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9 kids die as school bus rolls into gorge
assembly in session
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Soz gets another term
as state Cong chief
Moderate quake hits Valley
Despite deadline, TV digitisation process slow in Srinagar
Govt has no rational policy for setting up health centres: NPP
Srinagar-Leh highway to reopen tomorrow
Police forms 3 teams to crack case of injured jawan
MP vows to strengthen Panchayati Raj in state
Police told to make honesty, integrity its benchmark
Now, 11 new tourist sites in Valley
J-K has 56,716 cancer patients
In Kashmir, most women panches are ‘proxy’ representatives
3 yrs on, Central University still functions from rented buildings
Early enactment of temples Bill demanded
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9 kids die as school bus rolls into gorge
Anantnag, April 4 The accident occurred when a school bus ferrying students fell into a gorge in the Kandiwara area of Akingam village in Anantnag. Reports said the school bus was carrying 18 students of Moral High Educational Institute, Dialgam, Anantnag, back to their homes after the school got over. It appears that the driver apparently lost control over the bus and it plunged into a deep gorge along the road, the locals said. “It is not clear as to how the bus fell into the 250-ft deep gorge,” police reports said. “The accident was major and the bus was completely damaged,” a local said. Seven children died instantly. Injured students were taken to District Hospital, Anantnag. Two more injured students died on their way to the hospital. “Nine of the injured students were referred to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar,” said a doctor at District Hospital, Anantnag. “One of the kids is being treated here at the hospital,” the doctor said. The driver of the school bus was also injured in the accident. The accident created panic in the area and hundreds of people thronged District Hospital, Anantnag. Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Farooq Lone along with other officials immediately rushed to the hospital in Anantnag and ensured that the injured got proper medical attention. IGP, Kashmir Range, Abdul Ghani Mir visited the hospital in Anantnag to see the injured and directed the district police authorities to provide all possible help to the injured and their relatives. President of the People’s Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti has expressed shock over the incident. Mehbooba conveyed her sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. Governor expresses grief Jammu: Governor NN Vohra has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the road accident. The Governor conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of all those injured in the accident. In view of the frequent recurrence of fatal road accidents, the Governor has yet again called upon the Transport, Traffic and Police Departments to take urgent measures to reduce the incidence of such accidents. |
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assembly in session
Jammu, April 4 The scheme was launched for those holding government land illegally for years. Under the scheme, they could get the land ownership right by paying some amount to the government. The members have reason to corner the government because the scheme has so far generated only Rs 76 crore against the target of Rs 25,000
crore, which the government had planned to utilise for tapping the massive hydropower potential of the state. “This scheme has proved to be a total failure because deserving landless people are yet to get ownership rights while land grabbers who had encroached on huge chunks of government land have managed to get ownership under this scheme”, said Jammu State Morcha
(JSM) MLA Ashwani Kumar Sharma. He reminded the government that when the scheme was started, it was announced that Rs 25,000 crore would be generated from it. “Only Rs 76.24 crore has been generated so far against the target of Rs 25,000 crore which reflects that there are flaws in the scheme,” shouted Panthers Party member Balwant Singh
Mankotia, who was also joined in the protest by his party colleague Harsh Dev Singh, CPM member M Y
Tarigami. “This scheme has provided an opportunity to the land mafia to legalise its illegal encroachment,” Tarigami said while seeking a reply from the government about the number of landless farmers who have given the ownership right.
