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Demand to include ‘secular, socialist’ in J-K Constitution
Civil Secretariat grapples with staff shortage
PDP dist secy, supporters join National Conference
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Rs 53.55-cr grant cleared for panchayats
Bovine smuggler held
Arms recovered in Doda district
Spice park to boost saffron production
HC slaps Rs 10 lakh fine each on seven telecom firms
Workshop on visual arts begins at Jammu varsity
Visitors look at sculptures during a workshop at the University of Jammu
on Monday. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh
Ex-SP gets life term for sub-inspector’s murder
Seminar on short story writing
Jammu varsity V-C calls on Governor
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu Prof Mohan Pal Singh Isher with Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Monday. A Tribune photograph
Kashmiri Pandit youths tonsure heads, demand more aid
Kashmiri migrants tonsure their heads to protest against the apathetic attitude of the government towards their demands in Jammu on Monday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
Christians seek safety of pastors, converts
More snow in higher reaches
Doda MLA steers clear of dissidents
Nominations invited for post of CVC
Forum raps govt for inaction
Drug peddler arrested in Katra
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Demand to include ‘secular, socialist’ in J-K Constitution
Jammu, February 6
Unlike other parts of the country, Jammu and Kashmir has its own Constitution due to its special status. Harsh has twice earlier submitted a resolution on the issue but these two words have not yet been incorporated in the Constitution of the state. “Our Constitution does not categorically express that our state is secular like other parts of the country because the word secularism is missing from the Preamble our Constitution,” Harsh Dev Singh told The Tribune. “The Preamble of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, 1957, is an adaptation of the Preamble of the Constitution of India. However, the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’, which are the hallmarks of the Indian Constitution have been omitted from the Preamble of Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said. “Ours is a secular state and our Constitution must categorically express this fact through its Preamble as is the case with the Indian Constitution. The failure to incorporate the said words would send a wrong signal to the outside world.” Singh through his resolution has demanded an amendment to the Constitution to incorporate the two words. Singh had moved the same resolution in the Assembly on March 29, 2006. After discussion the resolution was referred to the Select Committee on February 9, 2007. The Committee held five sittings on March 5, March 23, April 5, April 19 and May 17 in 2007. The Committee in its report on May 25, 2007, had recommended that the resolution be passed in its original form to amend the Constitution to incorporate the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Constitution. The 14-member Select Committee, headed by then Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Prem Sagar Aziz, comprised legislators from all political parties. “I fail to understand why the state government is hesitating to incorporate these words to make Jammu and Kashmir a secular state,” Singh said, adding that the same resolution was also submitted in 2011 but was not listed for discussion. Singh further said the words ‘unity and integrity’ of the nation have been used in the Preamble of India but in the Preamble of the state Constitution, the word ‘Integrity’ was also missing. “I have also moved a resolution to incorporate these words in the state Preamble.
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Civil Secretariat grapples with staff shortage
Jammu, February 6 Around 5,000 employees (both gazetted and non-gazetted) work in the Civil Secretariat. Of these, the current strength of the clerical staff stands at 1,500, catering to 32 government departments. “Around 300 clerical posts are lying vacant in the Civil Secretariat, which further faces shortage of 50 stenographers and 200 Class-IV employees,” official sources told The Tribune. Sources said the shortage of manpower was adversely affecting the normal functioning as well as delivery system at the secretariat. “The clerical as well as Class-IV staff are being hired from other departments, following a drastic shortfall in manpower during the past five years,” sources added. The selection process could not be initiated to fill the vacant posts as the General Administration Department (GAD) had failed to notify the vacancies, they added. A senior official said the shortage of manpower was badly affecting the delivery system and causing a lot
of problems for the general public. “While the state government has implemented the Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA), ensuring the delivery of services within the stipulated period, the shortage of clerical staff has been hampering the normal functioning of the Civil Secretariat,” he said. Sources, however, said though the state government had initiated the process of filling the vacant posts four years ago, it was put on the back burner later. In January last year, the government had constituted a committee to start the selection process. Headed by the Special Secretary to the Home Department, the committee comprised Secretary, GAD; Deputy Secretary, GAD, Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister and Financial Advisor as its members. Rouf Ahmad Bhat, president, J&K Civil Secretariat Non-Gazetted Employees Union, maintained that they had submitted a proposal for the reorganisation of the Civil Secretariat, but it had been gathering dust for the past 32 years. “In 1972, when the last reorganisation of the Civil Secretariat was conducted, there were only eight districts in the state. The number of districts has now gone up to 22. The Civil Secretariat employees, particularly the clerical staff, are overburdened with work,” he maintained.
