Srinagar, May 22
In a major reshuffle in the civil administration, the state government today ordered transfers and postings of at least 12 KAS and other officers with immediate effect.

An official spokesman here said Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari, KAS, director rural development, Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as special secretary to government forest department.

Mohammad Abass Dar, KAS, director social welfare, Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as director rural development Kashmir vice Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari.

Syed Altaf Hussain, KAS, awaiting orders of adjustment in the general administration department, has been transferred and posted as special secretary to government, power development department, vice Khursheed Ahmad Shah.

Khursheed Ahmad Shah, KAS, special secretary to government, power development department, has been transferred and posted as director social welfare Kashmir vice Mohammad Abass Dar. J.L. Bhagat, KAS, project director, Sarva Shiksha Abiyan, has been transferred and posted as director rural development, Jammu, relieving Harjit Singh, joint director, planning in the directorate of rural development, Jammu, of the additional charge of the post.

The charge of the post of project director, Sarva Shiksha Abiyan, would be held by director, School Education, Kashmir, in addition to his own duties till further orders.

Mohammad Javed Khan, KAS, chief executive officer, tourism development authority, Rajouri, has been transferred and posted as additional district development commissioner, Rajouri, against available vacancy. He will continue to hold the charge of the post of CEO, tourism development authority, Rajouri, in addition to his own duties till further orders.

Bashir Ahmad Saraf, KAS, additional deputy commissioner, Reasi, has been transferred and posted as joint director industries and commerce, Jammu, against available vacancy.

Rajiv Kumar Bhat, KAS, deputy commissioner, excise (executive), Jammu, has been transferred and posted as additional deputy commissioner, Srinagar, against available vacancy.

Farooq Shah, KAS, deputy director quality control, handicrafts department, Srinagar, has been transferred and posted as additional deputy commissioner, Baramulla, in his own pay and grade against available vacancy.

Robin Singh Mehta, KAS, deputy director, tourism, Jammu, has been transferred and posted as additional deputy commissioner, Rajouri, in his own pay and grade, relieving Mohammad Javed Khan of the additional charge of the post.

Mohammad Hussain Bhatti, KAS, deputy director (administration) in the directorate of social welfare, Jammu, has been transferred and posted as additional deputy commissioner, Reasi, in his own pay and grade vice Bashir Ahmad Saraf.

Gurdarshan Singh, KAS, under orders of posting as programme officer, ICDS Projects, Udhampur, has been transferred and posted as deputy director tourism vice Robin Singh Mehta.

16 IAS, 15 KAS officers promoted

The government has ordered promotions of 16 IAS and 15 KAS officers, following the cabinet meeting that was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Tuesday.

An official spokesman said the government accorded sanction to the promotion of 16 IAS officers to the suppertime scale of Rs 18,400-22,400 of the Indian Administrative Service with effect from January 1, 2008.

These officers include Shant Manu, Shaleen Kabra, Bipul Pathak, Ashok Kumar Parmar, Dheeraj Gupta, Asgar Hassan Samoon and Navin Kumar Choudhary, who have been promoted on basis of performance. Other IAS officers include N. K. Verma, K.M. Wani, Khalid Habib, Naseem Lanker, Dalip Singh, Pritpal Singh Betab, M. H. Samoon, Abdul Hamid, and Pawan Kotwal. The government has also ordered promotion of 15 KAS officers of four departments on the vacancies available to the service. The officers include M.K. Raina, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, A.A. Bhat and Rakesh Kumar Sarangal.

Srinagar, May 22
Amidst the peace talks going on between India and Pakistan in Islamabad, a top Air Force official today played down the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan and said it might have been due to some "misunderstanding".

Air Officer, commanding in chief, Western Air Command, Air Marshal PK Barbora said the recent ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Poonch sector, in which one Indian soldier was killed, could have triggered by some misunderstanding though he did not elaborate on it. He said the reason behind the ceasefire violation, which has been in place since November 2003 at LoC, are yet to be made out.

On a visit to the state, Barbora said both countries were committed to peace and tranquillity close to the Line of Control as it was in their best interests. His views follow the Army's strong protest against the violation even as it took up the matter with the Pakistani army. The Pakistani army has denied the allegations.