Mankotia demanded that a House Committee should be constituted to conduct an inquiry because a number of influential persons, including politicians and bureaucrats, had managed to get their illegally encroached upon land legalised through the scheme. Earlier in the day Minister of State for Revenue and Rehabilitation Ajaz Ahmad Khan had informed the House that the government had realised Rs 76.24 crore so far from the occupants of the state land by conferring on them the ownership rights of the land under Roshni Scheme. The minister said 75,369 applications had been disposed of so far under the scheme and 78,860 such applications were pending. Khan said the J&K State Lands (Vesting of Ownership of the Occupants) Act was enacted by the government to confer ownership rights on the occupants in possession of the state land prior to 2004. He said the objective of Roshni Scheme was both to generate revenue and at the same time give ownership rights to the marginal occupants and agriculturists at a nominal cost. The minister said so far the committee concerned had approved ownership rights cases of Rs 316 crore and the realisation of the cost of the land was being done from the occupants concerned. He assured that the pending cases would be approved in due course. |
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Soz gets another term
as state Cong chief
Jammu, April 4 The reappointment of Soz as JKPCC president has sent a strong message to the dissidents who owe their allegiance to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and had launched an aggressive campaign to replace the incumbent state chief. Sources said Sonia Gandhi had already given her consent to the reappointment of Soz about a month back but the official announcement was made today to end the confusion as some leaders were claiming that they were in the race for the post of JKPCC chief. The official handout issued by the party reads, “Congress president Sonia Gandhi has reappointed Saifuddin Soz as the president of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee for another term. AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi announced this in a statement to the Press at New Delhi today, the copy of which was also received at the JKPCC headquarters here. The rank and file of the Congress party in the state has hailed the decision of the Congress high command and welcomed the appointment of Soz as JKPCC chief.” The reappointment of Soz as the JKPCC chief is a clear indication that the Congress will now aggressively pursue its own agenda in the government because he (Soz) has taken a tough stand on many controversial issues, especially the incorporation of the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. Soz, who is chairman of the Coordination Committee of the National Conference and Congress, had forced the government to postpone the block development committee (BDC) elections to make provision of reservation for weaker sections and women in the BDCs. Soz was appointed the JKPCC chief on February 13, 2008, after Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed had resigned from the post in January 2008. The election of the new JKPCC chief was due in 2010 but the high command had been delaying the elections for one reason or the other. It was during the tenure of Soz that panchayat elections were held and a good number of panchayat members, who owe their affiliation to the Congress, won the elections. Blow to dissidents The reappointment of Saifuddin Soz as JKPCC president is a big blow to the dissidents who owe their allegiance to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The dissidents were hoping that Soz would be replaced and a person of their choice would be appointed as JKPCC chief. As the next Assembly elections are due in 2014, Soz would now play a big role in selection of candidates. |
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Moderate quake hits Valley
Srinagar, April 4 Officials sources said an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale hit the Valley and its adjoining areas. Its epicentre is stated to have been in Hindukush area of Afghanistan and its depth was 233.7 km at the epicentre. The Valley and its adjoining areas are prone to earthquakes. A high-intensity earthquake shook the entire region on October 8, 2005, causing heavy loss of lives and damage to property in northern parts of Kashmir and most areas adjacent to these on the other side of the Line of Control. The authorities here have constituted a Disaster Management Cell at the office of the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, that provides training and awareness to take preventive measures in the event of any natural calamities. |
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Despite deadline, TV digitisation process slow in Srinagar
Srinagar, April 4 Cable operators blame the shortage of set-top boxes and the troubled situation since the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru for the slow progress for the digitisation process. “We had placed orders for set-top boxes and other equipment but they are not readily available. We have to procure them from China, so digitisation will take some time,” said a cable owner in Srinagar. “Also the situation in the Valley, especially in Srinagar city, has been tense in the recent months, which is another reason for the delay,” he said. With the deadline getting elapsed, cable operators have suspended the analogue cable TV service across the city. There are over 1.5 lakh cable subscribers in Srinagar. The cable operators had recently appealed to the state as well as the Union government to extend the deadline but the operators were told in clear terms that the deadline could not be extended. “We have digitised nearly 40 per cent of the cable households in the city,” said another cable operator. J&K Director Information Zaffar Ahmed said the cable operators were in the process of digitising the cable TV in Srinagar. “The problem they are facing is the shortage of set-top boxes and other equipment but they are doing their
job and very shortly, the cable television in Srinagar will be digitised fully,” Ahmed said. Government sources said the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry
was also keeping a close watch on the progress of the cable TV digitisation in Srinagar. “Many Pakistani TV channels that are beamed in Srinagar by cable operators may have to be stopped as they will be directly monitored by the Union government,” said an official. “The digitisation will help in ensuring that no TV channel from across the border is beamed in
Srinagar.”
