The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Shri Maharaja Gulabh Singh Hospital Poor facilities bane of neonatal care unit Shevali Raina Tribune News Service Jammu, December 2 The neonatal care unit of Shri Maharaja Gulabh Singh (SMGS) Hospital needs urgent care. The only such unit in Jammu is marred by poor infrastructure, acute shortage of staff and life-saving equipment. Filled to the brim, nearly 50 infants are under treatment in a room which has the capacity for eight persons only. Despite the huge claims of the state government, the newborn in the neonatal care unit fail to receive the best health care facilities. Official sources disclosed that the eight-bed neonatal care unit had no ventilator as well as incubator facility for the infants. “There is a dire need for ventilators in the neonatal unit, but nothing has been done so far,” said official sources. The sources said: “Owing to the unavailability of the ventilator, several newborn babies die or are referred to other institutes for treatment”. “If the government provides ventilators as well as ventilation technicians in the neonatal care unit of this hospital, then there is a possibility to reduce the mortality rate,” added the sources. However, the hospital authorities clarified that there was no requirement of incubators as they had six warmers in the neonatal care unit. Dr Rekha Harish Daing, HoD, Pediatrics Department, SMGS Hospital, Jammu, said they had time and again informed the higher authorities about the issue of the neonatal care unit, but nothing has been done so far. “Our department is working ardently despite all shortcomings,” said Rekha. The neonatal care unit also faces an acute shortage of staff. According to the hospital authorities, only two staff nurses are working under neonatal care unit which has a requirement of 15 staff. Life seems to be in a mess for Suresh Kumar whose newborn is struggling for life in the neonatal ward of SMGS Hospital for the past 10 days. Agitated over the poor infrastructure and functioning of the neonatal care unit, Suresh said he had no guarantee about the kind of treatment his newborn was receiving in the neonatal ward. “I doubt whether they are giving proper treatment to my child or not,” said Suresh. Helpless parents at the hospital said there was no guarantee of life at all for newborn in the neonatal unit. “Providing infrastructure and staff is not the responsibility of the public. People who cannot afford costly treatment have SMGS Hospital as the only option and the hospital administration should understand this problem,” the parents added.
	Winter changes fashion trends in Jammu Sonika Raina Tribune News Services Jammu, December 2 Who says only wearing short clothes can make one fashionable and trendy? The onset of winter definitely makes this statement wrong as this season gives ample scope to the youngsters for different types of experiments and new looks. With winter knocking at the door, youngsters are switching over from the dull summer looks to the warm winter looks in which youngsters get a trendy look by trying their hands at different types of warm clothes, including caps, boots, mufflers, long jackets, trendy sweaters, etc. Ekta Bakshi, a university student, said: “Velvet is in after a long time. Velvet kurtis and suits, or velvet cloth with digital prints can be seen as a trend these days”. “Winter is a lovely season. We can go for light make-up even in the daily routine also. However, summers do not allow for it. Purple, green and black are in, rest all warm colours remain all-time favourite in winters,” she added. Whereas, a trained fashion designer has some different views about Jammu’s fashion. She feels that Jammu is a bit slow in changing fashion trends, but somehow for this reason only, fashion sense of the people here cannot be underestimated. Megha Jain, a fashion designer from Ludhiana and presently putting up in Jammu, said: “Most of the winter garments which are being brought in Jammu are manufactured in Ludhiana, whereas summer garments are from Delhi or Mumbai. So, when it comes to the winter fashion, people follow their trends only. But, there is a difference in fashion also”.
