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Farooq takes over as NC chief Profusely garlanded Farooq after he took over as the NC president in Srinagar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Amin War Ex-king’s kin told to get resident certificate Need to identify more tourist spots: Minister |
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Electronic meters to check power theft
Winter secretariat starts functioning Mercury dips to
-12°C at Leh
Two ultras, 2 cops killed in encounter 3 injured in grenade attack Army: Decline in terrorism Dowry death victim’s
in-laws held 3,481 posts in schools approved Salary of 31 teachers withheld Disband Custodian Dept: BJYM
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Farooq takes over as NC chief Srinagar, January 13 Farooq’s name was proposed at the party’s working committee meeting by senior NC leader Sharifuddin Shariq and seconded by provincial president Mehboob Beigh. This arrangement has been done to relieve Omar Abdullah from the additional responsibilities of the party, who took over as the Chief Minister on January 5. The present arrangement would be up to May when the election of the party president would be held, party sources said. Talking to mediapersons after being named as the party president, Farooq Abdullah said that priorities of the NC-led coalition government would be employment to the educated youth, development and peace in the region. Though there was a pause in the Indo-Pak dialogue process in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Farooq Abdullah hoped that this would end soon. Referring to the trade across the LoC, the NC leader said the party was looking forward to restoring trade ties with Central Asia along the traditional silk route. Farooq Abdullah said the party’s old office, “Mujahid Manzil”, in old city would be restored and the party office shifted there within one year. The complex had been dysfunctional since the eruption of militancy 18 years ago as some damage had been caused to the complex over the years. The party would restore the weekly meetings of its leaders with the public on Fridays, the NC leader said.
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Ex-king’s kin told to get resident certificate Chenani, January 13 Under the special status enjoyed by the state, the PRC is an official document required to get citizenship in the state. Without the certificate, one neither gets a government job nor can purchase any land in this state. About five years ago, Rajeshwar Chand Anthal, son of late Raj Kumar Hari Chand Anthal and grandson of Raja Ram Chand Anthal, king of small principality known as Chenani in Udhampur district, had applied for the PRC. But to his utter dismay, the revenue authorities continued dilly-dallying, asking him for residential proof. “The revenue record clearly shows even today that thousands of entries are being maintained in the name of Raja Ram Chand,” sources in the Revenue Department confirmed. Ironically, the department that asked the grandson of the erstwhile ruler for residential proof was itself housed in the fort belonging to that family. The popular fort of Chenani (ancestral property of princely family), where Bollywood hit “Jani Dushman” was shot and which was later gutted mysteriously, was acquired by the state government and at present it housed the tehsil (revenue) office. During the dynastic rule, a constituent of about 70 villages, the said principality was ruled by Raja Ram Chand and his predecessors for at least 52 generations. “When the revenue authorities are themselves camping on the property that belongs to our ancestors, why are they asking for the residential proof. It’s a big shock for us that the state government has failed to ascertain our revenue record, which is being maintained by it,” questioned Rajeshwar Chand Anthal, who has been moving from pillar to post to get the PRC. “It is a fact that the entire Chenani township was in the name of Raja Ram Chand and it was allotted to the local populace by the then king of Chenani, free of cost. And every person of Chenani cannot forget the kindness and services of the princely family. But it is surprising that the state government is asking for residential proof from the kith and kin of the princely family, which has given thousands of kanals as charity,” observed Rinku Mahajan, president, Beopar Mandal, Chenani. “Though the famous tourist spot, Patnitop, is a government land these days, the study of Malikaana Khana (owner’s column) in the revenue record clearly shows the owner of Patnitop land as Raja Ram Chand,” said advocate Tariq Ahmed, who practises in the court of the Judicial Magistrate (first class), Chenani. Revenue officer (tehsildar), Chenani, Vishesh Pal Mahajan expressed surprise over the issue. He assured to check the records to see why the applicant had not been issued the PRC.
