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Ladakhi students denied permission to hold strike
Tight security in place for polling in Srinagar today
Little bonhomie between NC, Congress in Ladakh
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Rehabilitation of Pandits
Special polling facility for over 31,000 Kashmiri Pandit voters
Key Players: Stakes and
Strategy
CBSE proposes 6 teaching days a week from 2015 session
Illegal flats allowed on Dal Lake to ‘woo’ voters
Despite repeated repair work, Poonch roads in bad
shape
Most displaced Pandits won’t be able to
vote
Police crackdown on youth ahead of polls draws flak
Pangi in Himachal Pradesh getting poll-related supply via
Kishtwar
Broader national consensus needed to address K-issue: Mufti
J&K Women Development Corporation refuses payment to data entry operator
Voting time reduced by an hour
State cricket association elections likely in
May
Agricultural university organises training programme for farmers
Stone-throwers’ threat: Police detain 500
more youths
Commerce chamber election on June 21
Woman dies in mishap
Mental health programmes held
May Fair School students celebrate ‘Favourite Toy Day’ Hideout busted in Kishtwar, arms seized 23 traders booked in Bhaderwah Panic grips Dalgate
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Ladakhi students denied permission to hold strike
Jammu, April 29 The ALSJAC, comprising Zanskar Student Union (ZSU), All Ladakh Students Association, Jammu (ALSAJ), Student Association of Ladakh, Jammu (SALJ), and All Kargil Student Association Jammu (AKSAJ), were seeking permission to sit on a chain hunger strike near the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), but the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Jammu, denied them the permission, without giving any reason. Tsering Norphel, a member of ALSJAC said, "About 6,000 eligible voters are studying in Jammu and everyone wants to participate in the polling, but as the road is not open and we cannot reach there to cast our votes, we are demanding a special polling station in Jammu for Ladakhi students. As the Election Commission doesn't seem to be serious about our demands, we had decided to sit on a peaceful chain hunger strike near the office of the CEO at Jammu, but the DC denied the permission, without giving any reason for that," he added. Students said there were thousands of students from the Ladakh region living in Delhi. They also appealed to VS Sampath, Chief Election Commissioner of India, who assured them that he would discuss it with the CEO, Jammu and Kashmir, and do the needful. "We are not demanding something against the law. Voting is our democratic right. They have to do something for us," said Norphel. "We are also planning to file a PIL in the Jammu High Court within two days as it is the matter of our democratic right," he added. Students decided to continue their peaceful protest against the Election Commission and district administration in Jammu.
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Tight security in place for polling in Srinagar today
Srinagar, April 29 Besides, 15 Armed Police and the Indian Reserve Police (IRP) battalions have been mobilised for the smooth conduct of the elections in central Kashmir. The district police have also been deployed for election duty. “Adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful elections,” said Ahfad-ul-Mujtaba, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, central Kashmir. “We have deployed adequate manpower on polling stations and along routes leading to the polling stations,” the DIG said. Out of the 1,546 polling stations in the constituency, only 55 have been declared normal by the Election Commission. The major contest in the Srinagar constituency is between union minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party leader Tariq Hameed Karra. There has been no major violence incident during campaigning in Srinagar constituency so far, which comprise the three districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal. However, two mysterious blasts left over a dozen injured during the two rallies of Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar and Budgam districts on April 20. The Hizbul Mujahideen, which claimed responsibility for targeting Farooq’s rallies, had also warned of attacks on policemen and politicians in posters pasted in old Srinagar city. “We are not taking any chances. Though there is no direct input about any possible militant attack on the poll day, we are on an alert,” said a security forces officer. The officer said security men had been deployed to ensure security of polling personnel, voters at polling stations and material to be used in the process. “The beefed up security is aimed at instilling confidence among the voters,” he said. In the past three weeks, nearly two dozen persons have died and many have been injured in various militancy-related incidents across Kashmir. Poll preparations
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Little bonhomie between NC, Congress in Ladakh
