Jammu, April 15
Though the farming community in the neighbouring state of Punjab has already started harvesting the wheat crop, farmers in the state will have to wait for a few more days, thanks to the recent spell of rain that has led to forming of moisture content in the grain.

Weather disturbance and the recent spell of rain has so far kept the temperature below normal, delaying the ripening of the golden grain across the state.

Experts of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu (SKUAST-J) and officials of the Meteorological Department termed the moisture in the air and moderate temperature as the major reason for the delay in harvesting the crop.

“A random survey of various areas, including Kathua, Samba, RS Pura, Jammu and Udhampur, revealed that only five per cent of the crop is ready to harvest and that too in Bishnah block. The rest of the crop would be ready only in May,” said an expert of SKUAST-J.

He said the fungal disease yellow rust had also affected the growth of the crop. “But now with the use of fungicides, the farmers are expecting a good yield,” the expert added.

A visit to RS Pura, Bishnah, Vijaypur and some adjoining areas reveals that the crop is yet to ripen fully. Even farmers are seen removing weeds from their fields.

“This season, everything went against us. First, the rain and then yellow rust affected the crop across the region,” said Joginder Singh of Kullian village.

He also blamed the Agriculture Department for the delay. He alleged, “Though senior officials of the department visited the fields, they did not provide any sort of assistance to us. Had they made us aware of the disease and provided adequate fertilisers and fungicides, the result would have been far better”.

The Agriculture Department, however, refuted these allegations. “Our officials spread awareness about the use of modern techniques among farmers time to time. For this purpose, 257 awareness camps and meetings were organised. Besides, 765 spray pumps were also provided to the farmers,” said a senior official of the Agriculture Department.

He added, “This year, the standing wheat crop in the region was expected to reach 4,92,000 MT”.

The Meteorological Department also forecasted that the day temperature would increase in the next few days. 

Jammu, April 15
Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora has said the ministry has chalked out a comprehensive publicity campaign to showcase the tourism potential of all three regions of the state within and outside the country. A series of road shows and travel marts would be organised this year in south eastern countries as part of the campaign.

The minister in a meeting held here recently discussed ways and means to woo a large number of tourists to visit the state by launching a vigorous campaign through a reputed advertising agency, Ogilvy and Mather.

During the meeting, the representatives of Ogilvy and Mather gave a power point presentation, depicting methodology to showcase and market the state’s tourism through print and electronic media.

The agency gave suggestions for promoting tourism. They said the use of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for promoting tourism potential of J&K globally would prove beneficial. The meeting asked the advertising agency to submit a media plan to the government for its approval so that the campaign should be initiated well in time.

Jora said tourism was playing a vital role to boost the economy of the state. He said the government was striving to promote this sector by creating infrastructure at new destinations and promotion of adventure, pilgrim and golf tourism.

He said publicising the state’s tourism potential was an important factor for attracting tourists. The government would organise travel marts in New Delhi, London and Berlin this year and would ensure participation in travel tourism fairs in Kolkatta, Surat, Mumbai and New Delhi, besides ensuring representation from the state in Indian Travel Marts at Amritsar, Lucknow, Goa, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, he added. The minister said the state’s representatives would also participate in Indian International Travel Marts in Chenai, Pune and Banglaore this year to showcase the tourism potential of the state.

He said the government has initiated various measures to promote adventure tourism. This year, a ski mountaineering expedition from Kargil to Zanskar, SAARC Golf Championship at RSGC, Mughal Road Rally, besides other adventure activities were being organised. Short films would be produced for newer destinations to showcase the tourism potential of the state globally, he added.

Jammu, April 15
The official website of the state, which has a tech savvy Chief Minister, is awaiting relaunch for the past over a year.

On visiting the website (http://jammukashmir.nic.in), one only finds a logo displaying the banner “under construction”.

The website, which had earned notoriety on account of it providing stale information and having never been updated since February 4, 2009, was supposed to be given a facelift by incorporating latest happenings taking place in the state. However, for the past 13 months, nothing has been done to reconstruct it, except for passing the buck from one department to the other.

The matter was earlier taken up in January 2010 with the Chief Minister’s much hyped grievance cell under a complaint number 9383, as the website was giving a bad name to the state as well as its administration. For months together, the website of this sensitive state was splashing stale and outdated information to the amusement of thousands of internet surfers across the globe.

It was showing Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah as members of the state Assembly, representing Bhaderwah and Hazratbal constituencies, respectively. Further, the website was making a mention of only 14 districts of the state as if eight new districts of Bandipora, Ganderbal, Samba, Reasi, Ramban, Kishtwar, Kulgam and Shopian, which were formed in July 2006, did not exist at all.

As the compliant was registered with the grievance cell, it was officially announced that “the needful would be done immediately”. On March 6, 2010, the compliant was, however, disposed of by mentioning that the “IT Department has shortlisted six vendors who would be updating the website and the difficulty faced on this account shall be sorted out”.

