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Diwali Celebrations
Chinese goods rule markets
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Firecracker units use star power
Go green this Diwali
Jammu markets chock-a-block with shoppers
Principal’s death case takes political turn
Fire department ups preparedness
srinagar diary Speaking Out
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Diwali Celebrations
Jammu, October 16 Though there are no specific inputs (of a possible terror strike), we cannot lower the guard, Ashok Kumar Gupta, IGP, Jammu Zone, said. Being a festive season, security has been heightened to the optimum, said the IGP, adding that besides routine drills, police checkposts had been reorganised. The police had also increased checking and frisking at various checkposts, said Gupta. The IGP also said flying squads in sufficient numbers had been relocated. Besides this, the surveillance and intelligence network had also been beefed up, he added The police had reportedly deployed nearly 1,800 cops and officers, including some in civvies, in and around the winter capital, including Parade Ground, Raghunath Temple, Raghunath Bazar, Purani Mandi, Patel Bazar, Link Road, Jain Bazaar, Apsara Road market in Gandhi Nagar, Bahu Fort, railway station, bus stand, airport and other crowded places. Sources said the Special Operations Group (SOG)-an extended arm of the state police trained to tackle terror attacks, had also kept at least four quick- reaction teams (QRTs) in a state of preparedness to deal with any unforeseen event, especially terror attacks. The SOG in consonance with the police has also upped its intelligence network and kept four QRTs ready to respond to any subversive activity, a senior SOG officer told The Tribune. One QRT comprises 10 highly trained cops and as many personnel from the CRPF. “We are also maintaining a strict vigil on city hotels to look for subversive elements, who in the guise of tourists, check into such places,” he added. Jammu SSP Basant Kumar Rath has strictly banned the use of cellphones and reading newspapers by his men deployed at various checkposts. “Till the festival season ends in Jammu, no cop or officer deployed at various checkposts would be allowed to use cellphones or read newspapers,” he said. “We have also increased our intelligence-gathering capacity, said the SSP, adding that the police has already been put on extra alert at various important places of the temple city. Sources said CRPF personnel had also been deployed in and around vital installations. Meanwhile, the Army and the BSF have also strengthened vigilance at the along the border and the Line of Control (LoC) to thwart any misadventure by Pak-backed militants. |
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Chinese goods rule markets
Jammu, October 16 Chinese lamps and lights are in great demand here these days and shopkeepers are having a good time selling these as these are cheap and available in assorted colours and have different styles of blinking. “For the past few days, these decoration lights are seeing huge sales. Apart from using traditional earthen lamps and candles, people use these lights for decoration purposes,” said Pawan Sharma, a shopkeeper. He said for the festival season, he brought such lights from New Delhi and sold them in Jammu at a good margin. “The lights are quite cheap. We purchase them in bulk from Delhi and sell them here to the customers. People like these Chinese lights very much,” Sharma said. He added owning to the increased demand for these lights, this year, he had to visit Delhi twice to bring the stock from there. People are very much enthusiastic about these lights as they say that these lights are economical and don’t consume much electricity besides they look beautiful in the house. “These lights are cheap and decorate our houses, we hope that during the celebration electricity does not fail,” said Ankit Malhotra a resident of Gandhi Nagar. While these lights are in great demand, the Chinese toy pistols are also in great demand as they resemble a real revolver and children of all age prefer to purchase them. “Earlier, we used to sell toy pistol made of tin, but now we have Chinese pistols, which are made of hard plastic and are available for Rs 25 onwards. These pistols in no time have gained popularity among children of all ages,” said Ankur Gupta a toy seller in Parade market. The Chinese items though pose a big threat to the goods made in India, but people prefer purchasing these items because they are available in assorted colour and designs. “People prefer Chinese items over Indian goods because they are cheap and are available in assorted colours designs and attractive packings,” said Ankur, adding that around 70 per cent of the goods were made in China.
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Firecracker units use star power
Jammu, October 16 For increasing the sale of their products and attracting the attention of customers, pictures of Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee, etc. are displayed on wrappers and boxes used to package firecrackers. To attract children, firecrackers with the pictures of famous child actors like Harry Potter are also available in the market. Besides, some vulgar pictures can also be seen on the covers of firecrackers which catch the eyes of people quickly. “Children prefer to buy firecrackers having images of child actors whereas youths get more attracted towards the crackers having pictures of Bollywood actors. It adds to the saleable value of crackers,” opines Sham Lal, a shopkeeper. BM Sharma, Director, pollution Control Board, said according to the norms, an authorised company is allowed to make crackers having more than 128 decibel sound level. However, the norms are being flouted openly with traders selling high volume crackers. All the crackers available in the market do not mention about the level of noise pollution. There is no information on the boxes of the crackers about how much decibel a particular crackers has. Being unaware about the volume and level of pollution, people are purchasing crackers from the market to celebrate Diwali. Earlier the traders were selling crackers with the picture of Hindu deities for rapid sale. But after some bodies concerned with environment resented, the government banned sale of such crackers in the market.
