Jammu, November 16
Unplanned and mindless construction on the campus of the University of Jammu, country’s first institute of higher learning and research, has imparted it a congested and scruffy look.

The University’s much-ambitious proposal to construct multi-storey buildings on the campus has remained on papers though. Buildings are being constructed in a haphazard manner. The varsity has also failed to get back its land, which is under the control of the Army. The latter had agreed to vacate the land only if they were provided alternate land of same market value. The price of the land is estimated to be Rs 400 crore.

Sources said the present campus, which is spread over 118.7 acres, has been shrinking due to unplanned construction activities. “Despite a limited area available with the university, no thought was given to the construction of multi-storey buildings on the campus instead. So far, all the buildings have been built two or three storeys high. There is a need to construct multi-storey buildings on the campus to conserve its greenery,” sources said.

Though the University authorities had taken up the matter with the Higher Education Department of the state to vacate the land having mechanical store outside the main campus, it has yet to get positive signs from the state government, sources said.

A senior professor of the varsity, who insisted anonymity, said the ongoing construction of new buildings was not being done in a planned way. New buildings are coming up in a haphazard manner which is not only leading to congestion but has also given a shabby look to the campus. The authorities should do a proper ground work before starting construction of any new building,” he said.

Recently, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, Professor Mohan Paul Singh Ishar had said the new buildings on the campus would be multi-storeyed to deal with the problem of land shortage.

Rakesh Chib, president of Jammu University Research Scholars Executive Association (JURSEA), also criticised the varsity administration for unplanned construction saying that the officers at the helm of affairs should review the ongoing construction activity.

“The authorities must plan before undertaking any construction activity on the campus. The University has been facing shortage of land and it should not waste the land through such haphazard construction. Multi-storey buildings are the only solution. These buildings must have space for several departments. This would not only save land but also greenery of the campus,” Chib said.

Professor Naresh Padha, Registrar Jammu University, said the University has decided that the new buildings on the campus would be five or more storeyed complexes. Apart from this, the University has requested the state higher education department to take up the matter of vacating land from Army’s occupation with the Centre.

Jammu, November 16
The School Education Department has introduced a new monitoring system in government-run schools. The move comes after the department faced criticism over the falling standard of education.

As per the mechanism, Principal Higher Secondary School will monitor the functioning of High Schools and Headmaster of High School will supervise middle and primary level schools to improve quality of education and results during the coming 2012-13 exams.

Director School Education (DSE) Gulzar Ahmed Qureshi said, “The Education Department has introduced a new mechanism of adoption of schools by the District Institutes of Educational Training (DIET) to help them achieve better results and to meet their infrastructural requirements.”

Qureshi said the DIETs would also help the adopted schools to make learning more effective by providing teaching-learning aids, ensuring punctuality of the staff, availability of infrastructure and increase in the enrolment of students, he added.

To meet the shortfall of teachers, Qureshi said hundreds of ReTs have been engaged as per subjects in every district, particularly in far-flung areas of the Jammu division so that the studies of the students do not get hampered due to lack of staff. He said on the instructions of the School Education Ministry, a door-to-door campaign has been launched to identify children who are without education due to economic reasons. He said the department would bear Rs 3,000 as expenses to provide free books, uniform and mid-day meal to each student.

Qureshi has asked the teaching fraternity to impart quality education to the students so that they become good citizens of the country.

The DSE said the department has promoted 2,784 teachers as masters and 207 masters as in-charge Headmasters to fill vacancies in fast-track manner. He said the DIETs have been activated and given additional responsibility to conduct middle standard exams. He added that supplementary exams have also been conducted for the first time in educational institutions.

Poonch, November 16
The Chief Education Officer, Poonch, KL Parihar, has taken an initiative to resume functioning of 36 computer labs in as many government schools. The labs were not being run due to non-availability of computer teachers in the institutions.

Parihar has also organised a 10-day Capacity Building Programme under Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) scheme under SSA.

As many as 60 teachers have been selected for the training programme. They are undergoing training in the CO office in Poonch. A team of computer experts, under the supervision of Vikas Sharma, Programme co-coordinator, SSA, is training the teachers.

Parihar said, “36 government schools in Poonch have been provided with computer labs but due to the non-availability of computer teachers they were not functioning so far.”

