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indiscipline
charges
APDP seeks probe into disappearance of youth
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Kashmiri Pandits observe Homeland Day
3 girls, 2 boys scored 100 pc in Matriculation
Road connectivity suffers as forest clearance delayed
‘Khudi’ premiered in Srinagar
JKNPP for reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir
1st lawyer of J&K registered as consultant by ADB
War on militancy: Pitted against odds, Security forces fight on
University prepares ambitious expansion plan
The highs, lows - All in the game
Finally, JMC disposes of waste at UEED land
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indiscipline
charges
Jammu, December 28 The order issued last evening, a copy of which is with The Tribune, says, “Dr Sudesh Sharma and Dr Rakesh Saraf have been expelled from the standing medical board. Dr Anil Mahajan and Dr Manju Gupta have been disqualified from being nominated as member of any medical board or standing medical board for the next six months.” Principal of Government Medical College, with the directions of the administrative department, had constituted a special medical board to conduct the medical examination of Dr Avinash Soodan, a third year PG student who was accused of beating a patient in GMC on May 14, 2011. The board had conducted physical and medical examination of Dr Soodan to establish the veracity of the allegations of the patient by requisitioning his presence through SSP Jammu for the arrest of the doctor. The special medical board consisted of Dr Aniece Chowdhary, Prof and HOD-ENT as chairman, Dr Sudesh Sharma, HOD-orthopaedic department as member, Dr Rakesh Saraf, HOD-Surgery, Dr Anil Mahajan, Associate Professor Medicine and Dr Manju Gupta, Associate Professor as members. While talking to The Tribune, Dr Sudesh Sharma said, “Who is interested in these inquiries? They appointed us and we did our job. If they are not satisfied with our work, they have all the right to expel us from the committee.” “There was a difference of opinion between the members and the chairman. The chairman was the one who communicated the report to the higher authorities. And the inquiry was also not that important. If they expelled us, it is okay,” he added. According to official sources, a report by the members was submitted on May 25, without the signature of Dr Sudesh. And the four members of the committee then came out with a second report without the consent of the chairman and any prior permission of the competent authority. |
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APDP seeks probe into disappearance of youth
Srinagar, December 28 The APDFP, which hold demonstration on this day every month, here today expressed concern over the delay in appointing a new chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) that is vacant since October 23. “The government is not appointing the SHRC chairperson as it wants to delay the inquiry on disappearances of people and the constitution of an Independent Commission on unmarked graves. This tells how human rights and justice is not a government priority,” a spokesman of the APDP said. “If the killing of Haji Mohammad Yousuf, an NC activist, merits a Commission of Inquiry, disappearance of 8,000 people should also be probed by a credible and capable inquiry commission,” he added. The relatives of the disappeared people continue to wait for justice. The APDP urged the government to conduct probe into all cases and to punish the perpetrators. Forced disappearance is not a matter of past. it still takes place, said the APDP spokesman, adding that a 21-year-old, Susheel Raina, disappeared mysteriously from south Kashmir in April. “Till now, the government has not investigated the matter,” he added. |
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NGOs, social activists support Anna
Jammu, December 28 A 62-year old social activist, Om Prakash, today sat on a hunger strike here demanding the passage of a strong Jan Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. The activist sat on fast at Jeevan Nagar area of the city under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir - India Against Corruption. “I will continue with my hunger strike as long as Anna Hazare is on fast. I am his follower and I am lending my support to him in the anti-corruption campaign,” he said. As many as 50 activists from Kashmir and Ladakh today sat on a protest dharna in front of the main gate of Jammu University. A similar protest dharna was being observed by a group of people in front of Press Club
Jammu. |
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Mufti steps up attack against Omar govt