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PDP dist secy, supporters join National Conference
Jammu, February 6 While joining the NC, Amin denounced the divisive politics of the PDP, aimed at grabbing power and unleashing false propaganda. The provincial president of the NC, Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta, welcomed the new entrants into the party fold and said they would always welcome those who believed in the programme and polices of the NC and had faith in its leadership. Gupta said the PDP was frustrated at seeing the initiatives taken by the Omar-led government and the achievements registered during the past three years both on political and development fronts in the state. “They (PDP) even tried their best to stop the holding of the panchayat elections by propagating fear psychosis and launching false propaganda,” said Gupta, adding that the PDP was trying to derail the functioning of the Panchayat Raj in the state. While joining the party, Mohammad Amin and his supporters said they were fed up with the propagandist approach of the PDP, hampering the development process and putting hurdles in the way of establishment of a powerful Panchayat Raj in the state. Reposing faith in the coalition government and the leadership of the NC, they said the track record of the NC vindicated its commitment to empowering public and nurturing the democratic institutions. They said the credit for holding the panchayat elections in the state went to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. |
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Rs 53.55-cr grant cleared for panchayats
Jammu, February 6 In its order (which has now been authorised) issued in August, the Rural Development Department had granted Rs 41.17 crore to the 4,117 elected panchayats in the state to meet the needs of the people. While Rs 19.58 crore had been sanctioned for 1,958 panchayats in the Jammu region, Rs 21.59 crore had been allocated to 2,159 panchayats of the Kashmir region, granting Rs 1 lakh each to the “halqa” panchayats. The panchayat elections were held in April last year and the order for the release of the grant was issued in August, but it took the government five months to authorise its release. An official from the department said apart from the sanction of funds, the government would appoint ombudsmen to monitor the working of panches and sarpanches in the state. “Officials working under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act will soon double up as ombudsmen to monitor the working of panches and sarpanches,” the official added. The panchayat elections had been mired in controversies over the demand for the 73rd Amendment regarding the execution of powers and functions by the “halqa” panchayats. The government had later appointed a committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, comprising Commissioner-Secretaries of Planning, Finance, and General Administration and Rural Development departments, on the issue, but to no avail.
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Crime File
Jammu, February 6 An official spokesperson said the Ramban police foiled a bid of bovine smuggling during checking at the Bagu
Nullah, Batote, by rescuing 10 bovine animals, which were being carried in a truck towards the Kashmir valley. The driver of the truck has been identified as Sayar Ahmed
Bhat, a resident of Chirath village in Kulgam district. The truck along with the bovines were seized. Similarly, the Samba police intercepted a truck at Tapyal
(Ghagwal) on the Jammu-Pathankote national highway. The bovine smugglers, however, managed to escape, leaving behind the vehicle. Twelve bovines were recovered from the truck. Meanwhile, the Kathua police laid down a naka in the Tangdev Pur area under the jurisdiction of the Rajbagh police station and intercepted a load carrier, which was on its way from Jammu to Punjab. The driver of the vehicle managed to escape from the spot, leaving behind the vehicle loaded with five bovines. The bovines were being smuggled from Jammu to
Punjab. PSI, CID constable exchange blows A Probationer Sub-Inspector
(PSI) allegedly exchanged blows with a constable of the CID, in full public view in the busy Pacca Danga market today. Sources said the
PSI, identified as Sunil Choudhary, had an altercation with the CID constable, Ashok Kumar, which led to a verbal duel and later exchanged fists and blows. Senior police officers, however, remained tightlipped about the incident. 81 ASIs promoted as SIs
IGP, Jammu Zone, Dilbag Singh promoted 81 Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) to the rank of Sub-Inspectors
(SIs) today. The ASIs were promoted to the rank of Sub-Inspectors in the pay scale of Rs 9,300-34,800. An official spokesperson said the timely conduct of promotion had added to the high morale of subordinate officers and their better job performances.
