Jammu, April 7
For the want of a juvenile home, Omkarnath Jha, a 10-year-old inmate of Bal Sakha of Patna, escaped from the custody of the Government Railway Police (GRP) of Jammu where he stayed for four days before fleeing.

Since the GRP had no place to keep the child, it had contacted Jammu Childline to make arrangement before the child ran away. The childline, which, too, does not have any such arrangement, kept contacting other NGOs for the purpose. All this gave sufficient time to the child, who was also being probed about his whereabouts, to elope in one of the trains on March 26. The whereabouts of the child are still unknown.

The Juvenile Act, which was passed by Jammu & Kashmir High Court in 1994, has not been implemented in its letter and spirit. According to the Act, a constitutional committee headed by a judicial magistrate has to probe such cases, but no such committee has been formed till now.

The co-coordinator of Jammu Childline, OP Gupta, said, “Such incidents have happened in the past as well. Most NGOs’ either express helplessness in accommodating juveniles due to the shortage of space or accept children only on permanent basis. But in such cases, we need shelter on stopgap basis till we counsel the child and find out the cause of his elopement and the place of origin.”

Gupta signalled towards the glaring loophole in the system by saying, “Unlike other states, J&K does not have any juvenile home where such children can be provided shelter unless they are rehabilitated to the place of their origin. Other than that, many children have been able to escape for the want of appropriate security. But once we have juvenile homes, this problem will be sorted out.”

No one knows where the innocent orphan, Omkarnath, has finally landed, but before many such incidents happen, the state government has to wake up to the dire need of creating juvenile homes on the lines of other states in the country.

Srinagar, April 7
A decent proportion of tourists descending on the valley every summer has always been from Punjab and one of their as well as local tourism industry’s most durable gripe has been the absence of air connectivity between Srinagar and Chandigarh.

As the tourist season peaks up in the coming weeks, the ever-limping tourism industry in Kashmir, thanks to news of violence emanating from its hinterlands despite the relative calm in its tourist hubs, has got some amount of boost with the announcement of the beginning of a maiden flight between Srinagar and Chandigarh.

Kingfisher Airlines will be starting the daily flight between the two cities from the last week of this month. Those connected with the tourism sector said it is just the right time. “Punjab is one of our important markets and absence of the direct air connectivity had been a sore point with the tourism industry. It will encourage people to arrive in the valley in comfort and enjoy the summer,” said tourism director Farooq Shah.

Though New Delhi, from where several flights arrive in Srinagar everyday, is only five hours away from Chandigarh, many prefer the cool environs of nearby Shimla instead of the long detour to Srinagar.

Incidentally, Himachal Pradesh is a major competition to the valley in tourism sector, even though officials insist that Kashmir is more richly endowed with natural beauty but the hilly state scores on connectivity and peace quotient. With the beginning of a daily flight, they believe it could attract a fair portion of tourists.

And it is not all about tourism as the Kashmir traders have a major interest in Punjab, where its shawls and handicrafts are so sought after that even their fakes have a ready market and they often fly to New Delhi for work in Punjab.

Airline officials said the inauguration of the flight that would run via Jammu during these gloomy times for the travel industry was itself an evidence of the potential of the sector.

Another beneficiary of the flight is likely to be defence officials hailing from North India, who are posted in large numbers in the valley.

Jammu, April 7
No wonder politicians, who garner votes by playing divisive politics in name of religion and caste, go to seek the blessings of both “allah” and “ishwar” during election time at the 200-year-old mazaar of Khawaja Surfuddin Sahib and Maha Shiv Parvati Om temple situated in close vicinity to each other on the Tawi bridge.

Both monuments, which stand tall on one of the busiest roads here, speak volumes about communal harmony among the people of Jammu.

The green hued building of the mazaar, situated on the banks of the Tawi, has further expanded to a mosque Masjid Kalandari, Darrullam Kadriya Rizwiya Madrasa and an idgah. People come here to get their wishes fulfilled.

Interestingly, many times, festivities at both religious places take place on one single day, but never ever any clash took place. Confirms Abdul Rashid, caretaker, “I have grown old serving in the mazaar and people of all castes, be it Hindu, Sikh or any other religion, all of them come here. We also share good relations with the priest of the temple who keep visiting us time to time on friendly terms”.

Om Prakash Shastri, the main priest of the temple, corroborates the statement of Rashid, saying, “Yes, people from both sides exchange goods. Sometimes, if required, they come to us or we go to their side to get water or any other thing needed.”

In contrast to the emerald color of mazaar, the striking colors of orange, white and red of the temple complement each other.

