Punjabis boycott radio programme
JAMMU, April 8 — Punjabi intellectuals, writers and poets have protested against the decision of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, director, Mr Fayyaz Sheheryar's decision to reduce the duration of Punjabi programme being aired from the Srinagar station three days a week by 10 minutes.

NC 'manipulated' poll process
JAMMU, April 8 — An independent candidate for the state legislative council election, Mr Ravindder Kumar Sharma, and two opposition MLAs today criticised the "tampering of the electoral process in the election to the six seats in the Upper House," describing it as "undemocratic".

3 militants nabbed
SRINAGAR, April 8 — Security forces captured three militants, even as life in the valley remained crippled for the second day today following a bandh call given yesterday.

Opposition stages walkout
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 8 — The Opposition today staged a walkout from the Assembly in protest against the Jammu Kashmir Government's refusal to amend the Panchayat Act in order to revoke nomination of panches and sarpanches.

The Law Minister, Mr P.L. Handoo, in reply to a private member's Bill said he agreed with the views of the Opposition, but the government wanted to conduct the panchayat polls as early as possible because the elections had not been held for the past 23 years.

He said there was every possibility that women candidates may not contest the panchayat polls. In order to ensure women representation the government had provided a provision for nominating members.

When Sheikh Abdul Rehman (BSP) insisted that his Bill be adopted because the nomination was the negation of democracy, Mr P.L. Handoo said let the panchayat committees be constituted and after examining the utility of the nomination system the same could be revoked during the next elections.

Opposition members staged a walkout when the government showed its unwillingness to adopt the Bill.

The leader of the BJP Legislature Party, Mr Shiv Charan Gupta, withdrew his Bill seeking strict law against ragging in colleges after the government assured him that it would send a note to the universities and seek their opinion. Mr Gupta informed the House while supporting the Bill that ragging had created law and order problem and in the recent past one girl student from Udhampur studying in Jammu had committed suicide due to ragging. Another resolution by him sought the constitution of special courts for trying rape and murder cases failed to muster support as the government explained that courts already existed to deal with such cases.

During zero hour the House witnessed noisy scenes when two BJP members, Mr Piara Singh and Mr Hans Raj Dogra, referred to the general strike by the Jammu municipality today in protest against the beating and arrest of one its officer.

The members said civic activities had been paralysed because of the strike. They alleged that instead of helping the municipality in removing encroachers the police was supporting the encroachers.

The Panthers Party member, Mr Harsh Dev Singh, staged a walkout in protest against what he termed wrong means adopted in declaring the results of four out of six legislative council seats. He said the first notification issued by the election commission was in contrast with the next notification.

The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, said during question hour he had no magic lamp to open more schools. He said it required time and money and he did not want to recruit teachers in haste which could affect candidates with merit.

When BJP member, Mr Bali Bhagat, said the government had not fulfilled its commitment that it would reopen the schools that stood closed the Chief Minister intervened and said it was the prerogative of the government to decide where and when the new schools should be opened.

Strike disrupts life in J&K
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, April 8 — Barring a few incidents of stone-throwing here today, the transporters' strike in protest against the proposed hike in taxes in this year's budget, disrupted normal life for the second consecutive day today.

The Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation clarified that it had not called for a general strike . A spokesman for the federation said there would be no "hartal" but "the agitation against the hike in taxes will continue".

Transport services throughout the valley remained paralysed in response to the call given by the Passenger Transport Welfare Association. The association has joined hands with the transporters of the Jammu region, who had called for an indefinite strike in protest against the hike.

Only private vehicles and auto-rickshaws plied on the roads here. The government had pressed into service about 200 buses of the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation for government employees. There was thin attendance in government offices and shops, business establishments, and educational institutions remained closed.

Incidents of stone-throwing were reported from Maisuma, Batamaloo and other parts of the city. Demonstrators also clashed with the police at several places.

A 30- member association of different organisations of traders, transporters, government employees and the Bar Association, Peoples Forum for justice was constituted here last month in the wake of resentment against the budgetary proposals. The transporters deviated from the decisions taken by the forum. The forum will decide tomorrow about the next course of action.

Starvation stalks Ladakh region

JAMMU, April 8 (UNI) — Hundreds of persons are on the verge of starvation and thousands of animals likely to perish in villages around the Changthang area of Ladakh region following an acute shortage of food and fodder.

Member of the Legislative Assembly from Ladakh Tsering Dorjay told UNI here yesterday that the situation has worsened due to the recent snowfall in the Greater Himalayas and Karakorram ranges surrounding the frontier region.

Changthang is located 300 km to the east of Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

Hundreds of goats and scores of yak had perished in October, last year due to heavy snowfall which covered the grass meadows of the area leading to an acute fodder shortage, he added.

According to Mr Dorjay, 3,000 families comprising more than 15,000 members were affected. "We do not know the exact amount of loss suffered by the people as most of the areas still continue to be inaccessible due to snowbound passes", he said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has managed to airlift 2,365 quintals of relief material from Delhi and Chandigarh, including 1,619 quintals of feed in 18 sorties between February 22 and March 26.

