Jammu, March 4
The traffic police and the Special Mobile Magistrate fined 70 mini buses for overloading here today. Officials said a fine of Rs 50,000 was also recovered from them. In violation of the High Court orders, these vehicles continue to defy rules. The approved seating capacity for Tata 407 minibus is 17 while for Swaraj Mazada it is 21 but a majority of mini-buses plying here do not follow the rules.

Most of the drivers and conductors do not wear mandatory Khaki uniforms despite directions by the district administration, which has issued several notices to the transport unions. “Fine was imposed on several vehicles found violating traffic norms. We are also seeking cooperation of the people and the transport unions to streamline the traffic in the city," said an official of the Transport Department.

Also known as 'road monsters', these minibuses have become a threat to the safety of commuters. Playing high-pitch music, overcrowding and reckless driving have become an everyday phenomenon. It seems that there is no one to rein on these beasts on wheels, zooming with total disregard for the rules for safe travel of commuters. Drivers of minibuses and vans don't follow the traffic lights, particularly at Bikram Chowk, Janipur, Kachi Chawni and Indira Chowk. There are 5 lakh vehicles plying on city roads, besides thousands others entering the city from other states, adding to the chaos every day.

Rajouri, March 4
The police today arrested Sameer Khan and Sunny Khan for inciting protesters to throw stones at the police during a protest yesterday. A lawyer is yet to be arrested.

Protesting against the inability of the police in recovering the body of a youth who had drowned four days back, residents had blocked the Rajour-Poonch road for hours and resorted to stone pelting. Several persons including SHO Rajouri Varinder Gupta were injured and some vehicles got damaged.

SHO Varinder Gupta said the four-day long rescue operation had not yielded any result. “We conducted 10 blasts to break the stones hoping to recover the body of the youth who drowned four days back, but we have failed to achieve any result,” SHO said. The stones were a big hurdle in recovering the body, which is trapped in the river bed.

Jammu, March 4
The state government today clarified that action had been initiated against erring officers responsible for the collapse of the electricity system in Poonch following heavy snowfall recently.

Action had been initiated on the basis of the preliminary investigation report submitted by the committee constituted to assess the situation.

Minister of State for Power Vikar Rasool said this while replying to a Calling Attention Notice by Dr Shehnaz Ganai in the Legislative Council.

Vikar said restoration of power supply would be completed within a month and a half and the Power Grid Corporation of India had been assigned work in this regard. He said the order had already been placed for the supply of stubs and tower material for the execution of work, ie repair and recasting of foundations etc.

Jammu, March 4
The National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) expressed concern over the alleged non-payment of wages to the daily wagers of various departments in the state since months. NMC president Subash Shastri, while addressing a rally at Jhiri today, urged the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to direct all the heads of the concerned departments to pay their dues before the upcoming festival of Mahashivratri.

He added that neither the wages of the daily wagers were being paid regularly nor were they being regularised, which had resulted in economic hardships to the workers and their families.

The NMC Chief demanded that all the daily wagers who had completed seven years of service by March 2012 should be regularised across the state. Shastri said the announcement to this effect should be made in the budget speech by the Finance Minister on March 6 and the decision should be implemented before the start of the next financial year.

He claimed that various posts were lying vacant in the Irrigation, PHE, R&B, RDD and various other departments, against which the services of daily wagers could be regularised, to improve their functioning.

He also demanded a hike in the wages of daily wagers to Rs 10,000 per month, release of 9 per cent DA due from January last, merger of 50 per cent DA into basic pay or pension and exemption of DA from Income Tax. 

Jammu, March 4
Provincial Power Employees Union (PPEU) today demanded immediate decision on the regularisation of daily wagers working in the department who had completed seven years of their service.

The union also demanded the release of two and a half days’ salary to the executive cadre employees of PDD, up to the rank of Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), who were performing the essential duties round-the-clock on the analogy of other departments.

Union chairman Shakti Gupta appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to accept the genuine demands of the employees. He also urged the government to issue redressal orders of pay anomalies of the 6th Pay Commission in favour of clerical and technical cadre for the pay scale of Rs 6700-Rs 10,500 (pre-revised).

The union also opposed more privatisation of the department without taking into confidence the employees who were working there for the past many years. 

Batote, March 4
Yet again, the tall claims of maintaining the best quality of their products by top brands of Indian soft drinks and fruit juice companies were belied 
when a consumer found a chunk of badly rotten pineapple from inside the packet of pineapple juice here today.

“After serving the pineapple juice to a guest and my four-year-old daughter, I felt some solid object inside the one litre pineapple juice pack. I cut open the packet to see a big black rotten piece of Pineapple at its bottom.

I was not only shocked to see it but also my faith in all the packed and tinned edible products was badly shattered,” said Ravinder Singh, former Municipal Committee president, Batote.

“Thank God none of us fell ill,” he added.

The juice packet mentioned the batch no-NB2015C/3, manufacturing date as 8/12 and its price as Rs 85 but there was no mention of the date of expiry. 

