Srinagar, October 30
Much to their chagrin, traffic snarls continue to put the city residents to inconvenience here even as scores of government offices have been moved to Jammu in the wake of Durbar move.

Residents here are complaining that there has been no let-up in long traffic jams caused, especially during the morning and evening hours.

“We were expecting that there would be less traffic snarls after the Darbar move. I drive through Ram Bagh and Jehangir Chowk where traffic continues to move at a snail’s pace when I go to office in the morning and while returning home,” said Irfan Ahmad, a resident of Rawalpora area.

Other local residents too complained of traffic jams.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Traffic, Haseeb-ur-Rehman said, “Jams were witnessed at Ram Bagh during morning and evening hours as traffic flow on various routes converges at this junction. Besides, vehicles from Hyderpora, Rawalpora and Chanapora in Budgam district also come to Ram Bagh, thus causing traffic jams.”

“Traffic from south Kashmir is also being diverted in Nowgam as a result of which the flow of traffic multiplies in the Ram Bagh area,” Superintendent of Police , Traffic, Haseeb-ur-Rehman further said.

Many local residents said jams could be seen in other areas such as Qamarwari where vehicles going to north Kashmir ply in large numbers.

“I face very heavy traffic jam in Qamarwari everyday which causes a huge inconvenience,” said a commuter from Baramulla district.

While many blame the shifting of 100 traffic police personnel with the Durbar move to Jammu, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Traffic, said there was no reduction in cop strength at the critical beats.

The number of traffic police personnel deployed in areas such as Ram Bagh, Qamarwari and Jehangir Chowk was the same as it was before the Durbar Move, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Traffic, added.

The Durbar offices closed here on October 25 as part of the biannual exercise and are scheduled to reopen in Jammu on November 4.

Srinagar, October 30
The J&K government will soon set up a grievance redressal system at the block and district level under the Indra Awas Yojna (IAY) to improve the implementation of the Centrally sponsored scheme.

The move has been taken following the directions of the Union Rural Development Ministry which wanted that multiple modes be provided to the complainants to ensure that the benefits of various schemes reach the poor.

J&K has been facing lot of criticism from the Union government for its failure to utilise the money meant for constructing houses for the poor under the IAY, a national housing scheme.

"The revised guidelines of Indra Awas Yojna provide for setting up of a grievance redressal system at the block and district level to look into the selection of beneficiaries, release of installments, non-provision of support service, non-provision of convergence with other schemes and choice of design/ construction technology," an order issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, Rural Development Department, read.

"The guidelines further provide that multiple modes must be provided to the complainants for registering a complaint with the authorised officer, including written complaints. All such complaints must be duly acknowledged with a dated receipt. Time limits must be set for disposal of complaints," the order said.

Mir Altaf Ahmed, Director Rural Development, Kashmir, said a mechanism was already in place for grievance redressal under the IAY.

"But the new guidelines from the Union government are aimed at improving the implementation of the scheme and bring more transparency," Mir said.

The director said the project officer of Wage Employment of all the districts have been asked to constitute the grievance redressal system at block and district level under the Indra Awas Yojna.

Srinagar, October 30
Scores of students from Higher Secondary School Amira Kadal complained that the invigilators at Child Care High School, Amira Kadal, which has been allotted as an examination centre to them, gave them answersheets half an hour after the prescribed time.

The students further complained that the invigilators, who are teachers at Child Care High School, also snatched the answersheets well before the due time which made it difficult for them to write the examination. The examination timings are from 1 pm till 4pm.

"Although the examination duration is written on the question papers, the school authorities always distribute the papers late. A lot of time is wasted and the authorities do not seem to bother. The examination is supposed to get over by 4 pm but we are forced to hand over the answer sheets by 3.40 pm," Wahiya, a student appearing in the Class XII examination at the centre, said.

The students complained that the Board of School Education (BoSE) authorities were yet to depute inspection teams to these schools, which had made things worse.

"At least strict monitoring by BoSE officials would have ensured the timely delivery of papers. But that has not been the case so far," another student said.

When reached for comment, BoSE spokesperson Shaukat Usman said they would depute a team to the examination centre soon, adding that no casual approach by the invigilators would be tolerated.

"The inspection teams have already been set up and we will depute a team immediately to the said school so that the students do not suffer," he added.

The Class XII examination has brought a huge embarrassment to the board as students have criticised tough and out-of-syllabus mathematics paper, the examination for which was held on October 28.

Srinagar, October 30
The Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), an amalgam of various traders' bodies, today staged a protest here and urged the state government to come forward with a "positive policy over sealing of business establishments".

Mohammad Yaseen Khan, chairman, Kashmir Economic Alliance, urged the state government, particularly Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, to submit a clear and positive policy before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court which will facilitate the de-sealing of affected properties at the next date of hearing.