As per the seat-sharing agreement, the NC and the Congress are contesting three Lok Sabha seats each in alliance in Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress is contesting two seats of Jammu province and one seat of
Ladakh, while the NC is contesting from all three seats of the Kashmir region. The Congress has also been facing revolt from its district unit in Kargil following the high command’s decision of fielding Tsering
Samphel, a Buddhist from Leh for the Ladakh seat, thereby ignoring Kargil district, which is predominately inhabited by Shia Muslims. After the nomination of Samphel for the seat, the Kargil unit of the Congress revolted against the decision leading to the resignation of its district president Ghulam Raza (a former MLA), who is also in the fray for the seat as he filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate. Raza is being supported by another powerful religious body, Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust
(IKMT), Kargil. “In Ladakh, the Congress is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one side, the party’s Kargil unit is working against it and it has fielded an Independent candidate against the official candidate Tsering
Samphel. On the other hand, the second line of the National Conference leadership and workers are openly supporting the
ISK-backed candidate,” a senior National Conference leader from Kargil said requesting anonymity. The Ladakh seat will go to polls on May 7, the day when north Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency will also witness elections. Four candidates — Thupstan Chhewang of the
BJP, Tsering Samphel of the Congress, Ghulam Raza and Aga Syed Kazim
Sabri, both Independent candidates from Kargil — are in the fray for the seat. “The NC has virtually fielded a separate candidate for the seat, something that goes against the coalition dharma. Its workers are openly supporting the
ISK-backed candidate, just like what they did in the 2009 parliamentary elections when Hassan Khan had defeated Congress candidate Phuntsog Namgyal by a margin of just 3,708 votes. Khan, who contested as an Independent candidate, had direct affiliation with the National Conference as he happened to be the NC councillor in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council
(LAHDC), Kargil,” a senior Congress leader from Leh said. Talking to The Tribune, senior NC leader Feroz Khan said: “We are closely watching the developments being unfolded within the Congress here. We have a coalition government in the state but the party (Congress) is itself a divided house in
Ladakh. The Kargil unit of the Congress doesn’t support the party’s official nominee and the party’s district president has resigned from the post and joined the fray. The Congress high command should try to set its house in order in
Ladakh.” He admitted that they were yet to start canvassing in favour of the coalition’s common candidate Tsering Samphel due to the ongoing differences within the Congress here. Sources said the votes of the NC and the Congress would get divided in Kargil district as the two parties, which owe allegiance to the ISK and
IKMT, respectively, are also supporting Independent candidates. This would ultimately help the BJP candidate.
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Rehabilitation of Pandits
Srinagar, April 29 “Instead of blaming each other for the migration of our community just to score political points, the leaders should worry about our rehabilitation. Despite promises, the government is yet to suitably rehabilitate us. For the past 25 years, 51 internally displaced families are living in miserable conditions after leaving their ancestral places to settle down on rent at different places,” said Chunni Lal, spokesman for the Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir (HWSK). He was referring to the war of words between the National Conference and the Bharatiya Janata Party where they blamed each other for the migration of Pandits. Stating that it was unfortunate that politics over them was played during election time, Lal said: “A lot of noise is being made about the migration and return of Pandits but nothing is being done for those who stayed back in the Valley (after militancy).” He said the HWSK wanted to remind the government on election eve its promise made to them vis-à-vis rehabilitation of 51 families of the constituency in Sheikhpora, Budgam. “First of all, it took a lot of time for the police to get CID verification of 51 aspirants. Finally, the under secretary to the government Revenue Department vide letter dated June 1, 2012, informed the Relief Commissioner, Jammu, regarding the verification of 51 aspirants received from the CID and the police headquarters. However, nearly two years on, no progress has been made despite several pleas from our side,” he said. Lal said holding polls was meaningless if the issues faced by them remained unaddressed. “As leaders yet again made tall promises during campaigns, we hope they do not forget to fulfil them once they come to power,” he added.
