Jammu, September 1
After exposure by the administration of the poor condition of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department godowns, a large-scale inspection of all storage facilities in Jammu which are used for supplying rations to the people in the region has been ordered.

A few days back, a carcass was found at the old storage facility at a warehouse, after which Divisional Commissioner Shantmanu had ordered an inquiry.

Though it was being used as dumping space for discarded foodgrain not fit for human consumption, it was close to the full-fledged storage facility used for supply foodgrain to several parts of Jammu region.

Officials said the team from the CAPD Department and district officials have decided to verify all facilities so that necessary steps are taken to ensure that quality is maintained and the area around sites is in good shape.

"There are several places where storage space is in a poor condition, but no effort is being made to modernise it to ensure that quality is maintained. Dirty places are breeding grounds for rats and other insects, which are a health hazard for consumers," said an official source.

Food distribution is always under the scanner in Jammu and Kashmir, with the allegation of large-scale embezzlement going on in distribution for the last many decades, but no verification of stock entries has taken place.

When contacted, Divisional Commissioner Shantmanu said it had been decided to conduct regular checks of buildings which were used for storage of foodgrain.

"There are clear directions from the government to take immediate action against the staff who do not adhere to norms. In the last one year, several people have been suspended," he said.

In December 2012, the government had directed officials to check the rations being supplied by the Food Corporation of India after complaints of poor foodgrain being dumped in the Jammu region.

Officers concerned were directed to ensure adequate availability of essential commodities in all parts of the Jammu division for the convenience of people and to personally monitor rations supply to far-flung and remote areas of the division which remained cut off for several months during winter months.

"To bring transparency and accountability in public distribution, functionaries have been directed to visit field areas and enquire about proper distribution of rations, besides ensuring that benefits reach the deserving people," said a source. 

Jammu, September 1
Maintaining that water quality test targets need to be made reasonable by the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation stressed on the need to enhance drinking water supply and introduce piped water supply schemes in rural areas of the state during its recently held national consultations with ministers and secretaries in charge of rural drinking water supply.

The crucial meeting was held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi to review the progress of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and rural drinking water supply, besides discussing the issues and obtaining feedback from all states.

As per the data available, 1.4 lakh inhabitants still utilise unsafe drinking water sources. It was informed in the meeting that of the total allocation under the NRDWP, 5 per cent had been earmarked for tackling water quality issues in habitations affected by chemical contamination. All representatives of the state government were requested to adopt a conjoint approach for rural water supply sanitation by covering villages with drinking water supply.

Sources claimed the meeting also expressed concern over the slow response of states in preparing project reports in the context of World Bank assisted projects. It was further informed that opening balances at the beginning of the year under the NRDWP were increasing every year and the absorption capacity of states was proving to be low.

All the representatives were instructed to adopt a war room approach for timely completion of projects. They were warned that if states were not able to utilise the allocated funds, the Finance Ministry might cut out allocations to be sanctioned to them.

It was also informed in the meeting that the number of habitations with chemical and bacteriological contamination was increasing by the day. Previously issued operational and executive guidelines on setting up district water quality testing laboratories did not fully cover the actual methodology and instrumentation required.

Further, the Uniform Water Quality Monitoring Protocol notified in 2005 by the Water Quality Assessment Authority also did not focus on drinking water. The meeting observed that there was a need to standardise the requirements for setting up of and functioning of laboratories at various levels. 

Jammu, September 1
Jammu and Kashmir civil society members will visit Kishtwar on September 3 to asses the situation there. Communal riots engulfed the area on August 9. A meeting was held under the chairmanship of MLA Ashwani Sharma.

Other members who attended the meeting included Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, Dr Jitendra Singh, Dineshwar Singh and KC Mehta.

The open session of the seminar held last Sunday in Jammu formed the civil society delegation to visit Kishtwar. It was decided in the meeting to form a sub-committee of three members that would visit Kishtwar on September 3.

The sub-committee will meet people of different sections in the town and its suburbs and formulate its opinion on the basis of its assessment on the ground.

The sub-committee will prepare an interim report and forward it to the chairman of the delegation. On the basis of the interim report, the full delegation of the civil society will make a final call for its visit to the town in due course of time.

The delegation also decided to prepare its final report on the Kishtwar situation after its visit to the town. The copies of the report will be forwarded to the human rights and civil rights bodies at national and international levels.

The members expressed their concern in respect of victims of the carnage and demanded that they should be immediately given compensation. 

Jammu, September 1
Residents of the Bahu Fort locality in the city are without power supply for the last nine days as the transformer of the locality is damaged and the department does not have a spare transformer to replace it.

The residents of the locality have expressed their anguish and resentment against the PDD for not installing new transformers.

Yogesh Kumar, a resident of Bahu Fort locality in the city, said, "There are two transformers in the Bahu Fort area. When one got damaged, the department shifted the entire load to the second one. Now both transformers are damaged and we are without power for the last nine days."

The department had turned a blind eye and no step had been taken to restore supply till date, he further said.

He added that it had spoilt the Janmashtami celebration in the locality as well.

The department has ignored the requests of residents despite continuous requests.