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Go green this Diwali
Jammu, October 16 Though the environmentalists are laying more emphasis upon the people to celebrate pollution free “Green Diwali” but it seems that the people here are least bothered about nature. “In other states where people celebrate “Green Diwali”, they exchange saplings as gifts. Mostly saplings of evergreen plants are purchased in large numbers, which are wrapped properly before presenting it to any near and dear one”, said Monika Tripathi, a resident of Trikuta Nagar, whose sister is celebrating ‘green Diwali’ in Haryana. “Though we do not have such culture here but in Punjab people present different varities of saplings and plants on Diwali as gifts”, said Genda Lal, a sales man in Krishna Nursery at Gandhi Nagar. He added, “My brother has his own nursery in Punjab and he sees a huge rush of customers on Diwali every year.” According to an environmentalist, the people should say no to crackers. They should plant a sapling at their home, which can prove beneficial for the environment as well. “The people should present a plant or a sapling as a gift to their friends and relatives so that a culture of planting more and more trees will emerge in the society.” Amit Manhotra , owner of a nursery at Talab Tillo said , “If people like to give saplings as gifts then they should purchase evergreen plants, which have long life. It will also help to enhance the beauty of a house.” Evergreen saplings like sicus palm costs Rs 150- Rs 2,500, aroferiya costs Rs 150- Rs 600,phonex palm costs Rs.200 -Rs 800 and Airica palm costs Rs 150- 400.
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Jammu markets chock-a-block with shoppers
Jammu, October 16 People from all walks of life could be seen making purchases in various markets of the city to celebrate the festival of lights. “I have come to purchase a new LCD, as purchasing anything on the occasion of Diwali is considered to be auspicious,” said Ashok Kaul an employee of J&K Bank. Kaul said though the purchasing power of the people have come down due to the escalating prices in the market, but the slowdown won’t deter him from making the wish of his nine-year-old daughter come true. “She wanted to have an LCD in our house and I had promised her to get one this Diwali and I am purchasing this one just for her,” Kaul said. The shopkeepers are also elated with the response they are getting from the people who are coming in large numbers to purchase the items. “The response is too good and the people irrespective of their economic status are coming here and are making purchases,” said Vijay Sharma, owner of RK Video. He said during the ongoing festival season, the customers prefer to purchase LCD, frost -free refrigerators and other small items, including mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras. To attract customers, companies too are offering various attractive schemes and the shopkeepers themselves have also introduced various other schemes for the customers. There is also a huge rush of customers at the garment shops as people prefer to purchase new clothes during the festival season, “The business is doing good, people are coming, we have customers from all strata of society they are coming and making purchases during the ongoing season of Diwali there is no decline in our sale,” said Pankaj Mohan proprietor of Yougal Sons. Though people associated with various businesses are happy with the shopping trend, but the goldsmiths in Jammu say that this year their business has been badly hit due to the escalating prices of gold and the decrease in the purchasing power of the customers. “Purchasing of gold is considered as auspicious, but due to decline in the purchasing power of the customers and the escalating prices of gold, customers are not coming to purchase the gold,” said Som Raj Gupta, general manager of Rakesh Jewelers. He said last year the price of gold was around Rs 13,000 but this year the rates have crossed the Rs 15,500 mark per 10 gram of the gold. “Gold is very costly these days; we had a marriage at our house and it coincides with the festival of Dhanteras, so we have come here to make inquiry about the prices and would make the purchase on Dhanteras,” said Monika Sharma a Gandhi Nagar resident. Meanwhile, the employees of the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation who have been sitting on strike for the past almost two months say that this year their Diwali won’t be so bright. “We don’t have ration at our homes, because of non-payment of salaries, how can we purchase new clothes for our children. We have plans to sit in Bikram Chowk and protest against the government on the day of Diwali,” said Ashok Mehra, President of the SRTC Employees Union. |
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Principal’s death case takes political turn
Udhampur, October 16 The state president of the All India Confederation of SC, ST and OBC Organisations, RK Kalsotra, has announced to take up this issue to the streets if justice was not provided to the family of deceased principal. Endorsing the demand of the principal’s family members, Kalsotra alleged the officer suffered brain hemorrhage because he was repeatedly harassed by the higher ups without any reason. He said the confederation had decided to bring this mater to the notice of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand. Not only social organisations, teaching community has also come out in support of the demand of the deceased’s family. After observing one-day token strike, Lecturers Forum of Udhampur has given a week’s time to the higher authorities to take action against those officers who were responsible for the death of the principal. Principal of Government Higher Secondary School Sudhmahadev Balak Ram suffered massive brain hemorrhage, leading to his death. |
