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Srinagar: The upcoming District Development Council elections are expected to be a tight fight as political parties are fielding some bigwigs for the polls.

J&K Election Commissioner KK Sharma announced that the first DDC elections in the newly bifurcated Union Territory will be held on 28 November and 22 December and will have eight phases. The DDC election for 280 constituencies will fill up 234 vacant seats of sarpanches, panches and local bodies. Now all eyes are on DDC polls which political party will win maximum number of seats.

The National Conference, PDP and Congress reached understanding for first phase of the District Development Council (DDC) elections. While BJP too is making all efforts to win maximum seats.

BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda has appointed Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur as Incharge and Shahnawaz Hussain, former Union Minister and party spokesperson and Sanjay Bhatia, MP as co-Incharges for District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP has released second list of 46 candidates for third, fourth and fifth phases comprising one former Minister, an ex-legislator, and a JKAS officer, who had taken voluntary retirement from the services.

Sources told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that Smriti Irani, Dr Jitendra Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Partap Sarangi, Gen (Retd) VK Singh and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Tarun Chug, will be star campaigners in J&K elections.
Similarly, NC, PDP and Congress are fielding some top leaders in the DDC elections.

“It seems a tight fight between parties of Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration and BJP,” sources said. “All are putting their some top leaders in polls while senior leaders will also participate in campaigning to woo voters,” they said.

For the first phase of DDC elections, a total number of 2644 polling stations will be set up and there are be 7,03,620 electors.

In Kashmir division 183 nominations were received for 25 constituencies of the DDCs and in Jammu division, 169 nominations have been received for 18 segments. (KINS)

‘Stop harassing nomads or face serious consequences’

Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti Monday said that government was “pushing” Gujjars and Bakarwal community to take extreme steps.

This she said while visiting Gujjars and Bakarwals in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam area where authorities have evicted hundreds of kanals of land from “encroachers”.

“Gujjar and Bakarwal people have always opted for peace and never for the violence. They are being illegally evicted from here. They have been living on this land since years but are being deliberately targeted for being Muslims,” Mehbooba said, according to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

“Where will they go amid intense cold? Government wants to settle outsiders here and remove these people whose ancestors lived here for decades. By such steps, government is pushing Gujjar and Bakarwal community to take some extreme steps,” she claimed.

She warned the government of serious consequences if they don’t stop “harassing” nomads.

“24,000 kanals of land has already been given to industrialists. Whom you want to give this land,” she asked.

She said the demolition of temporary structures of nomadic Kashmiri tribes comprising Gujjar and Bakerwal community is a “brazen attempt to make the natives homeless in the name of so-called anti-encroachment drive in Kashmir forests”.

“With utter disregard to the tribal culture, the administration is destroying their temporary shelters of the Gujjars and Bakerwals with the aim to create fear and hit at everything that is even remotely Kashmiri.

We note with utter sadness and apprehension that the drive to demolish temporary homes of the nomadic tribe, which they use during  rotational migration from Jammu and Kashmir, is a sinister design and perhaps a test case for engineering demographic change in Kashmir,” she said.

Mehbooba said the forest department is taking refuge in legal jargon but the aim is to make the tribe homeless. The nomadic tribe belongs to the forests.

“The nomadic tribe abandon their temporary structures in harsh winters when the mercury in the valley dips and rerun to them during the summer season when it gets hot in Jammu.

Once they return they will find their homes demolished. Where will they go? Are they being punished for the crimes they never committed or is their faith their crime?”

Gujjars have been seeking implementation of Forest Rights Act in J&K so that they can enjoy rights on forest land.

On December 18, 2006, parliament passed Forest Right Act- 2006 whereby the Schedule Tribe and other traditional forest dwellers were entitled to have rights on forest land and other resources.

The Act could not be implemented as Jammu and Kashmir had Article 370 owing to which central laws were not being directly implemented in the erstwhile state.

Tribal and forest dwellers have been demanding extension of the Act to J&K so that they too can enjoy “rights” on the forest land.

For the last few weeks, Wild Life Department, Forest Department Pahalgam Development Authority have served hundreds of eviction notices to people which they claim were illegally residing there.

Hundreds of people especially Gujjars and Bakarwals have received eviction notices for the last two weeks citing “illegal encroachment” of the land.