Jammu, March 4
Senior members of the Dogra Brahman Pratinidhi Sabha (DBPS) have taken exception to the reported appointment of a committee by some members to monitor and supervise the construction of a boys’ hostel on the premises of the sabha office.

The members, who held a meeting here today, questioned the authority of the sabha members to constitute such a committee, when the DBPS was headless for the last over six months, since the elections could not be completed and finalised.

“Until the duly elected body of the sabha takes over its charge, no one has the authority to constitute any sort of a committee and more so a committee for monitoring and supervising the construction of boys hostel on the Sabha premises, involving heavy expenditure”, the members said. 

Jammu, March 4
Demanding constitution of a separate shrine board for Maha Kali temple at Bahu Fort, locals today organised a one-day protest in support of their demands. They have also demanded action against the land mafia operating in Raika and Mohmaya forest areas.

Under the banner of Bahu Fort Development Committee (BFDC), led by its president Rajeev Charak, the locals served a 72-hour ultimatum to the government to consider their demands or face agitation.

The residents had first raised the demand for a separate board in October 1999.

Bahu fort is said to be originally built by Raja Bahulochan some 3,000 years ago. It was refurbished by the erstwhile Dogra rulers in the 19th century. The fort is a religious place and within its precincts has a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, the presiding deity of Jammu.

Other demands include creation of more parking space around the shrine and construction of a 'sarai' for the pilgrims. The committee also demanded four-laning of the road from Police station, Baghe-Bahu via Bahu Fort to bye-pass.

Speaking on the occasion, Charak said the priests of Mata Maha Kali Temple and the police officials had illegally encroached upon the land inside and outside the Bahu Fort and they had been demolishing the old heritage monuments.

He said the Archaeology Department and District Administration had adopted discriminatory attitude towards the monument.

“The Archaeology Department, JDA, Municipality and Defence have paid no attention to save the monument. All the garbage and solid waste have filled the ponds. There were three ponds inside the Fort but only one pond is visible. Over the other ponds the priests have made a hall and dispensary”, he alleged. While speaking on the occasion Hardesh Kumar Khokher, committee vice-president, said the government had not been taking any step to develop the historic area. 

Ransoo (Reasi), March 4
The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pardeep Gupta, who is also the chairman of Shri Shiv Khori Cave Shrine Board (SSKCSB), today convened a meeting of officers to take stock of arrangements for the smooth conduct of the three-day Shiv Khori Mela at Ransoo, the base camp of the Shiv Khori Shrine, from March 9.

Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Nirmal Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police, Joint Director Tourism, Jammu, Executive Engineers of PWD, PDD, RDD &Tourism, Executive Officer SSKSB and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

Threadbare discussions were held during the meeting, with regard to various necessary arrangements for the ensuing mela, including security, law & order, parking, face lifting at Ransoo and the Holy Cave area, traffic control, barricading, drinking water, uninterrupted power supply, maintenance of road from Kanda to Ransoo, medi-care facilities, sanitation, special drive for ensuring quality of eatables during the mela days, exhibition of stalls by different departments etc.

Gupta issued instructions to the concerned department to give a festive look to the area by ensuring facilities to the visiting pilgrims. He also instructed the officers of all concerned departments to make coordinated efforts for making all the arrangements pertaining to their respective departments well in advance.

While reviewing the developmental works at the base camp, Gupta stressed upon the need for developing Ransoo in a planned manner to cater to needs of ever increasing rush of pilgrims to the shrine.

Regarding the construction work of helipad and approach road to the cave site, Gupta instructed the executive engineer, R&B, to speed up the work on the approach road so that the pilgrims do not face any difficulty in reaching the holy cave. He also directed the concerned officers for proper fencing and maintenance of path en route the cave. He asked the officers to make the already constructed toilet block functional for the pilgrims.

Jammu, March 4
The J&K Legislative Council launched its official website www.jklegislativecouncil.nic.in today. The site contains all information regarding the Legislative Council members and its day-to-day functioning.

The business of the House, calendar and questions listed for the day and other related business can be accessed by logging in to the website. All the members, officers and departments can visit the above mentioned website to get the latest information about the business to be transacted by the Legislative Council or for accessing any other information that may be required by the users.

Jammu, March 4
Raj Kumar, an auto mechanic by profession, is the creator of a painting with the name of lord Ram written 40,000 times, a handwritten 31-page prayer Hanuman Chalisa-3.5 cm in length and 2.5 cm in breadth and a miniature 1.10-cm long and 1.7-cm broad Ramayan with 72 pages.

This Hindi calligrapher is faced with the daunting task to save his work. Raj is the only person from the state who has written the smallest religious manuscripts.

Most of his paintings are in a dilapidated condition as shortage of space has forced him to keep them at his shop in Chand Nagare. "See how I have kept them because there is no help from cultural institutions despite having approached them several times,” says Raj.

