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Snow-hit areas powerless for third day
Vaishno Devi yatra suspended due to bad weather
Seven hurt in landslide at Katra
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Rush at hospitals for phone recharge
Stranded passengers seek basic facilities
Omar assures normal power supply by tomorrow
dateline kashmir
dateline jammu
Essential services badly hit
Boniyar Killing
Coordinate with administration, DGP tells officers
Omar govt has derailed peace process: Mufti
‘Kuava Chale...’ reflects class-conscious mentality
NHPC employee found dead
Man dies after consuming wild mushrooms
BJP, PDP & Panthers Party workers join NC
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Snow-hit areas powerless for third day
Jammu, January 8 People also struggled to get other essential services, like water supply, cooking gas and eatables as icy conditions made their life miserable, especially in the Valley and upper reaches of Jammu region. Official sources said the power grid officials couldn’t rectify two transmission lines supplying around 600-700 MW to Kashmir. These lines were snapped in the Ramban and Banihal areas on Friday evening, plunging the entire Valley into power crisis. Sources said electricity supply to 10 districts of the Valley had drastically come down to 100-150 MW as against the demand for 1,300-1,500 MW. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was camping in Srinagar and monitoring the restoration work, painted a grim picture of the power scenario in Kashmir. He tweeted: “We now have almost 100 MW from Uri, 90 MW from gas turbines and 15 MW from Lower Jehlum to survive on.” “Power grid working on the snapped transmission line, I hope they can give us 500 MW of power this evening. Will get the latest update soon,” he wrote on Twitter. The Chief Minister also conducted an extensive tour of snow-affected Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag town and reviewed the restoration of essential services. He also appreciated the private telecom player, Airtel, for restoring data services in the Valley. “Kudos to Airtel for restoring data services on their network. Not sure about others but BSNL & Reliance are not working where I am,” Omar tweeted. Yesterday, Omar had ordered disconnection of essential power supply to his Gupkar residence in Srinagar, all state ministers and other VVIP areas to spare electricity for essential services. The Minister for Power (in-charge), Shabir Ahmed Khan, who had been directed by the Chief Minister to supervise the restoration of essential services in Jammu region, said: “As weather conditions have showed significant improvement since last evening, our men and machinery are at job and we are hopeful of restorating the power supply in all affected areas at the earliest.” He said heavy snowfall in Kashmir valley and upper reaches of Jammu region had caused extensive damaged to power infrastructure. “Our teams are busy in restoration work, especially in the Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Banihal and Bani areas, which had experienced heavy snowfall,” the minister said. Sehnaz Goni, Chief Engineer (M&RE) PDD, Jammu, said: “Snow-affected areas across Jammu province are still without power. Though we have restored power supply in all major towns of the region, snow-bound areas are still without power due to uprooting of electricity poles and snapping of transmission lines.” The Chief Engineer said: “We have pressed into service our men and machinery for the restoration of power supply at the earliest. We have been facing a major problem in restoring the supply in the areas located along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and snow-hit Kishtwar, Doda, Batote, Banihal, Bani and Basohli belts.” “Currently, the power supply across Jammu region stood at 140 to 150 lakh units (LUs), which touches 650 to 700 LUs during peak hours,” Goni said. The Deputy Commissioner Kathua, Zahida Parveen Khan, said: “Most parts of Bani and Basohli are still without electricity as accumulated snow was hampering restoration work. The PDD infrastructure had suffered extensive damage with heavy snow uprooting electric poles and snapping transmission lines.” |
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Vaishno Devi yatra suspended due to bad weather
Katra, January 8 After taking a review of the situation, senior officials of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Board at Cave Shrine suspended the yatra from Katra in view of landslides triggered by heavy snowfall and rain during the past two days. “The pilgrims were not allowed to proceed from Katra after 2 pm on Sunday due to the landslides that were triggered on Saturday night,” said additional chief executive officer MK Bhandari. He added that over 20,000 pilgrims were stranded at the base camp due to the suspension of the yatra. “The yatra was stopped from Katra in the afternoon till 5 am on Monday by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board authorities in view of the pilgrim rush and inclement weather at the cave shrine,” said Reasi SSP Atul Goel. “No fresh pilgrims were allowed to move towards the shrine from the Katra base camp this afternoon,” he added. Over 18,000 pilgrims had arrived at the base camp and were housed in various locations. They had been provided with board and lodging. In all, 24,000 pilgrims offered prayers and had “darshan” of the Cave Shrine in Trikuta hills in the past 24 hours.
