CPM asks Cong(I), PDP to give non-NC Govt to people

SRINAGAR, Oct 20: Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami today urged the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to iron out their differences and form a non-National Conference (NC) coalition Government in the State.

"People will never forgive the Congress and the PDP if they fail to honour their verdict for a non-NC Government in the State", Mr Targami who held a detailed meeting with the Congress president Sonia Gandhi on this issue at New Delhi yesterday, said.

"I have made it clear to the Congress leaders that we, the non-NC parties, should honour the verdict of the people of the Jammu and Kashmir who are in favour of a change," Mr Targami, who is heading a seven-member group of Democratic Peoples Forum (DPF) MLAs, told UNI after his return from New Delhi this afternoon.

Expressing hope that some positive results would emerge from the meeting between senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh and the PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayed, he said they have to reach any conclusion in the interest of the people of the State.

Mr Targami who held a series of meeting with the Congress and the PDP leaders in an effort to iron out their differences on the issue of Chief Ministership, described as unfortunate the imposition of Governor’s rule in the State.

He said ardent proponents of status-quo and bitter opponents of a change have temporarily won the day by succeeding in imposing Governor’s rule in the State.

He said the people would have never expected state polity to take such an ugly shape and had not voted for Governor’s rule.

"This is what we have been trying to avoid all these days. But unfortunately the vested interest right from Delhi to Srinagar finally succeeded in subverting the democratic process," he added. Mr Tarigami said the political leadership had failed to rise up to the expectations of the people who had reposed their trust in them.

He said all possible efforts had been made during the last week for Government formation and they will keep on trying to ensure that the people’s mandate was not rendered redundant.

The Communist leader, who made it to the State Assembly for the second time alongwith Mr Khaliq Naik who won from Wachi constituency said that during his meeting with the Congress and the PDP he offered them his party’s support in Government formation.

I talked to leaders of both the parties and appealed to them to iron out their differences and prepare a common minimum programme, he said adding that there were no major hitches in arriving at any understanding. (UNI)

PM to go to Islamabad to attend SAARC meet in Jan

BANGALORE, Oct 20: Defence Minister George Fernandes today indicated that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would attend the 12th SAARC Summit in January in Islamabad, but ruled out immediate resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan, saying cross-border terrorism had not stopped.

"At the end of the Kathmandu Summit, it had been announced by the Government that the Prime Minister will participate in the next summit in Islamabad. I think that commitment so far holds good", Fernandes told reporters here.

Asked what the ‘movement’ forward was on further easing tensions between the two nations, following announcement of a pullback of troops by them, Fernandes said there was no possibility of any kind of dialogue at the moment with Islamabad, because cross-border terrorism had not stopped.

He also ruled out a cease-fire in Jammu and Kashmir.

"There is no question of any kind of cease-fire...Where we are attacked, we will respond. We can’t lower our guard when someone is attacking us", he said.

Asked if pull-back of troops signalled lowering of tension between the two nations, Fernandes said: "It indicates that we have chosen to redeploy our forces and Pakistan has reciprocated. In so far as terrorism is concerned, we have been fighting it for more than two decades now and we will keep fighting it wherever it surfaces".

On whether international pressure was behind New Delhi’s decision to pull-back troops, he said "anybody who says that is out of his mind".

Fernandes said the border situation had not changed much.

"But one good thing that has happened is that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have gone through a poll, a free and fair poll, for which the whole world, for god bless for what reasons, was concerned", he said.

Fernandes added: "Despite all the bloodletting that was on display there because of terrorist attacks and deaths of several hundred people, including candidates, voters, officials and others, there has been a very good election in Jammu and Kashmir".

He expressed the hope that elected members in the border State would not delay the formation of Government there.