	Snow likely to benefit paddy crop Srinagar, December 2 Farmers in Jammu and Kashmir have expressed their joy over the moderate to heavy snow in the valley, saying it will provide the required impetus to agriculture in the state. The valley has limited water resources for agricultural activities, and most of the time the channels remain dry. But with the advent of winter and the snowfall, water bodies in the state would soon replenish providing a much- needed boost to agriculture. “People who live in the plains depend on agriculture. Snow in winters helps us in March and April as the snow melts and the water helps us irrigate the fields. We specially depend on this,” said Bashir Ahmed, a farmer. The Agriculture Department expects that the snow is likely to benefit the paddy crop in the coming season. — ANI
	International Day of Persons with Disabilities Differently abled to observe black day today Ashutosh Sharma /TNS Jammu, December 2 Civic agencies and the local bodies here are yet to wake up to the problems being faced by differently abled persons. To highlight their grievances, the J&K Handicap Welfare Association has decided to observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities as black day on December 3. The official apathy could be gauged from the fact that even the district social welfare office at Ambphalla here operates from the first floor of a building which does not have walking ramps. The differently abled persons visiting the office have to climb stairs with great difficulty. The state does not have a disability commission in spite of growing demand by various welfare associations of differently abled persons, NGOs and civil society. Chairman of the J&K Handicap Welfare Association KK Verma said: “We have decided to observe World Disability Day as black day. For the past more than 20 years, we have been highlighting our demands and grievances at various public platforms, but all in vain”. “The 3 per cent reservation for differently abled persons in government jobs remains on paper only. The monthly pension of such persons is just Rs 400 and even this meagre amount is also not being regularly disbursed,” he said. He added, “Even all the government buildings lack ramps. These persons have to face a lot of hardships while boarding or alighting public transport vehicles”. “The Jammu and Kashmir Persons with Disability Act-1998 has all the provisions of the Central Act, but the problem lies with the implementations of the law,” said Dr Ashvini Jojra, founder president, SAHYOG India, an NGO working for the welfare of differently abled persons here. He added, “At least 14 per cent of the total state population is suffering from some sort of disabilities. Looking at the fleet of newly introduced public transport vehicles besides the new government buildings coming up every year, it seems that this huge population of differently abled persons does not matter at all”. “In buses and trains seats are never reserved for such persons. They have to struggle in long queues for getting a travel ticket,” he said and added, “The law enforcement agencies need to be sensitive towards such people and the government functionaries should also respect their rights”. “Like all the government departments, banks also need to change their attitude towards such persons,” he said. “The Social Welfare Department is already over occupied, there should be a disability commission where differently abled persons could highlight and seek redressal of their grievances ”.
	Home Guards jawan without a home Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Gurah Singhu, December 2 How does it feel to be a Home Guard without a home, that too, after rendering 16 years of service? In what appears to be a brazen instance of criminal silence on part of the successive state governments, 39-year-old Ramesh Kumar lives with his old and ailing parents, wife and three children in a decrepit shanty in Gurah Singhu village on the Akhnoor road. A visit by The Tribune team to his “house” (a shanty having a thatched roof) brought to the fore his untold miseries. “I still repent the day when I joined as a Home Guards jawan on October 13 way back in 1995. Sixteen years on, I still live in a shanty, which makes our life a living hell during monsoon as its thatched roof fails to withstand rains,” he said. In contravention to the Labour Laws and the Minimum Wage Act, till February this year nearly 1,300 Home Guards and their families were surviving on a paltry wage of Rs 410 a month, which now has been hiked by Rs 135 to Rs 545 a month. Being the sole bread earner, Ramesh has to look for petty works like working as a labourer to eke out a living for his family. “After working for nine days every month as a Home Guards jawan, I have to look out for work like whitewashing and cultivation for the remaining 21 days,” Ramesh said. “But they, too, don’t come easily. People hesitate in hiring us because they feel that since we are cops, we may create problems for them,” he said. As a policy matter of the state government, a Home Guard has to work for nine days a month and for the rest 21 days, he is free to work anywhere. But, Home Guards here said this arrangement comes as a deterrent for them. “We are a penury ridden family having no land to till and to aggravate our miseries, my family till date has not been included in the BPL list,” said Ramesh. “Even the officials of the Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) refused to provide me a concrete house on grounds that I am a cop, who does not fall in their scheme of things,” he said. Miseries for this Home Guards jawan didn’t end here. A few years ago, his father, Ram Lal, suffered a serious injury in his disc and since then, Ramesh had been meeting his medical expenses out of his meagre earnings. “I get a wage of Rs 545 a month and I earn Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 by doing petty jobs. In this time of inflation, a family having seven members cannot survive on Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500,” he said. Ramesh divulged that at times his family, including children, had to face starvation. Like Ramesh, another Home Guard jawan, Swaran Singh of Bardal Klan in Akhnoor, had similar tale to tell. However, DGP Kuldeep Khoda said it was purely a voluntary service under a scheme of the Central government. He further said it was the prerogative of the Central government to decide about them. But in stark contrast to the DGP, the state government vide order number 86 of 1990 dated December 5, 1990, had regularised the first batch of Home Guards jawans into Auxiliary Force. Agitating Home Guards jawans, who have been sitting on a dharna for the past five years, have been demanding their absorption into regular police force and dignified salaries.