Gurbachan Sigh, Superintending Engineer of the department, said, "The transformer of the locality is of 6.6 KV voltage, but we do not have that capacity transformer in stock right now. We have sent the transformer to the workshop for repairs. It takes five or six days to repair a transformer. This transformer will be installed tomorrow." 

Jammu, September 1
Set up in 2005, the Jammu and Kashmir Rifle Association (JKRA) has been able to hone the skills of state shooters in a short span of time. Till now, the state shooters have bagged 13 medals, including eight gold, three silver and two bronze, in various national-level competitions organised by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

After conducting competitions at the district and state-levels in Jammu division, the association is now focusing to strengthen the game in Kashmir division. The recently concluded week-long shooting camp at SP Higher Secondary School was the first major initiative of the JKRA to uplift the standard of the game.

ADGP Dilbagh Singh, who is the president of the association, expressed satisfaction over the successful conduct of the coaching camp. “It has been a satisfying experience for the JKRA and an exciting opportunity for young aspiring shooters of Kashmir region. After this camp, we feel confident that our footprints shall further get strengthened in various districts. Now primarily Srinagar and Baramulla districts have shown enthusiasm and both are in the process of becoming district rifle clubs under the aegis of the JKRA”, a press statement from the JKRA said.

“We are grateful to the J&K Police and its wings like the J&K Armed Police for their unstinting material and manpower support to the JKRA in carrying forward its activities,” the release added.

“While the JKRA has had a tremendous area of impact in the Jammu region, the Kashmir region remained un-touched because of the prevailing situation and Leh region was not covered at all. Now with the changing scenario, the JKRA has made its first effort in this direction in organising a training camp and the response has been highly encouraging,” the JKRA release claimed.

The camp was organised under the supervision of NRAI’s qualified coach Rajesh Virdhy, Kulbir Singh and Vijay Kumar. 

Jammu, September 1
The National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) has appealed to Prime Minister Manhohan Singh to announce the pending instalment of DA due from July this year at 10 per cent in favour of both the Central and state government employees and pensioners at the next Union cabinet meeting.

NMC president Subash Shastri while addressing a workers' rally at Gandhi Nagar said the price index which was 5.89 per cent on December 31, 2012, had now increased to 12.59 per cent in June 2013.

“This would be the 15th bi-annual increase since the recommendation of the 6th Pay Commission which was accepted by the Central Government on August 14, 2008," Shastri said. Shastri said prices of all essential commodities had gone up considerably and there was no justification on the part of the government for withholding this instalment for the employees and pensioners as the funds had already been earmarked in this year's Union Budget.

While recalling recommendations of the Central 4th Commission which was implemented in January 1986 by the then government, Shastri stated that it had also recommended that the new Pay Commission should be constituted as soon as the DA crossed 50 per cent of the basic pay/pension. He requested the authorities to set up a new pay panel soon.

Other demands of the NMC are the merger of 50 per cent DA with basic pay/pension, interim relief of 20 per cent of basic pay/pension to government employees without any delay, release of salary of motivators working in phase II, their immediate regularisation, enhancement in the wages of daily wagers to Rs 10,000 per month, regularisation of the services of daily wagers, casual labourers and seasonal labourers who have completed seven years of service till March 31, 2012, and amendment in SRO 64.

Rajan Babu Khajuria, Sham Lal Sharma, Rakesh Padha, Anil Singh Slathia, Surinder Kumar, Ragupal, Yog Raj, Madan Lal Bhagat and Janto Ram were among others who spoke on the occasion.

Katra, September 1
Reasi District Development Commissioner (DDC) Dr Shahid Iqbal and Rural Development Department Additional Secretary M Raju today inspected developmental works and reviewed MGNREGA implementation in eight panchayats of Arnas and Mahore blocks in the district. Accompanied by Assistant Commissioner Development Joginder Rai and Block Development Officers, the officers checked records in panchayat ghars, interacted with panchayat members and took stock of various works executed by the panchayats.

Meanwhile, two officials of the Rural Development Department in Arnas block were placed under suspension for their failure to maintain proper records of the MGNREGA at panchayat ghars. Directions were issued for proper maintenance of records in panchayat ghars.

Works inspected in the panchayats were found to be of standard quality and the ratio of wage and non-wage component was found to be maintained properly.

The DDC directed that the salaries of Multi-Purpose Workers, Gram Rozgar Sevaks and Village Level Workers be released only after their certificates of attendance are issued by the sarpanch concerned. The BDOs were directed to maintain a vigil and ensure that no sarpanch issued such a certificate if officials were absent from panchayat meetings. The DDC said action should be initiated against a sarpanch if he issues a false attendance certificate.

Meanwhile, the BDOs have been given 15 days to update all the records at the panchayat level. Fresh inspections will be carried out thereafter.

The Rural Development Department Additional Secretary asked field officials to work in unison with panchayats and ensure implementation of various orders issued by the government for empowerment of panchayati raj institutions.

The DDC interacted with public to know their grievances at various places and issued directions to departments concerned for their redressal. Roads, social assets and buildings damaged due to recent flash floods were also inspected. 