Earlier, addressing the All India Primary Teachers’ Federation’s 22nd Biennial Educational National Conference, Fernandes said unemployment was the root cause of terrorism and emphasised the need for terrorists and militants, including CPM-ML, Leninists and Maoists, in the country, to come to the mainstream. (PTI)

It's foolish to write off Hurriyat : Jethmalani

NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Kashmir Committee chairman Ram Jethmalani today said it would be "foolish" to write off the Hurriyat Conference even though the separatist group did not participate in the just-concluded Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

"I do not believe it (Hurriyat) is getting sidelined. It may have demonstrated its strength if it had participated in the elections. But, it will be foolish to write them off," Jethmalani said when asked whether the polls and the results would begin the process of sidelining of the Hurriyat.

Jethmalani told PTI that the very fact that Hurriyat leaders have publicly repudiated advice from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) not to talk to the Committee showed the "direction in which the wind is blowing".

He said all elements in J and K have to be won over to ensure there was an "emotional" loyalty to India.

"We are not going to talk to Hurriyat alone, but to all elements including the State Government representatives," he said.

Jethmalani also spoke about threst in the working of his Kashmir Committee which recently held discussions with US diplomats.

This was reflective of Washington’s effort to gauge public opinion on a possible long-term solution to the decade-old militancy problem, he said.

"They are exploring all avenues of access to the public opinion and to the centres which have the ability to influence public opinion," Jethmalani said.

The Committee, which included eminent editors Dileep Padgaonkar and M J Akbar and former diplomat V K Grover, recently held talks with Donald Camp, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, for more than an hour. This followed the Committee’s earlier meeting with US Ambassador Rober Blackwill a few days ago.

Asked why the Americans were showing so much interest in the working of KC, Jethmalani said "they are anxious to know what role the Committee would play as the elections are over and whether it would shut shop."

"On our part we wanted to know whether America will sustain its interest in the region and and show the same level of intensity with which they have worked so far," he said.

Jethmalani said in these meetings "we could instill confidence and assure each other that we will continue to work until a concrete solution emerges."

He said Americans value the Indian democracy a lot and were "as convinced as any one of US that any solution hammered out by leaders has to be acceptable to the people".

He said a solution to the vexed Kashmir issue "must harmonise the conflicting interest of all political groups within the State."

Maintaining that the situation in Kashmir presented a very complex and complicated prism, he said "one thing is certain — perceptions and aspirations of Ladakh and Jammu are not the same as those expressed in the Valley. And in the Valley, there is so much of difference of opinion — a whole spectrum of conflicting opinions."

He said "people who think freely and who have no political self-interest should be at a premium" and added "that explains the American interest in the committee’s work." Jethmalani, who is going to the United States for a short visit in the first week of November, would meet certain separatist leaders settled there.

He said the Committee would work as a "stabilizer" or a "facilitator" in bringing together all elements playing some kind of a role in the State.

"Our main task will be to convince everybody that not finding a solution is a disaster and, therefore, a solution has to be found," the former Law Minister said.

"The other point which we will try to drive home was that a peaceful solution must involve, as the Hurriyat leaders have acknowledged, abandonment of extreme positions. Give and take will be the new mantra which will be the core of the solution."

Asked about the JKLF leader Amanullah Khan’s invitation to the committee to visit Pakistan, he said the invitation was pending and the Committee had not taken any decision on it.

On the Committee’s visit to the Jammu and Kashmir, Jethmalani said "we were planning to go last week but as no popular Government has come into existence we have tentatively fixed it for October 27." (PTI)

‘Kale Kachewale’ force people to spend sleepless nights

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 20: Though police authorities have taken ‘adequate steps’ to revive virtually shattered confidence of the people, the inhabitants on the out-skirts of Jammu city were spending sleepless nights due to fear of, what they called, ‘Kale Kachewala gang’.

So intense is the fear among masses that they have started ‘Thikri Pahara’ (night patrolling) in most of the rural areas of Jammu tehsil to thwart any attempt of this gang from striking in their villages.

As the sun sets, the youths with guns, swords, rods and other weapons in their hands take to and start roaming from one street to another to protect their areas. Worst affected are the areas falling under the jurisdiction of Bishnah, Satwari and Domana police stations. Gravity of the fear can be gauged from the fact that majority of people preferred to remain in doors after the sun-set and most of streets wore deserted look due to the fear of the attack of ‘Kale Kachewala’ gang.

