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NH blocked after youth’s murder
Navratras: Nine blessed days for these poor girls
A devotee worships Gunjan, dressed as a goddess, near a temple in Jammu.
Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh |
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Solid waste being dumped illegally near Tawi riverbed
Solid waste being dumped by the municipal corporation on government land near the Tawi riverbed in Jammu. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
JU teachers seek arrears
Teachers of the University of Jammu stage a protest in front of the Administrative Block in Jammu on Monday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
Conference on global warming
One-day training in guava grafting
School celebrates annual day
Kashmiri Pandit youths demand jobs
International playway school inaugurated
Farm technocrats seek regularisation of jobs
Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Technocrats Association hold a march towards the Chief Minister’s residence in Jammu on Monday. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh
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NH blocked after youth’s murder
Jammu, March 26 The police has detained three persons on suspicion and started its investigation to unravel the mystery behind the youth’s death. The police said it recovered a youth’s body from the Ranbir canal (sua No. 1) near Kanachak this morning. The body was spotted by the driver of a tractor-trailer. There was no torture or injury mark on the body but fractures were found in some ribs. His mobile phone was found lying broken nearby. The victim was identified as Banasri Lal, alias Babli, a resident of Malpur Dummi village in Kanachak, 22 km north-west of Jammu city. “The youth’s body was found lying on the bank of the canal. His mobile phone was found broken. The body was shifted to Akhnoor where the doctors conducted a post-mortem,” a source said. After the post-mortem, the aggrieved family members and relatives placed the body on the highway around 3:30 pm and staged a protest, demanding the arrest of the culprits. The protesters alleged that some people from their village, who had clashed with them over a land dispute seven months ago, were behind Babli’s murder. They demanded the arrest of the culprits and registration of a murder case. “The youth had allegedly consumed liquor last evening. He didn’t go to his residence after his friend tried to persuade him. He was working in a private company in the Narwal area of Jammu city,” a police officer said. Senior police officers rushed to the scene and tried to pacify the protesters. They assured them of a fair and transparent investigation into the case. On the assurance of the police officers, the protesters removed the body from the highway around 8 pm. “The family members were demanding the registration of a case under Section 302, RPC. We had asked them to file a complaint in writing,” the police officer said. The police has registered a case of murder. Three persons — Chaman Lal, Pawan Kumar and Ravi Kumar — were detained for questioning. “We are investigating the matter,” the police officer added. |
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Navratras: Nine blessed days for these poor girls
Jammu, March 26 These daughters of a daily labourer from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, have always yearned for a quality ice cream or good food. And for the past three days of Navratras, they have been getting all what they have always wanted. They get to savour good food without the worry of being chased away for entering the temple premises. “I give all my money to my elder sister. But I get to eat good things and dress beautifully for the entire day. All I have to do is accept money. It is an easy task,” says six-year-old Sahiba, dressed up as a goddess. “We get up early and help each other in getting dressed. These are the only days when people value us and offer us money. All we have to do is dress up like a goddess. I along with my three sisters make around Rs 200 a day,” says Shabana. “It feels good when people come up to us and touch our feet. They never treat us like this on regular days. But these nine days bring us joy. We are eagerly awaiting the last day of the festival when people will shower plenty of gifts on us,” she added. The girls’ parents also do not mind getting money during the festivals. “Our parents leave for work early in the morning. Nobody is there to look after us once they leave. We arrange for food on our own. So they never stop us from doing what we do,” adds Gunjan. Breaking religious barriers
Religion is not a barrier for the girls. In spite of being Muslims, they do no hide this fact from those who offer to worship them. “My father says all religions are equal,” quips Sahiba. |
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Solid waste being dumped illegally near Tawi riverbed
Jammu, March 26
MC Commissioner KL Khajuria said: “The dumping site is beyond the danger limit and no harm is being done to the river. Around 300 metric tonnes of solid waste, collected daily from the city, is being dumped in deep ditches at the site. The land has a potential for natural filtration and the waste, except for polythene, converts into manure with time.” On solid waste management, he said the project had been conceived and they would soon float tenders. “We are looking for a suitable piece of land to construct the plant. The government has constituted a committee, comprising the Divisional Commissioner, the District Development Commissioner and me as members, to find a suitable piece of land for the project. We had recently identified a piece of land near the Tawi but it could not be finalised due to its lesser aerial distance from the Tawi riverbed,” he said. He said efforts were on to negotiate with the residents of Kangryl, 22 km from the city, where the municipal corporation proposal to construct a solid waste management project was sabotaged following opposition by residents. Experts claim the dumping of city waste near the Tawi riverbed will prove detrimental to the river in the long run. Prof RK Ganjoo, Director, Institute of Himalayan Glaciology, said waste dumped in any form in the catchment areas or near the riverbed would directly or indirectly affect the quality of water due to leaching. “Tawi is a rain-fed river and is mostly recharged by groundwater. The Tawi has turned into a virtual dump, as untreated liquid waste pours directly into the river and untreated solid waste is dumped in the nearby land. This consistent dumping has increased the biochemical oxygen demand above the permissible limits and deteriorated the quality of water,” he said. “The aquatic life normally helps cleanse the river but undue dumping of effluent and pollutants will prove detrimental to the survival of aquatic plants and animals.” Dr CM Seth, former chairman, State Pollution Control Board, said solid waste dumping near the Tawi riverbed was ultimately leading to groundwater contamination. “Toxic substances that enter the soil are absorbed by the groundwater and again creep into the river water. More than 70 per cent of all diseases in India are waterborne and contamination of rivers is a major reason for that,” he added. Sources said a major portion of the dumping ground near the Tawi bed had already been exhausted.