— TNS |
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Arms recovered in Doda district
Udhampur, February 6 The hideout, which was in a natural cave at the Mansu Nullah in the Dessa area of Doda district led the security forces to a huge quantity of arms, including five weapons, more than 1,400 rounds of live ammunition, large number of grenade launchers and grenades, material for IEDs, radio sets and other warlike stores. Officials termed the recovery as one of the biggest from the Doda area in recent times. The recovery included one sniper rifle, three sniper magazines, 37 rounds of sniper ammunition, one carbine, one carbine magazine, five rounds of carbine ammunition, one SLR with 104 rounds, one binocular set, two country-made revolvers, 25 UBGL grenades, 1,356 rounds of AK 47 ammunition, four different types of radio sets, 15 Chinese grenades, eight rounds of RPG, 5 kg of RDX, one battery for IED mechanism, 23 detonators, 40 gelatin sticks and nine rounds of 60 mm mortar ammunition. |
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Spice park to boost saffron production
Srinagar, February 6 “A spice park, to be set up at a cost of Rs 22.6 crore, will ensure quality control and effective marketing of the most expensive spice in the world. The country has to import saffron to meet the domestic demand of 20 MT per year and the government has launched this programme to increase the production of saffron in the state so that the demand is met,” said Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir during a function at Budgam yesterday. The minister was addressing a public gathering after distributing Rs 87 lakh among 817 saffron growers of Budgam who had participated in a government programme - “National Mission on Saffron”. Under the programme, Rs 12.28 crore had so far been distributed among the 2,696 saffron growers of the Valley. Stating that the government would continue to provide all requisite facilities to the growers for the production of quality saffron in the state, Mir
urged the officials of the agriculture department to work as facilitators of the farming community in the Valley. Dr Farooq A Lone, Director (Agriculture), Kashmir, said the objective of the National Mission on Saffron was to review the cultivation of saffron by providing latest technology to the farmers. He said weeders and hot-air dryers were being provided on 50 per cent subsidy to the growers of saffron. Also, 122 bore-wells would be provided to them to enhance the irrigation system, he added. |
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HC slaps Rs 10 lakh fine each on seven telecom firms
Srinagar, February 6 Dismissing a bunch of writ petitions filed by the telecommunication companies, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar upheld the state’s plea that the equipment brought in by them was being used for commercial purposes and should be subjected to entry tax. The court imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh each on the seven companies, including Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications, Tata Services and Dishnet Communication. The fine imposed on these companies shall be spent on the welfare of orphans in the state. The telecommunication companies had filed seven writ petitions challenging the constitutionality of the J&K Entry Tax Act on the ground that it violates Article 301 of the Constitution of India. The state government had contested the petition arguing that the Entry Tax Act was a regulatory measure to prevent evasion of sales tax by unscrupulous traders. The state government will now realise Rs 459 crore as entry tax from these telecommunication companies for the last five years. — TNS
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Workshop on visual arts begins at Jammu varsity
Jammu, February 6 Prof MP Singh Isher, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, speaking at the inaugural ceremony, welcomed the artists who had come from different parts of the country to participate in the workshop. Prof Shivji Pannikar from the School of Culture and Creative Expression, Dr B R Ambedkar University, New Delhi, gave a detailed presentation about the workshop and said the main objective of organising such workshops was
to identify key areas of concern through wide varieties of formal and informal exchanges and experiments. The eminent artists present on the occasion included Ravinder Singh, Neelama Sheikh, Bushan Koul, Gokal Dembi, Rajinder Tiku, Harsh Vardhan Sharma, Insha Manzoor, Manoj Chopra, Nikhil Chopra, Chander Prakesh and Amit
Slathia. |
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Ex-SP gets life term for sub-inspector’s murder
Jammu, February 6 The court also imposed a fine of Rs 4000 under Sections 302/120-B of the RPC. Both convicts have been further sentenced to undergo a simple imprisonment for two years and a fine of Rs 2000 under Section 201 of the
RPC. “From the facts and circumstance of the present case, conclusion can be drawn that murder as committed by the accused, namely Satpal Singh, seems to be the outcome of the hatched criminal conspiracy between him and accused Sewak Singh. Earlier enmity existed between accused Sewak Singh and deceased Ajay Gupta, and was the consequence of hatching of criminal conspiracy by him with accused Satpal Singh for eliminating the said deceased. They are, as such, considered a menace to the family of the deceased/ victim and not to society at large. They cannot, by any stretch of reasoning, be considered as hardened criminals who live on and for the crime,” held the court. |
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Seminar on short story writing
Jammu, February 6 Organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, the seminar was presided over by a noted Hindi litterateur Prof PN Trisal while Dr Sanjana Koul was the chief guest on the occasion. The short stories, which were read by the writers during the seminar included Dr Om Goswami’s ‘Nagar Main Ek Hatya’ and ‘Siyasat’, Chand Deepika’s ‘Eeshwar Yahan Rehta Hai’, Dr Aruna Sharma’s ‘Mari Nahin Hai’ and Rajnesh Gupta’s ‘Darpan’. Talking to the Tribune, editor of Hindi Shreeza Neeru Sharma said the Academy was aimed at providing requisite exposure and podium to Hindi writers. “It requires hard work and dedication to work for the language in a non-Hindi region. My experience says that many among the new generations have started taking an interest in literary activities in Hindi. The only thing that is required is guidance for them.” she added. In his presidential address, Trisal said such programmes were needed, as they provided a productive platform for a constructive literary debate. |
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Jammu varsity V-C calls on Governor
Jammu, February 6 The governor also discussed with Prof Isher several important issues relating to the main campus and various off-site campuses. This was Prof Isher’s first meeting with the Governor after taking over as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu recently. The Governor wished Prof Isher a purposeful and productive tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of the university. Meanwhile, president of the Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir Paul Beersman met Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today. Beersman informed the Governor about his meetings and discussions on human rights issues with various important individuals and leaders of various groups and parties with varied convictions during his current visit to the state. |
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Kashmiri Pandit youths tonsure heads, demand more aid
Jammu, February 6 “We want a hike in the relief amount from Rs 5,000 per family to Rs 12,000, as we cannot feed our families with the meagre amount,” Ravinder
Koul, one of the youths, told mediapersons here. The youths also protested against the alleged failure of the state government to fill 1,500 vacant posts under the Prime Minister’s employment package for the migrant community members. Over 200 Kashmiri Pandits under the aegis of the Kashmiri Migrant Relief Holders and Over Aged Youth held an anti-government protest for its failure to fully implement the employment package. The two other youths, who shaved off their heads, in protest against the government’s attitude are Ravi Pandit and Ramesh Kumar. “Most of the youths in our community have become overage for government jobs, but the state government has failed to fulfill its promise to fill the remaining 1,500 vacant posts,” Koul said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced a special employment package of 3,000 posts for displaced Kashmiri migrants in 2007. While 1,438 posts were filled, 1,562 posts are lying vacant.
