|
|
Cong assails NC for ignoring Gujjars, Bakerwals Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Pradesh Congress-I has assailed National Conference for ....more BSP holds various election meetings Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Bahujan Samaj Party leaders today held various election meetings in support of party nominee.....more Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, Feb 10: Society can progress and prosper only when it is secure from internal and external threats........more EC for action against electoral offences Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, Feb 10: The Election Commission of India, has asked the State to launch ......more Farooq
condoles Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, Feb 10: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah has..more |
 |
Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party’s candidate for by-elections to Jammu Poonch Parliamentary .........more BJP, BSP, Cong misleading people of Jammu region:NC Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Lashing out on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other political parties, the .....more Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: A brother was murdered by brother in village Sarore under the jurisdiction of Bishnah Police Station while as an unidentified body of a ........more Sagar reviews situation with prominent citizens, officials Excelsior Correspondent Srinagar, Feb 10: To have feed back on the situation arising out of the recent heavy snowfall and take stock of the work done by the divisional administration in restoring essential s..........more |
Cong assails NC for ignoring Gujjars, Bakerwals Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Pradesh Congress-I has assailed National Conference for sidelining the interests of Gujjars and Bakerwals and said that it was for this reason that no proper census has been done so far for their population. A party release issue here said that because of the discriminatory policies of the National Conference Government, there is a strong resentment in the entire community. The spokesman said that NC has been intentionally neglecting hilly, backward and far-flung areas of Rajouri and Poonch districts. Unfortunately, the situation in both these districts has become alarming after the installation of NC Government and both districts have become dreaded hide-outs of the terrorists and their activists, the spokesman said. It said that even after 54 years of Independence, the successive Governments have miserably failed to provide basic amenities to the inhabitants of Poonch and Rajouri districts. The ST status granted to Gujjar and Bakerwal communities has not been implemented so far, the statement said, adding that Pahari speaking people of these areas have not been included in this category for reasons best known to the ruling party. It said that the Congress Party will strive for the removal of these anomalies so that the important section of the society living in border areas, could play an important role in nation-building activities. Meanwhile, Ch Mohd Aslam, former PCC-I president alongwith party candidate Madan Lal, addressed series of meetings at Poonch, Surankote and Manjakot in which large number of Gujjars and Bakerwals participated. These leaders in their speeches assailed the NC Government for ignoring Gujjars and Bakerwals. Instead of looking into their grievances, the NC kept the terrorism live and in the process amassed crores of rupees, the Congress leaders asserted. In his speeches at Mendhar and Nowshera, Madan Lal Sharma asserted that NC Government never cared for the unemployed youth. He appealed to the secular minded people, especially Gujjars and Bakerwals to vote for Congress as it was the only party which has supported this section of the society in the State. Gurdev Singh, Ramesh Sharma and Taj Mohd also spoke on the occasion. Meanwhile, Congress candidate Madan Lal Sharma and PCC-I general secretary Abdul Gani Vakil have asked Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, his Ministers and MLAs to make public their source of income as they have "accumulated and obtained" property and made assets worth crores o rupees within a short span of time. Addressing party meetings here, both Sharma and Vakil cautioned people not to get allured by the music of autonomy, which they said, was simply a deception. They stated that on one hand Dr Farooq Abdullah passed resolution in favour of autonomy in the State Assembly and on the other hand, his son Omar rejected it at New Delhi. They termed it as baseless the claim of State Government that they have taken up various developmental works in the State. Meanwhile, in Bishnah, president block Congress Committee, Chatter Saini visited various areas in order to garner support for Congress candidate Madan Lal Sharma. Darshan Raina, AICC member toured various villages of R S Pura alongwith local leaders, appealing people to vote in favour of Congress candidate. Hans Raj Bhagat, PCC member inaugurated an election Office at Ramgarh. Speaking on the occasion, he appealed to the people to ignore opportunist party leaders and instead help and vote Congress candidate. |
 |
