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Low participation of women in job scheme
State to have super speciality hospitals
Moderate Muslims snub ‘divisive elements’
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E-learning to empower women in Poonch
Council bans anti-personnel mines
Office of Ajmer blast accused raided
Navratra celebrations in full swing at Katra
Secretariat to close from October 26
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Low participation of women in job scheme
Srinagar, October 19 Against the national average of 40 per cent for women’s participation in this scheme, it stands only slightly above 4 per cent. But he added that it also depended upon the social milieu and in some tribal areas more women were taking part than men. He said NREGA would be covering all districts of country from April 1, 2008, and J&K had shown a considerable improvement in the utilisation of funds for centrally-sponsored schemes. The minister, who belongs to the Lalu Yadav-led RJD and is known for his rustic but upfront manners, told the gathering at the Editors' Conference that development required a pragmatic than rhetoric approach. He said militancy in the valley had a lot to do with the endemic unemployment and rural poverty. Their probe had revealed that unemployed youth were often paid by militant organisations to throw bombs, he said. He, however, struck a positive note and said unlike other social development schemes, NREGA was not facing threats from militants or Naxalites. It directly involved villagers as workers and this had helped the scheme, he said, unlike the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
(PMGSY) which had been hit in several states as militants demanded cut from contractors. NREGA was also doing fine in Naxal-affected states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, he said. When asked which states were best and worst performing states in
NREGA, he named Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by the Opposition BJP. The minister had little hesitation in naming Bihar as the most laggard state. Ruled by Nitish Kumar, a bete noire of Singh's mentor Lalu Yadav, Bihar often found mention in Singh's interaction and he humourously said he wrote more complaining letters to Nitish Kumar than any other state. |
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State to have super speciality hospitals
Srinagar, October 19 It was jointly inaugurated by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and union minister for rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. Jammu and Kashmir minister for health and medical education Mangat Ram Sharma said health was a priority sector in the state and all possible measures had been initiated to provide improved medicare facilities to the people. Apart from improving the existing heath infrastructure, initiative had been taken to set up super speciality health institutions. Two such hospitals would come up in the state, he added. In his inaugural address, the union minister said there had been 48 per cent hike in expenditures on rural developmental schemes in the past three years. A sum of Rs 225 lakh crore would be spent on rural developmental schemes in the 11th Plan. The central government wanted that employment was available to rural population and they had all basic facilities like road connectivity, potable water and health care. During the conference, interactive sessions dedicated to rural development, education and the railways were held. In the first session, Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh interacted with the visiting editors and mediapersons about the various rural developmental schemes and overall scenario in rural development sector. The second session was presided over by union minister of state for human resources development M. A. A. Fatmi. He talked about the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Mid-day Meal scheme. He announced setting up of 51 Kastoorba Gandhi Awasi Vidyalayas on the pattern of Kendriya Vidyalayas. |
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Moderate Muslims snub ‘divisive elements’
Udhampur, October 19 The way National Conference leader and Kishtwar MLA Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo snubbed supporters of Sayed Ali Shah Geelani during a religious function was a clear indication that moderate group had made up its mind to deal divisive elements with an iron hand. Political secretary of Geelani, Noor Mohammed Fayaz during his visit to Kishtwar had tried to exploit sentiments of people by raking up some political issues at a religious function. Kitchoo, who was also present at the function,snubbed Fayaz and warned him against spreading communal propaganda in Kishtwar. Kitchloo made it clear that secular people of Kishtwar would not allow such forces to enter the town in future. A group of youths tried to defend Fayaz, but to no avail as a majority of the people present there opposed an attempt to create communal tension in the town where Hindus and Muslims lived. This is the third attempt of fundamentalist groups in three years which was foiled by moderate Muslims. “We are living in an atmosphere of communal harmony and will not allow plans of divisive forces to succeed in Kishtwar'', asserted Kitchloo. Kitchloo regretted that leaders of some national parties were present on the occasion when Fayaz was delivering a provocative speech in the function. “Leaders of so-called national parties were mute spectators when hawkish elements were misusing religious platform to create communal division'', he rued and suggested that all secular and moderate groups had jointly to face the challenge of fundamentalist forces. Meanwhile, the authorities have different reasons not to take action against these fundamentalist forces. “We don't want to make them heroes by taking action against them'', said a senior officer on the condition of anonymity, adding, “it is a policy matter not to take action against any separatist leader unless they involve in any violence or militant activity''.
