Jammu, July 26
Surgery patients at the Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Government Hospital here are allegedly being told to shop for surgical items for the surgery from the market. The hospital employees allegedly tell patients that these items will not be provided from within the hospital.

Left with no option, hapless patients and their attendants buy these items from outside and handover them to the hospital staff for the surgery.

It is the duty of the Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Government Hospital staff to provide all surgical items to the patients going in for surgeries at the hospital. The hospital gets the supply from the Department of Medical Education. But instead of doing their duty and providing relief to the patients, the hospital staff is putting patients through such hardships.

“I was given a list of surgical items by the hospital staff to be bought from the market outside the hospital. Without listening to me, the hospital staff asked me to get them fast,” said Joginder Sharma, whose wife was admitted in the SMGS Hospital on Thursday and needed surgery during the night.

“My wife had developed some problem in the uterus and was supposed to undergo surgery. I knew that the hospital authorities provided all sorts of surgical items but I was given a slip and asked to get surgical items from outside,” he alleged.

He was asked to get syringes, drip set, disposable gloves and much more. Joginder Sharma bought these items from Shalamar market outside the Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Government Hospital. “The surgical items have to be provided by the hospital and the patient should have gone to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Government Hospital for help,” said Deputy Superintendent, SMGS Hospital, Dr Dara Singh.

Dr Singh could not explain why the hospital staff sent the patients to buy surgical items.

Jammu, July 26
As many as 60 bags of sub-standard cement were seized from the construction site of the sub-district hospital at Gundoh in Doda today.

The cement was being used to construct the hospital building in the home town of union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

After getting the information of sub standard cement being used to construct the 100-bedded trauma hospital, Tehsildar Gundoh, Din Muhammad, sent a team which seized 60 bags of cement from the spot.

Jammu, July 26
A bus met with an accident on the Jammu-Katra road in which around 12 staff members and students of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University were injured.

According to the police, the bus, bearing registration number JK02AK-8303, was on its way from Jammu to Katra and met with an accident near Tirthi area. Negotiating a sharp curve, the driver lost control over the bus and fell into a gorge.

The injured were immediately shifted to the Government Medical College, Jammu, for treatment. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene of the accident.

The police said the injured were evacuated and shifted to the hospital for treatment.

The injured were identified as Shevani Khajuria, of Karan Nagar, Ajay Bhan, of Bantalab, Priyanka, of Janipur, Rohit Gupta, of Channi Himmat, Vijay (12), of Bahu Fort, Anu of Gandhi Nagar, Sonu Sharma of Tikkri, Himmat of Gadi Garh, Vishal Koul of Roop Nagar, Dheeraj of Subash Nagar, Kapil Gupta of Channi, and Pardeep Kumar of Roop Nagar.

Jammu, July 26
The Power Development Department (PDD) seems to have buckled before the alleged powerful nexus between the meter readers, linemen and customers who resort to power theft.

Some meter readers and linemen of the Power Development Department are allegedly helping the residents in power theft here.

Sources allege, some meter readers and linemen themselves give such ideas to the residents to resort to power theft in lieu of a fixed monthly commission with the customers.

Customers get lured to accept the proposal of the meter reader, who with the help of lineman by-pass the connection or allow the consumers to fiddle with the meters and show the meter reading as not more than 150 units per month and get Rs 200 to 500 per month as commission from the customers. This saves them Rs 500 to 1,000 per month.

The meter readers not only gives the idea of power theft but also alarms the customers at the time of raids/checking.

The extent of the nexus could be gauged from the fact that a few meter readers were managing their postings at the same place for years. Even transfers fail to break the nexus between such consumers and meter readers, as the meter reader of a particular area instructs the next incumbent about the “arrangement” with the consumers.

Superintending Engineer, PDD, Gurbachan Singh, said, “We are trying our best to control power theft and if some case of nexus will come in notice, we will lodge a FIR against both, the consumer and meter reader.”

“To break this nexus we have also started reshuffling of meter readers. We are vigilantly checking and conducting raids in the localities to control power theft,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the state government is losing hundreds of crores every year due to power theft and transmission losses.

In 2011-12, the department lost Rs 1,900 crore, which increased to Rs 2,100 crore during the last financial year.

Rajouri, July 26
Residents here pay electricity bills at flat rates owing to the failure of the Power Development Department (PDD) in installing meters in all areas.

Installation of electronic meters was started in 2004-05 in the state, but several areas of Rajouri are yet to be metered. The prime example is Naban Mohalla of city where the metering system is 40 years old. The department blames the lower staff for illegal connections instead of taking stern action against those guilty.

Suresh Kumar, Junior Engineer of the area said, "90 per cent of Mandi area and 60 per cent of the old city area had been metered, the metering work was stopped owing to lack of meters."

Jammu, July 26
The Supreme Court has suggested that the courts should encourage settlement of matrimonial disputes, but the state is yet to have a full-fledged family court. The court is needed as matrimonial disputes and domestic violence cases are on the rise.

