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PM to inaugurate 11-km-long
Banihal rail tunnel on June 25
Central employment scheme Udaan fails to take wings
Postal dept leaves Rs 2.93-cr Meghdoot Bhawan unused
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State industrial package extended for five years
State BJP to approach Advani over cop’s arrest
Ahead of Rahul’s visit to Doda, security forces seal quake-hit areas
Over 10 militants from Pak sneaked into Valley this year
Several regional political parties emerge in Kashmir
Radical Islamic bodies a threat to Kashmir: Panun Kashmir
Al-Qaida urges Indians to join global jihad
Awareness camp on AIDS concludes
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PM to inaugurate 11-km-long
Banihal rail tunnel on June 25
Jammu, June 14 Official sources said the Prime Minister would inaugurate the 11-km-long railway tunnel between Banihal in Jammu and Qazigund in Kashmir on June 25. The tunnel, which has been completed with an estimated cost of Rs 1,300 crore, is part of the 345-km-long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail project of Northern Railway. It has been constructed at a height of 5,770 feet in the Pir Panjal range. “The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the historic 84-km Mughal Road project that connects the Kashmir valley with the Jammu division through Poonch. The road will reduce the 541-km distance from Poonch to Srinagar via Jammu to 174 km, and the travel time from 32 hours through Jammu to seven hours via Bafliaz and Shopian,” an official said. The road, which has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 639.85 crore, connects Bafliaz, a town in the Surankote area of Poonch district in Jammu division, to Shopian district in the Kashmir Valley. It passes over the Pir Panjal range at an altitude of 11,500 feet, which is much higher than the Banihal tunnel area. The Mughal Road project was sanctioned under the Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan (PMRP) in 2004. The idea of the new Mughal Road was conceived in the 1950s with an aim of improving the connectivity with the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. It is believed that the caravans of Mughal emperor Shah Jehan used this road to travel to Kashmir during the 17th century. Sources said Singh was likely to lay the foundation of the prestigious Rattle Hydroelectric Project with a generation capacity of 850 megawatt. The power plant is being constructed over the Chenab at Drabshala village in Kishtwar district. This will be the fourth hydroelectric plant on the Chenab in the Jammu region. The 390-MW Dulhasti power project in Kishtwar, 450-MW Baglihar project in Ramban, 360 MW-Salal project in Reasi have already been set up on the river. The sources said the tendering process had been completed for the project, which is being constructed on BOOT (Built, Operate, Own and Transfer) basis. The Kishtwar district administration has handed over the possession of approximately 5,418 kanals to GVK Powers and Infrastructure Ltd for the construction of the Rattle project. The project is expected to provide employment to at least 5,000 youth. The sources said the state government was working out the visit of Sonia Gandhi along with the Prime Minister as her schedule was yet to be
finalised. India’s longest tunnel
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Central employment scheme Udaan fails to take wings
Srinagar, June 14 The Director, Centre for Career Planning and Counselling (CCPC), University of Kashmir, who is overseeing the project implementation in the Valley said almost 15 private sector companies and public sector undertakings had visited Kashmir University, including Tata Consultancy Services, Religare , Rooman Technologies, HCL and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. Although a campus recruitment drive under the project is becoming a daily feature in most of the colleges and universities in the state, the youth are not particularly driven towards job opportunities that the companies are offering, particularly because of the kind of job profiles and pay scales. TCS, which has been the largest recruiter of the visiting companies delivering 400 appointment letters at KU, has till now been able to recruit only 50 candidates. However, students criticised the placement drives describing them as “unfruitful” since the companies are recruiting graduates, postgraduates and even doctorates for BPO jobs, which by all means are not “good” enough for them. “After having specialised in sciences, I am being offered a call centre job which offers pay scale of Rs 10,000-12,000 that, too, in metro cities where the cost of living is extremely high. It is not good job for any postgraduate or higher qualified people. Though I was handed over the job letter, I did not go for it,” Numaan Ali, an MSc student at KU, said. Udaan project officials, however, said the initial period of training under the companies should not be confused with job as the companies were only selecting candidates for training and skill development purposes. “Getting a good job is a rigorous exercise. Out of 4,000 students who sat for TCS examinations, only 300 could pass and are eligible for training. During the training period, candidates are given a remuneration of Rs 3,000 and also boarding, lodging facilities. It is seemingly not enough, but this should be considered an initial phase of providing better employment opportunities,” a project official said. |
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Postal dept leaves Rs 2.93-cr Meghdoot Bhawan unused
