Jammu, April 15
Traffic was disrupted on both sides of Tawi Bridge for more than two hours as family members of a labourer Balvinder Mohan blocked the road in protest against his death while repairing the high tension power line at warehouse yesterday. The victim worked at the Power Development Department (PDD).

Protesters put the body of the deceased on the road and refused to cremate it till action was taken against the officials who failed to provide safety equipment to workers.

Nearly 100 PDD daily wagers have died over the past one decade while performing their duty, sources said. There was total chaos during the morning hours as thousands of vehicles got stuck on both sides of the bridge. The bridge connects the city with the commercial hubs of Gandhi Nagar, Shastri nagar, Trikuta Nagar and others.

Daily wagers alleged that despite repeated pleas to the officials, safety equipments were not provided to the workers engaged in high-risk repair work.

“We demand an inquiry as to why electricity was released when workers were still conducting repair work on the pole. Several workers had a narrow escape in the incident while Balvinder died on the spot,” said Kulbushan Singh, a senior member of the Daily Wagers Union.

He demanded job for a family member of the victim as well as compensation for the family.

Senior civil and police officials urged the protesters to allow traffic movement. Senior PDD officers were not available for comments.

“Without providing them with safety equipment, thousands of workers are being engaged by the PDD for maintenance work or infrastructure. They are made to work under constant threat of death and injury. Despite clear directions of the Central Government, the department has failed to provide helmets, high-quality ropes and special gloves to these workers,” said Tarun Gupta, another senior leader.

As per the government record, till 2010, nearly 100 daily wagers engaged in the maintenance work died due to shock or by falling from the poles and high tension towers. Another 185 workers were handicapped while performing their duty across the state over the past 15 years.

“PDD waits for someone to get killed before providing relief. Why not invest money in buying the necessary equipment so that the workers can work without any fear of their safety,” said Gupta.

Jammu, April 15
The standoff between the management of KC International School and the KC International Parents Association continues over the hike in fee. Parents have refused to pay the increased fee. After a series of protests, the school management has sought time till April 20. Members of the parents’ association once again refused to pay the hiked fee and held a protest after which the management decided to extend the date of the submission of fee by five days.

Refusal of the school management to review the increased fee structure at the start of the academic session led to protests by parents who alleged that the school was harassing them by increasing the fee arbitrary.

“We will continue our agitation till demands are met. Every year there is increase in the fee and annual charges, which has now been increased to Rs 10,000,” association president, Raj Kumar Gupta said.

He said even the state education department had refused to initiate action saying that it does not have any control on the CBSE-affiliated private schools up to the higher secondary level. Yesterday some the parents protesting against the fee hike in alleged violation of the government norms, were canecharged outside the house of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand.

Jammu, April 15
Chaos continues at the Government Medical College (GMC) and Sri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) hospitals as more than 500 junior doctors suspended work against the recent thrashing of their colleagues by attendants of an accident victim.

Family members of the accident victim who died in the hospital few days back had also ransacked the emergency block of the hospital. Due to the strike, patients had to suffer a lot, as only the senior doctors were available in the wards and the OPD.

Due to the strike by junior doctors, including registrars, postgradauates, house residents and interns working in the GMC and the SMGS Hospital work was paralysed. This forced many people to shift their patients to private clinics.

People from far-flung areas who had brought their patients for treatment were the worst sufferers. The administration is trying to sort out the issue.

Meanwhile, Dr Tariq Parvez Azad, president, Medical Teachers Association (MTA), has refuted the allegation of negligence in the death of the accident victim and demanded a magisterial enquiry into the case.

On April 1, doctors had suspended work protesting against thrashing of medical staff and ransacking of the emergency block by family members of the patient who had died in the hospital. Only senior doctors were available in wards.

Meanwhile due to the strike by paramedical staff, medical services were affected at the GMC while a number of attendants were seen looking for staff to provide medicines to the patients. It is for the second time in a month that junior doctors of the hospital went on strike.

Rajouri, April 15
As devotees gear up to visit Shahdra Sharif, one of the most popular Muslim shrines in the Jammu division, the administration is worried about the arrangements for the pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage starts with the change of weather conditions in Rajouri, especially in the upper reaches of Peer Panchal.

The shrine is dedicated to Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah and dates back to the 19th Century. The shrine is situated atop a beautiful hillock in Thanna Mandi area, 29 km from Rajouri. It is believed that Gulab Singh, once the Army general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, got this shrine constructed.