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Special polling facility for over 31,000 Kashmiri Pandit voters
Srinagar, April 29 To facilitate a total of 31,670 migrant voters, 13 polling stations have been set up in Jammu, one in Udhampur and four in Delhi. According to official figures, these migrant voters belong to all the eight Assembly constituencies in Srinagar, five Assembly segments in Budgam and two in Ganderbal district. A total of 1,616 migrant voters, including 707 from Kangan and 909 from the Ganderbal Assembly constituencies, comprise migrant voters from Ganderbal district. “These are not the correct figures,” Sanjay Tickoo, president of the Valley-based Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, told The Tribune. He said at least 38,000 migrant families were residing in the Jammu region and over 21,000 more families were registered in other parts of the country. He said the number of Kashmiri Pandits only in the Jammu region could be at least 1.10 lakh. Due to a certain wave in the ongoing elections, a number of Kashmiri Pandits approached the authorities for getting enlisted as voters, Tickoo said and lamented that most of them were not registered leading to protests in the Jammu region. He said many voters had been enlisted in the Jammu region as they resided in different areas following their migration from Kashmir valley over two decades ago. “One continues to be the voter from his respective constituency in Kashmir. But many of them have been listed as voters in Jammu,” he said. Tickoo said many such voters were casting their votes in both the capacities. He held that voter lists of Pandits in Kashmir were also not updated in the last two Assembly elections. As of now, only about 700 families comprising 2,764 families of Kashmiri Pandits reside in the Valley. Referring to the total electorate in the Habba Kadal Assembly constituency, which comprised a majority of the Pandits, he said these were not updated. The official records reveal that the electorate in 1996 elections was 59,337, 66,782 in 2002 and 49,667 in 2008. These have not been updated as the figures show a huge difference. The electorate in the Habba Kadal constituency presently is 52,790. Vote composition
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Key Players: Stakes and
Strategy
He is a Kashmiri Muslim to the core in the current Lok Sabha elections, as he had been in all other elections that he had contested and won in the past. This time around, the hate campaign against the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has made him more of a “Kashmiri Muslim” in the Valley.
Farooq is contesting from the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency. He is campaigning for his party — National Conference. Farooq did not campaign for the Congress candidates, who were euphemistically called National Conference and Congress “alliance” nominees in the Jammu region. This image that Farooq Abdullah holds as a three-time chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir is very different from the image of a die-hard Indian that he presents about himself in New Delhi. The distance covered by the 60-minute flight from Srinagar to Delhi makes a huge difference in Kashmir politics. It is due to his unparalleled political thought and friendly nature that he has friends in all parties. And, that has kept him and the National Conference, the party he heads, relevant in the times of elections and political crisis, be that in Kashmir — 2010 street protests and killings — or wriggling the UPA government out of a major challenge on the nuclear deal in 2008. He sacrificed his own claim on chief ministership — the NC poll campaign had projected him as chief minister — and nominated Omar as the chief minister after the 2008 Assembly
elections. Farooq, often hailed as the “living legend of Kashmir politics”, always looks at both micro and macro pictures of politics. Fitting Kashmir politics into the vast and diverse national politics is what matters the most to him. If he says Modi is the “number one enemy of Muslims”, he also says Rahul will not become Prime Minister this time either. He, as president of the National Conference, has kept his doors open for all his friends in national political parties. It is crunch time for
Farooq, because the national political scene is hazy. The performance of the National Conference in the three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley is what matters to him at the moment. He knows that the emerging political set-up post-2014 Lok Sabha elections will have its impact on the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, scheduled to be held later this year. The stakes for him are bigger in the ongoing polls. He will have to keep Delhi in good humour and at the same time bring out something for Kashmiris that would ensure that the National Conference stays in the driving seat of the next government in the state. The coalition era in J&K has come to stay. As history has rolled on like the way it did in the past two decades, the stakes are high for
Farooq. He has not left his traditional and distinct style of courting controversies. He has made plenty of statements: “If Article 370 (that grants special status to J&K) goes , so will the accession (of Jammu and Kashmir to India)”; “had I had guns and bombs, I would have finished the PDP (the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party of Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed)”; “how could I kill any one, do I have the gun”; “(former union Home Secretary) RK Singh is responsible for the hanging of (Parliament attack convict) Afzal Guru, me and Azad Sahib
(Ghulam Nabi Azad) were kept in the dark over this.” The people term the tumultuous years since 1989 as a dark era. Farooq resigned in January 18, 1990, under pressure from the then Congress leadership to register his protest against the second-time appointment of Jagmohan as Governor of the state. The Valley came under depression. Even his party workers were scared to pass by his residence on the Gupkar Road in Srinagar. But this man had the capacity and charisma and appeal that brought him back to power in October 1996 after a landslide victory in the Assembly polls. He is campaigning in the same style and fashion and keeps on stirring controversies so that the people repose faith in him and his party once again. He mingles with people, visits his long-time friends and makes acquaintance with strangers. The warmth in his attitude makes him a successful humane politician, a quality that even his critics acknowledge. That is his strategy and that only Farooq Abdullah can do in Kashmir politics — he bounces back with a bang when his critics are about to write him off.
