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Private unaided schools lock horns with govt
Three days on, authorities fail to evict encroachers from the heart of city
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Valley Sikhs threaten not to vote for NC-Cong alliance
All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee president Jagmohan Singh Raina talks to mediapersons in Srinagar on Wednesday.
Gujjars need focused development: Mehbooba
Minister lays foundation stone of SDA guest house at Bemina
Valley musicians to hold concert in London on Sept 7
The five-member artists' group which will tour the UK. A Tribune Photograph
Ahead of 2014 elections, new party floated in Valley
Janmashtami celebrated with fervour across Valley
Farmers return from educational, motivational tour
Army officers interact with farmers in Srinagar on Wednesday. A tribune photograph
Inoculation of Haj pilgrims from today
Take remedial measures to prevent fruit diseases, CPM to govt
City resident, truck driver found dead in south Kashmir
‘Congress will perform better in 2014 elections’
1,600 bottles of cough syrup seized
Govt mulls over opening new food centres Foundation stone of guest house laid
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Private unaided schools lock horns with govt
Srinagar, August 28 The Commission was floated in April this year to regulate the fee structure of private schools in the state. Furthermore, the private schools were to seek the approval from the Commission before implementing any fee hike. The J&KPSUF today said it did not agree with the recommendations of the investigating committee as the Commission had not taken nearly 6,000 private schools in confidence before making the guidelines public. “The guidelines were meant for us but we were never consulted before directions were imposed,” GN Var, general secretary, J&KPSUF, said at a press conference in Srinagar. “The J&KPSUF therefore rejects any imposed regulations without listening to our point of view,” the Jammu and Kashmir Private Schools United Front general secretary said. The state government, he said, was trying to destabilise the private education sector in J&K by imposing undue regulations on the private unaided schools which would jeopardise the jobs of at least two lakh people who were employed in these schools. Var alleged that the state government was trying to make a scapegoat of the private unaided schools while letting the guilty ‘elite schools’ in Srinagar scot-free. “The whole matter started with the filing of a public interest litigation (PIL) by the parents against few elite schools of the city for charging huge admission fees and reservation of admission quota for bureaucrats and ministers. However, soon after all the private schools came under scrutiny and they are being exploited,” Var said. The Jammu and Kashmir Private Schools United Front demanded that all the schools which were operating on the land leased out by the government should at least have 30 per cent admission quota for underprivileged children. In each locality, the local Mohalla committee should decide who gets the admission in these schools, the J&KPSU general secretary added. “We have no faith in these government appoi nted commissions or panels. In fact, we doubt the credibility of the members of Justice Bilal Nazki Commission too. If the state government appoints a separate commission with members of integrity, we have no problem in cooperating with them. But they should at least listen to our point of view,” the J&KPSU general secretary asserted. The Jammu and Kashmir Private Schools United Front also called for a convention of private schools to be held in Srinagar soon with a view to take a strong stand against the alleged government interference in their affairs from time to time. Opposing the Commission
‘Not kept in the loop’
The guidelines were meant for us but we were never consulted before the directions were imposed. The J&KPSUF therefore rejects any imposed regulations without listening to our point of view. We have no faith in these government appointed commissions or panels. If the state government appoints a separate commission with members of integrity, we have no problem in cooperating with them. But they should at least listen to our point of
view — GN Var, general secretary, J&KPSUF Alleging bias
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Three days on, authorities fail to evict encroachers from the heart of city
Srinagar, August 28 Minister for Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies Nawang Rigzin Jora acknowledged that the government had taken note of the encroachment by the taxi drivers. “An FIR has been lodged in this regard,” Rigzin Jora told the Tribune. On the intervening night of August 24 and 25, dozens of taxi drivers allegedly forced their entry into the compound housing the divisional store of SDA on Maulana Azad link Road and parked their vehicles in a portion of SDA land. They have occupied six kanals of land and turned it into a taxi stand. The encroachment took place despite the High Court directions which is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on traffic regulations and has banned establishing any new transport yard in the city centre. Sources said the SDA and the police were reportedly under pressure from a National Conference (NC) minister and another leader to ensure that the taxi drivers were not evicted from the area. “Otherwise, how could such a brazen encroachment take place on government land which was transferred to the SDA under a Cabinet order in 2000?” asked a senior government official. “It seems that the police too is going slow to evict the encroachers and we will inform the honourable court about the development which is our only hope now,” he added. SDA Employees Union president Zahoor Ahmad Farooqi has sought the intervention of Urban Development Minister to evict the encroachers. “I appeal the minister who is also the chairman of SDA to restore the property worth crores which has been encroached upon by taxi drivers,” Farooqi said at an official function, which was also attended by the minister. Srinagar Development Authority vice chairman Mohammad Shafi Rather has already raised the matter with the senior police officials so as to get the taxi drivers evicted from the SDA stores near Sangarmaal City Centre.