The Computer Aided Learning (CAL) is a National Flagship Programme under SSA to provide exposure to the students of upper primary schools to access computer technology and learn their regular course using animation based digital content.

The aim of CAL in schools is to provide joyful, interactive and interesting ways of learning, through illustrations, examples and interactive tools, particularly designed to emphasise on subjects like mathematics, English, science and computer literacy.

The trained teachers shall work in their own school where CAL centres have been established under the SSA and the students shall be able to learn concepts through 
computer-aided learning tools, he said.

Jammu, November 16
The Forest Department has distributed 1,48,500 Cft timber in the six divisions of the Chenab Forest Circle, including Khistwar 32,000 Cft, Marwah 10,500 Cft, Batote 15,000 Cft, Ramban 36,000 Cft, Bhaderwah, 3,00,000 Cft and Doda 25,000 Cft among the consumers, Minister for Forests, Mian Altaf said.

Timber has been distributed in view of the six-month long winter season. The Forest Department has also planted 16.43 lakh saplings and grown 17.46 lakh plants in its nurseries under Compensatory Aforestation Management Planning Authority (CAMPA) in the six divisions of Chenab Forest Circle during 2010-11 till March 2012 at the cost of Rs 6.44 crore.

For 2012-13 the department has set a target to plant 8.31 lakh saplings and plans to grow 10.47 lakh plants in its nurseries across the Forest Circle in Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar districts. The department has also taken up demarcation of the forest area for which it received Rs 60.08 lakh during 2011-12, while it has targeted to construct 1,587 pillars during 2012-13.

The information was given at a meeting chaired by Minister for Forests, Mian Altaf Ahmed, to review the achievements registered in the area under the flagship Aforestaion programme, CAMPA. The CAMPA aims to achieve massive afforestration in the degraded forest areas and creation of infrastructure, take measures to prevent forest fires and forest demarcation works.

Jammu, November 16
As the weather turns to a pink winter, residents have started preparing to fight a cosy chill. Markets reflect the demand as woollens branded or otherwise are available all over the city. A dip in temperature over the past week has made residents take out their colourful woollens.

Apart from branded showrooms, street markets offer more economically viable options for residents.

For many residents buying new woollens is the best way to celebrate the change of season. “We are taking precautions to protect our health in the winters. We welcome the sudden weather change and are enjoying ourselves,” said an elderly couple of Kachhi Chawni area.

To ooze feminine charm, women are following the latest fashion trends and buying colourful woollens.

Divya said, “Onset of winters gives us a reason to get a new look as there are innumerable choices to dress up in winters. Warm clothes with good colours offer a great way to dress fashionably in winters.” 

Rajouri, November 16
Sarpanches and panches of border district Rajouri today revolted against the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) and its chairman, who had recently announced that none of its members would participate in the upcoming Legislative Council Elections.

Panchayat members from various parts of the district termed this organisation as ‘self-styled’ and denied any sort of boycott from the upcoming Legislative Council Elections.

A few days ago, AJKPC chairman Shafiq Mir had told mediapersons, "We make it clear that no member of the AJKPC shall contest the MLC elections and we shall continue our fight for the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state."

Panches and sarpanchs of all the developmental blocks of district Rajouri held a meeting here in the Dak bungalow.

During this meeting, it was unanimously decided and later announced through a press conference there will be no boycotting of the upcoming elections of the Legislative Council.

Sarpanch Sanjeev Mangu said panchayat representatives of the district would actively participate in the elections and will exercise their vote with full power.

He said the self-styled All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference was giving statements based vested interests, which would not be tolerated and that people associated with the organisation should stop making such comments as it did not reflect the view of panchayat members.

The sarpanches also condemned the lethargic approach of the state government in holding the Block Development Council Elections and said the state government had so far failed to set up a three-tier system and all the political parties, especially the coalition partners, were responsible for it.

Sarpanches Shokat Ali, Bau Ram, Abdul Khaliq, Manir Mirza, Tasaduq Khan, Raguvir Singh, Muzaffar Bhatti, Fazal Chouhan, Kewal Sharma, Ayub Khan, Sanjeev Mangu, Mian Lal Mirza, Capt Joginder Singh, Balbir Singh, Amin Malik, Raja Akram Khan, Qayoom Mirza, Manir Hussain, Khem Raj, Naseem Choudhary, Yash Paul Sharma, Raj Kumar Sharma, Balbir Kumar, Som Raj and Pritam Lal were present in the meeting.