Though there were some reports that members of Kala Kachewala Geroh were seen in Nanak Nagar and Nai-Basti areas but police authorities have not confirmed these reports. "We have received some reports but after proper investigation these reports were not found true", said SP South Raghubir Singh. He, however, said that adequate steps have been taken to inculcate confidence among people. "We donot want to take any chance", he said.

Besides police, locals also do not want to take any chance. Two days back residents of Nanak Nagar captured a man in Sector No. 17 when he was moving in suspicious circumstances. Without asserting his identity, they gave him severe thrashing and handed him over to police in an unconscious condition. Later it was found that he was innocent.

Fear of the people is very much genuine as this gang has so far killed two persons and struck at six places, looting lakhs.

On October 7, members of this gang had struck at Palli, Bishnah at about 2.30 AM and robbed the family of Rattan Lal, manager of the Citizen Cooperative Bank. They robbed gold jewellery and cash. They also killed Rajinder Kumar Sharma, a guest of Rattan Lal.

On the very next day, the same gang struck at Trilokpura in Gole Gujaral at about 12-30 AM and broke into the house of one Ripudaman Singh, making a murderous assult on him and his wife. Leaving them half-dead, they decamped with all the gold jewellery and cash.

Shockingly, two hours later the gang broke open the house of Sewa Singh in nearby Ranjit Singh Pura locality. Gang members killed 65 years old Sewa Singh and injured his wife Gian Kour. They reportedly took away nearly 50 tolas of gold jewellery and cash.

Kale Kachewala gang struck again but this time in Gadigarh area. They robbed two families of Karan Bagh, Gadigarh areas and injured Bhushan Lal, his wife Teja Kachroo and their neighbourer Sant Ram.

Residents of Gadigarh area alleged that Kale Kachewala Geroh again surfaced in their area. People chased them but they made good their escape.

Similar type of incident was also reported in Bishanh about one and a half month back. The burglars had entered the house of police Head Constable Chattar Singh. They not only robbed the family of gold ornaments and cash but also brutally beat-up the cop and his family.

The gang has so far killed two persons and robbed six families but police is still clueless about Kale Kachewala Geroh. Police sources said that some suspects were arrested but to no avail.

In the affected areas ‘adequate measures’ have been taken by the police to nab the robbers. Even dog squad has been pressed into service in the out-skirts particularly in isolated areas.

SP South, Raghubir Singh said that nakas have been laid at different places and special ‘Flying Squads’ pressed into service. "Though some cases of robberies have been reported, the rumour mills were also working", he said adding, "the Thikri Pahara has been started with cooperation of the locals to inculcate confidence among people".

SHO Bishnah, Jagdev Singh, who has been investigating two cases of such kind, said that though they were so far clueless either to identify these robbers or their whereabouts, they had not lost hope and patrolling has been intensified in these areas to prevent such strikes in future.

Quoting some eye-witness, Mr Singh said that robbers were looking out-siders and were speaking mixed Punjabi and Hindi.

The kale kachhewala gang came into existence in Punjab during peak of militancy and this gang is still active in some parts of the State.

Political parties must provide governance in J&K soon: VP

NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Asking political parties and their leaders not to conduct themselves churlishly, former Prime Minister V P Singh and I K Gujral today said a focused governance that does not indulge in capricious pursuits of power was the need of the hour in Jammu and Kashmir to route out terrorism.

"We voice the widely spread disappointment to urge the political parties to appreciate that political compulsions in the State are radically different than in the other parts of the country. It is the nation’s good fortune that a window of opportunity has opened," the former Prime Ministers said in a joint statement.

Mr Gujral and Mr Singh said everyone had hoped that the gains of the polls would be quickly mopped up to firmly tackle terrorism in the State.

"The days passed since the counting of votes are reviving the widely spread anxiety in the State and the rest of the country. It seems the political outfits—like the legendary bourbons—have learnt nothing from the decades of painful existence."