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Valley Sikhs threaten not to vote for NC-Cong alliance
Srinagar, August 28 The Sikh body also threatened not to vote for the candidates of the National Conference-Congress coalition in the 2014 polls. Addressing a press conference here, APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said issues which had been raised several times by the Sikh body ‘remained unattended and the state government has miserably failed to find a solution’. He said a peaceful agitation ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’ was being launched to press for these demands. Stating that they would carry out a campaign across the length and breadth of the state against parties which were a ‘stumbling block’ for their demands of grant of minority status to the Sikhs, Raina said, “Sikhs constitute a significant portion of the electorate in eight assembly seats of the Kashmir valley and 10 seats in the Jammu division. Once Sikhs do not vote for the politicians of the National Conference and Congress in these seats, it is quite possible that both parties would suffer heavily in the next Assembly elections.” “Despite repeated pleas and requests from the APSCC, the state government has not implemented the National Minorities Act in Jammu & Kashmir even though Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee have asked the state government to get the Act implemented in the state,” he added. Raina said by not granting them minority status, Sikhs had become alienated in the state and they trusted the state government no more. He said the Sikhs were a suppressed community in the state. The APSCC also accused the state government of neglecting the Punjabi language, adding that posts of lecturers for the language in colleges across the Valley were lying vacant and it acted as a dampener for employment prospects of the Sikh youth. Alleging that there were irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls for the Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (GPC) elections, Raina said, “Some of the government officials are interfering in the religious matters of the Sikhs and are denying revision of electoral rolls to those from the community who had to leave their native places during the turmoil and settle down in Srinagar and other district headquarters.” |
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Gujjars need focused development: Mehbooba
Srinagar, August 28 “Gujjars are an important community of the state and their input to our economy and cultural variety has been immense, but unfortunately the benefits of progress have failed to reach them. These innocent people have always been exploited and used as a vote bank and audience for public meetings without ever trying to address their problems of survival, leave alone their issues of development,” Mehbooba said. Senior party leaders attended the public rally. Stressing the need for improving education and healthcare facilities to Gujjar community, who are spread all over the state and living in the far-flung areas, Mehbooba said the number of schemes, launched by the Government of India, for their focussed welfare, have been derailed by the present government. “The mobile schools and dispensaries have almost become dysfunctional, leaving the children and other members of nomadic Gujjars without any access to basic education and healthcare,” she said. “Similarly, the tribal sub-plans, approved for the community, have generally been sabotaged by allocating funds on political considerations, which has resulted in the frequent suspension of allotment of funds by the Government of India,” she added. Mehbooba said the tension and fear along the LoC and borders, which had ended following the ceasefire pact between India and Pakistan in 2003, has returned to haunt the people there among them is the larger section of Gujjar population. Mehbooba said even though the community had traditionally supported and voted for the National Conference, but all key welfare majors, benefiting the community were taken when the NC was out of power. Mehbooba appealed to community leaders to appreciate the difference between different parties. “It is a high time that people, especially Gujjar community, who have been forgotten for decades, assess the performance of the NC, its allies and the PDP. Our party has clear vision about solving the problems of all sections of society, including the more neglected Gujjars,” she said. |
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Minister lays foundation stone of SDA guest house at Bemina
Srinagar, August 28 As a part of the initiative, Minister for Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies, Nawang Rigzin Jora on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the SDA guest house at Bemina which would be equipped with the state-of-the-art conference facility. 'Coming up at a cost of Rs 1.66 crore, the guest house would not only serve as a boarding and lodging facility for the visiting dignitaries, but would also host conferences and meetings as it would be provided with a conference-cum-meeting hall," an SDA spokesman said. He said besides catering to such requirement of the various line departments of the Housing and Urban Development sector, the guest house would also cater to the needs of the institutions like the State Board of School Education, Technical Education Department, Revenue Department, SKIMS Medical College Hospital, Rehabilitation Centre and other departments located in the area. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies said the SDA was in the process of accomplishing various flagship projects, including the construction of around 300 residential flats - Shehjar Apartments at Bemina, development of an Integrated Housing and Commercial Centre (ICC) at Railhead Nowgam for which around 1,500 kanals of land have already been notified by the state government and construction of a mini-convention centre, corporate office complex and a starred hotel as part of Sangarmaal Phase-II. He said the process for taking over possession of around 4,200 kanals of land at Rakh-e-Gund Akshah, already transferred to the SDA, has also been speeded up for the development of a satellite township in the area to cope up with the mounting demand for residential houses and apartments in Srinagar. Speaking on the occasion, SDA vice-chairman Mohammad Shafi Rather announced that the DPC meeting would be convened at the earliest to remove the stagnation at various levels in the SDA. |
