Jammu, September 30
All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi today said there should be no politics over relief and rehabilitation process in the flood-ravaged J&K.

In an informal interaction with mediapersons after distributing relief to some flood-affected families in Jammu province here, Sonia said it was need of the hour that everyone should work for the rehabilitation of the affected families.

“There should be no politics over relief,” she said when asked about the performance of the Omar Abdullah-led government in tackling the flood situation. “The state government, NGOs and Congress workers, especially of the Youth Congress, have done an efficient job to mitigate miseries of the people after the devastating floods,” she said but hastened to add that more had to be done for the affected people.

“I visited different areas of the Kashmir valley yesterday and later met with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,” Congress president said, adding that she was told by the CM that a report about the damage had been prepared by the state and it would be submitted to the Centre soon.

She said the floods and incessant rain had caused extensive damage. “Immediate relief should be given to all the affected families,” she said. “The larger question is how to rehabilitate the affected families,” she said, adding that both the Centre and the state government must work tirelessly to rehabilitate the flood-hit families.

Sonia and Rahul also interacted with bereaved families of the Nowshera bus mishap.

Srinagar, September 30
Senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and an influential Shia cleric Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (72) passed away this morning, succumbing to an-year long illness at his residence in Srinagar today.

Ansari, a law maker from north Kashmir's Pattan constituency, was suffering from liver ailment, family sources said. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Ansari studied Islamic theology in Iran, Egypt and Iraq. He was an important Shia leader who had a country-wide appeal among the people of his sect.

"Kashmir has been left bereft of a seasoned politician, great Islamic scholar, wonderful orator and an outspoken advocate of unity and dialogue," a PDP leader said.

As the news about his death spread, thousands of his supporters thronged his residence in Qamarwari locality. The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also visited Ansari's residence and expressed his solidarity with the bereaved family.

The funeral procession started from Qamarwari and thousands of mourners were seen wailing to mourn the death of Ansari. Police had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth movement of the mourners up to Zadibal where he was laid to rest.

"I have not seen such a massive funeral procession in my lifetime," said Syed Imran, 28, a resident of old city. Nearly 40,000 people attended his funeral prayers.

The separatist leader Abbas Ansari, also a religious leader and cousin of Moulvi Iftikhar, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and other party leaders attended the funeral prayers. Many Shia-dominated localities in Srinagar and other districts of valley observed a shutdown to mourn the death of Ansari.

A Shia leader and a business tycoon, Ansari began his political career in 1970s when he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Srinagar constituency. Ansari was nominated as an MLC in 1973 on the Congress ticket but switched to Janata Party in 1977. He however, returned to the Congress. He was also a confidant of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and then Sonia Gandhi.

He won the 1996 elections on Congress ticket from Pattan and became a Housing and Urban Development Minister in Farooq Abdullah's Cabinet. Ansari joined the NC in 2002 and was re-elected from Pattan.

In 2005, Ansari quit the NC to join the PDP. In 2008 Assembly elections he won on PDP's mandate from Pattan. He held the charge of senior vice-president in the PDP.

Being a staunch pro-India politician, Ansari thrice escaped assassination attempts by militants.

In June 2000, Ansari escaped unhurt, when an IED exploded, killing 14 villagers and injuring dozens others during a religious congregation at Gund Khwaja Qasim in Pattan.

Political career Was elected to the J&K Legislative Assembly from Pattan Constituency on Congress ticket Was Congress Legislature Party Leader (CLP) from 1983-1987; Re-elected as Member J&K Legislative Assembly in 1996 from Pattan and inducted as a minister Was again appointed a minister from April 2002 to October 2002; Joined the National Conference in 2002, but quit the party in 2005. Joined PDP and was elected to J&K Legislative Assembly from Pattan constituency in 2008 for the fourth time.

Srinagar, September 30
Governor NN Vohra has expressed grief over the demise of Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Member of Legislative Assembly and president of the All J&K Shia Association.

In the condolence message, the Governor has expressed sadness on the demise of Ansari, whom he had known for many years. The Governor prayed for peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also expressed deep grief over the death of the religious leader, former minister and sitting legislator. Ansari passed away here this morning.

Omar visited the residence of the late leader, expressed his sympathy with the bereaved family, offered “fateh” and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.