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Govt has no rational policy for setting up health centres: NPP
Jammu, April 4 The party alleged that the government was biased with regard to allocation of health centres to different areas. “While rural areas and other deserving places have been ignored, several health institutions in cities and towns have been established only to accommodate the spouses of top bureaucrats and ministers. Some of these health centres do not attract patients as there are other well-equipped government health institutions besides private nursing homes and hospitals,” said NPP leader Harsh Dev Singh while speaking during Zero Hour in the state Assembly here. Singh called for rationalisation of the existing health centres, shifting of surplus health centres
to deserving areas, particularly rural and remote areas which are bereft of medical facilities. He said the issue had been raised during the last session, too, and the then Minister of Health Sham Lal had admitted that there were surplus health institutions in cities, particularly Jammu, which could be dispensed with. Singh said an assurance was given that there would be rationalisation of health centres and demands pertaining to health facilities for deserving areas would be addressed. However, he said, no action in this regard was taken by the government. Speaker of Legislative Assembly Mubarak Gul said he would check the records to see if any such assurance was given, and if so, the government was duty-bound to fulfil it. |
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Srinagar-Leh highway to reopen tomorrow
Srinagar, April 4 Though the authorities had decide to open the highway for the movement of light vehicular traffic from Srinagar a day earlier, the recent rain and snowfall have delayed the reopening of the highway. The Beacon Project of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which looks after the highway, had conveyed to the authorities its readiness to open the high peak Zojila this week. With the strenuous efforts of the men and machinery of the Beacon project, the road is being opened in about three weeks as compared to last year when it was reopened on April 25. The road was opened on May 2 in 2011. The GOC, 15 Corps, Lt Gen Om Prakash, would open the road on Saturday in presence of the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Shalinder Kumar, Chief Engineer, Beacon, Brig RK Sharma and other senior civil administration officers. The strategic highway remains blocked for six winter months every year due to heavy accumulation of snow along the high peak Zojila located at the height of over 11,500 ft from the sea level. Every year the highway is officially closed by the end of October and re-opens by April-May, depending upon the level of snow around the tourist resort of Sonmarg and Zojila, at a distance of 90 to 120 km, respectively, from Srinagar. Earlier last month, the tourist resort of Sonmarg on the highway was re-opened to traffic after more than four months. The resort remains cut off due to snow and landslides on a 20-km-long stretch from Gund to Sonmarg. To ensure all-weather road connectivity with Ladakh region, a prestigious project comprising two tunnels is in the pipeline.
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Police forms 3 teams to crack case of injured jawan
Jammu, April 4 “We have constituted three teams in Akhnoor, Nowshera and Jammu to crack the case,” IGP, Jammu zone, Rajesh Kumar told The Tribune. The jawan, Rakesh Kumar Dutta, was posted with 11 Rashtriya Rifles in Kishtwar district. His one eye was gouged out while the other was severely damaged. Dutta is a resident of Lam village in the Nowshera area of Rajouri district. “He had told the police the names of some persons who were picked up by us for questioning. We are working on the case,” said the IGP. The police has ruled out the militancy angle to the incident. SP (Rural) Rajesh Kumar Sharma said though the police was working on the case, there was no breakthrough so far. “Today, I along with a police team inspected the crime scene in Chowki Chora but we could not collect any vital clue from there. Nothing is clear as yet,” said the SP. He said the victim, who was admitted to Military Hospital, Satwari, had not recorded his statement with the police. “The circumstances, including the location of his mobile phone and call details, suggest that the jawan was in Jammu on the intervening night of April 2 and 3. He had made his last call from Jammu on the fateful night at 2 am,” said the SP. It appears the crime occurred between 2 am and 7 am. “We are looking into all possible angles,” he said. A case of attempted murder under Section 307 of the RPC was registered at the Akhnoor police station. National Conference MLA from Nowshera RS Sharma raised the issue in the state Assembly today and demanded a probe and proper treatment to the soldier. Speaker Mubarak Gul said Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo would make a statement on the issue in the House. Kichloo, who talked to the media outside the House, ruled out any militancy link to the entire incident.
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MP vows to strengthen Panchayati Raj in state
Rajouri, April 4 He said the area in Sunderbani and Nowshera needs road connectivity and other basic amenities of life and the Panchayati Raj system was the only way to develop these areas. He maintained that after strengthening panchayats under the 73rd and 74th Amendment, small issues would resolve without
any intervention of the higher level. Sharma also sanctioned Rs 8 lakh for digging of deep bore well which would provide water to nearby villages. Earlier, the MP addressed a rally at Thanda Pani, Sunderbani, where he heard grievances of the people and issued on the spot directions to officers for immediate redressel of the demands. Prominent among the others present on the occasion included Kuldeep Raj Verma ,vice-chairman, OBC, Inderjeet Gupta, Yashpaul, sarpanches, panches and others.
