News Analysis India

Tag: Kashmiri Pandit

  • Better to close down dozen offices than losing a single human life: Union Min on Pandits terror threat

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Indicating a thaw in the government’s stance on relocation of under-threat Kashmiri Pandit employees from the valley, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said it is better to save a human life even if it means closing down a dozen offices.

    He also hit out at the opposition parties accusing them of following the policy of appeasement to the extent of being “inhuman”.

    He alleged that these parties not only discriminated between people but also went to the extent of discriminating between Line of Control and International Border purely for vote considerations.

    “This should be addressed amicably and with sensitivity. My personal opinion is that nothing can be more valuable than a human life,” the minister told reporters in Kathua.

    “If there is a threat even to one life, it is better to save that life even if it means closing down a dozen offices.” Singh was in Kathua to lay the foundation stone of central PMGSY road from Bakhta to Magloor in Jalota area.

    ALSO READ| Chalk out middle path to address issues of Kashmiri Pandits: Mehbooba Mufti

    Addressing a public rally after the ceremony, Singh said the previous governments headed by opposition parties crossed all limits of ethics and propriety when they allowed reservation for people living along LoC but denied the same benefits to the people living along the IB.

    “They did so because their MLAs were elected from the areas along the LoC, some of whom also became the ministers. They denied the same benefit to the people living along IB or on the Pakistan border, mostly in Kathua and Samba districts, because the people here did not vote for them,” the Union minister said.

    He said this discrepancy was corrected only after the Modi government came to power when the people living near the IB were given justice with the grant of four per cent reservation, the same as people living along LoC.

    ALSO READ| Kashmiri Pandits hold barefoot march in Jammu, demand to ensure their ‘Right to Life’

    Singh also said the government was making efforts to set up a satellite hospital and Tata Cancer Centre in Kathua.

    “This will provide the latest hi-tech facility for cancer patients from J&K, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.”

    ALSO READ| Will turn colonies into ‘graveyards’, militants to Pandits

    On Keedian Gandyal bridge, he said it was not constructed over the last 70 years because it would have benefitted mere 2,000 people, but “we had the courage and conviction to construct a bridge for these people at a cost of over Rs 150 Crore”.

    Along the route of the holy Machil Yatra before 2014 there were neither toilets, nor mobile connectivity, nor electricity because these people did not figure in their list of the vote bank, he said.

    ALSO READ| Nine Kashmiri Pandits killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 3 years: Govt

    “It is this government which set up toilets and mobile towers there and recently sanctioned one exclusive solar power plant for the village,” he added.

    Referring to one of the first Industrial Biotech Parks which has been set up in Kathua, Singh said people will realise its worth over a period of time.

    He said that due to the Modi government the Shahpur Kandi project was revived after 40 years, and the Ujh multipurpose irrigation project, which was conceived for the first-time during Maharaja’s rule, is also scheduled to take off very soon.

    JAMMU: Indicating a thaw in the government’s stance on relocation of under-threat Kashmiri Pandit employees from the valley, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said it is better to save a human life even if it means closing down a dozen offices.

    He also hit out at the opposition parties accusing them of following the policy of appeasement to the extent of being “inhuman”.

    He alleged that these parties not only discriminated between people but also went to the extent of discriminating between Line of Control and International Border purely for vote considerations.

    “This should be addressed amicably and with sensitivity. My personal opinion is that nothing can be more valuable than a human life,” the minister told reporters in Kathua.

    “If there is a threat even to one life, it is better to save that life even if it means closing down a dozen offices.” Singh was in Kathua to lay the foundation stone of central PMGSY road from Bakhta to Magloor in Jalota area.

    ALSO READ| Chalk out middle path to address issues of Kashmiri Pandits: Mehbooba Mufti

    Addressing a public rally after the ceremony, Singh said the previous governments headed by opposition parties crossed all limits of ethics and propriety when they allowed reservation for people living along LoC but denied the same benefits to the people living along the IB.

    “They did so because their MLAs were elected from the areas along the LoC, some of whom also became the ministers. They denied the same benefit to the people living along IB or on the Pakistan border, mostly in Kathua and Samba districts, because the people here did not vote for them,” the Union minister said.