“Omar Abdullah also expressed solidarity with the devotees and followers of the late religious leader and conveyed his condolences to them in this hour of grief,” an official spokesman said.

Meanwhile, various political parties have condoled the death of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker Ansari.

In a statement, party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and president Mehbooba Mufti termed Ansari’s death a great loss to society. “Moulvi Sahib was a versatile personality who will always be remembered for his impeccability and praise-worthy services to society,” they said.

The PDP leaders said Ansari was not only a religious and spiritual leader of great repute but also an outstanding political statesman.

As a young scholar, he had studied in Iraq and Iran and was a man of words, with an in-depth knowledge on varied subjects, ranging from politics and history to religious philosophy, the leaders added.

“With the death of Moulvi Sahib, the state has lost a seasoned politician, outstanding Islamic scholar, wonderful orator and an outspoken advocate of unity,” they said.

Recalling his long association with the leader, Mufti said Moulvi Sahib had been a lifelong friend and associate who would always be missed.

Immediately on hearing about the Shia cleric’s death, the PDP patron and his wife, party president Mehbooba Mufti, Members of Parliament, Muzzafar Hussain Beigh and Tariq Hameed Karra, legislators and senior leaders rushed to his residence to share the grief with his family.

The ruling National Conference (NC) also condoled the PDP leader’s death. “His death has left a void that will be long felt in the religious and political arena of the state,” National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said in a condolence message.

Farooq extended his heartfelt condolences to the family and the followers of Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari and prayed for peace to the departed soul. He termed Ansari’s contributions as a religious scholar and public representative as historic and commendable and said he was personally grieved by the loss.

Senior NC leader Sheikh Nazir Ahmed has also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family and the followers of Ansari.

NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, additional general secretary Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani and spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu have also expressed their grief and sorrow over Ansari’s death and extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

State Congress chief Saifuddin Soz has termed Ansari’s death a great loss. “Ansari’s was one of senior most political leaders of J&K and his death has created a void in the state which can never be filled. His death is a great loss to the state,” Soz said in a statment.

Jammu, September 30
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board today executed a Concession Agreement with Narayana Hrudayalaya Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, for starting a multi-specialty hospital at Kakriyal in Katra.

The agreement was signed at New Delhi by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the shrine board MK Bhandari and vice-chairman and group CEO, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, in the presence of Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the shrine board, and Devi Shetty, chairman of Narayana Hrudayalaya.

Others present at the event included E Sreedharan, SS Bloeria and Ashok Bhan, members of the shrine board.

Several years ago, the shrine board had decided to set up a super-specialty hospital at Kakriyal for providing high standard medical care to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Recognising the challenges involved in managing the operations of a large hospital and the difficulties in the initial years, particularly in securing the services of well-qualified and experienced medical professionals in varied disciplines to serve in a rural area, Vohra had told the CEO to explore the possibility of the shrine board entering into a meaningful partnership, on a public-private partnership basis, with a well-known hospital in the country.

The shrine board had approved of the approach and the Governor had set up a committee of the board to identify a partner.

After an extensive exercise, the shrine board decided that negotiations should be started to establish a long-term partnership with Narayana Hrudayalaya, a Bangalore-based health care chain which runs 27 hospitals all over the 
country.

To achieve the objective, a committee of board members was set up under the chairmanship of E Sreedharan, with SS Bloeria and Sudha Murthy as its members.

The shrine board, at its meeting held on July 29, accepted the recommendations of the Sreedharan Committee and the draft Concession Agreement prepared by it.

The decision cleared the way for the hospital project, on which the shrine board had already incurred an expenditure of Rs 200 crore.

Expressing pleasure over the conclusion of the agreement, the Governor observed that the functioning of the hospital would enable the board to make a major contribution towards the provision of quality medical care for the people of the state.

The Governor observed that, as per the discussions carried out with Narayana Hrudayalaya, he expected the hospital to develop into an excellent institution which shall provide quality services to the people of J&K.

He advised the shrine board CEO to start time-bound steps for a medical college and a nursing college being set up near to the hospital.

The CEO of the shrine board said all necessary steps for making the hospital operational were nearing completion and health facility was planned to be commissioned in October 2015.

