Jammu, October 27
The rising prices of onions and vegetables have affected the taste buds of people during the ongoing marriage season, as many of them are using lesser quantity of these in different preparations. Some even prefer food items which do not require onions at all.

Sushant Gupta, whose son got married recently, said “The caterer charged 50 per cent more than the normal rate, just because of the price rise. When I asked him for negotiation, he said ‘then do not expect good quality’.”

“It has become difficult to maintain the quality and quantity, finally I decided to cut short the invitations,” he added.

Gopal Sharma said, “I cannot afford Rs 800 per plate and cannot cut short the guest list of my daughter’s marriage. So I have asked my caterer not to use onion and other costly vegetables.”

Arun Gupta, a guest in a marriage function said, “We hardly find onions in the salad now. The preparations in marriages are not of that quality these days due to lesser use of onion and other vegetables.”

Caterers are also a worried lot with the price rise, as they fail to convince their clients. Sugandhi Goel, Managing Partner, Trived Event Management Company, said “Clients get shocked when we give them the estimate for catering. They want the best quality, but the best quality needs sufficient quantity of ingredients, which increases their per plate charges.”

“The vegetarian plate, which we were earlier offering for Rs 550 is now for Rs 900 and our margin per plate has also come down as the customers ask for more discounts and concessions,” she added.

I cannot afford Rs 800 per plate and cannot cut short the guest list for my daughter's marriage. So I have asked my caterer not to use onion and other costly vegetables
— Gopal Sharma, a resident

The vegetarian plate, which we were earlier offering for Rs 550, now costs Rs 900 and our margin per plate has also come down as the customers ask for more discounts and concessions
— Sugandhi Goel, Managing Partner, Trived Event Management Company

Jammu, October 27
The first fleet of 155 vehicles, comprising 100 government vehicles carrying official records, Durbar move employees and around 50 vehicles of security, reached Jammu from Srinagar today.

The convoy carried employees belonging to Jammu and the official records of about two dozen government departments, which would stay in the winter capital till April 2014.

“The convoy reached their respective destinations smoothly and most of the official records reached the Civil Secretariat and will be unloaded tomorrow”, said an official.

Durbar Move offices closed in Srinagar on October 25. The advance party had reached Jammu a couple of days before the closure of the Civil Secretariat and other offices.

The Kashmir-based employees would move to Jammu on November 2 and 3 as the bi-annual Durbar offices will reopen in Jammu on November 4.

Officials said the vehicles of Army, BSF, CRPF and security forces transport will ply smoothly on November 2 on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. However, the traffic movement of the security agencies will not ply on the highway on November 3 till the Srinagar-based employees reach their destinations in Jammu.

The 141-year-old Durbar Move tradition has been kept alive till date at the expense of a cash-strapped state. The exercise costs a staggering Rs 100 crore to the state every year. 

Jammu, October 27
Major transfers and posting took place in the city police today. Inspector Bharat Sharma, Station House Officer (SHO), R S Pura, has been transferred to City police station. Inspector Surinder Singh has been transferred from Gangyal to R S Pura police station.

Inspector Gurnam Singh has been shifted from DPL Jammu to Bus stand as SHO while Inspector Satvinder Singh has been shifted from Bus Stand to DPL Jammu. Sub-Inspector Jasbir Singh has been transferred from Chatha police post to Gangyal as SHO.

Sanjay Raina, Sub-Inspector (SI), has been transferred from Chowk Chabutra police post to Bahu fort, Kamal Kishore, SI, has been transferred from Nowabad to Pacca Danga as Investigating Office (IO). Sukhbir Singh, SI, has been moved from DPL Jammu to Chatha police post.

Vikas Kant Parihar, SI, has been transferred from Bahu Fort Nowabad police station as IO. Rajiv Vaid, SI, is the new in charge of Chowk Chabutra police post while SI Neelam Saini is the new in charge of Hari market police post.

Jammu, October 27
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has instructed the state authorities that till the time poor were identified through the use of Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP), the existing list of Below Poverty Line (BPL) households will be used to identify the target groups for Ajeevika Skills.

As per the guidelines of the Ministry, the target group for Aajeevika Skills is poor rural youth in the age group of18-35. For those with disabilities or the ones who belong to particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PTGs) the upper limit is 45 years.

Sources said special groups, comprising persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking, manual scavengers, transgender and rehabilitated bonded labour may be allowed to enrol if they are above 16, provided they become 18 by the time they finish training, including the on-the-job training, if any.

