The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Dengue count touches 600 in Jammu region 50 cases reported in past one week Sumit Hakhoo Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 The dengue-control measures of the government have failed as more than 600 persons in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts have been diagnosed with the fever. Despite a dip in the temperature, the epidemic is spreading fast, causing fear psychosis among people. Over 50 cases have been reported in the past one week. The first case of fever was reported in the last week of August from Samba and since then it has spread to Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri districts. Sources said pathological lab at Government Medical College was getting dozens of samples daily for ELISA tests, but in the absence of manpower, patients had to wait for days to get their reports. “For the first time, dengue has taken shape of an epidemic in Jammu, mainly because the administration did not make arrangements at the onset of the monsoon. Even now there is a lack of coordination between the civic agencies and Health Department,” said an official. Samba, Vijaypur, Parmandal, Gura Slathia, Bari Brahmana, Ramgarh, Kathua, Jammu, RS Pura, Satwari, Gajansoo and Gomansa are the worst-hit areas. The Director, Health Services, Jammu, Dr GS Pathania, said, “We are trying our best to contain the problem. Poor sanitation problem at several places has led to the epidemic, but we are hopeful that the fever will be under control by the end of this month.” Dr Pathania said the primary cause of the deadly fever was Aedes Aegypti, also known as the yellow-fever mosquito. “The mosquito feeds almost exclusively on humans. It is active during the day and is likely to breed in any water container,” said the doctor. To prevent private labs from fleecing the patients, the state Health Department had banned the Rapid Serology test by clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and clinical establishments. ‘Poor sanitation to blame’ We are trying our best to contain the problem. Poor sanitation problem at several places has led to the epidemic, but we are hopeful that the fever will be controlled by the end of this month — Dr GS Pathania, Director, Health Services, Jammu
	Cong plans mega events to induct 15 entrants To hold show-of-strength functions in Jammu, Srinagar Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, October 17 Buoyed by the entry of 15 prominent persons into the party fold, the Congress is all out to take political mileage from the development. The party has decided to organise a mega event each at Srinagar and Jammu to formally admit these high-profile leaders and former bureaucrats in the party. Three former legislators, including state general secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), were among 15 persons whose names were cleared by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for admission into the party. Sources in the Congress said Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz had decided to draw political mileage for the party with the entry of high-profile persons into it. New entrants who belong to the Kashmir valley would be formally admitted into the party on October 20 while those from the Jammu region would be officially enrolled as members of the party on October 21. The sources said a group in the Congress wanted to make the induction of these leaders a low-key affair but Soz, who was also instrumental in bringing them into the party fold, has decided to have two big events in Srinagar and Jammu regions separately to send out a message to both the ruling National Conference and the opposition PDP. Soz has been trying to strengthen the Congress in the Valley. “A significant number of political leaders joining the Congress from the Kashmir valley is an indication that the Congress under the leadership of Soz is working assiduously to emerge as a strong force in Kashmir, like the Jammu region,” a source pointed out, adding that the Congress was working out a strategy to emerge as the single largest party in the next Assembly elections. “For months together, 12 leaders were in touch with Soz to ensure their entry into the party,” a party insider disclosed, adding that both factions of the Congress were unanimous in admitting these leaders into the party. The sources said the majority of the leaders and former bureaucrats who joined the Congress were in constant touch with Soz because they were aware that the consent of the JKPCC chief and state leadership was must to ensure their entry into the party. “Now the state leadership wants to utilise this opportunity to exhibit its strength to the political opponents, especially the PDP and the NC,” the source said, adding that Soz was also trying to invite some Central leaders to grace the two events. New members Prominent persons from Kashmir who joined the Congress include Ghulam Hassan Geelani, Farooq Ahmed Renzu, Bashir Ahmed Shah, Ghulam Hassan Rather, Ghulam Ahmed, Tafazul Hussain and Wali Mohammad Zahida Khan, Mohammad Aslam Goni and Sheikh Mujib Ali belong to the erstwhile Doda district but they too have roots in the Kashmir valley Thakur Balbir Singh, Gurbachan Kour, Master Tassadiq Hussain, Shafeeq Mir and Murtaza Khan are prominent figures from the Jammu who joined the Congress
	State medical colleges reel under staff crunch Srinagar Govt Medical College short of 150 teachers Bismah Malik Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 17 The health sector in the state is ailing due to staff shortage in various government medical and dental colleges. Besides, many hospitals have limited number of beds which is inadequate to cater to the needs of patients. According to a recent report by the state Health Department, Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, is short of over 150 teachers and Government Dental College (GDC), Srinagar, has nearly 50 vacancies in its faculty. At GMC, Jammu, there are 100 vacancies in the teaching department and GDC, Jammu, is short of nearly 25 teachers. The departments of anaesthesiology, anatomy, biochemistry, blood bank, paediatrics, ENT, surgery, radio therapy and pharmacology at the Srinagar and Jammu GMCs are reeling under severe staff shortage. Admitting that there was a staff crunch at the two government colleges, the state Health Department also said some of the tertiary care hospitals in Jammu, including GMC, Super Speciality Hospital, Additional Emergency Block and Paediatric Block of Shri Mahraja Gulab Singh Hospital, and Maternity Hospital, had limited number of beds. In the Kashmir division, Super Speciality Hospital, Srinagar, Maternity Hospital, Bemina, and Additional Block of LD Hospital, Srinagar, have shortage of beds. Taking cognisance of the issue, the authorities have announced that hospitals in the Jammu and Kashmir region will get 670 and 600 beds, respectively. Recently, Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies Nawang Rigzin Jora, on the behalf of the Medical Education Minister, had said 20 professors, 23 associate professors and 21 assistant professors had been placed in different disciplines of Government Medical College, Srinagar. The minister said the proposal for their regularisation was in the pipeline. The requisite documents, including vigilance clearance and work and conduct certificate, were being collected from the quarters concerned. “On the basis of these documents, the proposal will be placed before the Departmental Promotion Committee, Public Service Commission,” he added.