    He said this discrepancy was corrected only after the Modi government came to power when the people living near the IB were given justice with the grant of four per cent reservation, the same as people living along LoC.

    ALSO READ| Kashmiri Pandits hold barefoot march in Jammu, demand to ensure their ‘Right to Life’

    Singh also said the government was making efforts to set up a satellite hospital and Tata Cancer Centre in Kathua.

    “This will provide the latest hi-tech facility for cancer patients from J&K, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.”

    ALSO READ| Will turn colonies into ‘graveyards’, militants to Pandits

    On Keedian Gandyal bridge, he said it was not constructed over the last 70 years because it would have benefitted mere 2,000 people, but “we had the courage and conviction to construct a bridge for these people at a cost of over Rs 150 Crore”.

    Along the route of the holy Machil Yatra before 2014 there were neither toilets, nor mobile connectivity, nor electricity because these people did not figure in their list of the vote bank, he said.

    ALSO READ| Nine Kashmiri Pandits killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 3 years: Govt

    “It is this government which set up toilets and mobile towers there and recently sanctioned one exclusive solar power plant for the village,” he added.

    Referring to one of the first Industrial Biotech Parks which has been set up in Kathua, Singh said people will realise its worth over a period of time.

    He said that due to the Modi government the Shahpur Kandi project was revived after 40 years, and the Ujh multipurpose irrigation project, which was conceived for the first-time during Maharaja’s rule, is also scheduled to take off very soon.

  • Farooq Abdullah hits out at BJP over ‘normalcy claims’, says killings won’t stop until ‘justice’ is served 

    By PTI

    JAMMU: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday lashed out at BJP over its claims of normalcy post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and said the killings will never stop until “justice” is served.

    Abdullah, who is a Member of Parliament from Srinagar, said had the situation been improved on the ground, another innocent Kashmiri pandit would not have been killed.

    “It (killings) will never stop as long as there is be no justice,” he told reporters in a brief interaction when asked about his reaction to the latest target killing of a Kashmiri pandit by terrorists in Shopian.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of the south Kashmir’s district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    Abdullah did not elaborate what “justice” he was talking about, but he was apparently referring to the restoration of Article 370 abrogated by the Centre.

    The National Conference chief had gone to Reasi to express condolences with his party colleague and former minister Jagjeevan Lal on the demise of his sister, and the family of former bureaucrat Babu Lal who had recently passed away.

    “They were making noises that this (terrorism) was the result of Article 370. Today, there is no Article 370 but why such killings are then taking place and who is responsible?” Abdullah, a former J-K chief minister, said.

    The BJP-led government at the centre abrogated Article 370, providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

    The National Conference, along with four other parties including the PDP, are fighting for the restoration of the special status under the banner of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).

    “If the situation had improved (as claimed by the BJP), this innocent pandit would not have been killed. Where is the improved situation as I don’t see it,” he said.

    JAMMU: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday lashed out at BJP over its claims of normalcy post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and said the killings will never stop until “justice” is served.

    Abdullah, who is a Member of Parliament from Srinagar, said had the situation been improved on the ground, another innocent Kashmiri pandit would not have been killed.

    “It (killings) will never stop as long as there is be no justice,” he told reporters in a brief interaction when asked about his reaction to the latest target killing of a Kashmiri pandit by terrorists in Shopian.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of the south Kashmir’s district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    Abdullah did not elaborate what “justice” he was talking about, but he was apparently referring to the restoration of Article 370 abrogated by the Centre.

    The National Conference chief had gone to Reasi to express condolences with his party colleague and former minister Jagjeevan Lal on the demise of his sister, and the family of former bureaucrat Babu Lal who had recently passed away.

    “They were making noises that this (terrorism) was the result of Article 370. Today, there is no Article 370 but why such killings are then taking place and who is responsible?” Abdullah, a former J-K chief minister, said.

    The BJP-led government at the centre abrogated Article 370, providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

    The National Conference, along with four other parties including the PDP, are fighting for the restoration of the special status under the banner of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).

    “If the situation had improved (as claimed by the BJP), this innocent pandit would not have been killed. Where is the improved situation as I don’t see it,” he said.