Administrator, Auqaf Trust Shahdra Sharif, Faqir Mohammed, said hundreds of pilgrims from Jammu, Kashmir Valley and abroad visits the shrine throughout the year.

Community kitchen is also organised by the Trust at the shrine where people from all faiths eat together.

Faqir Mohammed said on Thursday and Sunday we received over 10,000 and 7,000 pilgrims, respectively, but the number multiplied when the Mughal route was open for traffic.

Faqir, however, expressed concern over accommodation problems in Shahdra Sharif during heavy rush of pilgrims which begins from next month. We have a kitchen, a dormitory block, two guest houses having 19 rooms with attached bathrooms; still we fail to provide more accommodation to pilgrims as a result of which they have to take rented accommodation in surrounding villages at higher rates. He also said villagers run illegal guesthouses and charge very high rates. He said the Trust had taken up the issue with the local administration as well as the police.

About the five halls and two guest rooms which have been captured by the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP) for its men deployed at the shrine, Mohammed said, “I have also raised this issue and written several letters to the authorities but there is no reply.”

Jammu, April 15
Governor NN Vohra today released a book in Urdu ‘Mere Hissey Ka Kashmir’ written by Kashmiri Lal Zakir at the Raj Bhawan here this evening.

The author has more than 132 books to his credit, including novels, short stories, plays, travelogues, anthologies and on varied other subjects.

This nonagenarian writer, who has held various important assignments in the field of education and communication, is a recipient of many national and international awards in his career spanning six decades.

The Governor complimented Zakir for his Urdu writings and advancement of literature.

Jammu, April 15
Minister for Housing Raman Bhalla today inaugurated a five-day photography exhibition of the winners of the 4th State Photography Competition, organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) here at Kala Kendra today.

The winners of the competition were also presented prizes by Bhalla.

Addressing a gathering of artists, poets, photographers and sculptures after inaugurating the exhibition, he hailed the JKAACL for promoting music, art forms, culture and heritage of the state by arranging photo exhibitions, book fairs, cultural and theatre shows.

Secretary, JKAACL, Khalid Bashir Ahmed, Additional Secretary, JKAACL, Savita Bakshi, eminent personalities, besides artists from different fields, were present on the occasion.

Bhalla said photography, besides being an art, was a powerful medium of communication as it brought a lifeless thing to life and gave expression to a silent object. He said the camera captured what a naked eye might fail to catch. The aim of holding such exhibitions was to create awareness among the people about the art of photography, he added.

Ahmad said 89 entries were received by the academy for the competition. Of these, the Adjudicating Committee selected 67 entries.

The names of the consolation prize winners were also announced. These were Maqsood Bhat, Mir Sarwar, Mushtaq Assad and Parveen Kumar. All the four would get Rs 1,000 each as prize money. Later, Bhalla also distributed State Photography Awards, conferred in three categories, carrying a cash prize of Rs 15,000, 10,000, and 7,000 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. 

Jammu, April 15
The J&K Rugby Association held elections to elect its new office bearers on Sunday. Members from all the 11 districts of Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, Bandipora, Kupwara, Budgam, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Pulwama and Anantnag were present.

The election was held under the supervision of Tabasum Gillani, member, the J&K State Sports Council. An observer from the Indian Rugby Football Association, Sarmad Hafeez, was elected as the president of the J&K Rugby Association while Aijaz Ahmad Chisti was chosen as the senior vice-president. Farooq Ahmad Rather and Nazir Hussain were elected as vice-presidents for the Kashmir and Jammu Division respectively while Irfan Aziz Butta was elected as general secretary. Ravinder Singh and Ashiq Hussain Zargar were elected as joint secretaries while Farooq Ahmad became the treasurer.

The newly-elected office bearers assured that the association would organise events in far-flung areas of districts like Kupwara, Akhnoor, Reasi, Ganderbal etc in the future.

Rajouri, April 15
Minister for Social Welfare, ARI and Trainings, Sakina Itoo distributed Rs 17.34 lakh among 362 beneficiaries, including Rs 3.34 lakh under the National Family Benefit Scheme and Rs 14 lakh under the rehabilitation programme at Nowshera on Monday.