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Seven hurt in landslide at Katra
Katra January 8 The landslide struck Kanchi Bharo Nath Temple around 9 am when devotees were going towards the shrine to pay obeisance there, official sources said. The injured included Rajni Devi (30) from New Delhi, Gourab (33) from
Moradabad, Gopal Sharma (38) from Delhi, Rajan (40) from Jaipur, Budlish (26) from New Delhi, Pinky (24) from Delhi and
Kashi Nath (55) from Uttar Pradesh. The injured were discharged after treatment at the Primary Health Centre,
Bhawan, the sources added. |
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Rush at hospitals for phone recharge
Srinagar, January 8 The disruption of power supply in the Valley has caused inconveniences to the people here, but it seemed they were irked most by discharging of their mobile phone batteries. The only places, where electricity was available were the hospitals. “This winter, the power supply has been hit hard and the snowfall has only added to our woes. Mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives and if these don’t work, life is thrown out of gear,” said Bashir Ahmad, who had come to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital here in the city to recharge his phone. However, like Bashir many others had to wait in long queues to get their phones charged. “I was not aware that I would have to wait for my turn for a long time. After waiting for almost two hours, I could charge my phone for only 10 minutes. Moreover, the batteries of our inverters too have discharged,” he added. In the long queues at various hospitals in the city, students formed the majority. While the younger lot is always hooked on to internet or social networking sites on their cell phones, a college student, however, differed. Locals in some areas of the city today received electricity only for short durations of 10 to 15 minutes. And whenever the power supply was restored, the people made sure they charged their cell phones. |
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Stranded passengers seek basic facilities
Jammu, January 8 Over 100 passengers at the Jammu Bus Stand raised slogans against the state government, saying that it was the duty of the government to provide them food and other basic facilities. They said they were running short of money and were spending chilly nights under the open sky and didn’t know when they could return to Kashmir. Abdul Rashid, a passenger from Qazigund told The Tribune, “We have spent almost all of our money during the last three days. Now we cannot stay in a hotel or rent a room. I have been sleeping in the open for the last two nights in this severe winter along with my family.” He added, “A number of families are stranded and facing the same problem. As the number of stranded passengers is increasing, the rate list of food items is also going up.” Meanwhile, MLC Devinder Singh Rana visited the bus stand and listened to the grievances of the passengers. He assured them all possible help from the government. The passengers were demanding early evacuation, food and lodging facility, as most of them had no money. Rana also ordered for a free langar at the bus stand, where stranded passengers were being provided lunch, dinner, morning and evening tea. Arrangements were made for medicare facilities also. The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) authorities were directed to ensure cleanliness in the area and maintain proper hygiene. |
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Omar assures normal power supply by tomorrow
Srinagar, January 8 “Due to the breakdown at 220 KV Kishanpur-Pampore and 400 KV PowerGrid Corporation power stations, we are only able to supply 100 MW. Once these two power stations start working properly, we will restore the normal power supply of 1000 MW by tomorrow or day after,” Omar said while addressing a hurriedly called press conference at his Gupkar residence today. The press conference was called after there was a complete power breakdown in the Valley for the past two days due to
snowfall. He said the power supply to the Valley had been disrupted due to unprecedented snowfall in the South Pirpanchal range. “We normally receive heavy snowfall in North Pirpanchal, but this winter we received unprecedented snowfall in South Pirpanchal. Our system was not geared up for heavy snowfall in the area,” Omar said. He said efforts were on to restore traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, which was closed to traffic for the last two days. “Hopefully, one-way traffic will be resumed by tomorrow evening,” the Chief Minister added. Omar today made surprise visits to four districts of south Kashmir. In Pulwama district, he visited the district hospital to check the status of power restoration service and availability of healthcare facilities to patients. He was also briefed about the road clearance operation, power restoration position, restoration of water supply and availability of essential commodities in the district, at a meeting of officials there. Omar also visited the district hospitals of Shopian and Kulgam to take stock of the situation resulting from inclement weather. In Anantnag district, the Chief Minister reviewed the restoration of essential services and ascertained the availability of essential commodities in a meeting of officials. During the tour of these four districts, he also visited the ration depots to take stock of the availability of food supplies. |
