Jammu, August 6
The much-hyped Tawi beautification project is getting delayed due to the slow pace of construction of a lake on the river.

Officials said the project might face further delay and cost escalation as the Irrigation and Flood Control Department had failed to complete crucial infrastructure close to the park being developed by the Tourism Department.

The beautification project was initiated in 2003 by then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and later reviewed by Ghulam Nabi Azad, when he was the Chief Minister of the state. Azad had given consent for the construction of two big parks along the river to be developed by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA).

Officials said there was no coordination between the Tourism Department, Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department to complete their share of work on the project, which could have provided a picnic spot for the citizens and given a boost to tourism in the temple city.

“Take the example of the park being developed along the banks of the river at Gujjar Nagar. A part of it has been given to a private builder to construct a hotel while another one near the Warehouse is pending due to an ongoing work of the lake project,” said an official source.

The beautification plan includes landscaping of both the sides of the river by constructing walkways, gardens and recreation centres to replace garbage dumps, which have come up over the years, but not much progress has been made.

Jammu has the distinction of having a river running through the middle of the city and also a forest within the municipal limits, but these have not been maintained properly. The fate of the project hangs in balance. Even the work on the lake project is going on at a snail’s pace.

Sojanya Sharma, Director, Tourism, Jammu, said, “The delay is due to the Irrigation and Flood Control Department that needs to construct a concrete structure, which it will do only after the Tourism Department will proceed further”.

However, he said the work on the park would be completed by end of October after which it would be thrown open to the public. “The Children Park will be the main attraction, besides, the department will establish tea, coffee and ice cream shops for visitors”.

Jammu, August 6
Though the recently held 129th Standing Committee meeting of the J&K State Sports Council had approved the engagement of equal number of coaches in Srinagar and Jammu on a contract basis, the fate of permanent employees is yet to be decided. The crucial meeting did not disclose the outcome of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting that was held before the Standing Committee meeting.

Sources said the employees of the autonomous sports body had high expectations from the recently concluded crucial meeting held under the chairmanship of Minister for Youth Services and Sports Taj Mohi-ud-Din regarding their elevation to various positions in the department, but the authorities did not take up the issue much to the resentment of the employees.

The sources added that during Manoj Pant’s tenure as the Secretary, Sports Council, in 2003, when an order was issued regarding transfers, postings and adjustments, the officers posted as I/C were transferred without being elevated as I/C managers, who then expressed resentment claiming that during Sheikh Fazal’s stint as the Secretary, Sports Council, in 2000, six Grade-II coaches in different disciplines were elevated to the post of in charge (I/C) managers.

“We were of the opinion that the meeting would finally announce the important decisions taken in the DPC, but it seems as if the authorities at the helm of the affairs have no concern for its employees,” said one of the sports officials.

“Apart from the promotion issue, there are some other important matters pertaining to the overall welfare of employees taken in the meeting, but still we have no clue about them because the official announcement is yet to be made by the authorities concerned,” he added.

The sources said the Sports Council was equally aware of the prevailing resentment among the employees, but this inordinate delay had made the situation worse.

They added that minutes of the crucial meeting had already been prepared but due to some court cases pertaining to various issues, the department was taking time to make any announcement regarding the decisions taken.

Jammu, August 6
A personal enmity of his son led to the death of Tej Krishan Tlashi of Jagti township on Sunday. However, the police arrested all the three accused from Ludhiana in Punjab last night and seized a Bolero used in the crime.

Khalik Choudhary, Sub-Division Police Officer (SDPO) Nagrota, said, “It was due to a personnel enmity between the accused and the deceased’s son”.

“All the three accused were nabbed at Ludhiana at 11 pm while they were coming back from Delhi in a taxi. We tracked them by the location of their cellphones,” he added.

The accused, Naresh Singh, Sumit Kumar and Shanky, all residents of Nagrota, have been taken to Jammu from Ludhiana and booked under Section 302 of the RPC.

The police said the Bolero used by the accused in committing the crime was seized earlier in the day from Panjgrain village in the Nagrota area. The accused had abandoned the Bolero at the village.