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Valley musicians to hold concert in London on Sept 7
Srinagar, August 28 The artists will leave for England on September 4. The initiative has received the patronage of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the group has been sponsored and deputed by the state government. The highlight of the cultural tour will be concerts organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, London, Luton Cultural Festival, Kashmir Bhavan Centre and Kashmiri Association of Great Britain London. 'Sarangi-nawaz' and folk singer Mohammad Abdullah Bhat Shakhsaz, rabab player Ghulam Mohammad Lone, tabla and tumbaknri player Imtiyaz Malik and vocalist Usha Khar are the other four members of the group which will tour the UK. More than 1,500 audiences are expected to witness the music concerts of Kashmiri artists in the UK. Jeelani will be interacting with the British and Asian audience on live programmes on various television and radio channels. On September 9, the group will perform on UK's most viewed television channel DM Digital TV and the programme will be telecasted live in more than 38 countries of Europe and America. Jeelani, who confirmed the dates and details of the programme, said the group was also expected to perform in Scotland at a charity concert on September
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Ahead of 2014 elections, new party floated in Valley
Srinagar, August 28 Claiming that the existing parties had only made false promises to the people, he said the LDP would work towards ensuring a ‘happy life’ for the people. When questioned over the strength of his party and its strategies, Bhat said the LDP had opened offices in all districts of the Valley and it would welcome people from all walks of life to the party-fold. He said the LDP would soon open offices at Leh and Kargil districts of the Ladakh region. On his political background, Bhat said he had been in politics for a long time. “I have remained block president of Ganderbal for the Congress party and also in the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP),” he added. Bhat said he had unsuccessfully contested the 2008 Assembly elections from the Ganderbal constituency on the Rashtriya Janata Dal ticket. On its stand over the Kashmir issue, the LDP said it would like the same to be resolved as per the wishes of the people. |
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Janmashtami celebrated with fervour across Valley
Srinagar, August 28 “As per the Kashmiri tradition, people in the Valley fasted on the day when Lord Krishna was born on Badun Krishna Pakshy Ashtami. In view of this, we continue to observe a fast that is broken after special pooja at midnight when Lord Krishna was born,” Lal said. On the eve of Janmashtami, a ‘jhanki’ was taken out that passed through various parts of the summer capital yesterday. Devotees were seen accompanying the ‘jhanki’ that was taken out from Kathleswar Mandir at Tankipora and passed through several areas, including the Lal Chowk. Governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and several other dignitaries, besides political parties and groups extended Janmashtami greetings to the people of the state. |
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Farmers return from educational, motivational tour
Srinagar, August 28 “The farmers were more than keen to share their experiences and sounded very enthusiastic, satisfied and informed that the tour helped them experience the healthy and productive environment prevailing in the country and understand the futility of violence in J&K,” an Army official said. The farmers appreciated the rapid strides being made by India in the field of agriculture and expressed the desire to endeavour for the same at home. The Commanding Officer, 52 Rashtriya Rifles, exhorted farmers and the elderly to become ambassadors of peace so that the state could match with the rest of the country in development. The tour was organised by the 52 Rashtriya Rifles under the aegis of Headquarters Sector 10, Rashtriya Rifles, Counter Insurgency Force (kilo). |
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Inoculation of Haj pilgrims from today
Srinagar, August 28 "The pilgrims bearing Cover No. from JKR/F-1-2-0 to JKR/F-2296-2-0 shall be inoculated on August 29, while the pilgrims having Cover No. JKR/F-2298-3-0 to JKR/F-6144-2-0 shall be inoculated on August 30 and the pilgrims bearing Cover No. from JKR/F-6149-2-0 to JKR/F-10055-1-0 shall be inoculated
on August 31," the statement added. Intending pilgrims have also been requested to bring their health and training card (HAT card) with them on the date of vaccination. The schedule of inoculation programme for the rest of the
intending pilgrims of other districts will be notified separately. |
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Take remedial measures to prevent fruit diseases, CPM to govt
Srinagar, August 28 "It is the fruit industry which sustained Kashmir even during the most trying circumstances. Unfortunately, the Department of Horticulture and the associated institutions are not paying adequate attention to the problems being faced by this vital sector," he said. "For a number of years, the total production has been decreasing to an alarming level, diseases have gone out of control, prices of fertilisers and needful chemicals have become unaffordable and their quality has dwindled." Tarigami added. |
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Srinagar, August 28
Srinagar, August 28
A group of farmers from north Kashmir returned after an educational-cum-motivational tour which was organised by the Army. The group was received by the senior Army officers at Uplona on the outskirts of
Baramulla. The 13-day-long tour comprising 21 farmers visited Amritsar, Ludhiana, Ambala and
Jammu.