He said the 230-bedded hospital shall have more than 20 different streams of medicine and surgery, which shall include cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, nephrology, urology, oncology, pulmonology, bone marrow transplant, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, trauma medicine, paediatrics and neonatology, obstetrics and gynaecology.

On road connectivity to the hospital, the Governor observed that with the completion of the four-laning of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway up to Udhampur within the next few months, the hospital would be one of the most conveniently approachable tertiary health care destinations for the people of J&K and also for those living in the adjoining states.

Expressing happiness on partnering with the shrine board for establishing a state-of-the-art hospital, Devi Shetty exuded confidence in not only time-bound steps being taken to start the hospital but also ensuring the development of a medical college and a nursing college in Kakriyal.

The Governor thanked Shetty for his personal interest in the finalisation of the Concession Agreement and appreciated all members of the shrine board for their continued support to the project.

He also expressed gratitude to Sreedharan, Sudha Murthy and SS Bloeria for their contribution in finalising the project.

Srinagar, September 30
An unidentified militant was killed in an ongoing operation at Afan Warnow Lolab, 90 km from Srinagar, in frontier Kupwara district today.

A police spokesman said the encounter began when a joint police and Army party was fired upon by militants during a search operation.

“Acting on specific information, a joint search operation was launched by the Kupwara police and the 18 Rashtriya Rifles,” a police spokesman said.

“The joint search party was fired upon and an encounter ensued. During the encounter, one unidentified militant was killed,” the spokesman said.

He said an AK-47 rifle, five magazines, 60 rounds, four matrix, two cell phones, one Global Positioning System and one UBGL grenade were recovered from the encounter site.

Defence sources said the search operation was still going on in the area as the security personnel suspected that more militants were hiding in the area.

“The slain militant had infiltrated recently. We expect that more militants are hiding in the area,” the police spokesman said.

“The number of militants is not known. The exchange of fire has stopped, but the search operation is being continued,” he said.

In the last three weeks, the Army has foiled three infiltration attempts and killed nine unidentified militants close to the Line of Control in Kupwara.

Three militants were killed in the Keran sector of Kupwara district on September 10. Two militants were killed in the Machil sector of the district a week later. Four militants were killed in the Tangdhar sector on September 20.

New Delhi, September 30
Gujjar leaders today called for imposing Governor's rule in the flood-hit state. They accused the state government of discriminating against the community and not being able to provide relief to the victims.

They demanded dissolution of the Omar Abdullah-led government and to place the state under the Governor's rule so that he could take over the relief and rehabilitation work.

"The state leaders of political parties have been indulging in discrimination regarding the relief distribution work which is underway in the flood-hit areas. The present government has not undertaken any initiative to count the exact bodies of the flood victims," said Eshfaq-Ur-Rehman Poswal, state president of the Bharatiya Gujjar Mahasabha.

Highlighting the apathy of the present government, the leaders alleged that the relief fund being donated by the people of the country was not reaching the victims.

"The people of the Gujjar community in the state and those living in the border areas of Rajasthan have helped by providing relief to victims and rescued those who were stuck in the floods. The government should, therefore, launch a recruitment drive for the Gujjar community in the paramilitary forces and the police," said Jagdish Lohiya, president of the Akhil Bhartiya Gujjar Sabha.

The leaders also urged the government to place the Gujjar community in Rajasthan under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

"We have been fighting for reservation since 2002. The condition of our community in Rajasthan is getting worse as they are most illiterate and poor people. We want the state government to give us reservation in the ST category and in government jobs," said Mohan Lal Verman State President of Rajasthan Gujjar Mahasabha.

Jammu, September 30
Life is yet to fully come back on track in Jammu district after torrential rain and floods. More than 3,06,000 people in the most populated district of the state are yet to be paid relief for the damage.

When the Tawi and the Chenab were flowing ferociously, as many as 79,707 households in Jammu district were affected and huge damage caused to property.

The devastation was unprecedented from the Phalian Mandal area on the outskirts of Jammu to Akhnoor and Khour areas.

Never before did the mighty Chenab become so dangerous for the people of Akhnoor and Khour and the calm Tawi rise above the danger mark.

Low-lying areas within Jammu city suffered huge damage and several houses were washed away, leaving the inhabitants homeless.

Devastation was witnessed in the border areas of RS Pura, Suchetgarh and Bishnah in Jammu district and the paddy crop was totally destroyed.