“The sealing drive has led to the closure of a large number of establishments and ventures, thus leading to increase in unemployment in the Kashmir Valley which is already facing serious unemployment problem among the educated youth," Mohammad Yaseen Khan added.

The chairman of the Kashmir Economic Alliance further said, “The Srinagar Master Plan is defective and full of loopholes which ought to have been subjected to modifications to accommodate the commercial areas.”

Srinagar, October 30
The higher reaches of Kashmir valley on Wednesday received the first snowfall of the season. The Meteorological Department said it expected more downpour, includes light rain and snow in the coming days.

Sonam Lotus, Director, J&K Meteorological Department, said, "Light snowfall occurred over the higher reaches along the Line of Control (LoC) in the remote parts of Kashmir region while the higher reaches of the Pir Panjal range received light snowfall."

"Light snowfall was also received at Zojila, a mountainous pass connecting the Kashmir valley with Ladakh region, which remains shut due to heavy snowfall during the winter months," the J&K Meteorological Department Director said.

The J&K Meteorological Department had yesterday forecast light rain over the plains and snow over the higher reaches till Friday.

In Srinagar city, the sky remained overcast for most of the day. However, there was no rainfall recorded here. Light rainfall and thundershowers are expected in the city on Thursday where maximum temperature will rise to 15 degree Celsius, a departure of five degrees from the normal, and the minimum will fall to 4 degree Celsius, the department in a forecast note said.

The department officials said there was no report of rainfall or snow from any other part of the region.

The officials said weather conditions were likely to remain the same till Friday and the weather will improve for next five days thereon.

"Then there is a likelihood of rainfall on November 6 and 7," the director said.People in the region are witnessing cold weather conditions in recent days with the minimum temperature falling to a low of 4 degrees earlier this week. The decrease in temperature has forced the residents to switch to warmer clothing, including sweaters and light jackets.

Srinagar, October 30
The Directorate of Lifelong Learning (DLL), University of Kashmir, is all set to launch a certificate course in civil aviation management in its upcoming academic session. The course will attract aviation stakeholders to hire young professionals from the state.

“The DLL is developing and designing the course in collaboration with one of India’s leading Aviation Company, Go Air India Pvt Ltd,” a spokesman for the KU said.

Terming the launch of the course an innovative step and a major achievement by the DLL, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad said he was happy as the University had started involving major companies to benefit the student 
community.

“All the modalities should be discussed and you should work on making it the most attractive course on the campus. This course should be designed in a way that students consider it a viable choice, if they are not selected in mainstream academic subjects,” V-C told the officials of DLL.

The V-C urged the authorities to design the course in a student -friendly way as it should be befitting the aspiring professionals more.

“We are already running a masters programme in tourism management, so there should be some mechanism where, besides others, we involve these students as well or give them a short internship or training programme in this sector,” he said.

Registrar, University of Kashmir, Prof Zaffar Ahmad Reshi said “The idea is new to KU but the concerned department will try to make it more impressive and attractive.”

Vice-President, Inflight and Customer Relationship Management of GoAir, Jehangir Mehta said “For opting this course there has to be some aspirations and capabilities and it will certainly build a strong base for aviation companies to hire people from this place.”

“In this course, we will provide a wide range of training to those who aspire for aviation and other associated professions,” he said.

President of Airports, GoAir, Kamal Kikani said the course would provide quality training in dangerous goods, crew resource management and safety management as well as providing sample exams and specialization in company manual development.

“During the course, the participants will be taught on the University campus but there will be on job workshops and they will be taken to the airports for the practical work,” he said.

Srinagar, October 30
Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Bemina, celebrated its annual day today.

Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir (KU), Talat Ahmad was the chief guest on the occasion. He emphasised on research in the medical field to remain abreast with the latest development and techniques which are growing faster in comparison with other branches of science.

“While lauding the SKIMS management for their achievements, he said KU had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global institutes and was ready to provide all possible support to the college. “The SKIMS can collaborate with KU for other cultural activities and interactions,” he added.

Dr Rafiq Pampori, principal, Government Medical College, was the guest of honour. He appreciated the director of SKIMS for his concerted efforts. The college had come up well despite odds and challenges, he added. He appealed to the students and medical professionals to uphold the ethics and maintain the nobility of the profession.

He said GDP spent on health in the state was just 2 per cent while the same in other states was around 8 per cent. Dean academics, SKIMS, Dr Khurshid Iqbal highlighted the academic achievements of the college under the stewardship of Dr S A Zargar, which included the enhancement of MBBS seats from 50 to 100 and permission from the MCI to start specialties in orthopaedics and ophthalmology, besides DNB in ENT and psychiatry.