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CBSE proposes 6 teaching days a week from 2015 session
Jammu, April 29 “In order to complete the 45 working hour per week as per the recommendation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act-2009, a school needs to function for six days a week for 6 hours and 10 minutes on each day,” the CBSE curriculum for 2015 claimed. Sources said though the managements of all the affiliated schools in the state were presently concentrating on completing all the required formalities for the ongoing online accreditation process, but the possibility of accepting the new proposal could not be ruled out. “Right now, our prime focus is on the SQAAS, but if the recent proposal is accepted by the authorities then we have no option but to implement it because we have to go along with other institutions across the country,” sources in the Jammu Sahodaya School Complex (JSSC), a apex body of CBSE Schools in J&K, said. The sources claimed that the board further in its proposal stated that teachers might have to stay back for an additional 80 minutes after school hours for crucial operations such as planning, checking, preparation, followup work, and so on. According to the proposal, if a teacher is required to devote over 1,200 hours to the actual teaching in classrooms and planning, he or she shall be paid extra remuneration at a pre-specified rate by the managing committee. In addition, it will be mandatory for all teachers to teach at least 30 periods a week in the classroom with rest of the periods to be used for other activities such as planning and preparations. The sources said the schools might be advised to follow an eight periods a day schedule with the first and fifth periods lasting for 45 minutes, while the rests lasting for 40 minutes. KCS Mehta, Principal, Army Public School, Akhnoor and president, JSSC, could not be contacted for comments, despite repeated attempts.
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Illegal flats allowed on Dal Lake to ‘woo’ voters
Srinagar, April 29 Dozens of permanent structures are being constructed allegedly by the government for residents of Tchunt Kul (Chinar Bagh) area on the banks of Dal Lake in Dalgate area in violation of the Master Plan. Long rows of newly constructed flats dot the banks of Dal Lake. According to the locals, the constructions were started a month ago. The houses in Chinar Bagh are inhabited by fishermen. Some of them live in boats, while others put up in temporary huts made of wood and tin. Chinar Bagh residents said the flats were being constructed by the government. "Most of them are under construction. A flat includes one room, washroom and a kitchen," said a resident of Tchunt Kul area. Jubilant over the sudden move of the government, Tchunt Kul residents are all ready to vote tomorrow. "Yes, we will vote as we have been given houses by the government," said a local. According to the plan, the residents of the interiors of Dal Lake were earlier supposed to be shifted to somewhere else in the city as part of the government rehabilitation to save the famous tourist spot. Some families staying near Dal Lake have already been shifted to Boatman Colony, Bemina, as the place has been declared construction-free by the government. Sources told The Tribune that a month ago, several senior officials from the ruling party had visited the area and promised to construct houses for them if they vote in favour of them. "Some party leaders visited the area and gave permission for the construction while seeking votes," a source said. The construction is still going on in the area. Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah said he did not have any information about it. "I am busy with the election arrangements in the city. I do not have any information about it as yet," said Ahmad Shah, who is also the election officer for Srinagar constituency.
