Curfew continues in Rajouri
Tribune News Service and PTI

JAMMU, Feb 21 — The indefinite curfew in three communally sensitive towns of the border district of Rajouri, imposed after 20 Hindus were massacred on the eve of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan yesterday, continued for the second day today.

"No relaxation has been given in the curfew at Rajouri, Sunderbani and Noushera towns of the district in view of the apprehension of some untoward incidents following the cremation of the massacre victims today," sources said.

The Army staged a flag march and paramilitary forces continued to patrol the sensitive areas of the district, they said.

The curfew period, however, passed off peacefully in all three towns of the troubled district, the sources said, adding that strict monitoring by the CRPF, armed police and the BSF round-the-clock continued to prevent any untoward incident in view of the militants’ threat of more violence.

Meanwhile, a high-level meeting headed by the Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry, Mr Rakesh Ahuja, discussed the security situation in the region, they said. The team would submit its report to Home Minister L.K. Advani soon.

Additional troops had been deployed in difficult hilly terrains of Doda, Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur and Kathua districts of the Jammu region to avert any possibility of a fresh strike, the sources said.

The Army had launched operations in different areas to nab the militants responsible for the killings.

"We will not spare them and will track them down wherever they may escape," an Army spokesman at 15 Corps headquarters said and claimed that "results will come in one or two days".

These operations had been launched at 12 places in the Rajouri-Udhampur belt of the district and additional deployment had been done in these areas, he said.

The authorities had sounded a red alert in Jammu in view of the commencement of the Assembly session from tomorrow.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today visited the massacre sites and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government had announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to next of kin of those massacred.

State Education Minister Moham-mad Sharief Tariq said jobs would be provided to one member of each family of the deceased.

Mr Tariq announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh for next of the victims.

SASE expertise can boost J&K tourism

SRINAGAR, Feb 21 (PTI) — Kashmir’s winter tourism potential can be fully harnessed if the technological expertise in avalanche- triggering available with the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) is made use of by the Jammu and Kashmir Government, Major-General S.S. Sharma, Director of the establishment has said.

The scientific approach adopted by the SASE to control and render avalanche prone areas safe could result in the Gulmarg-Khilanmarg slopes being developed into the world’s best and most popular ski slopes, he told reporters here yesterday.

He said an investment of about Rs 5 crore using the expertise and free offer of consultancy of the SASE could help develop the winter tourism potential making it a favourite spot for heli-skiing.

Major-General Sharma, however, said the proposed railway route from Jammu to Srinagar was "avalanche prone and very risky" and added that the expertise and technology of the SASE was still on offer to the railway authorities for realignment of the route to avoid the avalanche prone patches.

SASE, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), laboratory located at Manali, had successfully developed a device called "sprengbahan" through which avalanches could be brought down in a controlled manner with the use of the device carry explosives in very small quantities to the formation zones of avalanches through pulleys and wire ropes and ensure its initiation 1-2 metres above the snow surface at the desired time.

The shock waves so created made a cushion of a 100-metre diameter over the snow surface which helped in the release of avalanches in batches, in a controlled manner, the director said.

He said the avalanche so created were smaller in magnitude and were harmless to cause any damage in the lower regions. The release of avalanches in this fashion totally eliminated avalanche danger on a slope and helped in the early opening of the area, he added.

The device was tried out successfully on an avalanche site on the north portal of Jawahar Tunnel on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway on February 5 and resulted in the successful release of small avalanches in a controlled manner, he said.

Encouraged by the successful trials, he said, the SASE utilised this technology for many avalanche sites on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway as well as tracks leading to the forward areas of the border state.

Fruit growers seek better deal
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Feb 21 — Fruit growers in the Kashmir valley are facing difficulties in marketing their produce and in controlling apple scab.

The increase in toll from Rs 26 to Rs 36 per quintal has hit their trade, when already lack of the cold store facility in the state and absence of proper market cover had forced them to suffer losses.

The president of the Fruit and Dealer Association, Mr Ghulam Rasool Bhat, told newsmen here today that despite the fact that the state government had earned about Rs 112 crore as toll from fruit export and another Rs 67.78 crore by way of entry fee on trucks during the past eight years, it had refused to declare fruit growing and export an industry.

He said the fruit export sector deserved to be given the status of an industry when 30 lakh persons in Kashmir were directly and indirectly linked with the trade.

Mr Bhat said along with fresh fruit the export of dry fruit, too, had increased. Out of Rs 200 crore worth dry fruit exported in 1997-98, fruit of the value of Rs 100 crore was exported to foreign countries. Had the government granted the required concessions and subsidies, fruit exports would have been higher than 6 lakh metric tonnes during 1997-98. This was higher than in 1990-92 when, owing to militancy, growers could not export more then 380 metric tonnes per year.

The association demanded a decrease in toll and wanted the state government to follow the pattern adopted in Himachal Pradesh, where fruit exports witnessed a marked increase due to a series of incentives and subsidies given to growers. Mr Bhat said Himachal growers did not have to bear the burden of toll.

He said there was need for government control on the sale and supply of pesticides and fungicides. Growers had been hit hard during the militancy period and deserved to get subsidy on pesticides. After the sale and supply of pesticides had been decontrolled and subsidy had been withdrawn, the quality of pesticides had been very poor with the result that the fight against scab in Kashmir had been lost. The association had urged the government to test the quality of pesticides before these were sprayed but no agency had come forward to examine the geniuses of the chemicals. The result was that apple scab has been on the increase.

Mr Bhat said association members had a meeting with the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, recently. His assurances were yet to be translated into action. He said the Chief Minister was requested to waive the interest on loans the growers had sought from banks. The banks charged 14 to 18 per cent interest against the RBI guidelines under which the interest rate should not be more than 4 per cent.

The association has given figures in support of its argument that a large portion of the apple produce was wasted in the absence of juice and concentrate plants. It has demanded that more than three apple juice plants should be set up in the valley.

It has criticised the state government’s marketing and planning wings, established in different states, saying that those who man these are "ineffective".

The association has referred to the disruption of rail traffic owing to fog and says that "we were forced to export the bulk of our fruit in trucks which hiked the cost of production". It has demanded that the government make foolproof arrangements so that a major portion of the fresh and dry fruit is exported by train.

It has urged the government to introduce subsidies on pesticides on the production and purchase of cardboard cartons, on transportation cost from the despatch point to the terminal market and on the purchase of trucks.

Further, it has demanded that the funds earmarked for rural development should also be spent on the development of the horticulture sector.

Ceasefire in 2 subsectors

JAMMU, Feb 21 (PTI) — A high-level Indo-Pak border meet at a outpost in Pakistan decided to a cease-fire along the international border (IB) in two subsectors of the Jammu frontier and discussed, among other issues, establishing of immediate border contact between respective commanders at times of misunderstandings or problems, BSF sources said here today.

Both sides agreed to observe a cease-fire during cultivation and harvesting period along the IB in Samba and RS Pura subsectors of the Jammu frontier at the meeting between the commander of Chinab Rangers, Col Asgar, and the DIG, Border Security Force (Jammu frontier), Mr A.K. Sethi, at the Iniyat Sayeed Bop yesterday.

The two sides also discussed issues relating to the repair and maintenance of structures within posts and agreed to return men and cattle straying across the border.

The meeting was called on the eve of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan by road.

The Pakistani delegation led by Col Asgar included the wing commanders of three subsectors while the Indian team included seven commanders of different subsectors, the sources said.