Jammu: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned senior Congress leader and former minister G M Saroori to appear before it on February 11 for questioning in connection with the terror incidents in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Saroori, 67, is Jammu and Kashmir Congress vice president and three-time legislator from Inderwal constituency of Kishtwar.

The communally sensitive Kishtwar was rocked by a series of terror incidents since November 2018 after the hilly district was declared militancy-free over a decade ago.

The terrorists made their appearance felt in Kishtwar town when they shot dead senior BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar on November 1, 2018, while RSS functionary Chanderkant Sharma and his PSO were assassinated on April 9, 2019.

The militants also snatched the service rifle of the deputy commissioner’s PSO Daleep Kumar on March 8 and the rifle of PSO of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) district president Sheikh Nasir Hussain on September 13, last year.

The NIA is investigating the militant cases in the district.

The first major success against the militants operating in the district was registered on September 28 last year when security forces killed three ultras, including the mastermind behind the killings Osama Bin Javed, in an encounter in Batote area of Ramban district.

The major breakthrough came when the terrorists were fleeing an offensive by the security forces which saw over a dozen Hizbul Mujahideen militants and their overground workers arrested and several of their hideouts busted in Kishtwar district.

In September last year, Saroori’s brother Mohammad Shafi was among a dozen persons booked in two separate FIRs for their alleged links with Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit in the district.

However, Shafi refuted having any links with Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit and said the allegations against him are “politically motivated” to malign him and his family’s image.

Shafi had also said that he was open to free and fair probe, and hopeful that truth would prevail once such an investigation was conducted.

Srinagar: Authorities on Monday afternoon released two more political leaders including NC leader and former MLA,  Batmaloo Irfan Ahmad Shah and former  PPD MLC  Khursheed Alam from the detention. Reports reaching to srinagar based news agency said the duo was released this afternoon from MLA hostel Srinagar. However both of them were put under house arrest. Both the leaders were initially put in centaur Hotel turned sub jail and later were shifted to MLA hostel Srinagar. Today they were released after six months of detention.

Shah, Alam along with dozens other leaders were detained hours before when the centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the erstwhile state into the two union territories.

Earlier several political leaders were released in phased manner.

Srinagar: Despite major improvement in the weather conditions during the last about a week, only one-way traffic continued on Monday on Srinagar-Jammu national highway, connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, to avoid traffic jams following bad road conditions.

“Traffic on the 270-km-long highway will ply from Srinagar to Jammu on Monday,” a traffic police official said.

He said Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) were allowed to move in the morning while Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) will be allowed in the afternoon. “Only one-way traffic will continue on the highway till further orders,” he said.

One-way traffic has proven to be a success and for the past more than a week, traffic is plying normally on the highway, which otherwise was witnessing heavy traffic jam for hours.

Meanwhile, the 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway, the only road linking Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir, remained closed for the past over two months. There is more than 6 feet to 12 feet of snow on the highway, including at Zojila pass, which has frozen due to below freezing temperature.

Similarly, the historic 86-km-long Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch and Anantnag-Kishtwar road remained closed due to accumulation of snow for the past two months. “These roads are likely to reopen in March-April,” officials said.

Srinagar: Ahead of another spell of light to moderate snow under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance (WD) predicted from Tuesday, the temperature during the day remained several degrees above normal as bright sunshine greeted people since Monday morning in Kashmir valley.

Even though there was slight improvement in the night temperature across the valley, it was still several degrees below freezing point.

A Met department spokesperson said that weather is expected to remain dry during the next 24 hours in the valley.

However, he said a fresh WD, which originated from the Arabian Sea and is approaching the region though Afghanistan and Pakistan, will hit J&K on Tuesday. “Under the influence of this WD which will gain movement on Wednesday, light to moderate snow could occur at some places in J&K for three days from February 12,” he added.

Despite improvement of about a degree in the night temperature, world famous health resort of Pahalgam, about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, was the coldest place in the valley. Against minus 10.4 degree recorded on Sunday, the night temperature in the health resort was minus 9.4 degree.