	Foreign mercenary gunned down Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 The Army eliminated a foreign mercenary in a joint operation in the Lolab valley of militancy-plagued Kupwara district in Kashmir. “At around 11 am yesterday, we launched an operation with the police in the Lolab valley and established contact with a group of militants at around 4 pm. In the day-long operation, we succeeded in eliminating Atiq-ur-Rehman, a self-styled zonal commander of the JeM,” said an Army officer. The Army recovered an AK-47 assault rifle from the site of the encounter.The officer said they had carried out an operation to track down the remaining militants today, but they managed to escape.The operation was launched by 18 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and 28 RR along with the police. “We had got specific information regarding the presence of militants in Lalpora and the encounter took place near Anderbough Diver in which Atiq-ur-Rehman was killed,” he said.
	Assess unutilised funds of Central job scheme: CAG Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its performance audit report has stressed the need to make an assessment of the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) funds lying unutilised in the district rural development agencies (DRDAs) or banks of the state. The committed liabilities under the SGSY may be met with the available SGSY funds or from National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) funds during the year, in case the available funds under the SGSY are insufficient to meet the committed liabilities. “The state is required to have a database of self-help groups (SHGs). It has to prepare the database of all existing SHGs and also reconcile the information by collecting the data from the banks to ensure that all the existing active SHGs are registered with the state database,” the report said. The report claimed that there was a huge requirement of training, induction, immersion and capacity-building inputs under the NRLM. There was also a need to strengthen the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) for all kind of training programmes. The report further stated that partnerships with panchayats would be very important elements of the restructured NRLM provisions and the state authorities needed to focus on the same. Under the NRLM, block and sub-block level professional support costs could be booked as programme cost under institution-building and capacity-building. “The State should come up with the SHG directory within the stipulated time. The database preparation should have real time information from at least two or three major banks which hold 80 per cent of the SHG-bank linkage,” the report added. Aimed at rural poor The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is an initiative launched by the Central government to provide sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas. It aims at providing employment to villagers through self-help groups.
	Preparation of labour budget Ensure 100 days of work to SC/ST households: Ministry to state Vikas Sharma/TNS Jammu, October 17 With a view to ensure effective execution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has instructed the state authorities to ensure that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes households are provided 100 days of employment. The instructions were issued by the Ministry to the State ahead of the planning for works and preparation of the labour budget under MGNREGA for the financial year 2014-15. “While preparing the labour budget, it should be ensured that the month-wise projection of the labour demand during the financial year 2014-15 is clearly explained. The expected outcomes from executing each work should be estimated,” an MoRD statement said. “Since the labour budget is prepared in accordance with the provisions made under Section 13 to16 of MGNREGA, the District Programme Coordinator has to ensure that the gram sabhas of the district strictly adhere to the principle of the bottom-up approach,” the statement read. The ministry further stated that the proceedings of each gram sabha, in which respective labour budget and the shelf of projects have been approved, had to be uploaded as an attachment to the respective labour budgets. It maintained that the state government was also required to furnish a certificate to the effect that the provisions made in MGNREGA for the preparation of the labour budget were satisfied and a bottom-up approach had been adhered to in its preparation. “The labour budget must include a quantum of demand for work, precise timing of the demand for work and a plan that outlines the quantum and schedule of the work to be provided to those who demand work,” the MoRD statement said.
	BJP slams Cong over panchayat empowerment Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 State vice-president of the BJP Vibodh Gupta today ridiculed the state Congress leadership for its failure to extend the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a press conference here today, Gupta said for the past two years, Congress leaders had been demanding the extension of the 73rd Amendment in the state, but the government was not taking the demand seriously. He said without the implementation of the amendment, empowerment of the panchayat was impossible. Taking a dig at the Congress leadership for befooling the people of the state on the 73rd Amendment, he said if the Congress leadership was serious about empowering the panchayats, it should give an ultimatum to the government in this regard.
	Moderate quake jolts Doda Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 A moderate temblor today hit Doda and Bhaderwah belts around 5.40 am. The quake measured 3.2 on the Richter scale, MeT officials said. The epicentre of the quake was 40 km south-west of the Bhaderwah area. No immediate report of any casualty or injury was reported from anywhere, the officials said. Since May this year, Bhaderwah and its adjoining areas have felt 49 tremors.
