|
|
|
|
|
Power staff accuses authorities of forcing them to inflate bills
PDP blames Omar govt for grim electricity scenario
Won't pay bills if power supply is not improved: Traders
|
|
|
18 out of 78 milk samples found substandard
court order on sealing of hotels
Ex-BOPEE chief sold question papers through his aide, HC told
IGP for concerted efforts to check child trafficking
Residents want shrine board to take over Bahu temple mgmt
Kashmir varsity starts courses on papier machie
Pakistan now inching towards hardline Hurriyat
50% of J&K households without toilets
Training camp on RTI held
JU’s sports dept awaits reply on proposal for filling vacant posts
Civilian killed, jawan hurt as shell goes off in Nagrota
|
|
Power staff accuses authorities of forcing them to inflate bills
Jammu, November 20 The employees held a protest here today and alleged that officials of different divisions were harassing them to implement the directive and to write down "extra" units in log books. Levelling this serious allegation against the department under the banner of the Provincial Power Employees Union (PPEU), employees have demanded action against some senior officers. "How can we inflate the figures? It will amount to fraud with people and eventually, expose us to the wrath of the common man. If the government has decided to use such tactics to cover revenue losses, then they should give it in writing. We will continue to protest against such anti-people directives," said PPEU chairman Shakti Gupta. Gupta alleged that senior officials were pressurising and threatening employees who were not following such orders. "Meter readers will not follow the order. It is against the rules and people cannot be fooled. Even the '100 per cent metering' is pending as the government has failed to complete the process. From Thursday, protests will be held at every office of the PDD," said Gupta. Meanwhile, the union has also demanded immediate decision on regularisation of daily wagers working in the department who have completed seven years of their service. They said two-and-a-half-day salary to the executive cadre employees of the PDD upto the rank of Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), who are performing the essential duties round the clock on the analogy of other departments, should also be released. Union leaders have appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to accept their demands. They have urged the government to issue a redress order of pay anomalies of the 6th Pay Commission in favour of the clerical, technical cadre up to the pay scale of Rs 6,700-Rs 10,500 (pre-revised). Vital targets *
Nearly 3,000 meter readers and field staff of the Power Development Department held a protest on Wednesday alleging that officials of various divisions were harassing them to implement the directive and write down "extra" units in log books |
|
|
PDP blames Omar govt for grim electricity scenario
Srinagar, November 20 In a joint statement, party legislatures Abdul Rehman
Veeri, Abdul Haq Khan and Syed Basharat Bukhari, said the deplorable electricity scenario had thrown the life out of gear in Kashmir, with the student and business community being the worst hit. “Students have been preparing for various university exams these days and they have to face tremendous problems. Similarly, the grim power scenario has been forcing the business community to shut down their operations early in the evening,” one of the PDP leaders said. The legislatures said it was ironical, in a situation, when people had been paying hefty electricity dues, five times more than what they had been paying five years ago. In the rural areas, the authorities have been taking the people for a ride where electricity is not seen for days together. “Omar Abdullah, who came into power with the promise that he will be giving free electricity to people, owes answers for making Kashmir suffer,” the statement said. |
|
|
Won't pay bills if power supply is not improved: Traders
Srinagar, November 20 “The KEA may not hesitate in asking consumers to stop paying electricity bills if the PDD continues with its arrogant and anti-people schedules,” KEA chairman Mohammed Yaseen Khan said in a statement. “We have taken serious and strong note of the statement of the PDD Chief Engineer that the power curtailment schedule would be implemented in letter and spirit. As part of the schedule, there will be over 57 hours of power cut in a week,” he said. As per the latest PDD schedule, consumers in non-metered areas will have to face around 57 hours of curtailment per week while those in metered areas will be subjected to a 17-hour power cut. The KEA chairman said the PDD in the past had assured that the metered areas would get uninterrupted power supply. He said, “This commitment was fulfilled for the first year of the installation and then rolled back.” Referring to the shifting of the Durbar Move offices to Jammu, he said: “The government finds a warm shelter for itself in Jammu and officials who stay back have VIP connections. People of the Valley pay high tariffs but power curtailment is done for the luxury of these chosen few.” Khan also flayed the PDD of not being able to take proper action against power thefts. The PDD power curtailment schedule, which was made public recently, has created a lot of resentment among locals and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, too, has been issuing frequent statements flaying the government over the "worsening" of power situation in the Valley. |
|
|
18 out of 78 milk samples found substandard
