Jammu, March 23
While Jammu and Kashmir is contemplating to increase MBBS seats at the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu, it has failed to fill 87 vacancies of specialists thus affecting the delivery system at the hospital and forcing many patients to travel outside the state for getting treatment.

As per the data submitted by Medical Education Department in the Legislative Assembly, 23 posts of professord, 14 posts of associate professors, 28 posts of assistant professord and 22 posts of lecturers are vacant at the premier medical college of the state which caters to thousands of people daily.

To meet the shortfall, the hospital has engaged many specialists on academic arrangement under SRO-384 of 2009 till the posts are filled. Though the government said in the Legislative Assembly that the process has been started for filling up the vacant posts and it will be completed in a phase-wise manner in the coming months, the delay has adversely affected functioning of the hospital being converted into specialist medical institute of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources in the Health Department acknowledged that they were aware of the shortage of manpower at teaching level. Till the posts referred to PSC were not cleared, they would hire teachers on academic arrangement, sources added.

Sources said while 
many hospitals are 
facing shortage of manpower, the Health Department had introduced new machines in these institutions which at times remain unutilised.

The latest facilities introduced at GMC, Jammu, and its associated hospitals are digital radiography machine, mammography machine, colour Doppler machine at the radio diagnosis department.

Besides a shortage of teaching faculty at the 850-bedded hospital, there are only 220 nurses and other paramedical staff including those on contract services. At 570-bedded SMGS Hospital, there are only 118 nurses to look after the patients.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) norms say that there should be one nurse against seven beds, but at the twin premier hospitals in the state one nurse has to attend the entire ward which is adversely affecting the patient care.

Sources said the increasing shortage of staff is because of the fact that no fresh recruitment of nurses and other paramedical staff had been made in the state for the past decade.

Jammu, March 23
A rare convergence of history and spirituality was witnessed today at the release of Mata-e-Faqar-O-Danish, a book authored by legendary Gujjar and spiritual leader Mian Bashir Ahmad here.

The book release function was attended by a galaxy of leaders of all communities and faiths and people drawn from all walks of life from within and outside Jammu and Kashmir marked their presence at the venue.

The book was released by Sajade Nishin Darbar Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi Hazrat Sadiq Raza preceded and followed by religious notes by noted singers and writers.

The book details the history of the state since 1940s till date and is punctuated by spiritual light of the state

A jam packed Zorawar Singh Auditorium with a capacity of about 1,400 seats fell short for audience as many had to stand up for the function which lasted for nearly three-hours.

The book sheds light on the difficult and sensitive moments in Jammu and Kashmir’s history.

In his welcome address, Minister for Forests Mian Altaf Ahmad, son of Mian Bashir Ahmad, talked about his father’s love for books and diary writing. His father, he said, stood for the cause of the backward and the downtrodden who fought for Scheduled Tribe status for the Gujjar community.

The minister saud his father had rubbed his shoulders with country’s leading figures like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Ballabh Bhai Patel and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

“He would not compromise on anything and stood rock solid for the people. His vision moved beyond religious and geographical boundaries,” said Mian Altaf Ahmad.

The minister said the experiences and knowledge shared by his father would reach the people through his book who cherish the message of peace and love from their saints.

Appreciating the role of KD Miani and Mansha Khaki, the minister hoped that the book would go a long way in providing precious information to people about social, political and religious events of last 70 years.

Much of the content in the book has been taken from the diary maintained by Mian Bashir from 1944 to 2007.

He said the book would be extremely valuable for the masses and assured that the remaining information will be published in another volume soon.

Scholars, intellectuals, writers, poets and journalists both from J&K and outside participated.

The function began with the recitation of Tilawat-i-Qalam-i-Pak and Naat-i- Sharif written by Hazrat Mian Nizam-ud-Din Larvi and was presented by Molvi Ghulam Rasool and Bashir Mastana.

Jammu, March 23
As many as 1,764 families are living in slums in Jammu city, most of which have sprung in the past two decades.

Statistics reveal that these slums are mostly inhabited by people who have migrated from outside the state. These habitations have been converted from the makeshift sheds to permanent dwelling units by encroaching upon the government land under the very nose of the administration.

A survey conducted by the Municipal Corporation of Jammu says these illegal colonies have poor drinking water and sanitary facilities.

About 93,118 people are living in slum colonies in Jammu and Kashmir, if data released by the government is to be believed.

Kashmir has 86,092 such people while there are 7,997 persons in Jammu living in makeshift houses.