Jammu, September 1
The J&K powerlifting team bagged a gold and a silver medal in the recently concluded Senior National Powerlifting (Equipped and Unequipped) Championship held at Mangalore in Karnataka. Ashraf bagged the gold medal while Deepak Sharma claimed the silver.

Other members of the team were Arun Dev Singh, Satyam Gupta, Vikramjeet Singh, Happy, Sunny, Sahil Salathia, Nijay and Parminder.

The team was felicitated by the J&K Powerlifting Association.

Jammu, September 1
Jatin Wadhavan's batting and Shamsher Singh Manhas' bowling helped the JKP XI secure a berth in the final of the ongoing Friendship T20 Cup being organised by the Young Star Cricket Club (YSCC) at the University of Jammu (JU).

Earlier, in the quarterfinals, a splendid knock of 64 runs by Jatin helped the JKP XI to topple the Gujarat Club by five wickets while in the semifinals, a five-wicket haul by Shamsher and decent contributions from Rajesh Gill (37) and Jatin (41) helped the JKP XI trounce the Tamil Nadu Cricket Club (TNCC) with by nine wickets.

Batting first, the TNCC accumulated 112 runs in 19.5 overs. Raj (26) and Praveen (19) were the main contributors. For the JKP XI, Shamsher Singh was the wrecker-in-chief with a five-wicket haul while Amandeep Singh claimed three wickets.

In reply, the JKP XI overhauled the target rather easily in 14.5 overs losing just one wicket in the process. Jatin and Rajesh Gill were the main contributors with 41 and 37 runs, respectively.

Jammu, September 1
Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma on Sunday visited the Nikki Tawi to assess the damage caused to the Tawi Feeder Channel and other infrastructure along the banks of the Nikki and Baddi Tawi due to recent rains and floods. He also took stock of the restoration and prevention measures being taken up by the department concerned.

The minister asked the Chief Engineer, I&FC, for early completion of these works. He was informed that recent floods had washed away large tracks and damaged the main feeder channel and pasture land along the Tawi in the Marh block area.

The I&FC Chief Engineer informed the minister that damages caused to the feeder channel at the centre of the Nikki Tawi between the Belicharana and Karnaila Chack was affecting the irrigation water supply to 3,190 acres of paddy land. The island between the Nikki Tawi and the Baddi Tawi is up to Mukwal and has 45 revenue villages. He said the area having highly fertile land was badly affected due to the disruption of supply of irrigation water for the past 15 days. About 100 metres of the channel for feeding water to the island got damaged due to the recent floods. The restoration work has been started.

Sham inspected the restoration works from the Baddi Tawi side and the Karnaila Chack side taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 3.10 lakh and directed the executing agency to complete the restoration work in a time bound manner.

Jammu, September 1
A Hindi play “Bheed Main Raunda Hua Aadmi”, written by Vinod kumar and directed by Neeraj Kant was staged today at Natrang Studio Theatre, Kachi Chawni, in its Sunday theatre series.

The play portrayed the deteriorating condition of a common man in the present scenario. The play presented a situation in which everyone is engrossed in his/her own interest irrespective of the growth and development of the society as a whole.

The play shows how a common man is left with no option but to be a part of the mob as it appears to be the only way for surviving.

The actors of the play were Ashwani Bali, Mohd Yaseen, Uplaksh Singh Kotwal, Susheel Raina, Neha Sharma, Sheetal Sharma, Mahikshit Singh Sambyal, Pankaj Verma and Bhupesh Malhotra.

Lights were designed by Rahul Singh and music was given by Syed Mudassar Ali Shah. Vineet Sharma did the presentation and the show was coordinated by Sumeet Sharma.

Srinagar, September 1 
Syed Ali Geelani has been elected the chief of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, the separatist group he formed in 2004, for the fourth consecutive term. Soon after the election result was out, Geelani called for a boycott of next year's elections.
Geelani, who is also the chairman of the hardline faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, was elected to lead the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat after an election at the party headquarters here in the city in which 669 members of the group voted.

The 83-year-old separatist won the election with 590 votes, achieving a huge margin from his old aide and deputy Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, who ended up second with 66 votes. The members of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat had come from different parts of the Kashmir valley. Kupwara district of north Kashmir had the highest number of delegates (110), followed by Srinagar district (109). 

Members of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat also elected a body of consultative council, whose members were elected from each district of the region.

Geelani had earlier been elected as the chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in 2004, 2007 and 2010. The Tehreek-e-Hurriyat was formed in 2004 soon after Geelani and other hardline separatists split from the Jamaat-e-Islami.

In his speech, Geelani said the Kashmir issue had its "genesis in the two-nation theory". Geelani’s lengthy speech included description of events leading to partition, the situation in Kashmir in 1947 and analysis of the events of recent days in Kashmir which included Gool and Kishtwar incidents.

Geelani also talked about the execution of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru and the subsequent death of protesters. 

The separatist leader also appealed for a poll boycott in the next year elections in the region saying there was no difference between the National Conference, Congress, PDP and any other party. Geelani asked his party members to go “door-to-door” to campaign for boycott of the elections.