Jammu, February 19
The state Cabinet today, approved the recommendations of the Cabinet subcommittee on the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission with the improvement that there shall be no lock-in period for withdrawal of arrears deposited to the GP Fund.

Chief Secretary SS Kapur said the revised pay structure in the state would be made effective from July 1 with notional increments from January 1, 2006. The salaries for July will be drawn in the revised pay structure and disbursed on August 1.

As regards the arrears, the same will be admissible from January 1, 2006. However, the issue of payment of pay revision arrears to the state government employees will be considered for settlement only after a proper and full funding for the same becomes available.

The modalities of withdrawal of amounts so credited to the GPF accounts will be worked out separately by the Finance Department. The Cabinet decided that the benefit of the pay revision would also be extended to the employees working in the PSUs and made effective from July 1.

The Cabinet also decided that the long-pending demands of the employees of PSUs for conversion of COLA into DA would be given a serious consideration by the Finance Department.

The daily-wage rates will be increased to a reasonable level after further consultations, as may be necessary and made effective from July 1.

The Cabinet also decided that a committee will examine the legal and financial issues involved in the regularisation of the ad hoc, contractual and consolidated employees and submit its report/findings in a time-bound manner before August.

The Cabinet also constituted a subcommittee to go into the extent/magnitude of financial, legal and administrative problems related to causal workers that may arise in the regularisation of such temporary workers.

About the demand for enhancement in the retirement age of the state government employees, there was a consensus that it may not be possible to be taken independent of the problem of rising levels of unemployment.

In another decision, the Cabinet decided that Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, would also be Principal Secretary, Information Department.

The Cabinet also decided that the revised Draft Bill on the RTI Act to bring the state law at par with the Central Act will be posted on the website of the General Administration Department for soliciting public opinion.

The samiti had threatened to resume their agitation, seeking withdrawal of the PSA against Bharti.

Jammu, February 19
With the operation of Srinagar-Dubai flight kicking off recently, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has urged the UAE to make arrangements here to process visa applications.

The CM, in a communication to Ambassador of UAE in Delhi Mohammad Sultan Al-Owais, has referred to the inconvenience faced by the passengers, as they have to get their visa clearance done from the embassy of UAE in New Delhi and then come back to Srinagar to board their flight.

As per a release issued here, Omar urged Ambassador to put in place arrangements in the city itself to process visa applications of the intending passengers.

In another communication to Union Minister for civil aviation Praful Patel, the CM has sought his personal intervention to convert the temporary structure at the Srinagar international airport, which had been raised to facilitate incoming and outgoing passengers during the construction of the new airport terminal building, into a separate Hajj terminal.

Meanwhile, in view of disruption in the road connectivity between Doda and Kishtwar and the rest of the state due to caving in of a road-stretch at Assar, the Chief Minister has taken up with Union Defence Minister AK Antony, the issue of the additional IAF sorties for airlifting of the essential commodities to the affected areas of Bhaderwah, Kishtwar and Doda.

Jammu, February 19
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has underscored the importance of Information Technology (IT) to villages to expand the ambit of modern technology and create jobs for skilled persons.

The Chief Minister was here to launch a scheme to take IT revolution to the villages in the state.

In a significant development, an agreement to set up 1109 kiosks in all 22 districts of the state to cover 6,654 villages and generate 2,000 jobs for youth was reached between the state government and J&K Bank.

The agreement was signed in the presence of the CM by chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Haseeb Drabu and principal secretary, Information Technology, Arun Kumar here today.

Jammu, February 19
The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) today seized 10 truckloads of items displayed on footpaths and 50 rehris during an anti-encroachment drive.

The JMC team along with a heavy posse of police and CRPF jawans started the drive from Vinayak Bazaar and Jewel this afternoon.

The enforcement wing seized 10 truckloads, including 50 rehris, and other
displayed goods.

In a five-hour-long drive the JMC team confiscated refrigerators, coolers, steel boxes and counters displayed outside shops in various markets of the city.

The drive would continue tomorrow. An official asked rehri operators to get valid licences from the JMC.

Jammu, February 19
Students of departments of languages like Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Dogri and English in Jammu University are getting a raw deal as after completing their courses and searching for employment prospects outside the campus they “don’t get parity” with their counterparts in rest of the streams at the campus.

“Computers and Internet are even today a distant dream for students in most of the departments. Even after earning a degree, one is aghast thinking what next?” some scholars said, adding that they are scared of supposed “bleak future”.