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Despite repeated repair work, Poonch roads in bad
shape
Poonch, April 29 “The repair work on the Poonch-Surankote road is an eye-opener for all of us. Low quality material is being used and repair guidelines are being violated by the GREF (General Reserve Engineer Force). When the government agency is openly violating repair norms, how can we expect good work from a civilian contractor,” said Mohammed Azam, a local. “Though the repair work on the road has not completed, the tarmac has been damaged at many places,” he said. “The road was repaired recently, but it seems that it has not been repaired for a long time. The executing and monitoring agencies should be probed,” said Mohammed Zubair, a resident of Surankote. “It has become difficult to ride a two-wheeler on the potholed road,” he said. The residents said a number of accidents had occurred on the road and the authorities had turned a blind eye to the problem. “Two-wheelers skid off the road as it is in a bad shape. Steps need to be taken to tide over the problem,” said another resident, Rajesh Kumar. The commuters have alleged that the R&B Department repairs roads near to the visiting sites of high-profile leaders or bureaucrats and the black-topping washes away in a day. The commuters have held public representatives responsible for their silence over the issue. Executive Engineer, R&B, was not available for comment. Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Sajjad Ahmed Khan said: “The roads are being repaired by the GREF and only it is responsible for them. We are taking the matter seriously and necessary directions will be issued to the GREF.”
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Most displaced Pandits won’t be able to
vote
Jammu, April 29 The Relief Commissioner’s Office deals with the issues of the displaced people after their exodus from the Valley on the onset of militancy in 1990. Since the past few months, Pandits have been protesting the cumbersome registration process for the community. They are voting at 13 special polling booths, established in Jammu during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. “It has remained a policy of the successive governments to deny the community its democratic right. The main Hindu population was concentrated in the Rainawari and Habba Kadal areas of Srinagar. Under a well-planned move to neutralise the minority votes in the 1980s, Habba Kadal was merged with Zadibal and Rainawari with Gulab Bagh and Old
Hawal. Now, the community members are being asked to go through a cumbersome process before exercising their franchise,” said KN
Pandita, a human rights activist. On April 24, when the Anantnag parliamentary constituency went to the polls, Kashmiri Pandits had protested non-inclusion in the voters' list despite filling the mandatory M-Form. They had also confronted the senior officers of the Election Commission and the Relief Commissioner for not updating the lists on time. “Before the migration of the community, the election agents, mainly from the National Conference (NC) and the Congress, used to cast proxy votes and would often tell people that their votes had been cast. It seems by denying us the democratic rights, politicians are again using the same dirty tactics,” said Veer
Saraf, a social activist. However, ARO Sachan Dev Singh said 1,679 forms had been accepted under which 5,098 migrant voters would be eligible to cast their vote. “Whatever forms we have received from the Relief Commissioner’s Office, we have tried our best to include them. However, there is also missing data and names have been deleted from the voters’ list in the Kashmir valley. We cannot do anything about it,” said Sachan Dev. Not in voter list Of the 36,015 registered Kashmiri Pandit voters, 5,098 voters can cast their vote as only 1,888
M-Forms have been processed by the Assistant Returning Officer, which it received from the Relief Commissioner’s Office. |
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Police crackdown on youth ahead of polls draws flak
Srinagar, April 29 Over the last 36 hours, the J&K Police have taken into custody hundreds of youth and activists from different parts of Kashmir. The police on Tuesday acknowledged that 500 youth and activists had been taken into custody. It said around 400 stone throwers and trouble mongers were taken into preventive custody from central Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam alone, which were going to the polls tomorrow. The authorities have kept top separatist leadership in Kashmir under house arrest, besides taking many others under preventive custody, who have been advocating poll boycott. “Such suppressive measures (rampant arrests) to contain dissent add to the already existing levels of alienation among the people. The arrest spree under the garb of law and order must stop and instead the youth should be urged to follow peaceful means to express their concern for justice and democratic rights,” Tarigami said in a statement here, while urging the authorities to review their policies and release the youth and political leaders without any delay. The Kashmir High Court Bar Association, while condemning the police crackdown on youths and activists, urged the international community to take note of the happenings in Kashmir. “The wanton arrests of youth, old, infirm and sick in the name of maintaining law and order has triggered widespread resentment, panic and fear among the people,” a Bar spokesman said here. The Bar urged the international community to take notice of the happenings in Kashmir, the spokesman added. Demanding immediate release of the arrested persons, Valley-based HR group International Forum for Justice and Human Rights here in a statement said the administration could not justify its actions in the name of security concern due to which an atmosphere of uncertainty had been created in
Kashmir. Criticising the authorities for resorting to arrests ahead of polls, hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani claimed that Kashmir had been turned into a jail. He reiterated his shutdown call on April 30 in the Valley.
