Jammu, July 13
In a perfect example of official slackness and laidback approach, various streets and lanes, which were dug up for laying water and sewer lines in Jawahar Nagar area of Jammu west Assembly segment have been left without repair after completion of the work for the past two years.

While residents have been putting up with umpteen problems, the authorities — Jammu Municipal Corporation and the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) refuse to take the responsibility to repair these lanes and try to pass the buck.

The residents said they had taken up the matter with the civic body and local MLA several times, but nothing has changed on ground.

“The unending work of ERA and the civic body - either digging up roads or leaving them without repair for a long time - has been putting citizens to great hardship. Several two-wheeler riders have already met with serious accidents in the area and we apprised the local MLA and the civic body officials about it, but nothing has been done to restore dug-up lanes and streets in their original form,” Harbans Lal Sharma, a resident of ward number 16, Jawahar Nagar, said.

Madan Lal, another resident of the area, said, “There is an immediate need to fix the responsibility of officials concerned who have miserably failed to repair the dug-up lanes and streets over the past two years. Earlier, the auto-rickshaws used to enter our locality and drop the people at their doorsteps, but even walking in these lanes and streets is difficult now.”

Sonu Sharma, a local youth, criticised the civic body and the ERA for the chaos in the area. “The onset of monsoon has compounded our problems as slush and mud chokes the drains. Consequently, rainwater enters our houses and causes damage to household goods. We have been subjected to miseries but the authorities concerned are still unmoved.”

Local MLA Chaman Lal Gupta said there was no coordination among various development agencies and they were the least bothered about addressing public grievances being caused because of indiscriminate digging.

“They have damaged virtually the entire city with indiscriminate and unmindful digging. There is a set procedure for carrying out development activities which has not been taken into account while conducting digging in city areas. The government has appointed the Divisional Commissioner as coordinator for development activities in city areas, but he never visited any locality to see the ground situation. The ERA is learnt to have release the funds and the repair work will be done soon after the rainy season,” said Gupta.

A senior officer of the Jammu Municipal Corporation said they had been waiting for the funds to be provided by the ERA for repair of damaged lanes and interior roads in various localities. “We will be able to start repair work in the city's localities only after receiving funds from the ERA,” the officer said.

Saurabh Bhagat, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ERA, was unavailable for comment.

Jammu, July 13
Several organisations in Jammu including those of displaced Kashmiri Pandits today observed Black Day to mark the violence in 1931. The day, they say, has marked 82 years of the first major communal riots in Kashmir valley.

Though Jammu and Kashmir government observes the day as Martyrs' Day and it is officially a holiday in the state, several organisations, particularly in Jammu region, have been holding protests every year on July 13.

Joint Forum of KP Organisations (JFKPO) organised a demonstration and alleged that the history of the state has been distorted. Several organisations participated, wearing black badges, with placards in their hands and raised slogans decrying violence after the killing of 22 protesters by security forces during the rule of erstwhile Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh.

All India General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), P Muralidhar Rao, also joined the demonstrators.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh, chief spokesperson of the BJP, said nationalist forces in the state cannot forget facts of history and have been observing this day as Black Day every year.

“The observance of July 13 as so-called Martyrs’ Day by the political structures of the state is tantamount to rubbing salt to fester the wounds of the minority community of Kashmir,” said Panun Kashmir (PK) president Ashwani Chrangoo.

Jammu State Morcha's Chander Uday Sharma said, “The mobs, under the supervision and leadership of communal forces, looted properties belonging to the minority community and houses at Vicharnag, Maharaj Ganj (the hub of business activity), Amirakadal, Hari Singh High Street."

Jagdish Raj Dogra, president, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, alleged that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and leader of the National Conference, Dr Mustafa Kamal, are inciting people in the state by raising the bogey of Article 370 and removal of AFSPA.

“The silence of the government of India on the subject is stunning and intriguing. We appeal to the government of India to take cognisance of seditious acts and speeches,” said Dogra.

Jammu, July 13
Exposing tall claims of the Power Development Department (PDD) that it has an effective technical support to repair damaged transformers, the Gorkha Nagar locality is without electricity for the past eight days.

