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BJP demands probe into poll malpractices
PDP ridicules poll rigging allegations |
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| Power pilferage costs J&K
Rs 1,000 crore Jammu, October 23 Despite tall claims of stemming out corruption by the Mufti-led coalition government, the authorities have failed to set things right in the power Development Department (PDD) where pilferage of electricity worth lakhs of rupees is continuing in connivance of the field staff.
2.25 lakh visit Vaishnodevi during Navratras
Beheaded body of woman found
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BJP demands probe into poll malpractices
Jammu, October 23 In a statement the state BJP Vice-President, Prof Hari Om, said the BJP was not only in agreement with the National Conference, but also demanded stern action against the collusion between the ruling coalition in the administration and the Election Observers who helped the Congress and the PDP to rig the by-elections and reduce the whole electoral exercise to a farce. He accused the election authorities of playing to the tunes of the anti-democratic Congress and the PDP and not taking any action on the repeated complaints made by the BJP, the National Conference, the BSP, the National Panthers Party regarding the misuse of the official machinery. He said all the parties had tried to attract the attention of the election authorities to the involvement of certain government officials in the election campaign and the reign of terror the ruling party candidates had let lose to intimidate and frighten the voters and workers. He lamented that instead of taking any notice of the complaints, the election authorities, ably backed by the state executive, allowed the ruling party candidates to capture the polling booths and indulge in bogus voting and tamper with the electronic voting
machines.
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PDP ridicules poll rigging allegations Srinagar, October 23 A spokesman for the PDP said NC leaders were only betraying their frustration by making such noises. He welcomed any inquiry into the NC allegations saying that the PDP was open to probe, as it had nothing to hide. He added that such a probe should also look into the frauds committed by the NC, which resulted in phenomenal destruction of Kashmir. The party, he said, not only changed the results but put participants, polling agents and other opponents into jail and tortured them. He criticised the former Chief Minister and his MP son for dragging the office of the Governor into politics. He said election-related complaints were to be made to the Chief Election Commission of India (ECI) and not the Governor, and the NC had exhausted that option without success. Senior NC leaders, including its patron and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and President Omar Abdullah, had a meeting with the Governor, Lt Gen S.K. Sinha, here yesterday with the demand of judicial probe into the alleged poll rigging by the PDP. “The ECI having turned down their allegations, the NC is now trying to drag the gubernatorial office into its cheap politics,” the spokesman said adding, that it only showed its frustration on the severe drubbing given to the party by the electorate. |
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Power pilferage costs J&K
Rs 1,000 crore Jammu, October 23 The malpractice in recovery of electricity tariff has resulted in the arrears crossing the Rs 1,000-crore mark. The fund-starved state government during the past two years has made desperate efforts to plug leakage of revenue in the PDD, but the field staff has refused to relent as it enjoys political patronage. The Minister for Power, Mr Sharief Niaz, has from time to time issued warnings, particularly to the meter readers and the line staff, but to no avail. According to sources, more than 10 lakh illegal electricity connections have been detected in the state. The practice in most parts of the state is that electricity meters have purposely not been installed in the premises of consumers, as a result a flat rate of tariff has been fixed leaving scope for malpractices. Wherever meters had been installed, there were allegations that the field staff had been trying to persuade the consumers to pay half of the metered tariff and get the meter reading reversed. There is always a lot of political pressure for posting of meter readers and line staff in the urban areas, particularly in the cites of Jammu, Srinagar and the district towns. Corruption has touched a new high in the PDD and a number of meter readers and subordinate staff are living a life of luxury. Things are equally bad at the higher level where no action was taken against the corrupt officials. Not only the ordinary consumers, but also the government departments are on the defaulters list of the PDD. Arrears amounting to more than Rs 500 crore are standing against at least 70 departments, including various units of the PDD. While consumption of electricity is higher in the Kashmir valley, realisation of tariff is less there than in the Jammu division. While a sum of Rs 118.22 crore was recovered from consumers in the Kashmir valley for 3441.13 million units of electricity supplied last year, the recovery was Rs 204.88 crore in Jammu for 2839.24 million units. Successive governments have failed to install tamper proof electricity meters. The Mufti government had assigned the work to the National Thermal Power Corporation, but the work was progressing at a snail's speed as the local staff was not cooperating. The previous government had to abandon the drive to install meters as the line staff allegedly provoked the consumers in certain areas to launch an agitation against the move. |
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2.25 lakh visit Vaishnodevi during Navratras
Jammu, October 23 Mr Rohit
Kansal, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the shrine board, said he was expecting that the last year’s record of 54 lakh pilgrims visiting the shrine would be broken this time as the number might touch 60 lakhs. He said for the first time a number of NRIs and foreigners visited the shrine during the Navratras. The board was planning to open information counters abroad to attract foreigners here. Mr Kansal said the initiative of the board to get the gold offerings minted into coins bearing the image of the deity had been a big success with souvenirs weighing about 2 kg being picked up every month by the devotees. With the number of pilgrims multiplying every year, the board had taken steps to further improve the infrastructural facilities. A 700-bed accommodation was inaugurated at Katra last month. Another yatri bhavan had been constructed near the shrine. The visit to the shrine could now be planned on internet, he said. Mr Kansal said among the celebrities who visited the shrine during the Navratras included the Governor, Lt-Gen (retd) S.K. Sinha, Sonal Mansingh, Sonu Nigam, Jagjit Singh and Vikas Mohan.
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Beheaded body of woman found
Srinagar, October 23 The beheaded body of a woman identified as
Malika, abducted two months back, was recovered from Astanmarg in the upper reaches of Harwan on the outskirts of Srinagar today, he said. Her upper limbs were severed.
Malika, a resident of Malnar, was abducted by ultras from Dagwan forest where she along with her husband Mutwali Khan was grazing cattle on August 23. Meanwhile, bullet-riddled body of Nissar Ahmad, who had been kidnapped by militants on Thursday night, was recovered from his village at Gursai top in Poonch last night. Two Hizbul Mujahideen ultras surrendered before the authorities at Mahore in Udhampur district last night.
— PTI |
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