Officially, a slum has been identified as “a compact settlement of at least 20 households with a collection of poorly-built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions”.

Last year, the government had claimed that keeping in view an increasing number of slum dwellers, new survey was started under the Rajiv Awas Yojna (RAY) to create a databank of individuals living in these areas.

“Development of slums areas is being done under two schemes - Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP),” the official data says. 

Rajouri, March 23
Nowshera police today arrested two Matador conductors for abducting a 17-year-old girl and raping her in the border district of Rajouri three days ago.

The victim, a Class XI student of Government Higher Secondary School, Seri, was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by two men in Bari Patan area of Nowshera tehsil in the district.

The victim had lodged a complaint with the police and the accused were absconded since then, the police said.

The accused have been identified as Monu Chib, a resident of Seri and Mangat Ram, a resident of Gagrot.

The police said the accused kidnapped the teenaged girl from her residence at Bari Patan and then committed the crime at an isolated place.

In her complaint, the victim said she was picked by two youths with their faces covered outside her residence at about 4 am when she was out to attend the nature’s call.“They tied a scarf around my neck as a result of which I became unconscious. I don’t remember what happened to me after that,” she told the police in her complaint.

The victim’s family members said they spotted her in an unconscious condition in a jungle about 100 metres away from their residence after searching for hours.

She was immediately shifted to a local hospital in Nowshera for medical examination and the police was informed about the incident.

Jammu, March 23
Various social and political organisations today paid rich tributes to Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukdev on their 82nd martyrdom day. Youth were urged to follow the path shown by the great martyrs.

A function was organised by the District Congress Committee, Jammu, Urban and presided over by district president Om Chopra.

The senior leaders, while remembering the martyrs, said Shaheed-e-Azam and his comrades did not believe the philosophy of violence but registered their protest against the atrocities and the violent means adopted by the British rule to suppress the voice of freedom. They agitated through peaceful means, especially under the leadership of Lalalajpat Rai, who was brutally killed while leading a protest against the Simon Commission.

Dharam Pal Sharma, senior vice-president, PCC, Gurmukh Singh, vice-president, PCC, Krishan Lal Gupta and SR Sudhir besides block presidents and ward presidents attended the function.

Meanwhile, National Secular Forum (NSF) organised a function at Jammu University, in which Ghulam Sarwar Chouhan, SSP, Commandant (SDRF) 2nd Bn was the chief guest, Dr DL Choudhary, Administrator, General Zorawar Singh Auditorium, was the guest of honour and Dr Vikas Sharma, state 
president, NSF, presided over the function.

Speaking on the occasion, Chouhan appreciated the initiative taken by the NSF member to remember the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. “Bhagat Singh was considered to be one of the most famous revolutionaries of the Independence movement and the youth should follow his path to safeguard the country”, he said.

At a function organised by Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Sabha, to commemorate the martyrdom of the great leader, Minister of State for Technical Education Vikar Rasool appealed to the people to follow 
teachings of such leaders for making the nation a world leader.

Paying rich tributes to the freedom fighters, Vikar said the great men laid down their lives so that people of the country could get rid of the shackles of British rule.

He also highlighted the importance of youth in nation building and urged them to actively contribute in different fields of life, to create a healthy and harmonious society. He said the youth’s role was of 
prime importance as the onus of building a strong nation lay on them.

Jammu, March 23
The State Wrestling Championship, organised by the J&K State Wrestling Association, got underway at Indoor Sports Complex, MA Stadium, today.

Navin Aggarwal, Director General, Sports and Youth Services, declared the event open in the presence of Dushyant Sharma, ex-president, the Wrestling Federation of India and general secretary, the J&K Wrestling Association. Other officials of the association were also present on the occasion. They included Ashutosh Sharma, General Secretary, the J&K Olympics Association, Vijay Pahalwan, Ajay Vaid, Treasurer, Balkar Singh, Raju, Sukh Dev Singh, Sarwan Kumar and Mohammad Sadiq.

Around 80 wrestlers drawn from various districts of J&K are participating in different weight categories. The wrestlers from the Police Department are also taking part in the championship. After the inauguration, bouts in preliminary round were fought. The bouts were officiated by Mulkh Raj Sharma, Om Parkash, Deeraj Sharma, Sahil Sharma, Krishan Singh, Kulveer Singh and Prem Kumar.

