VDC members, SPOs without salary for months
Udhampur, February 6
Notwithstanding the claims of the authorities, members of the village defence committees (VDCs) and special police officers (SPOs), who have played a vital role in containing militancy in the erstwhile Doda district, have been facing hardships due to the non-payment of their salaries for the past five months.

Real estate slump in Jammu
Dealers blame meltdown, Amarnath row
Jammu, February 6
The far reaching effects of global meltdown and Amarnath land agitation are now being felt in the real estate business in Jammu, which has been hit badly in the past few months.

Private docs for ethical practice
Srinagar, February 6
With the unique concept of starting an academically oriented forum, a group of private doctors in Kashmir have floated the Kashmir Academy of Private Physicians (KAPP). Its motto is academics, ethics and patient care.

Round-the-clock library centre on Kashmir University campus

Srinagar, February 6 Kashmir University has taken a number of initiatives for improving the standards and facilities for its students and scholars at different levels. One such first step was taken here recently with the opening of round-the-clock library centre on the campus. The library centre on the Kashmir University campus.

Telecom war hots up in state
Jammu, February 6
With the entry of Reliance Communications in Jammu and Kashmir within days of the launch of Tata Indicom, the telecom war has hot up in the state.

Manda Deer Park Animals in miserable condition Jammu, February 6 Even as the state government has plan up its sleeves to launch the project snow leopard to save the endangered species, the Manda Deer Park on the outskirts of the winter capital resembles more of a torture cell for at least the fastest animal on earth, leopard and two black bears. A leopard in the Manda Deer Park, Jammu. A Tribune photograph

Mismatch woes of Kashmiri Pandit couples
Rise in divorce cases post-migration
Jammu, February 6
Unable to adjust to a different socio-cultural set-up and in the event of growing inter-caste marriages, there has been an alarming increase in the divorce rate among Kashmiri Pandit (KP) migrants.

Letter
Jammu-Srinagar highway in bad shape
The frequent closure of 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar national highway during winters gives a nightmarish experience to commuters, but the successive regimes continue to ignore the issue. Despite tall claims of the successive governments to make it a four-lane highway, the road link remains in bad shape, forcing stranded people to fend for themselves in sub-zero temperature.