Jammu, May 9
Though the Cabinet Sub-Committee has assured to address all genuine demands of the government employees within three months, the Congress leadership has ultimately decided to offer every possible help to the state government to solve this burning issue.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saifuddin Soz, who met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday, has brought the issue to his notice and demanded adequate funds so as to fulfil the employees’ demands.

“During the meeting with Pranab Mukherjee, I raised the issue of releasing additional funds for giving arrears to the government employees,” Soz told The Tribune over phone from Delhi. He added that the Congress, being partner of the coalition government, had been working overtime to solve this problem.

When asked about response of the Union Minister over the demand, Soz said: “Pranab Mukherjee has said that all aspects in this regard will be looked into and assured favour decision.” He, however, exuded confidence that the employees’ demands would be solved soon. He further added that during the May Day function at Jammu, he had assured the employees that the Congress would take every possible step to get their problems addressed.

The NC-led coalition regime has expressed its helplessness to give the Sixth Pay Commission arrears to over 4.5 lakh employees because it involves a whopping amount of Rs 4,200 crore and the government was not in position to bear this additional burden.

Keeping in view the financial condition of the state, the government had convened an all-party meeting in March in which it was decided that a delegation of all political groups would approach the Centre for giving additional funds for the arrears of the employees.

Sources said before taking all-party delegation to New Delhi, the government had asked the Congress leadership to approach the Centre for favourable decision. Soz has been requested by the government to take up this matter with Pranab for the early redressal of the demands of employees.

Jammu, May 9
State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) conducted raids on officers throughout the state till late last night.Reports said a tehsildar, Mohammad Bashir,and an executive engineer in SIDCO, Parveen Pandoh, were booked by the SVO for having assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Asked Firdous, son of Bashir: “If my father was corrupt, why was he promoted a few days ago ? My father is an honest officer and a few days ago he had exposed a land-grab scam in the Kot Bhalwal area, which was not liked by some people. It is the only reason behind the raid ”.

On the other hand, sources in the SVO said they seized a number of documents in the houses of these officers,revealing their benami transactions in property, investment in commercial complexes and shopping centres, unaccounted jewellery and cash in banks and other financial institutions.

“During the raids, we seized documents and bank accounts which showed assets disproportionate to the known sources of income of these officers,” said a vigilance officer. He further said the tehsildar owned property worth more than Rs 1.35 crore, in addition to cash, bank balance, jewellery, cars and other articles. The sources added the executive engineer also owned a palatial house, which cost nearly Rs 45 lakh, apart from other valuables.

Repeated attempts to contact Vigilance Commissioner P.L Gupta failed.

Jammu, May 9
The Jammu police today transferred the in-charge, Narwal police post, in connection with a robbery late last night.Though no senior police officer divulged the reasons behind the transfer of the officer, Naveen Sharma,sources confirmed that he was transferred immediately after the incident in which occupants of a car robbed a businessman of Rs 1.4 lakh at gunpoint in Narwal last night.

Naveen has been replaced by Sunil Sharma, in-charge, Narwal police post, with immediate effect, the police said.

The sources said three persons came in a car and snatched a bag containing cash at gunpoint from Pankaj Jain, who runs a spare parts shop in Narwal when he was going with members of his staff last night.

In a complaint lodged with the police, Jain alleged that after threatening him with a pistol, the robbers snatched the bag and escaped.

A senior police officer said a case under Sections 382, 341, 34 of the RPC and Section 3/2 (5) of the Arms Act was registered at Narwal police post.

He further said some persons were rounded up in this regard, but no major breakthrough had been made.

After the incident, tension gripped Narwal, which is considered as the business hub of the city being the biggest transport market of the state. 

Jammu, May 9
Member of Parliament (MP) from Rajasthan Arjun Meghwal today said the passing of the controversial Inter-district Recruitment Bill in the state’s Legislative Assembly is a glaring example of the violation of fundamental rights.

Addressing a seminar on “Implementation of Reservation at Centre and State level”, organised by the Aarakshan Bachao Manch (ABM) here, Meghwal said by passing this Bill the govt had violated certain provisions of fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens by both the Indian as well as the state Constitution. He further said the Bill was against the spirit of Article 14, 16 and 19 of the state’s Constitution and the Constitution of India.

He added majority of people in the country were from the reserved category and if their problems weren’t addressed by the Central and state governments, the country would face problems in near future.