Jammu, November 20 Officials said samples were collected between August and October and a fine of Rs 36,000 had been imposed on the defaulters. To stop the influx of adulterated milk in the city, the Jammu Municipal Corporation had deployed teams of Food Safety Officers at points where milk vendors enter the city. It had also told public to contact JMC officials on telephone numbers 2571308 and 18001807034 (toll free) in case of complaint against shopkeepers. "Despite warning, if traders continue to use adulterants, we may cancel their licence. We will not tolerate such practices in the city. The general masses, too, should come forward if they have complaints," said Municipal Commissioner Kiran Wattal. Health officer Dr Vinod Sharma said though no synthetic items such as urea had been detected in milk, it was adulterated with water. "In view of the results, the Food Business Operators are directed to purchase and sell good quality of milk," he said. |
|
|
court order on sealing of hotels
Srinagar, November 20 The court observed that the District Magistrate was acting like a “politician”. These observation were made today by a high court division bench comprising Justice Mohamamd Yaqoob Mir and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar after perusal of the compliance report filed by Srinagar District Magistrate with regard to the court directions to suspend operations of defaulting hotels. The court is hearing a public interest litigation by Mohammad Rafiq Zargar, wherein he had sought intervention of the court for safeguarding eco-sensitive areas of Gulmarg and Tangmarg from illegal constructions. “What has he (District Magistrate, Srinagar) done? He has called a meeting of hoteliers as if he is a politician. He has to comply with the court orders. He cannot have deliberations with them or hold a panchayat.” Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar observed after going through Shah’s compliance report. He submitted that representatives of all the hotels had been invited by him and informed about the orders of the court. The court in its order dated October 23 had directed the authorities concerned, including the Srinagar District Magistrate, that the notice with regard to suspension of commercial operations of the hotels lacking sewage treatment plants/septic tanks should be implemented without any further delay. The court had asked the authorities to take help from the Director General of Police in case any resistance while implementing the order. “He has to ensure the implementation of the court order. They (hoteliers) can project their difficulties before the court, not before him. He had not to assert (himself on the hoteliers) and he had to do it by himself by implementing the court order. See the conduct of the DM (District Magistrate), how he is working,” the Jammu and Kashmir High Court observed. It directed the District Magistrate to file a “better compliance report” within a week. As per the compliance report of the PCB, notices for suspending commercial activities were issued to 108 hotels under category A and 53 hotels under category B. Earlier in his submissions, petitioner counsel advocate Ejaz Chisti said the District Magistrate, Srinagar, had become “the law unto himself” and was acting like a court by calling a meeting of the hoteliers. He also pointed out that the government was yet to file its report on the completion of the Gulmarg Master
Plan and the action taken report about the violations of the land lease agreements in Gulmarg. The report filed *
Srinagar District Magistrate Farooq Ahmad Shah submitted that he had convened a meeting on November 11 wherein representatives of the hotels were invited and informed about the court order on sealing city hotels functioning without the consent of the Pollution Control Board *
He stated the representatives projected their inability of establishing individual sewage treatment plants in view of paucity of time and financial hardships. |
|
|
Ex-BOPEE chief sold question papers through his aide, HC told
Srinagar, November 20 These 40 candidates, whose records were scrutinised by the BOPEE during the investigation, have secured top positions in CET-2012 despite having an average merit in their 11th and 12th class examinations. This has been disclosed by the Crime Branch in its recent status report to the high court, which is already monitoring the investigation into the CET scam, which has rocked the state. The CET is conducted every year by the BOPEE, J&K. “During the course of inquiry conducted by the Crime Branch, Kashmir, it was reliably learnt that one Farooq Ahmad Itoo, a resident of Darigund, Bijbehara in south Kashmir, (proprietor of an institute Infotech Computers) had made question papers available to some candidates against monetary considerations,” Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, Bashir Ahmad has submitted in his report to the high court in compliance with the orders dated September 16, 2013, the copy of which is with The Tribune. Farooq Itoo was a close associate of then BOPEE chairman Mushtaq Ahamd Peer, Bashir added. “Accordingly, the (MBBS) selection lists of 2011 and 2012 were obtained. On perusal of the records, and the selection list for 2012, it was revealed that a good number of candidates have been selected for MBBS course in 2012 from a particular area, which includes the candidates having average merit in their 11th and 12th classes,” the Crime Branch report says. These candidates were found to have secured top positions in the CET-2012. “Out of the 297 selected candidates, records of the first 40 candidates were scrutinised as far as their academic merit before the selection and during MBBS course 2012-13 is concerned,” it added. “It was revealed that 15 of them had not been allowed to sit in the first year MBBS examination as they had failed in the sessionals,” the Crime Branch said in its report to the high court. “This created a strong suspicion that the officers/officials (including Peer) of the BOPEE, in league with Farooq Itoo, had by abuse of their official position fraudulently and dishonestly made available the question papers to the beneficiaries during the conduct of the CET-2012 to confer undue benefit upon the selected beneficiaries with a view to obtain wrongful gain for themselves,” it added. It has told the court that an FIR under Sections 5(1) d read with 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 420, 120-B of the Ranbir Penal code was registered on September 24, 2013, to investigate the allegations relating to CET-2011 and 2012. Efforts were on to examine and question the prime suspect Farooq Itoo, who is absconding, the report said, adding that the inquiry for CET-2013 was in progress, the papers of which were leaked in June this year. The case file *