The temple, which is merely 20 years old, is also known as Sheesh Mahal, as it is made of shimmering pieces of glasses, reflecting the images of idols through each piece.

No matter what transpires throughout the country in Hindu-Muslim relations, it never affected the camaraderie of both these communities here in Jammu, especially at these two sacred places, as Shastri states, “For the past 16 years, ever since I have been living in this temple, I have been sending sweets to the mazaar on every Diwali and other big festival.

On Shivratri, we also feed the children of madrasa. How can we forget our immediate neighbors in our festivities? We have developed good relations over the time.”

Jammu, April 7
With the entry of new telecom operators in the state, the telecommunication war to make new customers is gaining momentum.

Though after the launch of mobile telecom services in the country, the state had to face a mobile ban for a few years for security reasons as security agencies apprehended that terrorist organisations operating here would misuse the services,the situation changed completely after the central government gave a go-ahead to service providers to start their services in the state. Now, there seems that every major player in the sector is eager to set up network in the state.

First, it was the government- controlled BSNL that started the mobile service in the state and only a few thousand connections were given on the basis of draw of lots.For a few months, for many people owning a mobile phone was considered a status symbol.

Airtel was the first private company that entered the state and broke the monopoly of the BSNL which, at that time, had not offered any schemes or incentives for subscribers.

After gauging the success that Airtel achieved in the region, more private telecom companies from the private sector started investing and raising infrastructure in the state.

Such is the potential of the telecom market in Jammu that almost every big telecom company in the country now wants to come and establish its network here. Though various private companies are yet to start operations, it is believed that Jammu and Kashmir has more network penetration than any other state in the country.

The companies that have come in the state include BSNL, Airtel, Aircel, Tata Indicom, Reliance communication.Now, Vodafone is all set to launch its services in the state. In order to woo the subscribers, these companies are offering various attractive services .Some are offering extended validity whereas some are offering free talk-time on easy recharges.

“This competition between various telecom companies is good for the common man of the state who can now enjoy various schemes and take the benefit of the offers given by these companies”, said Sahil Kaul, a resident of Talab Tillo, Jammu.

In order to retain its customer base which was switching over to other companies due to its erratic services,the BSNL has started its new 3G services in Jammu.

Jammu, April 7
It’s exam time in colleges, so nervousness is obvious, but subtle uncertainty amongst hostellers is also quite palpable. The reasons for nervousness are not only rooted in the sense of securing good percentage but also from the feeling of uncertainty emanating from impending homelessness.

College students residing in the different hostels are faced with tough times, as under the prevailing norms they are bound to leave hostels soon after the exams are over. While most of the career-conscious students want to stay there and prepare for the competitive exams, there are others who consider “away from home” as blissful.

Generally, the students opting for hostels hail from the far-flung areas and cannot afford rental accommodation coupled with heavy food and other expenses. They consider hostels as favourite place and boarders develop good bonhomie with each other during the academic year.

“Here, we get affordable accommodation, good friends, studious environment and social security. On the contrary, paying guest accommodation can never be trusted,” said a student of the Government College for Women, Parade.

“Parents never allow girls to stay out independently. Now, hostel is a second home to me. So, if we were asked to leave the hostel, it would be a setback to our academic pursuits as well. Government must intervene and address our genuine problem,” adds her fellow hosteller.

Every year, thousands of students come to Jammu for pursuing higher education in the university, degree colleges, BEd colleges, professional colleges and even in higher secondary.

Apart from the students belonging to the 10 districts of the Jammu division, students from the Ladakh region also prefer to come to Jammu instead of going to Kashmir that otherwise is nearer to them.

“We have been served notice to leave our accommodation along with our luggage. It’s for sure a disturbing time for us. Since, it’s my final year of graduation and I have been preparing for the competitive exams, it’s a bad news for me,” rued a student of the MAM College. “We pleaded the college administration to let us reside in the hostel till the results are out but to no avail.

“One learns a lot by the group discussions, so none of my friends wants to separate after leaving the hostel. Accommodation outside is too costly and secondly, one is always uncertain whether there would be a conducive atmosphere for studies or not,” said a student of GGM Science College.

“What purpose the vacant buildings would serve to the college administration if they don’t let us stay here,” said his friend.

Jammu, April 7
Arranging a square meal is a no mean feat for this little boy. Scorching sun has robbed his face of the childhood charm. Unlike students of his age, doors of school are quite unfamiliar to him. Where children of his age have hundred and one sources of recreation, even TV is strange to him.

