Heavy traffic at the Bikram Chowk

Jammu, January 18
Incessant rain and heavy snowfall in upper reaches crippled the normal life across the region, as cold wave again tightened its grip in plain areas following a sudden decline in the maximum temperature today.

Inclement weather conditions also affected rail and air traffic, while Kashmir Valley remained cut-off from other parts of the country for second consecutive day today due to closure of the 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway following slippery conditions and accumulation of snow triggered by continuous rain.

Sources said all five flights operating between Jammu and Srinagar remained grounded because of poor visibility caused by bad weather. The flights between Jammu and New Delhi were moving to and fro from Jammu Airport normally, while the flights heading towards Srinagar were diverted back to Delhi, the sources said.

Railway officials said the movement of trains was also affected due to poor visibility and hazy conditions. Almost all the trains were running behind the schedule, subjecting passengers to great hardships, the officials said.

Apart from rail and air traffic, the vehicular movement on main highways was halted due to landslides and accumulation of snow. “It is still snowing heavily at Jawahar Tunnel, Patnitop and adjoining areas. Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway remained suspended for second day. No vehicle was allowed to move either towards Srinagar or Jammu as a precautionary measure,” a senior traffic police officer said, adding that the traffic would be allowed on the highway only after improvement in the weather conditions.

“Till noon, 318 vehicles, including 108 light motor vehicles were stranded between Chanderkot to Banihal on the highway. After alighting from their vehicles half-way, the hapless passengers were seen walking between Batote and Kud as the traffic at Patnitop remained suspended,” the officer said.

The road link between Doda and Bhaderwah town was also closed due to heavy snowfall, while traffic on the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway was disrupted due to landslides at several places.

An Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) official said Batote area in Ramban district received 40 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours. In Bhaderwah town, a total of 33 mm rainfall was recorded, while the maximum temperature was 4 degrees Celsius which was 11 notches below normal.

Jammu received 16.4 mm rainfall since last evening and the day temperature was hovering below normal, the official said.

Dr Sonam Lotus, IMD Director, J&K, said they were expecting slight improvement in weather conditions tomorrow. “The weather would remain cloudy but the people would get respite from continuous rain tomorrow,” he said.

Meanwhile, the cave shrine of Goddess Vaishnodevi in Trikuta hills of Reasi district received the year’s first snowfall today, even as pilgrims made a beeline to the shrine to pay obeisance.

“Trikuta hills and nearby region received eight inches of year's first snow. Despite the snowfall, over 10,000 pilgrims are on their way to the cave shrine to pay their obeisance,” police officials said here today.

(With inputs from Devinder Thakur in Reasi and RK Kichlu in Batote)

Jammu, January 18
Minister of State for Home Sajad Ahmad Kichloo along with provincial president, National Conference, Jammu, Davinder Singh Rana today visited the Main Bus Stand, Jammu, and assured the stranded passengers of free boarding and lodging till the reopening of the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

Kichloo and Rana said the highway had been closed temporarily to protect any loss of life and property in case of any possible eventuality due to vagaries of weather and heaving snow and rainfall going on in various areas of the state for the past two days.

The Minister directed the officers concerned to take stringent action against the profiteers especially those hoteliers who charge exorbitant rates from the stranded passengers.

Speaking to the people, Kichloo said redressal of the people’s grievances was the prime concern of the state government and “the service to humanity is its mission and goal”.

Kichloo directed the police and civil administration to activate men and machinery to provide all possible respite to the people living in the snowbound areas of the state and ensure functioning of all the essential departments and health institutions so that people were not put to inconvenience.

The Minister also called for activating different market checking squads to check black marketing, hoarding and profiteering by unscrupulous shopkeepers and traders, who were habitual to get undue advantage of the weather and road conditions during the winter season.

Poonch, January 18
Almost entire Poonch district plunged into darkness due to power failure following bending of high-tension electricity towers in the wake of heavy snowfall. The district administration also announced that all schools and colleges would remain closed tomorrow.

The administration, especially the Power Development Department, said it had geared up to restore the 132-KV line from Thanamandi to Poonch via Draba which got damaged due to bending of towers/33 KV and 11 KV lines in the wake of heavy snowfall.

