviews security along border in Jammu
Jammu, April 12 The Army Chief had yesterday arrived at the Northern Command Headquarters in Udhampur. “The Army Chief arrived at the Satwari Cantonment around 4.15pm today. He was received by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Tiger Division, Major General Dushyant Singh,” an Army source said. “The GOC, Tiger Division, briefed the Army Chief on the current security situation along the 198-km-long international border in the backdrop of the terror attack in Kathua district on March 28 in which two civilians and a soldier were killed,” the source said. He was also apprised of the additional measures put in place around the Army formations and camps on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, which have been targeted by the ultras in the recent past, the Army source added. In the twin terror attacks on September 26, last year, militants had stormed the 16 Cavalry unit in Samba, killing three soldiers and Lt Col Bikramjeet Singh, while on March 28 this year, the militants tried to launch an offencive on the III Rocket unit of the Army in the Janglote area of the district. Meanwhile, the Jammu-based defence spokesperson, Lt Col Manish Mehta, said as a part of his visit to the state, the Chief of
the Army Staff today visited the Satwari Cantonment. General Bikram Singh yesterday reviewed the overall security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, including the 744-km-long Line of Control. He also discussed the summer strategy and deployment of troops along the LoC vis-a-vis intrusion bids, militancy and situation in the hinterland with the GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra. Around 5.30 pm, the Army Chief left for
New Delhi. |
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First infiltration bid this year in Kupwara district foiled on April 8 night
Srinagar, April 12 Defence sources said the infiltration attempt was made in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara, 120 km from Srinagar. "A group of four militants tried to sneak into the Nowgam sector on Tuesday night, which was successfully foiled by troops," said the sources. "We fired before they could infiltrate. This was the first attempt by the militant to infiltrate into the Valley this year. Whenever snow starts melting there are efforts to push more militants, but we are on an alert and fully prepared to tackle any such designs," the sources added. These sources believed that the two LeT militants, who were killed at Zunrishi Chokibal village, 130 km from here, in the encounter that erupted on Tuesday evening, had probably been hiding in the area to receive the infiltrators from the Nowgam sector. Two policemen of the elite Special Operation Group of J&K Police, an Army officer and two Pakistani militants Hyder and Muzamil, alias Zulkafeel, were killed and seven others were injured in the gunfight in Kupwara district that ended on Wednesday afternoon. "Hyder was coordinating the infiltration of militant groups in the area and the preliminary investigations hinted that they (slain militants) were waiting to receive the militant group from Nowgam. A compass, two map sheets, matrix, wire cutter and GPS were recovery from the slain militants," the sources said. The sources said there were increased activities across the border and these were signs of more infiltrations. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, had recently said the Army was fully prepared to handle infiltration attempts from across the border. "We have effective counter-infiltration grid in place and our int (intelligence) network is also effective and there is an excellent coordination. We are prepared for any attempt of infiltration," Lt Gen Singh had said at the sidelines of a passing-out parade here on April 5. In 2012 and 2013, there were 541 infiltration attempts in J&K and the Army fears that this year militant influx to Kashmir would increase once the US troops withdraw from Afghanistan, which is scheduled later this year. |
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Poll notifications for Baramulla, Ladakh segments issued
Srinagar, April 12 The last date for the filing of nomination papers in these constituencies is April 19, while the scrutiny of nominations is scheduled for April 21. The last date for any withdrawal of nominations has been scheduled for April 23. The Baramulla constituency, comprising 15 Assembly segments, has an electorate of 11,51,745 voters, including 606,506 male and 545,219 female voters. According to Returning Officer Farooq Ahmad Lone, 95 per cent polling stations are hypersensitive and sensitive in all three districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore of the Lok Sabha constituency. “As per the preliminary exercise, 1,091 polling stations have been identified as hypersensitive while 445 are sensitive out of the total 1,616 polling stations, which would be set up across the constituency at 1,303 different locations. Seventy polling stations have been identified as normal while 43 critical,” Lone said at the press conference after the notification was issued this morning. The Ladakh constituency of the frontier cold desert region, comprising two districts of Leh and Kargil, has an electorate of 159,949 voters, and thus, is the smallest constituency in terms of the number of voters in the state. The constituency also figures at number 3 in the list of the smallest five constituencies in terms of the number of voters across the country. It has four Assembly segments of Leh and Nubra in Leh district, while Kargil and Zanskar fall in Kargil district. The main contest in this constituency is between the Congress (coalition) candidate, Tsering Samphel, and Thupstan Chhewang of the BJP. (With inputs from Javed A Malla in
Baramulla.)
