Jammu, January 2
Even as some “neutral” leaders are trying to iron out the differences between two warring factions of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), groupism has gripped the Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) as newly nominated state chief Shoaib Lone has aligned with a faction loyal to the PCC chief, Saif- ud-Din Soz.

The anti-Soz faction on the other hand has launched a campaign against Lone for ignoring dedicated workers of the party.

Although internal strife was going on in the Youth Congress for quite some time, today differences came to the fore when Lone invited leaders of only a particular faction to inaugurate a renovated office of the PYC at the party headquarters in Shaheedi Chowk.

However, RS Pathania, vice-president of the PYC and also in charge of the Jammu province, was conspicuous by his absence at the function.

“I was neither officially nor unofficially informed about the function,” Pathania said, adding that he was very much in the town but not aware of the function.

Today’s function was a clear indication that differences had been widening in the PYC also. Bickering in the PYC could be gauged from the fact that party leaders had failed to constitute committees despite the fact that talent searches were conducted at several places.

Since his nomination as the PYC chief, Lone has aligned with the PCC chief.He has been working on the directions of the pro-Soz faction and wants to accommodate maximum workers from the faction in the PCC.

Pathania, who has been trying to project him as a “neutral” leader, is considered to be close to the pro-Ghulam Nabi Azad faction. He has so far thwarted Lone’s bid to accommodate only his supporters in the Youth Congress.

Jammu, January 2
Demanding that 10 per cent of the total Annual Plan funds allocated to Jammu and Kashmir should be earmarked for the development of the tribals in addition to tribal sub-plan grants, Gujjars today urged the Special Task Force (STF), constituted by the Union Home Ministry for Jammu and Ladakh, to recommend a special welfare programme or package for speedy educational, social and economic development of the community.

Similarly, as assembly and Parliament seats were reserved for members of the Scheduled Tribes in all states except Jammu and Kashmir, the STF should recommend political empowerment of the Gujjars in these institutions.

In a letter to Member, Planning Commission, Abhijit Sen, a JNU economist, Dr Amaresh Dubey, and Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, K Sikandan, the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation (TRCF),an organisation of the Gujjars, said the community was lagging behind in every field and there was an urgent need for a special development programme or a package for it.

It may be stated here that the community constitutes 80 per cent of the total Scheduled Tribes population in the state.

Giving the details of the contents, Dr Javaid Rahi, secretary of the TRCF, said the organisation on behalf of the Gujjars-Bakerwals demanded exclusive recommendations for the empowerment of the community.

The letter said lakhs of nomadic Gujjars-Bakerwals in the state were landless and illiterate.Hence, they deserved a “special rehabilitation package”.

The sub-plan for their welfare should be enhanced immediately and a Gujjar-Bakerwal advisory board should be empowered in terms of financial resources and autonomy.A new scheme should be formulated and introduced in the board so that the institution worked properly, the letter stated.

Jammu, January 2
Serving a 15-day ultimatum on the government to concede demands of the clerical staff, the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh All-Department Clerical Staff Association threatened to boycott panchayat election duties here today.

It has been demanding the removal of pay anomalies for a long time.

While various political parties in the state are at loggerheads on contesting the panchayat elections on a non-party basis, an idea mooted by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the clerical staff’s threat to boycott election duties may play a spoilsport.

However, the state government has been constantly losing central funds amounting to crores of rupees by not holding the panchayat poll since 2001.

“The government has backtracked from an agreement reached between Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh All-Department Clerical Staff Association on March 10, 2008 and July 8, 2008,” Anil Kumar Mehta, chairman of the association said.

“Twice the government had assured us to remove the pay anomalies, but the assurances had so far remained eyewash and hence, we are being forced to adopt a path of confrontation,” he said, adding that the association would boycott the panchayat elections if its demands were not conceded soon.

The association has also served an ultimatum of 15 days on the government for resolving various issues of the clerical staff.

“The clerical staff have always played a significant role in elections, whether Assembly, panchayat or local bodies’ poll. This time around, if the government failed to concede our demands within 15 days, we will certainly boycott the panchayat elections,” Mehta said.