Thanks to apathetic officials, hundreds of families have been facing miserable condition for a week now, when short circuit damaged a heavy duty transformer, thus snapping electricity supply to the locality situated on the banks of the Tawi.

There is a growing resentment among the people against the Power Department as it had assured that the transformer would be replaced in one day, but since July 6, people are waiting and suffering due to the callous attitude of officials.

“This is height of apathy by the department. Our children and old parents are suffering during this period of scorching heat, but officials have maintained silence and are giving us assurances,” said Prashant Singh, a resident of locality.

For the first few days, residents had staged a protest against the inability of the PDD to restore electricity to the locality, but their pleas and suffering had fallen to deaf ears.

“Our children are crying from hours because of heat and absence of electricity. Old people are worst sufferers. We have not sipped cold water for a week now. It seems the administration has made its mind to kill us,” 
said Priety Abrol, another resident.

Locals alleged that senior PDD officials have not bothered to hear their pleas and have shown least concern to speed up the installation of the new transformer.

However, a senior Power Department officer, on the condition of anonymity, alleged that the area is having a huge number of illegal connections and they have already replaced several transformers. “The rate at which transformers are getting damaged in the area is highest in the city. It takes time to replace them as there is huge pressure on repair workshops,” the official alleged.

Jammu, July 13
Workers of the Dogra Front, under the leadership of Ashok Gupta, took out a procession from Rani Park to City Chowk, Jammu, against high prices of vegetables.

While addressing a gathering, Gupta said the UPA in its election manifesto had given a commitment to the people of the country to provide food items at a very nominal rate, but things did not happen the same way as the prices of vegetables were touching sky high in June.

"Earlier, vegetables were costlier due to climatic factors, but pulses and cooking oil, which are used for the consumption of food, are very costly due to which people are not able to fulfil the basic necessities of life," said Ashok Gupta, president, Dogra Front.

"The UPA government has failed to keep a check on price rise due to its faulty economic policy. People are unable to bear the brunt of inflation and the economy seems to have stagnated. The government has also failed to check rampant corruption," he added.

He said food grains worth Rs 58,000 crore were rotting every year in the godowns of the country. But the UPA government had taken no steps to use them. The fact was that the UPA government had bowed to the liquor lobby.

Jammu, July 13
Taking a dig at BJP's orchestrated campaign over the revocation of Article 370, National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana on Saturday said repeated assertions over this sensitive issue speaks volumes about political bankruptcy of the party.

Speaking at a function after paying tributes to martyrs of 1931, Rana said after feeling isolated and distracted from the masses in the wake of inner-party skirmishes, the BJP is struggling to remain relevant in the political spectrum by inciting communal passions.

"Narendra Modi's latest salvo over Hindu nationalism and justification of 2002 communal riots is an indicator what discourse the party was taking in the ensuing elections," Rana said, adding that this was just the extension of its real agenda of dividing the people over sensitive issues, including Article 370 as well.

The ill-conceived logic of BJP national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao over Article 370 speaks about his ignorance about the special provision of the constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, he said. The provincial president reiterated that this provision cannot be abrogated by Parliament and said knowing this harsh reality, the BJP leadership was indulging in rhetoric just to push their extremist agenda.

He reminded the BJP leadership about the realistic approach of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee over Article 370. Recalling Vajpayee's reply to a question on Article 370, when he was an External Affairs Minister, the veteran leader had said that it was easy to say anything when in opposition, and it was different when in power.

Remembering martyrs, Rana said the best way of paying tributes to them was to strengthen democracy and secularism in Jammu and Kashmir. That was the time when the people galvanised around Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, who stood like a rock for the unity of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.

Later, party leaders and workers observed a two-minute silence in the memory of the martyrs.

Jammu, July 13
Blaming the Congress for deliberating delaying the formation of separate Telangana state, the BJP today asked the UPA government to bring in the Bill in Parliament in this regard to show its sincerity to full aspirations of the people.

“Instead of taking sincere steps to resolve the issue of separate Telangana state, the Congress leadership has indulged into dirty politics to deceive the people,” alleged BJP national general secretary P Murlidhar Rao, who himself belongs to Andhra Pradesh, while interacting with mediapersons here this morning.

