J&K heading for crisis in PDS
JAMMU, May 5 — Public distribution system in Jammu and Kashmir is heading for a crisis following supplies from the Centre coming to a grinding halt for the last one month, top official sources said today.

6 BSF jawans die as bus falls into nullah
JAMMU, May 5 — Atleast six BSF jawans were killed and 34 wounded when a bus, in which they were travelling from Srinagar to Jammu, rolled down into Shalgari Nullah, 180 km from here on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, today.

J&K heading for crisis in PDS
Centre stops ration supplies

JAMMU, May 5 (PTI) — Public distribution system (PDS) in Jammu and Kashmir is heading for a crisis following supplies from the Centre coming to a grinding halt for the last one month, top official sources said today.

The sources told PTI here that the Centre had stopped supplying rations to the state through Food Corporation of India (FCI) because the state had pending liability of Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crores for nearly four months.

Attributing this liability to unprecedented financial crunch that Jammu and Kashmir was facing currently, the source said, the supplies had stopped following the Centre adopting "cash and carry" policy.

They said Jammu and Kashmir had already paid nearly Rs 700 crore to the Centre on purchase of food ever since Dr Farooq Abdullah government took over in September 1996. The state government had also cleared Rs 65 crore which could not be paid during Central rule in the state, they added.

Keeping in view the present fiscal crisis and also the security scenario in the state, they said the Centre should not be harsh towards the state by withdrawing credit facility.

With reserves drying up in the state, the PDS would be hard-hit in all the three regions, especially in far-flung area where dumping of rations was being made from the month of May to October.

When contacted, the Minister of State for Food and Supplies, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, said that during his meetings in Delhi, the Ministry of Food in the Union Government had appreciated the problems faced by Jammu and Kashmir and had recommended to the Finance Ministry and the Department of Kashmir Affairs in Home Ministry to keep a revolving fund of Rs 230 crore with the FCI to help the state.

However, both these had shown hostility towards the proposals of the Food Ministry pushing the state towards a food crisis, the minister said.

Expressing optimism on the Centre’s attitude, he said, "We hope the Union Government will not allow the people of the state to starve and come to our rescue".

Geelani calls for poll boycott
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, May 5 — Instead of accepting the challenge thrown by the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, that he would dissolve the assembly provided the all-party Hurriyat Conference decided to participate in the poll, the APHC Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has launched a campaign urging people to boycott the ensuing election process.

Several senior APHC leaders were taken by surprise when Mr Geelani fired his first anti-poll salvo at a couple of rural public meetings in recent days. APHC leaders had planned to discuss the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, but before the Executive Committee of the APHC could debate the issue, Mr Geelani declared his plan of boycotting the poll on the plea that he was neither for Lok Sabha nor assembly elections but for "plebiscite."

Mr Geelani wavered when he issued a rejoinder to Dr Abdullah saying that his party would contest the elections only after seven lakh troops deployed in Jammu and Kashmir are sent to the barracks." Earlier, Hurriyat leaders had stated that they would participate in the elections if they were held under the UN supervision.

Those APHC leaders who have not relished the unilateral decision of Mr Geelani to give a call for boycotting the poll are of the opinion that the cal may not evoke as much response as the call by militants had evoked in the 1989 Lok Sabha poll. The situation has materially changed since 1989 in Kashmir and hence the APHC may be placed in an embarrassing situation in case a majority of the voters turn out on the polling days in the valley and in other areas of the Jammu region. It is this fear that has seemingly forced some APHC leaders to work out a plan after proper discussion.

There is no doubt that detailed discussions would have hardly altered the APHC stand because the Hurriyat is not geared up to contest elections, whether to the Lok Sabha or the assemly. Several US diplomates who had visited Kashmir had suggested to the APHC leaders that they should participate in the elections and try their luck to form the government. They had advised them to abandon the politics of isolation. But the APHC leaders have two problems which have forced them to boycott the poll. First, once they file the nomination papers they have to swear in the name of the Constitution of India and they have to affirm that they are citizens of India. This cannot be done by them when they have been opposed to the state's accession to India. Second, they are not sure of their success. In the 1987 assembly poll, separatists fought the elections under the banner of the MUF but faced defeat. Even if they had campaigned against "rigging" in the elections, the MUF would not have won more than 12 seats out of 42 assembly seats in the Kashmir valley. this assessment had been made by a senior MUF leader who is now an important leader of the APHC.

There is a feeling among several APHC leaders that the call for a boycott could prove advantageous to the National Conference as was the case in 1989 when it won all three seats from the valley, including the Srinagar constituency where the party candidate won wihout a contest. The Anantnag and Baramulla constituencies had polled 3 to 5 per cent votes. Out of the total electorate of 7.65 lakh in 1989, the total number of votes polled in the Anantnag constituency was over 37,000, and out of more than 7.04 lakh voters in Baramulla over 38,000 votes had been polled in 1989.

Political analysts explain that the situation having materially changed in Kashmir, the boycott call given by the APHC may not paralyse the poll process. And if there is some response from the electorate it would benefit the ruling National Conference.

Defiance of the boycott call earlier had lowered the image of the APHC in the eyes of Pakistan and the US Government. Hence, the APHC may not enforce, the poll boycott call and try to "rationalise its frustration" by lending secret support to non-NC candidates.

6 BSF jawans die as bus falls into nullah
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, May 5 — Atleast six BSF jawans were killed and 34 wounded when a bus, in which they were travelling from Srinagar to Jammu, rolled down into Shalgari Nullah, 180 km from here on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, today.

The police said as the driver of the bus No. DLP-0260 was negotiating a curve the bus fell into the ravine wounding 40 BSF soldiers. One of them died on the spot. The police, the BSF and the Army carried out joint rescue operations and pulled out the wounded from the damaged bus. In the first phase 20 wounded were taken to Ramban and Banihal hospital where four died. Six critically wounded were shifted to Military Hospital at Udhampur in a helicopter.

The police said in all 20 BSF jawans were critically wounded. The Army surgeons carried out operation on three injured BSF jawans.

Reports said 17 BSF jawans were discharged after getting first aid in Ramban hospital. The Army and the BSF were still engaged in the rescue and evacuation operations.

The police ruled out the possibility of a sabotage.

The bus was carrying 40 BSF passengers when it left Srinagar early today. The bus had reached Shalgari Nullah near Chamal was at 11.15 when the accident took place.

Rain in valley, snow in Dras

SRINAGAR, May 5 (UNI) — Fresh snow was experienced at Bindat in Dras today while Kashmir valley had rain since yesterday.

Thousands of tourists have been visiting the valley during the past one month following an unprecedented heatwave in other parts of the country.

A report from Bindat in the Dras area of the Ladakh Himalayas said it had been snowing there since 10.30 a.m. today. Dras, the second coldest place in Asia where temperature fall below -45°C in winter had been experiencing heavy rain since last evening resulting in a considerable drop in temperature.

Unconfirmed reports said the holy Amarnath cave, Sheshnag and Mahaguns also had light snow since early this morning.

The entire Kashmir valley, including Srinagar city, reported in the past few days, much to the relief of the people.

A weather office spokesman told UNI that the maximum and minimum temperature in the valley were normal and about 3.3 mm rain fall was recorded since last evening.

The rain comes in the wake of a heatwave during the last week of April, when the maximum temperature touched 30.2 degree celsius, eight degrees above normal.

It is after about 15 years that such high temperatures were seen in Kashmir during April.