Srinagar, July 8
Underscoring the importance of an authentic BPL list for comprehensive planning and development of the people living below the poverty line, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said he has sensitised the departments concerned about a fresh survey of BPL families in accordance with the 2011 census.

Speaking to a group of BPL families, who called on the Chief Minister at the Awami Mulakat here, Omar said a legitimate list of the BPL families was imperative to ensure benefits to them.

“There are a number of schemes for such families in health, education, CAPD and other sectors. A foolproof survey to compile the authentic list is need of the hour so that the benefits percolate to them smoothly,” he said, adding that directions for this purpose had been given. He said amelioration of the weaker sections was a priority of his government.

To a group of artisans, the CM said the promotion of handicrafts sector had been underlined as a focused area. “This is the sector promising larger job opportunities and economic activities to the people of the state,” he said, maintaining that Kashmiri art and craft and the magical skill of its artisans require proper nurturing for growth and development.

“The government is aware of the importance and as such various measures have been taken in this direction,” he said and assured the artisans of support and assistance.

To a deputation of almond growers, the Chief Minister said cultivation of dry fruits like almond and walnut had been one of the most important farming activities in the state. He told them that the schemes aimed at encouraging cultivation of dry fruits would be formed. He said the Horticulture Department had a number of schemes in this direction and the growers should take advantage of such schemes.

As many as 51 deputations and over a 1,000 individuals met the Chief Minister during the event here and apprised him of various demands pertaining to the development in their areas.

The individuals presented representations in matters of personal nature seeking the Chief Minister’s intervention for redressal of their grievances.

Oamar issued on-spot orders on matters of public importance while other representations were forwarded to the officials concerned for necessary action.

A deputation from Ganderbal, led by MLC Ali Mohammad Bhat, in its interaction with the Chief Minister discussed issues pertaining to the Central University. The deputation expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for the holistic development process started by the government all across the state.

The deputations from Kupwara, Baramulla, Sopore, Bandipora, Budgam, Beerwah, Srinagar, Pampore, Lethpora, Anantnag, Homeshalibug, Pulwama, Ganderbal, Kangan, Kulgam, Zainapora and various other areas raised development issues pertaining to their localities and sought the Chief Minister’s help in launching special schemes in their localities.

They apprised the CM of their difficulties and grievances on the development front. They lauded the Chief Minister’s initiative for establishing panchayats and congratulated him for the conduct of free and fair polls.

Various deputations, including those of teachers, doctors, daily wagers, fishermen, artisans, boatmen, causal labours, SMHS workers, etc. apprised him of their difficulties and sought his intervention for the redressal.

Srinagar, July 8
The education sector was the worst hit in the Kashmir valley due to the unrest for three consecutive years. This year, there was some hope for the students, but a strike by contractual lecturers is playing the spoilsport.

The contractual lecturers are the backbone of the college education system in the Valley. However, for the past 11 days, more than 850 contractual lecturers of 35 government colleges are on a strike.

“I haven’t been to the college for the past one week as all my teachers are on a strike,” said a student of the media department of Baramulla Degree College.

The government had assured the contractual teachers that their demands would be looked into, but when nothing was done, the lecturers decided to go on a strike.

“We did not start the protest all of a sudden. We gave a 15-day notice to the government to act on our demands. We met several ministers, including the Chief Minister, and all of them had assured that our demands would soon be accepted,” said Dr Mohammed Maqbool, president of the college contractual teachers association.

The lecturers have been demanding the reversal of their nomenclature from “academic arrangement” to “contractual teachers” and their absorption into the Education Department after serving the mandatory period of probation.

“We were called as contractual teachers till 2008 when the government changed the nomenclature to academic arrangements. This change took away all benefits that the government provided under various acts to the contractual employees,” said Fayaz, an officer-bearer of the association.

The teachers said the government had also expelled a large number of contractual teachers which had put the burden on the remaining staff.

