The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Water crisis worsens
Monsoon aggravates problem as filtration capacity comes down
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
Despite assurances of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the problem of water scarcity is yet to be solved in Jammu city and adjoining areas. The situation has further worsened with the arrival of monsoon as capacity of some filtration plants has come down. Although authorities are tightlipped, sources said the capacity of all important Sittle plant has decreased after the monsoon and has affected the supply of water in most parts of the city, especially in Jammu west area. Sittle water plant caters to the need of the Jammu west area.

While reviewing situation in Jammu last week, the Chief Minister had asked the departments concerned to address the difficulties of people in a befitting manner. He emphasised on improving the distribution and transmission system of power because water supply was also affected due to power curtailment. He had also approved a Rs 2.33-crore proposal for upgrading the distribution system and improving the supply of electricity. The meeting was told that the government had provided additional funds for the purchase of electricity to be supplied to consumers in Jammu during the current summer months.

Omar Abdullah had also approved Rs 3 crore for augmenting and upgrading the drinking water supply in the water scarce areas through tanker service. He asked the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department to ensure that drinking water was regularly supplied in these areas through tankers.

Even after one week of the directions of Chief Minister, the situation has not improved in Jammu city. Most parts of the city are confronting with the problems of scarcity of drinking water.

In the last Assembly session, Minister for PHE Taj Mohi-ud-Din had informed the House that the present potable water requirement of Jammu city was 45 million gallons per day out of which the requirement of Jammu west constituency was around 23 million gallons per day (MGD). The total availability of potable water at present stands enhanced to 19.50 MGD in Jammu west constituency after adopting number of corrective measures. Therefore, the net shortfall of 3.5 MGD exists in Jammu west constituency as of now.

The worst-affected areas in Jammu west are Chinore, Bantalab, Roop Nagar, Janipur, Subash Nagar, Rehari, Sawwal and New Plots. Similarly in Gandhi Nagar assembly segment, residents of Sainik Colony, Bathindi, Sunjwan, Narwal and Greater Kailash are confronting with the problem of scarcity of drinking water.

Water Woes

n The CM had recently approved a Rs 2.33-cr proposal for upgrading the distribution system and improving the supply of electricity

n Rs 3 cr have also been approved for augmenting the drinking water supply in the water scarce areas through tanker service

n At present, potable water requirement of Jammu city is 45 million gallons per day (MGD)

n The requirement of Jammu west constituency is around 23 MGD. But only 19.5 MGD of water is available in Jammu west constituency

n The worst-affected areas in Jammu west are Chinore, Bantalab, Roop Nagar, Janipur, Subash Nagar, Rehari, Sawwal and New Plots. Similarly, in Gandhi Nagar assembly segment, residents of Sainik Colony, Bathindi, Sunjwan, Narwal and Greater Kailash are confronting with the problem of scarcity of drinking water

Katra bus stand in bad shape
Garbage, overflowing drains and potholed roads abound
Devinder Thakur

A view of the Katra bus stand where thousands of pilgrims arrive daily to visit the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. A Tribune photograph

Reasi, July 14
Everyday thousands of pilgrims arrive at the Katra bus stand on their way to the Vaishno Devi shrine.

The moment pilgrims step out of their vehicles, they are greeted with heaps of garbage, stink, overflowing drains and potholed roads at the bus stand. As if this is not enough, a large number of beggars can also be seen.

For those who are regular visitors to Katra, the scene is just a routine, but for the first-timers, the image of the holy town being an exotic destination and a visitors’ paradise is shattered within a few minutes.

Neetkant, a pilgrim from Shimla, said, “The authorities concerned must take appropriate action as it is quite tough to come out of the bus stand, especially for children, as there are overflowing drains and potholed roads.”

Amit Kumar, another pilgrim from New Delhi, said, “I came here along with my family to pay obeisance at the Vaishno Devi shrine. The condition of the bus stand is terrible and I would never like to board a bus from here again.”

Ajay Gupta, a local businessman, said, “No one can stand here even for five minutes. This creates a bad impression of the city among the people coming here from the other states.”

Over 30,000 pilgrims arrive at Katra bus stand daily in the peak season and if these people are regarded as ambassadors of the state, the impression they take back home surely mars the image of the state as an attractive tourist destination.

Lawyers to suspend work on July 20, 21
To protest passage of the J&K State Residential and Commercial Tenancy Act-2012
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
In protest against the passage of the J&K State Residential and Commercial Tenancy Act-2012 by Legislative Assembly in March this year, the Bar Association of Jammu (BAJ) has given a call for a two-day strike on July 20-21.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by the Bar president BS Slathia. He said the lawyers would lodge their protest against the decision of the government which was highly discriminatory.

