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15 protesters injured in Nowhatta clashes : Srinagar, Mar 13: After a three days’ lull, violent demonstrations rocked Nowhatta again on Friday causing injuries to 15 people protesting against the killing of a teenager by the CRPF troopers last week.
Soon after the Friday prayers, hundreds of youth assembled outside Jamia Masjid and staged demonstrations over the killing of a youth, Shahid Ahmad Ahangar, by the CRPF troopers last Friday. They were demanding punishment to the accused troopers.
Shouting pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, the protesters marched in a procession towards the Nowhatta Police Station, but troopers and policemen were deployed there to prevent the march. Police fired several tear smoke shells to disperse the protesters who offered stiff resistance and pelted stones at police. Several troopers and policemen were wounded after being hit by stones.
The Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, Syed Afadul Mujtaba, rushed to the spot and personally monitored the situation. The SSP directed the policemen and troopers to exercise restraint and use minimum force to disperse the protesters.
“Only unarmed policemen or troopers should deal with the protesters,” the SSP directed his subordinates. As more youth joined the demonstrations, they charged at the troopers who ran towards the Police Station. But the SSP encouraged and marshaled his cops to deal with the protesters.
The SSP told this reporter that several persons indulging in stone pelting have been identified. “We are mulling strict legal action against them. We won’t allow anybody to endanger life and property of people. We need support of people to check the menace for it will badly affect the society,” the SSP said.
“We have managed to control the situation and few troopers and cops were injured in the clashes. Despite provocation we exercised utmost restraint,” said the Superintendent of Police, North, Abdul Waheed Shah.
Reports said 20 people including three policemen and two troopers were injured in the clashes.
Following Shahid’s killing on March 6, authorities had clamped curfew for three consecutive days in Nowhatta and its adjoining areas.

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Bomai residents set Mar 21 deadline : Srinagar, Mar 13: The people of Bomai in north Kashmir’s Sopur area, have threatened to migrate from the area, if the army camp isn’t shifted by March 21.
The Imams of local Masjids on Friday asked the people to prepare themselves for the migration, if the camp was not shifted by the deadline.
On February 21, troops of 22-Rashtriya Rifles had killed two youth without any provocation. Soon after, the government had ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and assured strict action against the culprits.
However, the Imams of six local Masjids today accused the government of doing nothing practically and appealed the people to remain united and steadfast.
The Bomai Coordination Committee spokesman, Molvi Abdur Rashid said that the government had assured them after February 21 incident that the camp would be shifted and culprits brought to the book. “But till date nothing has been done. If our demands aren’t met by March 21, all the responsibility arising out of the situation would lie on the government,” he warned.
Meanwhile, a KNS report said, the centre had taken a serious note of the Bomai incident in the wake of the inquiry report sent by the state government yesterday. The Defence minister, A K Antony, is understood to have decided to visit the state to take stock of the situation arising out of the killings. Though the date of his visit has not been finalized yet, it is likely to take place after he holds discussions with the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, who has sought “exemplary punishment” to the guilty soldiers.

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SKIMS gone : People who are in know of the coupe de grace suffered by the premier medical institution of the valley must have definitely grown sick of hearing the self-praising statements shamelessly churned out by the institute day in and day out. Instead of going for a dispassionate introspection and evaluation of the system, the authorities of the tertiary care medical institute have taken it unto themselves to conceal the pathology of the system. It would have been proper for the mandarins of power in the SKIMS to take corrective measures to set the system right than coming out with statements that are far from truth. Almost every department of the institute is facing an ailment. Several consultants have either left the institute in the recent past as they could not stand the working conditions and many more are looking for alternatives. The brain drain we are referring to is recent and not the earlier one. Two years ago when the institute witnessed change of guard, people had hoped that things would change and the institute would be put back on rails. But after two years they are disappointed. They swallowed most of the lies that were put in the media by the institute till Thursday when it finally came out with white lies on the eve of World Kidney Day. Everybody in Kashmir knows the worsening situation. The patients with kidney stones who would like to get rid of the same through safer procedures requiring little post operative hospitalisation are not able to have it and are forced to go to Delhi, Agra or Chandigarh or even Jammu as the SKIMS doesn't have the wherewithal. They are trying to befool people with terms like ambulatory dialysis. By the way what is new in that, one would like to ask. Ask the poor man from the home town of the head of the institute who has had to wander in the corridors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to get his son treated for the chronic renal failure after being denied the much needed treatment at SKIMS for two years. There were no legal hitches in the kidney transplant as one of the parents of the boy were ready to donate the kidney to save his life yet the so called nephrology department of the institute failed to facilitate the treatment. Naveed Anjum, a young boy from an uptown locality would have survived for many more years had the SKIMS authorities referred him in time to AIIMS or other institution where he could be treated. He was referred but after three long years. Alas! They neither do it themselves nor do they allow others to do it. Unfortunately the powers-that-be have been promoting mediocrity in the otherwise super-specialty hospital where we need qualified people to provide consultations to critically ill patients. There are dozens of instances where doctors with MCh or DM qualifications and highly acclaimed technical publications in international journals were tactfully denied positions and are now working in foreign countries. Some of them who were lucky to get a job in the institute are today feeling frustrated as the conditions are being created for them to desert the institute services. Unfortunately the culture of groupism, the seeds of which were sown about two decades ago has not gone. The personnel manning the institute are labeled as belonging to one or the other group and treated like friends or foes according to the grouping they belong to. There is hardly any scientific temper left in the institute. The situation is hopeless and is not improving. It is unfortunate that the supposed to be highly emancipated community of doctors is seen here indulging in malpractices to make quick buck. Most of them survive mostly on sycophancy rather than deriving their strengths from any good work. Here we would not like to refer to the shameful incidents that have been taking place in the institute involving doctors occupying senior positions. In fact there is nothing to celebrate about the so-called tertiary care teaching cum research institute. There are very serious allegations against some of the faculty members we would not like to spare this precious space to discuss the same. The governing body of the institute that has still some dead wood on it must try to undo the damage that has been done to the institute so far by the favouritism and nepotism witnessed in recruitments. It would do well to have two directors, one a medical expert to look after the technical matters of the institute and other one to look after purely administrative matters. This is done all over the world and let us replicate it here. The step could go a long way in setting the institute right.

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People prevented from offering Friday prayers: Mirwaiz: Srinagar, Feb 27: The Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq today alleged that lakhs of Muslims were stopped from offering Friday prayers at various majids including Central Jamia Masjid here today due to imposition of undeclared curfew in Valley.
Mirwaiz, who is under house arrest since Thursday night, has termed the imposition of curfew and barring people from offering Friday prayers a sheer interference in their religious affairs.
Mirwaiz, according to Hurriyat statement, has alleged the police and other armed forces had let loose a reign of terror in the whole Valley by barging into the houses of people and harassing the inmates. “This has caused a deep sense of insecurity among the people,” he said.
The Hurriyat chairman said such ‘repressive acts’ by the police and troops could not shake the morale, courage and determination of its pro-movement people. “They will continue their struggle for their right of self-determination,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat has strongly condemned the house arrest of prominent pro-movement leaders including Bilal Gani Lone, Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi, Aga Syed Al-Moosvi Al-Sufvi, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Syed Salim Geelani and Javid Ahmad Mir.
Hurriyat, according to its statement, said despite ‘restrictions’ its leaders Shabir Ahmad Dar and Zaffar Akbar Bhat addressed Friday prayer meetings at Jamia Masjid, Sopur, and Bagh-e-Mehtab, respectively.

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