Jammu, October 16
While the government is adamant about constructing multi-level parking lot at Gandhi Nagar, no headway has been made to start work on already approved parking lots in the city, because of fund shortage. According to officials, for constructing parking lots in twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, it has been estimated that it will cost Rs 131 crore, beyond the budget set by the government for improving the urban amenities.

Urban Development Department, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and Jammu Development Authority (JDA) had planned to construct three multi-storeyed parking lots at bus stand, Panjthirthi and City chowk to reduce chaos on the roads about four years back, but no headway was made during all these years.

A few months back, the Urban Development Ministry had announced that parking lots will be constructed in private-public participation (PPP) mode, but little progress has been made so far as legal tangles have thwarted the efforts of JDA to find suitable land for construction.

As per the project, total proposed built-up area of bus stand would be 46,418 square metres, in which, around 80 buses and 1,450 cars can be adjusted. At Panjthirthi, the proposed multi-storeyed parking area would have 16,545 square metres space and it will have the capacity to park 666 cars while at City Chowk, the area covered by the building would be 10,889 square metres and it will have the capacity to park 455 cars.

"There is no urban planning in what the Jammu master plan has laid down. The government has no vision to create resources to set up parking spaces in the city. Residents have been facing a harrowing task — to find parking space in all busy markets," said an official source.

Minister for Urban Development, Nawang Rigzin Jora, said they are looking for private funding. "We have already announced public-private partnership (PPP) to start work on different urban development projects. Even the help of Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been sought. It takes time to get approval," said Jora.

Jammu, October 16
The Citizens’ Forum has expressed serious concerns over the standoff between residents and government over the proposed project of constructing a parking lot at the green patch in the centre of Gole market in Gandhi Nagar.

The Forum has suggested that instead of converting the present green patch into a multi-storey underground parking lot, an alternate land should be identified for the purpose.

It has suggested that on the pattern of Palika Bazaar at Connaught Place, New Delhi, the basement of the park should be developed as a parking lot for small vehicles to meet the problem of congestion arising from the vehicles parked haphazardly on the roads and lanes.

Due to extreme apathy of the authorities concerned, more and more residential places in the area were being converted into commercial establishments, with the result that the entire planning of the colony had been put in jeopardy, they added.

The Forum has suggested that it should be made mandatory for the owners of residential buildings in Gandhi Nagar, who want to set up a commercial establishment there, to leave space of at least 30 feet on both the sides of their premises.

The statement was signed by prominent citizens, including R K Chadha, president, Citizens’ Forum, S S Wazir, former Additional Director General of the J&K Police, Arun Sharma, retired chief engineer, Vikram Gaur, retired chief engineer, Dr Nirmal Kamal, retired Head of Economics Department, Jammu University, S I H Qazmi, retired conservator of forests, RK Handa, retired director ERA and former vice-chairman of JDA, Vinay Kotwal, retired chief engineer, M S Kapoor, retired AEE, K R Gandotra, retired engineer, Ramesh Gupta, businessman, K K Mahajan, Prof Mohammad Ayub, retired secretary of JKBOSE, and Rahiat Hussain, a social activist.

Jammu, October 16
With a view to enable the state to take full ownership of National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) or Aajeevika Skills projects, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has decided not to consider any more multi-state projects.

The Ministry, in its recently issued guidelines, has stated that only state-specific project recommended by the state government will be considered. However, the multi-state projects that are under various stages of implementation will continue till they are completed.

The guidelines said the states have to provide the relevant state share mandated under NRLM which is 10 per cent for north-eastern states, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and 25 per cent for all others, except J&K, for which 100 per cent Central funding has been.

The guidelines claimed that the state has been asked to prepare annual action plans for skill development and placement as a separate component of their overall NRLM action plan. In due course, the plans would be prepared within the framework of a State Perspective Implementation Plan (SPIP) for skills.

The Aajeevika Skills projects will be sanctioned in accordance with sections in these guidelines relevant for single state projects.

“Once the action plans have been approved by the empowered committee of the MoRD, specific project implementation through project implementing agencies and monitoring would be done by the states. The MoRD will actively partner with the state to build its capacity and to develop power and responsibility according to its capacity. At present, the capacity to implement this programme is not uniform across states”, the guidelines added.