Executive committee of the Bar passed a resolution against the passage of the J&K (Residential and Commercial) Tenancy Act 2012 and expressed their views that the Act operates to divest the civil courts of their powers to judiciously adjudicate the disputes arising between landlords and tenants and vest them with the Assistant Commissioners and Tehsildar across the state.

They resented the enactment of the said legislation to vest the Assistant Commissioner and Tehsildar of settling the intricate disputes inter-se the landlords and tenants which involves interpretation of different laws and Acts and these officers lacking the legal expertise would only aggravate the already suffering litigant public.

Speaking on the occasion, Slathia said the lawyers across the region would suspend work against what they termed illegal and unconstitutional Act.

Further, it constituted a committee comprising RK Kotwal, Pawan Manni, Sandeep Singh, Ajay Sharma and Rajesh Thappa to examine the legality, constitutionality and proprietary of the Act supra on the Judicial side and render their opinion, by informing the Bar Association Jammu for taking appropriate legal action into the matter.

It was also decided in the meeting to appeal all the Bar Associations across the state and members belonging to the legal fraternity to abstain from work in the courts on July 20 and 21. It was further decided that any contemplated move of the state government in divesting the powers of Presiding Officer of Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal, Traffic Magistrate from adjudicating of the disputes relating to claim/challans and vesting the same to the bureaucrat has been viewed seriously by the Bar Association Jammu in particular and members of the legal fraternity across the state and shall be fought tooth and nail.

The meeting was attended by office-bearers of the Bar Association Jammu, which included MU Salaria (vice-president) Parimoksh Seth (joint secretary), Sandeepa Sambyal (treasurer), Rohan Nanda (president YLA), DS Saini (former president), JR Arora and CM Sharma.

Kidnapped girl untraced, cops clueless
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
A minor girl, who was kidnapped on Thursday by some persons in broad daylight from Bari Brahmana area, has not been traced so far, the police said.

Reports said Ali Begh, a resident of Sarore Adda, Bari Brahmana, had lodged a complaint with the Bari Brahmana police station that his 15-year-old daughter was kidnapped when she had taken herd for grazing.

According to Begh, two motorcycle-borne persons kidnapped his daughter. On the reason behind kidnapping, Begh told the police that he had fixed his daughter’s marriage but one of their relatives, Babri, wanted to marry her. Begh claimed the involvement of Babri and four other relatives in the kidnapping. A case under Section 363 of the RPC has been registered at Bari Brahmana police station.

City woman forces traffic police to act
Calls DGP to visit New Plot-Janipur road to get himself acquainted with commuters’ hardships
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
In a first-of-its-kind daring act, a city woman today made the entire Traffic Police Department “responsive” after she got stuck in a long traffic snarl on the New Plot-Janipur road following indiscriminate digging by the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) for laying sewer lines.

She dared the state Director General of Police (DGP), K. Rajendra, who directed the traffic police officers to clear the long traffic jam and depute more policemen to deal with the situation.

“Our vehicle got stuck in a long traffic jam near New Plot area at around 7:00 p.m yesterday evening when we were returning home from market. Thousands of vehicles remained stranded there for one and half hours. The situation turned more chaotic due to the absence of traffic cops on the road. Then I decided to make a phone call to the DGP,” Monika Chopra, a resident of Janipur, told The Tribune.

She said she made several phone calls to the DGP but he didn’t respond. “I decided to send an SMS and it worked. I asked the DGP whether he had ever visited the stretch which had become the most chaotic and congested road of the city. The road users have been subjected to umpteen hardships due to the absence of traffic cops,” she said.

Monika said, “Within minutes, I got a call from the DGP and he appreciated me for apprising him of the situation. He assured me that he would look into the matter. After remaining stranded for over an hour, we reached home at 8:30 pm. Normally, it takes just 15 minutes to cover that distance.”

She said she had to again face the same situation when she along with her husband came out from her residence this morning. “We were again caught up in a long traffic jam and all the interior roads were choked in and around New Plot, Janipur and Sarwal areas this morning. I again called up the DGP and requested him to direct his subordinates for necessary action. The DGP was kind enough and he promised me a quick reaction,” she narrated.

Soon after, she said, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Jammu, Dilbagh Singh called her up and asked about the situation. The IGP, then, directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Jammu for an immediate action. “The SSP also made a phone call to me and he rushed the traffic cops to the spot who cleared all the stranded vehicles. Since morning, it is going normal in the area and it gave me a lot of confidence to make authorities responsive and accountable,” Monika asserted.