The villagers, he said, had stored ration stocks till May. However, due to the acute fodder shortage they had been compelled to use the rations to feed the livestock.

Mr Dorjay said the aid received from various foreign countries was being used for the rehabilitation of nomads in the area through various NGOs.

Revamp of PCC fails to end tussle
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 8 — Despite the reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee, which has 74 members, the tussle between loyalists and dissidents had not ended. Two developments in recent days have confirmed that the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir is yet to be free from groupism.

One is the statement issued yesterday by Dr Mehboob Beg, General Secretary of the PCC, in which he has accused some leaders of the organisation of hijacking the Congress party for their "personal and family interests."

Without naming them, Dr Beg referred to the statements of Mufti Mohammed Syed, MP, and his daughter Ms Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the Congress Legislature Party, in which they had pleaded for unconditional talks with militants and separatists. He said this attitude would mislead the party workers at the grass-roots level. He alleged that the Muftis had taken this stand to serve their "narrow personal interests."

The General Secretary further alleged that these individuals were trying to create an impression that they were an alternative to the Government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah and hence they were trying to violate the policy of the party President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, regarding holding of talks with militants.

Dr Beg said the Congress would fill the political vacuum caused by the wrong policies of the government led by Dr Abdullah and by the separatist movement by playing the role of an effective opposition and protecting the interests of people.

Earlier, the AICC General Secretary, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, paid a day's visit to Jammu. He addressed a Congress rally at R.S. Pora but all senior leaders owing allegiance to Mufti Mohammed Syed were not present.

Punjabis boycott radio programme
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, April 8 — Punjabi intellectuals, writers and poets have protested against the decision of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, director, Mr Fayyaz Sheheryar's decision to reduce the duration of Punjabi programme being aired from the Srinagar station three days a week by 10 minutes.

A deputation of prominent Sikhs and Punjabi-speaking people living in the Kashmir valley said the Station Director had not only reduced the time of the half-hour Punjabi programme by 10 minutes but also shifted the time from evening 9.30 pm to 2.10 pm in the afternoon. At this time, most of them are out on jobs and hence unable to listen to this programme, they said.

The District Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (DGPC) President, Mr Joginder Singh, has also protested against the decision. The renowned Punjabi writers of the state , Prof Seva Singh and Prof Prem Singh, famous Punjabi poet Ajit Singh Mastana, Punjabi Sahitaya Sabha President Kanwal Kashmiri have expressed their deep anguish over the decision which they termed as "autocratic rule" of the station director.

They also alleged that this move was a part of the deep-rooted conspiracy against the Punjabi language.

Meanwhile, all Punjabi writers and poets have boycotted the Punjabi programme being aired from station, which is finding it very difficult to run the programme without any casual artists. Sources informed this correspondent that the station was broadcasting all repeat programmes on April 13, the Baisakhi procession, would culminate at the Radio station to protest against this decision. Punjabi-speaking people from Baramula, Tral, Tangdhar would participate in this procession-cum-protest rally.

NC 'manipulated' poll process
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, April 8 — An independent candidate for the state legislative council election, Mr Ravindder Kumar Sharma, and two opposition MLAs today criticised the "tampering of the electoral process in the election to the six seats in the Upper House," describing it as "undemocratic".

Addressing a joint press conference here, Mr Harsh Dev Singh, MLA (Panthers Party), Mr Lal Singh (Congress) and Mr Sharma accused the ruling National Conference of "manipulating" the whole electoral process for the six vacant seats in the council. The poll is scheduled for April 10.

They said that it was unfortunate that the Election Commission of India had also 'become a party' to this exercise. Mr Harsh Dev Singh said that the system adopted by the ruling National Conference would deprive men of integrity and having some name in their field from entering the Upper House and if this was the case, the Upper House should be abolished.

Mr Lal Singh said once the electoral process was in motion, it "can not be tampered with, as had been done by the authorities concerned".

The election process was set in motion on March 23 with notification by the Governor. However, they alleged. There was a single notification for all the six seats without any mention that some seats for the Kashmir province and one seat in Poonch district were reserved. Eight candidates are now in the fray for the six seats.

They further alleged that since the ruling National Conference felt that in case of a contest it might lose one seat, it prevailed upon the Election Commission to declare four seats as reserved. And the Returning Officer, as per the guidance from the Election Commission, declared that four candidates — three from the Kashmir province and one from Poonch — had been elected to the Upper House without a contest.

They alleged that even the subsequent direction was vague as it mentioned that the two seats would be filled up by the members of the assembly from Jammu province. But the poll officials maintained that all 89 members of the assembly formed the electoral college and this was being done to help the National Conference.

3 militants nabbed

SRINAGAR, April 8 (UNI) — Security forces captured three militants, even as life in the valley remained crippled for the second day today following a bandh call given yesterday.

An official spokesperson said militants detonated an improvised explosive device planted under a culvert near Sarbal Pahalgam in South Kashmir last evening, damaging it. No one was however injured in the incident.

Three militants were captured and a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including three AK rifles, four pistols, a grenade launcher, 18 grenades, two remote controls, half-a-kg of RDX, a rocket and five wireless sets were seized during overnight operations across the valley.