BSP holds various election meetings Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Bahujan Samaj Party leaders today held various election meetings in support of party nominee Sheikh Abdul Rehman who is contesting election for Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha by-polls. These meetings were held at Chack Shaian, Badyal Qazian, Share Chack Talar, Bale Chack and Tindian in R S Pura. The MLA Kathua, Sagar Chand, while addressing the meetings, lambasted at National Conference and Bharatiya Janata Party for befooling and exploiting the innocent people of border areas. He appealed to the voters to exercise their franchise in favour of BSP candidate who he said was the most suitable candidate for this constituency. Girdhari Lal Bhagat, senior vice president in his speeches, flayed both NC and BJP for the present turmoil in the State. He assailed the ruling party in the State for Resettlement Act and demanded permanent resident status to 1947 refugees. Meanwhile, a public gathering was held by BSP unit at Mendhar. It was presided over by BSP State president and candidate for Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency, Sheikh Abdul Rehman. Addressing the gathering , Rehman said that it was the right time to take decision for electing the candidate out of all candidates of various political parties and said that the BSP was the only growing party which will come to the power in future. Rehman assailed Congress and PDP for befooling people. He claimed that BSP was the only party that has always raised the issues for poor SC, ST, weaker and backward section of the society. Among others who spoke on the occasion included K A Qazi, Makhan Singh, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din, S S Mehta, Fateh Singh, Mohd Amin Bhati and Wajahat Husain. |
|
|
Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, Feb 10: Society can progress and prosper only when it is secure from internal and external threats. While external threats are attended to by the defence forces, maintenance of peace and internal security is the primary task and responsibility of police. These views were expressed by the Director General of Police, Mr. A.K.Suri while addressing officer cadets comprising 52 Dy. Superintendents and 85 Sub-Inspectors of Police at Sher-e-Kashmir Police Training Academy, Udhampur last evening. While welcoming the new entrants in police force, the DGP said that the whole society depends upon police for security. ‘It is the police which has to provide peaceful and scare free atmosphere from criminals, terrorists and other inimical elements so that people engaged in different fields work to their fullest potential’. Calling police profession as one of the finest professions, the DGP said that this profession does not only provide bread but also provides job satisfaction and recognition. "But remember, recognition does not come all of a sudden. It comes through honesty, sustained hard work and wholehearted commitment to public service". The DGP said that police organization is the most visible face of Govt. It is to be seen in the remotest areas of the state as also in the busy streets of towns and cities. Narrating some incidents based on his experience, Mr. Suri enjoined upon the trainee officers to be honest and truthful first to themselves and only then they could be honest and sincere in dealing with the people. Giving them important bits for efficient administration and public service in a welfare state, the DGP called upon them to be accessible and transparent. ‘Ensure accessibility and transparency in your work. Freely allow people to meet you. All their grievances may or may not be genuine but give them a patient hearing. Being at a cutting edge level in police hierarchy use your authority in a just manner. Abuse of authority will bring bad name not only to you but it will also tarnish the image of whole police force. Be tough and unwavering while dealing with the anti-social and anti-national elements but be equally humane and polite while dealing with peaceful and law abiding citizens. Always extend a helping hand to women and downtrodden sections of society. Avoid harassment. Build confidence in the minds of people. Even a small goodwill gesture can earn you lots of love and respect which you may not have even dreamt of’. The DGP said that after the completion of training, the Dy.SP and SIs will have to work on important assignments. They will perform supervisory roles and work in police stations. He said it would be they who will have to keep a close liaison with public and build up police image, saying police are in partnership relationship with public in a welfare state and gone are the days when policeman had to wield lathi for his master during British-India period. He advised them to be fair and impartial and honour human dignity. ‘ Once in police, your caste, creed and convictions , all merge in uniform. It is the rule of law which must prevail’. Laying stress on fairness and impartiality, the DGP said that in the criminal justice system it is the policeman who first of all appears on the scene. It is he who identifies at the very first stage the wrong doer and prosecutes him in the court of law. A policeman, therefore, should exercise his authority vested in him with appropriate care, justice and fairness. He should be an object of strength and reliability. With crime going hi-tech he asked them to update their knowledge and skills. Emphasising on man-management, Mr. Suri said that sub-ordinates are the best judge of their seniors. Here, too, he said the same tenents of accessibility and transparency govern. Terming senior officers as fathers of the force, he exhorted trainees to pay due respects to them. The DGP also disclosed that fifty more SIs will be recruited and sent to the Academy within a month. He lauded the innovative measures of the Director SKPTA, Mr. Radhavinod Raju. Mr. Raju has prepared a capsule on public speaking for trainees keeping in view the need of police-public rapport in the field. Several senior police officers were present during an hour long address of the DGP. |
|