Official sources said they did not want to flare up the issue of breach in ceasefire as they were hopeful of a positive outcome from the ongoing talks in Pakistan.

The air marshal told reporters that the Indian Air Force would make a disused air base in the Siachen region operational, 43 years after it was shut down. He said the Daulat Baigh air base in Ladakh region would resume operations again. It was set up in 1962 after Indo-China war and closed down in '65. He said it would be a showcase to the world that the IAF could fly aircraft in such adverse conditions as in Ladakh at such a high altitude.

He said he was expected to fly an AN-32, a 
military transport aircraft, next month and resume the working of the air base.

When asked about IAF' role in anti-militancy operations in the state, Air Marshal PK Barbora said it was limited to flying un-manned air vehicle (UMV) to militants' positions, based upon intelligence from ground forces, and pass on photographs and other such details to security forces. He is scheduled to meet top state functionaries, including Governor Lt-Gen SK Sinha(retd) during his visit.

Jammu, May 22
Day 2 of the demolition drive launched by the Jammu Municipal Corporation seemed to be a symbolic gesture for politicians as the common people with no political background had to ‘bear the brunt’ of the government bulldozers.

While the state high court today issued a status quo for a day over the dismantling of 27 structures in the area after imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 each on the residents for having illegally encroached upon the departmental land, many other houses were today demolished by the squad.

The demolition team that arrived early in the morning started the drive, but spared the house of the MLA of the ruling coalition alliance in the state People’s Democratic Party, and the houses adjacent to the MLA’s house were dismantled.

The JMC that had launched the demolition drive against the illegal encroachment of the land belonging to the irrigation department yesterday, however, it turned into a political drama.

The residents in the locality whose houses had to bear the brunt of the bulldozers say that the JMC has spared PDP MLA Shanti Devi’s house that too has been constructed on the encroached land.

“Yesterday they just dismantled the boundary wall and a small structure outside her house, to show the residents that the law was similar for all, but today they without touching her house dismantled all houses adjacent to hers,” said a local resident whose house was dismantled by the JMC.

Adding, he said, “They say that around 50 metres of land has to be vacated then her entire house stands on illegally encroached land.”

Amidst tight security the drive started early in the morning, demolishing the structures standing on the irrigation land, however, after the status quo issued by the high court the demolition drive was ‘suspended’ for a day.

When contacted assistant commissioner, revenue, told The Tribune, “the land belongs to the state irrigation department and was allotted to the people by some engineering society, however, the department had filed a petition in the court which declared the encroachment as illegal and instructed the municipal corporation to dismantle all 71 structures.”

The court has also instructed owners of the 27 houses for whom it has issued a status quo to deposit a fine of Rs 25,000 each for illegally encroaching upon the departmental land.

Another revenue officer while requesting anonymity said, “Politics does play a role, as a major part of the bungalow of PDP MLA Shanti Devi stands on the encroached land, but nobody dared to touch it, and as a symbolic gesture the boundary wall was dismantled.”

Meanwhile the residents whose houses were demolished have also alleged that they were made a scapegoat and the influential people were kept out of the drive.

Jammu, May 22
Once again girls outplayed boys in the secondary school examinations (class 10th)-2008 here.

There were 99 girls against 59 boys, sharing 20 positions in the secondary school examinations, results of which were declared by the State Board of School Education this evening.

The toppers, taking home the coveted first position, were Nitika Mahajan of Nehru Memorial Higher Secondary School, Udhampur, and Vivudh Gupta of MHS DAV Public School, Udhampur.

Nitika and Vivudh secured 97.80 marks.

Second position was grabbed by Vipul Bandral of Trikuta Public Higher Secondary School, Katra, Sourabh Sharma of Brahim Rishi BSVP Higher Secondary School, Udhampur, and his class mate Vipul Kumar.

They secured 97.40 marks each.

Similarly, third position was shared by Sheetal Angral of Little Flower Higher Secondary School, Greater Kailash, Supreeti Mahajan of RSJN HSS, Kathua, and Paris Mahajan of Brahim Rishi BSVP HSS, Udhampur. They secured 97.20 marks each.

The total pass percentage stood at 60.37 percent.

