Jammu, December 18
In view of the persistent demand from Gujjars for more micro-hydel projects, Governor Lt. General (retd) S.K. Sinha is likely to take up the issue at the highest-level in New Delhi soon.

The project for 1,000 micro-hydel projects in Jammu and Kashmir, conceived by General Sinha in 2004, was approved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Governor Sinha said, “As part of empowering rural population and providing non-conventional power in hitherto un-electrified border hamlets, about 1,000 micro projects have been established across the state by the Army. The project is based on the concept pioneered by Dr Anil Joshi in Uttrakhand.”

The Governor on an earlier visit had assured Gujjars and Bakerwals of Thanamadi and Rajouri, that the Army would consider the demand for additional projects, after determining their need and feasibility. The project had become popular with the people of remote and backward areas.

While reiterating that the state government had been doing a lot for the uplift and welfare of Gujjars and Bakerwals, General Sinha said the Army had also assisted the government in terms of various civic amenities, holding of medical camps, supplementing education and undertaking development projects.

Responding to the observations of village elders of Azmalabad, a remote pocket of Thanamadi in Rajouri district, that life in the border areas without the Army's presence was incomprehensible, the Governor said the Army was always ready to serve the people.

The villagers referred to the assistance provided by the Army in Poonch-Rajouri belt during natural calamities, especially in the wake of October 2005 earthquake besides, generating employment opportunities to skilled and unskilled people along with providing education facilities to their children.

As some micro-hydel projects were facing hassles in terms of management and technical difficulties, the Governor asked the Army authorities to resolve these difficulties. He expressed satisfaction over the functioning of the project at Azmalabad where a local had been trained by the Army in operation of the mechanised water mill generating 5 KW of electricity.

The project on completion was handed over to the village community which now managed its operation. A grinder had been attached to it which grinds corn for villagers at 70 paise per kg. During his visits to the Gujjar belts in the state, the Governor received an overwhelming response by the people for more such projects.

The novel project had been designed as an improvisation of traditional water mills. A turbine was superimposed on a Grat to provide 5 KW of electricity which generated light for 30 to 40 points at night besides, generating economic activity in the day. “It is a humble stride towards improving the quality of life in border belts”, Governor Sinha remarked.

Srinagar, December 18
Cold wave conditions due to cloudy sky, coupled with unscheduled power cuts, water shortage and price rise of woollen clothes and coal have affected life in the Kashmir valley.

People in Leh, Kargil and Dras, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia, continued to shiver after the temperature dipped to minus 16 degree Celsius.

After witnessing the coldest night with the mercury dipping to minus 5.4 degrees yesterday, the minimum temperature was normal today, a weather office spokesperson told the agency.

He said the night temperature was minus 2.1 degrees, which was normal because of cloudy sky.

However, due to the over cast conditions during the day, the maximum temperature at 2.30 pm was 3.6 degrees, he said, adding 8 degrees was being considered normal during this period of December.

If the sky remained cloudy during the night, the minimum temperature will rise while the day temperature will fall, he said. ''We expect western disturbances (WD),'' he said. Parts of Dal Lake remained partially frozen today because of drop in the day temperature due to icy cold winds sweeping the region.

The Dal Lake was totally frozen when the lowest temperature of minus 12.8 degrees was recorded on December 13, 1964. It is said a vehicle could cross the lake from one end to another over the ice. The lake was again frozen in 1986 when people walked and children played cricket and ice hockey over the frozen surface. The spokesperson said western disturbance from Iran and Iraq, through Afghanistan and Pakistan, passed the region last week. ''We expect the it again, which actually originates from the Arabian Sea, mostly Iran and Iraq and enters the state through Afghanistan and Pakistan very soon.'' He said its frequency increased during winter till March next year when it would again start decreasing.

Dras continued to shiver after the temperature dipped to minus 20 degrees C at some places.

At Leh and Kargil the minimum fell to minus 16 degrees. People at several places in the Kashmir valley took to streets in protest against unscheduled power cuts.

Power generation in the local hydel projects had dropped after considerable fall in the water level in rivers because of almost dry weather for the past three months. The state government was importing power from different states, including Jharkhand, to meet the local requirement.

People at several places also complained of water shortage.