EC for action against electoral offences Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, Feb 10: The Election Commission of India, has asked the State to launch a special drive to compile list of persons who indulged in various electoral offences during past two elections. Offences include booth- capturing, intimidation and impersonation etc. According to the CEO J&K, Mr. Prabodh Jain, the Commission is deeply aware of the increasingly vitiative role of criminality and muscle power at election. A number of measures have already been initiated by the Commission to prevent pre-poll, poll and post poll violence and inspire confidence in the impartiality of election machinery among the common electorates. The Commission has also asked the State to update the list of history sheeters, declared absconders and fugitive criminals. The Commission has also asked the State to conduct a 100 per cent scrutiny of arms and ammunition shops to ensure that records of their stocks are kept up-to-date and that their antecedents, recent involvement in irregularities, if any and political leanings, if any warrants their close super checking and monitoring of their business during the days of active electioneering. The Commission has also asked the State to unearth illicit liquor making factories and arms and ammunition. The Commission has asked all the recognised political parties and others to take serious note of these measures. |
|
Farooq condoles demise of Saroor Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, Feb 10: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah has condoled the demise of Prof. Ala Ahmed Saroor, renewed Urdu scholar and poet, who died in New Delhi yesterday. Dr Abdullah recalled the services of Prof. Saroor to the cause of Urdu literature and study of Iqbal in Kashmir University, where he headed the Iqbal Institute for a long time. In a condolence message to the bereaved family, Dr Abdullah has expressed profound grief over the passing away of Prof. Ala Ahmed Saroor and prayed to God to give courage to the family for bearing this irreparable loss. |
|
|
Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party’s candidate for by-elections to Jammu Poonch Parliamentary constituency Prof Bhim Singh today said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has weakened the country due to its wrong policies. Addressing a public meeting at City Chowk this evening, Prof Singh said "Vajpayee is a very weak man and he doesn’t deserve to sit on the chair of Prime Minister", adding "deployment of Army all along the border is merely an election stunt". "Despite having been suffered losses of crores of rupees for Army deployment the Central Government has not dared to teach Pakistan a lesson", he said, adding "the central leadership has demoralised the morale of the security forces a number of times". He said that both National Conference (NC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have landed whole State into dangerous situation and only these outfits are responsible for the unaccounted problems of border people, who have been living in helish condition. "National Conference has made the State a breading ground for corrupt elements and BJP put the whole country at stake for its petty interests", National Panthers Party’s candidate for Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary constituency bye-elections said, adding "it is very strange that Chief Minister never bothered to pay a visit to listen to the grievences of border migrants". Prof Singh said that it was only his party which dared to file petition challenging Resettlement Act in Supreme Court despite the fact that BJP was also opposing the same and added that Panthers Party will not allow any political party to play with the sentiments of the Jammu people and oppose anti-Jammu polices tooth and nail. Meawhile, Miss Jammu and Kashmir Anara Gupta also addressed the public meeting of National Panthers Party and said that she came forward to help this political outfit keeping in view the clear and pro-Jammu policies of Prof Singh and added that in Prof Bhim Singh’s efforts to redress the grievences of Jammu, people have to render helping hand by casting their franchise in the favour of Panthers Party. "Prof Singh has been relentlessly fighting for the cause of Jammuites and obtained stay on Resetlement Act from Supreme Court", Miss Anara said and made fervent appeal to people of Jammu to whole heartedly support Prof Singh. She further said "if we help Prof Singh in making entry in Lok Sabha he will raise grievences of Jammu people in Parliament", adding "with our support Prof Singh would succeed in making Jammu a separate State". Panthers Party MLA from Ramnagar Mr Harsh Dev Singh, Mrs Vijay Chib, S Mushtaq Ahmed Khan and Sanjoy Sachdev, president National Journalist Front (India) also spoke on the occasion. |
|
BJP, BSP, Cong misleading people of Jammu region:NC Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Lashing out on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other political parties, the senior leader of National Conference and Minister for Forests and Environment, Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah today said that these political parties were misleading people of Jammu region about "so-called discrimination with the region". Addressing election rallies at Sunderbani and Nowshera, the Minister alleged that the opposition was infact sore of the performance of the ruling party and its efforts to develop the entire State. Peerzada said that the contribution made by the present Government towards infrastructure development of Jammu region, is before the people and Government doesn’t need any political parties’ certificate for the same. He said that the contribution made by NC for strengthening State’s bonds with the rest of the nation by rejecting two-nation theory has made it a popular organisation among the people of all three regions of the State. He appealed to the people to cast their votes in the ensuing Jammu-Poonch by-election to the dedicated, honest and political leader of NC, Ch Talib Hussain for development of State equally to hilly and border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Minister of State for Social Welfare, Syed Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari, Minister or State for Rural Development, Ajay Sadhota and Minister for Agriculture, Ram Paul also addressed the rallies. Meanwhile, addressing election rallies at village Lam in Rajouri, Peerzada accused BJP of