Kashmiri boy to spend Eid on road

Sameer Arshad

28 November 2009

NEW DELHI: It's no rogan josh, no gustaba for Kashmiri boy Umar Nissar (16) on Eid, as he squats on a pavement near Jantar Mantar and digs into his modest meal of pakoras and oranges. Away from the hustle and bustle of the festivities, Umar would spend Eid, the second in a row, on the road in Delhi where his father and hundreds of other J&K State Road Transport Corporation (J&KSRTC) would sit-in to protest against the non-payment of their salaries for the past 10 months.

The striking employees marched on foot from Srinagar to Jammu, along with their families, before arriving in Delhi "as a last resort''. The agitating employees were ruthlessly bashed and dispersed when they took to streets in Jammu and Srinagar. "Several people were injured when cops baton-charged us. My uncle, who's also a J&KSRTC employee lost his eye when a teargas shell hit him,'' said Umar, who was a part of the protest when the employees, along with their families, tried to march towards Srinagar's civil secretariat in October.

The striking employees say, their families had no choice but to join them as their pleas for restoration of salaries fell on "deaf ears''. J&KSRTC Employees Union president Shakeel Ahmed said Umar, who had to discontinue his studies, wasn't alone. "Thousands of kids of the employees face bleak future as we can no longer afford their studies,'' he said.

"I was a class IX student at Day Care School in Rajbagh, Srinagar. The school threw me out when I couldn't pay my fee,'' Umar said, still hoping to buy a Barbie and Eid clothes for his six-year-old sister. "When I was leaving for Jammu on foot, she asked me to get this stuff. I would ask dad if he could buy her these things.'' He said he came along to give moral support to his father. "I don't mind that I wouldn't either get to deck up my house for the festivities or the eidee,'' says Umar.

Ahmed said the government was refusing to give them benefits of the fifth and sixth pay commissions, saying the corporation was bankrupt. "This excuse is against the letter and spirit of the SRTC Act passed in Parliament in 1950. The Act says the SRTCs are for cheap, safe and best travel for the public on no-profit-no-loss basis,'' he said. "Why should we suffer with just 329 crore deficit? The DTC's losses run in crores, but its employees aren't penalized.''

J&K transport minister Qamar Ali Akhoon maintained that the employees wouldn't get fifth and sixth pay commission benefits, as the corporation was bankrupt. "We're determined to pay them their salaries and offer the benefits of the voluntary retirement scheme,'' he said.

The employees say nothing doing. "How can you expect us to settle for pay scales of 2000 in 2009?'' asked Ahmed, adding the employees have spent Eid, Diwali, Gurpurab on roads and would continue to do so if their demands weren't met.

The employees have been on an indefinite strike for the past three months and have recently submitted their resignations en masse under voluntary retirement scheme as a protest demanding one-time settlement of their dues.

Source: Times of India.
Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Kashmiri-boy-to-spend-Eid-on-road/articleshow/5276989.cms.

Top Indian Kashmir cleric urges troop pullout in Eid sermon

By Izhar Wani (AFP)

SRINAGAR, India — Kashmir's top cleric on Saturday urged New Delhi to pull out Indian troops, revoke tough anti-militancy laws and free prisoners before resuming talks aimed at ending an insurgency in the region.

The call by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq came during a sermon marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian Kashmir where Islamist rebels have been waging a two-decade fight against New Delhi's rule.

"The government of India must withdraw troops from the region in a phased manner and revoke draconian laws before resuming talks," said Farooq, the most senior cleric in Indian Kashmir and the leader of moderate separatists.

New Delhi also needs to end alleged human rights violations by security forces and release jailed separatists, Farooq said.

"Before starting the dialogue, people should see some forward movement in the form of these confidence-building measures," Farooq said from the pulpit of the Jamia Masjid, Indian Kashmir's main mosque.

Farooq's statements came as hardline separatist Syed Ali Geelani led 10,000 Muslims in an anti-India demonstration in northern Sopore town, 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Srinagar, police said.

Shouting "We want freedom" and "Allah is great," the protesters marched through the town's streets after offering Eid prayers.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram, on a visit to Kashmir last month, said the Indian government was willing to hold a "quiet dialogue with every section of political opinion" -- including those opposed to New Delhi's rule.

Farooq described the offer as a "step forward."

Moderate separatist leaders in the Muslim-majority state have held several rounds of talks with India's central government, though hardliners oppose any contact that does not involve neighboring Pakistan.

However, there have been no talks between the Indian government and the separatists for the last three years.

Farooq said discussions between New Delhi and separatists should culminate in a tri-partite meeting involving India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris.