Under this Act, forest dwellers can cultivate land to a maximum of four hectares and have rights on the minor forest produce. Former PDP legislator, Qamar Hussain, had moved a bill to the Assembly, seeking implementation of the Forest Right Act.

However, the BJP had opposed the bill.
Wildlife Warden Pahalgam Raouf Zargar said they are retrieving land which has been illegally encroached over the years.

“Some people including Gujjars had encroached upon forest land. We removed the encroachments. We did delimitation in Pahalgam to identify our land then removed these illegal encroachments,” he told news agency KINS.

“We evicted around 190 kanals of land in Mamal, Aru area and will continue this drive. Forest, Wild Life Departments also retrieved their land,” he said.

SDM Pahalgam Bashir Ahmad said they have retrieved hundreds of kanals of land from encroachers in Pahalgam.  (KINS)

Kamala Harris will speak out on issues that are important to her, says the maternal uncle of the U.S. Vice-President-elect.

A man offers sweets to Balachandran Gopalan, U.S. Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris’ maternal uncle, in New Delhi on November 8, 2020. | Photo Credit: AP

Speaking to The Hindu, G. Balachandran, policy commentator and technology expert, said here on Sunday that Ms. Harris was raised by her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who participated in the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 1960s, and she may choose to speak out on human rights-related issues in India.

“She will speak out if she is moved by something. You may not want her to say that but she will say, ‘I am sorry but I will have to say this,’” Mr. Balachandran said.

He said Ms. Harris would not keep quiet if she disagreed with something happening in India. Ms. Harris, he said, drew from the rich legacy of civil rights championed by her mother, a biomedical scientist, who left a strong impression on her.

“Shyamala contributed immensely to the legacy of human rights in the U.S. Her contribution on that front is much greater than that of Kamala’s,” said Mr. Balachandran, who worked as a consultant at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. He maintained that the election result had sent a message of hope to the world.

The Biden-Harris campaign had maintained that India should restore civil and political rights in Kashmir, and Ms. Harris had indicated her disapproval after the August 5 decision last year on ending the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. When asked about the issue, Ms. Harris had said, “We are all watching.”

Mr. Balachandran felt his niece could speak on the present situation in Kashmir as well.

“Do not think that just because India has done something … she will keep quiet on that. She has spoken on issues like Kashmir earlier,” he said.

‘Global issues’

Speaking out on issues of global relevance will be the hallmark of the Biden-Harris administration as the election mandate is for bringing the U.S. into the global mainstream, as opposed to the policy of President Donald Trump, who had withdrawn the country from many of the international and multilateral obligations.

“The result is inspiring a lot of people all over the world because it indicates that the U.S. will return to the global mainstream, which is a good thing,” said Mr. Balachandran, who said the entire Indian part of Ms. Harris’s family is planning to attend the swearing-in on January 20.

“I attended the swearing-in ceremony when she became a Senator and I will be in Washington DC this time as well. All of us will be there when she takes the oath of office,” Mr. Balachandran said.

He is the brother of the Chennai-born Shyamala, who passed away in 2009.

With inputs from The Hindu

(Expect for the headlines, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar: in a significant development, the Finance Ministry has cleared a separate industrial policy for Jammu and Kashmir to boost its economy.

The industrial bodies who had a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month had sought a separate industrial policy for Jammu and Kashmir.

In this regard, Union Finance Minister has cleared the Industrial Policy for Jammu and Kashmir.

“It will now go to the Cabinet for final approval. Government also has to seek approval from the State Election Commission as J&K is under Model Code of Conduct in view of district development council elections,” a senior official told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

The official said the Union Finance Ministry has incorporated suggestions from the industrialists of Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier in the meeting last month, various industrialists had told the Finance Minister that it was necessary that JK has a separate Industrial policy.

“Most of the policy making happens in the closed room environment with no connection with the actual situation and this is gravely affecting the industry sector in JK,” one of the participants had told the meeting.

“JK industry, especially the MSMEs are reeling under economic distress for the past one year. There is an urgent need for incentives. If MSMEs are helped, unemployment to some extent can be arrested,” another industrialist had said.

Similarly, they had also raised that PSUs in the state are in a bad condition, but they have a huge potential if right attention and help is given.

“Incentives were urgently needed for the revival of the industry in JK . The past year has seen a lot of suffering, unemployment is growing, artisans don’t have much work, industries and MSMEs are in bad shape. A pile up of inventories has been happening,” they told the meeting.