  • Emotional scenes at cremation of slain Kashmiri pandit in Jammu

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Emotions ran high as the mortal remains of a slain Kashmiri pandit were consigned to flames here on Sunday with the grief-stricken community expressing anger against the alleged failure of the government to stop selective killings by terrorists in the Valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    The body of the deceased was received by the wailing relatives at his Muthi residence in Jammu late Saturday night.

    Amid chants of high-pitch sloganeering against Pakistan, thousands of mourners joined Bhat’s two children — Shriya (daughter) and Shanu (son) — and other relatives at the Ban Talab crematory Sunday to bid a tearful adieu to him.

    They also demanded adequate compensation to the family, including Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia and a government job for the wife of the deceased, besides immediate relocation of Hindu employees outside the valley till the security situation becomes normal.

    As the body reached the cremation ground, several of Bhat’s relatives broke down. Shriya was seen kissing the body profusely to say goodbye to her father with her younger brother, a Class 5 student, staring at the corpse.

    The mourners also raised slogans against the administration for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings in the valley, soon after Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior police and civil officers, reached the cremation ground.

    “It is very unfortunate that one more Kashmiri pandit fell to the bullets of terrorists, exposing the false claims of the government about improvement in the security situation.

    ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit gunned down by militants in Valley, third in last five months

    He is the 18th minority community member shot dead over the past two years,” Satish Kumar, a relative of the deceased, said.

    He said a police post and an army camp are located nearby where Bhat was assassinated, indicating that the security situation in the valley has limped back to the early 1990s.

    Another relative of Bhat, who had come from Shopian accompanying the body of the deceased, said they feel it was their biggest mistake not to leave the valley after the eruption of terrorism.

    Vikram Koul, a member of Kashmiri Pandit volunteers, said the government must immediately announce a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for the family of the deceased.

    “We also request the government to immediately relocate all the Hindus from the valley as it has failed to provide security to them,” he added.

    Chairman of Panun Kashmir Ajay Chrungoo castigated the government for the continued killing of Hindus in Kashmir and said they are caught between genocidal war unleashed on them by jihadi forces with the state of Pakistan as its prime abettor and the denial of genocide by government of India.

    The government must pass the ‘Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities Bill’ as proposed by the Panun Kashmir, he said.

    Panun Kashmir convener Agnishekhar said all claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat in view of the continued killings of the members of the minority community.

    “Tourist arrivals and shooting of films are no signs of normalcy. The real normalcy will be when we (Kashmiri pandits) are able to move freely and re-settle there without any fear,” he said.

    JAMMU: Emotions ran high as the mortal remains of a slain Kashmiri pandit were consigned to flames here on Sunday with the grief-stricken community expressing anger against the alleged failure of the government to stop selective killings by terrorists in the Valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    The body of the deceased was received by the wailing relatives at his Muthi residence in Jammu late Saturday night.

    Amid chants of high-pitch sloganeering against Pakistan, thousands of mourners joined Bhat’s two children — Shriya (daughter) and Shanu (son) — and other relatives at the Ban Talab crematory Sunday to bid a tearful adieu to him.

    They also demanded adequate compensation to the family, including Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia and a government job for the wife of the deceased, besides immediate relocation of Hindu employees outside the valley till the security situation becomes normal.

    As the body reached the cremation ground, several of Bhat’s relatives broke down. Shriya was seen kissing the body profusely to say goodbye to her father with her younger brother, a Class 5 student, staring at the corpse.

    The mourners also raised slogans against the administration for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings in the valley, soon after Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior police and civil officers, reached the cremation ground.

    “It is very unfortunate that one more Kashmiri pandit fell to the bullets of terrorists, exposing the false claims of the government about improvement in the security situation.

    ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit gunned down by militants in Valley, third in last five months

    He is the 18th minority community member shot dead over the past two years,” Satish Kumar, a relative of the deceased, said.

    He said a police post and an army camp are located nearby where Bhat was assassinated, indicating that the security situation in the valley has limped back to the early 1990s.

    Another relative of Bhat, who had come from Shopian accompanying the body of the deceased, said they feel it was their biggest mistake not to leave the valley after the eruption of terrorism.

    Vikram Koul, a member of Kashmiri Pandit volunteers, said the government must immediately announce a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for the family of the deceased.