According to information, the three were looking for Rohit. One of the accused Sumit Kumar forced Ankush, son of Tej Krishan, to sit in the Bolero to know about Rohit’s whereabouts. There was some personal enmity between the accused and Ankush as well. When Ankush refused, they started beating him at the next chowk.

Tlashi along with some others tried to save his son, but one of the accused hit him with a rod and a sharp-edged weapon, which led to his on-the-spot death.

Meanwhile, Vijay Bakaya, MLC, today expressed grief over the death of Tlashi at the Jagti Migrant Township.

In a statement, Bakaya sought constitution of a committee for looking into various issues confronting the residents of Jagti.

In a meeting, members of the Jagti Township expressed concern over the recent happening at the Jagti Migrant Camp. The members have also appreciated the action of AK Sahay, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, for announcing a cash relief to the bereaved family and a job to the kin of the deceased.

Jammu, August 6
People of Kapai village in Samba district are up in arms against the district administration as despite having been provided with job cards under MGNREGA, they have not been given jobs under the scheme. No project has been allotted to the area.

The poor people of the state, especially Below Poverty Line (BPL) and backward class families are the worst victims of government’s apathy and neglect. The village falls under Sarai and Bharatgarh panchayat of Samba block, is live example of this neglect.

There are around 300 households in the village, out of whom majority are BPL, surviving on meager resources and farming.

“Most of the families are bereft of Central Government sponsored welfare schemes like MGNREGA and IAY (Indira Awas Yojna). Those with job cards have not been given any work for months together,” said Chet Ram, a villager.

Som Nath, a native of Kapai while narrating the woes of poor people said, “It seems that village is not a part of state and most of the inhabitants are living miserable life. None has benefited from IAY and MGNREGA in the village. We are still living in 50’s and have been the victim of neglect.”

Panch of the village, Bodh Raj blamed the government for the backwardness of the Kapai villagers. He said that no government official had visited Kapai village to assess the loss caused due to rains while the affected people were forced to live miserable life.

When contacted, Block Development Officer (BDO) Samba, Charanjit Singh said that it was not his job to allot work to MGNREGA job card holders and people should approach their respective gram sewaks.

Jammu, August 6
Coming down heavily on protagonists of the trifurcation of the state, National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana today described the voices being raised in this regard as anti-national.

“Jammu and Kashmir has to shine, prosper and progress as a single entity,” he said, while addressing workers at Jaganoo in Udhampur, today afternoon.

The provincial president referred to the role of his party in maintaining the unity of the state by ensuring equitable development and assuaging the socio-economic and cultural aspirations of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He castigated those demanding a separate state for Jammu and said this speaks of their myopic political understanding and divisive mindset. Such tendencies are needed to be curbed and nipped in the bud, he said, adding that secular and democratic people of the state will have to play their role in this regard.

“Unity in diversity has been a great strength of culturally and linguistically diverse Jammu and Kashmir, which people have demonstrated unequivocally during the most testing times,” Rana said.

He cautioned the elements inimical to the state’s unity and its plurality, saying they stand exposed and marginalised for pursuing the anti-people agenda with a political shortsightedness. “The people have rejected these forces with the contempt they deserved,” he said.

In a veiled reference to the bonhomie of political entities such as the People’s Democratic Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Panthers Party, Rana said they make a common cause when it comes to dividing people for furthering their nefarious agenda.

“As a representative and responsible party, the National Conference will fight tooth and nail the elements against the larger public interest,” he said, assuring the people that his party will strive hard for the legitimate cause of the people of the state.

Rajouri, August 6
Protesting the brutal killings of five Indian soldiers in the Poonch Sector, activists of the Vishav Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and pilgrims of Shri Baba Budha Amarnath today staged a protest on the Jammu-Poonch National Highway at Rajouri. They also burnt the effigy of Pakistan.

Karan Thakur, district president, Bajrang Dal, said the government should come out with a clear-cut and firm response to the killings of the five soldiers in the Pakistan attack, which had become a weekly affair.

“In the past also they have beheaded our two soldiers and mutilated their bodies, but the soft policies of the UPA government are a hurdle in taking any stern action against Pakistan,” he said.