Jammu, December 28 The PDP also came down heavily on the ruling dispensation for postponing civic bodies’ elections in the state which were scheduled to be held in February 2009. “The government has been delaying the civic bodies’ elections without any reason. The ruling party is known for undermining democratic institutions but I fail to understand why the Congress, which is a partner in the ruling coalition, is silent on this issue,” said the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed while addressing a public meeting at Bahu Fort area here. He regretted that this regime (NC-Congress coalition) has undermined the dignity and sanctity of the highest democratic institution like Assembly. “No discussion has been allowed to be held in the Assembly during the last three years,” he said, adding that those advocating for greater autonomy, were brazenly looking for excuses not to give powers to the duly elected Panchayats. Talking about rampant corruption in the state, the PDP patron said the governance deficit was the main reason of increasing alienation of the people. “Corruption has crossed all limits due to lack of transparency and accountability in the government,” he said. Mufti alleged that the present regime has not only failed to consolidate the peace process initiated by the previous regime but has also spoiled the favourable atmosphere created by the previous government to further accelerate developmental activities. Terming PDP as “movement to change the system” with the support of the people, he said his party has emerged as alternative to NC, which has never allowed democracy to flourish in the state. |
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Kashmiri Pandits observe Homeland Day
Jammu, December 28 Kashmira Vahini today held a function at Janipur, Jammu. Speaking on the occasion, national spokesperson of the organisation, Dr Khema Koul reminded the gathering of the atrocities that Kashmiri Pandit women have suffered in the past. She said the history of Kashmir bears testimony to the facts as to how the Kashmiri Pandit community and women in particular have faced religious persecution, which has led to their genocide and exodus many a time. Panun Kashmir headed by Ashwani Chrangoo organised an “Exhibition in Exile” at the Banquet Hall of Press Club Jammu. The exhibition was inaugurated by human rights activist Dr Jitendra Singh. A large number of people and particularly youth took keen interest in the pictures displayed on the occasion. A team of youth activists led by Sameer Bhat helped in organising the exhibition. Another group of Panun Kashmir headed by Dr Ajay Chrangoo organised a public rally near Press Club Jammu to observe the day. Hundreds of Panun Kashmir members from different parts of Jammu region participated in the rally. |
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State’s first cyber crime police station gets cracking next week
Jammu, December 28 The Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), which would cover the entire Jammu and Kashmir, would get functional in Gandhi Nagar next week. Official sources said the CCPS would also set up its own website for complaints and to receive feedback from the public on a regular basis. “All internet, lottery and online banking transaction scams, misuse of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and crimes categorised under Information Technology would be dealt with in the upcoming police station for cracking cyber crimes in the shortest time and to take the burden off the local police,” sources added. Dilbagh Singh, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu, told The Tribune, “We are opening the first-ever police station to exclusively handle cyber crime. It would be functional next week. It will definitely increase our potential to crack cyber crime in the shortest possible time.” “It is going to be a big step when it comes to modernisation of the state police. Cyber crime has increased manifold following a spurt in commercial transactions on the internet. As of now, it takes a month for state police to track down criminals involved in cyber crime. Setting up of this police station will enable us to identify and get hold of criminals in the shortest possible time,” the IGP said. He disclosed that the Superintendent of Police (operations) Pawan Singh Parihar would be given the additional charge of nodal officer of the state’s first CCPS. Singh said initially, the nodal officer would be assisted by a small team of four to five persons who are experts in information and communication technology. “The police station will liaise with the Anti-Cyber Crime Lab (ACCL) Pune for advanced training in cyber crime investigation and techniques,” he said, adding: “The team for CCPS would be selected on basis of merit and ability.” Official sources said security agencies felt the need to have an “exclusive CCPS” in the state following sending of a terror email to media houses traced to Kishtwar district. “Militants are using emails and cyberspace to communicate across the border and receive instructions. After the Delhi High Court blast, it was an arduous task for security agencies to track down the real culprits. The opening of a full-fledged cyber crime police station will enhance our efficiency,” a senior official said, requesting
anonymity. |
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3 girls, 2 boys scored 100 pc in Matriculation
Srinagar, December 28 Out of 50,685 candidates who appeared in the examination, 33,482 candidates were declared successful. Those successful included 19,064 boys and 14,418 girls. The candidates who got 100 percent marks included three girls and two boys. They are Naseer Ahmad Rather, Khyrul Nissa, Aamir Mustafa Mir, Hafsa Haroon and Khuban Jamshed. The second and third positions have been bagged by nine and 14 candidates, with 99.80 and 99.60 percent of marks, respectively. As many as 4,238 candidates qualified in four out of five subjects. They are eligible for admission to the next higher class. However, the declaration of their Class XI results would be subjected to the clearance of the remaining one subject of matriculation examination, Board officials said.