    “We also request the government to immediately relocate all the Hindus from the valley as it has failed to provide security to them,” he added.

    Chairman of Panun Kashmir Ajay Chrungoo castigated the government for the continued killing of Hindus in Kashmir and said they are caught between genocidal war unleashed on them by jihadi forces with the state of Pakistan as its prime abettor and the denial of genocide by government of India.

    The government must pass the ‘Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities Bill’ as proposed by the Panun Kashmir, he said.

    Panun Kashmir convener Agnishekhar said all claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat in view of the continued killings of the members of the minority community.

    “Tourist arrivals and shooting of films are no signs of normalcy. The real normalcy will be when we (Kashmiri pandits) are able to move freely and re-settle there without any fear,” he said.

  • Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Hundreds of protesting displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees, who are seeking their relocation from the valley, on Saturday blocked the Jammu-Akhnoor road to protest the latest targeted killing of their community member by terrorists in the valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was fired upon by terrorists near his residence in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district this afternoon, resulting in his death.

    The Pandits, employed under Prime Minister’s employment package, are on protest at the relief commissioner’s office in Jammu over the past five months following the killing of their colleague Rahul Bhat in Kashmir last May.

    As the news of the latest killing of Kashmiri Pandit broke out, they came out of the protest site and marched towards the main road and blocked the highway, amid high-pitch sloganeering to denounce the target killings by terrorists and the alleged failure of the government to deal with the situation.

    “Our worst fears have once again come true with the latest killing. We have already fled the valley otherwise we feel many of us have been done to death, one of the protesters,” Nikhil Kaul said.

    He said they have been saying that the situation in the valley is not safe for them but this government remained unmoved and paid no heed to their pleas for relocation.

     Yogesh Pandit, another protester, said “the administration is trying to pressure them to rejoin their duties by issuing death warrants in the form of making biometric attendance mandatory and stopping their salaries.”

    “The killing of Bhat exposed the government’s claims about the improved security situation in the valley. We will not return till the situation becomes normal in the true sense,” he said.

    Pandit said they have tried to reach the government through memorandums and protests for their relocation from the valley following the series of targeted killings over the past one year.

    “This government is deaf, dumb and blind,” the agitated Pandit said, asking what was their fault for which they are being brutally killed by terrorists.

    Rashtriya Bajrang Dal activist also joined the protesters and set ablaze an effigy of Pakistan to condemn the frequent target killings by terrorists in the valley.

    JAMMU: Hundreds of protesting displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees, who are seeking their relocation from the valley, on Saturday blocked the Jammu-Akhnoor road to protest the latest targeted killing of their community member by terrorists in the valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was fired upon by terrorists near his residence in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district this afternoon, resulting in his death.

    The Pandits, employed under Prime Minister’s employment package, are on protest at the relief commissioner’s office in Jammu over the past five months following the killing of their colleague Rahul Bhat in Kashmir last May.

    As the news of the latest killing of Kashmiri Pandit broke out, they came out of the protest site and marched towards the main road and blocked the highway, amid high-pitch sloganeering to denounce the target killings by terrorists and the alleged failure of the government to deal with the situation.

    “Our worst fears have once again come true with the latest killing. We have already fled the valley otherwise we feel many of us have been done to death, one of the protesters,” Nikhil Kaul said.

    He said they have been saying that the situation in the valley is not safe for them but this government remained unmoved and paid no heed to their pleas for relocation.

     Yogesh Pandit, another protester, said “the administration is trying to pressure them to rejoin their duties by issuing death warrants in the form of making biometric attendance mandatory and stopping their salaries.”

    “The killing of Bhat exposed the government’s claims about the improved security situation in the valley. We will not return till the situation becomes normal in the true sense,” he said.

    Pandit said they have tried to reach the government through memorandums and protests for their relocation from the valley following the series of targeted killings over the past one year.

    “This government is deaf, dumb and blind,” the agitated Pandit said, asking what was their fault for which they are being brutally killed by terrorists.

    Rashtriya Bajrang Dal activist also joined the protesters and set ablaze an effigy of Pakistan to condemn the frequent target killings by terrorists in the valley.