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dateline kashmir While the Durbar is in the winter capital, any unscheduled visits of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah keep officers in Kashmir Division on their toes. That is what happened on Tuesday, when he visited Boniyar in Uri area of Baramulla district, following the death of a student in firing by CISF jawans on protesters demanding adequate power supply. Omar walked for around 2 km from Boniyar to Sakin Brinyat village to console the bereaved family and assure justice. There have been several such occasions when officers have been kept on their toes during visits by the Chief Minister. Two of his ministers, Taj Mohiuddin and Nasir Aslam Wani, had already been deputed along with the DGP at Boniyar. The Chief Minister has been coming on occasions to review the functioning of various departments, though most of the top officials are stationed in the winter capital during the winter months. Suitable weather conditions Most people, be it businessmen, officers or political leaders, in Kashmir prefer to enjoy the warm environs outside the Valley during the winter months, particularly December and January. This serves a dual purpose - escape the chill and get pending files and cases in the Civil Secretariat moving. However, a majority of people do not have any other option but to stay put in the Valley and brave the cold. Political leaders visit Kashmir only at the time of exigencies, though temporarily. But some can do without that. The hardline APHC chairman, Syed Ali Geelani who shifted to New Delhi recently, addressed a seminar, organised by his organisation at his Hyderpora residence, telephonically on Thursday. Many other leaders participated in the seminar. The audience waited for Geelani’s speech on the phone at the conclusion. Private coaching centres sans facilities When the government passed orders to keep schools open during the last winter season in Kashmir, as the educational institutions had remained closed most of the time in 2010 due to the summer unrest, it led to a lot of resentment among people. Many questions were raised after children were forced to take winter classes without proper seating and heating arrangements at government schools. Things are no different at many private coaching centres, where classes are being conducted without proper arrangements. These coaching centres also lack basic infrastructure like proper toilet facilities. Last week, the authorities had announced that they would constitute a team to inspect the coaching centres. Hope, this doesn’t remain confined to papers alone and action is taken against the erring centres. Power politics The government cannot escape the blame over the erratic power supply this winter but those who have been flaying the authorities need to play a constructive role instead of playing politics over the issue. Usually, only the opposition and the separatists have been taking on the government. But after people started taking to the streets in protest over electricity shortage, many non-governmental organisations started playing politics over the issue. First, these groups used to issue statements against the government, but now they have started convening press conferences. One such group, Kashmir Center for Social and Development Studies, which claims to represent the civil society, has so far set two “deadlines” for the government over the issue. It has warned the government of dire consequences if it fails to take over the power projects from the NHPC. The December-31 “deadline” has now been extended to January 31, 2012. Another group, Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), gave a “Kashmir bandh” call over the power crisis. But when asked if shutdowns would solve the problem and if it had any suggestions to deal with the crisis, the KEA members fell short of words. (Contributed by Ehsan
Fazili, M Aamir Khan) |
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dateline jammu
How much time does it take to upload data on a website ? Officials in the Social Welfare Department are fuming in private at the inability of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to upload the details of the beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes on its website — nsap.nic.in. The details, they insist, were sent to NIC over six months ago. “Either NIC does not take the National Social Assistance Programme seriously or they are inept,” complained one of them.