However, sources said, nothing had been done, except passing on the complaint first to the Bandipora deputy commissioner then to the state information and information technology departments and later, the state’s National Informatics Centre (NIC) was asked to take corrective measures.

The sources said as a first measure, the NIC withdrew all stale information and later displayed a board that the website is “under construction”.

Over a year has passed since then, but the website is still not ready.

With the state administration moving to the winter capital in the next couple of days, the sources are not optimistic of its immediate launch in the near future as well.

n On visiting the website (http://jammukashmir.nic.in), one only finds a logo displaying the banner “under construction”

Leh, April 15
The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) is seeking the cooperation and active involvement of social and religious organisations in making the ongoing beautification drive in Leh town a success.

To address the parking problem and regulate traffic in the town, a meeting of police and Army officers, heads of religious organisations, representatives of traders’ associations, travel agencies, hotels, guest houses and taxi unions was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Executive Councilor (CEC), Rigzin Spalbar, on Monday evening at the conference hall here. It was for the first time, a joint meeting of people and the police and the Army was held to address the problems faced by the people of the town.

In the meeting it was decided to extend the one-way traffic system enforced in main markets of the town and evolve consensus on the declaration of identified areas as no traffic zones.

“The LAHDC will dismantle the old and abandoned government building located near the main market and convert it into a parking lot. The auction of the parking lots will be done soon,” said Spalbar.

To ease traffic congestion on the Leh-Srinagar National Highway and the Leh-Manali highway, the district police has been asked to ensure strict traffic regulation. Spalbar urged the Pastor of the Moravian Church, Leh, ES Gergan, to exchange the land located near the church to broaden the main road connecting the Circuit House, Sangkar and Changspa villages. The CEC also requested the Army officers to ensure the entry of their heavy vehicles in the town during specified time to help regulate the functioning of traffic during peak hours.

Srinagar, April 15
The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon, here recently launched the 2011 Edition of Sphere Handbook on Minimum Standards for Humanitarian Response. The handbook was globally released in 14 countries all over the world and in India, it was simultaneously released in 15 states, including J&K. The handbook was launched in Delhi by Krishna Tirath, Minister of State, Women and Child Development at the India Habitat Centre.

The launch here was organised jointly by the divisional administration, Kashmir, in collaboration with the J&K IMPA (Institute of Management and Public Administration). In his remarks, Samoon said: “The Sphere Standards have been prepared scientifically and are the benchmark for ensuring effective humanitarian assistance to people in need around the world. It is a lifeline for humanitarian aid workers and organisations and will improve the quality of humanitarian assistance to survivors of disasters and conflicts”.

He added that the State Disaster Management Policy was being prepared in collaboration with the IMPA and the NIDM. He stressed on the preparation of district disaster management plans. He also appreciated the work of Fire Services, Health Department, PHE, Electric Department, R&B and the police in the disaster management.

He called upon NGOs and government agencies to form a platform where proper coordination takes place. The forum could be called inter agency group (IAG). He assured full support for the formation of the IAG, an official spokesperson said.

The programme was attended by Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mehraj Ahmed Kakroo, additional DC, Srinagar, Drug Controller, Gupta, various chief engineers and heads of departments, Deputy Director, IMPA, Ghulam Rasool Kumhar, Deputy Commandant, Auxiliary Police, Deputy Controller, Civil Defence, and Deputy Chief Warden, Civil Defence, and Red Cross volunteers and Civil Defence Wardens. Various NGOs and representatives from the media, Dr GM Dar, associate Prof, J&K, IMPA, and Aamir Ali, coordinator, Disaster Management & OSD, with Samoon also attended the programme.

The 2011 Edition of Sphere Handbook incorporates a new chapter - Protection Principles - which considers the protection and safety of population affected by disaster or armed conflict as an integral part of humanitarian response. It addresses emerging issues like climate change, disaster risk reduction, early recovery of services and livelihoods, cash transfers and civil-military relations. Understanding and supporting local responses to disasters such as the one in Japan and Haiti was a priority reflected in the latest handbook, as is reinforcing the capacity of local actors.

The cornerstone of the handbook is the Humanitarian Charter, which describes core principles that govern humanitarian action and asserts the rights of disaster-affected population to life with dignity, protection and assistance. For the new edition, the Humanitarian Charter has been rewritten to offer clear language and strengthen linkage to the standards. The 2011 Edition of the handbook is compiled in coordination with more than 650 experts from 300 organisations in 20 countries. The book also has contributions from UN agencies.

A series of core and minimum standards are based on the best practices in the sector. The core standards pertain to the planning and implementation phases of humanitarian response. The minimum standards deal with four sets of life-saving activities: water and sanitation; food security and nutrition; shelter and non-food items; and health. They have all been significantly revised in the new edition.