Satpal Sharma, district president, Rajouri, and Yuveer Gupta, district general secretary, VHP, said, “We condemn this kind of barbaric act by the Pakistan army. We urge the Centre to take strict action, otherwise, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal will launch a nation-wide agitation against this barbarism of the Pakistan army”. The pilgrims of Shri Budha Amarnath have also joined the protest. They raised slogan against Pakistan and the ISI and burnt effigy of Pakistan on the highway.

Meanwhile, early this morning, senior leader of the BJP, Kuldeep Raj Gupta, staged a protest at the City Chowk, Rajouri, against Pakistan. He said enough was enough and time had come when the Government of India should not have any dialogue with Pakistan unless it mended its ways and gives firm assurance that such acts would not be repeated in future.

He criticised the Congress-led UPA Government for its “soft approach” towards China, which too had been creating problems for the country.

Jammu, August 6
The youth of the Jammu region are falling prey to psychotropic drugs and the number is gradually increasing day by day. Statistics of the J&K De Addiction Centre, Jammu, indicate that more and more youths are getting addicted to narcotics.

“In 2010, there were 196 cases of drug addiction, in 2011 it came down to 184 cases and then in 2012, there was a gradual increase in the cases amounting to 194. In 2013, till July, there are 60 cases which have come up, which shows there has been an increase in drug addicts in the Jammu region”. “The amount of opium cultivated here has increased each year since 1989,” said an official of the centre. Even as the number of addicts has increased tremendously, there are only a few treatment and rehabilitation centres in Jammu. Out of these centres only one is government-owned while others are private centres.

As there is only one government-owned centre in Jammu, most of the people from Jammu and nearby places go there for treatment. Pallavi Singh, project director, Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses De-addiction Centre, Jammu, said, “In Jammu, it is the only de-addiction centre owned by the government which comes under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment”.

Jammu, August 6
The Traffic Department of Jammu has failed to regularise the matador (mini bus) stops in the Jammu city. Ignoring the specific spots marked by the department, the matadors are being stopped in the middle of the crossings.

To regularise the traffic scenario in Jammu, the authorities had demarked specific stops for the mini buses in the city in December last year. The demarcation was done at Dogra Chowk, Jewel Chowk, Vinayak Bazar, Janipur Chowk, High Court, Amphalla and Shalamar.

But the bus operators did not pay heed to these stops and still stop the vehicles as per their own convenience while the department seems to be taking the violation for granted.

“The main reason of the traffic chaos in Jammu is the mismanaged matadors. If the matador stops are regulated, the traffic system of the entire city can be managed,” said Suresh Kumar, a medical representative.

“It is even affecting the traffic lights in the city. We wait for the green light but when it appears, some mini buses are standing in front of our vehicles. Even the traffic policemen do not point them out,” he added.

“It was a long-pending complaint of the general public that the mini bus drivers be prohibited from stopping their vehicles wherever they wanted, which creates traffic chaos. So we started demarking of specific spots for these matadors, which are being followed in some spots. But at others, the road is congested and the number of matadors is more. It becomes difficult to manage them in the narrow roads,” said Manmohan Singh, SSP Traffic Jammu.

“I personally tour the city twice a day and wherever I find negligence on the part of my staff, they are being shifted immediately,” he added.

Jammu, August 6
The Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) card is now compulsory for the state players to compete in district, state, national and international championships as per the new rules of TFI. This was discussed in the general body meeting of J&K Taekwondo Association (JKTA) under the chairmanship of president P C Sharma and general secretary, D N Pangotra.

Without TFI card, no athlete can participate in the event of Taekwondo in the state, national and international level. The life-time fee for TFI card is Rs 200 and the form can be downloaded from TFI official website: http://www.tfiindia.com. It is also available at the JKTA office. For any queries, the players can contact at mobile numbers 9018920009 and 9018777512.

All the district associations have been directed to submit the Annual fee in JKTA's A/C No. 9780 at J&K Bank Ltd., Branch SMGS Hospital Shalamar Road, Jammu or contact Zaheer Abbass, JKTA treasurer on his mobile number 9419177193.

All district associations were directed to enroll and encourage maximum number of girl candidates to become active members of the Taekwondo Association. For the purpose, free training camps for the girls can be organised by various district associations at the grass-root level.

Jammu, August 6
The Ranjit Club got the better of Dharmesh Club by 3-2 in a thrilling exhibition volleyball match, played at Sarore village, today.