India and Pakistan, which each hold part of Kashmir but claim it in full, have fought two wars over the scenic region.

Most of the rebel groups fighting New Delhi's rule want the region to become part of Pakistan. A few support its independence.

Chidambaram has said any answer to Kashmir's problems must be "honorable, respectable and acceptable to the vast majority of the people" and added "the solution may turn out to be a unique one."

According to official figures, more than 47,000 people have been killed in the two-decade-long insurgency.

Farooq's sermon came as Muslims in Kashmir marked the festival of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, by slaughtering sheep and goats in remembrance of Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to God.

Violence in Kashmir has dropped sharply since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004 but New Delhi "paused" the process after last year's Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.

Farooq urged New Delhi to resume talks with Islamabad.

"Whatever happened in Mumbai has been condemned by one and all," he said, "but talks should not be held hostage to that act of carnage."

India and Washington have blamed the deadly Mumbai rampage on Pakistan's banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has denied any role.

Omar takes Mughal path

- CM in a hurry to add to Kashmir’s links with country

Mughal Road (Jammu and Kashmir), Nov. 28: The Mughal emperors’ dirt track to “paradise”, which resounded with hoof beats centuries ago, saw history repeat itself when Omar Abdullah led a caravan of vehicles down the medieval road.

The chief minister, himself at the wheel of his silver-colored vehicle, drove along the 84km stretch of the famed Mughal Road from Shopian in Kashmir to Bafliaz in Jammu on Thursday, leading the first ever motorcade on the road that is being made motorable.

The work is expected to be complete next year but Omar is in a hurry, ostensibly to recreate an aura of the Mughal era and provide Kashmir with an alternative road link to the rest of the country.

In 1586, Akbar’s army had swept up this road to conquer Kashmir, defeating Yousuf Shah Chek. Soon after, the emperor was on his way to the Valley leading a huge caravan of horses, chariots and elephants.

When his son Jahangir, who called Kashmir “paradise on earth”, fell ill at Achabal in the Valley, he was carried along this road towards Delhi but died at Chingus in Rajouri, says historian Fida Hassnain.

For centuries, the Mughal emperors kept heading to Kashmir on this route, traversing the mighty Pir Panjal mountains, before it lost its importance in the 19th century when better roads came up.

When it becomes motorable, Mughal Road will provide an alternative highway to Srinagar from Jammu, although around 55km longer than the existing 300km Jammu-Srinagar highway. But it will provide Srinagar with a direct link to Rajouri and Poonch, shortening the current 500km drive by two-thirds.

The lakhs of Gujjars who migrate to the plains of Kashmir every summer with their cattle will now have a motorable road for the first time.

The Shopian-Bafliaz stretch criss-crosses ranges 11,500ft to 130,000ft high, running past pine groves, lush meadows and gushing streams. Adding to the natural beauty are the monuments the Mughals built at places like Aliabad.

Omar braved the winter chill and snow to cross to the other side of the Pir Panjal late on Thursday night.

“The dream of Sheikh sahib (Omar’s grandfather Sheikh Abdullah) has been realized at last. I hope the road will be complete next year,” Omar told a gathering at Dubjan, around 11km from Shopian, before completing the journey by driving all the way to Jammu past historical sites such as Aliabad, Pir Ki Gali, Bafliaz.

He allowed a few cameramen to board his vehicle so they could capture the key moments of his trip.

“I got an opportunity not only to drive but to complete this road. However, it would not have been possible without the Center's support. It will be a four-hour journey from Srinagar. It is going to benefit people from both sides, particularly the pilgrims who want to visit the famous shrine of Shahdara Sharief in Rajouri,” he said.

“This was a medieval road and lost its significance when Kashmir got its first cart road -— Jehlum Valley (JV) road —in the 19th century, connecting the Valley with Muzaffarabad on to Punjab. It was later made motorable in 1890,” said Hassnain, the historian.

The Dogra rulers later built a cart road from Jammu to Srinagar and after Independence, a tunnel was dug at Banihal, making it an all-weather road.

Work on the new Mughal Road started in 1969 but very little was accomplished till 2005. The road was seen as a danger to national integration by some, who sniffed a ploy to create a “greater Kashmir” by directly connecting the Valley with Muslim-majority Rajouri and Poonch.

Officials said such people created obstacles but the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government restarted the work, which was pursued with vigor by his successors Ghulam Nabi Azad and Omar.

Some Rs 640 crore has been spent on the project since 2005. The road is seven meters wide. Single-laning is complete while only 3-4km of double-laning is left. Of the 423 RCC slab culverts planned, 128 have been built and 60 others are under construction. The road has 21 minor permanent bridges.