befooling masses by raising Mandir—Masjid issue to grab votes. He said that BJP has been playing with the religious sentiments of the people. At Darhal, Minister of State for Revenue and senior National Conference leader Ch. Mohammed Hussain, who represents Darhal Assembly constituency organised a massive election rally in support of NC candidate for Jammu-Poonch constituency Ch Talib Hussain at Darhal town today. Addressing a gathering at the town, Choudhary Hussain said that only National Conference is the true representative of the people in Jammu and Kashmir State. The NC has managed to contain militancy and bring the shattered economy of the State to the rails with the sincere efforts of its leader Dr Farooq Abdullah and his able ministers. The NC has achieved a lot in re-developing the infrastructure damaged by militants in past four-five years and tried its best to normalise the system in the State. Several NC activists sacrificed their lives due to militancy but the Party continued to face the brunt of terrorism with bold and effective initiative. He strongly criticised the BJP and Congress for launching alleged disinformation campaign against NC and maintained that people are wise enough and can not be misguided by launching false and vicious propaganda. Ch Hussain appealed the people to support their local candidate, Ch Talib Hussain in the elections. Senior NC leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Mirza Abdul Rashid also accompanied Ch Hussain and Talib Hussain. He apprised the people about the achievements of NC and appealed the voters to support National Conference. Meanwhile, Provincial president of National Conference, Bodh Raj Bali today inaugurated Election Office at Circular Road. Addressing the gathering after the inauguration, Bali called upon the workers to fan in their respective areas and join hands with the other party fellows in an election campaign so as to ensure the victory of Ch Talib Hussain. Rattan Lal Gupta, vice president J&K National Conference Jammu province addressed meeting of Ward presidents, Mohalla presidents and other prominent workers where he appealed to the activists to help in the victory of Ch Talib Hussain. Meanwhile, National Conference Minority Cell leader, Rattan Lal Pandita has appealed to all Jammu-based Kashmiri Pandits to cast their votes in favour of NC candidate as the party has the strong secular credentials. In a statement here, Pandita said that National Conference has always advocated for Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity and NC leadership has sacrificed many a times but rejected the two-nation theory. Meanwhile, former Health Minister and MLA Akhnoor, Govind Ram addressed various election meetings in his constituency where he appealed to the people to cast their vote in favour of NC candidate Ch Talib Hussain. Addressing election rallies at Duroi, Sarna and Cheela Dunga, Minister of State for Works and Power, Qamar Ali Akhoon asserted that some parties have been raising the bogey of regional imbalance, particularly at the time of husting to mislead the people. He cited various developmental projects that have been taken up in Jammu region only under the regime of Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. |
|
|
Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: A brother was murdered by brother in village Sarore under the jurisdiction of Bishnah Police Station while as an unidentified body of a male was recovered from MahaMaya under mysterious circumstances. According to police, one Vijay Kumar, son of Shiv Ram of Sarore was done to death by his brother Tilak Raj in fields at village Sarore. Both the brothers had indulged into verbal dual over some family matter and after heated exchanges Tilak Raj brought out a sharp-edged weapon and inflicted critical injuries on Vijay Kumar. The accused immediately fled away from the spot leaving behind the victim bleeding profusely. Some other villagers spotted Vijay Kumar in pool of blood and informed their parents. The critically injured Vijay Kumar was rushed to hospital but before reaching hospital he succumbed to his injuries due to excessive bleeding and doctors pronounced him as brought dead. A case has been registered at Bishnah Police Station in this regard and further investigations were on. A hunt was on to nab the accused but no arrest was made till reports last came in. Meanwhile, an unidentified body of a man was recovered from Maha Maya area under mysterious circumstances. Some locals spotted the body under the Railway ridge and informed the police which rushed to the spot and took the body into custody. The body was, later, shifted to Government Medical College Hospital for identification and post-mortem. A case under Section 174 RPC has been registered in this connection and further investigations were on. |
|
Sagar reviews situation with prominent citizens, officials Excelsior Correspondent Srinagar, Feb 10: To have feed back on the situation arising out of the recent heavy snowfall and take stock of the work done by the divisional administration in restoring essential services and communication links, a largely attended meeting of prominent citizens, journalists and civil and police officials was held here with the Works Minister, Mr. Ali Muhammad Sagar in the chair. Apart from the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Mr. Parvez Dewan, various deputy commissioners and heads of departments were present. The Minister solicited views of the public on the situation and asked the concerned officials to respond to the points raised in the meeting. He sought information from officers individually. The general opinion was that the administration had swiftly responded to the situation thrown by severe snowfall and made every effort to restore the severed communication links and essential services. Various participants from the public and the media appreciated the efforts of the administration. There were some