The J&K High Court, while observing that it did not “appreciate” the “non-cooperation” of the BOPEE Secretary with the investigating agencies, had on September 11 summoned the entire record related to a previous complaint regarding the misconduct of the J&K Common Entrance Test (CET) which was held in 2012 *
An anonymous complaint was received by the Crime Branch on July 17, 2012, alleging that seven candidates had got selected for MBBS through CET-2012 who did not perform well in their 10th and 12th class examinations *
Later on September 16, the HC had sought a fresh complaint of the Crime Branch with regard to its investigation into the conduct of the CET in 2011, 2012 and 2013 |
|
|
IGP for concerted efforts to check child trafficking
Srinagar, November 20 Mir said this while addressing a state-level workshop for police officers of anti-human trafficking units on handling child trafficking. The workshop was held at the Zonal Police Headquarters. "Human trafficking in the form of child labour and marriage of minor girls has become a social problem though its magnitude is not much here as compared to other parts of the country," the IGP said. "In order to check human trafficking, all sections of society should come forward. However, the role of police is of greater significance," he said. Mir said the investigating officers should be proficient in law so that they can make a strong case against people who commit such crimes. "They should see to it that the criminals are punished," he said. |
|
|
Residents want shrine board to take over Bahu temple mgmt
Jammu, November 20 At present, the Bahu Fort temple (Bawe Waali Mata) is being looked after by the Mata Maha Kali Trust, which is being run by some priests of a family. The family claims that Maharaja Gulab Singh has given the responsibility of the temple to their forefathers. But interestingly they do not even remember the name of their forefathers, to whom the responsibility was given. Pilgrims and the traders of the local market are demanding that the temple be handed over to the shrine board. Regular pilgrims and shopkeepers of the Bahu Fort market alleged that the temple trust did not take care of the historical fort in which the temple is situated and nothing had been done by the trust for the convenience of the pilgrims in the temple. “The temple should be handed over to the shrine board so that better facilities can be provided to the devotees and the current condition of the temple and fort can be improved,” said Arun Balotra, a regular pilgrim to the temple. “No effective system has been developed to manage the huge rush of devotees. Waiting halls, clock rooms and retiring rooms should be made for them and that can be done by the shrine board only," he said. Vivek Patihal, president of the Bahu Fort Shopkeepers Association, alleges that the family of the priests never takes care of pilgrims and their convenience. They are only worried about the "chadawa" (offerings in cash and kind). The family has been divided and the members take the charge of the temple in turns, and during their respective turn they always try to get maximum share in donations. “They do not even leave the nose ring and other jewellery of Goddess Kali during their turn,” he said. “They fail to provide facilities to the lakhs of pilgrims visiting the temple every year. They collects crores of rupees in donation, but nothing has been spent on the temple. Whatever has been done in the temple was done by some prominent residents of Jammu. Only the shrine board can manage the temple and provide facilities to the pilgrims,” he said. Bitta Mahant, a member of the trust, said, “We are doing our best to provide all the facilities to the pilgrims visiting the temple. We have organised free langar, provided dispensary with two doctors and an ambulance and all other facilities required in a temple.” |
|
|
Kashmir varsity starts courses on papier machie
Srinagar, November 20 The courses will be taught at three centres at the Saida Kadal, Alamgari Bazar and Budgam areas of the Valley. The first batch for the six-month course will be of 20 students. The courses were formally launched by vice-chairman, NCPUL, Waseem Barelvi at the university. Officials of the NCPUL and the Directorate of Lifelong Learning (DLL) said the University of Kashmir (KU) had been appointed as the coordinating agency for the courses. “The main aim of the course is to expose the workers to market trends directly and encourage them to have their own stalls in international and national exhibitions of art and craft. The joint effort will be also to form self-help groups among the beneficiaries in order to ensure their accessibility to different funding organisations to promote their trade,” Director, DLL, GH Mir said. Vice Chancellor, KU, MA Sofi said, “It is encouraging to see that our university in collaboration with other agencies is getting involved in such programmes which have the potential to transform the socio-economic landscape of our society, particularly of those who have upheld the traditional art and culture of our Valley for centuries.” Sofi said it was both a social and moral responsibility of the university to work for the dying art. “Unfortunately this area is vanishing day by day. But now, we need to promote the core competence areas. Marketing and skill development is another aspect that needs to be deliberated so that we can reach to the wider audience and customers,” he said.