Jammu, June 14 The Bhawan was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Kruparani Killi at the Railhead Complex here on May 21. During the inauguration ceremony, it was stated that the building was equipped with latest infrastructure and modern facilities for staff. Interestingly, the office of Chief Postmaster General is still functioning from old building located near Dogra Chowk in Jammu city. If the sources within the department are to be believed, the Union Minister was kept in the dark vis-à-vis availability of requisite infrastructure and facilities for the staff. “The building costing around Rs 2.93 crore was inaugurated in a hurry. It was given a facelift from outside despite the fact that there was no arrangement of electricity, drinking water and toilet facility inside the complex,” sources said. They said though the department had shifted the office of Senior Superintendent of Post Office to new building, yet there was no facility for the staff and they had been facing hardships while performing their routine duties. Sources said the inauguration ceremony was an attempt to get ‘limelight’ among the general masses and there was an urgent need to instal basic infrastructure and facilities in the complex to provide “best possible” services to the public. John Samuel, the Chief Postmaster General, J&K, admitted that the non-availability of water connection and lack of networking in the complex delayed the shifting of offices to new complex. “We had completed all the civil works in the building when it was inaugurated. It is true that there was no water facility at that time but we have got a water connection now. Presently, the networking is being done in the building and we are hopeful that all the offices will be shifted to Meghdoot Bhawan by the end of this month,” Samuel said, adding that the shifting of three offices having the strength of 150 officials generally take some time. |
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State industrial package extended for five years New Delhi, June 14 The extended run of the package, with an outlay of Rs 295 crore, will be till June 14, 2017. The announcement has come one year after the initial package, which ran for 10 years, ended in June 2012. Under the old package, a subsidy of Rs 158.45 crore was provided till the end of financial year2012-13. A total of 9,305 new units were set up in the state with a total investment of Rs 3183.48 crore. These generated employment for 1,11,397 persons in the state. The earlier package included 15 per cent capital investment subsidy on the investment in plants and machinery, subject to a ceiling of Rs 30 lakh. However, the MSMEs would be eligible for 30 per cent capital investment subsidy on investment in plant and machinery, subject to a ceiling of Rs 3 crore and Rs 1.5 crore for manufacturing and service sectors, respectively, to all new and existing industrial units on their substantial expansion. It also provided 3 per cent interest subsidy on the average of daily working capital loan to all new units for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production, a central comprehensive insurance subsidy scheme with 100 per cent reimbursement of premium to all new and existing units on their substantial expansion for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production. The benefits, the government said, could be availed of by the units set up in notified industrial parks and estates. The list of “thrust industries” (which can be set up anywhere in the state) eligible for the subsidy under the package has also been expanded to include flour mills, rice mills, spice grinding, pasteurisation/processing of milk and other dairy product, mushroom culture, compost making, dairy farming packaging, bottling of mineral water, stationery items and wood-based industry. The scheme will be implemented through the state government and the funds will be disbursed through the JKDFC, a nodal agency. All new units in the notified areas in the state, excluding the negative list and all new units of thrust industry outside notified areas, will be eligible for subsidy under the package for a period of 5 years. The bouquet
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State BJP to approach Advani over cop’s arrest
LK Advani will visit Jammu on June 23 to release a book on the “Praja Parishad” movement. “It was none other than the then Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani who had given a star to Shiv Krishan Sharma for bravely tracking down Pakistani terrorists involved in the Chapnari massacre in 1998 and so, we have decided to apprise him about the entire episode,” said state BJP general secretary Bali Bhagat. “We took up this issue during the recently held national executive meeting of the party at Goa,” Bhagat said, adding, “The upcoming visit of Advani will give us an opportunity to effectively highlight the issue because he (Advani) is aware of the bravery and contribution of Sonu in containing militancy in the erstwhile Doda district.” BJP sources said a team of party leaders from Kishtwar, Ramban and Doda has been constituted to mobilise public opinion, especially in these three districts, to intensify the campaign against Sonu’s arrest. “This team has been asked by the state BJP leadership to prepare a detailed report about the arrest of the SI who was instrumental in eliminating about 70 dreaded terrorists, including some foreign mercenaries,” said a source. He added that the team had been directed to reach Jammu on June 22 so as seek appointment with Advani. The highly decorated SI, who was arrested for his alleged links with militants on June 4, was awarded the State Gallantry Award on June 12. The BJP state unit is of the view that there is a conspiracy in the arrest of the SI. The party said it was part of the gameplan to accomplish the designs of pro-Pakistani forces to revive militancy in the erstwhile Doda district. “Sonu’s arrest was the first episode of the bigger design of the state government,” said BJP national executive committee member Nirmal Singh. The BJP had alleged that besides demoralising officers who have been aggressive with militants, the state government had started a gameplan to disband Village Defence Committees (VDCs). To