— TNS
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Road connectivity suffers as forest clearance delayed
Udhampur, December 28 This is just one of the various roads proposed to provide vital road connectivity to people living in remote and inaccessible areas of Ramban, Kishtwar and Doda districts but their construction is held up due to delay in clearance by the forest department. Some have been hanging fire for more than a year. Collected information showed that construction of these roads comes under domain of centrally sponsored scheme of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and the state R&B department. Besides ushering in much need socio-economic development, the road connectivity in hilly and mountainous areas is also important for providing medical facilities to the people of these backward areas. As a glaring example, work on the new 4.6 kilometre Parna-Bunda road under PMGSY in high altitude Chatroo of Kishtwar district affecting population of about 500 people has been hampered. “We have been pursuing the case with forest department since the last year and work was held up as just 300 metres forest land came in the way,” said an official requesting anonymity. Another official in Ramban district said that sanction was pending for the five crucial PMGSY roads of total 53 kilometre length for about a year. These included Batote-Chakwa, Dalwas-Sauni-Karma, Shampa-Dhaino, Dhaino-Papriah and Ukhral-Dingara roads. Widening of 8.5 kilomtre Bhala-Malothi road under R&B department affecting population of about 5,000 people is also held up, awaiting forest clearance for the past six months. The Minister for Forest and Environment, Mian Altaf Ahmad said the forest authorities were given direction at a high-level meeting of forest officers held in Jammu yesterday to accord expeditious clearance to road projects in remote and inaccessible areas without compromising environmental concerns for the benefit of the people of backward and neglected pockets. Any unnecessary delay amounted to injustice to people of such areas, he added. |
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Omar mocks Anna for ‘Mumbai tamasha’
Srinagar, December 28 "So will Team Anna call all Mumbaikars corrupt, unpatriotic thieves for their measured reaction to the tamasha (or) is that just for politicians?" he posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. Hazare called off his fast for a strong Lokpal bill Wednesday, cutting short his three-day protest by a day.
— IANS |
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Cylinder
burst
Jammu, December 28 Eyewitnesses told The Tribune that the boy was sleeping the thatched roof of the shanty caught fire due to a short circuit at around
1:30 pm. “The boy was suffering from pneumonia and was sleeping inside the shanty when it caught fire. The mother of the boy rushed to the shanty but could rescued her 11-year-old daughter, Rinky, only,” eyewitnesses said. They also added, “The fire triggered explosion of the gas cylinder, which reduced the shanty into ashes.” “The mother could not save the boy and his charred body was later recovered by the firemen,” official sources said adding that the window panes of adjoining houses was also damaged due to the
explosion.
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‘Khudi’ premiered in Srinagar
Srinagar, December 28 The film, which is loosely based on Ayn Rand’s bestseller novel ‘The Fountainhead’ was screened in the afternoon at the IMPA Auditorium located at Maulana Azad Road here. The premiere function attracted a decent audience of art lovers especially the popular local theatre and television actors. Before the screening of the film, Ali said he had chosen to screen the “director’s cut” and would release the final version of the film after getting feedback from the audience. The English version of the film would be released later. He said the theme of Khudi was driven by “integrity” and its plot “pits the perfect good against the perfect evil.” “Like Ayn Rand’s novel, Khudi tries to generate hope and celebrate honesty and truth,” Ali added. He termed the movies produced in Bollywood as “intellectually sickening”.
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JKNPP for reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu, December 28 Talking to reporters here today, the party chief Prof Bhim Singh today alleged that people of Jammu and Ladakh were being discriminated against in resource allocation for development projects. He claimed that any solution to the vexed issues confronting the state should be worked on only after restoring the status of equality between three regions. The regional party has three seats in the current state assembly. “Reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir will remain on the top of the party agenda in 2012,” Bhim Singh said.
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1st lawyer of J&K registered as consultant by ADB
Jammu, December 28 Kapoor is a member of Indian Council of Arbitration.