Sources said the availability of an implementation mechanism at state, district and sub-district levels would enable the state to engage with the upcoming challenges in a structured and effective way.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also suggested the state authorities to set up a national-level -National Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (NRLPS), under the NRLM, in order to effectively implement the programmes of the scheme effectively.

The main objective of the society is to continuously build capacities of the state rural livelihoods missions in planning, implementing and monitoring the programme.

Jammu, October 16
In a major step against illegal smuggling of adulterated "khoya" used in preparation of sweets, a team of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) today seized a large quantity of material being imported from Uttar Pradesh.

A team of Food Safety Wing, under the supervision of Dr Vinod Sharma, health officer, on specific input, laid a trap at the railway station at about 4.30 am about delivery of low-quality khoya being brought from Uttar Pradesh.

The team spotted some vehicles moving out of the railway station and followed the vehicles till Raghunath bazaar and seized the material with the help of police. Officials said during questioning, driver of a vehicle told the team that material was brought from Jai Shiv Mava Bhandar Nawab Ganj West Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.

"The team lifted the two samples and sent to them to food analyst Jammu for analysis to ascertain purity of the material. The entire operation took almost six hours," said Dr Vinod Sharma.

Dr Sharma said the railway authorities and police have been requested to cooperate with Jammu Municipal Corporation in its drive against import of adulterated raw material for preparation of sweets and other eatables.

Municipal Corporation has intensified its anti-adulteration drive by conducting raids on various commercial outlets, particularly those selling dairy products and sweets ahead of Karva Chauth and Diwali.

The corporation has deployed teams comprising members from sanitation workers and food safety officers under the direct supervision of Commissioner Kiran Wattal.

Officials said adulteration in food is normally present in its most crude form; prohibited substances are either added or partly or wholly substituted with the eatables. During the festival period, there is always threat of poor-quality material being used in manufacturing of sweets and other eatables for profit.

There are 71 wards spread over 112 square kilometres area which make up Jammu city and its newly-developed colonies which came up after 1990 and health wing of the corporation has responsibility from ward no-1 to ward no-48, while the remaining wards are looked after by the legal meteorology department. 

Batote, October 16
Fears of villagers of Rajgarh in Ramban tehsil came true when a building consisting of six rooms was completely razed to the ground in a devastating fire in the wee hours today.

Due to unavailability of any fire tender in this remote hilly area and three-hour-long efforts of the locals in dousing the flames by sprinkling a few buckets of water from a lone trickling tap fell short and the building was reduced to ashes. The nearest fire brigade station is about 25-km-away at the Ramban district headquarters.

“In all, there were three shops and as many rooms in the building. In two shops, my son Shabir Ahmed was running a kiryana shop, another shop was rented to another tailor Muzaffar Ahmed, in another room, there was an office of our panchayat while in the rest of the two rooms, I had kept some furniture, farm produce like 40 bags of recently harvested walnuts, maize etc which turned into ash within hours before my eyes,” said Bashir Ahmed, the building owner.

“But thank Allah, the previous night, my son Shabir didn’t sleep there as he had come to join his family in our residence to celebrate Eid,” he added.

He said that neither the building nor any shop or its commodities were insured, which has accentuated their loss and agony.

“That's life here. Important record and furniture of the Panchayat Ghar office was burnt. The building of the Panchayat Ghar is under construction,” said local sarpanch Mohd Shafi.

“I hope as soon as the dream project started about four years ago, that of 30-km-long under-construction power house (of Baghlihar hydel power project) to Shamthi road under the PMGSY which is nearing its completion, is completed, the government would establish a fire station here at this central place,” Shafi added.

The family members of Bashir Ahmed alleged that instead of extending a helping hand, the cops of a nearby police post impeded in the fire-extinguishing operation by not allowing any local to come near the site (burning structure) and even manhandled a local who wanted to help in dousing the fire.

According to an eyewitness Showkat Ahmed, although the reason behind the fire couldn’t be ascertained, the act of sabotage couldn’t be ruled out.

Jammu, October 16
Plantation work executed by the forest department on 24-km stretch on the National Highway between Narwal Chowk and Vijaypur has been completed and handed over to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Officials said they had engaged in the planting as thousands of trees were cut down during the four-laning project initiated by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) since 2004.

