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PO's Conference extravaganza

Ministers extend lavish 'social meals' to guests

6/26/2010 12:13:26 AM

EARLY TIMES REPORT JAMMU, June 25: With the prestigious PO's Conference in Srinagar over, the NC led coalition government has added another feather in its cap of successfully having hosted one of the biggest events in recent years, at a place which otherwise remains in headlines for wrong reasons. Apart from the huge expenditure government incurred on this gala event, the ministers in the government did not shy away from indulging in 'luxurious spending' in the hospitality they extended by organizing lunches and dinners. The event was prestigious in the sense that dignitaries from Legislative Assemblies of the states apart from that of Parliament attended this three day conference. Huge n...

Cultural sanctity of art losing ethical dispensations

6/26/2010 12:12:57 AM

EARLY TIMES REPORT JAMMU, June 25: How much of the art and culture of the state has groomed of late under the patronage of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages whose head is Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself as its president can be gauged by the silent echoes of the magnificence of two buildings of Abhinav Theater and Kala Kender. Though the activities undertaken in these colossal ghosts of brick and cement are due to the personnel efforts of some of the art lovers shelving money from their own wallets to keep the culture living, the reciprocal from the Institution is not even up to providing the basic minimum infrastructural needs to make a programme satisfactor...

NC a divided house in Poonch, several join hands against MLA

6/26/2010 12:12:37 AM

BHARAT BHUSHAN EARLY TIMES REPORT JAMMU, June 25: National Conference leader Shah Mohammad Tantray's vocal disdain for MLA Aiyaz Jan won him accolades in a meeting of panchs and sarpanchs and other party leaders in Poonch today. All the Poonch district NC cadres, who attended the meeting, approved of Tantray's allegations that the MLA had failed to come true to the expectations of the people of Poonch assembly segment. The meeting, held at Tantray's Allah Pir house in the town, was also attended by Poonch district NC president Qazi Mohammad Syed Beigh, besides almost all sarpanchs and panchs of the villages that fall in the constituency. A clear split became visible within NC when Tan...

Partly decomposed bodies of old couple found in bed at Trikuta Nagar

6/26/2010 12:12:14 AM

EARLY TIMES REPORT JAMMU, June 25: Partly decomposed bodies of a retired PDD official and his ailing wife were today found lying in their bed under mysterious circumstances in sector (extension) 1 of the posh Trikuta Nagar here. Romesh Koul, who worked with electricity judge and retired two years back from PDD, was not seen by the neighbours for the past three days, or so. His wife Rajni Koul, who suffered from multiple ailments and was not keeping well for the past over two decades, had become bed-ridden for the last three years. Though police were still trying to determine what could have led to the couple's death, they said preliminary investigation hinted at a suicide. Romesh was per...

Islamabad bombing its tribal belt, asking New Delhi to give freehand to Kashmiri separatists

6/26/2010 12:11:47 AM

RUSTAM EARLY TIMES REPORT JAMMU, June 25: The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met at Islamabad on Thursday. The outcome of the talks was on expected lines. It was expected that Islamabad would again rake up the Kashmir issue and it did exactly that. It was also expected that New Delhi would rake up the issue of cross border terrorism and it did ask Islamabad to stop cross-border terrorism. The Indian Foreign Secretary did tell her Pakistani counterpart that if Islamabad really wishes to normalize relations with India, it has no other option but to rein in and neutralize all the Pakistan-based terrorists and extremists. It was also expected that the Indian Foreign Secretary woul...

Sr officers, scores others found absent during raids in Rajouri

Sheep husbandry office at Nowshera found locked

6/26/2010 12:11:29 AM

EARLY TIMES REPORT RAJOURI, June 25: In the first such action against government officials indulging in willful neglect of duty, senior officers and scores of others were found absent during simultaneous raids conducted by district vigilance squad (DVS) on over 50 premises of 25 departments across the district today. Much to the surprise of the raiding DVS team, the sheep husbandry department at Nowshera was found locked as all the employees including the peon, who was to open the office, were absent. Strict action under law would be recommended against the absentees, official sources said. The DVS head, additional deputy commissioner Robin Singh Mehta had constituted two teams fo...

India's goodwill gesture to Pak with Chidambaram's visit

6/26/2010 12:10:44 AM

Agencies NEW DELHI, June 25 : Before leaving for Pakistan today the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has approved the release of four Pakistani prisoners as a gesture of goodwill. A Union Home Ministry statement issued here today said that these prisoners were currently lodged in various jails in Gujarat. The prisoners would be repatriated from the Attari border on next Wednesday -- 30th June -- and handed over to Pakistan Rangers, added the Ministry statement. Earlier, Pakistan had released 17 Indian prisoners held in various jails across the borders. Some of these prisoners crossed to Indian side of the border at Wagha on last Wednesday - June 23. Such exchange of each other's prison...

People block highway on drainage issue

6/26/2010 12:10:06 AM

Agencies JAMMU, June 25: Agitated over poor drainage system in their area, people today blocked Jammu-Pathankote national highway at Kali Bari in Kathua. Disrupting movement of vehicular traffic for over an hour, they also raised slogans against the district development commissioner, Kathua. The people complained that authorities had filled one of the canals with mud which caused water logging in many areas. A district administration officer along with others rushed to the spot and assured the people that the authorities would take steps to fulfil their demand following which they dispersed and traffic was resumed on the highway, official sources said. ...

Govt decontrols fuel prices

6/26/2010 12:09:17 AM

Agencies New Delhi, June 25: In a major policy reform that will help the government improve its financial health but may stoke inflation, a ministerial panel Friday decided to decontrol petrol, and increase prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas. The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also decided to eventually free up diesel prices from administrative control, Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan told reporters here after the EGoM meeting. The deregulation will lead to an increase of 3.73 per litre in prices of petrol from Friday midnight. The government has also hiked the prices of diesel by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene by Rs.3 a litre and cook...

2 killed in CRPF firing on mob in Sopore

CRPF opened fire when mourners of 2 slain militants torched a Gypsy; Curfew imposed

6/25/2010 11:21:46 PM

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz SRINAGAR, Jun 25: Authorities have imposed curfew on Sopore after two civilians got killed and four others sustained gunshot wounds in a mob attack on paramilitary force this evening. Hundreds of residents carrying dead bodies of two militants, who had earlier died in an encounter with security forces, clashed with CRPF in Krankshivan Colony while shouting anti-India slogans, pelting stones and torching a Gypsy. Both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference have called for a total shutdown in Kashmir on Saturday and asked people to march to the apple town in a demonstration of solidarity with the bereaved families. Informed sources in North Kashmir told Early Tim...