|
|
|
Pakistan now inching towards hardline Hurriyat
Srinagar, November 20 Several leaders from the moderate separatist block in Kashmir have told The Tribune that the hardline faction led by Syed Ali Geelani has shifted itself to the “officially recognised” All Parties Hurriyat Conference office in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, which it had vacated in 2005 after a face-off with Musharraf. The Pakistan establishment under Musharraf had dumped Geelani’s group and begun courting the moderate separatist faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was recognised as the chairman of the separatist amalgam. The hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, whose Pakistan chapter is represented by Ghulam Mohammad Safi, returned to the office last month. The news has largely been kept under wraps. For the past nearly eight years, the office had housed the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference --- which is accepted by all Pakistan governments since 2005 as the official separatist group of Kashmir. Three senior leaders of the moderate Hurriyat Conference said the hardliners had moved into the office last month. “Now, both factions of the Hurriyat are working separately in the same building, which has been divided between them,” a moderate separatist leader said. Another moderate separatist acknowledged that the new Pakistan government under Nawaz Sharif was likely to be more aligned towards Geelani’s faction. “The Pakistan government and Geelani’s Hurriyat are on the same page. Both have been demanding the right to self-determination as the solution to the Kashmir issue and both have rejected Musharraf’s four-point formula or any other solution,” the separatist said. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a coup in 1999, has rubbished the former Pakistan dictator’s four-point solution and instead asserted at the UN General Assembly in September this year that Kashmiris should be given the right to self-determination --- which marked Pakistan's return to its "traditional" K-policy. Sharif’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz thrashed Musharraf’s four-point formula as a “mistake” when he met separatists in New Delhi earlier this month. The hardline Hurriyat Conference is, however, downplaying the shifting of its office in Pakistan, saying “it is not an issue” for them. “We have not received any official information and the office (location) has never been an issue for us. What happens there is not important, what happens here on the ground is important,” said Ayaz Akbar, spokesman for the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. Policy shift *
Several leaders from the moderate separatist block in Kashmir have told The Tribune that the hardline faction led by Syed Ali Geelani has shifted itself to the “officially recognised” All Parties Hurriyat Conference office in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, which it had vacated in 2005 after a face-off with Pervez Musharraf *
The Pakistan establishment under Musharraf had dumped Geelani’s group and begun courting the moderate separatist faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was recognised as the chairman of the separatist amalgam |
|
|
50% of J&K households without toilets
Srinagar, November 20 Talking to The Tribune, Joint Chief Principal Census Officer CS Saproo said according to Census 2011, out of 20,15,088 households in the state, 9,83,791 did not have latrine facilities on their premises. He further said there had not been much improvement on the ground since and the figures as of now were almost the same. Incidentally, according to Census 2001, 7,27,166 lacked latrine facilities and the number had increased by 25.07 per cent till the exercise conducted in 2011. Even though the government did not hold any major programme related to the World Toilet Day yesterday, PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, when contacted, said the authorities would intensify its awareness campaign in this regard. He said though it was not possible for the government to construct individual toilets, NGOs had been engaged for the mass education regarding sanitation. An amount of Rs 5000 to 10,000 would also be made available to each Village Sanitation Committee functional in the rural areas to create awareness so that the people living there constructed toilets. The minister said people were also being told to make optimum use of water as one out of three people did not have a safe and clean toilet. According to Census 2011, night soil in 1,78,572 J&K households was still being removed by humans as they did not have drainage facilities. The findings also revealed that 63.9 per cent of the households get tap water out of which only 34.7 per cent get it from treated (dependable and clean) sources. While 29.2 per cent of the households get tap water from un-treated sources, 6.7 per cent fetch water from rivers and canals. Similarly, 1.9, 4.7, 11.4, 1.5 and 6.2 per cent of the households get water from covered wells, uncovered wells, hand pumps, tube wells and springs, respectively. Moreover, only 9,70,643 households had water facility available on their premises. Census 2011 says *
