The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Planners’ missing priorities
Phase-I: Give red light to traffic signals at city’s busiest crossings
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
Attribute it to lack of vision or faulty planning, the ambitious project to equip the winter capital city with much-needed traffic lights seems to have overlooked vital bottlenecks in the city.

Sources told The Tribune that the planners for inexplicable reasons had ignored some of the busiest locations in the city from their priority points where traffic lights needed to be installed in the first phase.

“The planners, comprising the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), traffic police and other agencies concerned, identified 61 points — 30 in Jammu and 31 in Srinagar — for installing new traffic signals in the twin capital cities. A majority of the vital intersections don’t figure on the priority list of the planners,” the sources said.

Thirty vital intersections of Jammu city where traffic signals are being installed on a priority basis in the first phase include Satwari Chowk, Main Stop, Gole Market, Green Belt Gandhi Nagar, Chattri Point Gandhi Nagar, Bikram Chowk, Jewel Chowk, KC Crossing, Shakuntla Crossing, Medical College Crossing, Ambphalla Chowk, Canal Head Crossing, Bakshi Nagar Pulli, Talab Tillo Chowk, BSF Paloura Crossing, Library Chowk, Vigilance Rotary, Parade Chowk, Rameshwar Temple, Shalamar Chowk, Indira Chowk, Vivekanand Chowk, Saheedi Chowk, Panama Chowk, Janipur Main Chowk, Janipur-Roop Nagar Crossing, High Court Turning, Kunjwani Chowk, Narwal Chowk and Bathandi Bypass road.

“There was no need to install traffic signal at the Radio Station crossing. Instead, the planners should have identified the CPO crossing for the installation of a traffic signal in the first phase, where the traffic police faces a problem in streamlining the flow of traffic,” a senior official said.

The official further said similarly the planners should have put the busiest Dogra crossing on the priority list. “Other vital intersections, too, have been ignored while preparing the list of vital locations where traffic lights are to be installed. The installation of lights will not serve the purpose and desired results will come only when the planners rectify their mistakes by making a change in the priority list,” he suggested.

New Delhi-based Onnyx Electronics had bagged the contract for electronic signalling of the twin capitals. It had installed two traffic signals on an “experiment al basis” for technical analysis in Jammu city.

“The sample signal installed at the Bikram Chowk is also faulty as it is shot in length (approximately six meters in length, including underground portion). If the traffic signals of the same length were installed, they will not be easily visible to the road users and create further chaos on roads,” the official added.

Manmohan Singh, SSP (Traffic), Jammu, said they would take a re-look at the “priority list” and if possible, make necessary changes.

The Transport Department had failed to meet the deadline for the installation of traffic signals in the twin capital cities of the state several times. It had fixed May 31 as the fresh deadline for the completion of the project. The department said the installation of traffic signals would be started simultaneously in both cities.

Once the process gets completed, it would reduce the pressure on around 1,000 traffic personnel deputed in the state as vehicular traffic had assumed an alarming proportion in the state.

Around 70,000 fresh vehicles are hitting the roads annually in the state. The number of vehicles is quite high as compared to the road space. In addition to the state’s vehicular traffic, around 10 lakh vehicles of tourists, pilgrims and security forces enter the state annually, which adds to traffic chaos.

The road length in Jammu city is just 704.22 km and the density of vehicles is 574 per km. Srinagar is somewhat better off with road length of 1,263 km.

Fact file

n Thirty vital intersections of Jammu city to get traffic signals on a priority basis in the first phase

n A majority of the vital intersections don’t figure on the ‘priority list’ of the planners

n Two traffic signals installed on an “experimental basis” for technical analysis in Jammu city

n Transport Department has failed to meet the deadline for the installation of traffic signals several times

Snag hits BSNL services in Rajouri
Ranjit Thakur

Rajouri, April 11
Essential mobile services and Internet connectivity of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited were affected for over 10 hours here owing to a snag in the optical fiber cable at Nowshera.

Mobile, landline and Internet services of the BSNL remained suspended in the entire Rajouri district and a few areas of Poonch since morning, causing inconvenience to subscribers, including businessmen, Army, banks, which rely on the essential services.