  • Kashmiri Pandit shot dead by militants in J-K’s Shopian

    By Associated Press

    SRINAGAR: Assailants on Saturday fatally shot a Kashmiri Hindu man in violence police blamed on militants fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region.

    Police said militants fired at Puran Krishan Bhat, who is from the minority community of Kashmiri Hindus, at his home in the southern Shopian district. He was taken to a hospital where he died, police said in a statement.

    Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a search for the attackers. In August, a local Hindu man was killed and his brother was injured in Shopian in a shooting that police also blamed on insurgents. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both in their entirety.

    ALSO READ | Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

    WATCH:

    India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

    Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since October last year. Several Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, have been killed. Police say the killings — including that of Muslim village councillors, police officers and civilians — have been carried out by anti-India rebels.

    The spate of killings comes as Indian troops have continued their counterinsurgency operations across the region amid a clampdown on dissent and press freedom, which critics have likened to a militaristic policy. Kashmir’s minority Hindus, who are locally known as Pandits, have long fretted over their place in the region.

    Most of an estimated 200,000 of them fled Kashmir in the 1990s when an armed rebellion against Indian rule began. Some 4,000 returned after 2010 as part of a government resettlement plan that provided them with jobs and housing.

    SRINAGAR: Assailants on Saturday fatally shot a Kashmiri Hindu man in violence police blamed on militants fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region.

    Police said militants fired at Puran Krishan Bhat, who is from the minority community of Kashmiri Hindus, at his home in the southern Shopian district. He was taken to a hospital where he died, police said in a statement.

    Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a search for the attackers. In August, a local Hindu man was killed and his brother was injured in Shopian in a shooting that police also blamed on insurgents. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both in their entirety.

    ALSO READ | Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

    WATCH:

    India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

    Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since October last year. Several Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, have been killed. Police say the killings — including that of Muslim village councillors, police officers and civilians — have been carried out by anti-India rebels.

    The spate of killings comes as Indian troops have continued their counterinsurgency operations across the region amid a clampdown on dissent and press freedom, which critics have likened to a militaristic policy. Kashmir’s minority Hindus, who are locally known as Pandits, have long fretted over their place in the region.

    Most of an estimated 200,000 of them fled Kashmir in the 1990s when an armed rebellion against Indian rule began. Some 4,000 returned after 2010 as part of a government resettlement plan that provided them with jobs and housing.

  • J-K: Kashmiri Pandits take out ‘Thali Bajao’ protest march over Rahul Bhat’s killing

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Kashmiri Pandit employees on Tuesday took out a march in the Anantnag district and banged utensils as part of a ‘Thali Bajao’ protest against the killing of Rahul Bhat last week.

    Bhat, who had got the job of a clerk under the special employment package for migrants in 2010-11, was gunned down by terrorists inside the tehsil office in Chadoora town of central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Thursday.

    Braving rains, the protestors under the banner of All PM Package Employees Forum marched on the highway banging utensils and raising slogans demanding justice.

    Earlier in the day, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar had visited the Kashmiri Pandits at their protest site and said that terrorists can target them if they stayed on road.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday advocated pro-active coordinated counter-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir as he held three back-to-back meetings to review the situation there as well as arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra and asked security forces to ensure zero cross-border infiltration to wipe out terrorism in the union territory.

    The marathon meetings held by the home minister came in the backdrop of recent targeted killings in the valley which included a Kashmiri pandit Rahul Bhat, who was gunned down by terrorists last week.

    During the meetings, which was attended by Lt Governor of JK Manoj Sinha, police chief Dibag Singh and other top central and union territory officials, Shah was informed that this year’s 42-day-long yatra, beginning on June 30, will have a Radio Frequency Identification Card (RFID) for every pilgrim besides an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh.

    While Sinha was present in all the three meetings, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande attended the meetings to discuss the security situation in the union territory.

    An official spokesman in a statement said the home minister directed security forces and the police to conduct coordinated counter-terrorism operations pro-actively.

    The home minister said in order to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a prosperous and peaceful Jammu and Kashmir, security forces should ensure zero cross-border infiltration to wipe out terrorism in the union territory.

    In another statement, the spokesman said the JK chief secretary informed the meeting that each pilgrim will be provided with a RFID and will be insured with Rs 5 lakh.

