J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Mufti Sayeed — a CM easily accessible to people
Jammu, December 1
The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has earned the distinction of a leader easily accessible to common people. As head of the government, he has, during the past two years, seen to it that he does not carry any “awe” around him when people and political leaders of different hue throng his residence or office chambers.

Hospitals yet  to install incinerators
Jammu, December 1
Government and private hospitals and also nursing homes in Jammu and Kashmir have failed to meet the deadline of installing incinerators for disposal of the lethal bio-medical waste. This was disclosed by the Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board, Mr S.D. Swatantara at a meeting of the advisory committee of the board here today.

Recreational amenities for troops
Jammu, December 1
With a view to removing stress and strain among troops deployed in the difficult areas to fight terrorism, Lt-Gen Ashok Kapur, GOC, 16 Corps, yesterday inaugurated an institute for recreation of JCOs and other ranks of the Nagrota Garrison.

SAD welcomes J.J. Singh’s appointment
Jammu, December 1
The state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal has hailed the decision of the Centre to appoint Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh as the next chief of the Army. In a statement issued here today, it said all communities had welcomed the decision and the Sikhs in particular felt elated.

Mufti Sayeed — a CM easily accessible to people
M.L.Kak

Jammu, December 1
The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has earned the distinction of a leader easily accessible to common people. As head of the government, he has, during the past two years, seen to it that he does not carry any “awe” around him when people and political leaders of different hue throng his residence or office chambers.

Those who have watched him from close quarters say that the Mufti has a peculiar style of functioning while he is on official tour of villages or district headquarters. One police officer said, “The Chief Minister does not like his security guards to keep groups of people at an arms length while they are keen to meet him.”

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said, “The Mufti meets four to six delegations of people a day either at his residence or in his office chambers.” According to these sources, the Mufti adopts a people-friendly face when those seeking his assistance in the redressal of their problems meet him.

He is a patient listener and ensures that the commitments he makes to those who call on him are fulfilled. One officer said those promises that had remained unfulfilled were the result of the “we-care-least attitude” of the government agencies concerned to which the cases were referred.

Interacting with groups of people from remote areas of the state, the Chief Minister has been seen making attempts at befriending them. He invariably is seen placing his hand on the shoulder of one or the other person enquiring about the welfare of their family members.

A Minister of State, belonging to the Congress, confessed that the coalition government would have tottered by now had not the Mufti played a balancing role, preventing one group from indulging in mudslinging against the other.

The minister said, “We appreciate the Mufti’s power to absorb criticism within the coalition circle.” In this context he referred to a sustained campaign launched by the Panthers Party chief, Prof Bhim Singh, against the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues. “We in the Congress suggested to him to throw out the Panthers Party, whose four MLAs support the government and two of them are members in the Council of Ministers, but the Chief Minister maintained his cool.” The result was the Panthers Party’s campaign has got “diluted”.

However, the “gentleman” in Mufti Sayeed is said to have promoted “administrative lethargy.” The much talked about accountability seems to be missing in the Civil Secretariat and other government departments. A senior National Conference leader said, “Yes, there were corrupt practices during our rule. But the level of corruption in the state during the past two years has touched a new high.”

He even accused ministerial colleagues of the Mufti of basing their transfer policy on the quantum of money they get for each case.

However, the PDP circles argue that Mufti Sayeed alone has been able to keep the ruling coalition intact despite inherent contradictions. These circles said that it was the Mufti who could on the one hand keep the Congress high command in good humour while on the other hand he had maintained a close rapport with the erstwhile BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

According to these circles, if the Mufti is replaced by some Congress leader as the Chief Minister, after the expiry of three years as provided in the agreement reached between the two sides at the time of the formation of the government two years ago, the ruling coalition may not be in a position to complete its tenure of six years.

Hospitals yet to install incinerators
Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 1
Government and private hospitals and also nursing homes in Jammu and Kashmir have failed to meet the deadline of installing incinerators for disposal of the lethal bio-medical waste. This was disclosed by the Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board (PCB), Mr S.D. Swatantara at a meeting of the advisory committee of the board here today.

He said that the cut-off date for installing incinerators, auto-clave and microwave system for hospitals and nursing homes in the towns with a population of below 30 lakh ended on December 31, 2002. However, hardly anything has so far been done by the government and private healthcare establishments in this regard.

The Secretary, Forests and Environment, Mrs Sonali Kumar, who presided over the meeting, took serious note of the situation and ordered that the rules should be implemented in letter and in spirit and strict action taken against the violators.

It is worth mentioning here that the PCB has time and again been sending notices to hospitals, clinics and nursing homes to take steps for scientific disposal of bio-medical waste, but there was hardly any response to this. The PCB had some time ago sent such notices to over 300 hospitals, nursing homes and clinics that were throwing the bio-medical waste in the open or in the riverbeds.

Recreational amenities for troops
Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 1
With a view to removing stress and strain among troops deployed in the difficult areas to fight terrorism, Lt-Gen Ashok Kapur, GOC, 16 Corps, yesterday inaugurated an institute for recreation of JCOs and other ranks of the Nagrota Garrison.

With the Army deployed in counter-terrorism role where troops are continuously under stress while on duty to safeguard the integrity of the nation, the need for them to unwind is of paramount importance.

The institute that will ameliorate the quality of life of these ranks is very aptly named Dilkhush Institute.

The institute is providing a wide plethora of recreational amenities under one roof for multifaceted development. These include a state-of-the-art gymnasium, library, toys kemp, indoor and outdoor games.

The institute also has an aesthetic anteroom, bar and cafeteria.

SAD welcomes J.J. Singh’s appointment
Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 1
The state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has hailed the decision of the Centre to appoint Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh as the next chief of the Army. In a statement issued here today, it said all communities had welcomed the decision and the Sikhs in particular felt elated.

The decision to appoint Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh as the next chief would strengthen the secular fabric of the country, it said.