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Human Rights Violations
RTI Act: Omar may bring amendment
Govt functioning undemocratic: BJP
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Cong councillors revolt against party MC chief
Model schools to come up in backward blocks
Srinagar shivers at -1.5 °C
Help defuse Indo-Pak tension, CM to Miliband
SCC alleges step-motherly treatment
Finish water plant work by March: Taj
E-governance agency set up
Leopard captured, released in forest
Hideout busted, grenades seized
R-Day: Tenants under scanner
Girl found murdered in Udhampur
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Human Rights Violations
Jammu, January 14 Omar stated this while addressing the first meeting of the Unified Command to review the security situation in the state after taking over as the Chief Minister. He asked the chief secretary to sort out the issues between the civil administration and the Army in the matters of acquisition of land, rent and other related issues and hoped that the Civil and Military Liaison Conference shall be held on first priority. On the issue of vacation of government buildings, especially health and educational institutions, by the security forces, the Chief Minister said a committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of principal secretary to government, Home, that would examine the issue and take a decision on providing alternate accommodation to the security forces. The Army assured full cooperation in the matter. Expressing concern over the current status of the Indo-Pak relations, Omar said it did not help Jammu & Kashmir as it got directly affected. “It is no secret that of all states in the country, Jammu and Kashmir is the most affected by the direction of relations between India and Pakistan. Positive relation benefits us and negative relationship has detrimental effect for us,” he said. Stating that unemployment was a major source of disquiet among youths, Omar said the state police would soon hold recruitment rallies to raise five IRP battalions. He asked the Army and the security forces to also contribute by holding similar recruitment rallies. He exuded confidence that the state would also have a good tourist season and the people would benefit from employment opportunities that come with it. Omar said the government had a daunting task ahead to come up to the expectations of the people, who have reposed faith in democracy by coming out to vote in large numbers in the recently-held Assembly elections. He said focused attention was now required on various areas of concern so that we show people the benefits of having participated in the elections at such a large scale. Later, the heads of security agencies briefed the Chief Minister about the ground situation vis-à-vis security in the state. The meeting was attended by chief secretary SS Kapur, GoC-in C Lt-Gen PC Bhardawaj, principal secretary to Chief Minister and Home Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, the top brass of all security agencies, including DGP Kuldeep Khoda, DGP, CID, Dr Ashok Bhan, GoC, 16 Corps Lt-Gen RK Swamy, GoC, 15 Corps, Lt-Gen Bikram Singh, GoC, 9 Corps, Lt-Gen Vinay Sharma, IGP, Jammu Zone, K Rajendra, IGP, Kashmir Zone, B Srinivas, IG, BSF, Kashmir, IG, BSF, Jammu. |
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RTI Act: Omar may bring amendment
Jammu, January 14 Sources in the Law Ministry told The Tribune that the new dispensation headed by Omar Abdullah is likely to bring new amendment Bill in first session of the state legislature so as to incorporate provisions of the Central Act. Four years back, the then Congress-PDP coalition had boasted of becoming the first state in the country to introduce the legislation. However, four years on, leave aside a common man even well educated RTI crusaders are chagrined over a little publicity to the Act, which had been considered to be an antidote to corruption. “The erstwhile PDP-Congress coalition had several firsts to its credit, like the RTI Act 2004 and the State Accountability Commission (SAC) but we all know what happened to them,” said a high court lawyer. If the SAC, which had launched a crusade against corruption under Late Justice RP Sethi, had been asphyxiated then the RTI Act still remains a casualty too, thanks to our bureaucrats and politicians for obvious reasons, he added. A RTI crusader MJ Hussain said leave aside the complexities of the Act, successive regimes never took pains to give it a wide publicity so as to help people realise its (legislation's) power. “Leave aside Form A, B, C and D, the RTI Act says that departments falling under its purview should maintain their official websites displaying from time to time status of applications moved by the RTI crusaders,” he said. The previous government after framing rules to the RTI Act in 2005 launched its official website www.jkgad.nic.in in 2007 wherein along with the rules prescribed format of Form A, B, C and D have been appended. But how many among us were computer literates in the state, which in 2001 had 55.52 per cent literacy rate - third lowest among 35 states and UTs of the country, he asked. A government teacher on the condition of anonymity said: “After a hard toil I applied on prescribed format to the Director School Education seeking seniority list but two years on the information has not been provided to me just because of lackadaisical approach among some senior officials.” “Going by hardships one has to face in extracting information, I can bet on it that ever since 2005 when rules to the Act were framed, only handful of people have had dared to seek information via RTI Act,” he added. |
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Govt functioning undemocratic: BJP
Jammu, January 14 State BJP president Ashok Khajuria said today that “the government has started functioning
undemocratically as no oath had been administered to the MLAs. Even the secretariat has started functioning in Srinagar
and there are reports of a Cabinet expansion. It is an unprecedented way of working