“My entire business depends on the BSNL services, but I can’t make a single call owing to the breakdown in the networking system,” said Suresh, a businessman.

“If their services continue to stay poor, I will have to switch to private telecom players, as they provide better services in the border areas as compared to the BSNL,” he said.

Emroz Suri, a local Youth Congress leader, said: “The BSNL is selling its services to private players rather than improve its own services in the border areas. People are completely dependent on mobile services, which have become a part of their life.”

RD Parmar, district engineer (Rajouri and Poonch), Telecom, said: “The optical fiber cable developed a fault in Nowshera, which caused problems to the subscribers.”

Milk adulteration rampant in state
Poor policies lead to shortfall, lack of check jeopardises lives
Sumit Hakhoo
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
The state annually imports around 6 lakh metric tonnes of milk from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to meet the requirement of rising population in the urban centres.

This despite the fact that crores of rupees have been spent on the cattle breeding programme in the state during the past few years.

While officials blame floating population, mainly influx of pilgrims, for the deficit, sources say use of unscientific methods and lack of help from the Animal Husbandry Department are responsible for the shortage of milk faced by the state, particularly the Jammu region.

The state has around 25 lakh milch cattle, yielding 15 lakh metric tonnes of milk annually.

“The state is still dependent on import to meet its requirement of milk. Though the production is enough to meet the needs of the people, the floating population, including daily influx of pilgrims and tourists, increases the demand,” claimed
an official.

NGOs in the area have been raising concerns over the absence of regular checks to curb adulteration of milk, which has emerged as a major health hazard for consumers.

“No regular checks are being conducted to curb the inflow of adulterated milk in the state. A few months ago, a report had highlighted that most of the milk being sold in the state did not meet the requisite standards,” said Darshan Sharma, a resident of Janipur.

Minister for Animal Husbandry Aga Ruhalla said: “In the recent past, the Animal Husbandry Department has taken up projects like introduction of cross-breeding methods to improve the quality of milk. A monitoring mechanism is also being strengthened.”

Officials said most of the milk producers in the state were working in the unorganised sector and did not use scientific methods to ensure quality.

The state has vast potential to improve its processing facilities but it lacks marketing strategy. As the sector is unorganised, middlemen continue to rule the roost in many areas.

LPG leak leads to fire

Jammu, April 11
A fire broke out in a sweets shop at the Nai Basti area this afternoon, destroying furniture and other items.

The Fire and Emergency Services Department officials said a fire tender was rushed to the spot to battle the blaze which broke this afternoon. They said the fire was brought under control after half an hour.

“Some furniture and other items caught fire after the leakage of LPG from a cylinder. Timely action by the firemen prevented the major tragedy,” the officials added. — TNS

Give citizenship rights, not sops, say West Pak refugees
Dinesh Manhotra/TNS

Jammu, April 11
Even as the Congress leadership has sought a comprehensive package worth Rs 1,775 crore for one-time settlement of the demands of different displaced communities, the “stateless” West Pakistani refugees, struggling to get citizenship rights since 1947, said their priority was citizenship rights.

“It is a welcome step that the Congress leadership in the state has sought a compensation for West Pakistani refugees because these poor refugees had lost everything in Pakistan after partition,” said Labha Ram Gandhi, chairman of the West Pakistani Refugees Action Committee (WPRAC). He, however, said besides monetary compensation, the government should take some concrete steps to grant citizenship rights to the refugees.

“We are fed with the repeated assurances given by the successive state and central governments to solve our problems,” said Gandhi and added that except promises nothing has been done so far. He, however, exuded confidence that the government would awake from deep slumber this time and take some concerted steps to solve our plights once and for all.

Gandhi said leaders of all political parties had assured their support during the dharna in New Delhi in March. “We have already launched a campaign for citizenship rights and the same would be further intensified if our demands are not accepted,” he said.

As reported earlier, during the visit of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, the delegation of the Congress party had highlighted the plight of all refugees, in general, and those from West Pakistan, in particular. The delegation, while demanding that the issue of West Pakistan refugees be solved, sought a package for these refugees to give them financial assistance. The delegation sought a package worth Rs 700 crore for West Pakistani refugees.