While reiterating his party’s full support to the UPA government in the formation of separate Telangana state, Rao said the BJP had already declared that if the state government brings a Bill to resolve this issue, the party would support it. “The coming monsoon session of Parliament is an appropriate opportunity to introduce the Bill so as to solve this issue,” he said, but hasted to add that the Congress was not interested to resolve the problem. He said the formation of separate Telangana state was not against Andhra Pradesh as being projected by some groups.

Rao said due to indecisiveness of the UPA government on Telangana, the administration has been completely paralysed and even meeting of the state Cabinet has not been held since long due to prevailing suspense over the new state.

Blaming the Congress for ignoring Parliament by implementing the food security scheme in a hasty manner, Rao questioned financial viability of implementing this much publicised scheme. “Instead of hastily implementing the scheme, the government should rather introduce a Bill in Parliament and seek valuable suggestions from the opposition parties so as to make it more viable and people oriented,” he said, but regretted that the UPA government had brazenly undermined Parliament-the highest democratic institutions of the country.

He said the BJP-ruled Chattisgarh state had already implemented the same scheme where 95 per cent of the population was getting food grains on cheapest prices. “Before implementing this scheme, the Chattisgarh government had plugged leakage in the Public Distribution System (PDS), but the same is yet to be done at the national level,” he said.

While reiterating BJP’s demand of the abrogation of Article 370, Murlidhar Rao said the article had been a psychological barrier between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and rest of the country. “This Article is also badly affecting the governance in the state,” he said, but added that the BJP was mindful of the prevailing situation in the country so the party would continue its efforts to convince the people of J&K and rest of the country on this issue.

Jammu, July 13
The National Sikh Front (NSF) has asked Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to fulfil his promise of renaming Kunjwani Chowk as Banda Singh Bahadur Chowk.

NSF vice-president Gurdyal Singh Bali said Omar Abdullah had announced that his government would name at least the three chowks in Jammu province as Banda Singh Bahadur Chowks in memory of the great Sikh warrior. He said the Chief Minister had publicly mentioned that Kunjwani Chowk on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway in Jammu would be named after the Sikh warrior and Banda Bahadur’s statue would also be put in place on these cross-roads. — TNS

Jammu, July 13
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) today honoured promising cricketer Shubam Khajuria for his selection in the U-19 Team India for tour to Sri Lanka. The function was held on the premises of the JKCA office (Jammu wing) at Bhatindi here today.

JKCA chairman Mohammad Aslam Goni, vice-chairman Shamboo Nath Sharma and joint secretary (Jammu wing) Hardev Singh, besides other office-bearers were also present on the occasion.

The officials requested the JKCA chairman to start an effective cricketing season at Jammu. They said it was the continuous effort of the state cricket body in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 and before that as well that a budding cricketer like Shubham Khajuria has reached a level where he is representing the country.

Mohammad Aslam Goni said inclusion of Parvez Rasool in team India and further inclusion of Shubham Khajuria in the U-19 squad of Indian team, was indeed a dream come true. “We have much more talent in the form of young budding cricketers they are provided fear deal, a better infrastructure and more cricket,” he added.

The vice-chairman and joint secretary appealed to the chairman, Aslam Goni, to ensure a better cricketing activities in the current season. Goni assured the office-bearers of the Jammu wing, working committee members and cricketers that the activities would commence within few days by conducting talent hunt and fitness camps.

However, in reply to a question, Aslam Goni said the state cricket body was conducting its activities, besides providing necessary facilities to its cricketers, but both Parvez Rasool and Shubam Khajuria had worked hard to achieve this milestone of representing the country at the international level.

In reply to another question, the JKCA chairman said it was nothing that Parvez Rasool got numerous tweets for his selection in the Indian team, but no tweets for Shubam Khajuria. "There is nothing like that. Both Parvez Rasool and Shubam Khajuria are wonderful cricketers of the state and we are proud of them. Infact, Dr Farooq Abdullah had told me to felicitate Shubam Khajuria which we are doing today," Goni claimed.

Jammu, July 13
In a bid to ensure maximum participation of women from the state in the field of sports, the authorities are busy preparing a concrete policy to provide ample opportunities to women to prove their worth in state as well as national competitions.