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Fire department ups preparedness
Jammu, October 16 Four fire tenders have already been deputed in advance in the markets where stalls of crackers have been installed. The Joint Director said, “Two fire tenders have been deputed at the Parade ground, one on Apsra ground and one at Bishnah.” Ashraf claimed that the department had made adequate arrangements in the markets where crackers were being sold. “All stalls of crackers were installed at equal distance. The stalls are set up in the areas which have more exit points”, he said. The department claimed to have launched awareness campaign in schools in wake of Diwali, in which children were told how to celebrate the festival of crackers. They were asked to adopt necessary precautions needed to avoid any fire injuries. Continuing the awareness campaign, the department has deputed fire tenders in the busy market places to make public announcement and to make people aware of the precautionary measures. There are 14 fire stations in the district Jammu, Kathua and Samba. Seven Japanese -made pumps are available at seven stations. Water comes out from these pumps at higher pressure of 2,600 liter per minute. A little carelessness on Diwali can prove risky but a little care can save any untoward incident. The department has directed the people not to wear Terricot, Synthetic and Nylon clothes, burn crackers in the open place, keep a bucket of water and sand nearby while bursting crackers.
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Conferences galore
After the holy month of Ramzan during which a number of official Iftar parties were hosted, a greater number of national and international conferences in varied fields are being conducted here these days. The frequency is even more at the fag end of the Darbar in the summer capital wherefrom the seat of the government is scheduled to shift to Jammu by the end of this month. Most of these conferences are being held at the Sher-e-Kashmr International Convention Centre (SKICC). “There are two or three functions every day since the beginning of October,” says Yasmeen Khan, general manager, SKICC. Failing to give the count of meetings, she opines that the hectic activity also includes hosting of lunch and dinner parties for around 300 guests each time. Though official functions at the venue are a common feature during summers, the number is higher this month. The busy schedule is keeping the staff members on their toes. (See picture) ‘Unprecedented’ Security After spending some time in the valley, one may get used to this place with all its pain and pleasure. Some obvious observations of an outsider could still surprise you. In an informal gathering with some journalists, who came here from far corners like Tripura and Assam for a meet, they were asked about their observations on Kashmir. “All-pervasive security personnel and natural beauty”, they said. A veteran journo from Tripura said he had travelled much of the north-east, another troubled Indian territory, but the security presence in Kashmir was unlike anywhere. “They are so many that you feel afraid that something is going to happen,” he said. Tech trouble Technology was introduced with an aim to increasing the speed and efficiency of people working in the government or private sector. But in the government sector, it has been observed that a mere fault could break down the entire functioning. In a recent such incident at the General Post Office here, a computer turned out to be a “bekaar babu” since it became dysfunctional. This halted the whole process and many clients were forced to leave the post office without completing their work. One of the clients said it was better to switch over to the traditional system of public dealing since computer operators don’t know how to rectify simple errors. (Contributed by Ehsan Fazili, Kumar Rakesh and Afsana Rashid)
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Speaking Out Diwali is a festival of giving. We give gifts and good wishes to friends and relatives. But in the garb of Diwali greetings, people try to please public officers. The Tribune talked to a few persons/officers on whether they should accept or reject gifts.
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Even though traditional earthen lamps have not lost their flavour in the conventional way of the celebration of the festival of lights, people in Jammu are adding a new taste to the festivity by purchasing decoration lamps and lights, which are made in China.
Jammu, October 16
Jammu, October 16
Jammu, October 16
After the holy month of Ramzan during which a number of official Iftar parties were hosted, a greater number of national and international conferences in varied fields are being conducted here these days. The frequency is even more at the fag end of the Darbar in the summer capital wherefrom the seat of the government is scheduled to shift to Jammu by the end of this month. Most of these conferences are being held at the Sher-e-Kashmr International Convention Centre
(SKICC).
