JAMMU AND KASHMIR ROUND-UP

SRTC Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) Volunteer Retirement Service (VRS) employees today held a protest rally and demanded clearance of their pending dues of Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) from 1999 and implementation and arrears of Sixth Pay Commission from 2006. The police personnel deployed at Press Club foiled their rally to move towards Civil Secretariat after a minor clash. The protesters were raising slogans against the state government as well as J&K SRTC Management for not clearing their pending dues of Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), pending arrears since 1999 and implementation of Sixth Pay Commission from 2006. Bali appealed to the Transport Minister and Chairman J&K SRTC to consider the genuine demands and the pending dues of all VRS employees should be cleared as soon as possible. He threatened to continue the stir and march towards Civil Secretariat on February 28 the commencement of budget session of J&K Legislature. _______________________________ PILGRIM Jammu: A pilgrim today died due to heart attack enroute the cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. 68-year-old Mudhukar of Maharastra was on his way to the cave shrine in Trikuta hills when he suffered the heart attack at Charan Padika and was shifted to hospital, police said, adding he was later declared dead at the hospital. ____________________________ YOUTH Jammu: A 20-year old youth was injured allegedly in accidental firing in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said today. There was possibly an accidental fire from a rifle of Village Defence Committee (VDC) member resulting in injury to Sajay Kumar in Bajwal hamlet in Noushera belt of the district late last night, SSP Rajouri Mubassir Latifee said. Kumar has been hospitalised, Latifee said. A case has been registered and investigation is on, he said, adding that further details would be known later.