The task was taken up by eco task force project of the department and different varieties of trees were planted during the monsoon season. A total of 5,803 saplings Red and Yellow Nerium, Bouganvillea were planted by the forest department and survived with 96.2 per cent as survival percentage.

As per the project, trees of different varieties will be planted along the national highway, right from Lakhanpur to Jammu on both sides of the road.

“The plantation drive will help to maintain green spaces along the highway. We have assigned the project priority so that trees cut during expansion of the roads are replaced by new ones,” said an official.

Under the Central guidelines and standing instructions in connection with trees cut during the execution of any national project, the agencies have to plant three times the trees axed during the project. 

Jammu, October 16
Bhagya Laxmi Charitable Trust, an NGO, today carried out a plantation drive at Maharaja Hari Singh Park here. A large number of saplings were planted in the park for the benefit of the people. Earlier, the programme was inaugurated by Pranav Shagotra, vice-president, Pradesh Youth Congress, J&K.

Shagotra lauded the efforts of the volunteers of the Trust for creating awareness among the general public regarding the importance of trees. He added that such drives should continue in the future also.

Those who participated in the plantation drive included Anoop Gupta, Anil Kumar, Amit Gandotra, Ricky Dalhotra, Chetan Mehra, Shivender Kumar, Varun Gupta, Sachin Gupta, Abhishek, Sunil, Ganesh Kumar, Sachin Gupta, Munna, Sunny, Dev and Raj Kumar.

Jammu/poonch, October 16
Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in Jammu on Wednesday. After morning prayers, people celebrated the day by visiting their relatives and friends. Reports said Eid was also celebrated in other parts of the region.

People offered Eid prayers at Eidgahs, Masjids and other religious places and also distributed sweets among friends and relatives.

The main congregation was held at Eidgah, Residency Road, where thousands of people joined the Eid prayers.

National Conference provincial president Devinder Singh Rana, Minister for Planning Ajay Sadhotra, BJP MLA Jammu Ashok Khajuria and others visited the Eidgah and extended their wishes.

Colourfully dressed children visited their relatives and various places after Eid prayers with their parents to greet them on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. Goats and sheep were sacrificed.

Jammu, October 16
The students from J&K pursuing higher studies at Aryans Group of Colleges, Chandigarh, celebrated Eid-ul-Azha on the college premises today. 

The students participated in Eid celebrations with staff and management. Dr Anshul Kataria, chairman, wished the students on the occasion.— TNS

Batote, October 16
Once a famous in-house spring, the Koat Baoli at Papdia village in Ramban district is now lying in utter neglect. All the government agencies or non-governmental organisations which are responsible for the preservation of such natural ancient structures, considered to be the local heritages, have left it crying for preservation.

Papdia village in panchayat Kadma of Ramban district is perched on a hill top above Dhalwas village, overlooking the Baghliar dam.

“It is a perennial spring and its water quality used to attract hundreds of travellers or seasonal nomads who used to pass through here with their cattle herds from the Chanderkot area to Udhampur via Sanasar, Landhar and Pancheri in olden times,” said Sansar Chand, a local .

Its peculiarity is that it is situated inside a big kucha house, indicating that the spring might have appeared inside the house after its construction.

“It was once considered to be the abode of a Baba who was thrown out from here by the Papdiye Thakurs,” Chand added.

“Such things need to be preserved not only to attract the tourists but also for the progeny. I will highlight the situation of the Baoli with the authorities concerned,” said Ashok Kumar MLA, Ramban. 

Jammu, October 16
Evacuees Property (EP) Welfare Society said it had decided to strengthen its struggle for “ownership rights” on EP houses and the land.

“Ownership right is the prime demand of the society and we have sacrificed a lot for this,” said Inder Tar Singh, president of the society.

“We have suffered a lot and we wish to get the rid of slavery of custodian department. The graph of the atrocities of the department is ascending day-by-day,” he said.

“Though we do not believe in burning the effigies or so but we were forced to do so as our nine families, comprising over 60 members, are suffering because of favoritism of the earlier custodian Abdul Majid Wani towards some,” Tar Singh added.

The society has decided to send fresh memoranda to the officials concerned for the redressal of their demands. “If the same attitude of the authority goes on, we will be forced to come on streets and may even go for hunger strikes and fast unto death,” he added.