Dejected by the apathetic attitude of art and culture institutions in the state, 45-year old miniature artist and calligrapher is watching his creations die a slow death. “I approached a cultural academy and some independent institutions several times to save my art but they did not help me,” Raj says.

Most of his work is gathering dust in his small workshop, which also sustains his family. He feels his work gives him spiritual solace and satisfaction and takes him closer to God.

Jammu, March 4
The Crime Branch, Jammu, today booked three persons, including chairman of the Co-Operative House Building Society, Sainik Colony, for transferring a plot through fraudulent means.

The accused KS Padwal, chairman Co-Operative House Building Society, Sainik Colony, Col (Retd) LS Jamwal, Secretary, Co-Operative House Building Society, Sainik Colony, and Sarojni Kotwal, the wife of Nirmal Kotwal, a resident of Goushalla Ambphalla.

Kirpal Singh of Sainik Colony had lodged a complaint before the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, J&K, alleging that a 10-marla plot at Sainik Colony which was allotted to Babu Ram of Nanak Nagar by the Co-operative House Building Society had been transferred in favour of Sarojni Kotwal, the wife of Nirmal Kotwal.

Kirpal also alleged that through this allotment, the transfer fee of Rs 50,000 and development charges payable to the Society, had been waived off resulting in loss of lakhs of rupees to the Society. It had also harmed the interest of the armed force personnel as only retired Army, Air Force and Navy personnel were entitled to get plots in Sanik Colony.

The complaint was referred to the State Vigilance Organisation for necessary action under the law where upon an inquiry was initiated and during investigation it was found that the lease deed in favour of Sarojni Kotwal was registered in the court on May 18, 2011, where the transfer was shown entered in the records of Registrar, Co-operative Societies, J&K, on February 24, 1999, showing her as the nominee of Babu Ram which she was not, thus exposing the nexus between the allottee and the management of the Society.

It was also found that the Society had charged the rates existing on February 1999 as against the rates chargeable at the time of registration of the lease deed, thereby causing approximate loss of Rs 39,500 to the House Building Society.

In 1974, the said plot was initially allotted to Narinder Pal Suri of the MES, but the lease deed was not executed in respect of Registration number. Again, in 1989 the Sainik Co-operative House Building Society allotted the same plot to Babu Ram, but no lease deed was registered in his favour as well. On completion of the inquiry, the matter was referred to the State Crime Branch.

Jammu, March 4
Jammu Cricket Club (JCC) today advanced into the semifinals of the ongoing 3rd Ravi Singh Charak Memorial T20 Tournament being played at Government High School, Satwari Ground, here.

In the quarterfinal, JCC got the better of Satwari Cricket Club by one wicket. Earlier, batting first, Satwari Club set a target of 124 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Ram Dayal was the top scorer with 40 runs while Manik contributed 30 runs.

From JCC, Vishwajeet was the most successful bowler with three wickets while Paras and Deepak shared a wicket apiece.

In reply, JCC did the needful in the final delivery of the 20th over losing nine wickets in the process. Vishwajeet and Gurjeet played match-winning knocks of 37 and 21 runs respectively, while Siddarth contributed 11 runs.

From Satwari Club, Randeep and Sahil took two wickets each followed by Ram Dayal, who bagged one wicket.

The match was officiated by Parshotam Sharma and Ravi as umpires.

Jammu, March 4
NGR Club overcame the challenge of Heroes Club by 3-0 goals in the opening match of the 3rd Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup Football Tournament, being organised by the All J&K Indira Gandhi People’s Association in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) and the J&K Sports Council, at Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College Football Ground, here today.

NGR Club dominated the proceedings from the onset as Umar drew first blood in the 24th minute. Kamal scored another goal in the 28th minute to make it 2-0. In the 32nd minute, Umar struck again to score his second and the team’s third goal.

Heroes Club made desperate attempts to minimise the lead but NGR Club proved too good for them. During the match, yellow cards were shown to Jeevan and Kamal in the 21st and 51st minutes respectively.

In another match, Param Football Club notched up a solitary goal win over Sainik Colony Football Club. The lone goal was scored by Ishaan Verma in the 10th minute.

Two yellow cards were shown to Gourav and Romesh of Sainik Colony Club in the 7th and 29th minute and the red card was shown to Arun Nagial of Param Club in the 40th minute. The matches were officiated by Hilal Ahmed, Vijay Kumar, Ramesh Kumar, Gagan Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Koushal Kumar and Shafi Ahmed.

Earlier, the tournament was declared open by Sports Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din in the presence of Narinder Gupta, organiser of the tournament and Dr Nirmolak Singh, president of the All J&K Indira Gandhi People’s Association.

A total of 20 teams from North Zone, including Churchill Brothers from Goa, are competing in the tournament.

Narinder Gupta, president, the All J&K Indira Gandhi People’s Association and organiser of the tournament said the event would feature 19 matches. The semifinals would be played on March 9 and the final would be played on March 10.