The SSP (Traffic), Jammu, Manmohan Singh, said the traffic was hit following digging work on the stretch. “We responded to the complaint of Monika who was quite satisfied with the department’s swift action. The traffic problem will remain on the stretch till tomorrow evening,” he added.

Yesterday, Jammu Tribune had carried a news report pertaining to traffic chaos and hardships being faced by the commuters on the stretch. It was reported that the ERA had virtually closed the road for traffic for two days without any notice following the digging work.

Getting info through RTI expensive in J&K, says BJP
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
State BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas has demanded that the state government should comply with the RTI provisions on the same pattern as the governments in the other states and the Central government. He was addressing a press conference at party headquarters here yesterday.

Manhas said though the Central government as well as the state governments had enacted the Right to Information Act (RTI Act-2008) for seeking any information from a government department on a fee of Rs 10 on single application and additional fee for accessories but the J&K government has not adhered to the reasonable fee structure.

Instead, he said, the NC-Congress coalition government under Omar Abdullah had fixed a fee of Rs 50 per application and Rs 10 per page for the information material under the RTI, thereby making it quite expensive for poor and dispossessed people
of the state.

He alleged that charging more fee for providing information under the RTI in J&K was deliberately done to discourage people from using this Act and exposing the corruption, misappropriation of funds, and other misdeeds by ministers and bureaucrats.

Manhas said the BJP-ruled states like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have been providing the information to the BPL category applicants free of cost, which was a clear indicator of the BJP’s commitment to provide each and every person an opportunity to seek any information.

He demanded levying of same rates as in the other parts of country for seeking information under the RTI, provision of providing the information in a floppy and free information to the BPL applicants.

He said there should be no denial of information under the RTI merely on the ground that the applicant was not a resident of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pradesh Youth Cong leaders get rousing welcome
Our Correspondent

Rajouri, July 14
Activists of the Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC), J&K, accorded a rousing reception to the newly elected vice-president Pranav Sagotra and Dr Rashid Choudhary, former state president, NSUI, and state general secretary, Youth Congress, who made the first visit to the district after the PYC elections.

A large number of PYC activists received the Pranav sogatra and Dr Rashid Choudhary at Salani Bridge by garlanding them. Later, PYC leaders were brought to the Dak Banglow, Rajouri, in a procession. An interaction session was also organised with the elected booth level delegates of the four assembly segments of Rajouri, district. The elected office bearers of AYCs also participated in the interaction. The PYC leaders noted the problems of the delegates and assured them of due support and projection of their problems with the concerned authorities.

All the leaders addressed the gathering and congratulated the newly elected office bearers. They expressed gratitude to Rahul Gandhi for giving election opportunity to the youths of J & K.

Addressing the gathering Pranav Sagotra expressed his deep sense of gratitude and thanks to Rahul Gandhi, general secretary, AICC, In charge PYC , Meenaki Natrajan, AICC secretary, In charge PYC and Rajiv Satav, national president, IYC.

Encroachments galore in Reasi
Residents face problems, smooth flow of traffic also affected
Devinder Thakur

Reasi, July 14
Encroachments are on the rise in Reasi town as shopkeepers and vendors have occupied footpaths and open spaces in the area, hampering road traffic and creating trouble for pedestrians.

The encroachers have set up their stalls at the main roads, including Court Road, Nai Basti Road, Old Hospital Road, Main Bazar Road, Chowk Chbutra Road, Ram Gali, Talab Wali Gali and several other areas.

In many areas, handcart bazars have been set up, occupying both sides of roads due to which the citizens face problems. The encroachments also hamper the smooth flow of traffic.

Main Bazar has become a congested area and needs attention of the authorities. These localities are administratively under the control of Reasi town. The authorities concerned have turned a blind eye and are least bothered in removing these encroachments.

Though a number of anti-encroachment drives were launched in the past by the authorities concerned, the situation has not changed.

Sanjeev Kumar, a local resident, said, “The authorities should launch a comprehensive drive to remove encroachments from the area, which should be followed by strict monitoring, so that the roads are not encroached again”.

Harnam Singh, another resident of Reasi, said, “Encroachers have occupied both sides of the road and no space is left for car parking”.

He said the staff of the department concerned only visits the area once in the morning to remove the encroachments but as soon as they leave, the encroachers again set up their stalls there.

The citizens urged the district administration to take stern action against the shopkeepers, vendors and fruit and vegetable vendors for creating hurdles in the smooth flow of traffic.