Leaders who were present at the meeting and assured their full support for the cause are Capt Yudvir Singh (POK DPs Front), Raj Kumar (RSYC), Sanjeev Kumar (JPPF) and Satpal Saini. — TNS

Jammu, October 16
The all new Innova was unveiled during a ceremony held at Shree Toyota, a four wheeler dealer of the state of Toyota brand vehicles.

The changes in the Innova include a revised front bumper with healthy chrome additions on the radiator grille, fog lamp surround and side moulding.

The interiors of the new Innova more or less remain the same with a slightly tweaked multimedia system and faux wood finish on the doors and gear knob along with two-tone seats. The 2014 Toyota Innova comes with a new range topping ZX variant, which is being offered with the diesel engine option only, in 7-seat layout. Rest of the variants come with both 7-seat and 8-seat layout options.

The updated Innova gets a touch-screen infotainment system (with DVD, Bluetooth, USB and Aux connectivity) on the VX and ZX variants while the new ZX variants also gets a grey wooden panel, chrome on parking brake button, floor mats, leather seats (mix of artificial and genuine) and body graphics.

Jammu, October 16
A team of 20 schoolchildren of Kendriya Vidyalaya, New Delhi, are on a five-day tour of Mahore Sub-Division in Reasi District. The students are accompanied by the principal of the school and two teachers.

The touring party reached Jammu on October 14 and paid obeisance at the holy cave of Shree Mata Vaishno Devi at Katra. The students then went for a picnic at Sehar Baba at Talwara on October 15 before moving to Mahore, where they were received by the Deputy Commander, Headquarters, Sector Rashtriya Rifles.

The students celebrated Eid with the local populace of Mahore and were also invited for lunch by MLA Jenab Abdul Gani Malik at his residence in Bagga.

The MLA interacted with the students and the teachers and gave a patient hearing to their experiences of the tour. He complimented the Army for coming out with the innovative idea of a tour.

He also mentioned the pivotal role played by the Army in various development projects undertaken in Mahore.

The visiting students would leave for Delhi on October 19. The tour was conceptualised and organised by the Counter Insurgency Force (Uniform).

Jammu, October 16
Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu, Prof MPS Ishar on Wednesday highlighted the relevance of Shakespeare's alternative ideas of People's Republic which broadly related to the principles of justice and equality besides a humane society based on high values.

Speaking at a three-day international seminar on "The Republic in Shakespeare", organised by the Department of English, University of Jammu, in collaboration with the Shakespeare Association of India on the campus this morning, the Vice-Chancellor said the great writer of his times reinforced the idea of the Republic through romance, comedies and tragedies, quite differently from the one that informs histories.

Over 200 eminent scholars from India and abroad are participating in the international event.

The Vice-Chancellor lauded the holding of such a seminar in the temple city, hoping that this will provide an opportunity to the budding scholars to share the treasure of knowledge from eminent people around the world and across the country, who are participating in the three-day event. He said their research on Shakespearean ideology will further enrich the knowledge base of the young scholars and help them peep into history pragmatically.

Prof Ishar expressed the hope that the brainstorming sessions during the seminar will provide the local scholars a wide canvas to express their views on the challenging subject.

In her welcome address, Prof Satnam Kaur, Head, Department of English, University of Jammu, gave an overview of the seminar and said, "The Republic in Shakespeare gains significance as it deals with concrete social and political issues that determine the course of histories of societies and civilisation, cultures and common wealth."

She said the subject of Republicanism has remained significant since times immemorial and is relevant in the present times when the quest for a just society is ardently being pursued.

Jammu/ Tawi, October 16
To commemorate the martyrdom of four student leaders, namely Gursharan Singh, Brij Mohan, Gulshan Handa and Subash Chander, in police firing in the year 1966, the Jammu Joint Students Federation (JJSF) today started its three-day relay fast at the Shaheedi Sthal in GGM Science College.

Early in the morning, the federation activists, led by chairman Kuldeep Singh Chib, president JJSF Rajinder Singh Munna, working president Anuj Tandon, the principal of GGM Science College, staff members and students of the college, lighted the traditional lamp at the Shaheedi Sthal and offered garlands.