According to the survey conducted by the WPRAC, there are over 30,000 families of these refugees living in different parts of the Jammu region.

Girl attempts suicide, critical

Jammu, April 11
A final-year student of graduation today allegedly made an abortive bid to end her life by slitting her throat in the Janipur area of Old Jammu city. Sources said Sarina, 21, daughter of Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Basantnagar in Janipur, tried to slit her throat after having heated arguments with family members this afternoon.

“Sarina suffered a serious cut on her throat after she tried to end her life. She was rushed to a hospital where her condition was stated to be critical,” the sources added. — TNS

Melodious tribute to singer KL Saigal
Varun Suthra
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
A musical tribute was given to legendry film star and singer KL Saigal, a Dogra icon, on his 108th birth anniversary through a Hindi-Urdu play by Pierrot’s Troupe, Mumbai, at Zorawar Singh Auditorium, Jammu University, today.

Saigal was born in Jammu on April 11, 1904 and occasionally took part in Ramlila here.

The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages organised the event.

The play was written and directed by Mohd Sayed Alam, who also leads the troupe.

The play was a revisit to the aura and era of Saigal. It was a “faction”, where “facts” blended with “fiction” to become a musical drama.

Alaps, thumris, dadra, taals mesmerised the audience, who witnessing a blend of classical music and theatre for the first time in the city.

Yashraj Malik, who played Saigal’s character, successfully depicted the classical singer, living inside the great artist of the yesteryear.

The story underlined Saigal’s life and works and his journey from the streets of old Jammu to the film industry in Bombay.

In the process, the play relived the music and cinema of the yesteryear.

The story of Saigal is replete with events and anecdotes that centre around the legends of equal stature.

The musical drama was dotted with live recitals of Saigal’s ghazals, dadras, thumris and film songs like “Aah ko chahiye ek umr asar hove tak”, “Lag gai chot karejva mein” and “Baalam aaye baso mor-eman mein” to name a few.

The play starred prominent theatre-cine artistes like Padma Shri awardee Tom Alter and Yashraj Malik, Harish Chabbra and others.

Tom Alter played the character of Buzurgwar, who narrated the play to the audience with utmost skill and generosity.

Others who acted in the play included Niti Phool, Vijay Gupta, Anju Chabbra, Manohar Pandey, RN Diwakar, Himanshu Shrivastav and Pankaj Mata.

Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Tourism and Culture, was the chief guest.

Atal Dulloo, Secretary, Tourism and Culture, was the guest of honour.

Release of salary demanded by anganwadi workers
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
The Anganwadi Workers’ Welfare Association today demanded that the government should release the enhanced salary of workers, which is pending for many months.

The members of the association held a demonstration outside the Divisional Commissioner’s office in support of their demands.

Speaking on the occasion, association president Lakshman Ravinder Singh alleged that the arrears under the state share also remain unpaid, which indicates non-seriousness of the government for redressing their grievances.

Singh said the Centre had announced revised rates of honorarium in favour of the anganwadi workers and helpers in April 2011 under various categories and the funds for the purpose have not been released.

He urged the government for immediate release of arrears in favour of the workers under central and state share, besides ensuring time-bound promotions in various cadres of the social welfare department.

Neglected, Villagers seek quota
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
The panchayats of Mohargarh and Deon held a rally demanding inclusion of the two villages in the list of backward areas.

The residents, under the banner of the Backward Area Action Committee, submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Commissioner and sent a copy to the Chief Minister.

Addressing the 450 protesters who took part in the rally, the convener of the Backward Area Action Committee, subedar Chattan Singh (retd), said people had been suffering for over a decade on account of lack of road connectivity, permanent drinking water facility and health facilities.

The committee argued that since no action had been taken to improve the condition at the two villages, they should be included in the list of backward regions.

The committee listed out their demands and urged the commission for backward classes to take note of their memorandum.

The rally was held from Vikram Chowk to the office of Divisional Commissioner.