He pointed out that the caste-based identification was deep-rooted in the society and there were some highly qualified personalities among reserved categories in the country who were not being identified by their merit but castes.

Chief Justice (retd) KK Gupta, who presided over the seminar, said both Central and state governments should evolve a policy to end poverty in the country. He pointed out that Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution do not not allow discrimination with any person on the basis of caste creed and religion.

Vijaypur, May 9
In a village like Birpur here that sans even a primary health centre whereby the snake bite victims die on way to the hospital, everyone was overjoyed over the presence of three Cabinet ministers and top brass of the police and the local administration today.

Creativity was at its full bloom in the stone and sand rich Kandi area. The proud son of the soil and ace sculptor, Ravinder Jamwal, had put his artistic work on display for public view.

Health Minister Sham Lal, Minister for Medical Education RS Chib, Relief and Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla showered all praise on Jamwal and listened to the grievances of villagers. A majority of metal statues and busts, which dot the crossings of the Jammu city, have been carved out by Jamwal.

Today, the artist had put on display some magnificent statues and busts carved out of waste papers (newspapers), turning the courtyard of his home, surroundings, approaching road and nearby pond into a huge exhibition through artistic installations.

Through installations, Jamwal has the capability of turning even the wasteland into a huge work of art and his village showcases many of his creative pursuits that capture serious issues afflicting the entire humankind over the globe. Arguably, it is his refined artistry and upright personality that attracted flocks of art lovers to this sleepy village.

In the pond adjacent to his home, the sculptures portraying people gasping for breath draw attention towards those living shadowed lives in militancy affected areas and cannot migrate in the face of financial compulsions.

Sahitya Akademi awardee Mohan Singh Slathia said: “His work is unique. It involves low input cost but huge work.”

“Every part of village has got his artistic touch. Also, he chose his native place for exhibition, which is commendable. Though a layman may not comprehend his art, it certainly attracts everyone,” he remarked.

“It’s a new experiment to familiarise this art with the fellow villagers. Usually, they would scratch heads looking at any piece of creative work,” Jamwal said.

“This time I asked neighbours for old newspapers. I gave waste papers desired shapes with hands, without using any mould as it is done with paper-mache work. Later, I painted the busts in colours suited to emotions of the subject. I did it all in presence of villagers during the past six months,” he added. 

Jammu, May 9
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will address a rally of ex-servicemen of the Jammu region at Nagrota on May 11, being organised by the White Knight Corps in Sainik School, Nagrota. Omar will be the chief guest. He is also likely to interact with mediapersons during the event.

Lt-Gen BS Jaswal, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt-Gen Rameshwar Roy, General Officer Commanding, 16 Corps, along with other senior civil and military dignitaries will also attend it.

In order to mobilise the ex-servicemen, the Army has worked out an elaborate plan for scheduled buses along with the dissemination of information regarding pick-up points and contact numbers of bus operators.

The pick-up points for Jammu city are Bakshi Nagar (near Pawan Ice Cream) and Sainik Colony, near Cooperative Housing Office, Sect A. Bus operator Raghubansh Singh can be contacted on 9419209753 and 2580241.

The pick-up point for Jourian is the petrol pump and bus operator Somnath Sharma can be contacted on 9697686497 and 2580001.

Personnel hailing from Samba will be picked up from the Sainik Welfare Office. For any queries, Jagannath can be contacted on 9419250366 and 01923-217802. For personnel from Bishnah, the pick-up point is the tehsil office and the contact person is Dev Raj (9419136934).

The pick-up point for RS Pura is the old petrol pump. 

Jammu, May 9
Minister for Medical and Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports, RS Chib released a registration and case record file for the thalassemia patients registered with the thalassemia daycare unit of the Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College, here yesterday.

The file designed by Dr Rekha Harish, head of the Department Pediatrics, and Dr Sanjeev K Digra, will help in maintaining the case record of thalassemia patients, decrease the hospital expenditure and make things easier for the patients.

While addressing the gathering comprising medical college faculty, students, staff, thalassemia, asthma and pediatric patients, the minister stressed on holding awareness programmes not only in urban but also in rural areas regarding these illnesses.

A painting competition was also organised for the children suffering from Thalassemia and Asthma. Soumya, Kauser Ali and Rakesh stood first in the competition. 