    Earlier, RFID was provided to vehicles only.

    Shah said a “hassle-free” journey for the pilgrims is a priority of the Modi government and directed that all arrangements, including additional electricity, water, and telecom facilities be made.

    He also stressed for enhancement of mobile connectivity along the yatra route as he directed that earth moving equipment should be placed at vantage points to clear the route in case of landslides.

    This is the first yatra after the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the high altitude, adequate arrangements will have to be made for yatris who have any health-related problems, he said.

    The home minister asked for an adequate number of oxygen cylinders, medical beds at an altitude of more than 6,000 feet and deployment of ambulances and helicopters to deal with any emergency medical situation.

    All categories of transport services should be increased during the Amarnath Yatra for the convenience of passengers.

    During the meeting, it was also decided to enable WiFi hotspots to ensure connectivity throughout the 39 km of the yatra route from Pahalgam in south Kashmir.

    The other route is through Baltal in central Kashmir where a pilgrim treks for nearly 15 km.

    The yatra, which presents a big security challenge for the government, could not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and was cut short in 2019 just before the abrogation of Article 370.

    About three lakh pilgrims are likely to take part in the pilgrimage that is expected to end on August 11.

    About 12,000 paramilitary personnel (120 companies) in addition to Jammu and Kashmir Police are expected to be deployed along the two pilgrimage routes, one from Pahalgam and the other via Baltal, officials said.

    Drone cameras will help the security forces to ensure the protection of the pilgrims.

    Besides the Amarnath pilgrimage, the meetings also reviewed the security arrangement especially in the wake of several targeted killings, including of Kashmiri Pandits, in Kashmir.

    There has been a spurt in attacks on non-Muslims and outsiders living in the Kashmir valley since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019 which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

    The security review comes following a spate of killings in the union territory.

    On May 12, Bhat, a government employee, was killed by terrorists inside his office in Budgam district.

    A day after, police constable Reyaz Ahmad Thokar was shot dead by terrorists at his residence in the Pulwama district.

    Also last week, four pilgrims were killed and at least 20 injured when the bus they were travelling in caught fire near Katra in Jammu.

    Police suspect a sticky bomb might have been used to trigger the fire.

    Bhat’s killing triggered protests by members of the Kashmiri Pandit community who staged protests in the Valley demanding enhanced security and transfer of government employees to safer locations.

    On Sunday, the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomerate of major J-K parties, urged Kashmiri Pandit employees not to leave the Valley as it was their home and it would be painful for all.

    Top officials of the ministries of health, telecom, road transport, civil aviation and IT took part in the meeting to discuss logistics for the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva at an altitude of 3,888 metres.

  • Protest at Kashmiri Pandit camp in Sheikhpora continues; employees demand relocation

    By PTI

    SHEIKHPORA: Fear and anger were writ large on the faces of Kashmiri Pandit employees and their family members as they continued their protest on Saturday at the Sheikhpora transit camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district against the killing of Rahul Bhat and demanding their relocation to safer places outside Kashmir Valley.

    A posse of security forces personnel stood guard outside the camp, ostensibly for their protection. The protesters, however, claimed that the security forces personnel prevented them from taking out a protest march.

    The camp, which houses the families of Bhat and other Kashmir Pandits who were employed under the prime minister’s package in 2008, has become an epicentre of protests in the aftermath of the killing Bhat, who was shot dead by terrorists in his office in Chadoora on Thursday.

    The protesters have been demanding their relocation to safe environments in the wake of a spurt in the attacks on the minority community members in the valley.

    On Saturday, over a hundred employees — men and women — sat under a large makeshift tent, in order to protect themselves from the scorching heat prevalent across the valley, as they protested against Bhat’s killing as well to press for the acceptance of their demands.

    So far, they said, there were no visible signs of any resolution to the problems. “This is the failure of both the central as well as the union territory governments. This is the ninth killing (of minority community members), we are facing huge problems, but there is no redressal,” Vimal, a Kashmiri pandit employee, told PTI at the camp.

    He said for the migrant employees to work freely, a safe and secure environment should be created. “There has to have fool-proof security arrangements for us to work. We cannot work like this and so, we are planning to submit mass resignations,” Vimal said.