As many as 817 of the 912 villages in Jammu district were affected in the floods. There were reports of 10 deaths and 50 persons receiving injuries.

Two bridges, 1,240 roads, 2,959 water supply schemes, 637 Power Development Department schemes and 2,924 other schemes were affected.

The paddy crop on thousands of hectares was either buried under silt or washed away in the floods, leaving farmers high and dry.

Jammu district is one of the major sources of rice in the state. With paddy farmers suffering losses, there will be a negative impact on rice production in the state.

Relief distribution in the district has not gathered pace and people are yet to receive immediate relief. Six tonnes of ration has been distributed.

Forty tents and 6,229 blankets have been distributed. Medical camps have been organised in parts of the district and medicines given.

During the rescue operation, 47 boats were deployed and 3,400 people rescued by the Army and the NDRF.

No respite in sight More than 3,06,000 people in Jammu, most populated district of the state, yet to be paid compensation for losses Work has not gathered pace despite distribution of medicines, ration, tents, blankets

Jammu, September 30
Congress MLA from Inderwal Ghulam Mohammad Saroori Tuesday concluded his 20-day tour of flood-affected Srinagar areas.

Saroori said not only had public and private property been damaged, but crops, horticultural produce, farms and orchards affected badly as well.

He urged the government to waive taxes on construction material and agricultural and horticultural loans so that people could rebuild their homes and restore inundated land under MGNREGA.

He said the Congress had set up around 30 medical camps across affected areas and more camps were likely in other places. He assured the people of all possible help from the party to rebuild Kashmir.

He met party national vice-president Rahul Gandhi and briefed him about the situation. Saroori urged Rahul Gandhi to take up the issue of a special package with the Centre.

Saroori and his team met Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad at his Haiderpora residence in Srinagar. Azad told them to educate people about water-borne and other communicable diseases.

Pulwama, September 30
Leaders of the BJP Yuva Morcha Tuesday visited flood-affected areas of Pulwama district and assessed losses.

The team visited villages such as Pahoo, Ratnipora, Padgampora, Malangpora, Dakripora, Gulzarpora, Token, Panzgam, Litter, Naina, Nadoo, Gulbugh and Sangam and interacted with the flood-hit people.

The BJP team was led by state president of the the wing Narendra Raina. The other party leaders included Munesh Sharma, Mohammad Maqbool Dar, Tawseef Ahmad and Peerzada Khursheed Ahmad.

“The motive of the visit was to assess the loss of property so that party could start its own relief campaign,” said Mohammad Maqbool Dar, district president of the BJP Yuva Morcha in Pulwama.

He said people in flood-hit areas of Pulwama were in a miserable condition and lacked basic necessities such as ration and drinking water.

The BJP team criticised the government for its failure to provide relief and rehabilitation to flood-affected people.

Srinagar, September 30
When almost 70 per cent of Srinagar city was in the grip of the worst floods of the century, four Kashmiri doctors working in Delhi set out on a mission to help those afflicted with diseases and in dire need of medicines in the Valley.

Dr Aamir, Dr Qayoom, Dr Faizan Kamili and Dr Sadaf Ali, all working with an associated hospital of Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi, with no contact with their relatives in Kashmir, decided to land in the Valley with essential food and medicine supplies on September 13 which were purchased with the donation money contributed by the students and one-day salary of staff teachers of Jamia Hamdard varsity.

“On a single day, relief money amounting to Rs 2 crore was collected along with clothes given by the students at the university. We took all supplies and arrived here. Our priority areas were the hospitals and residential areas of Jawahar Nagar, Bemina, Qamarwari and Maharaji Bazar, which were worst hit and help had not reached there. We supplied medical aid such as antibiotics, ointments and expectorants at that time,” Dr Aamir said.

Dr Aamir along with three other doctors, including a woman doctor, traversed through the flooded Srinagar city as well as south Kashmir districts of Kulgam and Pulwama in boats, trucks, SUVs and climbing ropes to reach out to the people who required medicinal aid.

“Right from remote Larwa, Ratnipora villages of Pulwama district in south Kashmir to the Iqbalabad colony of Bemina in central Srinagar, we went door-to-door to give as well as administer medicines to those who had fallen sick during the floods,” Dr Kamili said. He said the next step was to hold medical camps at various places where people sought prescriptions as well as medicines and the state administration help was yet to reach.