“As per UGC guidelines, a teacher has to take four classes in a day while we have been taking six, but we did not protest. However, when our colleagues were shown the door, we started protesting,” said another teacher.

The lecturers said they were supposed to take a class of 80 students, but they were teaching more than 200 students in one class.

“We will continue our protest till the government listens to our demands,” said a teacher.

Meanwhile, college students in the Valley continue to suffer since they are losing their precious academic period.

Rajouri, July 8
Local residents are these days facing hardships due to the untimely digging of roads for constructing drains. As the road passing through the main bazaar towards the PWD Guest House has been dug up after the arrival of the monsoon, it has led to chaos on the road.

“I fail to understand why the authorities have dug up the road just before the monsoon,” said Manoj, a local shopkeeper, whose shop has been blocked due to the accumulation of debris on the road.

“These days, hardly any customer visits our shop because there is no way to reach our place,” he said and pointed out that his business had been badly affected due to the digging of the road on the right side on way to Dak Banglow.

Shafiq, another shopkeeper, echoing similar views, said infrastructure deficit in this town was symbolised by total chaos and choking of the main streets, especially during the peak hours. He said the road connecting the Guest House usually remained blocked for hours due to the digging of the road. He said the town had been witnessing traffic jams throughout the day.

Although no senior officer was ready to speak about the issue, sources said the project was approved a few months ago, but the authorities failed to execute it in time. “The project was scheduled to be completed before the monsoon,” the sources said and alleged that it was deliberately delayed.“I don’t think that the project to construct drains would be completed in the next couple of months

because the current season is not appropriate to work,” remarked Vinod Sharma, a local businessman, and argued that in the rainy season it was difficult to complete the project in time. The dug-up road has not only led to congestion but also given a rise to mishaps in the area. “Most of the time, power supply remains snapped in the evening and people usually get trapped in broken slabs and debris accumulated on the right side of the road,” said another shopkeeper. He said the road had become a deathtrap. There was a fear among shopkeepers that the situation would worsen in the coming days.

Though Kashmir valley is known for its four distinct seasons round the year, the brief period of the monsoon, as witnessed in the rest of the country outside the Valley, is little known here. The Valley, however, has its brief period of the humid weather conditions, “wahraat”, during which intermittent rains are witnessed.

Occasionally, these rains lead to floods in the Valley with a steep rise in the water level in the Jhelum and its tributaries. The hot and humid conditions have already set in as usual and the people are facing a tough time. But here, the temperature and the humidity are much lower as compared to other parts of the 
country.

Srinagar, July 8
Arrangements for a day-long police-public mela, being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in Srinagar in September, were discussed at a high-level police officers meeting held at the Police Headquarters (PHQ) here recently.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of DGP Kuldeep Khoda, who is also patron-in-chief of the J&K Police Parivar, an official spokesperson said.

Addressing the meeting, Khoda informed that the mela was one of the grand events organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Police Organisation after regular intervals.

He said the mela had assumed much importance as the public had been giving a good response. The event also brought the police and public together to work for peace and prosperity of the state, he added.

The DGP also said bumper prizes made the event more attractive and people from all corners of the state waited for months to try their luck through raffle draws.

He said transparency in raffle draws had strengthened the trust of people on the organisers. The revenue generated through the event was utilised for the welfare of the families of police martyrs’ and wards of serving and retired personnel under various welfare schemes adopted by the organisation among which wards of police personnel are awarded scholarships to nurture their talent in the field of education.

After detailed deliberations, the meeting decided that the mela would be held in Srinagar in September after Eid-ul-Fitr.

Discussions were held with regard to various arrangements in and around the venue. For this purpose, various committees headed by senior officers were constituted and asked to start preparations for the grand event. It was decided that the stall holders of different police establishments across the state would be geared up for their massive participation in the mela with their products. Sufficient space would be provided to them to establish their stalls for exhibition and sale of products.