“During our meeting with the then Chief Secretary, we were assured that orders pertaining to the removal of pay anomalies and to grant a pay scale of Rs 4,000-Rs 6,000 to junior assistant, Rs 4,500-Rs 7,000 to senior assistant/steno typist and Rs 5,000-Rs 9,000 to head assistant/junior stenographer notionally with effect from January 1, 1996, including exemption of secretariat training examination course, will be issued within 10 days, but they haven’t been issued till date,” he added.

“Peeved over casual attitude of the government, we are being forced to resume our agitation,” he said.

He also rejected the Sadr-e-Riyasat Ordinance-296, issued by the government on December 21 last, and accused the government of trying to divert the attention of the clerical staff from the core issue. 

Jammu, January 2
In a significant move, the state government today decided to create 103 posts of physiotherapist in all district and sub-district hospitals in the state.

This was disclosed by the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Sham Lal Sharma, while talking to mediapersons after inaugurating the office of the Youth Congress at the Congress headquarters here today.

Reiterating the resolve of the coalition government to provide better healthcare to the people across the state, the minister said massive infrastructural development had taken place during the past two years. All district and sub-district hospitals had been well-equipped, which had led to a substantial curtailment in the referral system.

He said the government was working on a plan to upgrade the health services in the state in a phased manner with a special focus on the rural areas.The government had strengthened the maintenance of records in the hospitals and Rs 9 crore had been earned as revenue from the lab tests and registration.He further said no enhancement in lab tests and registration charges had been done for the past many years and the monitoring system had been made more effective.

The revenue generated by the health institutions would be incurred on the maintenance of the facilities at the respective hospitals by the resources generated locally, he maintained. The minister said the decks had been cleared for the state’s drug policy and shortly the proposal would be placed before the Cabinet.

A separate procurement directorate would also be established to maintain transparency in the purchases and ensure supply of quality drugs and allied material, he said.

He added the government had taken many initiatives during the past two years for further improvement in the functioning of the health sector.

Jammu, January 2
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed said the resolution of the Kashmir issue could not be put in cold storage anymore without risking the future of the region.

Addressing party workers from the Mahore and Reasi areas here today, he said the overwhelming opinion of people of South Asia was in favour of a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in order to realise full development potential of the region.

About 400 workers led by advocate Sheikh Altaf Ahmed and Master Mohd Israil from Mahore and Reasi joined the PDP.

Mufti called upon both India and Pakistan to rise to the expectations of the people, who wanted peace in the region.

He called for the resumption of talks at the level of Foreign Ministers of the two countries.

He said the interests and stakes of one-and-a- half billion people could not be held hostage to routine political developments within the democratic structures of the two countries.

Mufti said it was unfortunate that the peace process that was carried forward till 2008 had been reversed by the present dispensation in the state.

It would be a New Year resolution for the PDP to channelise public opinion in all regions of the state for the solution of the Kashmir problem, strengthening of democratic institutions and processes and introducing accountability in governance, he added.

Mufti said the present state government through its wrong policies and repression had not only undone the gains made in the past few years but also contributed to the gravest crisis that the state had ever faced.

He added that the policy of repression had claimed hundreds of lives and a large number of youth were still being targeted. He said the party would use its democratic space to force the government to provide amenities and revive the development process that had almost been abandoned. 

Srinagar, January 2
The mercury in Leh town in the Ladakh region nosedived to -23°C as Kashmir division was again gripped by an intense cold wave, officials said here today

“Leh recorded a minimum temperature of -23.6°C which is the coldest,” a Meteorological Department official said.

“As there will be no rain in the next 24 hours, the cold wave in the Kashmir region will intensify,” said the official.

The cold wave has also intensified in the Gulmarg skiing resort and the Pahalgam health resort, where the mercury plunged 12°C below the freezing point. This was the coldest night in both tourist places this winter.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the Kashmir valley, near Jawahar Tunnel, was freezing at -7.4°C while Kokernag town in Anantnag district witnessed a night temperature of -6°C. The summer capital had a temperature of -2.4°C today. 