    On Friday, there were reports of mass resignations by the employees, especially in the militancy-hit south Kashmir, but the government dismissed those.

    Instead, it said, their service-related issues were being addressed in a time-bound manner within a week. Vimal, however, said the government’s intentions were not clear. While many paid tributes to Bhat — a photograph of his was placed on a table — several others raised slogans against the government and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

    A tri-colour also placed on the table. The protesters got up and rushed towards the main gate of the camp which has shut by the police since Friday night. The protesters tried to throw the gate open, but police prevailed. A police vehicle was also brought in front of the gate to stop the march of the protesters.

    The employees — who on Friday had sat on the main road connecting the district with Srinagar city as well as the airport — said they were fooled by the police into vacating the road and were now “caged” inside the transit camp.

    “We were removed from the dharna by the DIG (central Kashmir) on the assurance that the Lieutenant Governor will come to see us. However, the LG did not come. He sent his principal secretary, Nitishwar Kumar, instead around 11 pm,” Vimal said. “He (Kumar) had no solutions, no redressal to our issues,” one of the employees said.

    Sanjay Kumar, another employee, said reports about providing the migrant employees arms licenses were “fake”. The community has a solution to their problems — the government should temporarily relocate them to “safer places” till a secure atmosphere is created in the valley.

    “For the time-being, two years, three years, we should be relocated till the time they control the situation. They are not doing anything except telling us that there is no provision to relocate them,” another employee from the community, Aparna Pandit, said.

    The Kashmiri Pandits said they have never come out on roads or raised their voice, but Bhat’s killing has “shook us”.

    “Do they want us dead? We will submit mass resignations as the government has totally failed because now employees are killed inside their offices. Where is the security? Why is there no provision for us to be transferred outside Kashmir? People can come from Bihar and Maharashtra to work here, but we cannot go outside,” she said.

    They claimed their problems will continue as the government was “making us sacrificial lamb”. “Either accept our mass resignations or do something to secure our lives. Transfer us then to any other state in India. The government said they can neither accept our resignation, nor transfer us,” she said.

    Another Kashmiri pandit, who did not wish to be named, said the government wants to create an atmosphere of fear. “They do not want us to live happily here. We left our families, our children were living happily and studying well when they told us they will rehabilitate us. Is this what that rehabilitation is? Has Rahul Bhat been rehabilitated?” he said.

    “Why are we not being allowed to go to press colony (in Srinagar) to protest Bhat’s killing and to pay homage to him? Why are we being caged here? Are we stone-pelters? Are we anti-national elements, terrorists? We sat peacefully yesterday. The police is deliberately harassing us,” he said.

    While the protest continued near the main gate, the whole transit camp — which houses about 300 families — presented a grim picture.

    Many Kashmiri Pandits, especially the elderly, were busy with their daily chores, but none of them seemed to be at peace. Their faces betrayed their hearts which had, for so long, been longing to return to Kashmir.

  • Slain Kashmiri Pandit’s family demands probe as mourners flock his Jammu house

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Mourners flocked the house of a Kashmiri Pandit government employee shot dead by terrorists inside his office in central Kashmir’s Budgam district Thursday, as his family and relatives waited for his body and the father demanded a probe into the incident.

    Rahul Bhat, who had got the job of a clerk under the special employment package for migrants in 20120-11, was gunned down by terrorists inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town.

    “His body should be returned immediately and an inquiry ordered into the incident to identify all those who are involved in his cold-blooded murder,” his father Bita Bhat said at his Durga Nagar residence in the outskirts of Jammu.

    Wails and shrieks filled the house as mourners including neighbours and relatives rushed to comfort the family after hearing about the killing of Bhat, who was in his early 30s.

    “I was at a hospital accompanying my ailing brother when a family friend called from Kashmir and informed me about the incident. I tried to contact the deputy commissioner of Budgam and the concerned police officers but my calls went unanswered,” the father told the mediapersons trying to put up a brave face and hold up his emotions.

    He said it was the responsibility of the deputy commissioner to at least inform the family as his employee was killed inside his office chamber in broad-daylight.