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Pangi in Himachal Pradesh getting poll-related supply via
Kishtwar
Jammu, April 29 The Pangi area with a population of around 25,000 falls in Chamba district of Himachal and is part of the Kangra parliamentary constituency, which will be going to the polls on May 7 along other three Lok Sabha constituencies of the state. On Kangra Lok Sabha seat, there is a triangular fight between the
BJP, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Former BJP J&K prabhari Shanta Kumar is contesting the election from this seat.
Pangi is not accessible through any road from Chamba during these days as the Rohtang Pass and Sach Pass are still closed. The only land route to the area is opened via the Padder area of Kishtwar district and the district administration,
Chamba, has decided to send some poll-related items through this route. “The Kishtwar-Padder-Pangi route being a traditional one for the people of Pangi remains opened throughout the year and as the other two routes are still closed, we decided to go ahead by sending a few poll-related items via
Kishtwar,” Kadam Sandeep Vasant, Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, told The Tribune. He said the people of the Pangi area were doing much of their business with Jammu as it was easily accessible to them throughout the year. “During winters, Pangi gets disconnected with the rest of the state and in absence of any land route from within the state, we decided to use traditional route via
Kishtwar. We have sent electronic voting machines (EVMs) and some important poll-related items by using chopper services, but few items, which couldn’t be airlifted, have been sent via
Kishtwar,” Vasant added. The Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, said he had told the Deputy Commissioners, Kathua and
Kishtwar, about the arrival of a few vehicles. “Our own security is accompanying these vehicles, but the local administration has also been informed,” he
added. Jatindra Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, said, “Yes, I have been informed by the Chamba Deputy Commissioner about the arrival of their poll-related vehicles and we have allowed them to proceed towards the area.” These vehicles had to move through twin districts of Doda and
Kishtwar, which have remained a hotbed of militancy since long. But the Deputy Commissioner,
Doda, was not aware of any such movement through his area. “I am not aware of any movement of vehicles on election duty through Doda district,” said Mubarak Singh, Deputy Commissioner,
Doda.
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Broader national consensus needed to address K-issue: Mufti
Srinagar, April 29 “Instead of indulging in histrionics and rhetoric for votes, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father, union minister Farooq Abdullah, should tell the people what they have done for Jammu and Kashmir while in power all these years,” Mufti said while addressing a series of rallies in the Sangrama Assembly segment of the Baramulla parliamentary constituency. He said having lost the ground, National Conference (NC) leaders were ironically now trying to exploit Kashmir’s pain for political gains by indulging in absurd theatrics. “While people in every nook and corner of J&K are suffering immensely because of the complete collapse of governance, NC leaders have reverted to the outdated tactics of emotional blackmail to exploit the public sentiment,” he said and added that the reign of repression, let loose by the NC-Congress coalition regime on hapless youth was pushing the state towards another phase of instability and strife. In another rally, PDP candidate for Baramulla and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, while coming down heavily upon Farooq Abdullah, said he should be the first to jump into the ocean for having supported the BJP and giving that party legitimacy in 1996. Beigh said Farooq had been completely panicked by the anger of the people against his party and the government and that was why he was indulging in rhetoric and rabble-rousing on issues completely irrelevant to the problems of Kashmir. Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has said the participation in the elections offered the only route to take Kashmir out of repression, injustice and fear. Addressing rallies in the Rafiabad segment of the Baramulla constituency, Mehbooba said hundreds of youth had been locked up across the Srinagar parliamentary constituency and rural areas of Kashmir to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear.