Fish farmers’ meeting held
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
The Department of Fisheries today organised a function at the Aquarium-cum-Awareness Centre, Bahu Fort, where a fish farmers’ meeting was held. Aijaz Ahmad Khan, Minister for Haj, Auqaf and Fisheries, was the chief guest on the occasion.

Shoukat Ali, director, Fisheries, said the sector had come up in a big way to create job avenues for the unemployed educated youth.

The director said the department had established the necessary infrastructure in the shape of fish farms, hatcheries and rearing units in each district and had been able to produce 19.85 thousand tonnes of fish, 258 tonnes of trout fish, 300 lakhs of crap fish seeds, besides earning revenue of Rs 4.45 crore.

The minister appreciated various activities undertaken by the department for the welfare and upliftment of socio-economic conditions of the fishermen community and providing employment to the youth of the state in particular.

Shobha yatra on April 14
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
The Jammu chapter of the All-India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Railways Employees Association will organise a shobha yatra on April 14 in connection with the birth anniversary celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar.

Talking to mediapesons here today, Tarsem Khullar, president of the association, said the yatra would begin at 10 am from Mahasha Sadar Sabha and pass through Guru Valmiki Mandir, Dogra Hall, Megh Sudhar Sabha, Exchange Road, Library Chowk, Parade Ground, Shalamar, Indra Crossing, Gummat Chowk and Vikram Chowk before culminating at Ambedkar Chowk.

He said tableaux depicting the life and works of Ambedkar would be displayed and local singers would sing songs based on his life. He urged people to participate in the event and said RN Meena, divisional traffic manager, would be the chief guest.

Those present included Ashok Bhagat, Raj Kumar Raja, Ramesh Kumar, Jang Bahadur, GL Bhat, Ramesh Kumar, Biru Ram Pradhan, Makhan Singh and Mohinder Bhagat.

Gupta hails SIT formation to expose Fai’s links

Jammu, April 11
Chaman Lal Gupta, former MoS for Defence and Jammu West MLA, has hailed the formation of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by an IPS officer to expose Gulam Nabi Fai’s agents active in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a statement issued here today, Gupta said this action was over due. He hoped that the formation of the SIT would work on the overground apparatus and expose it because this was confusing the issue and weakening the cause of India. This apparatus was responsible for rise in the militancy and was weakening the cause with Indian money. — TNS

Punjab wrestler lifts Chhourta Kesari Title
Devinder Thakur

Katra, April 11
Kaka, a wrestler from Amritsar in Punjab, has lifted the 14th Annual Chhourta Kesari 2012 Title by defeating Sukha of Rajasthan in a neck to neck bout at Chhourta village of Jammu district. The dangal was organised by the Chhourta Dangal committee under the aegis of the J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association.

Nagrota MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma, the chief guest on the occasion, distributed prizes among the winners.

In all, 35 bouts were played in the competition. The second main bout was fought between Kalu of Jammu and Ranjeet of Amritsar. This bout ended in a draw that lasted for 28 minutes. The third bout, fought between Kulbir Singh of Kot Bhawal, Jammu, and Malkeith of Amritsar, also ended in a draw.

7 state gymnasts for world meet
Vikas Sharma/TNS

Jammu, April 11
In a major achievement for J&K sports, as many as seven gymnasts have been selected to represent the country in the forthcoming 12th World Aerobics Gymnastics Championship slated to be held in Sofia (Bulgaria) from May 29 to June 3.

The gymnasts - Jaskaran Singh, Mayank Jain, Gourav Sharma, Inderdeep Singh, Parul Mehta, Honey Mehra and Tejpal Kour - were selected on the basis of their performance in the recently concluded 11th National Aerobics Gymnastics Championship held at Vadodara from January 16 to 18.

The players will join other selected gymnasts from the country in the preparatory coaching camp, which is scheduled to be held from May 1 to May 25 at Surat in Gujarat.

Parul Mehra, Honey Mehra, Gourav Sharma and Inderdeep are going to compete in the first international championship of their career.

However, it’s a dream come true for the selected gymnasts to compete against the best in the business.