An official spokesperson, while making a fervent appeal to have patience and cooperate with the district administration, said strenuous efforts were being made for restoration of power supply which mighty take some days. Due to power snapping, drinking water supply would also be affected. The people have been asked to conserve drinking water and make its use judiciously. In case of any emergency, they should contact Police Control Room at 01965-220258 or district Control Room at 01965-220347, 222723 or the nearest police post, police station or army post.

People have been advised to remain cautious and should not venture into landslide or avalanches prone areas.

Jammu, January 18
Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather today asked the Disaster Management Committees (DMCs) both at the divisional and district levels to respond swiftly in the wake of weather forecast about heavy snowfall and possible snow avalanches in different winter zone areas of the state.

Asking the heads of different DMCs, comprising Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, to immediately activate central control rooms in their respective areas, the Minister said there should be no room for any lapse adding that the public delivery system should, in no case, be allowed to get affected.

Rather directed the officers concerned and field agencies of the divisional and district administration to press into service all the men and machinery available to clear snow from roads for ensuring uninterrupted vehicular movement on all routes, including intra and inter-district roads.

He directed for operationalisation of round-the-clock control room for closely monitoring the situation in case of vagaries of weather and possible snow avalanches especially in the upper reaches, adding that people should be kept informed about the telephone numbers of these control rooms for use in case of any emergencies.

The Minister also stressed for keeping all the emergency services functional in any case, adding that uninterrupted power supply to the hospitals, health institutions and emergency services should be the top priority.

Rather also called for ensuring availability of adequate quantities of essential commodities including rice, flour, sugar, kerosene and cooking gas in all the habitations especially in remote and inaccessible areas

He also called for submission of stock and off-take position in various godowns of the CAPD on daily basis to the government, during the entire winter months for close monitoring about the availability of essential commodities in the snow affected areas of the state.

Rather has also called for activating different market checking squads to check black marketing, hoarding and profiteering by unscrupulous shopkeepers and traders, who are taking undue advantage of the weather and road conditions during the winter season.

Jammu, January 18
With only 700 panchayats have been covered so far by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) out of the total 4,000 panchayats under the Panchayat Yuva Khel Aur Krida Abhiyan (PYKKA), a Centrally-sponsored scheme, the sports department has instructed its officers concerned to intensify their efforts to achieve the set targets before the expiry of the scheme in 2017.

A source in the DYSS said in a recently submitted periodical report to new PYKKA observer Krupali Singh, it was found that the pace of construction of the playfields in different government educational institutions was very slow. The source said the observer had also sought details from the DYSS regarding the funds spent for conducting activities in different districts of the state and uplift of sports infrastructure.

“The district level competitions have already been conducted by the department but an inordinate delay in conducting the state level competitions has disturbed the whole activity schedule of the department,” said the source.

“The scheme was launched in the state in 2008 with much fanfare but the department lacks in its effective implementation. In fact, the Union Sports Ministry has extended the deadline for J&K so that the targets can be achieved in strengthening of sports infrastructure at the grass root level,” he added.

“The department has issued clear instructions to its officers that they cannot afford to be complacent now because if the state fails to miss the deadline, it is very likely that the department might not be able to avail the benefit of other new sports schemes to be launch by the Union Sports Ministry this year,” said the source.

Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director, Youth Services and Sports, told The Tribune, “The newly appointed observer is very cooperative with the department and we are trying our level best to achieve the targets before the expiry of the scheme.”

“So far, the department has done reasonably well as far as construction of playfields in various panchayats is concerned. Right now, we are focusing on covering the remaining panchayats in the shortest possible time,” the Deputy Director maintained.

Jammu, January 18
Lending a helping hand to a poor couple, the state government in tandem with the Centre has saved the life of a newborn girl.

The infant, born on November 21 last to Sunita Devi, wife of Ganesh Kumar Mansotra of Gudwal, had a congenital problem.

Sunita had delivered the baby at the Community Health Centre at Ramgarh from where the doctors referred the infant to the Government Medical College in Jammu.

A team of doctors here diagnosed the baby with Tracheo Oesophageal Fistula and asked her father to take her to the PGI, Chandigarh, for the much-needed surgical procedure.But her father returned to Ramgarh as he didn’t have enough money to take the newborn to the PGI for treatment. Ganesh works as a labourer in an industrial unit in Samba.

Moved by the plight of the poor couple, Dr ADS Manhas, Block Medical Officer, Ramgarh, took an initiative to save the life of the newborn.