Dark insinuations about a conspiracy theory to discredit the state government are also doing the rounds. By blacking out the names and details of people receiving the old age pension, widow pension and assistance meant for the visually impaired, an impression is sought to be created that the department has done nothing. But over 13,000 people in the state, officials claim, are recipients of such assistance. Secret rendezvous The Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, Saif-ud-Din Soz, has set the cat among the pigeons by indicating that a ministerial reshuffle in the state is imminent. While the surprise announcement could have been meant to keep his flocks together, it has had a totally unexpected effect. Soz loyalists are bending over backwards to give the impression that they are “neutral” and are busy extending olive branches to the rival faction owing allegiance to the Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. Similarly, Azad’s camp followers are making overtures to Soz, conscious that they will require the blessings of both the heavyweights if they are to have a realistic chance of getting inducted into the ministry. So, while a senior leader and Azad loyalist called on Soz late in the night, a minister said to be close to Soz travelled all the way to New Delhi to call on Azad. Congress is known for being a nocturnal party and the number and frequency of these supposedly ‘secret’ meetings late in the night have increased sharply. In secrecy The government may have heaved a sigh of relief after taking the easy way out and appointing former bureaucrat and Chief Secretary SS Bloeria as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Central University, Jammu (CUJ), but newsmen continue to have a tough time getting information about the new university. The appointment of a ‘Dogra’ VC, over the outsiders, had enthused people and there has been heightened anticipation over the university. But Bloeria has maintained a Sphinx-like silence, saying nothing about what is being done to make the CUJ functional and, more important, by when. “Have you seen my interview in any newspaper,” he asks, while politely refusing to speak on the subject, leaving the media foxed. All that the VC is prepared to say is that it is “premature” to speak on the subject and that the media should “wait and watch”. Reading between the lines, it can mean that there is no possibility of the university taking off this year. Winter fashion In summer, when the mercury hovers around 45 °C and clothes tend to stick to the body, there is not much of an incentive to flaunt fashion here. But winter is different. Long coats and long boots, colourful cardigans, suits, mufflers, caps, gloves — the list is endless. What if the winter lasts for just about two months. That is time enough for winter fashion to make its mark. And visitors to Jammu seldom cease to be surprised at the fashionable dress on display. What’s new? Policemen collecting money from passing buses and trucks is a familiar sight all over the country. Some people believe it is this sight alone that gives the impression that ours is a nation of the corrupt. Who can blame people forming such impression, given how brazen the policemen are. The other day a crowded bus to Jandrah was stopped on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, a few kilometres from the Bantalab area. While the passengers wondered if the “overloaded” bus would be detained and the driver penalised, a policeman boarded the bus, ignored the passengers, and beckoned the driver to follow. They both got down and, in full view of the passengers, the driver passed several currency notes to the policeman. The policeman, without a second look, boarded the police vehicle, where his senior was seated, and drove away. (Contributed by Ravi Krishnan Khajuria, Dinesh Manhotra, Varun Suthra,Sonika Raina and Arteev Sharma) |
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Essential services badly hit
Jammu, January 8 Official sources claimed that water supply, cooking gas and supply of other eatables were badly affected in all snow-hit belts. The breakdown of power due to knocking down of electricity poles and transmission lines following heavy snowfall had also affected mobile phone and Internet connectivity in these areas. “During the past 48 hours, the downtown area of Srinagar district got power supply for just one and half hour. The locality had been without drinking water for two days, but the supply was restored this morning. Mobile phones were not working as people couldn’t charge mobiles because of the unprecedented power crisis,” Ishfaq Shah, a resident of Khaniyar locality, told The Tribune over the phone. Another resident, Shabir Khan, a resident of the Shangus area in Anantnag district, said: “Though the administration has started work on clearing snow in our area, the situation was alarming. The road is quite slippery and is not safe for driving. Our area is without power for the past two days, while people have been facing shortage of cooking gas due to closure of highway.” Sources said around 15 grid stations