“Despite allocation of funds by the erstwhile Vice-chancellor, most of our departments unlike other departments don’t house well-furnished scholars’ room. Secondly, the threat of insecure future adds up to hindrances to our research work,” they said.

A research scholar in the Department of English complained: “Our department does not seem like a full-fledged department. The short-term course in functional English is not being carried out properly.”

A senior professor of arts faculty said: “We need to restructure our curriculum or add up new short-term professional courses at least having economic viability too for the subsistence of the pass outs.”

“Merely, knowledge of Ghalib, Kalidas, Shakespeare or Bulla Shah can not fetch you anything worthwhile in the present scenario. One has to have knowledge having practical utility too,” he said.

He said in subject like Sanskrit, students could have bright career in Astrology, Vaastu Shastra, Vedic Studies and Ayurveda that hold remarkable market value.

Varsity should immediately impress upon respective departments to start in-house journals in which the work of researchers could get published, he added.

Dean Academic Affairs BPS Sehgal said, “We have not received any proposal from these departments, if we get then the varsity has no problem in introducing them.”

As far as facilities are concerned, he said the departments were being provided the same in a phased manner.

Udhampur, February 19
Keeping in view the security threat, mobile companies have set up certain conditions to issue connections, but some dealers in mountainous districts of Doda and Kishtwar have been supplying SIM cards to militants through fake names.

About half a dozen dealers are under scanners for supplying pre-paid SIM cards to the militants through the over-ground workers (OGWs) active in this belt.

Sources said Mohammad Yasin, an OGW of the Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT), who was arrested yesterday night, had disclosed names of some of the dealers who have been supplying pre-paid SIM cards to the militants.

He was arrested with five SIM cards and a mobile set near Batote in Ramban district on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. He was allegedly taking these SIMs for militant groups active in this belt.

Ramban SSP Sunil Dutt said: “We are investigating how five SIM cards were issued to a single person.”

He admitted the involvement of some shopkeepers in this nexus as the arrested OGW had procured SIM cards especially from Doda.

The SSP, while giving details of the arrested militant, said Mohammad Yasin was on his way to Banihal from Doda to deliver SIM cards, pistol and cash to the LeT top commander, Abu Moosa, who is active in Banihal area.

Srinagar, February 19
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued notices to the Election Commission and all candidates from the Langate Assembly constituency, including winner Sheikh Abdul Rashid, following poll petition filed by PDP leader Mohammad Sultan Panditpuri.

Panditpuri, who was defeated by Rashid in the recent Assembly poll, has challenged the election of the latter to the Assembly because he continued to hold an office of profit on the day of filing nominations and on the day of scrutiny of the nominations.

Jehangir Iqbal Ganaie, who is representing Panditpuri, said the petition sought disqualification of Rashid on the grounds that he continued to be an employee of a corporation in which the government had a stake of 20 per cent or more at the time of filing his nomination papers.

Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir yesterday directed that notices be issued to the Election Commission of India, returning officer for Langate and all other candidates from the segment, including the incumbent MLA.

Justice Mir directed the case be listed after three weeks during which the respondents are expected to file their replies to the petition. — PTI

Rajouri, February 19
Troops seized a huge cache of ammunition, including two IEDs weighing 18 kg, in the Kenthol area of Argi Dhaleri here this afternoon.

Troops made these seizures from a militant hideout unearthed in a joint operation in the Kenthol forest area.

The recoveries from the hideout included two packets weighing 18 kg of IED (one weighing 10 kg and the other 8 kg), eight detonators, 10 UBGL grenades, aix Chinese rounds, 90 Pika gun rounds and 55 AK rifle rounds.

In another operation, troops of 25 RR and 156 Territorial Army (TA) unearthed a militant hideout near Jammu Shaheed post in the Surankote area of Poonch district this morning and seized arms and ammunition.

The recoveries from the hideout comprised an AK-47 rifle, 46 AK rifle rounds and
an AK magazine.

Srinagar: CRPF personnel escaped a grenade attack last evening but one civilian sustained injuries in the blast at Magarmal Bagh in Shergari here.

The police said militants threw a grenade towards a bunker of 73 battalion of the CRPF which missed the target and exploded on the roadside, causing injuries to Javed Ahmad Sheikh of Kulgam. The injured was rushed to hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, the Kulgam police and troops of 9 RR have apprehended Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Kulgam, an LeT militant. One hand grenade was seized from him.