isolated areas where some speakers called for urgent attention for redress of grievances but over all the good work done was highly appreciated. Mr. Sagar said that he had come on the instructions of the Chief Minister who had taken note of a very damaging report broadcast on Radio Kashmir Srinagar the other day wherein the situation was painted very grim. He said he himself heard the report and was surprised to see how the reporter had killed facts and resorted to concoction. The report, he said, claimed that while people were inconvenienced due to accumulated snow on roads, the officials were pocketing money provided for snow clearance. He said nothing could be far fetched than this as the Government had not released even a penny on this account so far. He said such baseless reports have a very negative effect on the public mind and need to be avoided. The Minister welcomed the right of the media to criticise the working of the Government but said this right had to be used in a way where fiction and concoction did not overwhelm facts. He said Government was alive to media reports and takes cognizance of these. At the same time, he said, media persons have to ensure that they did not criticise the Government for the sake of it. Good work should also be talked about, he added. Mr. Sagar said while there might be some shortcomings, the snow clearance and system restoration work was started very quickly by the concerned officials. He said the fact that the Hajj pilgrims reached the airport at 7.30 AM on Feb 8, the morning after the heavy snowfall, shows that snow clearance work had been taken up swiftly. He said the Doordarshan also showed clippings of snowfall and heavy traffic plying on roads and asked how could vehicles move unless snow had been cleared. A group of Hajj pilgrims from remote areas of Pulwama district where snowfall was heavier, also reached Srinagar in time but no one highlighted this or bothered to know how they were able to reach here if snow clearance had not been done, he said. The Minister asked the administration to continue with the good work it had done and take into account the smallest problem faced by people. He said administration was meant to mitigate the inconveniences faced by the public and baseless criticism should not deter it from doing its job. He called upon the civic bodies to immediately clear the lanes and by-lanes in their respective areas where snow clearance is on or yet to be taken up. He asked the power development department to ensure strict adherence to the current power schedule to avoid inconvenience to consumers. Mr. Sagar had a word of appreciation for the State Hajj Committee and the divisional administration for making excellent arrangements for pilgrims’ departure and stay in hotels. He said the pilgrims he heard at the airport were all praise for this. The Minister thanked the participants for their views and suggestions and assured them that he would brief the Chief Minister about these. Earlier, the Divisional Commissioner briefed the meeting about the steps taken in the wake of the snowfall. He said the administration did not loose any time in taking the necessary measures to restore communication links and essential services. He said the job was done according to the priority that in the first place went to the restoration of essential services. He said except for Handwara and Pahalgam, the road link has been restored in all district and tehsil headquarters. The power supply to Srinagar City and major towns is already back. He said in the rural areas the facilities would take a couple of days for total restoration. |
|
Displaced Agri Employees Asso constituted Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Displaced Agriculture Employees Welfare Association here today constituted its Executive Body by electing Mr V K Kashtkari as its chairman. As per a release, Messrs Pamposh Kaul, Pankaj Handoo and Rakesh Raina were elected as vice chairman, general secretary and secretary respectively. Besides Messrs Sunil Kaul, H K Razdan, Ramesh Saraf, Vinod Kaul, Shiban Lal Bhagati, Ramesh Thusoo, Ashok Kaul, Sanjay Handoo, Chand Narayan Bhat, Surinder Fotedar and K L Bhat were elected executive Committee members. Returning Officer Kuldeep Kumar was assisted by Jitender Kaul and Jag Mohan. |
|
|
Excelsior Correspondent POONCH, Feb 10: District unit of Bharatiya Janata Party opened its new election office near Qila on Saturday. A public rally was also organised by the unit on the occasion as a part of election campaign in favour of party candidate Dr Nirmal Singh. The rally started from newly inaugurated BJP office near Qila and finally terminated at Pritam park after passing through main bazar of the city. Former MLA Ch Bashir Ahmed Naz appealed the people to vote for BJP and move forward to end the undemocratic and dynastic rule of National Conference in the state. The people of the country should strengthen the hands of BJP at this critical juncture by voting for its candidate from Jammu-Poonch constituency, Dr Nirmal Singh who is well educated, honest, young and dedicated leader of the party. The people must encourage the young and educated politicians in the changing scenario, he maintained. Sarpanch Mohd Hussain also spoke on the occasion. |
|