He is six-year-old Sunny, a motherless child, begging for alms just underneath a board displaying “Department of Computer Sciences and Information Technology” in the University of Jammu.

Wearing tattered and grubby clothes, walking barefooted, he is approaching the students scattered in groups around the coffee booth. His lips are parched; hair oily but unmanaged and eyes seeking favour. Whomsoever he approaches, remains lip locked bearing an obvious sign of contempt on his face.

He is as silent as his flickering eyes. While stretching out left hand for alms, he prefers to keep his right one in the pocket. Whether he gets a coin or not, it hardly excites him as the face expression tends to remain the same.

As soon as he approached a group, he became a laughing stock. He has no option but to leave the site. A girl watching all this feels sorry for him and places a coin on his rough palm. This evokes a sense of sympathy in boy besides her. He too follows her action.

A swanky boy flanked by fellow students a little away calls him near and promises Rs 50 provided he proposes a girl sitting nearby. He declines the offer without speaking anything and moves ahead.

Now, he turns towards us. Sunny replies to the enquiries of my friend, Arjun, but without reciprocating or sharing Arjun’s curiosity or looking in his face, “I am putting up in Shekhpur along with my father. He is also a vagrant owing to his handicap. I haven’t seen my mother,” Sunny discloses.

“Whenever I go to temple at Bahu Fort, I collect Rs 35-40 a day. But here I make Rs 50-60,” he averred. “Do you know A-B-C?” my friend asks. “No,” Sunny replied. How do you know counting then?” he throws another question. “People ask for broken money it made me learn counting while exchanging money,” he answered innocently.

Acquainting us with his dreams, he sounded witty. “I wish to go school and learn A, B, C, …” he said.

Having found him in a fix, my friend plucked a note from the wallet and hurriedly handed it over to him. Without a second expression on his face or a word of gratitude, he left us in a profound sense of defeat and helplessness.

Udhampur, April 7
After its success in Jammu district, the National Horticulture Development Board has diverted its attesntion towards Udhampur district to involve people in strawberry cultivation.

Although, Udhampur is drought- prone area, yet there are some places that are identified as ideal spots for the cultivation of this crop, which has been gradually becoming popular cash crop among farmers of the Jammu province.

Chief horticulture officer, Udhampur, DD Dogra, who has taken the initiative to encourage the farmers of Udhampur to cultivate strawberry, told The Tribune that the main aim of organising awareness camp was to educate the farmers about the benefits of this cash crop.

“We have successfully roped in a large number of farmers in Jammu district that has produced a record 80 metric tonne of strawberry during the last year. Popularity of this crop can be gauged from the fact that the Horticulture Department has imported 4 lakh “runners” from the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh to fulfill the demand of the farmers,” he said. He further said Udhampur is the next target of the Horticulture Department to popularise this crop.

At present, the farmers in the Reeti area of Udhampur have been producing strawberry and selling their product in the local market. The department has identified the hilly areas of Ramnagar, Chenani, Dodu Basantgarh and Majalta for the cultivation of strawberry. Some pockets of the Painthal belt of Udhampur have also been identified for the strawberry cultivation.

“Requirement of water is must for this crop, so we have identified only those areas where water is available”, Dogra said, adding, “The Horticulture Department has so far received encouraging response from the farmers of Udhampur, as a large number of people have approached to start cultivation of this crop”.

The Horticulture Department with the collaboration of the Strawberry Growers Association (SGA) of Jammu has also organised awareness programme on the “Scope of Commercial Strawberry Cultivation” to educate the farmers.

It was informed during the camp that the strawberry cultivation has emerged as a means of livelihood for a large number of farmers in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Reasi districts.

District development commissioner, Udhampur, Ajay Khajuria had told the meeting that all out efforts would be made to popularise the strawberry cultivation in the district by involving various agencies associated with the crop based on modern techniques in the near future.

Chief horticulture officer speaking on the occasion said the farmers could play an imperative role in changing the economy of the country by producing bumper crops in their fields by taking the specialists of their department into confidence. He also gave a detailed resume of activities being covered under the technology mission for the benefit of the farming community.

Jammu, April 7
To cater to cardiac patients in Jammu city and its peripheral areas, a 25-bedded superspecialty cardiac hospital has come up on the Airport Road in RS Pura.

“It is for the first time in the Jammu’s history that such a hospital has come up, as till recently there were only three cardiologists in the Government Medical College to cater to the needs of the people of the entire Jammu division,” maintained owner of the hospital Dr Dinesh Soodan.

