Srinagar, June 28
Hundreds of Rehbar-e-Taaleem teachers today assembled at the City Centre, Jehangir Chowk, protesting against the state government for allegedly failing to meet their demands since 2005.

The teachers held a protest rally to the Secretariat where they were planning a gherao of the Secretariat.

The planned gherao was however foiled by the J&K Police. The police also lathi-charged the teachers and used water cannons to disperse the protesting crowd.

Around 100 protesters were later detained in the Shaheed Gunj Police station, Srinagar.

Muhammad Iqbal, Secretary General, J&K ReT Forum, told Kashmir Tribune that the use of force by the police resulted in injuries to some teachers who were later treated at the SMHS Hospital.

The teachers were protesting against the authorities for failing to deliver on the promise of considering first five years of their services for promotion.

“The ReT teachers are regularised after five years of their service. However, the first five years are not even included in the period of service. Two-and-a-half years back, we met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, apprising him of our concerns. At that time, he assured us that the issue will be resolved. But nothing has been done so far,” said Iqbal. Pertinently, the state government has engaged around 60,000 ReT teachers since 2005, a majority of whom have been included in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, a Union of Human Ministry and Resource Development scheme.

The teachers said those working under the SSA scheme in various elementary schools of the state have not been paid their salaries for eight months now.

“The problem with non-payment of salaries to SSA teachers is at the state government’s end. Almost 35 per cent of the funding for salaries to the teachers comes from the state government, but the state has not been able to divert its share of funds for this purpose. Consequently, teachers suffer though we discharge our duties well,” Fehmeeda, a protester, said.

“On June 6, the teachers held a district-wise protest and the next schedule of the protest programme will be issued soon,” added Iqbal.

Mehbooba condemns police action

Strongly condemning the police action against the agitating Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti today said the government was using force to address every other problem.

"Instead of their genuine demands being listened to, sections of our society are being mistreated, humiliated and exploited by the present dispensation," she said and added that use of brute force only complicates the problem.

"When it comes to timely disbursal of salaries, pensions and arrears to people, they (rulers) start looking for excuses and delaying tactics,” Mehbooba said, adding that sadly, police is used to respond in the wake of every issue the government faces.

She said today’s police action, in which scores of teachers were injured and hundreds arrested, only shows frustration and failure of the government.

Kupwara, June 28
Commuters and drivers are suffering immensely due to dilapidated Kupwara-Kulangam road, which further leads to Srinagar. They said the 18-km-long road witnessing huge flow of traffic was full of potholes.

They demanded repair work of vital road link to ensure smooth flow of traffic. “The 18-km-long stretch has not been repaired for the past many years. It takes about one hour to cover the distance, which could be covered in just 20 minutes. The road is full of ditches and pits,” said Muneer Ahmad, an employee working in the health department.

Drivers said their vehicles suffer damage due to the bad condition of the road and repair work on vehicles at regular intervals incurs extra expenditure. “From Nutnoosa to Kulangam in particular, the road has become non-motorable.

Due to the bad condition of the road, we are forced to repair our vehicles every second day in workshops. Most of the owners owe loans to the bank and can hardly afford repair of their vehicles,” said driver Bashir Ahmad.

Students and employees said the dilapidated road causes delay in reaching schools and offices.

“The drivers are forced to drive at snail’s pace due to the bad condition of the road. In the process, we often get late in reaching our schools in Kulangam and Handwara. We appeal to the authorities concerned to take up the repair work at the earliest to ensure smooth traffic,” said Firdous Ahmad from Shumnag.

Commuters said travelling on the road has become a nightmarish experience for them. “It is becoming increasingly cumbersome to travel on the dilapidated road. Although official vehicles including that of VIP fleet of vehicles also ply on this important yet ignored road, I wonder why the authorities have not bothered to repair the road,” said Mohd Shafi, a trader from Kupwara.

DC Kupwara Itrat Hussian said, “Due to inclement weather conditions, macdamisation and patching of the road was delayed by a few days. We will soon take up the road for macdamisation.”

Srinagar, June 28
The Baramulla-Banihal train was halted on Nowgam station for an hour on Friday, following rescheduling of train services.

Sources said when the train reached Nowgam station from Baramulla at around 8.45 am today, women protesters blocked the rail track and shouted slogans against the railway authorities for changing the train schedule.

The protesters alleged that the change in the evening time of the train from Anantnag station to Nowgam had created to lot of inconvenience.