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Coalition collapsing under its weight of sins: Mufti
Srinagar, April 12 Addressing a public meeting in the Chadoora Assembly segment of the Srinagar parliamentary constituency today, Mufti said Omar Abdullah's government was doomed from day one as the coalition was cobbled up only to grab power without any agenda for governance. Mufti said the collapse of the government was imminent as was obvious from the wave of anger sweeping across the state against it. "Omar Abdullah's only ambition was to become the Chief Minister for six years which he later even projected as his only achievement and in the process subsumed the NC into Congress," he said. Mufti said the NC as a regional party should have insisted on having Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with the Congress before entering into an alliance as the PDP had done in 2002, which brought immediate relief and change in the state. While addressing the gathering, the party's candidate for the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, Tariq Hameed Karra, said the ruling party was frustrated with the
growing anger against it and it was now employing cheap tricks to woo the electorate.
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BJP files complaint with EC over security withdrawal
Srinagar, April 12 The BJP headquarters is located in the posh Rajbagh locality of Srinagar, which also houses over a dozen offices of separatist groups. “Out of the five policemen guarding our office, two have been withdrawn and we feel insecure,” said Altaf Thakur, party’s Kashmir spokesman. “It is strange that rather than enhancing our security, the government has withdrawn policemen, making us more vulnerable,”
he said. Thakur said the policemen had been withdrawn despite the government knowing that the BJP
was operating from a separatist hub. The BJP leader said a day after the policemen were withdrawn, a poster of the hardline Hurriyat Conference, calling for poll boycott, was pasted on the office gate. “This has further panicked the party workers,” he said. The BJP has fielded three candidates — Mushtaq Ahmad Malik from the Anantnag constituency, Ghulam Mohammad Mir from Baramulla and Fayaz Bhat from Srinagar. Though the BJP faces criticism for its poll plank to abrogate Article 370 , the party hopes to do better in the elections. |
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Kalam to attend conference at University of Kashmir
Srinagar, April 12 Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chancellor of the university, will preside over the inaugural function. The conference is being organised by the Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir,
on “Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Processes”, a media release from the university said. Prof Talat Ahmad, University of Kashmir Vice Chancellor, will attend the conference as its chairman. Many leading scholars are expected to attend
the event. |
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Govt told to file report on regulating mining
Srinagar, April 12 A Division Bench of the High Court gave the directions after submissions by the Financial Commissioner, Industries and Commerce, J&K, in his compliance report, that the finalisation of rules was at its final stage and only the Chief Minister’s approval was awaited. On November 20, 2013 , the High Court had directed the authorities to submit ‘Draft Minor Mineral and Quarrying Rules’ so as to have a comprehensive government policy on quarrying in the state, particularly in the forest areas. The High court is hearing a public interest litigation PIL by Sofi Arif, seeking a ban on quarrying in the forest areas. Quarrying operations in the forest areas of the state have been banned by the High Court. “The process has been set in motion. Only the approval of the Chief Minister is awaited. It may take some time,” the Financial Commissioner submitted to the court. In the report, he said in compliance with the directions issued (in November 2013), a meeting under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary was also held, attended by many officials. “At the meeting, it was decided to constitute a committee, headed by the Financial Commissioner, (Industries and Commerce Department) as the chairman, and the Commissioner Secretary (Revenue) and the Secretary (Forest Department) as the members to study the rehabilitation of affected persons (associated with quarrying), if any, on the basis of inputs to be furnished by the Geology and Mining Department,” the Financial Commissioner said in his report. It was also decided at the meeting that the Geology and Mining Department would identify persons, if any, who had been affected due to stoppage of quarring in forests/khacharai areas in a time-bound manner. The meeting also decided that the Revenue Department shall identify alternate sites for quarrying, preferably near to the existing ones, which stand within the demarcated forest area and the khacharai land, within three months. “Further, the response vis-à-vis the decisions taken shall be filed in the form of a status report on the next date of hearing,” the Bench said today. The matter has been posted for further consideration on May 12. |
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Governor praises farm varsity for encouraging organic farming
Jammu, April 12 Chairing the 26th council meeting of SKUAST-K at Raj Bhawan here today, the Governor urged the university and the Agriculture Department to take required steps to certify organic agricultural products for providing better value to farmers. He appreciated the initiatives taken by SKUAST for encouraging organic farming in Kashmir. Tej Partap, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K, made a presentation on initiatives being taken by the university for improving agricultural processes and products. He talked about the results secured in the production of seed of two prominent indigenous rice varieties, ‘mushakbhuji’ and ‘kamad’, where the university is working with farmers in a participatory mode. The rice varieties are planned to be marketed by a Jammu-based company, specialising in organic products. The university has also launched Agro-Chemicals Evaluation Programme-2014 for testing bioefficacy of pesticides for ensuring quality plant protection chemicals were made available to farmers. The Chancellor observed that laboratories should maintain their standards and come up to the expectations of farmers. The farm varsity is also working on producing high-quality plant material, particularly focusing on high-density orchard systems, in collaboration with GRIBA, Italy. The Chancellor said high-quality seeds and plants should be made available in the state to increase horticultural productivity. He urged the Vice Chancellors of both farm universities to encourage innovation in agriculture and its allied sectors and come out with dynamic models in agricultural practices. The meeting was told that the Indian Council for Agricultural Research had agreed to fund a project for breeding pashmina goats and the second generation of ‘Noori’ clone under the All India Coordinated Programme. Vohra reviewed the functioning of Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Gurez and Nyoma. The meeting was attended by Pradeep K Sharma, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu, and AR Trag, Vice Chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora. |
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Guv briefed on public issues, security
Srinagar, April 12 The two also discussed internal security related issues in the context of the ongoing polls, an official spokesman said. |
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Kashmir varsity VC meets Guv
Srinagar, April 12 The conference will be inaugurated by former President APJ Kalam tomorrow. The VC and the Governor also discussed issues relating to the academic session 2014-15. — TNS
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Vohra extends greetings on Mahavir Jayanti
Jammu, April 12 He said the best way to observe such an auspicious occasion was to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood, amity, harmony and secular ethos for which Jammu and Kashmir has been known since centuries. The Governor, on the occasion, also prayed for peace, progress and prosperity in the state.