Jammu, May 9
Leaders of the Rajouri- Poonch United Front have condemned the attack on the front chairman, Anam Choudhary, on May 2 at Rajouri.They also criticised the police for not arresting the suspects.

Addressing mediapersons here, Choudhary alleged three senior leaders of the state government had planned the attack on him and had even bribed the police for not initiating action against the suspects.

He further said some persons called him on his mobile phone to meet him on the outskirts of Rajouri, a day before they held a protest demonstration against the Inter-District Recruitment Bill in Rajouri, and blocked the Abdullah Bridge.

He further said they met the IG, Jammu Zone, Ashok Gupta, yesterday and appealed to him to intervene. Some other leaders of the front, including Farooq Ahmad Khan and Bharat Bhushan Vaid, also expressed resentment against the alleged failure of the police in this regard.

However, a senior police officer said they had received the complaint and were investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, a large number of people under the banner of the front protested against the Inter-District Recruitment Bill in Poonch and appealed to Governor NN Vohra to reject the Bill. The protesters shouted anti-government slogans and demanded a ban on the controversial Bill.

“The state government has let down people of Rajouri district by passing the Bill. This has badly affected people belonging to the ST and OBC communities,” Mohammad Sharief Nomani, deputy chairman of the front, said.

Jammu, May 9
Natrang in its weekly theatre show staged a comedy play ‘Rehearsal’ written by Satyendra Shart and directed by Balwant Thakur.The play is based on the life of Malti - a theatre actress. One day, she receives a call that she is being considered for the lead role in a film to be produced by a Bollywood blockbuster producer and was further advised to wait at her place as the producer or his representative may call her for contract formalities.

This news suddenly elevates her attitude and she starts behaving like a superstar. Maintaining pace with high standards of hospitality, she prepares for a big treat 
for the visiting high-profile guests.

The house gets a new décor and she tries multiple dresses and top beauty tips to create an electrifying effect on the film producer. With the help of her husband, she rehearses the whole presentation.

By the time she could give final touches to her preparation, some unwanted guests make their entry, which spoils her mood and enthusiasm. After the day-long wait, an unknown visitor makes her entry.

Believing her as representative of the film producer, she is treated with variety of food items. The overexcited hosts did not allow the visiting guest to introduce herself properly in the process to please her with variety of treats.

While this whole hospitality is going on, Malti’s husband receives a message from the film producer, regretting for abandoning the project owning to the severe financial 
crisis.

This news upsets the whole festive mood and guest being treated with full honours is shown the unceremonial exit.

The day-long rehearsal to impress the film producer becomes a futile exercise, loosing money and the assignments in hand.

Divya Kohli played the character of Malti, while Pankush Verma played the role of her husband.

The unwanted guests were beautifully played by Vikram Sharma and Arvind Singh. Tajasvi Sharma played the mistaken producer’s representative and ably maintained the dramatic turns of the play. Balwinder Singh played the role of the servant.

The lights of the play were designed and executed by Mohit Sharma and Rohit Verma scored the music effects.

Jammu, May 9
To sensitise young students about protecting the environment, the Udhampur-Reasi Range Police and Civil Defence Organisation jointly organised an inter-school painting contest on the premises of Shivalik College of Education here today.

DIG, Udhampur-Reasi Range, Gulzar Singh Slathia was chief guest on the occasion while SSP Surinder Gupta presided over the function.

As many as 100 students drawn from 25 educational institutions participated in the painting contest, which was held in two categories (middle and secondary levels). They were asked to portray their creative expression on the subjects like environment, pollution and energy.

In the secondary level, Medhavi Sharma of Army Public School Udhampur secured the first position while second and third positions were bagged by Asif Amba of Prashant Public High school and Sheetal of Army Public School, respectively.

Similarly, Rahul Bargal of Happy Model Senior Secondary School and Bhagisha Kundal of Little Flower Convent School and Preetika Slathia of Army Public School clinched the first, second and third positions, respectively, in the middle level. Consolation prizes to the meritorious students of each category were also given.

Srinagar, May 9
A helicopter carrying army personnel crashed in Leh district today,injuring four army personnel.

A police spokesman said a Chetak helicopter while transporting a patient crashed in the Chipskang area in which four army personnel, including the pilot, Major Panchak Rawat, were injured. The others injured were soldiers Atul Chavan and DR Singh,besides the patient, Lance Naik Madhu Prasad.