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E-learning to empower women in Poonch
Poonch, October 19 The JU authorities said the course would focus on educating women of this area about the use of computer and Internet and also ensure that they got the most benefits out of it. They disclosed that this 50-day duration certificate course was not only job oriented, but would also result in women empowerment in the district. The course, first of its kind, to be launched in Poonch is witnessing women, especially students and housewives, waiting anxiously for its start. “Television is the only window to the outside world for us. But once this course starts, we can know much about the world, especially the women issues across the globe”, said Syma Sharief Khan, a medical student at Government Post Graduate College, Poonch. “This course will definitely empower the women in this backward district”. Meenakshi Kilam, director, Colleges Development and Centre for Quality Assurance, told The Tribune that the course would be open for all women, including those who had left education due to some reasons. “We are hoping that women from far-off places in Poonch will come forward to get benefit from this job-oriented course”, Kilam said. “Since we will be teaching them the use of the computer and Internet, they can look for the ways adopted by women for their empowerment across the world”, she added.
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Council bans anti-personnel mines
Srinagar, October 19 He said the decision had been taken as a result of a year-long series of activities carried out in partnership with the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a Srinagar-based ICBL member. The UJC includes 13 armed Kashmiri groups. Five other non-Kashmiri groups have ‘observer’ status, and UJC directives are binding upon them. “The UJC’s pledge is yet another sign of the growing acceptance of the norm which prohibits antipersonnel mines because of their indiscriminate nature,” said Sylvie Brigot, executive director of the ICBL. Most mines in Kashmir are planted near Line of Control. In its declaration, the UJC has stated that the use of anti-personnel mines is equivalent to blind terror and it is prohibited under Islam. In recent years, some of the members, particularly Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba, have used command-detonated improvised explosive devices. — TNS
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Office of Ajmer blast accused raided
Rajouri, October 19 Sources said raids were conducted at the offices of the NGO, Society for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes at Rajouri and Poonch, after its founder Ghulam Nabi Shahban of Baramulla in north Kashmir and his driver Surjit Singh were arrested by the Rajasthan police as suspects in the Ajmer blasts. Shahban had reportedly told the Rajasthan police during interrogation that he ran an NGO with offices in Rajouri and Poonch, police sources said. The sources said acting on the information from the Rajasthan police, a police team here raided the office of an NGO running from a newly-constructed house of a village sarpanch, Noor Hussain of Thudi, at Jawahar Nagar. The police conducted searches in the office of the NGO in the presence of a magistrate, but found nothing suggesting Shaban’s links with the Ajmer blasts. |
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Navratra celebrations in full swing at Katra
Udhampur, October 19 Apart from religious activities, campaigns have also been launched to create civic sense among devotees as well as locals. Taking advantage of the presence of thousands of devotees at Katra during Navratras, students of more than 25 government and private educational institutions launched campaign to educate people about ecological degradation. Students took out the procession giving message of preserving environment. Meanwhile, celebrations are in a full swing in Katra. Religious fervour can be seen everywhere with thousands of devotees at various temples situated at Katra from the wee hours of the festival.
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Secretariat to close from October 26
Srinagar, October 19 The civil secretariat, housing offices of the Chief Minister, his ministerial colleagues and commissioner secretaries of various state government departments, here will also remain closed from that day and reopen for the winter months in Jammu on November 5.
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