The prices of woollen and other warm clothes had also increased while coal which was Rs 180 per bag last week was being sold at Rs 250 to Rs 300 per bag. — UNI

Jammu, December 18
Pre-Buddhist rock sculptures in Ladakh region in the state are dying a slow death, and are in a dire need of preservation, and if immediate steps were not taken, the country would lose 1,000 years of history.

Dr Phuntsog Dorjay, who did his Phd in the development of Buddhist art in Ladakh and is now a visiting lecturer in Humbolt University Berlin, Germany, had come to Jammu University to attend a conference on the Pre-Buddhist rock sculptures in Ladakh. He told The Tribune, “If no steps are taken, then we would certainly lose our heritage.”

Ladakh region, which was once promoted as mini Tibet by the Tourism Department for its active Buddhist monasteries and chapels, is believed to be the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Dorjay, Buddhism spread to Tibet from Ladakh.

“If you travel to Ladakh on the famous silk route, you would find many big and small rock sculptures there, dating back to many centuries BC. But these rock sculptures are in danger as at many places more than 50 per cent of these sculptures have been destroyed,” he added.

He blames lack of awareness amongst people about the importance of these sculptures and their preservation.

“These sculptures tell us about the condition of the neighboring countries at that time. These statutes are very important, but we are gradually losing them,” he added.

He feels that Buddhist scholars, who wrote about the history of Ladakh, skip the period from the 1st to 10th century AD, and put stress on the period from the 11th century AD, when Buddhism traveled from Ladakh to Tibet.

Dr Dorjay is against government’s proposal of lifting these rock sculptures from their original place and shifting them to a dedicated place.

Director of the State Archives Department A. Q. Qadri told The Tribune, “This person has done an extensive survey on his own. The sites that we are aware of have been look after by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The department hasn’t been able to open its Ladakh chapter because of lack of infrastructure.”

Jammu, December 18
Red-tapism among bureaucracy, paucity of funds and just one year term of the elected representatives have not only marred the functioning of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), but also have defeated the purpose of framing local bodies as their recommendations usually go unheard.

Talking to The Tribune, JMC Mayor Narinder Singh said, “Our recommendations get delayed because of red-tapism among some of the bureaucrats in the corporation.” “Since Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation Act 2000 was drafted by the bureaucrats, it suits more to their advantage, according very less powers to the elected representatives,” said the Mayor.

He said, “They have got the powers and not the urban local bodies. They want to use elected representatives as puppets.” “From time to time, we had been submitting our resolutions to the government for amending the Municipal Corporation Act 2000, but nothing positive has happened so far,” he added.

“Government wants the JMC to be a self-sustaining corporation totally oblivion of the fact that this is the third tenure of elected representatives in office,” he said. “The Chief Minister has been apprised about the problem, and now a high-ranking official would be deputed for the task. We would try and see that the funds do not lapse,” he added.

The Mayor also endorsed the idea of former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah to merge the Jammu Development Authority with the Jammu Municipal Corporation.

Thial (Udhampur), December 18
Despite being the most neglect terrain of Udhampur district, this Kandi village of Ramnagar subdivision of Majalata tehsil sets examples for others as it is the only area in the district with 100 per cent literacy rate. Comprising all castes and sub-castes, 85 per cent population of this village, including men and women, are in government jobs. Furthermore, for encouraging younger generation, villagers have instituted special prizes for those who excel in the fields of education and sports.

Ironically, successive rulers ignored this belt with political reasons, as discrimination is evident from the fact that high school of this village was upgraded after 46 long years.

Braving "step motherly" treatment of government Thial village, located 55 km north of Udhampur town, has produced two dozen doctors and engineers and as many senior officers, thanks to the visionary approach being adopted by elders of this village.

When this correspondent visited this village, some elders revealed how education was the top priority in the village despite being the fact that this area still lacked basic amenities like clean and adequate drinking water. "It is all due to the vision of our elders that the entire population of this village is literate", Bhagat Ram of the village, told The Tribune. He narrated names of some senior doctors of the state, including Dr M L Gupta and Dr Yashpal Sharma, who are product of the local school. He, however, pointed out that villagers had been confronting with the shortage of drinking water and other civic amenities.