Jammu, May 9
The Indian Air Force (IAF) yesterday evacuated a policeman in Reasi district of Jammu.

The cop was injured in an encounter with militants in a remote area of the district.

According to a defence spokesperson, “Last evening, the state government requisitioned the IAF to evacuate a senior head constable injured seriously in an encounter in Khor village of the Reasi region”.

The IAF despite the constraints of dusk hours was quick to respond and sent a Chetak aircraft for evacuation.

“With the setting sun and no safe place to land the aircraft in the vicinity of the encounter site due to step- farming in the region, Wing Commander S Chaturvedi, the captain of the aircraft and an experienced pilot, decided to hover over the roof of an abandoned house while the co-pilot, Squadron Leader HS Cheema, skillfully slithered down to pick up the injured policeman”, said the spokesman.

Displaying their utmost professional competence and courage, the pilots then carried the injured cop to Jammu where he was admitted to the Civil Hospital for medical attention. 

Srinagar, May 9
The Darbar which functions in Jammu for six months will resume functioning here tomorrow.

The government will face many challenges like alleged human rights violations, lack of basic facilities in some areas of Kashmir, an increase in the militancy-related activities, the passage of the deadline for various development projects and the recently passed Inter-district Recruitment Bill.

The PDP has already launched a campaign in the Kashmir valley against what it alleges the failure of the government to check human rights violations and its misgovernance.

In the city, the delay in the completion of various development projects will be a concern for the government. The beautification of Lal Chowk is already behind schedule by two months and is causing inconvenience to the common man.

Another such project is the widening of the MA Road which is used by VIPs to reach the Civil Secretariat.It will take several more months for the completion of the work.

“People won’t face any problems as there are no restrictions on them because the VIPs only use the road for 15 minutes in a day. We have made diversions for public transport so that there is no traffic congestion,” SSP, Traffic, Showkat Hussain told The Tribune.

Meanwhile, the Estate Department has made arrangements for the stay of the Jammu-based staff arriving here in government quarters, ministerial houses, hotels and guest houses.

Special buses have also been pressed into service for the transportation of the Civil Secretariat staff.

Srinagar, May 9
It is Mother’s Day today but it hardly makes a difference to Shubeena Akther (name changed). For her, it is just another day of struggle to make both ends meet.

“Ask me how difficult it is to eke out a living for myself and my 14-year-old daughter,” says Shubeena.

Being semi-literate, her search for a decent job becomes arduous at a time when unemployment is on the rise in the valley.

Shubeena, a young widow, was married to a militant in 1994. A year later, he was killed. “Within 40 days of his death, I along with my two-month-old daughter was asked to quit the (in-laws) house,” she shares.

Her woes didn’t end there. Even her parents refused to accept her. “There was a sort of social boycott in my family. Since they were against the marriage, they didn’t support me,” she says with pain in her voice.

For 10 years, Shubeena lived in a rented accommodation. “It was tough to manage household affairs. I wanted my daughter to get proper education. Somehow I managed to get her enrolled in a school, but soon she had to drop out due to financial constraint,” she adds.

Shubeena feels had her husband surrendered on time, the things would have been different. She shares that her husband wanted to surrender but his family didn’t let him do so. “They promised him that in case of his death they would look after his family. Where are those promises?” she asks.

“It was only after some relatives persuaded my father, I was offered a room in the house. Even then I was treated as an outsider,” she says.

Her health is also not on her side. “A few doctors and certain voluntary organisations are offering me help, but a thought that cripples me is what would happen to my daughter in my absence. She would be literally on streets,” she fears.

Srinagar, May 9
Minister for Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohi-ud-Din has stressed upon all the engineers to utilise their potential in conserving the water resources of the state.

He was addressing a seminar on ‘Clean Water for a Healthy World’ in conection wit World Water Day held at Amar Singh Club here.

He said the water quality was an important issue touching all aspects of human wellbeing and ecosystem. He said the water was the basis of life on the earth and the quality of life depends on water quality. The minister said clean water sustained healthy ecosystems and hence led to improved wellbeing of humans.

He asked the organisers of the seminar, the Institution of Engineer (India) J&K State Centre, Srinagar, and participants that “we should now be conscious about the water quality and whatever water resources we have in the state, we should maintain them”.

The minister said since all the three rivers of the state flew into Pakistan, there were limitations that restricted the free use of these waters for the benefit of the people of the state.