“The state authorities should ensure that at least three per cent of beneficiaries are from among the persons with disabilities. At the national level, 50 per cent of the funds will be earmarked for SCs and STs with the proportion between SCs and STs being decided from time to time by the MoRD. Further, 15 per cent of the funds would be set apart for beneficiaries from among the minority groups”, a statement from the Ministry said.

The guidelines further said the targets from SC and ST could be interchanged if there were no eligible beneficiaries from either of the category and it was certified as such by the District Rural Development Agency.

In the case of people with disabilities, separate projects have to be submitted. These projects will have separate training centres and the unit costs will also be different.

“The nature of affirmative action that is required to overcome their challenges and barriers to participation needs to be incorporated into the skill action plan proposed by the state. In the case of those with hearing, speech and visual impairment, it will also be necessary to sensitise prospective employers to ensure they get job placements”, a statement added.

Aajeevika Skills is a skill and placement initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. It evolved out of the need to diversify incomes of the rural poor and to cater to the occupational aspirations of their youth. The focus of the programme is on skill development and placement in the formal sector for rural youth who are poor. Aajeevika Skills has its origins in the ‘Special Projects’ component of the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

Jammu, October 27
A major part of the Jammu region remained without electricity on Sunday as the Power Development Department (PDD) carried out critical checks of equipment and machinery at the Gladni Grid Station, which supplies electricity to the entire region.

Also, in order to interconnect the line at Kalakot Grid Station, power supply to twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch of 132 KV Gladni-Kalakot transmission line will remain affected on October 28 from 10 am to 4 pm. Twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri and areas being fed from the Grid Station Sidhra, Miransahib, Gangyal, Bari Brahmana, Janipur, Sidhra I & II and Kalakote transmission line will be affected.

Today, the supply remained suspended to the areas of Old Jammu city, Gandhi Nagar, Nanak Nagar, Channi Himmat, Narwal and Sainik Colony. The officials said the exercise was done to replace the critical devices and ensure safety and reliability of the system during winter months, when fog and cold weather resulted in frequent tripping of the systems. “It is important to ensure that all the systems run in a proper way and do not fail at a critical moment. This is being done every few months”, a PDD official said.

The electricity cut also affected the drinking water supply in the city as most of the pumping stations remained shut for nearly seven hours.

Two single-phase auto power transformers of 133.33 rating, installed during 2001 at Gladni station, Jammu, had failed during June and July 2008, causing outage of the entire installed capacity 400 MVA of the grid station. The investigations had revealed that poor maintenance was the main reason for the loss of integrity at the grid station.

The government machinery will start functioning in the winter capital from November 4. The entire state cabinet and administrative offices will work from Jammu for the next six months and uninterrupted power supply is critical to keep the administration functioning. 

Jammu, October 27
University of Jammu (JU) is once again in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Serious question marks have been posed over the manner the university authorities ‘hushed up’ a major controversy over the circulation of an anonymous letter which accused senior teaching faculty, including some Jammu University Teachers Association (JUTA) members of running a sex racket and sexually exploiting female students on the campus, under the pressure of a lobby of teachers.

Dean, Students Welfare, (DSW) of the university Professor N K Tripathi had to lose his chair after he forwarded the case to Crime Branch for an in-depth investigation to ascertain as to who wrote and circulated the anonymous letter among the heads of all the academic departments.

The University administration, however, withdrew the case from the Crime Branch following “tremendous pressure” from a “particular lobby” of teachers. Professor Pankaj Srivastava of Geology Department has been appointed as the new DSW of the university.

On October 23, an anonymous letter was circulated among the heads of various academic departments on the campus.

“The contents of the letter were in bad taste as it contained the names of eight faculty members from various departments, including some JUTA members and a class-IV employee. It was accused in the letter that these faculty members were running a sex racket on the campus, besides sexually exploiting female students,” a senior faculty member, who possessed the letter, said on the condition of anonymity.

The member said, “Had the university taken it seriously and investigated the matter at that time, this controversy could have been avoided.”

He added, “We fail to understand as to why the authorities were shying away from conducting an in-depth probe into the matter. The manner in which the authorities hushed up the case posed a serious question mark on their credibility.”

Former DSW Prof N K Tripathi said “I do not know why I was linked to the case. It was done in bad intention and I was made a scapegoat. It was the Special Secretary to Vice-Chancellor who kept everyone in dark and the blame was put on me. I would resign from my duty if it is proved that I had done something wrong.”