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Police told to make honesty, integrity its benchmark
Jammu, April 4 He was addressing a gathering at the passing out parade of 94 directly recruited DSPs of the 2012 batch at Sher-i-Kashmir Police Academy in Udhampur today. Recalling the establishment, history and evolution of the state police, the Governor said it had made a humble beginning about 140 years ago and, over a period of time, as in other parts of the country, the manpower, infrastructure and logistics of the state police had also enlarged and grown in strength. He observed that the present strength of the state police was about 1.10 lakh. He also referred to the unfortunate situation that unfolded in the state in 1990s and the sacrifices made by the police, Army and other security forces to meet the serious problems which arose in those years. Emphasising the need for re-orienting the police to effectively meet the future challenges on varied fronts, the Governor stressed for greater attention to the training of all ranks of the force, besides reinvigorating their various wings. He observed that this would keep the police in better stead to serve the people, tackle law and order situations and bring the culprits to book. He observed that the police was the enforcer of law and protector of people, adding that the old, poor and neglected elements in society deserve their (police) special care. Vohra observed that the passing out parade was an important occasion in the life of any training institution as it was the culmination of hard work put in
by trainees and the training staff. He added that it was a proud day for all those to get into the portals of the service which they had joined. He said it was a happy augury that this was the largest batch of 94 DSPs passing out from the Academy and their educational qualification profile was also high. Referring to the batch, he said out of the 94 trainee officers only seven were women and said their representation in the force should increase progressively. He also gave away prizes to the five best adjudged trainee officers. Neeraj Kumar received a trophy and a certificate for being the all round best, Junaid Hakeem and Pradeep Sen were awarded trophies
and certificates for being best in indoor and outdoor training, respectively,
and Pradeep Sen, Parade Commander and Mohsina Sebtain, Second-in-Command of the parade, received trophies. The Governor was presented a memento. He inspected the parade and took the salute at a march past by officers, who passed out from the Academy. This was followed by an oath ceremony. The Governor also interacted with the trainee officers and their family members and wished them bright careers. Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo said it was a historic occasion when 94 trainee officers were passing out from the Academy and joining the state police. Director of the Academy Farooq Khan gave details of various components of the training imparted to the officers who passed out from the Academy. DGP Ashok Prasad, senior civil, police and security forces officers were present on the occasion. |
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Now, 11 new tourist sites in Valley
Srinagar, April 4 The focus this year is to provide enough space for the increasing number of tourists, which nearly touched the two-million mark last year. Most of the tourists have been visiting Gulmarg and Pahalgam apart from the Dal Lake in Srinagar. The new tourists destinations are being developed after years of violence and damage to the infrastructure. An official of the Tourism Department said the government was planning to provide more facilities to tourists at various destinations apart from increasing the number of flights to Srinagar. The number of flights to Srinagar from various destinations for tourists has already been increased from 22 to 32 flights per day from April 1, the official said. The Tourism Minister, speaking during the promotional campaign yesterday in Ahmedabad, said in 2013 one of the thrust areas of the department would be high-end golfing and angling. Kashmir has a complete golf circuit now with a golf course each in Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Srinagar. The minister said the Tourism Department was reviving ancient sports such as polo and archery in the state. An international rafting event took place in Bhaderwah in February where 40 players from various countries participated, he said. Mir said the adventure motor sports had been a great success in the state with rallies such as the Mughal Road car rally and Raid De Himalaya. He said, in 2012, the state had a good share of high-end tourism activities which included destination weddings and engagements, Bollywood film shoots, Marathi and Tamil film Industry projects, corporate award ceremonies and product launches. He said this year the focus was on the television industry of Gujarat and rest of the country, adding that the state Tourism Department was actively promoting sports and spiritual tourism in the state this year. The Tulip Garden at the foothills of the Zabarwan range, which was thrown open last week with an addition of 24 new tulip varieties, has been attracting a lot of domestic and foreign tourists. “There is a tremendous response and we have domestic and foreign tourists from countries such as Malaysia, Europe, Germany, the US, Italy and Russia,” said Javed Ahmad Shah, District Floriculture Officer, Srinagar, in charge of Tulip Garden. Shah said the tourist footfalls had conveyed a message across that Kashmir was safe to visit. In the past eight days, over 30,000 tourists have visited Tulip Garden, which is more than the last year, he added. |
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J-K has 56,716 cancer patients
Jammu, April 4 As per the data submitted by the government in the Legislative Council (LC) this week, there has been a constant rise in patients with different forms of cancer in the past 10 years, which has set alarm
bells ringing among health experts. As per the figures, the number of patients suffering from various types of cancer in the Jammu region was 400 to 500 per year about a decade ago, which is now touching nearly 2000 per year. According to the data, there were 1,385 cancer patients in 2008, while in 2012, it reached 1965. In the Kashmir valley, 352 cases were reported in 2007-08 and now, the figure has touched 1,357. However, doctors say that to some extent awareness among people has
contributed in the increase in the registration in hospitals. “About a decade ago, people were not much aware about the disease, but now they are aware. However, there is a need