substantiate allegations, the party has raised a finger on some VDC members who have been disarmed by the authorities without any reason. Party smells a rat The BJP state unit is of the view that there is a conspiracy in the arrest of the sub-inspector. The party said it was a part of the game plan to accomplish the designs of pro-Pakistani forces to revive militancy in the erstwhile Doda district
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Ahead of Rahul’s visit to Doda, security forces seal quake-hit areas
The security forces have taken over all the important installations, including helipads at Ghat village, 5 km from Doda town, and Bhaderwah town. At Ghat, the helipad has been made of wooden logs so that there is no problem in landing even during rains. The cloud cover is continuing in the area with occasional rain and the weather is expected to remain like that for the next 24 hours. To make the event hassle-free, the Doda district administration is putting a lot of effort. The Doda Deputy Commissioner visited both Ghat and Bhaderwah to monitor the arrangements. R&B Minister Abdul Majeed Wani is himself supervising the arrangements. Ghat residents are excited about Rahul’s visit. “The village is wearing a festive look despite the presence of a large number of security personnel. Everyone is excited about the visit of the most powerful man of India, who could be the future Prime Minister,” said Imran Tantray, a teacher in Ghat, whose house received cracks during the earthquake. Meanwhile, JKPCC president Saifuddin Soz left for New Delhi today to get an update on Rahul’s visit. On his arrival in Srinagar from Doda district, Rahul will launch project Umeed for empowerment of women at
Budgam. |
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Over 10 militants from Pak sneaked into Valley this year
Srinagar, June 14 While Army officials are yet to officially disclose the number of militants who managed to infiltrate, defence sources put the number to over a dozen. “Over a dozen militants have managed to infiltrate into north Kashmir’s Kupwara district so far,” said a defence source. “While two groups have managed to sneak in, we successfully foiled two infiltration bids. Earlier this month, three Pakistani militants were killed when a group of militants was trying to sneak into the Valley through the Nowgam sector. A Junior Commissioned Officer was killed and a soldier was injured while foiling an infiltration bid in the wee hours of May 18 in the Machil sector of Kupwara district,” he added. The police figures, however, reveal that 18 to 22 militants have infiltrated this year so far and that they belong to the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jasih-e-Mohammad. “Our assessment is that 18 to 22 militants have managed to infiltrate,” said a police officer who keeps track of militant activities across Kashmir. Last year, according to the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) report, over 100 militants had infiltrated into the Valley. “Whenever snow melts, our neighbouring country continues its efforts to push terrorists, but the Army is on alert and fully prepared to avert any such designs,” Lt Gen Om Prakash said on Thursday. “My opinion is that one or two groups of terrorists have managed to infiltrate,” he added. |
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West Pak refugees want Omar to address their problems
Jammu, June 14 While the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently ordered the State Education Department to relax norms to ensure admissions of Kashmiri militants’ children in various government schools, West Pakistan refugees rue the raw deal being meted out to their children. President of the West Pakistan Refugees’ Action Committee, Labha Ram Gandhi said, “Despite an announcement of the Prime Minister in 2009 to keep one per cent special quota, 10 per cent relaxation on cut-off list and 30 days extra time after the closure of admission dates in technical education institutes of Jammu and Kashmir for our wards, the state government refused to entertain our children.” It may be stated here that 23,012 families, called West Pakistan refugees in the state, can exercise their franchise in Lok Sabha elections but do not cast votes in Assembly elections. “Just see our hard luck?. We are Indians but not residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The CM has all the concern for the Kashmiri militants who are returning with their PoK wives and children, but he has not honoured even the PM’s announcement,” said Gandhi. “Sixty five years on, we still remain refugees in this state. We have not been given permanent residents’ certificates (PRCs) and our children continue to suffer because of the apathetic attitude of the government,” he said. Gandhi regretted that on one hand, the state government had all the concern and affection for the children of Kashmiri militants born to their wives from PoK, but has no concern for the families from West Pakistan who migrated to the state during Partition. “We rue the day we migrated to this state,” he added. Gandhi said their children do manage their studies till matriculation, opting for private schools, but problems crop up when they have to pursue higher and technical education in the state. “Without state subjects (PRCs), scheduled caste and OBC certificates, our children shuttle from pillar to post, but it seems there is no one willing to hear our grievances,” said Gandhi. He said the state government also turned a deaf ear to the letters from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Nearly 270 Kashmiri militants - 117 with their Pakistani wives and children, returned from PoK via Nepal in the past one year under the state government’s rehabilitation policy. |