Jammu, May 22
Though much is being said about the improved health sector in the state, very little is being done at the ground-level.

The state government has spend crores of rupees to improve the “ailing”health sector, but when it comes to ensuring proper medical facilities for patients, nothing seems to be done in these government hospitals.

To have a first hand experience of how patients were being treated at these government hospitals, a reporter posing as a patient, decided to spend a night at the Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar.

He arrived at the hospital around 10 pm as a case of “patient” suffering with dehydration, but to his surprise, there was no doctor in the emergency ward. A lady attendant was busy making phone calls from that room and after repeated enquiries she told him to wait as the doctor was not available.

After waiting for almost 30 minutes, a lady doctor came in the room and without any check up admitted the patient and prescribed a few injections and some fluids.

Inside the ward, around 12 to 15 patients laid and were waiting for the doctor, but to their disappointment, no doctor came to attend them. Later, a medical assistant injected all of them with a similar fluid.

Later in the night a female patient was brought in a very critical condition. She could not breathe and was struggling for her life. She was placed on a bed and was reeling under excruciating pain, but for more than half-an-hour, nobody came to attend her. Her parents ran from pillar-to-post to call the doctor. By the time the doctor arrived, her condition had worsened and the doctor without checking her, referred her to the Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, for treatment.

The girl was later shifted to the GMC in a very critical condition.

As the night passed, the only doctor and the only medical assistant vanished in thin air leaving the patients and their worried attendants to the mercy of God.

This scribe in the garb of a patient searched almost every room but did not find any doctor on duty.

This is the condition of the one of the biggest government hospital in the city, an attendant with a female patient said. Adding he said, “There were no arrangements to save the people from mosquitoes inside these wards.”

As the morning sun grew, patients had left the wards for specialised treatment at private clinics.

This “patient” also got up and returned to write what at best can be termed a pathetic reflection of the so-called government facilities at hospitals.

Jammu, May 22
As part of anti-drugs drive, the police has started destroying narcotics cultivation on large chunk of land in southern Kashmir. Anantnag SSP Nitish Kumar said the police had launched the drive in Brijbahera area, known for illegal cultivation of narcotics.

“We have destroyed narcotics like poppy straw spread over 1,500 kanals of land,” he added. The SSP said prior to kicking off the drive they had issued a warning through the local media to the farmers indulging in narcotics cultivation to destroy their crop on their own. He said they were getting support from the local residents in the drive and no reports of resistance from the farmers had come to fore till now. On any effort being made to help these farmers to diversify to other crops, he said they had made an attempt, but it received a lukewarm response.

He said the Agriculture and Revenue Departments should make an endeavour in this direction. He said the drive would continue in the coming days. Pulwama DSP (HQ) Fayyaz Hussain said the police have roped in the excise commissioner and the Revenue Department in the drive against drugs.

He said they had asked patwaris for the details of the land on which narcotics cultivation is being done.

He said there were 10-15 villages where large-scale cultivation of narcotics took place. “We have already launched the drive and have destroyed narcotics on six-seven kanals of land, but it’s like a drop in the ocean. We have a long way to go,” he added. According to sources, concerned over rising drug addiction among youth, the state government is evolving a strategy to curb the menace and wipe out poppy cultivation.

Srinagar, May 22
The arrangements for the maiden trip of President Pratibha Patil and dignitaries from the SAARC countries may be the top concern in the officials’ mind here, but it is the performance by Pakistan's foremost rock band Junoon on Sunday, which is keeping the valley agog. Pakistan’s foremost rock band Junoon, which is already a big draw in big Indian cities and more popular than few Hindi bands in the scene here, would be performing at the SKICC auditorium on the banks of Dal Lake.

However, the entry to the musical soiree will be restricted and this has left many sad. “I have grown up on listening to their album, Inquilaab, and singles like Saiyono and Yaaron Yahi Dosti Hai. It’s so sad that we friends won’t be able see them perform when they would be here,” Md Yaqoob, a Kashmir University student, said. The Sufi theme of Junoon's music, which has often invited ire of hardliner Islamists in their home in Pakistan, including their ban from government-run TV and radios by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, gels with the popular culture in Kashmir.