They said the world community had applauded the Jammu and Kashmir polls where the silent majority had courageously come out to register their voice against fundamentalistic beliefs and terror. In doing this they had placed their undiminished faith in secular democracy.

The electorate in J and K had voted for a break in the past not only in terms of individuals but more with the practises and styles of power politics. The capacity of India’s polity to unify the people of all faiths to present a brave face to terrorists and fundamentalists must now be exhibited.

"Or is it expecting too much? may we say again, this is a crucial moment of history that must be squandered," the former Prime Ministers asked. (UNI)

Cong, PDP furthering RSS agenda: NC

SRINAGAR, Oct 20: National Conference today said the bone of contention over the Chief Ministership between Congress and People’s Democratic Party has only furthered the agenda of RSS, which it alleged, wants to create a rift between the people of Jammu and the Kashmir valley.

"They (Congress and PDP) are fighting like cats and dogs over the issue of Chief Minister’s post. Congress says it should be from Jammu and PDP says it must be from the Valley. What are they going to prove by this," National Conference president Omar Abdullah said in an interview here.

He said the RSS and its outfit Jammu State Morcha (JSM) also wanted a rift between people of the two regions and the Congress and PDP were now actively and openly supporting it.

The agenda of JSM for a separate Jammu state had completely died down after the poll results as they won only one seat but the rift between PDP and Congress has rekindled the issue of regionalism, said Omar.

Flaying the PDP claim that it had won the mandate against National Conference in the Valley, he said "they should remember that we won 18 seats in the Valley while PDP managed to get only 16 seats".

"We, in National Conference, are proud to say that we won seats from all three regions — Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh," he said adding that the NC’s vote percentage has also gone up. Omar brushed aside allegations of NC Government misrule by PDP, saying, "let them come and take over the reins of the Government and see for themselves the responsibilities... Only the person at the steering knows the difficulties."

He said his party was not dejected that the Governor had not called it to form the Government despite being the single largest party as they would have approached the Governor themselves if they had the requisite support of 44 MLAs.

However, the doors of his party were open to any group of independents which wanted to stake claim to form a Government.

To a question whether NC was "untouchable" as no political party wanted to align with it, Omar said the argument was negated only three days after results when some independents started seeking its support in Government formation.

"We are a force to reckon with. We may be down as of now, but let me assure you that we are not out and we will return with thumping majority very soon," he said.

Asked about his party’s future in NDA at the Centre, he said NC would not have any representative in the Government although it could "continue like TDP and Trinamool Congress".

He, however, said the party had not deliberated as yet on whether its alliance with NDA had cost it dearly in the polls.

On reasons for NC’s defeat at the hustings, Omar said "self-introspection is an ongoing process. Every leader is today doing the soul searching."

However, he admitted that not much time was being spent on introspection because of the fast pace of changing political developments in the State.

To a question whether he was preparing for a mid-term elections, Omar said, "let us see what happens" and how the political combinations shape up. (PTI)

BJP, RSS meet soon to sort out differences

MUMBAI, Oct 20: Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will soon meet to sort out their ‘perceptional differences’ on some issues.

BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters the issue was discussed at length at the two-day party central office-bearers’ meeting here and it was decided that the matter should be sorted out with the Sangh leaders so that they should not make any statements which portrayed conflicting views of the two organisations on various issues.

"Time has come that we discuss the issue to avoid public criticism of each other and understand and respect each other’s position", he said.

He said the meeting held the view that the opposition parties should not be given any chance to take advantage of such differences within the Sangh Parivar during the coming elections in some states which are very significant for the party.

He did not rule out participation of the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani in the meeting with RSS leaders on the matter.

According to party sources, the reference about the RSS having perceptional differences on some of the NDA Government policies and decisions was made by Mr Naidu at the meeting. Mr Advani responded by saying it would be resolved soon with the Sangh leaders.

The meeting also decided to appeal to the NDA partners not to blow up issues unnecessarily on which they held different opinion and to discuss them at appropriate level, Mr Naidu said. (UNI)

They want me, my family in jail: Badal

CHANDIGARH, Oct 20: Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said he would not seek anticipatory bail in the event of his arrest in a corruption case by Amarinder Singh Government.