The night temperature at world famous ski resort of Gulmarg, about 55 km from here in north Kashmir, also improved marginally from Sunday and settled at minus 9 degree. “After witnessing further dip in the night temperature, the weather further improvement during the days as sun came out from behind the clouds on Monday in Gulmarg, which is famous for its ski slopes and quality of snow. Tourists, including foreigners, were out on ski slopes enjoying different activities,” a hotelier said.

The mercury during the night at Qazigund, gateway to the valley, Kupwara in north Kashmir and tourist resort of Kokernag improved and settled at minus 5.5 degree, minus 5.7 degree and minus 3.2 degree, respectively.

Meanwhile, there was still no respite for people from chilly weather conditions in Ladakh, where all water-bodies — including lakes and streams — remained frozen due to several degrees’ below freezing point temperature. The people in the newly created Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh are mostly dependent on hot water springs during winter. The border town of Kargil was the coldest place in the region at minus 22.8 degree, followed by Leh, where the mercury settled at minus 14.8 degree.

Srinagar: Hilal Lone, son of National Conference (NC) Member of Parliament (MP) Akbar Lone, was on Monday booked under Public Safety Act (PSA), official sources said here.

With this, seven mainstream political leaders, including three former chief ministers, have been booked under PSA since abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35 A, besides bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories (UTs) on August 5.

They said Hilal, who was under preventive detention since August 5, was served a dossier informing him that he has been booked under PSA. “The dossier read that the Union Territory administration felt that his release could hamper the law and order situation in north Kashmir, they said.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference (NC) Vice President Abdullah were on February 6 booked under the PSA – a stringent law that allows detention without trial for up to three months and multiple extensions. Two more leaders, NC General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and PDP leader Sartaj Madna were also charged under PSA. The order came on the last day of their six-month detention without charges.

On Saturday, senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and chief spokesperson in PDP-BJP coalition government Naeem Akhtar was also booked under PSA and lodged in a hut on Gupkar road.

NC president and MP from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah, who was in September last year slapped with PSA, remained under detention at his Srinagar residence.

Hundreds of people, including politicians, activists, separatists and business association leaders, were detained to ‘maintain law and order’ after centre abrogated special status of the state.

Peoples Conference (PC) chairman Sajjad Gani Lone, who was a minister in PDP-BJP coalition government from Saffron party quota was released from Sub jail and later put under house arrest on February 5.

The authorities have been releasing politicians in phased manner. However, sources said that the politicians before release have to give undertaking assuring authorities that they would not indulge in any activity that will hamper law and order.

JAMMU: Sh. Rajesh Gupta, ex-MLA called on the Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu at the Raj Bhavan here today.

Sh. Gupta, who led the delegation of General Bus-stand Shop keepers Association, apprised the Lt Governor about the problems of affected shopkeepers of General Bus-stand, Jammu. He also projected other developmental issues pertaining to the Cable Car Project, parking projects etc. The ex-MLA was accompanied by Madhu Sharma, President, General Bus-stand Shop keepers Association, Vishal Mahajan and Kuldeep Kapoor.

Sh. Ashok Khajuria, ex-MLC also called on the Lt Governor and apprised him about various developmental and public importance issues and sought Lt Governor’s intervention in resolving the same.

A delegation of Hindustan Shiv Sena, J&K, led by its President, Sh. Vikrant Kapoor apprised the Lt Governor regarding the need of development of religious places in Jammu, construction of fly-over bridges from Gandhi Nagar Women college to Airport and Satwari to Kunjwani and other development projects of public importance.

Sh. Majid Rashid, President, J&K Students Welfare Organization drew the Lt Governor’s attention towards various welfare issues of the youth and student community across J&K. He also briefed the Lt Governor about several youth related activities being undertaken by his organization.

Meanwhile, Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation

called on the Lt Governor and briefed him about their environment friendly endeavours through knowledge exchange, technology intervention and capacity building measures and also extended their support for integrated management towards water resources by creation and rejuvenation of water bodies, revival of traditional surface and ground water bodies.