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J&K Women Development Corporation refuses payment to data entry operator
Jammu, April 29 Thye data entry operator alleged that a private software solution provider had engaged him to work for the corporation for Rs 50 per file to create its database, but he had not been paid for the last six months, even after completion of his contract. "I processed more than 1,200 files and the corporation had to pay me Rs 60,000. When I asked for the money, the officials flatly refused to pay. I have visited the office several times to get my payment, but there is no response from officials," said the aggrieved data entry operator, Rajkumar, belonging to Udhampur district. Rajkumar claimed that he had visited the JKWDC office several times, but senior officials had refused to address the issue and gave him just assurances. Though none of the senior officials from the JKWDC was available for comment, but Malik Yasir, Director of outsourcing company Ray Net was surprised by the attitude of the corporation. "They had approached me to provide them a trained data entry operator on contract basis for Rs 50 per file. But so far they have not paid anything to Rajkumar, who belongs to a poor family," said Yasir.
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Voting time reduced by an hour
Srinagar, April 29 "The voting time has been reduced by an hour for Srinagar where polls are scheduled to be held tomorrow," a poll official said. Sources said the voting hours were reduced because of security reasons, although nobody in the administration was prepared to go on record to say so. Director General of Police Ashok Prasad told mediapersons that 241 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling in Srinagar. Nearly, 10,000 police personnel would also be deployed. Tight security arrangements have been made in Srinagar after one polling officer was killed and five were injured in violence in Anantnag constituency on April 24. On Sunday, 17 people were injured in a grenade explosion near the venue of an election rally in Magam town of Budgam district ahead of a rally by National Conference candidate Farooq Abdullah. Another blast occurred some distance away from the venue in Khanyar old city area of Srinagar. No one was, however, injured in this explosion. The protesters had also pelted stones at over three dozen polling stations in Anantnag on April 24. Dozens of stone-throwers have been arrested in Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts, part of the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat. The police said these were precautionary measures and those taken into preventive custody would be released after voting ends in Srinagar.
— IANS
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7,000 govt officials deputed at 1,546
booths
Srinagar, April 29 All booth-level officials have also been directed to remain present at polling stations till voting
is complete. Polling officials were carried by the State Road Transport Corporation and private vehicles to their respective polling stations. There were, however, reports that some of the officials had not reached their designated polling booths till late afternoon in old city Srinagar. More than 90 per cent of the polling stations were described by J&K Chief Electoral Officer as
hypersensitive. The employees unions and civil society groups in the Valley have been urging the Election Commission to make adequate security arrangements for polling officials in the light of recent militant attack
on a polling booth in Shopian district of the Anantnag constituency, resulting in the death of a polling official. The Returning Officer of Srinagar said elaborate arrangements had been made for the polling officials, with respect to their security, boarding
and lodging. “The polling officials will stay overnight at their allotted polling booths. We have provided them sleeping bags and dinner. As for the security, we are aware of the hypersensitivity of the constituency and security arrangements are well in place. The polling officials, after the completion of polling, will hand over the electronic voting machines to security personnel present and
be ferried to their homes,” Shah said.
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State cricket association elections likely in
May
Jammu, April 29 Sources in the JKCA said the upcoming election was of utmost importance because the main office-bearers were either sacked or resigned after the scam in March 2012. Since then, the JKCA is functioning without its general secretary, chairman and some other main office-bearers. However, the last elections were held on June 23, 2011.