Udhampur, January 2
A district-level Review Committee-cum-District Consultative Committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Additional District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, RR Sharma here yesterday reviewed the performance of all banks in the key areas of deposits and advances this fiscal for the quarter ending September 30, 2010, under the Annual Credit Plan 2010-11.

Kishore Sadhotra, Lead District Manager, State Bank of India (SBI), Udhampur, representatives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Jammu, NABARD, the Chief Planning Officer, Udhampur, and officers of banks and government departments concerned were present.

During the meeting, Sadhotra informed that the banks advanced loans of Rs 46.44 crore among 2,562 beneficiaries in the district against the annual target of Rs 98.77 crore by September, 2010 and thereby registered an overall achievement of 47 per cent.

Stressing better coordination between bankers and line departments,Sharma expressed concern over the low sponsoring of cases under various government-sponsored schemes and urged upon all departments to expedite the sponsoring of cases under government-sponsored schemes to banks for achieving 100 per cent targets. He called upon the departments and bankers to promote employment generation programmes and pay special attention to the formation of self-help groups in the district.

Sharma also asked the officers of the Agriculture Department to speed up the sponsoring of Kisan Credit Cards cases to banks for the timely release of credit to farmers by different bank branches. He also stressed the need to organise awareness camps for the people in the rural areas regarding various schemes for setting up their own ventures with help from the banks.

Jammu, January 2
Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo said service to society was the best worship and asked functionaries of the Social Welfare Department to work with a spirit of social service. She was speaking at an awareness camp in Sunderbani town of Rajouri district yesterday after distributing pension cheques of Rs 6 lakh among 431 beneficiaries. She also handed over appointment letters to 15 women.

Others who were present on the occasion included Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari, vice-chairman, Pahari Speaking Board; Rashpal Singh, vice-chairman, Kisan Development Board; MLA Bimla Luthra; Rajouri Deputy Commissioner GA Khawaja; Mehmood Rana, director, Social Welfare, Jammu, and senior officials of the Social Welfare Department.

Sakina said the purpose of holding such a camp was to sensitise people living in the rural areas about welfare schemes of the department.

She said earlier such camps were organised in Kashmir also. She added that such camps should be organised in other parts of Jammu division.

She said the government was paying old-age pension to 3.5 lakh persons while 50,000 more applications awaited approval.

She asked the officials of the department to follow norms fixed by the Centre.

She added that BPL category was the most deserving to avail the benefit of these schemes and directed officials to furnish lists of all BPL population of the district so that the matter could be taken up with the Centre accordingly for approval of pension.

Sakina said the process to engage 3,500 anganwari workers and helpers was under way, while a case for opening 6,500 more centres had been forwarded to the Centre for approval.

She asked officials to ensure that all beneficiaries got their pension in time at or near their residential places.

Udhampur, January 2
Commemorating its 247th anniversary, the Army Medical Corps (AMC) at Udhampur garrison, comprising the HQ, Northern Command (Medical Branch), the Command Hospital (Northern Command), and Regimental Medical Officers organised various health, promotional, training and other activities in the days preceding the anniversary on Saturday.

The highlight of the anniversary-related activities was an eye camp organised at Thalela village in Doda district under Operation Sadhbhavna. Surgeries were also performed.In a release issued here today, it was recalled that since its inception in the year 1948 as a general hospital, the present Command Hospital had established its credentials as an exemplary tertiary healthcare delivery facility, and had the glorious distinction of managing casualties with minimal number in cases of life-threatening injuries sustained during various operations of the Army.

On the occasion, the GOC-in C, Northern Command, Lt-Gen KT Parnaik, and the Chief of Staff, Northern Command, Lt-Gen Jasbir Singh, conveyed their felicitations and assured continued support to the entire Army medical fraternity at Udhampur in developing a state-of-the-art infrastructure to provide comprehensive healthcare.

The AMC has a 247-year-old glorious tradition of pursuing professional excellence and dedication in maintaining the morale of the forces in the battlefield and during peacetime by timely medical care, and also in the event of any natural calamity, especially in the area under the responsibility of the Northern Command.