Sources said the recently prepared sports policy draft had put women's sports under special sector games wherein the competitions will be held at block, district and state levels.

It also suggested that women's teams would participate in various games in national level women sports competitions under the centrally sponsored scheme Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA).

The draft further claimed that every year, 15 best sportswomen will be honoured and rewarded under Madr-E-Meharban Sports Award for winning medals in national competitions.

Sources added that apart from the Sports Policy draft which is yet to be implemented in letter and spirit by the J&K State Sports Council, authorities are looking for some other options to maximise women's participation in sports so that their morale could get a boost for performance at higher levels with great confidence.

"However, the proposed Sports Policy draft, if implemented properly, it would go a long way in reviving women's sports, which, in fact, is the need of the hour. If you look at other neighbouring states like Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, they are way ahead of us as far as women's participation in competitions is concerned," said one of the sports officials.

"The department is trying its level best to look for other options in order to improve our statistics in women's participation. The government too is very keen to provide all necessary infrastructure to the women to showcase their potential in sports," he claimed.

Sources said the main focus of the authorities is on strengthening of infrastructure in rural areas where young girls are deprived of participation in competitions even at the zonal and district levels. The authorities are planning to conduct competitions in sub-junior, junior and senior categories in specific disciplines for women. After that, talent would be scouted for and nurtured in coaching camps.

Sources said financial assistance will also be provided for achieving excellence. Due care will also be taken to ensure there are sufficient infrastructure, training facilities and competitive events to enable women players to participate in sports.

Jammu, July 13
St Peter's Catholic Church got the better of CNI Church to secure a berth in the finals of the ongoing Inter-Church Cricket Championship being played at the Alexander School Ground.

Batting first, Catholic Church accumulated 155 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted quota of 12 overs. Ravi and Avinash were the main scorers with 56 and 46 runs, respectively.

For CNI Church, Flavious was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets whereas Ambrose and Vasu took one wicket each. In reply, CNI Church garnered 126 runs for the loss of six wickets in their allotted quota of overs. Tiny Kalyan played a fighting knock of 65 runs, but in vain. Ambrose scored 35 runs with the help of three sixes. For Catholic Church, Avinash took three wickets while Neetu and Ravi shared a wicket apiece. The man of the match was awarded to Avinash.

Jammu, July 13
Christian Sports Club (Jr) overcame the challenge of Vishal Cricket Club (VCC) by 13 runs in the inaugural match of the U-12 Three-Match Cricket Series commenced at Alexander School ground.

Batting first, Christian Sports Club garnered 58 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted quota of 10 overs. Kallis was the main scorer with 23 runs.

For VCC, Anslam and Ayush snared two wickets each. In reply, VCC could not chase the target and managed only 45 runs losing five wickets in the process. Jullies was the top scorer with 18 runs. For Christian Sports Club, Aryaman was the chief destroyer with two wickets while Kallis and Ruhail took one wicket each. Kallis of Christian Sports Club was adjudged the man of the match. The match was officiated by Sanjay Bhatti and Sandeep as umpires while Rahul was the scorer.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Vikram Malhotra inaugurated the U-12 Three-Match Cricket Series being organised by the Christian Sports Organisation, J&K, with the motive to provide an opportunity to children to create sports interest among them. The slogan of the tournament is “Be Healthy-Don’t Do Drugs”.

Rev Udhey Singh Inchage priest of CNI Church was the special guest while Lal Gill and Hamid Mattoo were the guests of honour. The welcome address was presented by Rajesh Gill whereas Victor Sotra conducted the proceedings of the opening function.

Jammu, July 13
Chopra Club defeated Poonch House Club, Panjtirthi, by three wickets to move into the next round of the ongoing Friendship Cup Cricket Tournament being played at the DBN ground, Mubarak Mandi.

Batting first, Poonch House Club was bundled out for 45 runs while Sarabjeet remained top scorer with 16 runs.

For Chopra Club, Ali and Ashu were the most successful bowlers with a haul of three and two wickets respectively.

In reply, Chopra Club chased the target in nine overs for the loss of seven wickets.

Waqar scored the highest 13 runs followed by Ashu, who chipped in with 12 runs. Gagan took three wickets for the Poonch House.

Ali was adjudged the man of the match.