had been affected by the snowfall in Kashmir valley besides damaging transmission lines at five places. Reports from snow-affected Kishtwar, Bani and Basohli areas said heavy rain followed by snowfall had come as a double whammy for people as freezing conditions coupled with complete power failure had multiplied their miseries. “There is no electricity in the entire Bani town and the rural areas for the past three days. We have been spending our days in complete darkness. Our area is virtually cut off from the rest of world, as power breakdown has virtually rendered our mobile phones, TV sets and other communication devices useless,” Sushil Kumar, a resident of Bani town said. Sushil had come to Jammu for some personal visit. The snow-bound Kishtwar, Banihal, Ramban, rural areas of Rajouri and Poonch districts were also without electricity for the past three days. |
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Boniyar Killing
Srinagar, January 8 “The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, who has been nominated the inquiry officer for the Boniyar incident, has asked those having information regarding the firing incident to record their statements at the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, by January 15 between 11 am and 3 pm,” an official said here. The process is likely to commence tomorrow. |
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Coordinate with administration, DGP tells officers
Jammu, January 8 He asked the police officers to work in close coordination with the civil administration to minimise the problems of the people. He added the public service should be the priority of the police, besides maintaining the security, law and order in the state. Khoda was interacting with the zonal IGPs and district SPs during a video conference from the police headquarters yesterday afternoon. The conference was held to take stock of the overall functioning of the police on various fronts, including law and order, crime control, anti-militancy and civic action programmes. Khoda asked the officers to gear up on these fronts to minimise the problems of the people. Earlier, the zonal IGPs of Kashmir and Jammu apprised the DGP about the efforts made for the maintenance of law and order in their respective zones. The DGP told them to strengthen the security grid and ensure peace prevailed across the state. The DGP, while seeking reports from the District SP regarding law and order situation and the status of police establishments working in the field, stressed to speed up the work to finalise various cases and bring the criminals to justice. He said the investigation work should be monitored regularly to get better results. Khoda said all field staff should be briefed about the problems of the people so that the authorities concerned could redress them. — TNS |
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Omar govt has derailed peace process: Mufti
Jammu, January 8 He regretted that the present regime, through its misdeeds, had failed to consolidate the peace initiatives of the previous government. Addressing his first public meeting after the completion of the National Conference-Congress regime in the state, the leader of the principle opposition party claimed that with just 16 MLAs, his party had changed the political discourse of the state and resorted people’s faith in the democracy and democratic institutions of India. Mufti lavished all praise on former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and present Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for endorsing his peace initiatives from time to time. “It was all due to Vajpayee’s statesmanship that free and fair elections were held in Kashmir valley in 2002, which resorted people’s faith in democracy?” he said, adding that it was due to the support of Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi that historic peace initiatives like opening of the crossing point at the LoC were taken. Without naming the Congress, he said the present regime headed by the National Conference had failed miserably to carry forward the peace and reconciliation process started by the previous PDP-Congress government in the state. “The process of reconciliation and changing destiny of people is still incomplete because the present regime, during the past three years, has failed to connect itself with the masses,” he said, adding that alienation among people had been increasing with every passing day due to the widening of the gap between the commoners and the ruling elite. “What to say of further consolidating the reconciliatory and peace initiatives made by the previous PDP-led government, this coalition regime has even reversed by the whole process through its mis-governance and mis-deeds,” he said, assuring that the PDP would aggressively purse the pro-people agenda. “Our party has not only restored peace in the state but also laid a strong foundation for accelerating development in all regions and sub-regions,” he said, while reminding that it was only during the PDP regime that equal treatment was given to all regions of the state. Asserting that his aim was not to attain power but make Jammu and Kashmir an “island of peace”, Sayeed reminded that the PDP was formed with the aim to upholding the dignity and honour of the resident of the state. “There was a sense of fear and insecurity among the people when the PDP was formed in 1999,” he pointed out, adding that through its pro-peace agenda, the party had not only created a sense of security among people but also restored dignity of the masses. |