to provide better medical help to people,” said an oncologist. Even members cutting across the party lines in the Legislative Council expressed concern over the increase in cancer patients when the government admitted that there has been an increase in cancer cases to a question put by MLC Bashir Ahmed Veeri. The government says that no formal assessment report by medical science experts in the matter is available in the state. “The data of patients have been collected from the Department of Radiation Oncology of medical colleges in the Jammu and Kashmir valley", the government has responded. |
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In Kashmir, most women panches are ‘proxy’ representatives
Srinagar, April 4 Ruqiya Fatima is a panch from Choolan village of Uri in northwest Kashmir near the Line of Control (LoC). Fatima’s husband Tufail Hussain goes to various offices to do “official work” delegated to her wife through the Panchayati Raj Act. In Jalsheeri village of north Kashmir, a woman panch had been accused by an employee of the Rural Development Department for sending “proxy” representatives to the department for doing her job. These instances are just an example of how the majority of women panchayat members across the Valley work. Most of them depute their nearest relatives for discharging their duties on proxy. “Yes, we are aware about the problem. It has been observed that women panches generally don’t attend their legitimate functions in violation of the Panchayati Raj Act,” Mir Altaf Ahmed, Director, Rural Development, Kashmir, told The Tribune. “We recently issued directions to all officers, Block Development Officers and field functionaries to ensure that this type of practice does not continue and all women panches be made aware about their responsibilities, duties and powers,” Mir said. There are over 5,000 women members across the Valley out of over 33,000 panchayat members who were elected in the 2011 elections. Officials of many departments, who are working with the panchayat members, said most of the women panches are illiterate and it becomes difficult for them to fulfil their responsibilities that are entrusted to them through the Act. In many cases, the money for works in their respective halqas is released only after the attestation of panches
concerned. “In many cases, husbands or sons of women panches approach us to sign the papers, but we can’t do that. The problem is
the lack of awareness among these panchayat members,” said a Block Development Officer. The J&K Government has delegated powers of 14 government departments to the panchayats across the state. In these departments, planning and identification of beneficiaries, plans and lists of beneficiaries are discussed in the panchayat and placed before Panchayat Majlis. After the same is passed by the
Panchayat Majlis, the panchayat adopts it by a resolution. The works too are supervised by the panchayat members. |
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3 yrs on, Central University still functions from rented buildings
Srinagar, April 4 At present, the university continues to function from three rented campuses in different localities of Srinagar. “We are yet to hear from the Union Government about the dates for laying the foundation of the Central University of Kashmir campus at Kurhama, Tulmulla in Ganderbal district,” said Vice-Chancellor of the varsity Abdul Wahid. “We had requested the Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) for the dates last year, but there is no word from that side,” he added. The government has already acquired over 4,000 kanals in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, which is also the home constituency of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The foundation-laying ceremony was originally scheduled on November 16, 2012, and the foundation stone was to be laid jointly by then Minister of HRD Kapil Sibal and Omar Abdullah. However, the function had to be postponed due to the Cabinet reshuffle in the Union Government and the subsequent change of Sibal’s portfolio. Soon after the reshuffle, the Professor Wahid contacted the office of the new minister, M Pallam Raju, for the function but no dates have been finalised to date. Pallam Raju had expressed his inability to be available in November 2012. The Central University of Kashmir offers courses in over 10 streams to nearly 600 students enrolled in it. “The trouble in the Valley after the hanging of Afzal Guru may be the other reason why the HRD Minister did not finalise the dates for the function. In November last year, we were told to be ready for the function in April,” said an official. |
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Early enactment of temples Bill demanded
Jammu, April 4 The demands presented by the five-member deputation, led by Pandit Omkar Nath Shastri, Chairman of the Sansthan, included early enactment of the Hindu Temples, Shrines and Religious Places Bill and the land being made available for the Sansthan for setting up its centre at Jammu. Shastri briefed the Governor about the to-date status of the publication of the second part of the primer of the Sharda language and thanked him for his support. The Sansthan had brought out the first part of the primer in the Sharda script titled, “Sharda Gyan”, last year which was released by the Governor at a function in Srinagar. Interacting with the deputation, the Governor lauded the work being done by the Sansthan in varied spheres. Dr Nahed Soz, Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Women Development Corporation, also called on the Governor today. Soz briefed him about the activities of the Corporation, particularly those relating to the formation of women self-help groups and the support being provided to women to become economically self-reliant. Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir met the Governor this evening. They discussed issues relating to the functioning of the two farm universities in the state, reviewed the pace of implementation of various important schemes concerning the agriculture sector and the measures being taken for enabling growers to be timely provided seeds, fertilisers, other required inputs and the latest technical know-how for enhancing agri-productivity and production in the state. Speedy socio-economic development of the state was also discussed. — TNS
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Observing that the Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Army and other security forces have rendered yeoman’s service for over two decades in dealing with militancy in the state, Governor NN Vohra today told the state police to make honesty, integrity, accountability, transparency, protection of human rights and service to people as their benchmark to come up as the model force.