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Need to identify more tourist spots: Minister Jammu, January 13 Interacting with department officials here today, Jora called upon the authorities concerned to come with innovative ideas and plans for sprucing up tourist destinations of the state so that a time-bound strategy could be evolved for their development. Stating that the nature had bestowed the state with abundant beauty, the minister said the time was ripe to package tourism industry in a right manner to attract both domestic as well as foreign tourists, which will ultimately improve the economy of the state. Seeking cooperation of the officers of the Tourism Department in working with vigour and devotion, Jora outlined a comprehensive plan to focus on development and utilisation of tourist resources by maintaining pollution-free environment, conservation and preservation of green-lands, landscapes, pastures, lakes, rivers, forests as well as promoting pilgrim-tourism in the state. He urged for proper maintenance of pilgrimage and cultural heritage tourist places and called upon the authorities concerned to ensure renovation needed at these sites. Making specific reference towards the state’s potential in adventure tourism, the minister said that it would be given special attention and adventure tourism melas would be organised in the mountainous areas of the state.
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Electronic meters to check power theft Srinagar, January 13 The department would also start a helpline in the valley from tomorrow to redress the grievances of consumers, PDD chief engineer Syed Aftab Ahmad said while participating in a programme here. He said the installation of digital electronic meters would begin in the valley very soon in the non-metered areas. Ahmad said installation of meters had helped to some extent to control the misuse of the power, but much more needed to be done. The new meters would work in minus temperature and also on low voltage. The chief engineer said his office was receiving requests from the people of different areas for installation of meters. They have received lakhs of meters that would be installed soon, he informed. About the power theft, Ahmad said the drive against those who indulge in such practice was going on. “We will intensify the drive,” he said, adding that hundreds of consumers were fined for power theft during the past two years in the valley. About the complaints of frequent power failure for longer periods other than notified curtailment, he said if people stop misusing the power and use it as per their agreement with the department, there would be no curtailment. Ahmad said the PDD has decided to start the helpline to attend the problems of the consumers who can contact on phone number 2452173 and mobile number 9906590206 for registering their complaints and grievances. — UNI
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Winter secretariat starts functioning Srinagar, January 13 In the first instance, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, would be available to the public for four days up to Friday. On the first day of its functioning, a number of public deputations and individuals from different parts of the valley, including Handwara, Kanhama, Habak, Magam, Anantnag and Chatabal, apprised the minister of their problems, mainly relating to repairs of power transformers, pending SRO cases etc. Sagar said the Omar government was committed to ensuring equitable development of all three regions of the state and providing succour to the people. An official spokesman said that Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, would be available from January 19 to 23 and Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, from January 27 to 30. Similarly, Surjit Singh Slathia, Minister for Industries and Commerce, Labour and Employment, would be available from February 9 to 13 and Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Health, Horticulture and Floriculture, from February 16 to 20.
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Mercury dips to
-12°C at Leh
Srinagar, January 13 Night
temperatures were showing a downward trend in most areas of the state
for the past one week. The Leh area in the ‘cold desert’ of Ladakh
was the coldest place in the state with a low of -12°C followed by
Pahalgam (-4.6°C), Qazigund (-3.8°C), Kokernag (-2.7°C), Kupwara
(-2.3°C) and Banihal (-1°C). Srinagar recorded a low of -1.8°C,
while Jammu witnessed a warmer night with a minimum temperature of 7.2°C.