"There is no question of my seeking anticipatory bail. Let them (the State Government) come and arrest me. I am not running away from anything," Badal told reporters here.

Alleging a false cake was being cooked up against him, he said "the Congress Government is trying its best to pressurise his party colleagues and others, arrested on various charges, to say something against me."

"They somehow want to put me and my whole family in jail, which is why they are trying their best to prepare a false case against me."

Badal alleged the State Government had put him under surveillance. "My movements, my telephones are being tapped." (PTI)

Vajpayee’s intervention sought in apex scheme

BHUBANESWAR, Oct 20: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Orissa (HRAO) has taken strong exception to the "discrimination" shown by the Civil Aviation Authority towards the state and urged Prime Minister A B Vajpayee to intervene in the matter.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, HRAO Chairman J K Mahanty alleged that the Civil Aviation Authority has virtually scrapped Orissa from its aviation map.

The Bhubaneswar Aviation Sector, he wrote, had been excluded from both the original and revised apex schemes of availing the benefit of concessional airfare despite strong resentment by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and several parliamentary members of the state.

Mr Mahanty said it was more shocking that the Bhubaneswar sector was also excluded from another special promotional scheme which provided 40 per cent concession on airfare to different destinations in the country.

Such discriminatory attitude of the Civil Aviation Authority had shattered the hope of reviving Orissa tourism in the aftermath of the 1999 super cyclone that wreaked havoc in the entire coastal Orissa and the recurrent drought and floods, the HRAO Chairman said. Mr Mahanty said the apex scheme was originally scheduled for three months from August 1 during the lean traffic season but now it has been extended to the peak tourism session till March 31, 2003.

As a result the Bhubaneswar sector has emerged as the isolated and costliest air sector in the country, he said, adding that most of the tourists have cancelled their itineraries to orissa and diverted to other cheaper destinations.

The HRAO Chairman said the concessional fare scheme under the special promotional package from October 2002 cutting down cost of air travel by 40 per cent to other sectors would hit the influx of tourists to Orissa hard.

The few air sectors which were not covered under the apex scheme were now being covered under the new promotional package except the Bhubaneswar sector, Mr Mahanty said and urged the Prime Minister to intervene into the matter and restore equitable justice to one of the poorest states in the country for fostering tourism, trade and industry.

The copy of the letter had been sent to the Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Union Civil Aviation Minister, the Orissa Chief Minister, the State Tourism and Culture Minister and all the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members from the state. (UNI)

Andhra village develops unique water harvesting technique

VISAKHAPATNAM, Oct 20: At a time when certain parts of the country were reeling uner severe drought, the Naxalite-infested Kunchavaram tribal village in Andhra Pradesh had developed a unique rainwater water harvesting technique through community involvement to tide over the crisis.

Situated 130 km from Gulbarga in the Andhra-Karnataka border, the Lambada tribal village in the extreme arid zone gets good agricultural yields with changed cropping patterns. Desilting of tanks and recharging of ground water through water harvesting techniques have taught them the ways to cope with the vagaries of nature.

Communitisation of water harvesting programmes through various government schemes such as food-for-work in the largely homogenous scheduled caste Lambada community in the village, involving motivated NGOs, led to the success with tangible results, says Dharwad Deputy Commissioner Kapil Mohan.

Stating that a collaborative framework should be adopted to tackle drought involving the community, he said the more homogenous the community in the village, more the success in fighting droughts, with no conflict expected with the local Panchayat system in the new power structure.

Similar was the success in the drought-prone Chincholi village, 35 km from Kunchavaram, where about 100 families were now reaping the benefits of rainwater harvesting technologies. Smiles beam on their faces even in the worst drought conditions as each household has been storing 30,000 litres of water each year, which they roof-harvested with a little investment.

It costed Rs 10,000 to store 10,000 litres of rainwater for each family. While each contributed Rs 6,000, the rest was borne by the NGOs. They used locally available Shahbad stones for constructing underground storage tanks, besides pvc pipes and tin sheets for harvesting rainwater from roofs.