The Lt Governor, while interacting with the former Legislators and members of the delegations, assured them that the genuine issues and demands projected by them would be looked into meticulously by the Government and redressed at the earliest.

He observed that the Government has put in place a robust mechanism to address all the genuine grievances and demands projected by people of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. On developmental front, he observed that the government has initiated several development projects for the holistic development of the Union Territory.

BY: Mubashir Aalam Wani

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government has framed recruitment rules for newly created department of Registration.

Documents in possession with Srinagar based news agency reveal that Financial Commissioner Revenue had submitted the recruitment rules of Registration Department to government for approval on November 6, 2019.

“The FC, Revenue informed that the recruitment rules for the newly created department of Registration have been framed and submitted to government for approval on November 6, 2019 for approval and finalization,” reads record note of the meeting chaired by Lieutenant Government Girish Chandera Murmu recently to review land record modernization and functioning of Registration Department.

The department of Registration was created days before bifurcation of the Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories as J&K Registration Act was repealed by the Parliament when it approved bifurcation of erstwhile State on August 5.

Under the repealed law, the powers of registration of property documents were with judiciary. It is worthwhile to mention here that Department of Registration was created by the administrative council on October 22, 2019 along with 466 posts and 77 sub-registrars.

It was made functional from November 1, 2019 by conferring powers of sub-registrars on incumbent Sub-Divisional Magistrates and Assistant Commissioners, Revenue. (KNO)

Srinagar: Terming the government announced compensation to the fruit growers who suffered huge damages in recent heavy snowfall as a ‘cruel joke’, former finance minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Monday said the compensation must be revised and should commensurate with the magnitude of damages suffered by the growers.

Mr Bukhari said that the horticulture sector in Kashmir suffered losses to the tune of hundreds of crores on account of heavy snowfall in November 2019 coupled with frequent closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway. “Due to November 2019 untimely snowfall around 70 percent to 90 percent trees carrying un-plucked crop collapsed and around 40 to 60 percent of crop producing fruit trees were uprooted. Now paying Rs 900 per Kanal to the fruit growers, as announced by the government, is akin to rubbing slat into their wounds,” Mr Bukhari said in a statement issued here on Monday.

Quoting experts, Mr Bukhari said that the fresh plantation of fruit trees in such damaged orchards will take at least 10 to 15 years to yield and produce new crop. He added that the assessment of loss suffered by the fruit growers must not be confined to the current year but the fruit growers and dealers associated with the industry will have to bear this loss for next 15 years till newly planted trees yield fruit.

“We all know that fruit industry is considered to be the backbone of J&K’s economy. However, the hostile climatic conditions shattered all the expectations of this industry resulting into huge losses to growers, most of whom have lost their livelihood,” he remarked.

Mr Bukhari said the fruit growers and dealers had taken huge loans from banks with the hope that after completion of the season they shall be able to liquidate their loans. “The fruit growers were expecting a generous package from the government as compensation for their losses as was assured by the government itself. However, the peanuts offered by the government this time have disappointed lacs of families associated with this industry directly or indirectly,” Mr Bukhari said.

He said the compensation offered to fruit growers must be revised and should commensurate with the magnitude of damages suffered by the growers. “The government must keep into consideration the damages suffered by the fruit growers which were unprecedented this year and revise its compensation accordingly,” he demanded.

Mr Bukhari also demanded one time waiver of KCC loans to provide some relief to the farmers and fruit growers of Jammu and Kashmir.

Similarly, he said that in Jammu region, the farmers suffered heavy losses due to untimely rains due to which paddy/Basmati crop was damaged. “The farmers of Jammu region have been crying for compensation, but nobody in the government seems paying any heed to their pleas,” he observed. .

The former finance minister said that the losses suffered by the farmers and fruit growers in Jammu and Kashmir must be re-assessed and the compensation be paid as per national natural calamity norms.