Sources said the building of Industrial Estates, IT Parks, Medi-cities, tourism sector are among few highlights of the Industrial Policy which will be a comprehensive one aimed at attracting large scale investments in Jammu and Kashmir to make it an industrial hub. (KINS)

Says ‘our staff face resistance and being manhandled’

Srinagar: Authorities at Power Department have sought assistance from the police department to stop power theft in Kashmir.

There have been severe power cuts since the Durbar (highest seat of governance) shifted to Jammu.

An official of Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL) said if people use electricity judiciously and pay as per the consumption then there won’t be power cuts.
“We are trying to adhere the curtailment schedule as approved by the government,” the official said.

Authorities at KPDCL have written a letter to district administrators seeking police assistance during the inspections to stop power thefts.

As per the letter, a copy of which accessed by news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), reads, “This is to bring to your kind notice that our field staff has been manhandled at various places in the past while carrying out inspections and were forced to withdraw inspection halfway. As such, it is requested to kindly extend necessary magisterial and Police support to the inspection squads constituted at different levels for tackling any law and order problems and to achieve the desired outcomes without any hindrance.”

The official said the department has taken several measures to stop the misuse of electricity in the Valley.

“We have formed various teams who are conducting inspections to stop power pilferage. Various departments including police have been told to give assistance to stop power theft. All those who resort to power pilferage will be heavily fined besides that FIRs will also be lodged where power theft grossly take place,” the official said.

Government has issued a power curtailment schedule according to which there is a three-hour curtailment for metered feeders and four-hour non metered feeders.

The increase in power curtailment both in metered and non-metered areas of the Valley has evoked strong public outrage.   “Ours is a non-metered area and there are around eight hour power cuts in a day,” Mohammad Altaf, a resident of Mehjoor Nagar said.

Similar complaints are also pouring in from metered areas where there are abrupt power cuts around six to eight hours in a day. “We witness frequent power cuts from the last few weeks. We are bound to get 24 hour electricity supply as per the rules but the Power Department often resorts to power cuts of around six-hours in a day,” Nazir Ahmad, a resident of Shalimar said.

People said when meters were installed in their areas, the department had promised round-the-clock supply. 

As per the official figures of the Power Department, the peak power demand during the winters is 2100 MWs as of 2019-2020 against the agreed load of 1520 MWs. (KINS)

Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) Tuesday demanded release of Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq.

A statement issued to news agency KINS said, “An extraordinary meeting of Jammu & Kashmir Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) was held on Tuesday at the historic Mirwaiz Manzil, Rajouri Kadal, presided over by renowned religious scholar and founding administrator of Darul Uloom Raheemiya Bandipora, Moulana Muhammad Rehmatullah Sahib in connection with the continued arbitrary house arrest of MMU president Mirwaiz Molvi Umar Farooq since August 2019.”

As per the statement the representatives who participated included, Anjuman Himayat-ul-Islam patron Moulana Showkat Hussain Keing; Agha Syed Muhammad Hussain of Anjuman Shari’e Shi’an Budgam; Mufti Nazir Ahmad Qasmi, Sheikh-ul-Hadeeth and head Darul Uloom Raheemiya; Mufti Muhammad Yaqoob Baba Al-Madni, Head Mufti Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadeeth Jammu & Kashmir; Moulana Ali Akbar, principal Anjuman Tableegh-ul-Islam; Moulana Abdul Haq Owaisi, general secretary Himayat-ul-Islam; Mufti Ghulam Rasool Samoon of Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid; Moulana Fayaz Ahmad Raheemi; Moulana M S Rehman Shams and several others.

“The participants conveyed their strong dismay that due to the continuous house arrest of the Mirwaiz, the pulpit of Jamia Masjid is silent which otherwise reverberated with Qaal Allah Wa Qaal Ar Rasool (SAW) and the grand masjid would be abuzz with social reform activities,” it reads.

“This arbitrary house is a matter of concern for the Muslims of the valley and for all the religious organisations across the valley,” statement said, “All MMU representatives during the meeting strongly demanded the immediate release of the religious leader of J&K and Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq so that he fulfils his responsibilities the Institution of Mirwaiz enjoins upon him.”

The participants of the meeting also expressed strong resentment over the growing wave of Islamophobia at the global level wherein Islam, Muslims and Qur’an are being deliberately targeted, statement reads.