Sources say there was no full-fledged family court in the state to settle matrimonial disputes and domestic violence cases. "There is only a single Special Court of level of Additional District and Session Judge at Jammu which deals with the matrimonial cases. Other districts of the state, these cases are being dealt by regular district courts within their respective jurisdiction," sources said.

They said the Family Courts Act 1984 (Central Act) was not applicable in respect of state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hence, no courts were established under the said act.

“However, the state government contemplated to bring legislation on similar lines. A Bill was accordingly introduced in the Legislative Assembly in July 1987 which was referred to a Joint Select Committee of both the Houses of the state legislature. The said Joint Select Committee submitted its report to the Legislative Assembly on the basis of which public opinion was sought on the Bill. The Bill invited harsh criticism from cross section of society including Ulemas who expressed serious concern or reservations on the Bill. The Legislation could not be brought to its logical conclusion," sources said.

Sources claimed that there had been a spurt rise in matrimonial disputes in recent times. "The Supreme Court in its verdict had already stated that the institution of marriage occupies an important place and it has a significant role to play in the society. Therefore, every effort should be made in the interest of the individuals in order to enable them to settle down in life and live peacefully. Due to non-availability of full-fledged family courts, the matrimonial disputes and other family issues remain unsettled in district courts for years together," sources said.

BS Slathia, former president of the J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu, said the government should take an initiative to create specialised courts at the district level for early disposal of matrimonial cases. "District courts are already overburdened and matrimonial cases remain pending in these courts for a long period. There is a need for creation of specialized courts for early disposal of matrimonial cases so that timely justice is delivered to the people."

A senior official of law department, who wished not to be named, however said a proposal had been received from the High Court recently regarding creation of fast track courts of different levels for exclusive trail of cases relating to offences against women, including rape cases.

Jammu, July 26
Senior officers of the traffic police are still in a thinking mode of what to do with the signals which were to be relocated, as they were installed at wrong places.

Officials said despite conducting several surveys’s before establishing the lights at 30 places around the city, most of them proved useless just weeks after they were thrown open in September last year, creating more chaos and problems for the drivers.

Though the decision to shift the lights was taken in December last year during a high-level meeting chaired by the then Minister for Home and Urban Development, Nasir Aslam Wani, civic agencies and traffic department has not acted upon any direction, keeping in view the cost involved in the process. These lights were installed by Onnyx Electronics, a New Delhi-based company at the cost of about one crore of tax payers money.

At the present moment most of the signals have become showpiece as buses, cars and matador drivers don’t follow the directions, particularly at Bikram Chowk, Janipur, Kachi Chawni, Gandhi Nagar and Indira Chowk.

“Problem with the traffic signals is that roads are not wide enough and per km concentration of the vehicles is much higher. If traffic is stopped for just 60 seconds every few minutes, there are frequent jams,” said an official source.

When contacted Chief Accounts Officer, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), Omar Khan said the decision to shift the lights has to be taken at an official level. “Senior officers have to take decision so that these lights could be relocated, till then we have placed them on blinking mode.”

However, senior officers from Traffic the Department were not available for any comment.

A senior police official said due to the narrow roads and high concentration of the vehicles per sq kms, traffic lights are proving ineffective. “I don’t think electronic lights will be able to control the vehicles. We have to deploy our personnel on routine basis,” claimed a traffic police personnel.

Katra, July 26
The Aadhaar project, which supplies 12-figure unified identity cards to those above five years of age, has begun in Reasi district.

It is being implemented through 35 registration centres. Authorities hope to complete the project before November this year.

Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, said as many as 35 technically qualified persons had been engaged to handle the sensitive biometric machine, adding that, five to six locations in each ward would be selected where details of persons would be collected.

Along with the application form, the applicant should submit documents for the address proof. Dr Choudhary said the applications would be received and the biometric cards be provided by Comtech Private Limited in the district. The details given would not be revealed and there were provisions in the machines to avoid any kind of misuse, he said.

The authorities hope that the identity card would ease the process of availing oneself of government facilities and make it more transparent.

It would also be made foolproof against any attempts at duplicating the number and making fake identity cards.

The multi-purpose card could be used for obtaining bank services, passports, driving licenses and other services.

Jammu, July 26
In a bid to address concerns of target groups in J&K through a subsequent action plan based on policy interventions, the National Youth Policy (NYP) has clearly mentioned the thrust areas to be covered on priority basis like it did for other states.

The policy observed that although the existing system of education had been greatly reformed by introducing the grading system, students were still facing great anxiety due to the competitive examination system. It added that the segment was vulnerable to many mental and physical maladies.

While targeting the urban youth living in slums and migrant youth, the policy observed that due to migration and subsequent loosening of family bonds, youth needed guidance and support which was not easily available. This had disastrous effects on their lives. Youth crime, even among teenagers, was a matter of deep concern in metros and cities.

Commenting on youth living in slums, the policy said they did not even have basic civic amenities and many of them may not have access to quality educational facilities and may be forced to take up small-time and low-wage jobs.