Out of 20,15,088 households in J&K, 9,83,791 did not have latrine facilities on their premises *
Night soil in 1,78,572 state households was still being removed by humans as there were no drainage facilities *
63.9% of the households get tap water out of which only 34.7% get it from treated sources *
Only 9,70,643 households had water facility available on their premises. |
|
|
Training camp on RTI held
Jammu, November 20 A three-member team of the Sangarsh RTI Movement, Dewakar Sharma, Balvinder Singh and Raman Sharma, made presentations on various aspects of the RTI. Dr Kiran Bakshi, Principal of GCW, who was the chief guest on the occasion, congratulated the Sangarsh RTI Movement for its role in bringing awareness among masses, especially students and the youth, about the RTI. Later, a symposium on “How does RTI strengthen democracy” was organised in which Sanam Khan bagged the first prize, whereas Prabjot Kaur and Sehrish Javed won the second and third prizes.
|
|
|
JU’s sports dept awaits reply on proposal for filling vacant posts
Jammu, November 20 The Tribune had earlier reported that after the recent resignation of an Assistant Director and three retirements, the functioning of Directorate of Sports and Physical Education was being adversely affected. The department is short of staff not only to run its two courses — Bachelors in Physical Education (BPEd) and Masters in Physical Education (MPEd) — but also to conduct sports activities. Sources said in order to run the administration smoothly, the department had sent a proposal to the higher authorities for immediate appointment of two Deputy Directors, two Assistant Directors, two PTI Campuses, two Sports Supervisors and two Sports Assistants. They said the sports department had made repeated requests to the authorities to give extension to the retiring employees till recruitments were made but in vain. “As far as sports activities are concerned, the department needs at least 10 coaches in different disciplines to impart coaching to sportspersons of the university against the present strength of three coaches in the disciplines of cricket, table tennis and football,” said a source. Sources claimed that the Directorate of Sports and Physical Education had apprised the authorities that both BPEd and MPEd were professional and job-oriented courses and it was imperative that necessary steps be taken at the earliest to fill the vacant posts both in sports and administration wings. Prof Dhian S Bhau, Director, Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, told The Tribune, “We have already apprised the authorities about the present situation. Their response is positive and we are hopeful that the problem would be resolved soon.” Staff crunch The sports department is short of staff not only to run its two courses — Bachelors in Physical Education and Masters in Physical Education — but also to conduct sports activities. |
|
|
Civilian killed, jawan hurt as shell goes off in Nagrota
Jammu, November 20 “An accident took place in an ammunition depot outside the Nagrota cantonment today. While carrying out the repair of 81 mm mortar ammunition, a defective shell accidentally exploded. As a result, a civilian, Sanjiv Kumar Baru, was killed while Havildar ATS Mohanty was injured,” said officiating Defence spokesperson SN Acharya. He said the injured jawan was taken to Military Hospital in Satwari. “There was no other loss of life or damage in the incident,” the spokesperson said. Baru, 42, was a resident of the Kour Jagir area of Nagrota. He had been working as a painter in the 4 Ammunition Sub-Depot of the 15 Field Ammunition Depot in the Kanyala area of Jandrah for the past 20 years.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Department
(PDD) are up in arms against the authorities alleging that they had directed the employees to inflate the electricity bills of people to achieve revenue targets.
Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Gani Mir today said human trafficking in the form of child labour and marriage of minor girls had become a social problem and asked officers to ensure that the guilty are punished.
After the state government took over the management of Mata Sukrala Devi and Mata Bala Sundri shrines of Kathua district, residents of Jammu have started demanding that the shrine board should take over the management of Kali Mata temple of
Bahu. At present, the Bahu Fort temple (Bawe Waali Mata) is being looked after by the Mata Maha Kali Trust, which is being run by some priests of a family.