“They made it clear that Islam is not only a religion which preaches humanity above all, but it’s history is witness that it always advocates peace on the globe, and considers the whole of humanity as a single entity. As such, there is a dire need for religious scholars and youth to spread this message of Islam and fulfil their responsibilities in view of the Uswa-e-Rasool (SAW),” the statement said.

The meeting also deliberated upon the serious challenges faced especially by the youth who are being pushed to mental agony and other miseries due to the prevailing situation.

“It was stressed that under such grave circumstances people , especially youth must fight with conviction the present challenges by adopting Uswa-e-Rasool (SAW) and forging unity among their ranks and file,” it said.

At the end of the meeting Moulana Rehmatullah Mir Sahib presented a resolution which was passed unanimously.(KINS) 

Jammu: Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department, Manoj K Dwivedi Tuesday took a review of progress under package for relief and revival of industry announced by Lieutenant Governor on the basis of a report of the Committee constituted for the same, here at a meeting.

The Commissioner Secretary dealt with all the points of action pertaining to the Industries & Commerce Department, comprising Directorate of Industries & Commerce, Handicrafts and Handloom Department, J&K SIDCO and J&K SICOP. He underscored the need for creating awareness among the industrial fraternity regarding the benefits announced by the JKUT Government under the said Package.

Dwivedi impressed upon the officers present in the meeting to enable ease of doing business. “The steps taken by the department on this behalf should not merely remain on papers, but the effect should be seen on ground”, he added.

He also underscored the need to address Artisan distress and called for creating market demand for their products. He asked the department to explore the possibility of procuring handicraft goods from artisans through Corporation like JK Industries and SICOP and making these goods available to various Government Departments ensuring their marketability.

He emphasised the need for securing 20 percent procurement of locally manufactured goods along with 20 percent price preference in all procurements on e-tendering and GeM portal.

The Commissioner Secretary urged the Director, I&C-Jammu and Director, I&C-Kashmir to arrange a Buyer-Seller Meet with the Army for enhancing the market reach of local products.
He impressed upon the Committee constituted for suggesting Diagnostic study regarding solving problems related to Industries to submit its report well within the prescribed time frame.

The meeting was attended by Mohammad Harun, MD J&K SIDCO; Anoo Malhotra, Director, Industries & Commerce, Jammu;  RC Kotwal, Director-Finance, Industries and Commerce Department; Vikas Gupta, Director Handicrafts and Handloom  Department, Jammu; Aadil Fareed, Deputy Secretary and  DP Singh, General Manager, SICOP, besides other officers from the allied departments.

Director, Industries & Commerce, Kashmir, Mahmood Ahmed Shah, and  Director, Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, Masrat Ul Islam, also attended the meeting through video conferencing.

The Comm. Secretary exhorted all the Departments to make all out efforts for implementation of the Package with a view to support the industry and be ready to make sure that Industries from J&K are ready for increased market demand in the Post Covid period. He directed the officers to submit all requisite proposals within a week. (KINS)

We are asking them why our land is being sold, why jobs are snatched from our youth

Srinagar: National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said those who raise voices against “BJP’s policies are labeled as anti-national” by the BJP leaders.

“Jammu and Kashmir has been pushed backwards since Article 370 was abrogated. At that time, BJP leaders tried to mislead people of Jammu that the region will prosper after abrogating Article 370. See now the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” he told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

He said, “Those who are raising voices against BJP’s policies are labelled as anti-nationals. We are asking them why our land is being sold, why jobs are snatched from our youth. Where are 50,000 jobs which were promised at the abrogation of Article 370?”

Farooq Abdullah is camping in Jammu for last several days where he has been meeting people from various walks of life.

Leaders of Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration recently also held a meeting in Jammu at Dr Farooq Abdullah residence. They also decided to contest DDC elections jointly.

At least seven political parties have formed the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration for restoration of Article 370 which the Centre abrogated on August 5 last year.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration has also given it a formal structure with Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti its president and vice president, respectively.

Traditionally bitter political rivals, the National Conference, People’s Democratic Party have decided to keep their individual rivalries in suspended animation and fight together to get Article 370 restored.

The Centre revoked the special constitutional status of the state and also bifurcated it into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

These parties had reaffirmed their commitment to the declaration and vowed to fight unitedly against the Centre’s decision to alter the region’s status under Article 370 of the Constitution. (KINS)