Apathy of the government is gauged from the fact that the high school which was established in this area in 1961, was upgraded only a year ago despite the fact that the area is being represented by Panthers Party MLA, who had been the education minister in the previous Mufti Mohammed Sayed government from 2002 to 2005.

But villagers have made all-out efforts to make it a model village. Some prominent personalities, who have attained important positions, are also contributing to the betterment of this village. 

Srinagar, December 18
A woman, who was facing murder charges for killing her first husband in Sopore, has finally been arrested by the Handwara police, 18 months after she killed her second husband.

She had allegedly conspired with her paramour to kill Tasveer Hussain Malik, an ex-Army person.

Handwara SP Haseeb Mughal said Muheena Begum, alias, Big Bubbly, had illicit relations with one Charanjit Singh, alias, Raju.

The SP said Charanjit allegedly conspired with some people and gunned down Malik, at his residence on June 3, 2006.

He said the police received information on June 3, that some unknown gunmen had barged into the house of Malik and killed him.

He said initially Malik’s murder was thought to be the handiwork of militants and as the police failed to gather evidence, the case remained unsolved.

However, the police kept up with its proceedings and got its first lead when they learnt that Muheena had been booked in 2002 for the alleged murder of her first husband, Tariq Ahmad Sheikh.

The SP informed that Malik had divorced his first wife to marry Muheena. But soon their relationship turned sour.

Later, Muheena found Charanjit and decided to kill Malik, the way she had killed her first husband. The police said Charanjit roped in some people to kill Malik who were paid by Muheena.

He said the police recovered one AK-47 rifle from Md Amin Bhat, one of the accused, and said the case had also exposed the nexus between militants and criminals for monetary gains.

Jammu, December 18
State minister for rural development Jugal Kishore Sharma has underscored the need of mobilising rural women into self-help groups (SHGs) for bringing about socio-economic transformation of the rural areas. He said NGOs should coordinate with the government agencies for popularising micro financing and organising of SHGs for establishing income-generating units.

He was speaking at a one-day capacity building workshop of NGOs and SHGs organised in collaboration with Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Government of India and New Delhi.

The minister said the Rural Development Department is implementing several schemes for the benefit of masses. He said the women folk should come forward to set up income generating units to ensure financial independence. He said the concerted campaign should be launched for generating awareness about the benefits accruing from schemes like Baba Ambedkar Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Yojana and India Awas Yojana.

The NGOs working under the DRDA are also working for providing financial assistance to people through easy loan schemes for starting income generating ventures.

The deputy director of the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Shikha, impressed upon the NGOs to work at the grassroot level with complete transparency so that the benefits reach the genuine beneficiaries. She said the workshop has been organised with an aim to train the different SHGs and NGOs to work in cost-effective manner taking into consideration the field situation and financial accounting system.

Noted Gandhian and chairman of the Akhil Bhartiya Rachnatmak Samaj (NGO) S. P. Verma while speaking on the occasion called upon the NGOs to work effectively for bringing about social transformation. He recalled the work done by eminent social worker and Magasasry Awardee Anna Hazare in transforming a barren land into a thriving village. He said the NGOs working in the state should be sent on a tour to the village developed by Anna Hazare for gaining first-hand experience of the working of NGOs.

Srinagar, December 18
The recent approval of the state cabinet for opening 18 more degree colleges, nine each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions, the government has invited public anger in many parts of Kashmir valley, which have been either allegedly ignored or unevenly covered. Even as 22 more degree colleges were set up during the past five years of coalition government, this decision has come within one year of the setting up of eight new districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

The chief minister said that decision of opening 18 more new colleges would extend the ambit of higher education to far-off areas and provide ample opportunity to the students to excel in higher education.

Addressing annual day function of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) at Rajouri the other day, Azad listed the extra-ordinary measures taken by the government to catapult growth and development of school, higher and technical education. He said opening up of many university campuses, and establishment of scores of degree, technical and professional colleges in the state would go a long way to make the state an important seat of learning.

The cabinet approval on Friday evening, which did not list a degree college for the area, led to protest demonstrations at Magam in Budgam district resulting in the death of a student, Zahoor Ahmad and injuries to several others on Saturday last. These protests continued for the past few days, with the people blaming police personnel for indulging in the use of force against a "genuine demand" of the people.

