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| Durbar opens amid shutdown but Valley doesn't freeze | | CM: Cabinet is united on transfer policy, SC reservation won't change demography | |
AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, May 10: Top government offices, including Raj Bhawan and Civil Secretariat, today opened here after operating from Jammu for six months, in the backdrop of a shutdown sponsored by High Court Bar Association (HCBA) and almost all other separatist political groups and alliances. Notwithstanding some clashes between stone pelting groups and Police, Civil Secretariat and other offices functioned with normality.
With the exception of a visible Police and paramilitary deployment in certain downtown localities in Srinagar, Baramulla and Sopore townships, there was no extraordinary security bandubast. Even as shops, business establishments, banks and educational institutions were seen closed for the day in half of the capital city, quite a number of them functioned normally in most of the uptown localities. Some of the passenger services operated even from the normally worst hit General Bus Stand of Batmaloo. Private vehicular traffic remained undisturbed, though in Sopore and Baramulla unruly groups pelted stones and damaged a number of such vehicles in order to enforce shutdown called by the separatist groups.
Most of the government offices were found open, though attendance was between 40 to 70 percent only. Educational institutions, however, did not open in most of the localities in the Valley.
Reports said that nearly 20 persons and three Police personnel sustained injuries in half a dozen clashes between stone pelting groups and Police in interior localities of downtown Srinagar, Baramulla and Sopore.
HCBA functionaries claimed that shutdown was "complete" and, according to them, it has yet again made clear to Government of India that the people of Kashmir had "an unflinching faith and aspiration for freedom". However, HCBA General Secretary, Advocate Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, asked the Kashmiri employees of the state government to conduct the ten-yearly census operation themselves so as to prevent the non-Kashmiri staff from "enacting the plan of changing Kashmir's demography". HCBA President, Advocate Mian Qayoom, and Hurriyat (G) spokesman, Ayyaz Akbar, described today's shutdown as "an eye-opener" for the government.
HCBA had called upon the Kashmiris to observe total shutdown against the treatment political detainees were getting in law courts, jails and interrogations centers. "spiraling graph of human rights abuse by security forces", detention of political activists under Public Safety Act (PSA)and reservation of 8% of the government job vacancies for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates in Muslim-dominated Kashmir province had been cited as other reasons for the strike. Both factions of the secessionist conglomerate, Hurriyat Conference, JKLF, Dukhtaraan-e-Millat and many other separatist groups had supported the HCBA call and urged the Kashmiris to freeze the Valley on Monday.
Officials said that Hurriyat Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and few other leaders were confined to their respective residences in enforcement of the prohibitory orders but hardline separatist, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, was not subjected to any restriction. They claimed that the call for shutdown had little impact in most parts of the Capital city and Kashmir province.
Offices of Chief Minister and those of his Ministerial colleagues and senior bureaucrats at Civil Secretariat, Raj Bhawan, Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, Police headquarters and all other Move offices opened for the summer schedule and worked smoothly for the whole day. Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, took salute at a ceremonial guard of honour on his arrival at Civil Secretariat. Later, he held an informal meeting with his Ministerial colleagues and bureaucrats and also visited different offices and clerical halls to take stock of the arrangements made for the convenience of the Move employees.
Thereafter, Chief Minister had a 20-minute long meeting with IAS topper of year 2009, Dr Shah Faisal, at CM's Secretariat.
Talking to mediapersons, Chief Minister said that HCBA had no reason to call for shutdown. He asserted that reservation of 8 percent of government jobs in all districts of the state for the candidates of Scheduled Castes would not disturb demography in Kashmir valley as those occupying such posts were all permanent residents of the state. If passage of the Kashmiris to Jammu was not changing any demography in Jammu, how would that of the people from Jammu affect any change in the Valley, he asked.
Omar dispelled the impression of a split in the Cabinet over the proposed transfer policy and dismissed media reports to that effect as speculative and a figment of imagination. He claimed that there was complete unanimity on all policy matters between the coalition partners---National Conference and Congress.
Omar said that in order to nominate members to the State Accountability Commission (SAC), the Committee for the purpose was meeting soon. "The proposal to this effect would be submitted to the Governor after taking the opinion of the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir who has taken over recently", he said. According to him, delay in appointment of Chairman and members of SAC had occurred due to transfer of Chief Justice of J&K High Court, Barin Ghosh, who had desired the exercise to be conducted by his successor.
"We are also intending to convert Vigilance Organization into a Commission to give it more teeth to eradicate corruption and book culprits", he said, adding that the Government had also put in place a new law regarding 'Benami' transaction of properties which would help in a big way to move forward on the front of eradicating corruption.
Omar said that the Government was committed to address genuine grievances of employees and the Cabinet sub-committee on the subject was already engaged in discussion with the representatives of Government employees. "Government has already told the employees that the roadmap for the payment of arrears would be worked out within next three months which they have agreed", he said, maintaining that issues of HRA, conversation of COLA into DA and other matters were being actively discussed and finalized by the Cabinet sub-committee.
On proposed Rehabilitation Policy for return of youth from PoK who had crossed over but had not indulged in militancy and wanted to return to normal life, Chief Minister said that the policy was being fine-tuned and forwarded to the Centre.
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