Itoo, who was also the chief guest at the one-day awareness camp organised by the Rehabilitation Council in collaboration with Social Welfare Department, said the government was doing every possible effort to uplift the backward classes, SC, ST, OBC and other weaker sections of the society.

She said the main aim and objective of organising such awareness camps was to educate the common people about various welfare schemes launched by the Central and state government to uplift them, so that they can earn their livelihood with honour and dignity. She stressed upon the people to come forward and take the benefit of these schemes.

In Rajouri district, 17,218 beneficiaries have already been covered under SSS, 10,919 beneficiaries under IGNOAP, 275 beneficiaries under IGNDPS and 35 beneficiaries have been covered under NFBS.

Itoo further said the department had been successful in extending pension benefits to around 5 lakh persons which included 3.53 lakh under ISSS and 1.37 lakh under NSP (IGNOAPS), for which the department was spending Rs 95 crore annually.

She said under Kishori Shakti, 47,000 adolescent girls were covered for which the department had spent Rs 52.52 lakh. Besides, for empowering women at the grassroots level, the Women Development Corporation organised 629 awareness camps, including 182 camps during 2012-13 in the state. She said the corporation was providing loan assistance to women on easy interest rates, so that they may be able to establish their own income generating units.

Marriage assistance to young widows or grown up daughters of militancy-hit families, Rs 10,000 was given to 342 families during the last four years through rehabilitation council. Marriage assistance had also been increased from the present rate of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 as one-time assistance, she added.

Itoo said the state government was going to launch a new scheme under which Rs 30,000 would be given as marriage assistance to orphan girls. She said the pension of handicapped and widow pension had already been increased and hoped that it would be further enhanced. She said 19 gender budgeting training-cum-workshops had been organised through the Rehabilitation Council and Women Commission.

The J&K State Mission Authority for Empowerment of Women had also been established in the state. Under this mission, the women would not only be empowered but due care would be taken about their health care, nutrition and efforts would be made that the women of the state may be made self reliant politically as well as socially, she added.

Earlier, highlighting the achievements of the Rehabilitation Council, Executive Director Rehabilitation Council, Hafiza Muzaffir informed that over 35,000 persons had been covered during 2012-13. Besides, 160 students of militancy-hit families had been sent to All India Tour under ‘wattan ko jano’ during 2012-13.

Responding to the demands of the Handicapped Association, Itoo assured that their genuine demands would be looked into sympathetically.

The DDC, Rajouri, Director Social Welfare Jammu, SSP, Rajouri, SDM Nowshera, District Social Welfare Officer, Rajouri and other senior officers were present on the occasion. The DDC, Rajouri, Director Social Welfare Jammu, SSP, Rajouri, SDM Nowshera, District Social Welfare Officer, Rajouri and other senior officers were present on the occasion. 

Jammu, April 15
The government today ordered the following transfers and postings in the state administration. Dhananter Singh, awaiting orders of adjustment in the Revenue Department, is posted as Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Ramban, against an available vacancy.

Shahnaz Akhter, awaiting orders of adjustment in the Revenue Department, is posted as Assistant Commissioner (General), Jammu, vice Tilak Raj Sharma. Tilak Raj Sharma, Assistant Commissioner (General), Jammu, is transferred and posted as Collector, PDC Jammu, on deputation basis under the standard terms and condition vice Pawan Kumar while Pawan Kumar, under orders of posting as Collector, PDC Jammu, is posted as Assistant Commissioner (Relief), Relief Organisation Jammu, against an available vacancy.—TNS

Doda, April 15
Asserting that law and order was the prime duty of the J&K Police organisation, Minister of State for Home, Industries and Commerce Sajad Ahmad Kichloo today asked the organisation to be more pro-people and provide adequate safeguards to the life and property of the masses.

Speaking at a meeting of police officers on the last leg of his three-day tour to the district Doda on Saturday, Kichloo said the J&K police organisation had an important role in the reconstruction of the state which had passed through a long, turbulent and traumatic period. He hoped that the organisation would rise to the occasion and come up to the expectations of the people, who had pinned high hopes with the present dispensation. “Holding police-public interactions, civic action programmes and people friendly CBMs will go a long way to maintain better relations between the two,” he added.

While lauding the role of the J&K Police in anti-insurgency operations, Kichloo said the J&K police personnel had sacrificed their lives to save the life and property of people. He said the belt force would be further modernised to make it one of the most effective and model forces of the country.