Cong student wing to provide security to Valentine Lovers Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: Stoutly opposing threat of the Shiv Sena to disrupt Valentine Day functions, the national general secretary of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), Mr Rizwan Arshad today said that his organisation will provide every possible security to those who are interested in celebrating Valentine’s Day. Addressing a press conference, Mr Arshad termed Shiv Sena’s threat as ‘fascists’ and said that NSUI will not allow fundamentalists and fascist forces to flourish in the country. "We will provide security to all Valentine Birds and do not allow any fascist force to disrupt functions of lovers", he said, adding, "NSUI has constituted committees to frustrate designs of Shiv Sena". Coming down heavily on Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi for saffronising education, NSUI leader said that it was game-plan of the Sangh Parivar to spread communalism and fascism in the country. He said that AICC chief Mrs Sonia Gandhi has taken up this issue in the Parliament and Congress will take this issue to the streets to get the masses aware of the nefarious designs of Sangh Parivar. Terming Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah as irresponsible person, NSUI leader said that it was unfortunate that a non-serious person like Farooq Abdullah was at the helm of the affairs of this sensitive border state. He said that Farooq Abdullah was an opportunist man who can shift his loyalily like his clothes. Mr Rizwan Arshad constituted a campaign committee comprising Rajeev Saraf, Sanjeev Sharma, Rakesh Pant and Rajan Sharma. To highlight problems of the students NSUI leader said that a group of students will stage a protest demonstration in front of the office of Divisional Commissioner on Tuesday. |
|
PHE employees relay hunger strike enters 4th day Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: The relay hunger strike launched by the PHE workers in support of their various long pending demands has entered fourth day today. As per a release, the employees who replaced the previous batch include Messrs Ravi Dass, Sukhdev Raj and Balinder Singh. They all belonged to PHE Ground Water Division Jammu. Addressing the workers at PHE complex here today, Mr Subash Chander, provincial general secretary of the PHE Workers Welfare Association which is spearheading the present agitation claimed that workers from all PHE Divisions including far flung areas of Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua and Doda are participating in the ongoing agitation. He urged the State Government to concede the demands of PHE workers at an earliest and issue orders for regularisation of daily wagers of PHE Jammu on the Pattern of PHE Kashmir. Highlighting the other issues he demanded release of two and half days extra salary on the pattern of Health and PDD employees. He criticised the State Government for termination of daily wagers and demanded their re-engagement immediately.The Association also criticised the new wage policy of PWD Department and demanded that not a single daily wager be paid wages below Rs 60 per day. He warned that agitation will continue till all the pending demands are conceded by the Department. |
|
Slathia cautions people against Oppn propaganda Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 10: The Minister for Power, Mr S S Slathia has cautioned the people not to be mislead by the anti Government propaganda launched by some so called opportunist leaders of the opposition. Addressing a series of public meetings at Gupwal, Salmeri, Pekhri, Sangwal, Nathwal, Rajinderpura, Suchani, Phalla, Rahya, Kangwala, Patti and Ranjari he alleged these leaders are exploiting and befooling the innocent rural people on one pretext and the other to grind their own axe. He said under the leadership of Chief Minister,Dr Farooq Abdullah the state has ushered in an era of peace, prosperity and progress. The National Conference (NC) is the only Party which strengthened the bonds of national integrity, secularism and communal amity, he added. He said a number of revolutionary steps have already been taken to ameliorate the lot of the poor people of the state and this trend will continue till the desired results are achieved. He said the development of rural areas to bring them at par with living standard of urban areas by providing basic facilities of life to the villagers is among the priority of the NC Government. Mr Slathia appealed the people to remain united and strengthen the hands of NC by supporting its candidate in the ensuing Parliamentary by election. |
|
Neglected Trikuta hills facing severe threat of environmental degradation By Gopal Sharma The famous Trikuta hills of Mata Vaishnodevi in Katra, Reasi and Udhampur belts of Jammu region are facing severe threat of the environmental degradation due to continuous felling of trees and construction of new pony track to Shrine. Not only Vaishnodevi shrine area of these hills but the entire stretch has been badly damaged in last two-three decades. The ranges which were once full of thickly grown trees of Deodar, pine, Khair, Amla etc. are rapidly turning barren while neither Government nor any Environmental agency or the NGO gave attention towards the environmental threat to the area where more than fifty lakh people are visiting every year. The foreign material like polythene bags, utensils and empty bottles etc. being thrown down the hill enroute and also around Katra town by the lakhs of visiting pilgrims is another major threat to the surrounding environment. The mad race for construction of unplanned shops, hotels, restaurants, dhabhas and structures has severely affected the thick forests of the area because, the people exploited the green wealth for their use, ignoring the ecological importance of these forests which are very essential for the healthy existence of living organisms in the belt. With the hills turning barren, some change in the climate has also been experienced by the people of the area and there has been a sharp decline in the snow fall in past several years on Trikuta hills of Mata Vaishnodevi. Though the Shrine Board authorities have erected garbage containers at several places enroute and sufficient safai-karamcharis have been deployed for the task, but most of the pilgrims don’t use them and throw empty packs unevenly along the route. Lack of awareness among the visitors / pilgrims and non-cooperation on their part has compounded this problem. An increase in the incidents of landslides has been witnessed in past few years. The felling of trees and massive construction