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Infiltration bid in Kupwara district foiled
Srinagar, April 12 Defence sources said the infiltration attempt was made in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara, 120 km from Srinagar. “A group of four militants tried to sneak into the Nowgam sector on Tuesday night, which was successfully foiled by troops,” an Army source said. “We fired before they could infiltrate. This was the first attempt by the militant to infiltrate into the Valley this year. Whenever snow starts melting there are efforts to push more militants, but we are on an alert and fully prepared to tackle any such designs,” the sources said. Sources believe that the two LeT militants, who were killed at Zunrishi Chokibal village, 130 km from here, in the encounter that erupted on Tuesday evening, had probably been hiding in the area to receive the infiltrators from the Nowgam sector. Two policemen of the elite Special Operation Group of the J&K Police, an Army officer and two Pakistani militants Hyder and Muzamil, alias Zulkafeel, were killed and seven others were injured in the gunfight in Kupwara district that ended on Wednesday afternoon. “Hyder was coordinating the infiltration of militant groups in the area and preliminary investigations suggest that they (slain militants) were waiting to receive the militant group from Nowgam. A compass, two map sheets, matrix, wire cutter and GPS were recovery from the slain militants,” the source said. Sources said there were increased activities across the border and these were signs of more infiltrations. The GOC of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, had recently said the Army was fully prepared to handle infiltration attempts. |
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Six injured in Pulwama bus accident
Pulwama, April 12 Rafiqa, 40, was critically injured and was referred to Bone and Joint Hospital, Srinagar. “Only one person was critically injured and she has been referred to Srinagar. Others were discharged after providing the first aid,” said Salim Ahmad, Medical Superintendent, District Hospital,
Pulwama. |
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REVISED MASTER PLAN FOR PAHALGAM
Srinagar, April 12 These directions have been issued by a Division Bench of the J&K High Court comprising Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice Hasnain Masoodi in a public interest litigation (PIL) about Pahalgam master plan violations filed by the Pahalgam Peoples? Welfare Organisation. Though the court in its earlier directions in February had directed the PDA to finalise a master plan and land use plan of Pahalgam, in his latest status report, the Chief Executive Officer of the PDA submitted that due to the forthcoming elections, the process could not be completed. He submitted that due to the elections, a sub-committee constituted for scrutinising objections and suggestions regarding the matter required some more time so as to complete the process. In terms of paragraph 1 of the order, cut-off date for scrutinising objections/suggestions as received viz the Draft Revised Master Plan and the Land Use Plan was extended by the respondents up to March 15, 2014. Thereafter, objections/suggestions were to be considered and the master plan as well as the land use plan was to be finalised, the Bench observed in its orders passed in the PIL this week. While referring to the grounds urged in the compliance report by the PDA authorities for not finalising the process, the Bench in its orders further observed: “In view of the grounds urged in the report, eight weeks time shall be available to them for completing the requisite process. Therefore, objections/suggestions shall be considered and the master plan as well as the land use plan shall be finalised,” the high court said in its orders while grating the PDO authorities eight weeks time to finalise the Pahalgam Master Plan.
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Students protest lack of transport in Kupwara
Kupwara, April 12 The students blocked the Lolab-Kupwara road near Putushai for about two hours and demanded
that public transport be made available to them so that they can reach the school in time. “Due to unavailability of public transport we often reach our school late. Last week, we had visited the Deputy Commissioner and requested him to provide us proper transport facility, but nothing has been done so far,” said Aabid Ahmad, a Class
XII student. The aggrieved students sat on the road and did not allow any vehicle to move forward. “Our education is getting affected due to the negligence of the authorities. We appeal the district administration to provide us bus service so that
we can reach school in time,” said Fayaz Ahmad Malla. Principal of Government Higher Secondary School, Maidanpora Shakar Ahmad reached the spot and assured the students that their problem would be taken up with the authorities, following which they cleared the road. “I will take up the matter with the Assistant Regional Transport Officer, Kupwara, and ensure the problem is resolved,” the Principal said. |
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Jammu, April 12