Firdous Wani, Registrar of Jamia Hamdard University, who is currently leading a team of volunteers of the university and is in Srinagar, said the four doctors have set an example for others.

Firdous along with his team will visit Kashmir University, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, as well as Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, where they will handover important vaccines, antibiotics, herbal supplements as well as injections for pregnant mothers.

"We got in touch with the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development who have communicated to us that the Valley has shortage of medical aid for pregnant women and handed over to us 20 to 25 bottles of injections which we will deliver at SKIMS," Wani said. 

Srinagar, September 30
Though water has receded from the business hub of the Valley, Lal Chowk, many important book stores located in the city centre have nothing really left to save or sell.

Amid the eerie silence, an interesting mix of crowd of young and old draws close to a book stall which has been put up by Geeco Stationers, a popular bookshop, which is currently offering free-of-cost books to interested readers.

Even if books are soiled, people say drying them in the sun for some days will make their condition better.

“There are many copies of history, architecture, fiction as well as religious books here which should not be simply thrown away. We will look into ways of preserving these and making them at least available for the students,” a group of Kashmir University students said.

Some other bookstores of the Valley, including Kitab Manzil, Ali Mohammad Bookstore and JK Stationers, have also suffered tremendous damage to their book collections and the owners say that it is almost impossible to retrieve them.

“Obviously nobody is going to buy these damaged books. Hence, it is a good idea to give them away for free. We can also give the books to any public library or NGOs,” said Feroz, a salesperson at JK Stationers.

Environmentalists suggest paper recycling for completely damaged books so that they can be put to other uses.

“We should not waste our paper at any cost. Even if treasure of knowledge has been lost, we should conceive an alternative way of at least saving the paper and recycling it,” said Azra, a bio-sciences teacher.

Srinagar, September 30
Several residential neighbourhoods in Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar, continue to remain inundated in floodwater as the state government has failed to drain the floodwater out for the fourth consecutive week now.

The neighbourhoods of Bemina, Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Kursu, Tengpora and Batamaloo - which are house to thousands of families - continue to remain submerged with the water level now ranging from two to three feet. These localities were flooded by a devastating deluge on the intervening night of September 6-7.

In Bemina, a residential neighbourhood on city outskirts which is a home to nearly 8,000 families, dozens of colonies continue to remain inundated as residents have to wade through knee-deep floodwater to buy essential commodities, exposing them to health hazards.

The residents have held several protests in recent days to demand draining out of floodwater from the area. The protesters blocked traffic for several hours but no government official came to assure them anything.

The situation is similar in Tengpora and in parts of Batamaloo, where angry residents have been demanding immediate dewatering. Several residents of Tengpora are living under tents on a roadside.

In the upscale Raj Bagh and Jawahar Nagar localities, which were the worst affected neighbourhoods, thousands of residents have been displaced and are unable to return due to government's inability to drain out the floodwater.

The state government has also breached roads around these neighbourhoods to drain out water, but has so far been unable to clear these areas. All these flooded neighbourhoods are also without electricity and clean drinking water facilities.

An official of the Drainage Department said nearly all dewatering stations in the city were made defunct when the floods ravaged the region. "We have been able to restart many of them, but a lot of them are not functional yet," the official, pleading anonymity, said.

The official further said many mobile pumps pressed into service were "of little use" as they were designed for irrigation purposes. "They can only be used for clean water. The floodwater is polluted with a lot of waste which is choking the pumps," he said.

In deep trouble The neighbourhoods of Bemina, Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Kursu, Tengpora and Batamaloo that house thousands of families continue to remain submerged with water level now ranging from two to three feet In Bemina, a residential neighbourhood on city outskirts, which is a home to nearly 8,000 families, dozens of colonies continue to remain inundated as residents have to wade through knee-deep floodwater to buy essential commodities, exposing them to health hazards

Srinagar, September 30
Residents have decried the claims of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) of removing record garbage after the recent floods. Locals say a lot more is needed to be done before the city becomes completely clean.

SMC Commissioner GN Qasba, who has been regularly issuing statements regarding garbage collection, today wrote on his Facebook page that from September 11 to 28, over 19,571 metric tonnes of waste/garbage was removed and disposed of scientifically.