During the protest, senior railway authorities and police officials reached the spot to motivate the protesters to allow the train to ply on the route. “But they did not budge till an hour,” said the sources, adding that, later they dispersed themselves.

Hundreds of commuters who were stranded in the train alleged that the police witnessed the whole scene like a mute spectator and did nothing to disperse the protesters.

“It was surprising to see that the police witnessed the protest like a mute spectator. The women kept hundreds of passengers hostage for an hour and the police did nothing,” said Tariq Ahmed, a commuter.

The Railway Police said no case was registered against any protester. “We did not register any case as the protesters dispersed themselves,” said Bashir Ahmad Yatoo, SP, Railway Police.

After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi flagged off the train from Banihal in Jammu region to Qazigund in Kashmir, on Wednesday, the Railway authorities introduced four new trains in Kashmir that chug between Banihal and Baramulla on daily basis.

Inconvenience for commuters Hundreds of commuters were stranded in the train as women protesters blocked the rail track and shouted slogans against the railway authorities Commuters alleged that the police witnessed the whole scene like a mute spectator and did nothing to disperse the protesters

Handwara, June 28
Students of three higher secondary schools in Kupwara are facing severe problems due to lack of teaching staff, accommodation and a few other facilities. Higher secondary school Zachaldara in Handwara tehsil is housed in a years-old building, which students and teachers said was unsafe for their stay.

The building was under Army’s occupation till 2010 and till then, students of the institution remained confined in three classrooms. Students said that the inner walls of old building have developed cracks and threaten to collapse.

“Amid fear of a building collapse, we attend classes in the old building. There is very insufficient light in a few rooms and often cockroaches disturb the classroom atmosphere. The decayed building can prove fatal especially due to a windstorm or earthquake jolt,” said a class XI student.

About 400 students are enrolled in a one-storeyed building having six rooms. The students and staff members are unable to use toilets due to non-availability of water.

“A few weeks ago, I led a delegation of parents to chief education officer Kupwara, requesting him to address the accommodation problems, but nothing has been done so far,” said sarpanch Zachaldara Gh Mohd Margay.

About 500 students enrolled in Higher Secondary School Batpora Magam in Handwara tehsil are also facing problems. The high school was upgraded to a higher secondary some three years back, but it lacks almost all basic facilities. Students said there was not a single permanent lecturer taking classes, but all members were working on contractual basis.

“We are without library, laboratory and toilet facilities. The post of physical education teacher is also lying vacant,” said a student.

About 350 students enrolled in Higher Secondary School Drugmulla in Kupwara tehsil are also facing their share of problems. There are only seven rooms, including an office room available for accommodation. Students said due to lack of space, the classrooms become congested and noisy. A building constructed under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RAMSA) for providing additional accommodation to students has been under construction for the past four years.

DC Kupwara Itrat Hussain said, “We will try to address the problems of students on priority. Under RAMSA scheme, the buildings would be constructed to address accommodation problems.” 

Srinagar, June 28
A woman was electrocuted at her home in north Baramulla district on Thursday evening.

Police said Haleema, wife of Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a resident of Zargar Mohalla, Kreeri, Baramulla, was electrocuted when she came in contact with the electric heater in the kitchen of her home.

“The woman was rushed to the hospital, where the doctor declared her brought dead,” police said.

In another incident, two employees of the Power Development Department, Shabir Ahmad Khan, resident of Latroo, Ashmuqam, and Abdul Salam Padder, resident of Saller, received burn injuries due to a flash fire that was accidentally triggered in one of the live 11 KV panels of the receiving station Ashmuqam in Baramulla district.

“Both the injured were admitted in hospital for treatment and their condition is said to be stable,” said sources.

Srinagar, June 28
The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various government employees' bodies, today called for strike and Secretariat gherao on July 8.

Addressing a press conference here, JCC leader Abdul Qayoom Wani announced a fresh protest programme of the amalgam. He said the employees would observe a strike on July 8 and also attempt to gherao the Civil Secretariat. He said employees of Jammu would protest outside the Divisional Commissioner’s office.

The JCC had earlier protested on June 21 and 22 in an effort to highlight their demands. They also held several rounds of protest in the past. After a series of protests and strikes by the employees last year, the government had reached an agreement with the JCC wherein the employees were assured that a decision on their demands would be announced by September 30. However, the JCC then resumed protests, saying the government had failed to fulfil the promises made to them.

This year too, the government had urged the employee leaders to resolve their issues through talks, but the same had been rejected by the JCC.

The employees’ demands include release of arrears recommended by the sixth pay commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers working in various government departments.