    “If a person is shot inside his office, nobody is safe in the valley, when such a thing has happened it is a glaring example of the government’s failure. Those serving (among the Kashmiri Pandits) there are doing it at their own risk as the government has failed to provide security to them,” he said.

    A relative of Bhat broke down before the media. “They have taken our children for dying there and not for jobs.” Bhat is survived by his parents, wife and a minor daughter. His wife and daughter were putting up with him at Sheikhpora migrant colony in Budgam district.

    Rakesh Koul, the BJP municipal councilor in south Kashmir’s Mattan, said the selective killings by terrorists is a cause for concern for the whole community, especially those who are serving in the valley.

    “We have risked our lives and returned to Kashmir with a hope to rebuild a connection with our roots,” he said, as he tried to console the bereaved family members.

    Bhat’s neighbours said he was a thorough gentleman and the news of his killing came as a shock for them. Politicians cutting across party lines condemned the killing and demanded stern action against the perpetrators of violence.

    “The coward Pakistani terrorists have once again bled the Kashmir by the cold-blooded murder of Bhat, those behind the killings will not be spared and will be eliminated by our security forces,” J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina said.

  • Pandits rebuild homes in Valley, return to roots 

    Express News Service

    MATTAN(ANANTNAG) : Even as a debate is raging across the country over the exodus of Hindus from Kashmir following eruption of militancy in the late Eighties, about half-a-dozen Kashmiri Pandit families are constructing houses in a village in Mattan in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, to permanently shift there.

    Following a considerable improvement in the ground situation in Kashmir, these families are keen to return to their roots in the Valley. Pandit Kakaji, who is building a two-storey house for himself and his brother’s family, told this newspaper that the construction work started in 2016.  He currently lives in a rented accommodation nearby to oversee the work. 

    “I expect the construction will be completed this year and we intend to shift to the house in 2022 only,” he said. Asked if he feels any threat living in Kashmir, Kakaji said, “I don’t feel any threat. We have total communal harmony in the village.” Anantnag has been a hotbed of militancy in Kashmir.

    The village, according to the locals, had about 80 Pandit families before the eruption of militancy and most of them migrated after 1990. Kakaji said many Pandit families have built their houses in the village and are living there. Their Kashmiri Muslim neighbours, who had been taking care of their properties, are helping the Pandits reconstruct their houses by making all arrangements for them. The construction work is also being done by the Muslims.

    Abdul Aziz, an elderly villager, said the return of Pandits was a welcome sign. “We are happy that they are returning to their roots. The Pandits are part of Kashmiriyat and they should return and live with their Muslim brethren as they used to, before 1990s,” he said.

    Ashok Kumar, president, Martand Temple Trust, Mattan said about half-a-dozen Pandit families started construction of their houses last year. “Many Pandit families have also renovated their houses as they intend to come back,” he said, adding that the local Muslims are wholeheartedly welcoming the return of the Pandits.

    Kumar said the situation in Kashmir has changed very much from the 1990s and is conducive for the return of migrant Pandits. The government should take initiative and construct houses for 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits, who have to be provided jobs under the PM’s job package. “6,000 jobs means as many families and at least 24,000 individuals. If the government provides quarter to everyone, it will have a positive impact on the ground. It will lead to greater interaction between the Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims,” Kumar said.

  • 10 days after militants gunned down Srinagar chemist, kin reopens pharmacy

    By Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: Ten days after Makhan Lal Bindroo was shot dead in his shop at uptown Srinagar, the well-known pharmacy near Iqbal Park re-opened under strict vigil on Friday.

    The chemist shop had been closed after Bindroo, 68, the owner of the Bindroo chemist, was shot dead by militants on October 5. Much to the relief of locals and kin of patients, the pharmacy was reopened with security arrangements in place.

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    Paramilitary and police personnel were deployed in the area, and they were maintaining strict vigil on the movement of the people. No vehicles were being allowed to stop in front of the shop. Bindroo had encouraged his son Dr Siddharth Bindroo, who was working outside, to return to the Kashmir Valley and serve the people.  Sources close to his son Siddharth said he would now be running the pharmacy to continue with the mission of his late father to serve the people. 

    “Life must go on,” said Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti president Sanjay Tickoo, reacting to the reopening of Bindroo chemist shop. It is a positive development, he added.