He also stated that 44,000 litres of disinfectants had been used during the sanitation drive. As the SMC during the past few days has been issuing frequent updates of “record” garbage collection in the aftermath of the floods, locals have pointed out that several areas are still full of filth.

“We do not need cubic metre and tonnes of garbage to be cleared, we need maximum area to be cleaned so that people are relieved of fear of spreading of epidemics which is spread due to heaps of garbage,” said Malik Mohd Amin in reaction to the post.

Another local, Jameel Naqash, commented: “We have been paying you and your staff to do this work. What is so great about it. You are supposed to maintain cleanliness in all good and bad times.” Several others pointed out that garbage had not been collected from many other areas, while demanding that the SMC should pay attention to all parts of the city.

However, several locals also appreciated the work done by the SMC in the time of crisis. “In the time of crisis, the SMC proved its worth under your (Qasba’s) dynamic leadership with whatever little resources you had,” said Rauf Tramboo.

Srinagar, September 30
Police Public School, Bemina, which was badly affected in the recent floods in the city, will reopen on October 9. Debris has been cleaned from the school in a week-long cleanliness drive that was undertaken by the school staff and police personnel.

“All students of Police Public School, Bemina, are being informed to attend the school from October 9,” a police spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the police have appealed to the people to inform them in case of overpricing by some shopkeepers. — TNS

Jammu, September 30
On World Heart Day yesterday, an awareness drive on prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases was organised for serving Army personnel and their families in the form of a symposium and exhibition at 166 Military Hospital in Jammu.

The chief guest at the event was Brigadier MM Harjai, Commandant of 166 Military Hospital, said a defence spokesperson.

Lt Col Vivek Gupta, Officer Commanding, 136 SHO (L), delivered a lecture, focusing on the current year's theme, "Heart-Healthy Environment", the places in which we live, work and play should not increase our risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Heart Day was held to drive home the message that heart problems could be prevented. The event aimed at improving health globally by encouraging people to make lifestyle changes and educating them about ways to be good to their heart and preventive measures to be taken that reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, he said.

The symposium and exhibition benefited the troops and families of the Jammu garrison, he added.

Jammu, September 30
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has asked the Election Commission of India to conduct early elections in Jammu and Kashmir before the tenure of the Assembly expires.

State BSP president Tulsi Dass Langeh and general secretary Rakesh Wazir said in a press note that various political parties had been playing politics on relief and rehabilitation funds for flood victims.

“Complaints are pouring in that some parties are trying to get mileage out of relief distribution and work is being hampered,” the BSP leaders said.

They added that the BSP was of the opinion that state Assembly elections should be announced immediately to stop the politicking.

“Announcing elections will enforce the model code of conduct and parties will no longer be allowed to misuse funds meant for relief and rehabilitation,” they said.

They said further relief and rehabilitation work should be left to the next government so that there was no politics. — TNS

Srinagar, September 30
A woman (60) was injured in a road accident in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district last evening, the police said.

An Alto K-10 hit and injured the woman, identified as Khatija, a resident of Shurat in Kulgam. She was shifted to a hospital, the police said.

A case has been registered in this regard.

Meanwhile, the police in Budgam district recovered a body of a youth from the Ferozpora stream at Tantreypora in Magam. The body was identified to be of Syed Kulbi, a resident of Tantreypora. — TNS

Jammu, September 30
Claiming that some tobacco promoting firms are finding some innovative ways to be involved with schoolchildren, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has advised its affiliated schools not to allow its students to participate in events sponsored by any firm or a subsidiary of a firm which promotes the use of tobacco in any form.

Sources said CBSE had instructed principals that schools/students should not accept any prize or scholarship instituted by a tobacco-promoting firm. It also recommended that schools should not allow any institution using brand name, emblem, trademark, logo or trade insignia or any other distinct feature directly/indirectly connected with tobacco products to be associated with students.

“The board wishes to highlight the fact that tobacco consumption remains a serious health issue in our society and among all the steps that could be taken to prevent the consumption of tobacco the most productive is perhaps to prevent young persons from acquiring the habit of consumption of tobacco,” a CBSE statement said.

“There are powerful social, environmental, advertising, and marketing factors responsible for initiating and sustaining tobacco use among youth. Nevertheless, the board still considers that this epidemic can be prevented by a sustained multi-pronged campaign involving community at large,” it added.

