Amarnath Samiti launches 'disobedience movement'

Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (AYSS) on Wednesday announced the launch of civil disobedience movement in Jammu region.

A spokesman of the AYSS in a statement called upon the people of Jammu to stop paying taxes like VAT, token tax, passenger tax and charges for services like electricity and water supply.

The Samiti also announced to unleash new forms of protests like 'carrying out the funeral procession of the Central government' on Thursday and Chaka Jam on August 25, to press its demand for the restoration of land to the shrine board in the Kashmir valley's Baltel area.

The AYSS statement came at the end of the day, which saw large scale violence and arson in parts of Jammu city.

During today's violence, protestors clashed with police and later torched a police post at Sarwal, some government buildings besides ransacking a quarter allotted to a senior BJP leader in the Gandhi Nagar locality of Jammu city, despite a round-the-clock curfew in the city.

Curfew was imposed last evening after mob violence in the city. In today's clashes 50 people including 10 policemen were wounded in parts of winter capital.

Thousands of children accompanied by their parents courted arrest in various parts of the city on the third and the last day of the Jail Bharo Andolan.

National Security Advisor M K Narayanan reviewed the Jammu and Kashmir situation with governor, N. N. Vohra, advisor, Sudhir Bleoria and other senior officers of the central and the state governments.

In the meeting, lasting over three hours, issues pertaining to the situation in Jammu and in Kashmir were discussed in detail.

These included law and order, security, public distribution system and measures related to the strengthening of the administrative machinery down to the tehsil and block level.

It was decided to facilitate discussions with all groups and parties which were protesting.

Narayan, accompanied by defence secretary, Vijay Singh, chairman joint intelligence committee, H Upadayay, director intelligence bureau, PC Haldar and the joint secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Sanjay Mitra, was here on a day-long visit.

Among those Narayan met included senior officers of the Army, the three advisors to the governor, besides senior civil and police officers of the state government.