Encroachments in different localities of the city have become a nuisance not only for motorists, as they create traffic jams, but also for the residents of the area.

NSUI holds one-day meet at Sunderbani
Our Correspondent

Rajouri, July 14
The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) organised a one-day block convention of the NSUI delegates and workers at Sunderbani of Rajouri district. The convention was organised under the leadership of the district president, NSUI, Rajouri, Sahil Raina. On the occasion, Ravinder Sharma MLC was the chief guest.

Iftkhar Ahmed, election commissioner, All India NSUI, presided over the function, Sidarth Pathania, state general secretary, NSUI, and in charge, Rajouri district, Neeraj Kundan, National Delegate, NSUI were the guests of honour. Shabir Choudhary, senior youth Congress leader, Rajouri district, was the special guest.

During the convention, various issues related to students were discussed, which included lack of sports faculties in the Sunderbani block. They also demanded a sports stadium in Sunderbani and infrastructure at the Government Degree College, Sunderbani.

On the occasion, Thakur Jatinder Singh along with 100 students joined the NSUI.

Jatinder Singh said he joined the NSUI because the NSUI was the only students’ organisation which is secular and can fight for the rights of the student community. He was also made the block president of Sunderbani.

Ravinder Sharma appreciated the efforts of the NSUI for organising the programme. He also donated Rs 5 lakh for the construction of a sports stadium at Sunderbani. He also asked the students to remain united and maintain communal harmony.

Woman dies of burns

Jammu, July 14
A middle aged house wife died of burn injuries at the Government Medical College, Hospital on Friday night.

Reports said that Rubi, wife of Ganpati Lal, a resident of Seru, Katra, was brought to GMCH, Jammu, on Friday evening as she was suffering from burns at home.

Doctors informed that she had received 80 per cent burns and died on the same night.A case has been registered at police station, Katra and the investigation is underway. — TNS

Arms and ammunition recovered
Our Correspondent

Batote, July 14
A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered by a joint team of 10 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and the Doda Police from a hideout of Hizbul Mujahideen in the jungle of Kalasant Behota of Marmat area in Doda district yesterday.

According to defence sources, after getting a tip-off, a joint search operation was launched in the remote jungle to unearth the cache.

The seized items included one AK-47 rifle, 12 AK-47 magazines , one 12-bore rifle, 5 country-made rifles, one SLR with magazine, one local-made pistol, 2 UBGL launchers, 20 UBGL grenades, four 60mm mortar bombs, 18 chinese grenades, 5 kg RDX, 518 rounds of AK-47, 128 Rounds of the SLR, one binocular, two grenade fuses,10 mt safety fuse, 49 ammunition belts, one detonator lead, 32 PIKA rounds, one ICOM radio antenna, three battery cells, two donation collecting receipt books, two propaganda books, two diaries and assorted medicines, besides Rs 1,819 in Indian currency and Rs 4 Pakistani coins.

Mohammadan Sporting Club to play a friendly match

Jammu, July 14
A 19-member football team of Mohammadan Sporting Club, Kolkata, arrived here to play a friendly match.

The Minister for Youth Services and Sports, R S Chib, received the team at the Airport along with the Secretary, J&K Sports Council, Dilip Thusoo, and officials of J&K Football Association.

The visiting team will play a friendly match on July 15, 2012 at Bakshi Stadium Srinagar with the host Jammu and Kashmir XI.

Chib said the aim of organising a friendly match was to explore the hidden potential of our youths and also to provide them an ideal opportunity to interact with the star strikers.

He said government was committed to promote spots in the state and during the past 3-4 years several important events of National and State level championships have been organised.

Later, the Minister chaired a high-level meeting of officers convened to review the arrangements for the goodwill football match to be played between Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC), Kolkata, and J&K XI.

ADGP Security, Ram Lubhaya, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, SM Sahai, Director Information, Zaffar Ahmad Bhat, Director Youth Services and Sports S Jaipal Singh, Secretary, J&K State Sports Council, Daleep Thussu, President, J&K Football Association, Zameer Ahmad Thakur, Joint Secretary, J&K State Sports Council Prof Bashir Ahmad, besides representatives from school education, higher education and health departments attended the meeting. — TNS

Wonder Boys, Riders Club emerge victorious
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
Wonder Boys Cricket Club and Riders Cricket Club scripted resounding wins over their rivals to advance in the ongoing 1st Sopore T20 Cricket Tournament, being organised by District Police Baramulla, under Civic Action Programme (CAP) at Khushal Sports Stadium, today.