The CBSE said the role of its affiliated schools assumes paramount significance. They needed to ensure that there continued to be the widest possible exposure to harmful effects of tobacco and anti-tobacco campaigns in schools by involving students in myriad activities under health and wellness club, eco clubs and various cocurricular activities as part of their annual calendar.

Sources claimed that CBSE-affiliated schools had been advised to display posters with information about the harmful effects of tobacco at prominent places in the school. Students should be encouraged to make their own posters on tobacco control themes.

The board has also advised schools to organise various competitions to create awareness against tobacco. Schools are once again directed to comply with and organise events to spread the message of protection from tobacco and its prevention.

Meanwhile, KCS Mehta, Principal, Army Public School (APS), Akhnoor, and Principal, Jammu Sahodaya Schools Complex (JSSC), an apex body of CBSE Schools in Jammu, has confirmed the development.

“Yes, all the CBSE affiliated schools have received circular in this regard. Our schools usually do not entertain tobacco firms to conduct any type of competitions, workshops, seminar etc,” Mehta said.

Jammu, September 30
Minibuses and auto-rickshaws continue to overload passengers on the outskirts of the winter capital of the state as the traffic police fails to check these violations which is inviting major accidents.

The traffic police might be showing extra vigil towards traffic violators in the city, but the rural belts are being ignored by the department. There is neither any check on overloading in Matadors (mini-buses), buses and autos, nor on bikers without helmet or cars without seatbelt, which is inviting accidents.

Schoolchildren can be seen hanging on the back of mini-buses with the help its rod and sitting on its rooftop. Kartik Sharma, a student of Class IX of Bajalta, said, “We don’t have any other option, but to hang on the matadors. There are limited mini-buses plying on this route and we cannot wait for hours for another one.”

“We are aware of the fact that it is risky. The administration should start some more vehicles on the route,” he added. Residents also blamed the administration and the traffic police for the violation of traffic norms.

Girdhari Lal, a resident of Tutein-di-Khui, said, “The traffic police hardly comes on this route, due to which drivers do not obey traffic rules. They are playing with the lives of the people, especially with schoolchildren.”

“At times the traffic police conduct surprise checking, but after getting some bribe they leave violators,” he alleged.The main reason behind accidents in the rural areas is overloading and rash driving. However, the residents also blamed bad condition of roads for it.

Pawan Parihar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Traffic, Jammu, said, “How far can we check such violations. We can only penalise such vehicle operators. But even after getting penalised, violators never refrain from indulging in the same.”

Jammu, September 30
For the population of 15 lakh, who get piped water supply from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, there are only two testing labs to check quality of water being supplied. However, an ambitious project to establish five more labs is entangled in tendering process for the last two years.

Bureaucratic red tape has delayed the establishment of crucial water testing laboratories in Jammu city which is exposing consumers to water-borne diseases.

Sources said lack of planning and corruption at various levels had kept lakhs of people from the direct benefit of safe drinking water.

In Jammu city, the labs are at Sittlee and Boria filtration plant, while one proposed at Dhonthly, Bakshi Nagar, Muthi, Gandhi Nagar and Kunjwani are awaiting approval despite the fact that tenders have been invited almost two years ago.

“It is simply an issue of taking decision. The department is slow in clearing the project, which can ensure safe drinking water for consumers. Tendering process is being deliberately delayed,” said a source.

Nearly 75 per cent of Centrally sponsored drinking water supply schemes in J&K are incomplete, exposing the inefficiency of government to spent massive dose of central funds it received in the last four years and an audit report of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has revealed that J&K was far behind in achieving the targets.

However, Chief Engineer, PHE, Sushil Aima said the process for the establishment of testing labs had been speeded up. “We have a full-fledged modern lab at Sittlee and Boria filtration plant and it is catering to the needs of people. Other will be established by the end of next year”.

As per the Census-2011, only 34 per cent of the total population in J&K has an access to safe drinking water with 64 per cent using tap water for drinking, but only 34.7 per cent get it from treated source.

Reasi, September 30
The five-day training programme on advanced horticultural techniques, organised by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Jammu, in collaboration with the Department of Horticulture, Udhampur, at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Reasi, under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture scheme, ended today. A total of 29 from Udhampur district participated in the programme along with officials and technicians of the Horticulture Department.