Counters for the sale of raffle draw tickets would be established at different locations throughout the state and also in and around the venue on the mela day.

The DGP stressed upon the officers present in the meeting to coordinate at all levels to make the event a success.

He said the committees constituted should start the work by now and the officers assigned with different tasks should be held responsible.

He asked the officers to hold meetings and discuss the preparations after intervals. Experiences gained by previous melas should be utilised and any deficiency noticed should be rectified, said Khoda.

Those who attended the meeting included Additional Directors General of Police, K. Rajendra Kumar, Ram Lubhaya, DR Doley and Naveen Aggerwal, Inspectors General of Police, SM Sahai, Raja Aijaz Ali, Owais Ahmed, MA Shah, B. Srinivas, Farooq Ahmed and Rauf-ul-Hassan, DIGs, AG Mir, Alok Puri, AS Bali, Garib Dass, Vijay Kumar and KL Baghat.

Srinagar, July 8
There has been a heavy rush of pilgrims to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath during the first week since the annual pilgrimage began on June 29, via both the traditional Pahalagam and Baltal routes.

Though the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has been making all arrangements with the prior registration of pilgrims to regulate the movement of pilgrims on the two treks, a large number of pilgrims have been thronging the shrine this year.

According to an official spokesperson, RK Goyal, CEO of the Shrine Board, has advised all intending pilgrims to ascertain the obtaining weather condition in the yatra area before embarking on the pilgrimage.

Goyal reiterated that the yatris must respect the environment and do nothing to pollute it. Use of plastic is strictly banned and punishable under law. They are advised to use latrines/bathrooms in the camps established by the Board.

In this context, Goyal further stated that, as directed by the chairman, the Board had this year augmented the facilities at Sheshnag, Panjtarni and holy cave and as many as 250 additional toilets and baths had been installed at these camps for the convenience of the yatris.

The yatris have been advised not to stop at places which are marked by warning notices. They must neither smoke nor carry/consume any kind of narcotic or alcoholic substance. They are advised not to use slippers. They must wear shoes with laces and not to attempt any shortcuts on the route as doing so would be dangerous. They must not break traffic discipline or try to overtake others in difficult stretches of the track.

Goyal said: “As the yatra traverses through high mountains, facing strong winds, the yatris need to carry adequate woollen clothing, a small umbrella, windcheater, raincoat, sleeping bag, waterproof shoes, torch, walking stick with a proper hand grip, cap (preferably a monkey cap), gloves, jacket, woollen socks and trousers”.

He said: “For ladies, saree is not a suitable dress for the yatra. Salwar kameez, pant-shirt or a track suit will be more comfortable. Keeping in view the tough nature of the trek, small children will not be allowed to undertake the yatra”.

Before hiring a pony, dandi or a labourer, the yatris must satisfy themselves that the ponywalla, labourer or the dandiwalla is duly registered and carries an ID card.

The pilgrims must take care to see that porters and horses/ponies with their luggage move close to them as it may be difficult to trace them in case they get separated from each other.

During the yatra from Pahalgam/Baltal onwards, the yatris must keep their clothes and eatables in a suitable waterproof bag to avoid these getting wet. The yatris have been further advised to carry sufficient money to pay for their accommodation at the base camps and at other halting stations en route the holy cave and for meeting other personal requirements. To enable the yatra authorities to take urgent necessary action in case a yatri is involved in any emergency, the yatris are advised to keep in their pockets a note containing the name/address/mobile telephone number of any other yatri proceeding for ‘darshan’ on the same date and route as they are following. They must also carry their identity card/driving licence and the yatra permit issued by the Board. Every yatri is advised to carry all medicines which he takes daily.

They have also been advised to keep dark glasses/goggles handy. While trekking, they need to relax for a short while on steep inclines and not exert beyond their normal capacity. The best way to complete the yatra trek is to maintain a slow and steady pace and not unnecessarily exhaust/tire themselves by walking fast.