The other JCC demands are inclusion of five years of contractual service of the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers in the service book and regularisation of education volunteers after seven years of service.

Fact file After a series of protests and strikes by the employees last year, the state government had reached an agreement with the Joint Consultative Committee wherein the employees were assured that a decision on their demands would be announced by September 30. The JCC then resumed protests, saying the government had failed to fulfil the promises. This year too, the government had urged the employee leaders to resolve their issues through talks, but the talks were rejected by the JCC. The JCC had protested on June 21 and 22 in an effort to highlight their demands.

Srinagar, June 28
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid held an interactive session with civil society members and mediapersons here today.

Khurshid, who was on a two-day visit to Kashmir, began the session on a nostalgic note by recollecting his early school days in the summer capital. He said the state could become a ‘pampered child’ and the ‘icon’ of the country.

When asked if the Centre would ever come up with any ‘out of the box’ solution for the Kashmir issue, he said there was a need of finding the ‘real’ issue. Khurshid said: “We can begin talks and more people can join in later. There is a need to create trust.”

On the prospects of an alliance with other parties in the state or at the Centre, Khursid said entering into alliances had become a compulsion while adding that the same would be decided by the party high command.

On the AFSPA issue, he said its revocation would be decided by the Prime Minister and the Defence Ministry. He said the Army was a stakeholder and it had to be consulted in this regard.

However, he said the Army was not the final decision-making authority regarding the AFSPA revocation. 

Srinagar, June 28
The Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) in its fresh notification has issued the dates for the conduct of examination in Biology and Chemistry papers which were cancelled due to ‘paper leak’ in few centres based in Srinagar.

As per the notice issued by the BOPEE secretary, the examinations will be held on July 5. While the Biology paper has been scheduled in the morning session at 10am, the Chemistry paper will begin at 2.30pm. The reporting time for the morning session is fixed at 9.25 am and for the afternoon session at 1.55pm.

“The venue of the examination will remain the same as given in the admit cards. Students are required to be at their respective examination centres by the reporting time along with their admit cards issued by the BOPEE,” the official notification reads.

The conduct of the CET examinations came under scanner after the paper-leak episode. The Coaching Centres Association and Jammu and Kashmir Teacher's Forum had warned the state government of street protests if it failed to initiate an independent probe into the matter.

Meanwhile, the BOPEE has started an interim probe into the paper-leak issue to bring the culprits to nook. 

Srinagar, June 28
The government today urged the Union Government to increase allocations to the state in the health sector like other hilly states of the country.

The demand was put forth by Minister of State for Health Shabir Ahmad Khan during a meeting with the Union Member Planning Commission, Syeda Hameed, in Srinagar today.

“The minister also requested to sanction a special financial package under the NRHM and annual plan for completion of the ongoing different health projects in the state,” an official spokesman said. The Union Member Planning Commission was apprised of treatment facilities of non-communicable diseases (NCD) that had been introduced in some district hospitals.

“The Union Member Planning Commission assured the minister of taking all possible steps for the upgrade of healthcare facilities in the state,” the spokesman said.

“The commission would give due consideration while releasing the funds under different Central schemes for improvement and upgrade of healthcare facilities in the state,” he added.

The Union Member Planning Commission received detailed appraisal from the state health minister about the steps being taken by the state government for strengthening healthcare facilities, besides physical and financial status of various components being implemented under the NRHM in the state. — TNS

Srinagar, June 28
A girl died and four others were injured in various road accidents across the Valley since Thursday evening.

The police said a girl died in a road accident in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday evening.

The police further said the accident took place when a truck hit a motorcycle near Markundal Sumbal, Bandipora, resulting in injuries to the motorcyclist Gulzar Ahmad Hajam of Achabal and pillion-rider Nigena, residents of Lahorihama Rafiabad.

“The injured were admitted in hospital for treatment, where the girl succumbed to her injuries,” police said. Police has registered a case.

In another accident, an Alto car hit and injured Shahzada Akhter, at Buchoo, Anantnag, in south Kashmir, on Friday. The injured was admitted in District Hospital, Anantnag, for treatment.

Police said a Tata Mobile hit and injured a pedestrian Fayaz Ahmed Padder, resident of Mattan, at Akoora Crossing KP Road, Anantnag.

The injured was admitted in hospital for treatment.

An auto load carrier turned turtle at Sumbal, Bandipore, resulting in injuries to Dilpazeer Ahmed, resident of Sumbal Bala. The injured was admitted in SKIMS Soura, Srinagar, for treatment. A case has been registered.