The camp was inaugurated on September 25 by Banarsi Lal, a subject matter specialist.

While addressing the farmers, he said they should grow horticultural crops for commercial purposes and motivated the farmers for entrepreneurship development in horticultural crops. He talked about high-yielding varieties of both temperate and subtropical fruits. He gave a detailed view of the scientific methods for planting the horticultural plants.

Sanjay Kaushal, a scientist of the KVK, talked about the practices involved in planting the horticultural plants and told the farmers that they could generate employment by growing the horticultural crops.

Shahid Ahmad, programme coordinator, gave details about the measures to be taken to prevent diseases of the horticultural crops. He recommended some chemicals for controlling the plant diseases.

Mandeep Singh Azad, another subject matter expert of the SKUAST, suggested to the farmers that they should use animal rotten farmyard manure or vermicompost for the horticultural plants and also emphasised on taking to organic horticulture.

Lalit Upadhaya, a SKUAST subject matter specialist, gave a detailed view of the site selection and layout of orchards.

Jammu, September 30
Delhi Public School (DPS), Jammu, organised a special assembly to pay tributes to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Floral tributes were paid to both leaders by the staff and students. It was followed by singing of Gandhiji’s favourite bhajans. Head boy Rattandeep Sharma, head girl Shreya Sharma and Kartik Malhotra of Class IV delivered speeches on the occasion.

An activity titled ‘Shram Dan’ was also organised where students actively participated. While highlighting the importance of Shram Dan, Meenu Gupta, headmistress of middle school, DPS, Jammu, made the students aware of the dignity of labour and cleanliness. She urged them to keep their school and city clean. Additional director/principal Dr D Joseph, DPS Jammu, appreciated the efforts of the students and stressed on three main aims of Mahatma Gandhi - truth, beauty and goodness.

The assembly came to an end after the National Anthem. Administrative staff and coordinators were also present on the occasion.

Jammu, September 30
A Services team has set a new record with “K2K”, a cycling expedition from Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world at 18,380 feet, to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the country.

Major Srinivas G of the Army and Squadron Leader Rohan Anand of the Air Force covered a distance of 4,000 km in 15 days and 22 hours.

They beat the previous record of 18 days and 17 hours, establishing a new record in the Limca Book of Records, said a defence spokesperson.

The “K2K” cycling expedition was flagged off from Khardung La in Leh by Lt Gen BS Negi, GOC of the 14 Corps, he added.

He said the riders rode treacherous terrain, snow-bound passes and patchy roads, braving inclement weather and gusty sea winds, to reach Kanyakumari.

The riders rode between 250 and 300 km a day, cycling between 15 and 17 hours a day on an average. This gave them sleep time of barely four hours a day.

The cyclists managed to negotiate five passes on the Leh-Manali route in a span of just 78 hours, which was a record in itself, the spokesperson added.

Jammu, September 30
Vodafone customers can now book their rail tickets on their cellphones without using internet as operator and Bharat BPO, the official Rail Sampark partner of the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), today announced a strategic partnership to facilitate online booking with Vodafone M-Pesa as payment option.

Vodafone M-Pesa, an unique mobile money transfer and payment service, has tied up with the Bharat BPO (BBPO) to enable this safe, secure and convenient ticketing transaction through mobile phone. The introduction of this service application will put an end to the long wait in queues at railway booking counters providing convenience to customers as they can now book e-tickets on the go anytime, from anywhere.

Customers will have to download the extremely user-friendly mobile application “139 Railways Reservation” only once, post which it does not require any data connection for registration or booking of tickets. Vodafone customers can download the application by sending an SMS “TICKET” to 111. Once accessed, the app prompts users with interactive and guided menu options towards booking tickets.

Vodafone M-Pesa customers can send in their booking details through the “139 Railways Reservation” app and only have to enter their M-PIN to authorise the transaction. Additionally, information on partial/full cancellation, PNR status, etc, can also be accessed through the mobile application. In case of cancellations, relevant refund will be credited to customers’ Vodafone M-Pesa wallet. The service is a highly secure one, available only through the mobile number which is registered with the IRCTC during the registration process.

The SMS-based booking on 139 is available for all feature phone customers. The application is also compatible with Android and J2ME handsets.