Later, three activists of the JJSF, namely Baljeet Singh, Sandeep Singh and Jatinder Singh, president, Federation University Unit, sat on fast at the Sthal in the memory of the students killed in police firing. Principal, GGM Science College, also garlanded the activists who sat on fast.

Rajinder Singh Munna said every year October 16, 17 and 18 were observed as the Martyrs’ Day in Jammu to remember the students who died in the police action during protests against the government decision to shift Agriculture College to Kashmir and discrimination against Jammu. He said discrimination with the Jammu region was still going on.

Jammu, October 16
Rajni Devi clinched the gold medal in U-14 girls’ high jump while Parveen Bano of Udhampur bagged the gold in U-17 age group in the Divisional-Level Inter-District Athletics Meet, organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports, at Jammu University Grounds.

Kouser Bibi of Kathua and Begum claimed the silver and bronze medal in U-14 girls, respectively, whereas in U-17 high jump, the silver and bronze medal went to Surekha Devi and Sameksha, respectively.

Jammu district emerged as the overall champion while Kathua district had to be contended with the runners-up trophy.

Ved Parkash, Deputy Director of Youth Services and Sports, Jammu, was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony.

Earlier, in 200m U-14 girls, Gurdeep Kaur of Jammu, Reena Sharma of Kathua and Nishu Devi of Ramban bagged the gold, silver and bronze, respectively. In U-17 age group, the gold, silver and bronze medals went to Sakshi Koul of Jammu, Mamta Devi of Kathua and Pooja Devi of Ramban, respectively.

In 200m U-19 girls, Aditi Uppal of Jammu bagged the gold, Jeevan Jyoti of Kathua clinched the silver and Kiran Devi of Reasi claimed the bronze.

In 400m U-14 girls, Kulvinder Kaur of Jammu, Nishu Devi of Ramban and Salma Bano of Kathua won the gold, silver and bronze, respectively, while in U-17 girls, Kajal Kumari of Jammu bagged the gold, Asma Kouser of Poonch clinched the silver while Nisha Devi of Kathua claimed the bronze medal. The gold, silver and bronze medals in the U-19 age group went to Pinky Devi of Kathua, Preeti Sharma of Reasi and Nazia Choudhary of Samba, respectively.

Other Results

4 x 100m relay U-14 girls: Team of Kathua district, gold; Team of Jammu district, silver and Team of Udhampur district, bronze.

4 x 100m relay U-17 girls: Team of Kathua district, gold; Team of Jammu district, silver and Team of Udhampur district, bronze.

4 x 100m relay U-19 girls: Team of Jammu district, gold; Team of Kathua district, silver and Team of Reasi district, bronze.

Javelin throw U-17 girls: Rifat Choudhary of Jammu, gold; Sonia Devi of Samba, silver and Anju Bala of Kathua, bronze.

Javelin throw U-19 girls: Mamta Mishra of Jammu, gold; Anita Devi of Kathua, silver and Rimpy Sharma of Samba, bronze.

Discus throw U-14 girls: Harsimran Kaur of Jammu, gold; Shamim Kouser of Poonch, silver and Bharti Rajput of Kathua, bronze.

Discus throw U-17 girls: Deepa Kumari of Kathua, gold; Rukhsana of Poonch, silver and Rekha Devi of Udhampur, bronze.

Discus throw U-19 girls: Mamta Mishra of Jammu, gold; Roshni Devi of Kathua, silver and Sheetal Devi of Samba, bronze.

Jammu, October 16
Col R N Chopra Cricket Academy drubbed Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) School by a margin of 89 runs in the inaugural match of Col R N Chopra Challenger Cup, which commenced at RRL Grounds here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, Chopra Cricket Academy posted a total of 188 runs for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted 30 overs. Aryan played scored 82 runs, containing seven delectable hits to the fence.

For RRL School, Tratnesh and Dinesh were the pick of the bowlers with three wickets apiece. Chasing 189 runs to win, RRM School team suffered a dramatic batting collapse and could muster only 99 runs in 22 overs losing all wickets.

Surinder Kumar hit 24 runs for his team but in vain. For Chopra Cricket Academy, Aryan grabbed three wickets.

Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by Dr Ram A Vishwakarma, Director, RRL Jammu. Chief of Chopra Cricket Academy Squmal Ganguly and junior coach Deepak were also present on the occasion.