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‘Kuava Chale...’ reflects class-conscious mentality
Jammu, January 8 The play was an adaptation of a French playwright Moliere’s famous comedy and was designed and directed by Sumeet Sharma. The play takes place at Mr Kumar’s house. He is a middle-aged bourgeois, whose father becomes rich as a cloth-merchant. He has one aim in life, which is to rise above his middle-class background and be accepted as an aristocrat. He orders fine new clothes and is very happy when anyone calls him from the high class. He learns dance, music and philosophy despite his age. The character is actually shown living in a fool’s paradise. Kumar’s daughter ‘Dolly’ loves a middle-class boy ‘Kukku’, but this relation is not acceptable to ‘Kumar’, as he is very class conscious and wants to marry off his daughter in a very rich and reputed family. On refusal, ‘Bittu’, Kukku’s close friend makes a plan. He takes Kukku to him as a ‘prince’ of some country, who wants to honour Kumar by marrying his daughter. Kumar is easily caught in this trap and agrees to marry off his daughter to Kukku. The cast included Pawan Verma, Anil Tikkoo, Sunita Pandit, Tajasvi Sharma, Shivika Verma, Vikram Sharma, Charanjeet, Vipin Gupta, Sunil Bhardwaj, Shifali Gupta, Chitra Thapar, Sushil Raina, Abhinav Vimarsh and Balwinder Singh. Suraj Ganjoo operated the lights and Rahul Singh executed the music. Sumeet said, “We are doing the play for the fifth time on public demand. The performance has always been appreciated by the audiences everywhere.” |
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NHPC employee found dead
Jammu, January 8 The deceased has been identified as Abdul Rashid Tariq (45), son of Ghulam Mohammad Tariq, a resident of Sangrambata in Kishtwar district. The police said Abdul Rashid was staying at the NHPC quarters in the Trikuta Nagar area and apparently died due to illness. The body was shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu, for an autopsy. Abdul Rashid’s colleagues, however, staged a demonstration at the hospital, demanding the airlifting of the body to the deceased’s ancestral town for the last rites.
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Man dies after consuming wild mushrooms
Katra, January 8 Doctors have issued a warning against consuming “death cap mushrooms”. The two have been admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital
in Jammu. “All parts of this mushroom are poisonous and eating just one mushroom can be fatal,” said Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Reasi, Dr Adarsh Kumar Bhagat. Three persons, all working at a hotel at Katra, fell ill after eating the poisonous mushrooms. Sunil Kumar (34) from Ram Nagar, Kaka Ram (17) from Chenani and Naresh Kumar (35) Samba were flown to the Emergency Hospital at Katra for treatment, but Kaka Ram died on Sunday. The other two have been referred to the GMC, Jammu, for treatment. Naresh Kumar said they had consumed mushroom in the meal and fell ill soon after. “The patients were in critical state but their condition was stated to be stable,” the CMO added. The police has registered a case and started its
investigation. |
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BJP, PDP & Panthers Party workers join NC
Jammu, January 8 Provincial president of the party Rattan Lal Gupta, former ministers Ajay Sadhotra and Kashmir Singh and many senior leaders and workers were present on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, Sadhotra said the coalition government under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had launched a massive development programme in the state. He said the government was committed to all round development of all the three regions of the state.
— TNS
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Despite slight improvement in the weather conditions, snow-hit areas across Jammu and Kashmir continued to reel under severe power crisis for the third straight day
today.
With the state government still unable to clear snow from the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, passengers stranded at the Jammu Bus Stand staged a protest against the authorities today and demanded basic facilities. The passengers from Kashmir had been stranded here for the last three days.
PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today charged Omar Abdullah-led coalition regime of derailing the process of peace and reconciliation, which was initiated during his regime.
He regretted that the present regime, through its misdeeds, had failed to
consolidate the peace initiatives of the previous government.