Jammu, March 23
Vipul Saini and Diksha clinched the men’s and women’s titles respectively in the Open Badminton Tournament, organised by Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police Range Office, Jammu, under Civic Action Programme (CAP).

In the men’s final, Vipul edged out Aman Badyal in straight sets. Earlier, in women’s singles final, Diksha notched up emphatic win over Prabhjot Kaur to emerge victorious.

In the prize distribution function, Inspector General of Police (Armed), Jammu Zone, PR Manhas was the chief guest, who gave away the winner and runner-up trophies in all the age categories.

The valedictory function was attended by senior police officers including DIG IR, Jammu, T Punchok. Earlier, organising secretary of the competition, DIG Armed Police, Jammu, Johnny William presented a brief note of the event.

Batote, March 23
A kisan mela-cum-awareness camp was organised by the Department of Fisheries, in collaboration with the Agriculture Department, under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), at Maitra in Ramban. The aim of the camp was to educate people about fish farming, besides the various government sponsored agriculture schemes.

Assistant Director, Fisheries, Fayaz Ahmed Fayaz, Deputy Registrar, Co-operative, Vikar Giri and officers of the Agriculture Department, sarpanches, panches and a large number of farmers attended the camp.

During the camp, Fayaz said the department was introducing the latest technology in fish farming and holding training programmes for the prolific production of fish and the prosperity of farmers, so that more and more unemployed youth could earn their livelihood through fish farming.

He added that a number of fish-rearing units in the private sector were coming up in the district with various schemes. The units established in the private sector were provided quality seeds and technical know-how by 
the department.

Jammu, March 23
The Law School got the better of Chemistry Department in the summit showdown to clinch the title trophy of the Table Tennis event, in women’s section, in the ongoing inter-department tournament being organised by the Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, University of Jammu (JU) at gymnasium hall.

In the first match, Deepanshi Ishar of Law School toppled Komika Sharma by 11-5 and 11-3 while Bhuvneshwari Bali lost to Samriti Sharma of Chemistry Department by 3-11 and 4-11. In doubles, the duo of Deepanshi and Bhuvneshwari had the last laugh against Komika and Samriti of Chemistry Department by 11-4 and 11-6 to emerge victorious.

Earlier, in the semifinals played, Chemistry Department beat MCA by straight 2-0 sets (Komika Sharma beat Aarushi Bhagat by 11-3, 11-5 and Samriti Sharma outplayed Namita Sharma by 11-1 and 11-3).

In carom, Physical Education Department outclassed Commerce Department by 2-1 to bag the top honours. Jyoti Devi of Physical Education trounced Syed Farhat while Samdeep Kour lost to Praitibha Heer of Commerce Department. In doubles, the pair of Jyoti and Samdeep pipped Praitibha Heer and Syed Farhat of Commerce Department.

Earlier, in the first semifinals, Physical Education Department beat MCA Department by 2-1 and Commerce Department drubbed Statistics Department by 2-0. In Badminton, Law School overcame the challenge of Law Department by 2-0 and lifted the title trophy. Deepansi Ishar of Law School beat Heena Sharma by 21-7 and Antra Pandit routed Upasana Gupta of Law Department by 21-15.

In chess, MCA beat Library Sciences by 1-0 in the semifinals to secure a berth in the final. The officials in the events were Ravish Vaid, Amit Sharma, Sandeep, Pankaj Kumar, Taran Pal Singh and Anil Kumar

Jammu, March 23
Four bills were introduced in the Legislative Assembly today. Minister for Labour and Employment Ajay Sadhotra introduced a bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Provident Funds (and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1961.

A bill introduced by Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather sought amendment in the enhancement of time limit for the Empowerment Committee constituted for regularisation of contractual/adhoc/consolidated employees in the state.

Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo introduced a bill which sought amendment in the laws relating to the constitution of one or more juvenile justice boards in the state for proper care and protection of children. A bill was introduced by Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to provide amendment in the J&K Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment Act, 2010. 

Jammu, March 23
Rajesh Kumar today took over as the new Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu Zone, replacing Dilbag Singh who has been transferred and posted as Additional Director General of Police, Housing Corporation.

Kumar earlier held assignments in various wings of J&K Police. He has served in militancy-hit twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch, Anantnag and Baramulla ranges and also served as Director, SSG, J&K. He was Rajouri Senior Superintendent of Police twice, Udhampur SSP and Jammu SSP.

A warm farewell was accorded to Dilbag Singh, the outgoing IGP. The party was organised by officers of the Zonal Police, Headquarters, Jammu. —TNS