Earlier, he went around the Doda city and took stock of the availability of essential commodities besides civic amenities to the people. He also visited Doda Youth Club and Police-Public Gym setup in the city and interacted with the youth and senior citizens.

Bani, April 15
Minister for Forests Mian Altaf Ahmad concluded a two-day extensive tour of Bani and Basohli, during which he took stock of the activities of the Forest Department in the area and held a series of review meetings. 

Underlining the need for making collective efforts to protect the state’s rich ecology, including forests, water-bodies and wildlife, he asked the officers to give their best to achieve this fundamental objective of the department. Ahmad asked the officers to be more active and intensify field visits instead of sitting in the offices. He directed them to closely monitor the activities launched by the department —TNS

Jammu, April 15
The Rashtriya Rifles Battalion located at Sarh, Mahore Sub Division rescued the accident victims at Garhikot village near the Narlu Bridge on April 13.

In the accident, a mini bus carrying 40 passengers on way from Garikot village to Reasi had overturned.

The Commanding Officer of the Battalion who was returning from one of his routine visits to an Army post had rushed to the accident site along with other personnel and rescued the passengers trapped inside the bus.

The Commanding Officer himself oversaw the entire rescue operation and the bus was removed to clear the road.

Jammu, April 15
It is estimated that one out of ten patients in the developed countries is harmed while receiving hospital care and the probability of such harm is much higher in the developing countries. Keeping this belief in mind, a Continuing Medical Education (CME) on patients’ safety was organized in the Dhanvantri Auditorium of 166 MH Satwari here today.

Brig Pawan Kapoor, Brig Medical, White Knight Corps, was the chief guest of the event. Brig Man Mohan Harjai, Commandant, 166 MH was the chairman.

The audience comprised consultants, specialists, medical officers at primary level, dental surgeons, nursing officers and health care workers.

In all, nearly 70 delegates attended the event. The topics covered in the event were legalities of consent, safe practices pertaining to all specialties, preventable errors, administrative aspects, patient’s perspective, service providers’ perspective and allied aspects. The panel discussion on ‘focus on gaps, need to change’ was much appreciated by all as it brought out the gaps in day to day practice. A quiz and poster presentation competition was also held.

Jammu, April 15
The annual Inter-Battalion Sports Meet got underway at Gulshan Ground, Gandhi Nagar here today. Additional Director-General of Police, PL Gupta was the chief guest who declared the tournament open.

Around 1,200 athletes including 300 women, drawn from 28 battalions of J&K Armed Police and Indian Reserve Police are participating in 13 different disciplines in the six-day long sporting event.

The ceremony began with a colourful march past followed by an oath- taking ceremony. The chief guest stressed upon the importance of sports in overall development of one’s personality.

The competitions will be held in the disciplines of basketball, volleyball, tug-of-war, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, football, handball and kabaddi at Police Sports Complex while hockey and athletics events will be conducted at University of Jammu Grounds.

Shooting competition will be held at Training Centre, Sunjwan and handball at District Police Lines (DPL), besides swimming at KC Public School. The competitions will also feature gazetted officers events in the disciplines of badminton, table tennis and lawn tennis.

Jammu, April 15
Young Star Cricket Club (YSCC) registered a 41-run win over Khalsa Cricket Club (KCC) to secure a berth in the semifinals of the ongoing Tawi Premier League T20 Cricket Tournament, being organised by Tawi Organising Committee, in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) at Sports Stadium, Kathua.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, YSCC accumulated 168 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Gurdeep played a fine knock of 43 runs, containing three delectable hits to the fence.

Sidharth also contributed 33 runs with the help of two boundaries and a six while Bansi Lal chipped in with 32 runs. For KCC, Amarjeet was the pick of the bowler with a three-wicket haul whereas Nitin took one wicket by conceding 27 runs in his quota of four overs.

In reply, KCC was skittled out for 127 runs in 18.5 overs. Ishan was the top scorer with 34 runs, including three boundaries and two sixes. Nitin also played a fighting knock of 29 runs but in vain.

For YSCC, Sidharth was the wrecker-in-chief, who took four wickets while Kaka scalped three wickets. Sidharth was declared the man of the match.

The match was officiated by KV Singh and Anoop Sharma as umpires. Kulbhushan Singh maintained the scorecard.