Mahesh Koul, a senior research scholar of the University, said the authorities should have checked the veracity of the letter by conducting an internal inquiry before going into the public domain.

“The issue has given a serious dent to the image of the institution. There could be some mischievous elements trying to create ruffle on the campus. The University should put in place an internal mechanism to deal with such issues,” Koul added.

Prof Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, Vice-Chancellor of JU, said there were people in the university who were bent upon disturbing peace on the campus. “We should not give much importance to such meaningless things. If we highlight such issues, it would serve the nefarious designs of anti-social elements,” he said.

He said he was not taken into confidence prior to forwarding the anonymous letter, along with a ‘covering letter’ from the university, to the Crime Branch. “Such things hurt the sanctity of an institution and we should not attach much importance to such obnoxious acts,” the Vice-Chancellor said. 

Jammu, October 27
A 'shobha yatra' of Bhagwan Vishwakarma was taken out in the city today, which depicted his importance in the history.

The function was led by president Pradesh Vishwakarma Sabha (PVS) Ravi Verma.

The rally started from Gurha Morh Bakshi Nagar, Vishwakarma Complex, and passed through the main markets of city.

The yatra was flagged off by Kuldeep Raj Verma, vice-chairman, Other Backward Class (OBC) Advisory Board (J&K), and Lakhpath Rai, DC chairman, PVS (retd).

The yatra culminated at Bakshi Nagar, where it was addressed by R L Chargotra, Purah Chargotra and Vijay Kumar, all members of the sabha.

The speakers criticised the state government for not granting the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) the Constitutional right of 27 per cent reservation, political reservations and gazetted holiday on Vishwakarma day.

Jammu, October 27
In spite of the significant improvement unemployment in the state still remains a “major area of concern”. This has been revealed in the recently issued National Youth Policy (NYP) draft.

It added that prolonged period of unemployment and under employment has not only brought economic miseries, but it has adversely affected the youth, both socially and mentally.

“Training programmes should be accordingly designed and implemented. To promote entrepreneurship among young women and men of the state, set up a network of training institutions or agencies providing technical and/or entrepreneurship training, financial institutions, voluntary organisations engaged in youth entrepreneurship programmes and corporate sector to prepare young people for taking up small business enterprises and related activities”, the draft said. — TNS

Jammu, October 27
A six-day-long workshop on ‘Adolescence Education Programme’, conducted by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Jammu, concluded at Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 Gandhi Nagar here today.

Prof KSR Koteswara Rao from Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, was the chief guest, while Prof Anjali Gurtoo, from the same institute, was the guest of honour on the occasion.

Usha Shamendra, Assistant Commissioner, KVS, Jammu region, KV No 1 Principal Romi Amrit and vice-principal Dr BC Dwivedy were also present on the occasion.

In her address, Shamendra highlighted the main features of the Adolescence Programme. She said the nodal teachers, who have been trained here, will go back to their respective schools and share the knowledge with their colleagues and help in handling the problems of the adolescents.

Meanwhile, a colourful cultural programme was also presented on the occasion.

The event was a part of the National Adolescence Education Programme (NAEP).

The topics discussed during the workshop included Adolescence related issues, Drug and substance abuse, HIV-AIDS, RTI, etc…

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Anjali Gurtoo said the role of teachers, parents and adolescents was vital in resolving the issues of adolescence.

Later, certificates were distributed among the participants.

Jammu, October 27
An eight-day Diwali festival, organised by the Apsara Road Traders Association (APTA), was inaugurated by Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture Raman Bhalla at Gandhi Nagar today.

Renowned artistes of Jammu presented cultural items, including Dogra folk, Pahari, Punjabi and Kashmiri songs, which were applauded by the gathering at the Dasehra Ground. Bhalla on the occasion said Diwali, being the festival of lights, conveyed a message of lighting the lamp of knowledge to understand and reflect upon the significant purpose of each of the eight days of festivities and to bring those thoughts into the day-to-day living. He hoped that the festival would usher the state in the era of peace.

Kiran Wattal, Commissioner, JMC, Kuldeep Lal Khajuria, Vice-Chairman, JDA, and Soujanya Sharma, Director Tourism were among others present on the occasion. — TNS

Jammu, October 27
As a part of its Sunday series, the Natrang today staged a Dogri play ‘Diary Kuse Lok Naath Di’ here.

The play is an adaptation of the written works of one of the most celebrated Dogri writers Prof Madan Mohan Sharma, a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, and was directed by Dimple Sharma.