He immediately brought the matter to the notice of the office of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) at Nagrota and consequently permission was sought from the Union Government to shift the baby to the PGI.

The infant along with her father was shifted to the PGI in an ambulance from Ramgarh and all the expenditures, including that of surgery and post-operative treatment, were borne under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram.

The infant after undergoing the complicated surgery at the PGI where fistula ligation was done by a team of experts had to be kept on ventilator because of some complications. Eventually, after complete recovery she was discharged from the hospital on January 2 this year.

The couple has now given an apt name to the girl, Anshika, a minute particle of this and mystifying universe.

Jammu, January 18
Taking cognisance of a major problem of shrinking space on the main campus of Jammu University, the Higher Education Department (HED) has directed the varsity to construct only multi-storey complexes and discourage construction of any single-storey building.

The department, however, has suggested the varsity for allowing construction of multi-storey complexes only after getting “proper seismic clearance” as the area lies in the seismic zone IV.

“After a meeting between senior officials of the HED and the Jammu University, the varsity was asked to construct only multi-storey complexes having space to accommodate several departments in it. The direction came after the government took serious note of shrinking land on the main campus of the Jammu University due to unplanned and mindless construction of new buildings, imparting it a congested and scruffy look,” a senior official of the department told The Tribune.

The official said the varsity authorities had been asked to “discourage” construction of any structure less than three floors. “All new buildings on the varsity campus will now have either three floors or more. For a complex having more than three floors, the varsity will have to seek a proper seismic permission before undertaking construction work,” the official added.

It was deliberated upon that in view of increasing number of students and growing demand for more infrastructures on the existing campus that spreads over an area of 118.70 acres, the university had been facing the shortage of land.

“The construction of new buildings, which lacks proper planning, has not only been shrinking the space making the campus more congested but also take an adverse affect on greenery of this prestigious institutions which holds the distinction of the country’s first ISO certified institute of higher learning and research,” the official said.

Had the authorities constructed old buildings in a planned manner, there would have been suitable vacant space available with the varsity because most of the departments could have been housed in a few buildings, the official pointed out.

Recently, the university had suffered a major setback when the State Planning Department had turned down its request to transfer about 500 kanals of land of the Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET), Jammu, for its expansion plan.

The planning department had a reservation that extension of an institution (university) couldn’t be allowed at the cost of the college as the GCET authorities would have to shelve its major development activities in near future in such case, sources added.

The new campus of GCET, Jammu, has come up on an area of 869 kanals of land at Chak Bhalwal, near Amb Ghrota, which is 22-km away from the Old University Campus on the Canal Road.

Jammu Tribune had been prominently highlighting the issue of congestion and unplanned constructions on the varsity campus.

Jammu, January 18
Emphasising the need to improve the system of stocking, supply and distribution of food grains in the state, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) and Transport Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan has said that providing quality ration to the consumers at the nook and corner of the state was the priority of the state government.

Chairing a meeting of officers of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) and Legal Metrology Departments here today, the minister underscored the need for early dispatch of food grains to all the sale outlets for onward distribution to the consumers well in time. He said the supply of food grains through the Public Distribution System to the people without any hindrance was the prime responsibility of the field functionaries of the department.

Minister of State for Technical Education and CAPD Vikar Rasool was also present in the meeting.

Ramzan directed the authorities concerned to monitor the dispatch of quota to the sale outlets. He asked the authorities to get feedback from the consumers to know whether they were getting the ration in time and as per the prescribed scale.

The minister instructed the authorities to re-verify the families being provided ration under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) in the state. He stressed to mobilise the field staff of the department and get the families re-verified within shortest possible time and ensure that the genuine families get ration under the BPL quota.

Earlier, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution secretary Muhammad Abbas gave a detailed resume of the functioning of the department. He apprised the ministers that presently the food grain was being received as per the 2001 Census.

He said the department had submitted the list of projected ration card holders to cover 100 per cent population in the state to the Union Ministry concerned. He gave details of the additional ration quota being received for nomads, migrants, welfare institutions and special quota for poorest districts.

Director CAPD Jammu Parvaiz Ahmad Malik, Director CAPD Kashmir Mir Mushtaq Ahmad, Joint Director Legal Metrology, Jammu and other senior officers attended the meeting.

Jammu, January 18
Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM) has rejected the Central Government’s new policy of fixing the number of subsidised LPG gas cylinders.

