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Five hurt in Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road IED blast

     Srinagar: At least five labourers were injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) blast that took place on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road on Tuesday. The incident took place barely two days before the first run of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service in 58 years. The blast took place at Hanjiveera in the Pattan area of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.

     Earlier, security forces recovered two powerful IEDs from the same area. Informed BSF sources said that the IEDs, weighing 130 kilograms, were found in polythene bags on the roadside. The bags were detected by the 55th battalion of the BSF. Tuesday's discovery came three days after the BSF had recovered 117 kilograms of explosives from Arampora-Sopore, off the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.

      Security fears, however, did not prevent the Jammu and Kashmir government from conducting a partial dry run of the Srinagar- Muzaffarabad bus service on Monday. One of the two buses, which are scheduled to ply from Srinagar to the Kamaan Post at the Line of Control (LoC) on April 7, were sent on a dry run from Baramullah to the LoC on Monday morning amid tight security. The buses returned to Srinagar later in the evening under heavy security. The state government said that as the partial dry run between Sringar and Kamaan had been completed successfully, the reverse run was not required. It also said that security arrangements along the route had been checked during the test run. However, another dry run of another bus scheduled to travel from Srinagar to the Kamaan Bridge could not be undertaken as security checks at some places along the route had not been completed. Both the state and central governments are concerned about the safety of the first batch of passengers, not only because of the threat from the militants, but also from stray unexploded mines.

      Ten of the passengers slated to travel on April 7 have been lodged in Srinagar's Tourist Reception Centre. Another 12 residents from Jammu are to be sent to Srinagar under heavy security escort some time today, instead of on April 6. Twenty-nine people will travel on the first historic bus journey on April 7. Technical snags such as shortage of forms and non- availability of permits have stopped many people from making this historic trip across the border.

Cultural bonanza to mark Kashmir bus service opening (Go To Top)

     Srinagar: It would be a colourful start for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, with a folk art show depicting the diverse culture of the valley being organised on the occasion. On April 7, when the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Kashmir to inaugurate the first cross-border bus service, he along with other dignitaries would watch a folk art show depicting the Kashmiri culture. Preparations are underway at hectic pace for the cultural show at the convention centre in Srinagar for the big day when the bus service linking Srinagar and Muzaffarabad would resume after more than five decades. According to the tentative programme chalked out by the state government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will witness the cultural programme at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here before flagging off the bus. He will also interact with the members of divided families who will board the first bus to Muzaffarabad.

     The first batch of the guests from across the border would also be greeted with a cultural show. More than 100 artistes from Jammu and Kashmir are rehearsing hard for the 90-minute show to welcome the first guests who cross the Line of Control (LoC) on the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus on April 7. Manmohan Singh is also likely to receive the first batch of passengers arriving from Pakistan in the evening. The chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi will be the host at the flagging-off ceremony at the SKI Convention Centre. Both Indian and Pakistani officials have already exchanged the list of the first batch of 30 passengers.

Fernandes gets clean chit in Kargil arms scam (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: The government on Tuesday gave a clean chit to former defence minister George Fernandes in connection with the purchase of arms and ammunition during the 1999 Kargil War. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Centre said there was no violation of financial rules of the government or defence procurement procedure. After being accused of financial irregularities, Fernandes had written to the President and the Prime Minister, asking for the matter to be investigated. In October last year, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Centre wanting to know what follow-up steps were being taken on the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on irregularities in the purchase of arms, ammunitions and other material during and after the Kargil war in July 1999. The court was then hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) which said that the country had suffered a loss of Rs 2,000 crore because norms and procedures were not followed in procurement of arms and ammunitions by the defence ministry when Fernandes was in charge of it. The Bench had earlier referred the PIL filed by K G Dhananjay Chauhan to Attorney General Milon Banerjee and appointed senior advocate Rakesh Diwedi as amicus curiae. Diwedi submitted before the court that during the Kargil war norms for purchase of arms and ammunition were relaxed. However, the authorities did not revert to the old procedure even after the cessation of armed operations. He wanted to know why the government did not let the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to go through a "secret" report of Central Vigilance Commission on this issue.

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