As the title suggests, the play revolves around the diary of one Lok Nath.

The writer’s son finds a diary from a park and carries it to his home. The cover of the diary is so attractive that the writer is not able to resist going through it.

While reading the contents, he finds an interesting and dramatic life account of Lok Nath.

The life of Loknath is portrayed in such an interesting manner that a common-man relates to each situation and turn of his life.

The opening pages find Loknath disillusioned to the extent that he has lost faith in God. He looks for something exciting to happen in his life.

Cash-starved Loknath opts to do tuitions. He decides to teach the children of his boss. This way he thinks he will be able to please the hierarchy and also make some pocket money.

But while imparting tuitions, he has an encounter with the sister-in-law of his boss.

Loknath finds her very attractive and pleasing and he falls in love with her. Every day he goes with a new plan to approach her, but is unable to muster the courage to do so.

Finally, he withdraws as he thinks that if his boss will come to know about his intentions he will not only lose his dream girl, but will also have to sacrifice the tuitions and the regular job.

Pawan Verma as Lok Nath portrayed the inner conflicts of the character in a beautiful manner, while Rahul Singh played the role of the narrator and demonstrated his grip over the performance.

The lights were executed by Neeraj Kant. Mohammad Yaseen did hall management, while Sumeet Sharma coordinated the show and also presented it before the audience.

Jammu, October 27
Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) XI and Simula XI today entered into the semifinals of the ongoing Eid-Diwali Milan T-20 Cricket Cup, being played at the MA Stadium here.

In the first match of the day, Simula XI registered a comprehensive 68 run win over RCC Srinagar, courtesy to a seven-wicket haul by Sameer Khajuria.

Batting first, Simula XI scored a decent total of 162 runs from their allotted quota of 20 overs on the back of an unbeaten half-century by Shashi and a quick-fire 49 of just 15 balls by Puneet.

For RCC, Kuldeep accounted for three wickets, while Monu claimed two wickets. In reply, RCC suffered a dramatic batting collapse and the whole team was bundled out for just 94 runs. Avinash (33) and Ishant (20) tried to steady the RCC innings, but a continuous rush of wickets at the other end didn’t allow the team to gain any momentum.

In the second match, J&K Police rode on a five-wicket haul by Ashwani to beat BCC XI by 49 runs and book a semifinal berth.

Electing to bat first, JKP XI scored 150 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs, Rajesh Gill top scoring with 40 runs. Rompy (34) and Naresh (32) also made a useful contribution to the total.

Sattar and Nazeer took two wickets each for BCC XI. In reply, BCC XI was bundled out for 101 in 19.3 overs after their batsmen failed to make any impression. Jamat Ali (59) showed some resolve but that didn’t prove enough.

In another match, Atman XI beat Christian Sports XI by 47 runs.

Batting first, Atman Sports XI scored 150 runs from their stipulated quota of 16 with Jaswinder (36) Amrit (35) and Surya (27) making notable contribution to the total. Christian Sports XI, in reply, was bundled out for 103 runs to hand a comfortable 47-run victory to Atman XI.

Vijay Dogra bagged four wickets and was declared man of the match for his fine spell of bowling. The matches were officiated by Saleem-ur-Rehman and Sandeep Manchand. Shahrukh was the scorer. — TNS

Jammu, October 27
Sidhant Cricket Academy today defeated Col R N Chopra Cricket Academy by 48 runs to seal a berth in the finals of the ongoing U-16 Boys Cricket Tournament being played at Academy Grounds here.

Sidhant Academy rode on a fine bowling display by Avneet and Pavit Singh Ishar, who shared seven wickets among themselves.

Batting first, Sidhant Academy was restricted to 130 runs in 29.1 overs, courtesy some fine bowling by Abhishek Abrol and Ayush Slathia, who scalped four wickets apiece.

However, the Col RN Chopra Academy batters failed to latch on to the opportunity created by their bowlers, as they were bundled out for just 82 runs, handing a comfortable 48 run victory to their opponents. — TNS

Jammu, October 27
State ace Atul Pangotra has been selected for the 8th World Taekwondo Poomsae Championship to be held at Bali, Indonesia from October 30.

The youngster is a part of the seven-member that will represent the country in the six-day long event. Atul had earlier undergone pre participation training with Thailand national team under Korean Master Hyungnam Kwon and Thai chief coach Master Suttisri. This is for the sixth consecutive time, that Atul will participate in the prestigious sporting event. — TNS