Srinagar, January 2
Underscoring the need for obeying traffic rules and taking preventive measures for avoiding accidents, Minister for Rural Development, Panchayats, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar has appealed to people to extend cooperation to the administration and the traffic police in making the Valley free of accidents. 

Sagar was addressing the 22nd Road Safety Week function organised by the traffic police in collaboration with the Transport Department. 

He appealed to transporters to desist from observing strikes as these inconvenienced people. The IGP (Kashmir Range), SM Sahai, appealed to people to obey traffic rules and avoid rash driving. 

Udhampur, January 2
Three persons were killed and 22 injured when the Matador in which they were travelling fell into the Chenab in Doda district today.

The accident took place around 8.30 am when the vehicle coming from Prem Nagar skidded and fell into the river at Kararra near the Nai Basti Army camp. As per the police officials, the driver could not control the vehicle due to the slippery road as well as poor visibility. Army personnel deployed near the spot and some local youth rescued the passengers.

Abdul Majid Wani, MLA, Doda, who was camping at District Hospital, Doda, to supervise rescue operations as well as the treatment of the victims told The Tribune over the phone that timely medical help was provided.

“We got 11 critically injured airlifted to Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, with the help of the district and the state administration. I have asked the Medical Superintendent, GMC, as well as Dr Raina, who is in charge of blood bank, over the phone to do their best to save the victims,” he said.

Those killed included Hari Ram of Malwana and Thakur Singh and Ghulam Nabi of Prem Nagar.

The seriously injured,who were airlifted to the GMC, Jammu, were identified as Ram Rattan of Shibnot, Raja Ram of Malwana, Tahir Hussain of Pranu, Bal Krishan alias Fouji of Chirrala, Dharma Veer of Jatheli, Vinod Kumar of Jatheli, Ghulam Qadir of Darra, Anju Devi of Brampura, Gundna, Abdul Lateef of Jatheli and Irshad Ahmed of Shounsh Jatheli.

Those admitted to District Hospital, Doda, included Ghulam Hassan of Jatheli Shawl, Ghulam Qadir of Darra, Surinder Singh of Parnote, Harvinder Kumar of Dehrot, Omkar Singh and Soul Singh of Darra, Mangta Niyak of Jatheli, Pashvinder Singh of Chaksu Manthali, Suraj and Parveen Kumar of Pathan and Nazeer of Pernote.

The Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Farooq Ahmed Khan, SP, Headquarters, the Chief Medical Officer, Doda, and other district officers also swung into action immediately after the mishap and accompanied MLA Wani to the District Hospital, Doda.

The MLA requested Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to announce ex-gratia to next of kin of the killed and the injured. 

Jammu, January 2
Twelve persons were injured in a clash between Gujjars and residents of Kheri village in the Domana area here over encroachments and illegal electricity connections.

However, the police which reached the spot immediately prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn.

Sources said some youth went to play cricket to a place where the Gujjars had allegedly encroached upon government land.The youths removed the illegal electricity connections, which resulted into a scuffle between the two groups. The Gujjars threw stones at the youngsters,who,along with other residents, also retaliated and in the clash,12 persons sustained injuries.

The villagers told the police that the Gujjars had encroached upon government land.

A resident told The Tribune: “We have written to the authorities concerned about this a number of times, but no action has been taken so far”.

Zahid Saif Wani, SHO, Domana police station said:”We are recording the statements of both groups to register a case”.

Two persons who sustained serious injuries, including a sub-inspector, were taken to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here. They were identified as Sumesh Padha and Vishwajeet.

Jammu, January 2
A woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances near her house at Hubbi village in the Koteranka area of Rajouri district today.

The body of the deceased, Beghum Jahan (30), wife of Mohammed Sadiq, was found lying in a nullah in the fields by some villagers in the morning, the police said.

It added her family said Beghum Jahan went out of the house last night and didn’t return.

Sources said the deceased had three children.

Meanwhile, the police shifted the body to District Hospital, Rajouri, for a post mortem.

A police officer said there were no injury marks on the body. “But, the cause of the death would be ascertained only after getting the post mortem report,” he added. The Koteranka police has started inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.