In the first match, Wonder Boys trounced Saleem Sports Wagub by four wickets with consummate ease. Batting first, Saleem Sports scored 128 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. In reply, Wonder Boys Club did the needful in 17 overs. Mansoor Ahmad was declared man of the match.

In another match, RCC defeated GB Riders. Tariq Ahmed was adjudged the man of the match.

Wazir, Iqra excel in State Thang-Ta Championship
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
Wazir Ahmad Ghulam and Iqra Hafees were adjudged champions in the men and women sections, respectively, on the concluding day of the 19th State Thang-Ta championship held at Government College for Women, Nawa Kadal.

About 650 boys and girls drawn from 12 districts of the state competed in the three-day long championship.

Results:

Senior Boys (52 kg): Feroz Ahmed Ganie, Ist; Naseer Digoo, 2nd and Umer Jalal, 3rd. 52 kg: Suhail Ahmed Ghulam, Ist; Manan Ayoub, 2nd and Zaheer Abbas, 3rd. 56 kg: Sajad Ahmed Dar, Ist; Honey Kumar, 2nd and Bashir Ahmed, 3rd. 60 kg: Style 1st: Tariq Hassan, Ist; Ashiq Hussain, 2nd and Salman Rasool, 3rd. 62 kg: Shabir Ahmed Mir, Ist; Rajesh Kumar, 2nd and Manzoor Ahmed, 3rd. 65 kg: Sanjay Verma, Ist; Asif Nabi, 2nd and Adil, 3rd. 70 kg: Jalid Ahmed, Ist; Irshad Ahmed, 2nd and Burhan, 3rd. 75 kg: Mudasir Wani, Ist; Alif Shear, 2nd and Manzoor Ahmed, 3rd. 80 kg: Wazir Ahmed, Ist; Naveed, 2nd and Irshad Ahmed, 3rd. 85 kg: Arfat Hakeem, Ist; Aqib Khursheed, 2nd and Ravees Ahmed Chopan, 3rd. 90 kg: Azhar Majeed, Ist; Suja, 2nd and Sayic, 3rd. Senior Girls (50 kg): Amina Mehraj, Ist; Safia, 2nd and Bisma, 3rd. 54 kg: Iqra Hafeez, Ist and Nusrat-ul-Nisa, 2nd. 56kg: Samia Jan, Ist and Sabreen, 2nd. 58 kg: Hafeeza Akhtar, Ist; Naziya, 2nd and Muzamil Rasool, 3rd. 62 kg: Arbeen Yousef, Ist; Fizhat Rafiq, 2nd and Iqra Bhat, 3rd. 65 kg: Farhana Farid, Ist and Novreen Mushtaq, 2nd. 66 kg: Asiya Mehraj, Ist; Mudasir, 2nd and Sabreen Ahad, 3rd. 68 kg: Style 2nd: Ishrat Rafiq, Ist. 70 kg: Style 2nd: Anisa Shabnam, Ist; Sehrish, 2nd and Anjum, 3rd. 72kg: Aliya Rashid, Ist; Sehrish Wani, 2nd and Mekah Nazir, 3rd. 75kg: Anjumand Farooq, Ist; Shaziya Shah, 2nd and Iqrana Farooq, 3rd. 80 kg: Foziya Majeed, Ist; Nighat Parveen, 2nd and Habsa Rasheed, 3rd.

SKCC beat Khushal Sports

Jammu, July 14
Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Club (SKCC) registered a comfortable 64-run victory over Khushal Sports, Tulibal in the ongoing Ist Sopore Twenty20 Cricket Tournament at Khushal Sports Stadium, Sopore, today.

Batting first, after winning the toss, SKCC scored 134 runs for the loss of
seven wickets.

In reply, Khushal Sports were bowled out for 69 runs in 19 overs. For his fine innings of 71 runs, Muneeb of SKCC was declared the man of the match.

In another match, Amateur Sports Club, Badambagh, thrashed Junior Stars, Sopore, by 29 runs.

Nasir Ahmad of the winning team was adjudged the man of the match. — TNS

PTS in semifinals
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
Police Training School (PTS) defeated Kanta
Football Club by 2-0 in the quarterfinals to secure a berth in the semifinals of the ongoing Asha Football Cup at Sports Stadium, Kathua, today.

Now, PTS will take on Rock Star Football Club in the semifinals.

The match was organised by Rajinder Singh and Police Training School, Kathua.

The principal, PTS Kathua, RK Bhat, alongwith his officers and sports staff were also present on the occasion.