of buildings on the rocky mountain near Bhawan has invited additional threat. More than fifty lakhs of pilgrims on an average are visiting this holy Shrine every year. There is no sufficient space for the halt of a large number of pilgrims and their number is increasing every year. There is further no space for the extension of Bhawans/ buildings near Shrine and by digging and blasting mountain rocks, the space is being created. This process has caused increase in the land sliding incidents, especially during rainy seasons in summer or winters. Several pilgrims have been killed and others injured in such incidents. It has been alleged by the leading environmentalists here that during construction of pony/ motorable track, the environmental aspects were not take care of. A large number of green trees were felled and the process also posed threat of land slides. No efforts were utilised to plant trees around the new road to minimise the this threat. Ironically, no agency has taken serious view of it. Even the Shrine Board authorities have apparently become ignorant over the hard facts. With the sharp decline in forest covers around Katra and Shrine, the water sources are also drying up and Ban Ganga stream, which was earlier feeding the entire Katra town and the visiting pilgrims has now nearly dried up. Acute shortage of water is being faced by the people of this town for the last one decade and the State Government is planning to bring water from river Chenab, keeping in view the increasing demand of water. The timber smuggling mafia is also operating in the area in connivance with the Forest officials, which is busy in meeting the demand of timber being used in the construction of local hotels. This mafia is also playing a crucial role in the degradation of environment of the area and destruction of forests. They have let the mafiamen loose for carrying on their illegal activities. A senior Forest officer said that in order to control rapid degradation of land, which has engulfed more than half of our geographical area, the Government has decided to constitute National Development Watersheds Board in 1985. The main objective was to launch intensive plantation programmes by involving local people to bring more degraded land under plantation cover. Fuel and fodder plantation was given the priority to meet the needs of the people in order to check further deterioration of land. Apart from this, other organisations are also financing plantation schemes to restore degraded lands. Due to lack of proper look-after of these plants in the absence of enclosures / fencing, most of them die after some time and hardly ten per cent of them are seen grown. Commercial plantation is also being done by the Forest department to meet the demand of timber but emphasis has now been laid for intensive fuel and fodder plantation. He further said that in order to check the fast rate of depletion of forest area, Government of India made strict restriction on use of forest land through enactment of Forest (Conservation) Act 1980. The major thrust of the act is that all developing activities / projects should explore every alternative to restrict the use of forest area. In unavoidable circumstances, a condition is imposed for raising compensatory afforestation in lieu of forest area acquired. The act also prohibits felling of trees in forest area and in case trees are to be felled, 10 times the number of trees felled are to be planted as a compensation. Infact, there is urgent need to give proper attention towards Katra Vaishnodevi area. Not even a single Non-Governmental Organisation has come forward for plantation or for taking in hand different other projects. Massive afforestation drive is required to be launched all along the hills around yatra route and adjoining hills. The felling of trees be totally banned for at least ten years and supply of dry/ semi-green woods to the Dhabas and tea-stalls in the town be discouraged. Proper measures be taken to educate the pilgrims and create awareness among them about environment protection. |
|
ISI tentacles all
over India From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Feb 10: An Indian Security specialist has triggered a bit of commotion, prompting the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr L K Advani to issue fresh instructions to States and Union Territories to be extra-cautious against terrorists sinister designs to create chaos and disorder in as many areas as possible. The security specialist is none other than Mr P C Dogra, a former Director General of Police, Punjab. His paper, a copy of which has been received by Mr Advani as well, has highlighted his considered view. In case of war with Pakistan, there will be a large-scale internal sabotage in India. Mr Advani, infact, has called for "greater vigilance" by the police and other security and intelligence agencies at a time when signals received from different directions suggest the involvement of different kinds of elements and groups in attempts to engineer disorder and disruption in different places in the country. Mr Advani is said to have endorsed Mr P C Dogra’s finding: India is facing the onslaught of Jehadis in Kashmir, secessionist movement in North East and the violent class struggle in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. And yet another convincing finding: Pakistan’s ISI has spread its tentacles and established its strongholds all over India and works in tandem with all the disruptive forces. The Home Minister is also said to have agreed with Mr Dogra’s assessment that Al-Qaida had been supporting the Jihadi outfits in Kashmir. Masood Azhar, after his release in the swapping of passengers abroad IC-814, has been, according to Mr Dogra’s paper, receiving "Massive" financial support from Osama bin Laden. Mr Dogra’s research paper has also made a pointed reference to yet another villian, Omar Sheikh. Omar who was also released along with Masood Azhar could