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War on militancy: Pitted against odds, Security forces fight on
The year saw Chief Minister Omar Abdullah repeatedly raking up the issue of partial revocation of Armed Forces’ Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from “peaceful” areas in Jammu and Kashmir along with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. It also saw Pakistan violating mutually brokered ceasefire 39 times this year as compared with 24 times in 2010. Going by the statistics, though militancy across Jammu region came down this year, but security forces cannot afford to lower their guard considering the numerous infiltration attempts at the border and Pakistan’s scant regards to the mutually brokered ceasefire deal. “Our operations inflicted heavy losses upon various militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) and Hizbul Mujahideen across the region this year,” said an Army officer. In the past five years Pakistan had violated the truce deal many a times. It happened 11 times in 2006, 24 times in 2007, 37 times in 2008, 13 times in 2009, 24 times in 2010 and 39 times so far in this year. “Pak troops indulge in such activities in order to revive militancy in Jammu and Kashmir,” said the officer. The Army on the LoC foiled nine infiltration bids this year compared to seven in 2010. “Though the internal situation improved this year vis-à-vis militancy related activities, infiltration attempts are expanding at the LoC and therefore the Army cannot afford to lower its guard,” said sources in the Army. The DGP, Kuldeep Khoda, said the attempts to penetrate Indian border has gone up this year but the successful infiltration has come down from 95 last year to 52 till September this year. In 2010, when the Army had launched “seek and destroy” operations, it had captured 20 militants compared to four this year. About seizure of arms and ammunition during various operations, the Army this year seized 25 AK assault rifles, 32 pistols, two LMG/HMGs, 5 PIKA guns, nine Universal Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGLs), two SLRs, 28 rifles of other type, six rocket launchers and 12 twelve bore guns. Last year, the Army had seized 85 AK assault rifles, 60 pistols, two LMG/HMGs, four PIKA guns, 19 UBGLs, three SLRs, 34 rifles of other type and four rocket launchers. |
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University prepares ambitious expansion plan
The University of Kashmir now has a South campus in Anantnag and a North campus at Delina in Baramulla. While the emphasis has been to start more job-oriented courses for the students, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Talat Ahmad appears far from happy. During an interaction with The Tribune, Professor Ahmad freely admitted that a lot remained to be done to upgrade both teaching and research. While scholars from various corners of the world arrive here to study Geology of the region, he pointed out, the University has not been able to build up its own resources. With signs of more lasting peace in the Valley, the University now proposes to beef up not only its departments of Geology and Geography but also introduce a slew of new courses, including Philosophy, Anthropology, more foreign languages and strengthen the existing departments of Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit. The most ambitious plan on the anvil, however, is the setting up of an engineering college, said the VC. The only Regional Engineering College (REC) at Hazratbal was turned into an NIT in the recent past. “We still do not have an Engineering College of our own”, said Professor Ahmad and informed that a special proposal in the Five Year Plan has been moved and the engineering college is expected to be established at the newly acquired land at nearby Zakoora. The University is also planning to open two Hotel Management Institutes, one at Leh in the Ladakh region and another at Kupwara in the Valley. The VC added that a department of Tourism was also being considered in view of the revival of tourism in the state. A large number of students would like to pursue advanced studies in Urdu but although Urdu does happen to be the official language of the state, there is only one department of Urdu in the main campus. “I propose to have another Urdu Department in the South Campus at Anantnag,which will have more focus on Iqbaliyat, an extension of the Iqbal Institute in the University,” said Prof Ahmad. The Department of Foreign Languages, currently offering courses in German, French and Russian, is also being expanded with more languages that are contemporary and job oriented, the VC said. |
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The highs, lows - All in the game
Arushi Kotwal, a third standard student, brought laurels to the state by winning the gold medal in the under-7 category in the Asian School Chess Championship at New Delhi, held recently under the aegis of Asian Chess Federation. Her victory proved to be a golden moment in the history of sports in the state, as they could not flourish due to militancy. In weightlifting, Gobind Singh had won a silver medal in the 85 kg category while Jagmeet Singh had claimed a bronze in the 91 kg weight category in boxing. Sub-Inspector with J&K Police and senior fencer Rashid Ahmed had won a bronze medal in men's Sabre event. In water sports, Adil Mohiudin Bhat bagged a bronze in 500 metre men's singles Canoe (c1m) event. Two medals came through Mitali, who had claimed a silver in all-round rhythmic and bronze in rhythmic ribbon gymnastics. Third medal in the shape of a silver came in team championship. The team comprised Mitali, Palak Kour, Ruhi and Natasha. Coach SP Singh was also awarded a medal. However, the state happened to be among six states which had failed to open their account as far as gold medals are concerned. The rest of the five included Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and
Chandigarh. |
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Finally, JMC disposes of waste at UEED land
Jammu, December 28 Joint Commissioner, JMC, Babu Ram told The Tribune, “Municipal
waste has been dumped at UEED land. The UEED department is our sister concern.” JMC officials said proceedings were carried out without any hurdle and no protests or any untoward incidents were reported. Trouble began for the JMC when Minister for Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiuddin forbidden dumping of municipal waste into the river Tawi.
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Jammu, December 28
Amid heavy odds faced in 2011, the security forces hold their heads high in operations against militancy across Jammu region.
They eliminated 21 militants, apprehended four and surrender two militants across the region this year so far. The security forces had neutralised 80 militants in 2009 and 74 militants in 2010.
Gearing the upperhand