Police said a Wagon-R hit and injured Nazima, resident of Santipora, Kralpora, at Kralpora Mode, Kupwara. The injured was admitted in hospital for treatment.

Srinagar, June 28
Underscoring the importance of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP) in maintaining peace and order in the state, the Director General of Police (DGP), Ashok Prasad, has complimented the force for their valour and discipline in performing their duties.

The DGP said the role played by jawans and officers of the JKAP had been well acknowledged at various forums at the state and national level.

Prasad was addressing the Commandants of the Armed and IRP Battalions at their annual conference held here today.

“The JKAP has performed with great valour and discipline while maintaining peace and order in the state. Many valiant jawans and officers laid down their precious lives while ensuring safety and security of the people during the past two decades while fighting the proxy war,” he added.

Prasad said in the present scenario, spectrum of duties had increased manifold and the need of the hour was to bring new reforms and initiatives to meet the new challenges.

“Some initiatives have been evolved to hone the skills of police officers and jawans. This includes modern techniques to deal with the situations effectively. The innovations have been yielding positive results and providing opportunities to improve the professionalism and delivery system on ground,” he said. 

Srinagar, June 28
Under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), about 28,000 Anganwari Centres (AWCs) are functioning in the state, of which only 325 centres have been housed in government accommodation. The rest of the centres are located in rented accommodation.

This was informed by Minister for Social Welfare and Public Grievances Sakina Itoo today.

The minister informed this in a meeting with the Central team of high-level officers headed by Planning Commission member Sayeeda Hamid here today.

The minister urged the Central Government for timely provision of the Central share required by the state government for the smooth implementation of various Centrally-sponsored schemes being implemented by the Social Welfare Department.

Srinagar, June 28
The long-pending demands of 8,000 National Youth Corps (NYC) volunteers may see some light of the day with Minister for Youth Services and Sports Taj Mohiuddin assuring the NYC delegation that the state government will not let them down.

“The minister assured us that the state government is considering some alternate solutions to the problems being faced by the NYC youth. The problems have been conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the Valley,” said Waseem Siddique, a NYC spokesman.

The NYC volunteers have been consistently protesting and rallying outside the public Secretariat for a year now after their service engagement was terminated in 2012 under the Centrally-sponsored National Youth Corps scheme.

The youth were engaged as volunteers in 2010 when the civil unrest rocked the Valley which resulted in the killing and detention of many youth. NYC leaders claimed that the state government roped them in for volunteer services to diffuse tension and curb the unrest.

“We were simply used by the state administration then. The Chief Minister and other ministers, after announcing the scheme, went on to say that 8,000 youth have been given employment. This is totally misleading and just after two years, we were asked to resign from our posts,” said Muddasir Hassan, president, NYC. — TNS

Srinagar, June 28
In the first-ever national initiative for golf in schools, the Indian Golf Union, India's Apex body for golf development, is promoting a golf coaching programme for the schoolchildren of Delhi Public School (DPS) and Presentation Convent School in Srinagar in collaboration with the Royal Springs Golf Course (RSGC).

According to organisers, the orientation for 54 schoolchildren commenced on Monday in two batches at DPS Srinagar which has golf academy facilities on the school premises.

They said the Presentation Convent was being represented by 30 bright young girls between the ages of 8 and 12 years. DPS Srinagar was being represented by 23 girls and boys. It is a 10-day camp and would conclude on July 5. Vikram Sethi, leading golf professional of India, is coaching the students.

The RSGC secretary said the initiative would help in grooming the talent among girls in Kashmir to learn golf and opt it as a career. He said the state government was keen to develop a world class golf circuit in which the younger talent of Kashmir could play to face international championships, besides creating J&K as niche in the golf tourist market.

The RSGC turf manager said it was a first step to promote junior golf in the state and the RSGC would initiate more steps to bring golf to younger generation in the future. 

Srinagar, June28
The first match of A division was played between AG's office XI and Syef Tajudin Football Club in the ongoing Football League tournament.

Sameer from AG's office XI gave the first lead to his team in the 45th minute while Waseem Yousuf scored back to back two goals in the 66th and 68th minute. The AG’s office won the match by 3:0 goals.

The second match was played between Fil Arafat FC and Iqbal Sports. Both teams played aggressive football.

It was Iqbal Sports which found the net in the 42nd minute through Ahsan while Shabir extended the lead in the 53rd minute by scoring the second goal for his team. Zaid from Arafat FC scored the lone goal for his team in the 69th minute. Iqbal Sports won by 2:1 goals.