Source: Telegraph India.
Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091129/jsp/nation/story_11798422.jsp.

Land under horticulture increases so does production in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 28 : Contrary to alarming trend of using agriculture land for non-agriculture purposes during the past one decade, the area under horticulture has witnessed an increase of 3.55 per cent in the Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir is basically an agrarian economy and almost 45 per cent of the economic returns in agriculture sector is accounted for by horticulture, showing its growing importance in economy of the state, which has vast potential for growing all kinds of fruits.

Official reports here said the horticulture department had decided to provide assistance of Rs 2.75 crore to farmer, for purchase of machinery alone in Kashmir division.

Besides, the department had improved the strategy for assisting in arranging plant protection and allied machinery under different Centrally Sponsored schemes.

For the first time the department had launched the availability of plant protection and allied machinery in such a manner that the farmer was at liberty to choose item of his choice from any distributor and dealer of the company and negotiate rates with him personally.

The records show that about 12.12 per cent total land in the state has been put to non agriculture uses, including construction of residential colonies, shopping complexes, workshops, government offices and educational institutions.

Interestingly the area under horticulture has witnessed an increase of 3.55 per cent.

Against total land of 305621 hectares under fruit production in 2008-09, only 295141 hectares was under horticulture during 2007-08.

Similarly there has also been an increase of 3.35 per cent in fruit production in 2008-09 against previous year.

According to data available with the Directorate of horticulture, during the year 2008-09, the department has covered an area of 3.06 lakh hectares out of which Kashmir division accounted for 67.18 per cent and Jammu division 32.82 per cent.

Source: New Kerala.
Link: http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-94.html.

Germany to step up efforts to change Islamist radicals' views

Berlin - Germany is to set a new focus on persuading radical "home-grown" Islamists who are flirting with terrorism to moderate their views, according to the news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday. The efforts are to be directed mainly at people who have been raised in Germany, both converts to Islam of German parentage and German-schooled Muslims whose parents were immigrants.

Currently, several of the 16 states have programs to "deradicalize" those who approve of violence in the name of religion.

The state efforts range from writing comic books that set out a message opposed to terrorism to personal approaches to the radicals by government officials.

In a report to appear in its issue to appear Monday, Der Spiegel said a "forum" was being set up next month at a national anti-terrorism agency, the Joint Anti-Terrorism Centre, in Berlin to coordinate those efforts.

It said the 16 states would also discuss this week how to prevent persons serving jail time for terrorist offenses from recruiting other prisoners to their cause. Der Spiegel said Germany would ask moderate Islamic communities and clergy to speak to them.

Prisons and sports clubs were common places for spreading radical ideas, another news magazine, Focus,reported Saturday.

It said police knew of 185 German-raised Islamists who received training in terrorism methods in central Asia, Afghanistan or Pakistan over the past decade, and about 90 men with such military training were currently living in Germany.

Focus said police believed 30 of the radicals in Germany had had actual battle experience in clashes with Pakistani or US forces.

Schwarzenberg elected chairman of new Czech party

Prague - Former Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg was elected Saturday chairman of a recently-established pro-European, fiscally-conservative Czech political party. The party, named TOP 09, has a realistic chance to win seats in the Czech Republic's parliament in a general election next year, according to recent surveys.

The surveys showed the party being backed by between 8 to 12 per cent, or above the 5-per-cent threshold required for entering the lower house.

The election, whose date is yet to be set, must take place before June 2010.

Schwarzenberg, 71, is a novice to high-level party politics. He previously earned political posts as a nominee of parties of which he was not a member.

In 2004, he won a Senate seat as a candidate for two now-defunct small centrist parties. The small centrist Greens nominated him to the top job at the foreign ministry in the previous center-right three-party cabinet of ex-premier Mirek Topolanek.

TOP 09 was partially founded by former right-wing members of the country's Christian Democrats who left their former party over disagreements with its left-leaning wing.

Delegates elected former Christian Democratic leader and finance minister Miroslav Kalousek, 48, the party's first deputy chairman.

Saudi Arabia raises death toll from flooding to 106

Jeddah - Saudi Arabia's civil defense authority Saturday raised the death toll from this week's flash floods to 106 people. An official with the authority said crews were still searching for survivors from the flooding that hit the western part of the country, including the area where many enter the kingdom to attend the ongoing hajj religious pilgrimage.

Health authorities have warned people to stay away from the water, to avoid further casualties and the spread of diseases.

Hundreds of people have been rescued by the defense forces in the past few days, but the death toll is expected to rise further.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/296743,saudi-arabia-raises-death-toll-from-flooding-to-106.html.