in the democratic legislative setup.” Khajuria said, “The BJP warns the government that it should not work in a manner that is against the spirit of democracy and established principles of good and transparent governance. The government should be aware that an equal number of MLAs are sitting in the Opposition and their views cannot go unheard.” He said the new government headed by Omar Abdullah had so far not decided to hold the Budget session of the state legislature. “Last year, the Budget session was held in January with double sittings to enable the government to complete the pending works in February and March, so that funds do not lapse.” He alleged that the Chief Minister was not being properly advised as normally the oath should have been administered to the elected MLAs at the earliest without delay. Meanwhile, deputy leader of the BJP legislature party Jugal Kishore said the party would bring the Bill for delimitation of Assembly seats. He said all political parties must join hands over the issue. “All Jammu-based parties will be taken into confidence. Even the manifesto of the Congress has said after the formation of the government delimitation will be done as top priority”, he said. Jugal Kishore said his party would go for delimitation in order to “safeguard the interests of Jammu and Ladakh and ensure balanced development in Kashmir”. |
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Cong councillors revolt against party MC chief
Udhampur, January 14 Though the council chairman has been adopting every possible tactic to avoid a floor-testing, he lost the majority in the council after his own party members revolted against him. The Udhampur MC is headed by Congress member Ashok Gupta, but his party members have decided to dislodge him for what they alleged his failure to provide basic amenities to the residents of Udhampur. While seven BJP members have already moved a no-confidence motion against the chairman, their move got a boost when four Congress councillors also joined the Opposition to oust their own party chairman. In the 17-member MC, the Congress and the BJP have seven members each, followed by two members of the Panthers Party and one Independent. Ashok Gupta has wrested the post of chairman from the BJP with the support of the Panthers Party and an Independent councillor. The Panthers Party has already announced to withdraw support from the present chairman. Though a meeting of the councillors was called today to remove the chairman, it could not take place as executive officer Satpal Saini did not turn up to “favour” the present chairman. Four Congress councillors, Parvesh Shah, Brij Mohan Sharma, Shakuntala Devi and Ashwani Khajuria, were present at the meeting to pass the no-confidence motion against the chairman. As the meeting could not take place, the delegation of the councillors, including Congress members, marched to the office of the Deputy Commissioner and submitted a memorandum to him for the removal of the chairman. “No doubt, Ashok Gupta is a member of the Congress, but he has miserably failed to solve the basic problems of the residents of Udhampur”, rued Ashwani Khajuria. While defending his decision to support the motion, Khajuria said, “People of Udhampur have elected them to solve their day-to-day civic problems, but the Udhampur MC has virtually become defunct due to the inability of the chairman to deliver.” Former chairman of the council and BJP leader Pawan Khajuria warned that if the present chairman was not removed, all seven BJP members would resign from the council. |
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Model schools to come up in backward blocks
Jammu, January 14 Addressing department officials at a meeting, Peerzada said attaining 100 per cent literacy in the state was one of the foremost goals of the coalition government. No compromises would be made on this count, he added. The minister reviewed the achievements of various projects and exhorted the officials to make improvements in the implementation of various state and centrally sponsored schemes like the Rashtriya Madhamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Shiksha (KGBVS), EGS and the midday meal scheme. Among others who attended the meeting were the secretary, school education, GA Peer, the director, school education, Jammu, the project director, SSA, and other officers of the department. The minister said under the RMSA model schools would be established in all educationally backward blocks on the pattern of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. Girls hostels would also be built for students belonging to SC/ST and other minorities. Besides, the Means-Merit Scholarship would also be introduced to help deserving students. The meeting also discussed ways and means for the provision of computers along with relevant infrastructure in primary and secondary schools under the ICT mission. It was also stated that under the KGBVS, schools were being sanctioned in those educationally backward blocks where female literacy level was less than the national average. The meeting was told that out of the 79 schools sanctioned by the Centre, 50 had already been established. The minister stressed on completing the upgrading of a school after every three primary schools at the earliest. |
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Srinagar shivers at -1.5 °C
Srinagar, January 14 The night temperatures dipped in most parts of the state while there was a slight improvement in temperature in the valley, according to weather department reports. Kargil, in the 'cold desert' of Ladakh, was the coldest place yesterday with the night temperature plunging to -18.4°C while in nearby Leh district the night temperature dipped to -12.4°C, MET office said today. The night temperature in Pahalgam, however, appreciated by a few degrees to settled at -4.4°C. The (night) temperature also improved in Qazigund (-2.2°C), Kokernag (-2.9°C), Banihal (-0.5°C) and Kupwara (-0.4°C). The temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, stood at -1.5 °C. Jammu, the winter capital, witnessed a warmer night with a minimum temperature of 7.2°C. Katra, the base camp
for Mata Vaishnodevi temple, recorded a low of 8.3 °C. — PTI |
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Help defuse Indo-Pak tension, CM to Miliband
Jammu, January 14 In a teleconference with the British Foreign Secretary, currently on a visit to India, last evening, the Chief Minister emphasised that Indo-Pak relations had a great bearing on Jammu and Kashmir and its people as they were affected by the nature of relations between the two
neighbours. Omar said the two countries had already initiated various confidence-building measures, including
cross-LoC trade and people-to-people contact, which had generated tremendous goodwill and the same were required to be carried forward, in the
interest of both countries. Appreciating the strong foundation of skill and technical development in Britain, Omar expressed desire to
work with the CM urges UK for modernising the technical education system and skill development in Jammu and Kashmir in tune with the present and futuristic job market requirements across