Dr Soodan believes that more such facilities should come up in the rural areas of the Jammu division, where most of the people are debarred from the access to medical diagnosis, diagnostic labs, special and advanced medical technologies to diagnose the growing menace of the cardiovascular diseases.

“Stress, strain, hectic lifestyle, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and sedentary habits have resulted in a situation where ailments like blood pressure and even cardiac problems have become common, especially in the middle class people. But, it is an astonishing fact that more and more people of younger age are getting affected by the diseases that were earlier related to the old age,” said Dr Soodan.

According to Dr Soodan, the fees for the poor is very reasonable so that nobody is deprived from the benefits of the latest medical technologies in the field of cardiovascular non-invasive treatments.

He further informed that the arrangement have also been made for monthly visits by the renowned superspecialist physicians and cardiologists from Delhi for expert consultation. “All the facilities would be provided to the patients under one roof and that, too, under the supervision of the qualified specialists,” maintained Dr Soodan. 

Jammu, April 7
With the announcement and nomination of candidates for the first two phases wrapped up, political parties in Jammu are busy plugging the loopholes and sinking in their differences to give a picture perfect image to the voters before it gets magnified in campaigns.

Despite being in coalition, Congress candidates could be seen campaigning in their constituency without any support from their coalition partner, the National Conference. They fought against each other in the Assembly polls, but collaborated after elections to form the government. People in the state felt jilted at this overnight turnaround as they were not taken into confidence even after the formation of the government.

None of the Congress or NC leaders or workers held any formal function or programme at grass-roots level in their areas to declare their merger. This could be a mere embarrassment for the representatives of both political parties to face people with their opponents as their new companions whom they denigrated in the elections.

The differences between both partners were stark clear until a rally at Sunderbani which was held by top Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of State for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz along with NC MLAs Radhey Sham Sharma and Rash pal Sharma, three days ago to campaign for Congress candidate Madan Lal Sharma.

Rashpal Sharma made it clear to his cadre in the NC from the dais itself that they would have to work with Congress leaders in their campaign, and if somebody did not cooperate he would have to sit at home. He warned them not to have any doubts about the matter.

Like the Congress, the BJP, too, did its damage control exercise by inviting all dissident leaders at the home of BJP legislature party leader Chaman Lal Gupta two days ago. At the behest of party president Rajnath Singh and general secretary Arun Jaitley, the dissident leaders who were peeved at not fielding Gupta’s son Anil Gupta for Udhampur-Doda were made clear that they should accept Dr Nirmal Singh’s candidature from the seat and contribute by helping him in campaign in party’s interest. The message, loud and clear in its intent, was accepted by rebel leaders, MLA Kathua Lal Chand, Jadish Sapolia and Durga Das. Before quelling this rebellion, the top BJP leadership had to intervene to contain dissidence over the candidature of outsider Leela Karan Sharma. 

Srinagar, April 7
Doordarshan Kendra, Srinagar, has extended the telecast of its DD Kashmir channel across several continents making its presence felt in about 150 countries. With this, it has reached out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the valley, living outside the country.

The channel has received a huge response from Kashmir-based non-resident Indians (NRIs) residing in European, West Asia and several South East Asian countries, officials here said.

The channel has succeeded in achieving huge viewership base in foreign countries. “There is a huge response to the channel from NRIs putting up in West Asian countries and parts of Dubai. The feedback from the viewers in these and other countries of the world shows that our programmes are being appreciated and watched keenly and we have been able to strike a chord with the Kashmiris who are living thousands of miles away from their home for several decades now,” a spokesman said.

He said the response cell of the channel received scores of emails each day, with 90 per cent of them from Kashmiris who found the channel a blend of both traditional and contemporary values. “The emails which we receive on daily basis indicate that the global viewers particularly NRIs appreciate the channel for its traditional content with shades of contemporary art, culture, music and changing trends among society portraying the rich and dynamic civilisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.

The spokesman quoted a viewer from Dubai, Syed Waseem, who said, “Phone-in programmes like ‘Hello DD’, ‘Doctor Online’ and ‘Sitaroon Sey Aagey’ are a huge success”.

He added that the channel had also been appreciated for organising live cultural and religious progarmmes, documentaries and talent-hunt shows.

Attributing the success of the channel to its reach, access and local content, director, Doordarshan Kendra, Srinagar, Rafeeq Masoodi, said, “Our hard work is being appreciated and we are getting good feedback for the new look and series of programmes particularly focused on Kashmiris living abroad”.

“However, sometimes we have to face criticism also from our viewers who want the channel to be more colourful and demand more programmes based on youth,” Masoodi added.