Fetching 30,000 litres of water in 12 litre pots, two pots at a time, would mean 1250 trips to the far off water source for a woman in the summer, says Mr K P Somaiah, Programme Officer, Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA), a voluntary organisation engaged in water harvesting in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in a big way.

The womenfolk were thus not only saving their precious time, but also energy, avoiding long queues at the water point. The two were among the many experts interacting with a 25-member media group from the south Indian cities in a recently held workshop in Bangalore on ‘making water everybody’s business’, under the aegis of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which had been championing the cause of the environment world over.

The experts say the Kunchavaram and Chincholi should become an eye-opener to other villages and cities in the country, where the precious rainwater resource has been left untapped.

The much-publicised Neeru-Meeru programme of the Andhra Pradesh Government and its ventures through water users associations, besides recent efforts by the Karnataka Government through the community-based tank management and improvement project (Jala Samwardhane Yojana Sangha) with a consortium approach to pool resources to provide the communities with cluster facilities were also examined by the workshop.

"There is no reason whatsoever for thirst in India if we take strategic measures to drought-proof the country by capturing all the runoff rainwater and store it in tanks or ponds or use it to recharge the depleting ground water," according to CSE experts.

In a 16-page white paper, ‘drought? try capturing the rain’, submitted to the MPs and MLAs, CSE founder the late Anil Agarwal and the experts stated that the Government should prepare a concrete plan of action to develop a mass movement for water harvesting.

The experts opined that rainwater harvesting was indispensable for fortifying food security, as rainfed land constitutes the bulk of the cultivated land.

Mr Agarwal, who was also a member of the World Water Commission, maintained that rainwater harvesting demands a new approach to governance itself, a participatory form of governance rather than a top-down bureaucratic one.

The experts stressed the need for restoring the traditional waterbodies that had been playing a pivotal role in meeting the water needs of the populace across the country from time immemorial. Mrs Sumitha Dasgupta and Mr Eklavya Prasad of the CSE said smaller watersheds give higher amounts of water per hectare of catchment area.

This, the experts said, has to be taken care of by planners, whose concentration hitherto has been on medium and minor irrigation projects, investing huge sums of money rather than concentrating on micro systems of irrigation with community involvement.

These water harvesting technologies, tempered with experience, had now been reaching the remote areas of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, benefiting the villagers, who were not only tiding over the water problem, but also reaping the economic benefits through community participation and awareness.

The experts observed that as much as Rs 70,000 crore had been spent on irrigation and Rs 10,000 crore on flood control in the country, only to leave the country high and dry awith no attention paid to community-based micro water projects to tide over perennial water crisis. (UNI)

Restoration of muck disposal plan underway

CHAMBA, Oct 20: The restoration and muck disposal plan, put into operation by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) on the Chanera Hydroelectric Project (Stage-II) and being executed on the Ravi river in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, is progressing well and has started bearing fruits.

The plan had been undertaken with an outlay of Rs 11 crore as part of its Environment Management Plan (EMP) which envisages utilisation of usable debris in filling areas and disposal of unserviceable material. Eight locations have been identified for this purpose so that debris does not mix up with the river water and cause by ecological imbalance.

The total debris (muck) is estimated at 17.5 lakh cubic metres (cum) from the entire underground excavation, including 21 km length of total tunneling on the project that is over for the past several months, and no further disposal is anticipated.

The project has got the excavated muck tested for its petrography and mineralogical property and found the same suitable for use of concreting and allied works in the entire project components and as such only a reduced quantity to the tune of around 4.5 lakh cum shall require permanent disposal at the earmarked sites, thereby substantially mitigating the apprehensions of ecological imbalances.

Mr S K Doedja, executive director, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), says the disposal sites have been earmarked and approved by the state forest department as well as the Himachal Pradesh Environment and Pollution Control Board. Besides this, the local farmers of the area are also utilising the muck for construction of their houses, roads as well as by various crusher plant owners as a fringe advantage, he added. (UNI)

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