	Roads turn into wedding venues in Jammu Varun Suthra Tribune News Service Jammu, December 2 While most of the banquet halls, hotels and clubs here are easily available these days, the practice of occupying streets and roads for holding marriage functions has been growing in the city. The new trend is more visible in posh colonies whereas the rest of the areas, which are not so developed, adhere to the municipal guidelines. In one such posh area of the city, Gandhi Nagar, one can easily spot “shamiyanas” put up in public places, thereby, turning roads, lanes and in certain cases public gardens into huge makeshift marriage halls. Such people hardly worry about the inconveniences faced by the commuters and the local residents. However, despite the directions of the High Court, music systems are loudly played at the functions. At some places, the lanes are kept blocked for many days. Given the growing number of complaints over the public inconvenience, the local administration and the civic body here seems to be in “deep slumber”. “These days are really tough as far as commuting in the Gandhi Nagar area is concerned. You never know which road has been blocked by the residents in connection with wedding arrangements,” Monica, a student of Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, said. “I have to take at least six or seven U-turns to reach my college because every next street to the highway is blocked with tents,” she said. “I don’t know why even educated and cultured people living in posh areas encourage such practices. It seems that people are losing civic sense,” she added. A doctor working with Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar said: “Patients are the worst sufferers. If the administration does not swing into action, it could be fatal for them”. However, the residents living near Shiv Temple, Gandhi Nagar, said, “The municipal corporations and police are always ready to take action against rehriwalas and other vendors but have not initiated any action against the privileged class”. Babu Ram, Joint Director, Jammu Municipal Commissioner (JMC), said, “Such activities are never permitted, it is illegal. The JMC can take action against any such move and even the police can take action”. He added that any such malpractice should be brought to the notice of the corporation. Rajeshwar Singh, SP (South), told The Tribune that this was the violation of the municipal laws and any complaint in this regard would be entertained. “There is a procedure to perform any event on the public place as one has to take permission from the DC,” he said, adding, “We cannot intervene in marriage functions as the civil society will oppose the move. However if anyone registers a complaint with us, action will be taken”.
	Operation Sadbhavana Army trip helps students explore South India Devinder Thakur Mahore, December 2 Though people around the world epitomise Jammu and Kashmir as heaven, Sukhadev Singh, a native of Mahore, after his visit to Bangalore, Coimbatore and Ooty found it no less than a heaven. Sukhdev was part of a 23-member team which was on tour of these areas as part of Operation Sadbhavana measure adopted by the Army to win the hearts and minds of the people living in the fringes of Pakistan borders and have been dealing with insurgency. “There is hardly any development in our area,” said Surinder Singh, a student, who has witnessed insurgency and terrorism in his area. “There were no proper roads, electricity, jobs or school until the Army did it for us. The people here have suffered a lot as the area had been devastated by terror attacks in the past,” added Surinder, whose house came under attack more than 10 times as his family was part of the village defence committee. “Operation Sadbhavana has made us familiar to a different India that we have never seen before,” he said. “We did not have good schools in our area and youth earned their living by doing small jobs,” said Sukhadev Singh, another youth. Hailing from Dharmadi village in Jammu, Sukhdev, who stepped out of his village for the first time, said illiteracy and poverty were still the biggest hindrance for the development of the area. “Educating the masses is necessary. However, things are changing after the Army took over the charge here and has made remarkable advancement in the lives of the people by establishing good roads, schools and other facilities,” he added. “We will like to take the message to our people back home about the growing changes and make them understand the role of the government in helping us,” he added. Explaining about the trip, JS Kohli, Commanding Officer, 61 RR, said, “This exposure will help them understand the importance of development and the need to move away from terrorism”. The tour started from Sarh to Jammu by bus on November 15 and reached Bangalore on November 18. In Bangalore they were taken to various tourist destinations, including the Para Regt and ASC Centres, and also had an opportunity to meet Anil Kumble at a cricket stadium. On November 19, the group met Governor of Karnataka HR Bhardwaj, who urged them to spread the message of friendship. The group also visited Coimbatore and visited the local Radio FM station. They were shown Forest College Museum, Perur Patteeswaraswamy Temple and Black Thunder Water Park at Mettupalayam. The group also visited Wellington, Coonoor and Ooty.
	Mobile battery that needs charging only once Kot Bhalwal (Jammu), December 2 A student of the Model Institute of Engineering and Technology in Jammu has invented a mobile battery that needs to be charged only once. Low battery life that irks mobile users may, therefore, soon be a thing of the past. Idrees Ul Haq, who is doing BE (Electronics and Communication), claims to have invented a mobile battery which needs to be charged just once. He recently presented a research paper on the topic during the Jammu and Kashmir Science Congress held at Jammu University. He said he used solar strips for tapping solar energy while thermo electrical transducers were used for converting heat from the human body into electrical signals. “According to this research, we can make a self-charging mobile battery. Once charged, the battery won’t need to be recharged. Basically, three concepts are applied in this research. The first is a solar thin film, which is applied at the rear of the mobile; the second is piezoelectric buttons; and the third translucent action,”said Idrees. The technology may play a pivotal role in tackling the world’s energy crisis. “We have got more than 80 crore mobile phones in this country and 2 crore are being added every month. The worst part is the battery, how to charge a battery without putting it to the mains, without using electricity,” said SK Sharma, principal, MIET College. — ANI