Date:31/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/31/stories/2008073155921000.htm

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Amarnath land row: first round of talks held with protesters

Staff Reporter

JAMMU: The first round of talks between the government and the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti to resolve the deadlock over the agitation started on Wednesday.

The agitation against the government’s decision to revoke the order on land diversion to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board completed one month.

Governor N.N. Vohra deputed two senior officers, Principal Secretary (home) Anil Goswami and Director-General of Police Kuldip Khoda, for entering into a dialogue with the Samiti, which is a conglomerate of 35 social, political and religious organisations spearheading the agitation.

The Samiti convener Leela Karan Sharma said, “We also want a congenial atmosphere for the dialogue to move further. The State government should free all the people arrested during the agitation since July 1 and punish the officers responsible for atrocities on the agitators.”

Strike extended

Protest rallies continued in the city as the bandh, enforced after the death of activist Kuldeep Kumar, entered its seventh day. The police, who bore the brunt of the protesters’ ire, allowed the protests which were by and large peaceful. However, they teargassed protesters in some areas in the evening as stones were pelted at them.

The Samiti extended its strike for another three days.