Manzoor Wazir, JKCA treasurer, told The Tribune that the date for holding the crucial elections was yet to be announced by the state cricket association. “As far as the date of election is concerned, we have yet to decide, but it is most likely to be held in the last week of May this year,” Manzoor Wazir claimed. “Conducting elections is of prime concern now for the JKCA for its smooth functioning and JKCA chief Dr Farooq Abdullah has recently made it clear that the elections will be held immediately after completion of the parliamentary polls to elect a new team of office-bearers,” the JKCA treasurer maintained. However, he said women cricketers had also been paid for the 2012-13 season. “The matter has been sorted out and the cheques were distributed among all the women cricketers,” Wazir claimed. Sources claimed that the state male cricketers had recently been paid their long-pending match fees of last season, totalling about Rs 80 lakh with the state association taking the money out from its fixed deposit receipts to make the payment. “Match fees of players, who appeared in the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) tournaments in 2012-13, had been delayed after the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in Srinagar froze the accounts of the Farooq Abdullah-headed JKCA in the aftermath of the 2012 scam,” the sources added. The players have been paid for last year and the amount is approximately Rs 80 lakh.
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Agricultural university organises training programme for farmers
Jammu, April 29 Dr Sanjay Koushal, team member, National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), briefed the farmers on the objectives of the programme. Dr Vivek Manohar Arya, principal investigator, emphasised on the role of potash in maintaining soil fertility and soil health. Dr Vivek stressed on the judicious use of fertilisers by farmers on the basis of targeted yield concept. Dr Arya asked the farmers of the area to have direct linkage with the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) so that they could take the benefit of the new scientific knowledge of agriculture. Dr AP Singh from the KVK, Kathua, advised the farmers to adopt the recommended packages and practices of the university for mitigating the effect of future climatic changes. Various other dignitaries, namely SD Savtantra, former Principal Chief Conservator, advised the farmers to take the benefit of the various state and Centre-sponsored schemes. The representatives of the Indian Potash Limited assured the farmers of the area that quality fertilisers from the IPL would be available to them as per the need. Rajeev Sharma delivered the vote of thanks and advised the farmers to take advantage of such programmes.
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Stone-throwers’ threat: Police detain 500
more youths
Srinagar, April 29 More arrests were made by the police from sensitive places in Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal, the three districts where polls are scheduled on Wednesday. “These trouble makers and stone-throwers have been taken into preventive custody to ensure peaceful polls,” said a senior police official. “We will not allow anyone to create trouble during the elections and more arrests are expected in the coming days,” he added. The massive arrests across Kashmir were made in the wake of various stone-throwing incidents in south Kashmir’s Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, where polls were held on April 24. While the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat is going to the polls tomorrow, Baramulla would go to the polls on May 7. The police have already detained many youth from various areas of north Kashmir, who had a history of being involved in stone-throwing.
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Commerce chamber election on June 21
Jammu, April 29 After every two years, elections for all posts of officials of the CCIJ are to be held. Due to the ongoing parliamentary elections, the election was delayed and when pressure was mounted on the CCIJ president, an executive committee meeting was called and date for the election was decided. “We had called a meeting of the executive body and by mutual consensus, June 21 has been finalised. But all other formalities will be decided in the upcoming meetings,” said YV Sharma, CCIJ president. “The CCIJ had suggested September for conducting elections, but it was not accepted by most of the members. Some were demanding to hold elections on May 31, but it was not possible. As per the requirements and constitution, June 21 emerged as the suitable date for polling,” he said.
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event. Chairman of the school Vijay Kumar Basur and Principal Dr Vidya Sagar Sharma appreciated the students for their efforts and presented medals to the winners and certificates to all the
participants. Ananiya, Vipra and Disha bagged gold medals, whereas Mavansh, Himanshu and Khushali had to be contended with silver medals.
Aditya, Mehak and Janvi clinched bronze medals. TNS
relations officer, defence, Lt Col Manish Mehta said.
The Army seized one AK-56 rifle, one .303 rifle, one 7.62mm pistol, 94 rounds of AK-56 rifle, six rounds of pistol, five rounds of .303 rifle, four AK magazines and four Chinese grenades.
It is the second major success for the security forces this month. A militant hideout was busted by the Army and the police on April 4 in the Puneja-Bhaderwah forests of erstwhile Doda district.
— OC
Jammu, April 29
