Front Page

Hopes brighten for solution

— PTI

SILVER LINING: S.S. Bloeria, Chief Adviser to Jammu and Kashmir Governor, addressing journalists after a meeting with members of the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti in Jammu on Saturday.

Jammu: With the State government reportedly expressing its readiness to divert land to the shrine board temporarily for the yatra period, hopes brightened for a breakthrough in the vexed issue, that has inflamed passions and shattered peace across Jammu and Kashmir.

The four-member committee set up by Governor N.N. Vohra, and chaired by his Adviser, Sudhir S. Bloeria and the panel representing the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti arrived at the settlement after two rounds of discussions.

Now both sides are working on the wording of the agreement, which is likely to be announced after the third round of talks on Sunday.

The agreement is expected to bring the nearly two-month-old agitation in Jammu to an end.

Informed sources told The Hindu that the compromise formula has got the green signal from the Samiti.

The formula also envisages the possible reconstitution of the shrine board.

On August 6, a group of intellectuals mooted the same formula.

Even the single bench verdict of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court in 2005 had made the temporary diversion suggestion.

During the first round, Samiti representatives asked for clarification on the proposals of the government and said they would not compromise on the demand for return of land.

The government, the sources said, pointed out that the formula took care of their principal demand. As such, they should not have any objection to the reconstitution of the Board.

The shrine board representatives wanted time to consult their colleagues.

In the second round government representatives asked the Samiti to take a broader perspective of the situation, which was harming the national interest.

Samiti members said the shrine board was a legal entity, which came into being after the J&K Assembly passed the 2000 Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Act and therefore it belonged to the entire State. This issue will be thrashed out in the next round.

The discussions also focused on the demands of traders and businessmen, who have asked for compensation for the loss of revenue amounting to thousands of crores.

All the members of the Governor’s committee participated in the discussions. Besides Dr. Bloeria, the other members were Justice (retd.) G.D. Sharma, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, Prof. Amitabh Mattoo and Principal Secretary to Governor, B.B. Vyas.

The Samiti was represented by Tilak Raj Sharma, Brig. (retd.) Suchet Singh, Narinder Singh and Pawan Kohli.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu