Jammu, July 3
Despite claims made by the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CAPD) of speeding up ration card computerisation in the state, only 66 per cent of people getting ration through Public Distribution System (PDS) have been issued with new cards, which had added security features in the Jammu region.

Due to the delay in completing the process, thousands of fake card holders are still drawing food grains.

Sources said while the process has almost been completed in other parts of the state, in Jammu, exposure of hundreds of bogus cards has slowed down the initiative of the government to bring transparency in the PDS.

Officials said it had also hit families seeking bifurcation of their cards to bring them in the ambit of the PDS.

Apart from the photograph of the head of the family, each card has a separate six digit number and the same will also be mentioned in two copies of month-wise coupons attached in the ration card.

Further, nearly three lakh families are waiting for new ration cards so that they can be included into the PDS. At the moment, due to the shortage of ration, the government is diverting ration from above poverty line (APL) category to below poverty line (BPL) families, particularly living in the rural and far-flung areas of the state.

“The delay is mainly in Jammu, while in other parts of the state, the process has been completed to some extent. I have asked officials to complete the process on a fast-track basis,” said CAPD Minister Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan.

Ramzan said directions had been passed to effectively monitor the public distribution mechanism in the districts, especially hilly areas, and ensure that the quota of ration reached the people well in time.

According to a data, three lakh families are without ration cards in the state and at present, the government is providing ration to 19.71 lakh families as per as 2001 Census.

However, as per the Census 2011, the total population of the state is 125.48 lakh, which works out to be 22.73 lakh families at an average size of 5.52 persons per family.

Delay pangs Due to the delay in completing the process, thousands of fake card holders are still getting foodgrains In Jammu, hundreds of bogus cards has slowed down the initiative of the government in bringing transparency in PDS Officials said it had also affected families seeking bifurcation of their cards to bring them in the ambit of the PDS.

Jammu, July 3
At a time when basic civic amenities are in a bad shape, streetlights have shown a phenomenal increase in Jammu city and its surrounding localities. As per a data, there are 29,882 streetlights in the winter capital of the state, with most of them installed after 2005 when the last municipal elections were held in the state after a gap of 23 years.

However, in race to install streetlights to keep the masses happy, civic agencies had failed to cover power lines supplying electricity to streetlights at many places, which have emerged as a death trap for commuters. At several places, electric wires could be found hanging posing threat to the lives of the people.

Officials said despite a displeasure shown by the Power Development Department (PDD), which had alleged that most of the lights installed by ex-councillors and MLAs had not followed rules and failed to sign agreement with the department, crores of rupees had not been recovered.

“The race to install streetlights by the civic bodies in Jammu and Srinagar has now become a major area of discord between the Municipal Corporations and the PDD as at places they have been installed without any power agreement,” said an official.

As per the data, there are 45,565 streetlights installed in the capital cities of Jammu and Kashmir by the respective Municipal Corporations which include 15,683 streetlights in Srinagar and 29,882 in Jammu.

“Streetlights were installed by the PDD and the JMC together in several areas of the city but in the name of maintenance, not much effort has been made. Open wires pose a direct threat to pedestrians, particularly,” said Sushil Sharma, a trader from Janipur.

In the last 10 years, under various civic projects, crores of rupees have been spent on the installation of lights in Paloura, Gandhi Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Channi, Parade, Kachi Chawni, Janipur, Roop Nagar and Bari-Brahman and several town of the Jammu region. 

Jammu, July 3
Regular power curtailment is the main problem which the people of Jammu are facing these days. In view of this, the Prime Minister had promised to supply 150 MW of electricity to the state during his visit here.

Officials said the amount of power promised by the Prime Minister would be supplied to the state in the next few days.

They said an order in this regard would be issued by Union Power Ministry soon after which J&K will get additional power which will minimise the problem of regular power cuts for the people of Jammu.

“The supply of electricity which our state gets is around 1,600 MW out of which 700 to 750 MW is only supplied to the Jammu region,” they said.

Talking to The Tribune, Senior Engineer, Power Distribution Department (PDD), Gurbachan, said, “Transformers overload or any damage to them results in power cuts around the city and as the J&K supply is connected with the North Power Grid, sometimes the frequency of electricity supplied from there to our state varies, which also results in power curtailment”.

“If there is a problem with the transformer of any place, we schedule the power cuts to one to two hours. However, if more problems arises and our generators can’t take the load, then we have no option but to opt for unscheduled power cuts which varies,” he said.

When asked about the supply of 150 MW of electricity to the state, he said, “I don’t know about that, but if the state gets 150 MW of power supply as promised by the Prime Minister, it will surely be helpful for the people of the state. Regular power cuts will decrease due to this and the supply will easily meet the demands of the people”.

Power curtailment in Jammu city is mostly witnessed in Ashok Nagar, Nanak Nagar, Shastri Nagar and in some areas of Janipur. 

Jammu, July 3
Despite Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s directive to strengthen the fire-fighting mechanism in hospitals and nursing homes in the state, an audit report to prepare a comprehensive policy in this regard is gathering dust in the Home Department.

Sources said fire safety audit conducted by the Fire and Emergency Services Department on the directions of the Home Department, after the tragic AMRI hospital incident in Kolkata on December 2011 that killed 90 patients, had not been taken seriously by the government.

The survey has revealed that 157 hospitals and nursing homes are without emergency fire safety mechanism. This includes Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu and Srinagar, and its associated hospitals.

Though officials said in recent years, most of the new buildings constructed after 2004 had inbuilt fire alarm and sprinkling systems, health infrastructure build over the last four decades had primitive fire-fighting equipment.

Exposing chinks in its disaster management doctrine, the state is yet to enact the Fire Safety Act, which will make it mandatory to install fire safety gadgets at public and private establishments. Most of the hotels, cinema halls, shopping complex, commercial establishments and heritage buildings are without any safety measures.

“It’s a forgotten exercise. It remains just a case study. Like hundreds of other projects, no follow up action has been taken on the recommendation, which include building of water reservoirs, revamping equipment and getting blueprints of building plans to the Fire Department,” said a senior administrative officer.

RS Sodhi, director, Fire Services Department, said, “We conducted an audit and the report was submitted to the Administrative Department. Whatever decision they will take, the department will follow. On our part our officials are routinely meeting the hospital administration to strengthen their disaster management abilities”.

However, Home Secretary Suresh Kumar was not available for comment. The sources said disaster management was given the least consideration by the planner and even the Fire Department does not have building layout plans or blueprints of government buildings and hospitals.

Jammu, July 3
A call from an advocate is troubling former Tata Photon users these days threatening them to pay the outstanding bill, else a non-bailable warrant will be issued against them in the Delhi High Court.

The Photon users of Jammu are in puzzlement, after getting a call from Delhi, which is asking them that they have a hearing at the Delhi High Court on the next day and if they won’t be there, a non-bailable warrant will be issued against them.

“I got a call from Delhi, a woman calling herself advocate Renuka Chowdhary from the Delhi High Court. She told me that I have a hearing at the Delhi High Court tomorrow and I have to be there, else a non bailable warrant will be issued against me,” said Nakul Upppal, a former Photon user from Akhnoor.

When he asked her that he didn’t get any legal notice for that, she said they had sent it but he didn’t receive it.

“She said a case of fraud has been registered against me. Later, she said Rs 1,800 was still outstanding against my last bill of Tata Photon, which I had not paid and If do not pay it within two days, a warrant will be issued against me,” he added.

Nakul said he was not sure whether the call was a genuine one as there was no office of the Tata Photon left in Jammu after January 16.

“I don’t know whether the call was genuine or not, she gave me a bank account number of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, where I had to deposit the amount,” he said.

“I have not withdrawn the connection, the company has withdrawn its services, in fact they should compensate us. I have brought a device from them worth Rs 2,000, which is of no use now. They should take it back and return our security deposit. How can they register a case against me,” he added.

Before closing the operations, the officials had verbally told the subscribers that there was no need to pay the last bill, as the company was not taking back their devices.

Many others also have got this kind of call, some of them have deposited the bill and some of them have not, but everyone is still confused whether the call was a genuine or not.

Jammu, July 3
The decision of the Higher Education Department to stop evening classes in the city colleges has hit hard aspiring students, especially those belonging to weaker sections of the society, as they are forced to drop the idea of pursuing higher studies.

Most of the aspiring students are finding it difficult to continue their studies in wake of non-availability of facility of evening classes.

There were two degree colleges, Maulana Azad Memorial (MAM) Post Graduate College, Jammu, and Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College, Jammu, which were offering the facility of evening classes till 2011.

“In 2011, the Higher Education Department closed all the batches of evening classes affecting aspiring students, particularly those belonging to weaker sections of society, who, otherwise, were doing part-time jobs,” a senior official of the Higher Education Department said.

Pooja Sharma, a pass out from GGM Science College, said, “I did my graduation in medical stream in 2009 and by that time, evening classes were running smoothly. I used to do part-time job along with my studies”.

“The department banned the evening batches, which resulted into great hardships to the aspirants”.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Satinder Singh, principal, GGM Science College, Jammu, said, “In 2011, we banned the evening classes, which were affiliated to Jammu University, due to clash in timings of evening classes and morning batches. The opening of new colleges was also one of the major reasons to ban the evening batches”.

Jammu, July 3
Government Degree College, Bhaderwah, is facing a shortage of teaching staff resulting in loss to students who have enrolled themselves in the first year of the three-year degree courses.

Students of postgraduate courses of Urdu and Chemistry are also facing a tough time due to the shortage of teaching staff.

Government Degree College, Bhaderwah, was established in 1955 in the mountainous and picturesque own of Bhaderwah in Doda district with a view to provide quality education to the people of rural areas. Scores of students after passing out from the college have made mark not only in the state, but at the national level.

With the onset of colleges in other major towns of Doda and Kishtwar districts, the flow of students to Bhaderwah College has decreased, but the start of PG courses again raise the level of quality of education in the college.

But now, due to the shortage of teaching staff, quality education lacks in the premier college of the Chenab circle.

“The college has sanctioned a staff strength of 45 assistant and associate professors, but only eight permanent teachers are occupying the posts and others have been absorbed on contractual basis,” said a college employee, wishing anonymity.

All these contractual lecturers have a very little experience and have been absorbed straight after finishing their post graduation. “They have to teach postgraduate-level students and don’t have enough experience to stand firm in front of these students,” the employee added.

Posts of lecturers in political science, geography, Urdu, botany, zoology, physics, electronics, Arabic, Islamic Studies, Hindi, education and physics are lying vacant, but no efforts have been made to fill these posts.

Despite repeated attempts, neither the Higher Education Minister nor his MoS and director colleges were available for comments. 

Jammu, July 3
The Regional Transport Office (RTO), Jammu, has been captured by touts, as it has become difficult for the people to deal with the flippant behaviour of the RTO staff.

Sources in the department said more than 100 illegal touts were active in the RT office, Jammu. Staff and agents are looting the common man of the city. They even have a rate list which is quite higher than the actual expense of the work.

The agents are charging Rs 7,500 for the registration of a car, whereas the actual expense is Rs 6,200, for motorcycle, the agent charges Rs 5,000, whereas the actual expense is Rs 4,060 and Rs 3,500 for a scooter, which actually costs 2,460.

Many of these agents are deputed by the well-known car/motorcycle dealerships of Jammu, to facilitate their customers by providing them registration of their vehicle at their doorsteps. Whosoever buys a vehicle from any of the agency in Jammu, the agency owners not only offers them insurance, but the registration as well, without personal inspection of the vehicles, and charges them more than the actual expense.

Sukhdev Sharma, a resident of Janipur said, “I bought a new motorcycle, the dealer offered me to get the registration done from their agent, but I refused their proposal. When I came to the RT Office, there was no one to guide me. There were only agents who were asking for Rs 5,000 to get the job done.”

One of the agents has accepted that they have to give share to the staff as well as the local police, than only they are able to do their business in this office. “People do not have time to come in offices to get their vehicle registered, so we are just helping them, and charging a small amount as commission,” the agent said, requesting anonymity.

But without giving any share to the staff and the local police we cannot do this job, as they only allow the agents to sit here, who give them share,” he added.

Arvind Kotwal, Regional Transport Officer, Jammu, was not available for comment. 

Jammu, July 3
Retired employees of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) protested against their pending dues on Wednesday.

Retired employees under the leadership of Dev Raj Bali, president, VRS union, and Surinder Singh, general secretary, VRS union of the SRTC, unanimously demanded that the amount given by the Central Government to the tune of Rs 710 crore should be cleared.

“We are protesting for the last three years, but the dues are still pending,” said Dev Raj Bali, President.

The VRS employees were demanding 126 slab COLA and pending arrears from January 2006 and pending arrears since 1999 along with leave salary, gratuity and ex-gratia grants, 6th Pay Commission from January 2006 and interest accrued on the CP fund amount to the tune of Rs 8,41,114.

Kargil, July 3
For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, the J&K State Road Transport Corporation started its Kargil-Jammu Bus Service from today.

The bus service was flagged off by the adviser to Chief Minister, Qamar Ali Akhoon, in the presence of Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan, Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC, Kargil. The bus fare from Kargil to Jammu is Rs 1,000 and this High tech bus is equipped with all latest facilities.

Akhoon said this service was the need of the hour and would help the student community studying in Jammu, Delhi and other cities of the country and the businessmen, in general. He said keeping in view the necessity of bus service, the J&K SRTC purchased two high tech buses to ply on the Kargil-Jammu route, adding that, it was a long-pending demand of the people of Kargil.

Jhanger, July 3
To commemorate supreme sacrifice made by the Brigadier Mohammed Usman, who attained martyrdom defending the motherland during the 1947-48 operations in Nowshera sector, a memorial function was held at Jhanga today.

Lt Gen DS Hooda, General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, was the chief guest on the occasion. A large number of military, police and civil dignitaries, including the General Officer Commanding, Ace of Spades Division, Maj Gen VP Singh and Deputy GOC, Ace of Spades Division JK Tiwari, were present on the occasion.

Lt Gen DS Hooda inaugurated a photo gallery of Brig Mohammed Usman where number of portraits witnessing the saga of his bravery.

They paid tribute to Brig Mohammed Usman who had played a pivotal role as the commander of 50 Parachute Brigade, during the recapture of Jhangar and the battle of Nowshera, which earned him two titles of endearment, ‘Hero of Jhangar’ and ‘Saviour of Nowshera’.

Among those who paid tributes to the `Hero of Jhangar’ were the ‘Bal Sainiks’ who as young boys, had taken part in the 1947-48 operations, along with Brig Mohammed Usman.

Massive turnover of local residents was witnessed in the function. The Army felicitated veer naris and presented cash awards, sewing machines to disabled ladies from Below the Poverty Line (BPL), eight civilians who lost their limbs in mine blast along the line of control has given modified scooters. 

Jammu, July 3
Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana today visited the residence of ITBP soldier Inspector Bhim Singh at Bobiyan village of Kathua district to condole his demise.

Rana met the bereaved family and expressed his condolences. He also conveyed the condolences of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to the family, saying that the brave officer left an indelible mark of heroism by rescuing people in distress at the peril of his life.

It may be stated here that Inspector Bhim Singh was one among 20 rescuers on board the ill-fated MI-17 chopper that crashed in the Kedarnath valley on June 25.

“Such people do not die, they become immortal,” Rana said, and assured the family that they should not feel alone at this hour of grief.

He appreciated their resilience to bear irreparable loss with a sense of pride. He said the sacrifice of Inspector Bhim Singh would continue to inspire young soldiers and jawans to keep call of duty at the top of everything else.

Rana assured the family that he would take up with the government raising of a befitting memorial in recognition of the service rendered by the martyr.

The NC leader prayed for peace to the departed soul, who scripted a saga of heroism in Uttarakhand while rescuing pilgrims stranded in high mountains.

Among others, GR Bhagat, a former IAS officer, who joined National Conference this morning, besides Thakur Kashmir Singh, Dhian Chand, district president Kathua, Dharamveer Singh Jamwal, Taranjeet Singh Tony, Dr Surjeet Bhagat, KK Bakshi, Devender Singh Bindu, Bharti Sharma, Dharam Pal, Soma Devi, Shakeel Tony, Rampal, Chandu Ram, Shakuntla Devi, Vinod Kumar, Romy Khadyal, Rajinder Sharma, Rajinder Singh, Gurda Dass, Narinder Kumar, Surinder Kumar, Rohit Khajuria, Sayeed Ali and others accompanied the provincial president to offer condolences to the bereaved family. 

Katra, July 3
As the Shiv Khori cave shrine attracted a record 10.64 lakh pilgrims this year, the authorities are gearing up to provide every possible facility to the devotees to divert pilgrims of Vaishno Devi towards other pilgrimages in the Reasi district.

Earlier, devotees visited the cave during Maha Shivratri, but now the shrine is also witnessing heavy rush of pilgrims during the Amarnath yatra.

Reasi has emerged a tourist destination of Jammu and Kashmir. The Vaishno Devi shrine attracts over 1.1 crore devotees while the Shiv Khori cave shrine is attracting 20 lakh pilgrims annually.

"Shiv Khori is attracting a good number of devotees since the start of Amarnath yatra. Over 25,000 devotees have paid obeisance at the Shiv Khori shrine," said Manmeet Kumar, executive officer, Shiv Khori Shrine Board.

“Aghar Jitto, Noaun Pandian, Baba Dhansar, Deera Baba Banda Bahudur and Shiv Khori are the holy shrines which have been developed to divert maximum number of the pilgrims of Vaishno Devi towards the interior of the Reasi district,” he added.

After Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori is the only religious place which has been attracting devotees from all over the country. According to the official data, a record number of over 10,63,439 pilgrims visited the cave situated in Sanger village near Ransoo of the Pouni block of Reasi district during the current year. During 2012, over 19,42,826 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy Shiv Lingam and other deities in the cave.

"The yatra would touch 25,00,000 mark by the end of 2013," Kumar said, adding that, "At present, 5,000 to 6,000 devotees are visiting the cave shrine daily to pay obeisance and their numbers are increasing."

Keeping in view the natural beauty, topography and significance of the area, the board is also making all-out efforts to develop the place as a popular tourist resort with infrastructure for the visiting pilgrims. A number of development works have been taken up by the Shiv Khori Shrine Board to provide facilities to the pilgrims. 

Jammu, July 3
Panther Cricket Club (PCC) notched up a three-wicket win against Kameshwar Cricket Club (KCC) in the ongoing 5th Pawan Singh Memorial Twenty20 Cricket Tournament being organised by Singh Cricket Club at Government Higher Secondary School Ground, Akhnoor.

Batting first, KCC set a target of 152 runs for the loss of six wickets. In reply, PCC did the needful in 18.4 overs losing seven wickets in the process. Anshuman was the top scorer with 23-ball 44 runs while Sahil Pawar made 34 runs off 30 balls. Later, PCC overhauled the target with three wickets intact. At one stage, PCC was struggling with 25 runs needed in two overs, but Aman kept his cool and steered his side out of trouble. Skipper Rawat remained unbeaten on 39-ball 45. He was later declared man of the match.