“When we were informed about our selection in the championship, we don’t know how to react as it was a kind of miracle for us,” said the selected gymnasts.

“Though we performed outstandingly in the national championship at Vadodara, we were not sure about our selection in the world championship,” they added.

The state contingent had done exceedingly well in the 11th National Aerobics Gymnastics Championship.

Tejpal Kour bagged individual gold in the women section.

In the junior section, the trio of Navjot Singh, Akhil Jamwal and Karanjyot Singh clinched silver medal, whereas Akhil Jamwal struck yellow metal in the individual men category.

Bushan, Mukesh excel in Greco-Roman wrestling
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
Bushan Kumar and Mukesh Kumar of Armed Zones secured first and second positions in the 55-kg weight category in Greco-Roman style in wrestling in the ongoing J&K Police Inter-Zone Sports Meet here today.

In the 60-kg weight category, Abdul Qayoom and Rattan Singh of Armed Zone and Jammu Zone bagged first and second positions, respectively.

Veer Singh and Mohan Singh of Jammu and Armed Zones, respectively, bagged first and second positions in the 66-kg weight category.

Similarly, in the 74-kg weight category, Puran Singh and Ghar Chand had to settle for first and second positions, respectively.

In free style (men), Bushan Kumar and Mukesh Kumar again proved their supremacy by clinching first and second positions, respectively, in the 55-kg weight category. In 84-kg weight category, Mohammad Zulf and Mohammad Mukhtyar bagged second and third positions, respectively.

In wrestling (women), Reenu Devi and Radha Rani of Jammu Zone secured first and second positions, respectively, in the 48-kg weight category.

In the 51-kg weight category, Mehnaz Akhtar and Anita Devi of Armed Zones had to contend with first and second positions, respectively.

Sncha Bharti and Saroz Bala of Jammu and Armed Zone, respectively, bagged first and second slots, respectively, in the 55-kg weight category.

Anita Kotwal and Shankla Devi of Armed Zones proved too good against their rivals as they secured first and second positions, respectively, in the 59-kg weight category.

KCC drub YSCC in T20 meet

Jammu, April 11
Kashmir Cricket Club (KCC) got the better of Young Star Cricket Club (YSCC) by a convincing margin of 94 runs in a one-sided affair in the ongoing Rajeev Gandhi Twenty20 Cricket Tournament being played at MA Stadium here today.

KCC won the toss and elected to bat first. A brilliant 97-run opening partnership between Puneet Wattal and Zeeshan set a perfect launching for the team to pile up a challenging total of 179 runs in the stipulated 20 overs losing just 2 wickets in the process. Puneet hit a breezy 40-ball 56 runs studded with 4 hits to the fence, while Zeeshan contributed with a power-packed 53 runs.

Satish and Shahbaz chipped in with unbeaten 27 and 23 runs, respectively. For YSCC, Sourav and Micky shared a wicket apiece.

In reply, YSCC suffered a dramatic batting collapse and the team perished for meager 85 runs. KCC bowlers kept things tight from the word go by not allowing the batsmen to free their arms. As a result, the batsmen got frustrated and eventually gifted their wickets away.

Amit (15), Shubkaran (12) and Sourav (10) were the only YSCC batsmen who crossed the double-figure mark.

For KCC, Satish, Muddasir, Kuldeep and Puneet were the chief destroyers with 2 wickets apiece, whereas Rohit Sharma and Rahul Chaudhary clinched one wicket each. Puneet Wattal was declared the man of the match. — TNS

Law School bag TT title
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 11
Law School defeated Mathematics Department 2-1 in the summit showdown to clinch the men’s table tennis title in the Inter-Department Competitions at Gymnasium Hall, University of Jammu, here today.

In the first singles, Abhimanyu of Maths Department got the better of Waheed Ahmed of Law School 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 8-11 and 11-7. Law School equalised the lead through Abhinav Sharma who trashed Punit of Mathematics Department 11-1, 11-4 and 11-5.

In the doubles event, the pair of Abhinav and Waheed of Law School prevailed over Punit and Abhimanyu 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 and 11-7 to bag the top honours.