Jammu, November 16
Taking a serious note of the slow pace of beautification works of the Tawi front adjacent to the upcoming artificial lake, Minister for Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora today warned the executing agencies to complete the work in time or face strict action.

The minister was accompanied by the Minister of State for Tourism and Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, and Commissioner Secretary Tourism and Culture Atal Duloo.

He said the Centre had earmarked Rs 3.80 crore for the beautification and development of the Tawi front, which includes development of public recreation parks, fencing near the river and on the roadside, provision of public facilities, parking lots and shelter sheds cum vantage points and illumination of the area.

While instructing the executing agencies to gear up men and machinery for ensuring time-bound completion of the works, Jora called for close coordination between irrigation, revenue, tourism and other concerned departments.

He directed the concerned authorities to ensure completion of the developmental works of the Peer-Kho temple site by the end of this month.

The Tourism Minister said all tourism works which were being carried out in Jammu division should be completed in time.

The Tourism Minister also laid stress on the use of quality material and judicious utilisation of the allocated funds. 

Jammu, November 16
A Jammu-based activist today approached the State Law Department to seek details on the number of districts in the state which burst firecrackers in violation of the norms set by the Supreme Court.

Deepak Sharma, who has filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in this regard, said his intention was not to hurt the religious sentiments of any community and that people should enjoy bursting crackers but within permitted hours and in compliance with the guidelines of the apex court.

He said his purpose of filing the RTI application was to sensitise the concerned government agencies, which are responsible for implementing the court order in letter and spirit.

In his application, Sharma has requested the State Law Department to furnish details on the number of notifications or advisories issued by the government to general public and the dates when they were published for the awareness of the court order on firecrackers from January 1, 2012, to November 13, 2012.

He has also sought the number and date of any order passed by the state government to restrict people from bursting crackers between 10 pm to 6 am and of any order passed by the government to any of its departments to take steps for the compliance of the order.

According to the Supreme Court order on firecrackers, the permissible decibel level for firecrackers is 125 decibel and for a series of crackers it is 105 decibel.

The activist said on Divali, people openly violated the court ruling by bursting crackers even after 10 pm.

He claimed the sound level of most of the firecrackers was more than the permitted level. Moreover, he said the covers of the firecrackers didn’t mention the chemical composition and it all happened under the nose of the administration.

Deepak said if violations had been committed, someone should be held responsible as the court had made the ruling keeping in view environment, health and social concerns of people.

Batote, November 16
The file pertaining to the construction of a bus stand at Batote has been gathering dust in the office of the Director, Urban Local Bodies, Jammu, (DUCBJ) since February, 2008.

Absence of a bus stand at congested market here offers little security for pedestrians and passengers alighting or boarding buses. The centrally-located market remains congested because Doda, Kashmir and Udhampur-bound buses and vehicles belonging to shoppers 
and shopkeepers are parked here.

Such haphazard situation has even resulted in several accidents. “This chaos has also led to loss of business as most buses have stopped halting here. The passengers prefer to go elsewhere to have their meals or tea,” said Ravinder Singh, Chairman, Batote Development Forum and former Municipal Committee President, Batote.

“The most viable solution is to relocate seven dilapidated forest staff huts situated behind the bus stand. The file related to it enclosing the map made by the Chief Town Planner, has been lying in the office of the DUCBJ for estimation and further action,” he said. The said map of 8.36 kanal land, has proposed seven and four bays for active parking and Idle parking, respectively.

“I intend to hand over the said land in public interest to the Municipal Committee (MC), Batote, if the genuine value of the said land shall be paid to me by the MC accordingly,” Sudhir Singh, owner of the land which has been under the possession of the Forest Department, has submitted through an affidavit in May 2008 enclosed with that file. 

Jammu, November 16
The Gurj Division of the Army, which has undertaken several projects under Operation Sadbhavana to provide basic amenities as well as medical aid to improve the living standards of the local population, has organised a three-day medical camp in the remote Machhedi block of Billawar tehsil in Kathua district.

Four doctors and paramedics of the Army along with five doctors from Billawar Government Hospital are taking part in the camp.

The camp provided medical benefits and specialised treatment to about 850 patients from far-flung areas of Nathi, Barnota, Lohai and Mular on the first day today.