— PTI
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Christians seek safety of pastors, converts
Jammu, February 6 Addressing mediapersons here today, CSF general secretary Joseph Dias said Christians and secular-minded citizens were alarmed at reports emanating from Kashmir, in the aftermath of what is being called a ‘fatwa’ by a Sharia court against Christian missionaries CM Khanna, Gayoor Massih and Father Jim Borst. The decree by the Sharia court in the aftermath of alleged conversion of a handful of Kashmiri Muslims to Christianity has started a new conflict in the strife-torn and communally sensitive state. “To whom does the Valley Christians approach for safety,” asked Dias, claiming that all secular-minded citizens feel that there is a major threat to the lives of Christians and they are in constant danger. |
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More snow in higher reaches
Srinagar, February 6 The tourist resort of Pahalgam received 17.2 mm of rain and snow till 5.30 pm today, an official of the Meteorological Department said here. Similarly,
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, received 10.2 mm snow and rain. Srinagar witnessed a sunny day today, recording a maximum temperature of 10.2 °C, but a thick cover of cloud hovered over the city late in the afternoon. The department has forecast more snow and rain tomorrow, while the weather is expected to improve Wednesday onwards across the
Valley. Pahalgam, Qazigund and Srinagar recorded minimum temperatures of -4.5 °C, -0.6 °C and -0.2 °C, respectively. Ski resort of Gulmarg remained the coldest place in the Valley, recording a minimum temperature of -10.2 °C. The minimum temperature at the border town of Kupwara remained above the freezing point at 0.5 °C. Leh town in the Ladakh region remained the coldest place in the state, recording a minimum temperature of -14.4 °C. People have got some respite from the cold wave, as the night temperatures have risen by a few notches as compared to the
last week. NH partially opened The 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway was thrown open to one-way traffic from the winter capital after having remained closed for two days due to inclement weather conditions. |
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Doda MLA steers clear of dissidents
Udhampur, February 6 Terming the reports incorrect, Wani today sought to clarify that he along with some other MLAs had visited Delhi on their way to Chennai, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands for a study tour organised by the state Legislative Assembly. “I am hurt to see my name being unnecessarily dragged in the media reports about factionalism within the party. No one bothered to speak to me regarding the purpose of my visit to Delhi before publishing the report,” said Wani, while distancing himself from any activity of “disgruntled” Congress leaders in the state.
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Nominations invited for post of CVC
Jammu, February 6 An official spokesperson said the general administrative department (GAD) has invited the nominations for the appointment of the CVC and two vigilance commissioners under the J&K Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Act, 2011. The spokesperson said the GAD had issued a circular to all administrative secretaries notifying them that the last date for the receipt of nomination for the appointment of the CVC and vigilance commissioners had been fixed as February 10. — TNS
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Mendhar Violence
Jammu, February 6 In a press release here today, the president of the JPPF said the government had failed to curb such condemnable acts. He alleged that the authorities were trying to suppress the issue, as one of the offenders was an MLC’s brother. He said the forum would bring the issue to the notice of the President, Prime Minister and Home Minister.
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Drug peddler arrested in Katra
Katra, February 6 “The intoxicant capsules are reportedly being supplied to the youth in the adjoining areas,” the spokesperson added. The accused was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and a case was registered against him in the police station at
Katra. — OC
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Srinagar, February 6
Jammu, February 6
Jammu, February 6
Jammu, February 6