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Several regional political parties emerge in Kashmir
Srinagar, June 14 The MLA, after announcing the launch of his party here the other day, said it was an attempt to provide an alternative regional political party against the three major players in the state-Congress, National Conference (NC) and PDP. This is not the only party launched by an individual in a democratic set-up in the post-militancy era in the Valley. Earlier, Ghulam Hasan Mir, who is presently the Agriculture Minister in the NC-Congress coalition government, constituted the Democratic Party (Nationalist) after opting out of the PDP. Having remained as Tourism Minister in the Congress-PDP coalition government between 2002 and 2005, he later constituted his own party and allied with the Congress-NC coalition in the state after the 2008 elections. Another former minister and four-time MLA from Khansahib constituency in Budgam district, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen along with 13 MLAs had constituted the Peoples Democratic Forum following the 2002 Assembly elections, which had given a split verdict. While other members opted out at various levels, Yaseen reconstituted
it as the J&K Peoples Democratic Front (JKPDF) in 2006. Seemingly not happy with mushrooming of individual political parties, Yaseen said there was a need to have a united party of like-minded leaders to work for the people on political, economic and developmental fronts. “People want change,” he said adding that the individual parties would not help and only a united platform was required for the overall development. NEW PARTIES ON THE BLOCK
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Radical Islamic bodies a threat to Kashmir: Panun Kashmir
Jammu, June 14 Addressing a press conference, PK president Ajay Chrangoo said the recent spurt of violence in Kashmir only shows how fragile is the peace and untrue are the claims about normalcy made by both Central and state governments. “The recent violence has shown that leaders of terror organisations are locals and not always foreign mercenaries, as the Government of India wants people to believe. Terrorist organisations, part of international jihadi organisations like the LeT, JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen, have been very active in the state.” The spontaneous protests that take place in the Kashmir valley after any dreaded terrorist is killed or arrested bears testimony to this fact, he said. “Why is it so that in spite of so much of developmental initiative being taken, there is so much support for terrorists? It is an indication that radical groups have spread their tentacles”. Chrangoo alleged that the situation in the state had in fact deteriorated, with separatist and fundamentalist forces ruling the roost. “It is high time that strong action was taken against the fundamentalist forces, which have already successfully completed ethnic cleansing in Kashmir”. He said the race for competitive secessionism and communalism had been on full display in the Valley for quite some time now. The public frenzy being generated in Kashmir had almost crippled the functioning of the government, he added. |
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Al-Qaida urges Indians to join global jihad
Srinagar, June 14 The video titled “A message to Indian Muslims - Tere Dariya Mei Toofan Kyu Nahi Hai (Why is there no storm in your river)” was released this week on militant-sympathetic websites and has been produced by As-Sahab production, which in the past has released video statements of former Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and its present chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. “You sons of Mohammad bin Qasim and Ghaznavi, you heirs of Aurangzeb and Abdali, rise to establish the caliphate in the world… join the global Islamist movements,” Al-Qaida said in its first message to Indian Muslims. |
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Awareness camp on AIDS concludes
Leh, June 14 Divided into five groups, the students have travelled through all regions of Ladakh — Changthang, Nubra, Shyam and Leh to raise awareness among the young people about the HIV/AIDS and ways of prevention. Focusing on teenagers, the awareness was imparted at higher secondary and high schools of these regions. The awareness campaign which has started on June 3, concluded on June 10, at Leh town during which the chief executive councilor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, (LAHDC), Leh, Rigzin Spalbar was chief guest and executive councilor for health Dr Sonam Wangchuk was guest of honour. President of the Association Lobzang Chonzin said, “The idea to organise a campaign on health came when we found that number of HIV positive and AIDS patients detected at SNM
Hospital, Leh has gone up to 34 by the end of last month. Considering the local population of over one lakh, the number is alarming in Ladakhi society, where people do not come openly due to the social stigma attached with the disease. ” He also said volunteer students had been trained on HIV/AIDS during a three-day residential workshop conducted in March at Chandigrah. |
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Army man dies in road accident
Jammu, June 14 He was taken to Military Hospital, Udhampur, where he breathed his last. His post-mortem examination was conducted in the evening. A case has been registered at the Chenani police station. |
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Batote, June 14
Jammu, June 14