the globe. |
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SCC alleges step-motherly treatment
Jammu, January 14 SCC secretary Sachin Bhagat said despite being the only statutory body, which has been mentioned in the constitution of Jammu University, the SCC had merely become a defunct body due to “authoritative style” of Dean, Students Welfare. Sachin said a few days back a team of the SCC met the Vice-chancellor of university and submitted a memorandum emphasising on the appointment of permanent Associate Dean to chair the meetings of the SCC, re-tendering and improving the quality of products and display of the rate list of items sold in canteens. Sachin further emphasised that the main issue in the agenda includes the empowerment of the SCC and financial help to different cells that include drama and theatrical cell, film committee and fine arts cell. |
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Finish water plant work by March: Taj
Jammu, January 14 During the inspection of the Water Treatment Plant Sitlee the minister directed engineers of the PHE and the JKPCC to to ensure the completion of the project on schedule. He said the people of the city at present received only 25.8 MGD of water against the requirement of 37 MGD. The PHE officials informed the minister that 2.6 MGD capacity tube wells constructed by the ERA in Jammu city were expected to be commissioned by March-end. |
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E-governance agency set up
Jammu, January 14 Modelled on similar agencies working in other states like Karnataka, JaKeGA was registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act today. This would give the agency much-needed flexibility to implement IT-related projects throughout the state and receive grants directly from the Central government and other donor agencies. The agency shall also take the single point responsibility for procuring all types of IT resources and services like hardware, software, power, printing and networking peripherals for government agencies. This will help streamline the IT-related activities of all departments and help them save time and money by providing them with a single point mechanism for design, development, procurement and training. JaKeGA shall also have the mandate to create permanent, temporary or project-based positions that shall help boost the employment prospects of thousands of IT professionals in the state. It shall also on priority bring all IT professionals already working in various government departments into a “J&K Informatics Service” so that their promotional and other HR-related issues are duly taken care of. The day-to-day operations of JaKeGA shall be overseen by an executive committee headed by the principal secretary, information technology. |
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Leopard captured, released in forest
Bijbehara-Anantnag, January 14 Applauding the role of the local police, Lone says when a few policemen could not do the needful due to huge crowd gathered at the scene, the SHO concerned arrived with a large contingent of police and other forces. “A large number of people had gathered and it was difficult for the rescue team to deliver. Once a large contingent of police arrived, peaceful environment was created, which is necessary to carry out the operation. Finally, the animal was trapped and released later,” says Lone. He said for the last eight days the animal was on the prowl in the area. “It was looking for food and had pounced on some livestock. However, no casualty was reported,” says Lone. He says the staff strength of the department is too meagre considering the challenge of conflicts between humans and animals and the area they are tackling. “The dimension of the problem is likely to get worse in years to come. Marginalised families are affected the most. Eighty-nine persons, mostly children and women, had lost their lives in animal attacks since 2000,” says Lone. He says the Wildlife Department needs to be augmented with sufficient grants, trained human resources and updated infrastructure. He adds 70-80 per cent of the conflict with animals are reported in Asia and of that 90 per cent from India alone. |
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Hideout busted, grenades seized
Jammu, January 14 “Security forces, on a tip off, launched a search operation and seized ammunition from Kawarian forests in Poonch district late last night,” the sources said. “One Chinese pistol with magazine, two Chinese grenades, 323 rounds of AK 47 were seized from the hideout,” they added. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has launched combing operations in the forest belt of Rajouri district to track down the militants who escaped during an encounter with the police in which top Lashkar and Hizbul commanders were killed. “We have launched combing operations in the Dharamshal forest belt to find other militants who escaped during the encounter yesterday,” SP Ramesh Kumar said. Searches are being held in Lallu Khetar, Tringla gali, Dharamshal forests for tracking down the militants.
— Agencies |
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R-Day: Tenants under scanner
Jammu, January 14 SHOs and Police Post in charges have been directed to keep a check, visit residential localities and collect details about the tenants putting up in their respective jurisdictions. Additional troops have been deployed at various checking points in and around the city while vehicles with tinted glasses are not being allowed to move in the city. “Tinted glasses on vehicles are being removed for security reasons while those vehicles, which are not authorised of using flasher lights, are also being challaned,'' a senior police officer said. Security in the winter capital has been beefed up ahead of the Republic Day celebration at Maulana Azad Stadium, situated in the heart of the city.
— UNI |
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Girl found murdered in Udhampur
Udhampur, January 14 This is the 16th murder in Udhampur during the past one year. The police does not rule out the involvement of family members in this case as two younger brothers of the deceased have been reportedly missing since morning. According to the police, the deceased had been hit on the head by rods, with blood oozing from both ears. Circumstantial evidence and initial investigation revealed that the girl had died due to a head injury and her body was later thrown in the fields. The body has been sent for autopsy. |
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