Criticising the statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Sunil Dimple, president, JWAM, today said raising the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders from 6 to 9 was not enough for the people the state.

Dimple said either the Chief Minister was not aware of the problems of the people of the state or it was his helplessness to save his chair by surrendering the interests of the people. He said the JWAM had already sent a memorandum to the state government to raise the cap of subsidised cylinders from 6 to 12 in a year in the state.

He said far-flung and snowbound areas of the state like Leh, Kargil, Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and Srinagar besides middle-class and BPL families could not afford to pay the huge price for non-subsidised LPG cylinders.

Dimple said there should be no cap on the sale of subsidised LPG cylinders in the country and particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. He said people were not getting even kerosene oil for cooking. He demanded that the state government should exempt Sales Tax and VAT on the sale of LPG, petrol and diesel.

Jammu, January 18
The 347th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh was celebrated with traditional fervour and enthusiasm in the city of temples here today.

Special congregations were held in all the gurdwaras of Jammu. The main function was held at Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Dev, Chand Nagar.

Minister for Planning and Development Ajay Sadhotra paid obeisance during the main function which was organised by the District Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Jammu. Preacher and ragi jatha’s from Darbar Sahib and other places addressed the congregations.

Bhai Ravinder Singh Hazoori, ragi jatha of Darbar Sahib, recited Gurbani and sangat was spellbound by Bhai Nachtar Singh, preacher of Sikh Gurmat Gyan Missionary College, Ludhiana, and Harsimran. Harsimran Anandpuri threw light on the Sikh history.

Free community meals were served among thousands of devotees. Dalip Singh, president, District Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee led the Sikh sangat. Despite of inclement weather, a large number of devotees attended the function.

Besides, a resolution was passed wherein they demanded a holiday on the eve of Guru Teg Bahadur’s birthday under the Negotiable Instrument Act, settlement of 1947 PoK uprooted families, reservation in the government jobs, implementation of the Ansari Commission report and representation of Sikhs in the state ministry.

Jammu, January 18
The J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) is likely to issue the date sheet in first week of March for the upcoming annual examinations of Class X and XII for the Jammu Division.

Dr Javed Khatib, joint secretary, secrecy wing said the school education board was very keen to ensure timely conduct of the examination for both the classes. “The date is likely to be issued in the end of February or in the first week of March,” Khatib said.

The BOSE today declared the result of the Secondary School Examination (Class X) regular (winter zone) of Jammu Province with the overall pass percentage stood at 37.7 percent. The pass percentage of boys was 37.74 percent while for girls was 36.19 percent.

Dr Khatib said a total of 17,890 candidates appeared in the examination, out of which 5,126 aspirants had qualified while 1,506 candidates had to appear in one subject again.

“The school education board has declared the result, despite of prevailing climatic situations in record time,” the joint secretary said.

The result is available on the official website of the BOSE www.jkbose.co.in and on www.indiaresults.com.

Jammu, January 18
Taking serious note of the arrest of U-20 women hockey team coach Angad Singh on alleged charges of molestation with the Punjab players, the parents of sportspersons have appealed the authorities concerned to take all necessary steps for ensuring safety of their wards, especially girls.

“The recent incident of molestation by the J&K hockey team coach with the Punjab eves is unfortunate. Though things are yet to be confirmed but even then it has raised questions over security of the girl participants,” a parent said.

“May be the accused coach is innocent but we should be complacent because such incidents not only creates bad image of the association and the state but also puts parents in a dilemma whether to send their children for participation in competitions outside the state or not,” he added.

“With so many national competitions round the corner, we are unable to decide whether we should send our wards for competition or not,” said another parent. “Although we have full faith in the ability of the authorities, who are capable enough to ensure safety of our children, but being a parent, our worries are also genuine,” the parent maintained.

“The sports authorities have done a commendable job by taking a hard stance against the defaulter associations after it found that the certificates, medals and positions achieved by the sportspersons in unauthorised games later become a case of disputed eligibility, especially when candidates approached the sports council for sports category benefits, for seeking jobs and admission in various professional courses,” he claimed.

“After a long discussion with other parents, we have taken a unanimous decision to hold meeting with the higher officials of the state government to ensure adequate safety of our wards during competitions outside the state. We feel that a sportsperson can only give his best if he/she has the assurance that they are safe because it would definitely boost their confidence both on and off the venue,” the parent said.