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JU teachers seek arrears
Jammu, March 26 They will continue their protest tomorrow to draw the attention of the state authorities towards their demands. The agitating teachers demanded the release of salary arrears and implementation of the Pay Commission recommendations in toto. They expressed concern over the delay and termed the attitude of the government towards the university teachers injudicious. Association president Dalip Singh Jamwal, while talking to The Tribune, said their protest would continue tomorrow. “The Kashmir University Teachers Association has also decided to support our cause and they will sit on an indefinite strike from March 29,” he added. On the reason behind the delay by state government in grant of arrears and enhancement of the retirement age, Professor Jamwal said: “Governments of some states have enhanced the retirement age of college and university teachers but we are still awaiting the same to happen here.” According to sources, the Human Resource Development Ministry on December 31, 2008 had issued a notice to the state government regarding the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission grades and enhancement of retirement age to 65 years for both college and university teachers. After agreeing to implement the grades of university teachers, the government implemented the same of college teachers on September 3, 2009. However, it did not give its consent to enhance the retirement age to 65 years. On June 30, 2010, the University Grants Commission issued a notification in connection with the conditions for appointment and career advancement scheme wherein they stressed upon the state government to implement the conditions in toto. The teachers association is demanding the release of arrears from January 2006 to March 31, but the stalemate between the state government and the UGC regarding the enhancement of superannuation has been the biggest stumbling block in way of resolving the issue. The total arrears to be paid to over 400 university teachers for 51 months stand at Rs 16.25 crore.
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Conference on global warming
Jammu, March 26 Babu Singh said the consequences of deteriorating environment would be very harmful and disastrous. — TNS |
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One-day training in guava grafting
Jammu, March 26 Horticulture development officers and technicians from different districts of Jammu region took part in the event. Prof VK Wali, chief scientist, SKUAST-J, underlined the importance of raising quality planting material in guava to increase production per unit area. Later, a practical demonstration of the technique was also held.
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School celebrates annual day
Jammu, March 26 Children performed dance numbers and depicted cultures of the world. Speaking on the occasion, Mona Khurana, director of the school, said, “Every child is encouraged to perform on stage. This is the best age to build confidence and a sense of security in a child”. The event drew an enthusiastic response from parents and a cheerful performance by the students. Minister for Revenue and Relief Raman Bhalla was the chief guest and Zaida Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, was the guest of honour at the function.
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Kashmiri Pandit youths demand jobs
Jammu, March 26
Holding placards, the protesters raised anti-government slogans, alleging biased attitude of the government towards the community. Addressing the protesters, the association leaders highlighted the demands of the community. They said the Prime Minister had announced a special employment package for the youth of the community in June 2008 but the state government had not implemented it so far. “The government has been avoiding the youth of the community, thus forcing them to take to the streets. The community believes in peace but that does not mean it will put up with insult and injustice. The community demands its share in all institutions like the legislature in addition to employment opportunities for its youth,” said RK Bhat, president of the association. They asked the government to implement the Prime Minister’s employment package. A good proportion of the youth of the displaced community, who remained jobless for the past two decades, had crossed the upper age limit owing to the blockade of government jobs.
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International playway school inaugurated
Jammu, March 26 Chib also highlighted the role of the private sector in boosting the education industry and other allied sectors. He stressed upon the youth to adopt self-employment ventures. He said the government was providing loan facilities on subsidy, besides ensuring other necessary facilities. The Minister complimented Puneet Mahajan, director of the school, for establishing the institute of international standard. |
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Farm technocrats seek regularisation of jobs
Jammu, March 26 Dr Surinder Radotra, president of association, lambasted the state government for its indifference towards the agricultural technocrats. He said the association was demanding regularisation of technocrats on the lines of Rehbar-e-Taleem. They had completed five years of regular service but the government was not bothered about them, they lamented. Dr Manzoor Ahmed, vice-president of the Agricultural Technocrats Association, said both Houses had appealed to the government to negotiate with the agriculture technocrats and accede to their demands, but it had failed to do so.
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Jammu, March 26
While the government has refrained the Jammu Municipal Corporation from dumping municipal waste directly into the Tawi riverbed, tonnes of solid waste continues to be dumped on the government land near the riverbed in the absence of a solid waste management plant here.
Irked over the alleged delay in the release of arrears, teachers of the University of Jammu, under the banner of Jammu University Teachers Association, staged a protest in front of the Administrative Block here today.
They will continue their protest tomorrow to draw the attention of the state authorities towards their demands.
Mother’s Pride and Joy Pre-School celebrated its annual day based on the theme “Around the World” at CWG Gandhinagar auditorium here yesterday.
Children performed dance numbers and depicted cultures of the world. Speaking on the occasion, Mona
Khurana, director of the school, said, “Every child is encouraged to perform on stage. This is the best age to build confidence and a sense of security in a child”.
Jammu, March 26
JCB machines and trucks of the civic body can often be seen digging ditches and unloading municipal waste in the Bhagwati Nagar area, near the Urban Environmental Engineering land.