The contest went right down to the wire as spikers of both the teams displayed excellent skills in front of a capacity crowd who witnessed the high-voltage contest with a bated breath.

Dharmesh Club started off in a brilliant fashion by fetching the opening set by 25-18 and then stretched its lead further with a 25-18 win.

With 0-2 down, Ranjit Club spikers had everything to stake for. However, the club managed to win the third set by 25-16 to reduce the margin and then drew parity with a 25-13 win.

In the decider, Ranjit Club went on to pocket the set with a margin of 16-12. Spikers of Dharmesh Club tried their level best to claw their way back in the match but in vain.

Jammu, August 6
Provincial president Devender Singh Rana described National Conference (NC) as the only political force in Jammu and Kashmir, having credible footprints and enjoying mass support across the state.

Addressing party workers meeting at Chenani, near here on Monday, Rana questioned the political existence of those dreaming about forming government in 2014, saying they could not even manage 87 credible candidates to contest the elections.

“With negligible influence in certain pockets, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been dreaming high about 2014 elections, notwithstanding the fact that their political space is shrinking and getting drastically eroded even at places they considered their bastions.”

Exuding confidence about the NC emerging as the only force in the ensuing elections, the Provincial president referred to the enthusiasm among the people towards his party, wherever he went during his visits across the Jammu region in recent months. “The mood among the people encourages me to say that the NC will emerge as a major player in the Jammu region also, as elsewhere in the state,” he said.

Rana said nobody can stall the march of the NC towards massive and magnificent victory. “We have been a premier political force of the state and will continue to be so for all times to come,” he said, adding that the sagacious leadership of Dr Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had infused a renewed vigour among party cadres and aroused hopes among the people about good governance, progress, development besides solution of issues politically.

“Come 2014 and the dreams of the parties like the PDP will turn into nightmare, given the political deceit and treachery in their leadership,” Rana said.

Among those present in the meeting included Provincial secretary Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, ex-MLC Brij Mohan Sharma, District president Rajesh Gupta (Udhampur), and senior party leaders Ch Mohammad Shafi, Lal Chand Musafir, S Kair Singh, Sajjad Shaheen, Sunil Verma, Ramparshotam Sharma, Naresh Anthal, Prem Nath Sharma, Ram Lal, Rattan Lal, Ch Saraj Din, Ch Iqbal, Ch Aslam, Govind, Vijay Khajuria, Ramesh, Ravinder Dogra, Kewal Raina and others.

Samba, August 6
The Department of Women and Child Development (Food and Nutrition Board, GOI) in collaboration with ICDS, Project Purmandal, organised a one-day awareness camp at Kaluchak to commemorate World Breast Feeding Week 2013.

The theme of the event was “Breast Feeding Support - close to Mothers”. The field functionaries of the area, anganwari workers and women of the local area participated in the programme.

Dr Sham Gopal Gupta, former Divisional Nutrition Officer was the chief guest on the occasion.

Sham emphasised upon the need of breast feeding a child and asked all the participants to propagate the initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of the birth, exclusive breast feeding for first 6 months and continued breastfeeding after six months along with appropriate complementary feeding for two years or beyond.

Ashok Braroo, Nutritional Consultant, educated the women that breastfeeding not only provided benefits to the infant, but also reduced the risk of breast cancer.

Seema Bharti, CDPO Purmandal, told the anganwari workers present in the camp that one-to-one counselling during home visits was the best way to reach out to mothers and the care givers in the community. She also highlighted the importance of enhancing optimal infant and young child feeding practice (IYCF).

Jammu, August 6
The Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, located at Gool, under the aegis of Counter Insurgency Force (Uniform), conducted a four-wheeler vehicle repairing and maintenance course at Gool, Ramban district, from July 8 to August 3.

The camp was held for the unemployed youth hailing from the remote and far-flung areas of Gool and adjoining areas. The aim of the training them was to channelise their energy in a constructive manner and make them qualified and self-reliant.

A total of five youth underwent this cadre. They were trained in the nuances of working on four-wheeler maintenance and servicing techniques.

The course would provide them self-employment. The Army assured that all assistance would be provided to them in this regard. The youth, their parents and locals expressed gratitude to the Army.