Expressing shock over the incident the PDP has said the demand for setting up of a degree college at Magam was not only overdue but justified. A PDP spokesman assured the people of the area on behalf of the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, that their demand would be fulfilled at the earliest. He said the police should have desisted from resorting to unwarranted use of force to quell the protesters resulting in the loss of precious life.

The minister for transport and chairman of the People's Democratic Front, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, has said that he met the chief minister and requested him to give due consideration to the demands of all segments and areas of the state.

Former finance minister and leader of opposition, in state legislative assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather has demanded a high-level probe in the incident. He termed it as an unfortunate incident where innocent civilians were killed only because they were holding peaceful protest demonstration in support of their genuine demands.

Protest demonstrations and a complete shutdown were also held at Chrar-e-Sharief town in Budgam district in support of the demand for degree college yesterday. There have been continued protests in different areas of the newly created district of Kulgam carved out of Anantnag district over the grant of degree colleges in the area. A boys degree college already existing in Kulgam there has been a persistent demand for opening up a women’s college in the area. Protests were held at Noorabada yesterday, demanding a degree college in the area.

Srinagar, December 18
An educational-cum-motivational tour for 35 children from remote localities of south Kashmir was organised by the Victor Force, which began on December 5, concluded today.

A defence spokesman said the children, including eight girls, were exposed to diverse cultural traditions and lifestyles of the people of Jammu, Dehradun, Sarsawa, Ambala and Chandigarh. Apart from visiting various places of interest in all these cities, the children were also taken on a tour of Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and Forest Research Institute (FRI) at Dehradun.

Visit to Sarsawa was organised with a view to enable the children to familiarise with helicopters and aircrafts. They also visited Baglihar during the tour.

Srinagar, December 18
The magic of Sholay is again casting a spell on Kashmir as people are thronging video parlours for a compact disc of a homegrown version of Bollywood's biggest blockbuster.

Even after 32 years of its release, the remake of the movie in Kashmiri language has become a huge hit with the people of all ages in the strife-torn Valley.

Sholay, which the BBC had declared as ''Film of the Millennium'' in 1999, was released in 1975 and starred Dharmendra as Veeru, Amitabh Bachchan as Jai, Hema Malini as Basanti, Sanjeev Kumar as Thakur Baldev Singh, Jaya Bhaduri as Radha and Amjad Khan as timeless villain Gabbar Singh.

All the characters of the movie became legends and even now almost everybody -- young and old -- could be heard delivering the famous dialogues of the original cinema classic.

Titled as New Sholay, the Kashmiri remake is becoming very popular among the masses, who have very limited means of entertainment after the closure of cinema halls in the valley.

The CDs of the movie are selling like hot cakes in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir valley. The Kashmiri Sholay has been directed by Hameed Khan and produced by M Ashraf and Raja Shafi Akbar under the banner of Sangam Sangeet Films with local actors in the cast. While Bushan Bilori plays Gabbar Singh in the movie, Nasir Khan is Veeru, Hameed Khan (Jai), Reenu (Basanti), Raja Shafi Akbar (Thakur Baldev Singh), Zeenat (Radha) and Anil Bilori is Samba.

''The movie is hilarious. One cannot stop laughing right from the beginning till the end. Even the otherwise serious scenes in the original movie look funny in the Kashmiri remake. I have thoroughly enjoyed the film,'' said Mohammad Ashraf, a movie buff.

The makers of the Kashmiri version have taken utmost care in ensuring that the movie does not deviate even a bit from the original and filmed it scene by scene from Sholay. Even the songs of the original have been translated in Kashmiri language.

The train scenes have been taken on the trial run of the rail service between Kakapora in South Kashmir to Badgam in central part of the Valley. It would have been impossible for the makers to shoot train scenes in the Kashmir valley a year or so ago.

''There is a huge demand for Kashmiri Sholay. We are running short of CDs now. Even the pirated ones are selling like hot cakes. We have placed order for more CDs of the remake,'' said Shafqat Ahmed, a video parlour owner. He said the huge demand could be attributed to the fact that the people in Kashmir now-a-days have limited means of entertainment. — UNI