No let-up in Jammu & Kashmir

There was no improvement in the situation in Jammu nor in Kashmir. The group leading the campaign for the restoration of forest land to the Amarnath shrine board in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday called for extending the general shutdown of the Jammu region till August 14.
The Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (AYSS), a conglomerate of more than 30 Hindu groups, said Jammu will observe the shutdown for six more days (till Thursday).
Jammu has been observing shutdowns since June 26, briefly interrupted for four days from July 18 to July 22. The region has also been reeling under curfews.
The necessity to "extend the shutdown was felt because the government is deaf and dumb" and has failed to hear the loud and clear sentiments of the people of Jammu for the return of the land." AYSS convenor Leela Karan Sharma told reporters.
The agitation was intensified after the government cancelled the May 26 land transfer order, allotting some 40 hectares of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.

BJP announces three day agitation from 11 Aug

The BJP core committee on Thursday decided to go ahead with a three-day agitation on the Amarnath land transfer issue beginning August 11. The party has made it clear they would settle for nothing less than re-allotment of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.
On the other hand, PDP and National Conference are still opposing the demands for restoration of land and recall of governor N N Vohra.
Governor Vohra had appointed a four-member committee on Wednesday night to hold talks with Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti (SASS), spearheading the agitation in Jammu.
However, the Samiti had spurned the offer of Governor for direct talks and visit to the alternative camp site.
The situation in both, Jammu and Srinagar is getting from bad to worse. Kashmiri traders on Wednesday threatend to snap all trade ties with their counterparts in Jammu.
On Wednesday, eight out of the ten members of the Amarnath Shrine Board resigned to help in reconstitution of the Board.

Policemen lynched

Two policemen were lynched in the Jourian Palanwalla area in Jammu today. A magisterial probe has been ordered into Monday’s police firing on protesters in Samba in which two persons were killed.
Congress leaders have suggested a compromise formula. It includes an amendment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Act to take only State subjects on the Board. The fears of a demographic change with any land diversion to the Shrine Board could then be allayed. The agitators, however, have rejected the idea.
In Srinagar, 18 people were injured in clashes between police and agitators protesting the call to block the highway.