	Kashmir registers dip in tourist footfall this year Azhar Qadri/TNS Gulmarg, October 17 Kashmir's mesmerising landscapes and pleasant weather continues to attract tourists to the region despite a sudden increase in violence this year. However, the footfall this year has been less than last year. The year began on a tumultuous note for the tourism industry when Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru was hanged in February leading to several weeks of government-imposed curfews, shutdowns called by separatists and protests in the region. “Afzal's hanging and its aftermath ended up in cancellation of bookings at the region's hotels and houseboats,” a Srinagar-based hotelier said. S Baba, who operates hotels in Jammu and Pahalgam, said Afzal's hanging in February, the fidayeen attack in March on a paramilitary camp on the outskirts of the city and the ambush of an Army convoy in June were the three major dampeners for the industry. "There is a huge difference between the tourist influx in 2012 and 2013. The last year proved to be the biggest year for the Kashmir's tourism industry. This year, business fared much below our expectations," Baba said. More than a million tourists had come for vacations in Kashmir last year. "This year we could not make much profit but thankfully we did not run into losses." This year, Kashmir has recorded a sudden spurt in militancy-related activities as there has been a surge in attacks on security forces' installations. Recently, there was a major firing in the Keran sector of north Kashmir's Kupwara district, which lasted for a fortnight. Despite the increase in incidents of violence this year which claimed the lives of more than 50 soldiers, paramilitary personnel and policemen, the region continues to attract tourists, albeit in a lesser number. On a rainy Sunday morning, a caravan of cabs snaked through the mountainous road from Tangmarg to Gulmarg ferrying batches of tourists to the meadow resort. In Gulmarg too, groups of holidaymakers were seen enjoying a pony ride as clouds swarmed the meadow restricting the sight to only a few meters. Mohammad Aslam, a waiter at a roadside restaurant in Gulmarg, said there has been a huge difference in the arrival of tourists this year as compared to the previous year. "There is not much rush but tourists have been coming throughout the year," he said. The Director Tourism for the Kashmir region, Talat Parvez, said 2013 had seen both ups and downs. “This year, there was a little decrease in the number of tourists as compared to the last year,” he said. Parvez said various incidents this year had dampened the holiday mood in the state.
	Shinde may visit forward area post on October 22 State Home Secy visits Paharpur to inspect unfenced stretches on border Ravi Krishnan Khajuria/TNS Jammu, October 17 Following the September 26 terror attacks that left 10 persons dead in Kathua and Samba districts, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is likely to visit the Paharpur forward post near the 191.5-km-long international border on October 22. He is likely to personally examine the stretch near the Paharpur post, including an unfenced rivulet from where the three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists had infiltrated into the Indian territory before carrying two attacks in Kathua and Samba districts, said a top police officer, who declined to be named. The Union Home Minister is also likely to visit another stretch of the international border the same day before returning to New Delhi, he added. In this context, state Home Secretary Suresh Kumar along with Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Rajesh Kumar today visited the Paharpur post, he said. The state Home Secretary, who has been appointed inquiry officer by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to probe the terror attacks and lapses in the security grid, personally saw the possibility of more infiltration bids from the unfenced stretch, including rivulets, on the border, said the officer. The Tribune on October 10 had carried a report on the possibility of more infiltration bids from unfenced stretches along the international border. The BSF mans this sensitive border from the Paharpur post on the J-K (Kathua)-Punjab border to the Chicken Neck area in Akhnoor subdivision. In August this year, torrential rains had damaged eight BSF posts and nearly 800 metres of border fence. “There have been reports in newspapers following the September 26 attacks about possibilities of more intrusion bids from such unfenced stretches, including rivulets, on the border. Therefore, the Home Secretary personally wanted to see such stretches,” said the officer. On October 16, The Tribune had carried another report about the presence of around 30 militants in forward villages of Narowal district in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Security review Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is likely to personally examine the stretch near the Paharpur post on the J-K (Kathua)-Punjab border, including an unfenced rivulet from where three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists had infiltrated into the Indian territory to carry out attacks in Kathua and Samba districts The state Home Secretary, who has been appointed inquiry officer by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to probe the terror attacks and lapses in the security grid, personally saw the possibility of more infiltration bids from the unfenced stretch on the border on Thursday
	Hundreds of people visit Omar’s residence Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 Hundreds of people visited Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence today in Srinagar on the second day of Eid to extend their greetings and best wishes to him. Reciprocating the felicitations, Omar thanked them for visiting his house. He wished them health, happiness and prosperity. He also prayed for peace and development in the state and the country.
	Dr Risam’s death mourned Tribune News Service Jammu, October 17 Provincial president of the National Conference Devender Singh Rana has expressed grief over the demise of Padma Shri Dr Harbajan Singh Risam, senior interventional cardiologist and the Director of Max Hospital, Delhi. Describing his death as a great loss to the country and the state, Rana said Dr Risam had worked for the welfare of the people and his death had created a void in the medical fraternity which was hard to fill. Rana conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family.