The policy said the rural youth formed a larger share of the youth population but had comparatively lesser access to information, educational and career opportunities and training facilities. They found it difficult to compete with urban youth in terms of opportunities for jobs and higher education because of tough competition.

It claimed that full information about state policies and programmes were often not available to them. The government had many programmes about which they had little information and therefore the benefits of these state-sponsored schemes were not known to them.

“Although the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, through its PYKKA scheme, is addressing the need for sports facility at the rural level, it should be aimed at further expanding the same”, the National Youth Policy said.

The policy said due to a number of factors, chiefly economic, young people were drawn to armed conflicts or violent activities and aligned with organisations and groups that spearheaded these disruptive activities. Several categories of young people appeared to be particularly at risk. These were unemployed university graduates, young people who had migrated from rural to urban areas, tribal youth, young people who had been victims of discrimination or injustices or youth who had been misguided by perpetrators of separatism and militancy.

Rajouri, July 26
The authorities at the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) have exhorted the students to apply for different scholarship schemes of the state and Central Government for 2013-14.

At least 40 per cent students of the university receive scholarships every year under different schemes of the government and university.

Authorities have given wide publicity for the enrolled students belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), residents of Backward Area (RBA), residents of Actual Line of Control (ALC) and students from minority community as per rules.

As per the notification issued by the university, students have been asked to fill up the prescribed form duly forwarded by the head of the departments concerned to the office of Dean of Studies so that the applications are processed and are forwarded to the quarters concerned well in time for the release of scholarship in favour of the students.

Expressing satisfaction over the support of state government with regard to provide scholarships to the students of the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Vice-Chancellor Prof Hamal said students were being benefited with this scholarship for enrichment of their career and easing of financial burden on the parents.

Others present at the meeting were Prof AK Koul, Dean, Academic Affairs, Registrar Mohammad Rashid Choudhary, Prof Mohammad Asger, Dean, Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, Prof BA Wafai Director, Centre for Biodiversity Studies and special secretary to the Vice-Chancellor Suneet Gupta.

Student representatives and parents have welcomed the initiative of the university to provide scholarship to weaker segments of the society.

Jammu, July 26
Minister for Roads and Buildings Abdul Majid Wani today conducted an extensive tour of Jammu city and took stock of problems of the people.

During the tour, the minister visited Govind Nagar, Gol Gujral, Vikas Lane Talab Tillo and its adjoining areas.

Interacting with people, the minister said the state government was making concrete efforts to redress their problems and various micro and mega developmental projects were underway for improving the core amenities and facilities for the people.

En-route, several deputations and individuals met the minister and apprised him of various problems. Besides, uninterrupted water and power supply to the area, the locals also demanded black-topping of the interior roads and widening of the Revenue Complex road connecting the 4th Tawi Bridge to ease the traffic congestion in the area.

The minister issued on-the-spot directions to the officers concerned for attending peoples' problems and to take steps for their early redressal.

He also directed for constituting a joint team of officers of the JMC, R&B, Revenue and PDD to assess the problems of the locals and suggest measures for their redressal.

Among others, JMC commissioner KL Khajuria and other officers of the line departments accompanied the minister during the tour.

Jammu, July 26
MLA Bimla Luthra distributed cheques among the elderly, infirm and widows numbering more than 50 at Sher-I-Kashmir Bhawan, here today.

The beneficiaries of these cheques were from Bishnah and RS Pura area.

Luthra said these people were important part of the society and deserve help from the government. She said the National Conference was a premier political party with its vast historical background and vision to uphold the secular ethos. She also highlighted the achievements of the coalition government headed by young and dynamic Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the measures taken to empower the women folk. She said women folk constitute 50 per cent of the society and deserve good deal by the male-dominated society. She appreciated the move of the government to involve more and more women folk in the panchayats to develop the rural areas.

Among the others present on the occasion were Sheikh Bashir Ahmad Provincial Secretary, Kashmira Singh Ex-MLC, Ayub Malik, Anoop Sharma, Veena Oberia, Dilshada Malik, Raj, Rana and others.

Katra, July 25
The Rashtriya Rifle Battalion based at Sarh, as part of the ongoing Operation Samprak, under the aegis of Counter Insurgency Force (Uniform), organised a free Medical Camp at Village Saldhar, Tehsil Mahore, today. The aim of the medical camp was to address the genuine medical requirement of the masses.

The mini medical camp organised by the Army was a big relief to the locals. The Patients were examined by the Regimental Medical Officer.Much needed specialised medical cover was given to the women’s, children and elderly people. Approx 300 patients, including children availed the facilities . Free medicines were also distributed.

Jammu, July 26
Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture Raman Bhalla today felicitated Jammu and Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination (JKCCE) topper Neha Sharma of Trikuta Nagar.

Bhalla said, "Youth have ample talent and calibre and have proved their mettle in various fields. He called upon the students to work hard and strive to achieve their goals and work for the development of the state and nation." — TNS