Two lady doctors and a nursing officer were specially arranged to address gynecology-related problems of women patients.

The aim of the medical camp is to spread awareness about cleanliness and health care issues besides screening and early detection of lifestyle diseases.

Army doctors also organised a workshop for local medical volunteers to make them aware of health and sanitation issues.

While inspecting the camp, the GOC of the Gurj Infantry Division, Maj Gen G Sankaranarayanan, emphasised the need to ensure good hygiene and cleanliness in villages, better medical facilities for children and women and an enhanced awareness amongst the community about healthcare.

He also handed crutches and wheel chairs to some needy patients.

Infantry Brigade Commander Brig NS Raja Subramani also attended the camp along with the representatives of the local administration. 

Reasi November 16
Lack of basic amenities such as electricity, potable water and proper drainage is posing inconvenience to residents of Sermega village in Reasi district.

Over 50 families living in the village have ‘kuchha’ houses and their economy is dependent on agriculture. Maize and paddy account for the main agricultural produce of this village.

However, due to lack of irrigation canals, villagers have to depend on rainwater for farming. Though a few have installed water pumps for drawing groundwater, long power cuts have rendered them useless.

“We use electric motors to irrigate our fields and therefore, power cuts for long hours have adversely affected our agricultural operations,” said village sarpanch Chaju Ram.

There is also an acute shortage of potable water in the village. Though the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department has laid pipes in the village, the water supply is available only for three to four days in a week, adding to the woes of residents. They are forced to tread long distance to get potable water from natural ponds called ‘bowlis’.

The road which links the village to the national highway is in a bad shape as it has not been macadamised. During the rainy season, it becomes all the more difficult to take the road.

The authorities have also given provision of proper transport facilities a miss here. The worst hit are schoolchildren and elderly people.

Jammu, November 16
Oriental Academy Higher Secondary School, in collaboration with the Mountaineering Association of J&K, today organised a coaching-cum-competition for its students at Sprawling Buds School, Chinore here.

A total of 34 students, including 12 girls, of the school participated in the event.

Madhav Agnihotri, a class VI student, emerged victorious in the sub-junior boys’ category. Hritik Jain and Charanjeev secured the second and third positions respectively.

In the junior boys’ category, Abhishek Slathia secured first position. Ankit Khajuria and Sanjot Singh had to be contended with second and third position respectively.

In the sub-junior girls’ group, Ayushi Khajuria, Kashish and Gouri claimed first three positions. In the junior girls’ category, Subha Khajuria, Shivangi Gupta and Muskan Abrol secured, first, second and third positions respectively.

The competition was organised under the supervision of Sonam Sidharth, a senior climber, at Tenzing Norgay Sport Climbing Wall. Anil Kumar was the route setter of the competition, which was assisted by other senior climbers.

Principal of the host school Puja Sharma was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony. 

Jammu, November 16
The Cooperative Public Higher Secondary School, Deeli near Trikuta Nagar, celebrated Children’s Day and the 59th Cooperative Week.

On this occasion, students presented a colorful bonanza of cultural items. Later, prizes were distributed among students and teachers who excelled in various academic and co-curricular activities.

Cooperatives Registrar Sudershan Sharma, prominent academician ID Soni, Maj General (retd) Goverdharn Singh Jamwal were among those who were present in the event.

Minister for Cooperatives Manohar Lal Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion. He stressed the need for improving the standard of education in both government and private schools.

He said students should be nurtured in such a way that they could compete in various fields. Besides academic activities, students should be imparted moral education as it was essential to make them good citizens, he asserted.

Expressing satisfaction over the performance of the chain of cooperative schools in Jammu, the minister said the management had taken encouraging steps to upgrade the standard of education in the past few years. — TNS

Jammu, November 16
Principal Sessions Judge, Udhampur, AK Koul today acquitted Ankush Kundal, in case of murder of Baba Ram Parshad.

“The entire exercise conducted by investigating agency as well as the prosecution has ended in futility. A doubt free nexus between the accused and guilt is missing and the accused is so acquitted of all the charges. He shall be set free provided if he is not required in any other case,” stated the Judge.

Body of the priest of Hanuman temple, Baba Ram Prashad Dass, who went missing on February 23, 2011, was found inside the temple on February 24, 2011.