Katra, the base camp for Mata Vaishno Devi temple, recorded a low of 8.2°C,
the Met office said. Western disturbances from the Arabian Sea through
Pakistan were fast approaching the region and are likely to hit the
state tomorrow. They said widespread rainfall or snowfall of moderate
to heavy intensity was likely from January 15 to 17. Higher reaches of
the state might also experience heavy snowfall during the period, they
added. — PTI |
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Two ultras, 2 cops killed in encounter Rajouri, January 13 On a
tip-off that militants were hiding in the forest area of the belt, the
police launched a cordon and search operation in the afternoon. As the
cops zeroed in and asked the militants to surrender, the latter opened
fire at the police party. The police retaliated and in the ensuing
gunbattle, which lasted for about an hour, gunned down two terrorists,
but also lost as many of its men — constable Mushtaq Ahmed and special
police officer Nissar Ahmed. Confirming the report, Nowshera ASP RK
Bhat said: “The slain militants, both of foreign origin, belonged to
LeT and one of them was a self-styled divisional commander of the
outfit.” The militants were identified as Abu Tallah and Ishfaq, the
ASP added. Meanwhile, intelligence sources told The Tribune that it
was probably the same group of militants that had escaped from the Army
offensive at Poonch recently. UDHAMPUR: The police on Tuesday arrested
two persons who were working as overground workers (OGWs) for the
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The OGWs were arrested from Thathri tehsil of
Doda district following inputs from locals. DIG Doda-Ramban range
Himant Kumar Lohia said the arrested OGWs were assigned the job by the
LeT militants to provide SIM cards to militants operating in the
remotest and far-flung areas. According to the police, based on
specific information, a joint operation was launched and two OGWs have
identified as Waseem Raza, a resident of Chaka Bhaderwah, and Najam Din
Gujjar, a resident of Ghoru Shamdalian, Tehsil Thathri, were arrested
from Thathri area. Four SIM cards of a private telecom company and Rs
20,000 were seized from their possession while case has been registered
against them. So far, over 25 OGWs have been nabbed by the police
during the last one month in Doda and Kishtwar districts. |
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3 injured in grenade attack Srinagar, January 13 The police said Ghulam Nabi Sheikh of Budgam, Mushtaq Ahmed Kaloo of Malpora and Fayaz Aahmed of Soura sustained injuries as the grenade went off in the middle of the road. The injured have been admitted to the local hospital. Witnesses said the suspected militants intended to attack a bunker manned by the 157 Battalion of the CRPF, but the blast occurred midway and no harm was caused to any security personnel. Senior police and CRPF officials reached the spot in the sensitive Batmaloo locality. This is the second such incident in Srinagar since the new government took over. Earlier, the militants had thrown a grenade at a police gypsy near Badshah Nagar bypass on January 10. |
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Army: Decline in terrorism Jammu, January 13 This was stated by the General Officer in Commanding of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, who is also the security adviser to the state government, Lt. General RK Swamy during a meeting of a core group of the entire security setup of the state. The core group meeting was held to review the security situation in Jammu region in view of the Assembly elections and upcoming Republic Day celebrations. The meeting, in which various top Army, police, Paramilitary and civil officers took part, was held at the Headquarters of the White Knight Corps in Nagrota.
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Dowry death victim’s in-laws held
Baramulla, January 13 Sources said the victim’s in-laws have been arrested after massive protests rocked Sukhbaba village in Bandipora district of north Kashmir. Sources said a complaint was lodged in a police station alleging that Shabeena, married to a soldier in the Territorial Army (TA), was set on fire by her in-laws for dowry on January 5, who later died in the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) at Soura after six days struggle. Hundreds of villagers from Sukhbaba and adjoining villages took to streets, demanding stern action against the accused. However, they alleged that since the victim’s husband was working in the TA, the police was trying to shield accused.
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3,481 posts in schools approved Jammu, January 13 The Minister for School Education and Public Enterprises, Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, approved the project today. The minister said after the creation of these educational institutions it had become difficult for the government to provide sufficient academic staff to them, and as a result students had to suffer. “But now, with the creation of 3,681 posts, the problem has been addressed. It would also go a long way in addressing the unemployment problem among educated youth,” Sayeed said. |
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Salary of 31 teachers withheld
Jammu, January 13 The action came after chief education officer of Poonch Paramjit Singh paid a surprise visit to 10 schools in Mendhar tehsil of the district yesterday. Mohammad Akram, headmaster of middle school, Mendhar, was placed under suspension as the school was found locked while children were waiting outside, the officials said. The salaries of 26 teachers in Mendhar schools were withheld for the month of January as they were found absent and no proper leave applications were found on the record. The salaries of Gafoor Begum, the head of another government educational institution in Mendhar, and that of Bharat Bhushan, headmaster of Government Middle School, Mohalla Khokrian, were withheld, as they allegedly failed to make available the mid-day meal register for verification, they said. Paramjit Singh ordered the salaries of headmasters of three other schools at Harni and Ari be withheld for various irregularities. The chief education officer directed the zonal education officers to prepare chargesheets and submit these to him within seven days.
— PTI
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Disband Custodian Dept: BJYM Jammu, January 13 The rally started from the Link Road to the Office of Custodian General, where the BJYM activists staged a protest against the department and demanded its disbanding. |
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Srinagar, January 13