On the occasion, meritorious students were felicitated by the chief guest and college magazine ‘SKIMS SCION’ was released. Students and faculty participated in the function. Organising chairman Dr Shiekh Aijaz and organising secretary Dr Rafiq Mir welcomed the guests and dignitaries.

Director, SKIMS, Dr Zargar urged the students to maintain professional values and make the best of the facilities available to them. He said SKIMS had evolved as an institution and was on a continuous path of progress and stressed upon sufficient availability of funds to create better infrastructure and facilities for better patient care system.

Srinagar, October 30
The Coaching Centres Association (CCA) of Kashmir has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) to make public the answer keys of Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) preliminary examinations.

Chairman, CCA, Ghulam Nabi Var said the magnitude of the scandal dotting the KAS (preliminary) was increasing with each passing day. “Hundreds of students are coming forward alleging fraud in this prestigious exam,” said Var. “According to the answer keys provided by the experts, students have been dropped despite scoring as much as 330, well above the cut-off marks of 288.”

Students have been moving from pillar to post to get heard but to no avail. “After the PSC officials asked them to file RTIs, around 300 students have filed the same to get the answer keys,” Var added. “And now the same officials are telling them that it will take months and the students can instead go to Jammu and see the keys, but these will not be allowed outside,” he said.

The association alleged that there is every possibility to believe that hordes of blue-eyed students had been selected at the cost of hard-working students. “How come they are not providing an answer as to how absent students have made their way in the preliminary list,” said Var.

The association condemned the dictatorial approach of the JKPSC. “The PSC officials said they followed the UPSC model as it does not reveal keys,” he said. “But that is an absolute lie. UPSC is far more transparent as they release every master key for students to compare with their answers.”

“The JKPSC officials giving such answers are liable to a lawsuit for misleading the general public. If UPSC can do it at such a huge scale, what is stopping the JKPSC to do it”, Var questioned.

The association asked the government to take a humane look into the matter. “Some candidates had shunned their Ph D, PG courses and even jobs for the exam and now they are been shown dubiously unqualified,” he added. “This is the last chance for some of the candidates as they will cross their age limit for next exams.”

The association condemned the PSC for suspiciously hurrying for mains examinations. “Instead of clearing the doubts they are hurrying to conduct mains exams,” he said. “Within two days they came out with mains form which otherwise takes weeks. It looks like they want to complete the selection as soon as possible,” Var added.

Srinagar, October 30
Six books were released on the 46th annual day of the Jammu and Kashmir Punjabi Sahit Sabha (JKPSS) during a function held here.

In a statement issued today, JKPSS general secretary M P Singh said six books, including ‘Hemaal’ - journal of the sabha - was released during a function held at the auditorium of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, yesterday.

He said books authored by Ishar Singh Baksh, Mangat Singh Jugnu, Harpal Singh Pali, Kirat Singh Inquillabi and Jaswant Singh Sandhu were released on the occasion by Minister for Higher Education Mohammad Akbar Lone.

Author of the year award was conferred upon educationist and Punjabi writer Joginder Singh while ‘Kartar Singh Komal Memorial Award’ was given to Shivnath Singh.

Mangat Singh Jugnu, JKPSS president, said former chief minister GN Azad, during his tenure, had made an announcement for opening Punjabi Department at the University of Kashmir. “But till date, the department is nowhere,” he added.

He said several memorandums had been presented to the authorities concerned for recruitment of Punjabi teachers and professors in schools and colleges, opening offices of Punjabi in the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, daily transmission of Punjabi programmes from Radio Kashmir with daily news bulletins etc. However, he regretted that no progress had been made in this regard till date.— TNS

Srinagar, October 30
The Departments of Convergent Journalism and Urdu of the Central University of Kashmir (CUK) organised a mushaira at the Magarmal Bagh Academic Block of the University.

The mushaira was presided over by Prof Qudoos Javaid, Coordinator, Department of Udru. The Chief Guest, Parvaiz Manoos, besides reading his poetry, encouraged the young students who read their poems at the mushaira.

Others who read their poetry on the occasion were Dr A R Beg, Dr Parvaiz Ahamd Azmi, Dr Altaf Hussain Baji, Dr Rashid Aziz and Shahanaz Bashir.

Among the students of Urdu and Convergent Journalism who read their poetry on the occasion were Rabbani Bashir, Sajad Rashid, Waqas Ahmad, Nazir Malik, Malik Mairaj, Ataullah, and Gulzar Ahmad.

Among those present in the function were the students and faculty members of the Departments of Convergent Journalism and Urdu, including Shams Imran and Dr John K Babu, Assistant Professors of the Department of Convergent Journalism. The programme started with the recitation of Holy Quran and Naat-e-Sharief.