be responsible for the transfer of 100,000 dollars from Pakistan to either Germany or the Netherlands where the plot to attack the USA installations was hatched. Omar Sheikh’s link with former chief of the ISI, Lt Gen Mohammad has also found mention in the research paper. If this paper were to be believed, Jaish-e-Mohammad has established its foothold in Uttar Pradesh (UP) through the SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India). Even after the organisation was banned by the Government of India, SIMI activists eulogised Osama bin Laden as ‘God’s lion’ in Patna, Lucknow and Kanpur. A loose international network coordinated by Pakistani ISI embracing a wide range of organisation from Algoria to Egypt to Central Asia and Afghanistan was behind the Pakistani incursion into Kargil. Mr Dogra has stated that with money from Saudi Arabia and under the long-term strategy of ISI, Madrassas have sprung up in Jammu and Kashmir and all over the country especially along the Indo-Pak border of Punjab, Rajasthan and the Indo-Nepal border with a design to wean Indian Muslims from their traditional Indo-Islamic roots and inculcate in them the philosophy of Pan-Islamic fundamentalism. The research paper has also brought to the fore yet another informative piece; To fund various subversive activities in India, Pak ISI has set up a full-fledged facility in Peshawar to print counterfeit Indian currency notes. Nepal is being used in a big way for the smuggling of this currency. According to Mr Dogra, Indo-Nepal border is also used for the infiltration of Pak saboteurs. He has estimated that on an average 150 ISI-trained extremists and the mercenaries are pushed into India via Nepal every month. |
|
NC, Cong can’t take people for granted: Nirmal Singh Excelsior Correspondent RAJOURI, Feb 10: Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for Jammu-Poonch constituency Dr Nirmal Singh has said that both Congress and National Conference can not take people of Jammu for granted and they will be given an appropriate response in the ensuing elections. Addressing series of election rallies at Thandi Kassi, Manjakote, Dalgora, Narayan, Muradnagar, Dungi and Nowshera in district Rajouri on the second day of his election campaign in the district the BJP leader said that people of Jammu have faced the brunt of discrimination and deprivation during NC and Congress regime in the state even though Jammu region contributes about 70 per cent of the revenue for the Government. Be it political, administrative or socio -economic spheres, step-motherly treatment has been meted out to Jammu people in all the spheres. Dr Singh enumerated the policies and programmes of BJP led Government at the Centre under the dynamic leadership of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. He said under the leadership of Mr Vajpayee, the country has got new directions and it has achieved major success through diplomacy against Pakistan. The relations with several countries like China and USA have improved. He appealed the people to support Mr Vajpayee by voting in favour of BJP. Launching a scathing attack on both Congress and NC, the BJP leader alleged that these two parties are mainly responsible for terrorism in the Jammu and Kashmir. They are equally responsible for the worries of the masses. Senior Gujjar leader and All India senior vice-president of the Party Mr Din Mohd Cheetah accused Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah for harping on irrelevant issues like Re-settlement Act and autonomy. He said Dr Abdullah left the state when it was in turmoil and militancy at its peak. He cautioned the public against the political gimmicks of NC Government. Senior vice-president of the party Mr Kuldeep Raj Gupta, District Rajouri president Mr Vivodh Gupta and Mr Ram Parkash Sharma also spoke in the meetings. Meanwhile, a large number of Congress workers at Rajouri joined BJP alongwith their supporters. The prominent among them are Naresh Bakshi, Rakesh Khullar, Munish, Sarvesh and Anil. In another election rally at Miran Sahib and R S Pura today, Mr Anil Parihar has accused State Government for befooling people on the issue of autonomy. He alleged that NC was playing fraud with the people and they have no clear agenda for the ensuing elections. He claimed that POTO is very much needed to tackle the situation in view of growing terrorism in India. Mr Satpal, Rattan Lal, Ajaib Singh and Ashok Kumar also spoke on the occasion. MLA Ramban Mr Bali Bhagat while addressing election rally here today charged NC with mis-governance and maintained that the Party has only added to miseries of the people. The NC has no respect for law and rules and regulations and model code of conduct was being violated in several areas. Government machinery is being misused and Government officials are even involved in the election activity unauthorisedly. MLA Ashok Khajuria while inaugurating election office for Ward No. 1,2,4 and 12 in Jammu East segment launched scathing attack on NC and alleged that it has totally failed on all the fronts. He claimed that only BJP can remove the regional imbalances created by NC in the state. He said Dr Nirmal Singh is committed to complete the unfinished tasks of Vaid Vishnu Dutt and people should support BJP for the development of this constituency. Mr R L Dhar, general secretary Kashmir unit of BJP also addressed series of public meetings in support of Dr Nirmal Singh and appealed the people to support BJP in election. While speaking in a meeting at Muthi village, Mr Dhar alleged that all the development works have come to a standstill in Jammu region and funds are being diverted to Kashmir. The NC has given encouragement to corruption, nepotism and favouritism. He also highlighted the achievements of BJP led NDA Government and asked people to strengthen the hands of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. |
|
|
| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports | |
