Jammu, July 28
The whole city seems to be in disarray as the roads are either being dug up for laying water and sewer pipes or trenches are filled unevenly. City residents have been complaining about the poor state of roads while agencies responsible for the work are blaming each other for the delay.

This comprehensive sewerage scheme for division A of Greater Jammu under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, funded by the Ministry of Urban Development, was started in November 2006. The total budget for this project, which also covers Kashmir, is pegged at Rs 378 crore whereas for Jammu Rs 129.24 crore has been earmarked. The scheme has to meet the deadline before the financial year comes to an end in 2010. But the way the project is moving, it is unlikely to meet its deadline. In the midst of all this, city people are facing hardships while moving on the roads.

The National Building Construction Company (NBCC) has been given the charge of laying the sewer and water pipes in Jammu whereas in some pockets, the Eco Reconstruction Agency (ERA) is helping it in laying water pipes.

Thaseen Mustafa, superintending engineer, said, “We want NBCC to complete its work fast so that the PWD, too, can start black-topping on roads which come under its domain”.

The municipal corporation, too, does not seem to be happy either. Mubarak Singh, commissioner, said, “The work is very slow in the MC area which covers secretariat to Kachi Chawni to the most parts of the old city. It needs to pick up speed”.

ERA, which does not have plenty of areas to cover, also wants NBCC to finish its part of work so that it can take the work from thereon.

Vineeta Gupta, director, ERA, said, “Our stretch is small which we can finish quite early. But since ERA has to work in tandem with NBCC, we have to wait for it to finish its work. It is in the trench of 7 ft that they have to lay sewer pipes till 4 ft and refill it, and leave the 3-ft trench for ERA to lay water pipes. In some pockets, we have to lay only water pipes, but if in the one end of the road, NBCC is laying sewer pipes, we cannot dug the other end. In that case, we would have to leave space for commuters and passersby otherwise the whole road will get dug up”.

Not ready to take the whole burden of blame, Hemraj, general manager, NBCC, put forth a host of problems being faced by his people, leading to the delay in work. “Under the ground, there are already water supply lines, BSNL lines and other cables. They had been laid in a haphazard manner, which is making our task difficult as we are not getting enough space to lay pipes”. He also blamed narrow roads for the delay in work. “The city was developed without planning. The roads are very congested. We don’t have space to dig trenches and carry out our work. We need space to clear encumbrances. Despite all these problems, we are moving forward”.

He assured that if every thing went well and the government cooperated, the project would be completed by 2012.

Ashwini Kumar, chief engineer of the Urban Environment Engineering Department, assured that quality control was thoroughly maintained by independent companies and the entire project was being fully monitored by a divisional-level committee, headed by the divisional commissioner, Jammu. He said the matter regarding the new deadline of the project, as per the demand of NBCC, had been put before a high-level committee of the state government which would decide about it soon.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand has asked the authorities to stick to the deadlines set for the completion of the ongoing projects in the region. “I want the executing agencies to factor in all possibilities of unforeseen situations while fixing deadlines,” he said, adding that delays lend a bad name to the functioning of the government, which would not be tolerated at any cost.

He asked the NBCC and ERA to fix the time for the completion of works so that people did not face any inconvenience. He also asked the PHE authorities to lay water pipes before the blacktopping of the roads. The Deputy Chief Minister gave a patient hearing and asked the road and building department of the PWD and the ERA authorities to redress these by September.

Jammu, July 28
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently inaugurated the third phase of the Sitlee water treatment plant, which is aimed at increasing the supply of potable water to the city by 5.4 million gallons per day.

A Tribune team visited some houses in old Jammu city that were to benefit from the new water plant and found that there has been little change in the supply to these localities and people continue to face water scarcity as before.

“There has not been much difference in the water supply. It was irregular earlier and it still continues to be the same,” said Prem Lata, a resident of old Jammu city.

She said, “We still have to get up early in the morning to store water, as there is no change in supply timings”. The residents say the water pressure has increased after the inauguration of the plant.

“The water pressure has increased and we expect that the timing of supply would also be increased so that we don’t have to wake up in the wee hours to store water,” said Hemlata, another resident.

Chief engineer of the Public Health and Engineering Department VK Abrol said with the inauguration of the new plant, they expected to mitigate the water woes of the residents of the old Jammu city as it would add 5.4 million gallons of water per day to the present supply to the city.

Earlier, a majority of the residents in the area had to face an acute shortage of water, but with the third phase of the plant becoming operational, the residents say the situation has changed a little.

“Something is better than nothing. The old city area is amongst the most neglected areas of the city. We are not only facing erratic power supply but also dealing with an acute water shortage. Now, with the increase in the pressure, we expect that in the coming days the supply would also get better,” said Ashwani Kumar, a resident of the Kachi Chawani locality.

An official of the PHE department said due to poor rains earlier, the water level in the Tawi had gone down drastically, but recently with the scattered showers, the water level had increased to some extent. So if rains continue for some more time, the water woes of the entire region would be mitigated soon, he claimed.

Some of the residents in the old city said the pipelines laid by the PHE were old and had been leaking at many places while at some other places, the work of laying pipelines was left incomplete.

Udhampur, July 28
For the past one decade, poverty-stricken dwellers of Talwara migrant camp have been fighting a battle against the apathetic attitude of the successive state governments. Except promises, nothing concrete has been done for over 900 displaced families, who have taken shelter at Talwara and adjoining localities of Reasi district.

After a continuous struggle of nine years, 633 families were registered as migrants, but still more than 361 left-out families have been moving from pillar to post to get relief. Registration of genuine migrants was started in October 2007. After enrolling 633 families as migrant, the authorities, without any reason, stopped further registration citing some technical reasons, but had assured to complete the process within two months.

“As many as 21 months have lapsed, but no further registration has been done by the authorities,” rued Balwan Singh, president of the Migration Action Committee, adding, “Even those who were registered as migrants are not getting relief as per the directions of the Supreme Court”.

Dwellers of the Talwara migrant camp are victims of militancy. In the infamous Prankote-Dhakikote massacre, 26 members of the minority Hindu community, including some women and girls, were beheaded by militants in April 1998. In this incident, 19 members were hacked to death while seven others were charred alive when their houses were set on fire.

Jammu, July 28
Kerosene is supplied through the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department to ensure that people who use it for cooking their food can get it at controlled rates. However, residents of Nai Basti here allege that kerosene oil is being sold by the PDS on the black market, thus leaving the poor and needy masses in a miserable condition.

The residents allege that kerosene is being used by some people for mixing it with diesel for making a quick buck while the poor have to stand in long queues for hours together for getting a few litres of kerosene and at the end of the day, most of the people return empty handed as they are told that the stock has been exhausted. Ration cardholders are eligible to get kerosene once in a month. One family is entitled to 15 litre of kerosene oil in a month whereas their actual consumption is around 30 litres a month.

There are around 300 people in the area who are dependent on kerosene oil for cooking their food. They get 300 ml of kerosene at Rs 30 in the open market, which is unaffordable for them.

Expressing resentment, Poonam Dogra, an octogenarian woman, who was standing in a queue since 4 am along with a five-year-old child, said, “Every month, I have to stand in the queue from early in the morning till afternoon. I get oil sometimes, but most of the times, I return with empty canes. These distributors sell kerosene on the black market and refuse us the same on the pretext that the stock is finished or the coupon is not properly signed by the official concerned”.

Another resident said, “Usually, these distributors give preference to outsiders who pay more than the controlled rates while locals are told that the stock is over”.

One gets dejected on receiving such a reply after waiting for a long time, he added.

Bal Krishan, another resident, who has a monthly income of Rs 1,500, alleges that the rich siphon off the facility provided by the government for poor people like him. He says their condition is so wretched that they do not have the stamina to hold protest against this injustice.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact CAPD officials proved futile.

Srinagar, July 28
Interest drove Bashir Ahmad Malik, a science graduate, to floriculture and today, he is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in floriculture products and essential oils. His annual turnover is over Rs 60 lakh.

A resident of Chandapora-Harwan, Bashir deals with cut flowers (lilium and gladules) and essential oils (rose oil, lavender oil and rose-merry).

He owns a cut-flower farm in Chandapora-Harwan and a medicinal plants farm in Wangath-Kangan.

“Suitable climatic conditions favour floriculture in the Kashmir valley, but the absence of cold storage units and high transportation charges are the biggest hurdles,” says Bashir.

He says the basic facilities are missing in the valley. “We have to send our produce via air which is costly. The shelf life of the products is less and the absence of pre-cooling facilities makes growers suffer,” says the entrepreneur.

Referring to another problem, he says the cumbersome procedure involved in exporting the products bars them from availing the benefits.

“We cannot export our produce till we get a licence, which requires a lot of formalities. We simply can’t apply. Within the country, we can send our produce to Delhi or Mumbai. But we don’t get subsidy if we send our produce to Mumbai,” says Bashir.

He adds that floriculturists get subsidy under the greenhouse and other schemes. “Basically, it is a centre-sponsored subsidy that we get through the state government.”

Fida Ali Alamgeer, floriculture development and extension officer, says, “Entrepreneurs shouldn’t straightway go for floriculture. Many times, their expectations are shattered at the time of harvest. Either the produce is undersized or gets infested with some disease.”

Fida says the selection of the site and a suitable crop is important and a market survey at the inception of the trade also matters. “In case, quality plantation material is not used, as many as 49 per cent losses are anticipated in the standing crop”.

He adds that the government has to come forward and offer subsidy and incentives to floriculturists so that growers’ money is not wasted. “Heating and lighting system should be available on subsidy. Besides, training should be imparted to the growers by the department concerned both within and outside the Kashmir valley,” says Fida.

He says Himachal Pradesh is doing well in the field as the state has kept pace with the latest technology.

Sunderbani (Rajouri), July 28
Even as during the monsoon when gastrointestinal cases hit an all-time high, unhygienic conditions prevail at the health institutions here due to the shortage of safai karamcharis.

In the Sunderbani area, a majority of the health institutions, including sub-district hospital (SDH), Sunderbani, lack hygiene due to the shortage of safai karamcharis during the ongoing rainy season when the risk of gastrointestinal diseases is at an all-time high.

Residents of Sunderbani town said even as there was a great risk of gastrointestinal diseases during the monsoon season due to unhygienic conditions, lives of patients who seek treatment at the hospital here were at risk since the unhygienic conditions prevailed in the hospital as well. They added that the worst was the cleanliness scenario in the health institutions in the far-flung areas of the Sunderbani area.

“There are about 20 rooms in SDH, Sunderbani, but there are just two cleaners for the whole building which , too, is insufficient number to maintain hygienic conditions in the hospital.

Since unhygienic conditions prevailing during the monsoon season result in spurt in gastrointestinal diseases, if the unhygienic conditions prevail at the health institutions also, where would patients seek medical aid. Their lives are at risk,” said Joginder Gupta, a social worker and a resident of Sunderbani.

“The government should provide adequate number of cleaners so that hygienic conditions are maintained at least within the health institutions”.

Sources in the health department divulged that hygienic conditions were somewhat better in the SDH since the department temporarily shifted four to five safai karamcharis from about 50 health institutions in the entire Sunderbani area comprising Community Health Centres (CHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Allopathic Dispensaries (ADs), Medical Aid Centres and Sub-Centres.

He added that since the department temporarily shifted cleaners from adjoining health centres to the SDH, unhygienic conditions prevailed in those health institutions putting the lives of poor patients at risk.

Another resident, Sham Lal of the Devak area, who suffered from a gastrointestinal problem recently and had to seek treatment from the adjoining PHC in the Hathal area, said, “Even as I went to seek treatment from the health institution, I felt that I was rather better off at my home where we at least maintain some sort of hygiene. The conditions of health institutions are worse than our homes”.

“We hear that the department has not posted adequate number of cleaners. If the government is really serious about saving the lives of people, it should depute more cleaners in the health institutions”.

Dr Manjeet Singh Anmol, chief medical officer, Rajouri, admitting that there was shortage of cleaners in the health institutions in the Sunderbani area, told The Tribune that, “We project the shortage of staff continuously with our higher-ups. It is up to them to sort out the same”.

Jammu, July 28
The entire Jammu division has received a deficient rainfall during the past two months, thereby aggravating the problems of farmers, who are traditionally dependent on monsoon rains.

Udhampur and Kathua are the worst affected districts of the division, recording 45-47 per cent departure from the normal rainfall. Jammu district, including the basmati rich RS Pura belt, too, registered 23 per cent less rainfall.

Giving details, Sonam Lotus, director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Srinagar centre, said up to July 25, Udhampur district recorded 246 mm rainfall as against the normal 468 mm. Kathua registered 191 mm rainfall as against 350 mm, he said.

Similarly, Jammu district registered a departure of 73 mm from the normal rainfall of 320 mm, the director said. He, however, pointed out that the scanty rainfall in Jammu changed to near normal rainfall due to moderate to heavy rainfall in the region during the past two weeks.

Jammu, July 28
Children love to live in their own world of fantasies. They imagine to fit in any role and like to acquire limitless magical powers, which, however, they do not get in real life.

This was the crux of the children’s play “Main Aisa Kyun, Main Vaisa Kyun”, staged here recently.

Based on a new concept of performance, the participating children tried to reveal that everyone likes to have his or her own imagination and children are no exception.

A girl child in the play wanted her parents to become her children so that she could teach them the real way of parenting. The other child artiste wanted to transform into Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan to acquire the magic like “Krrish”, which the actor had in that movie.

There were series of such imaginations and demands, but remained confined only to their world of fantasies. A boy, who acquires the magic of answering any question, scores top position in an examination, but when it comes to the real-life exam, he fails completely. The same was the fate of that girl who wanted to teach her parents the art of parenting.

The play ends with a realisation among the children that they are the best in their real-life situation. Real parents are the best and no one can substitute them. Hard work cannot be replaced by any magic to succeed in life.

The children who participated in the play included, Ojusvini Kotwal, Rhythm Misher, Gopi Sharma, Bhayashree Kotwal, Gauri Thakur, Kibria Nasir, Prachika Kanotra, Shathya Sharma, Shivansh Gupta, Neelanjali Kanotra, Manasvini Oswal, Abhishek Sharma, Suvarcha Singh, Pawar, Japnit Kaur, Shivam Mehra, Divyansh Mehra, Shivam Gupta, Shriya Gupta, Rajvir Singh, Rakshita Khajuria, Isha Singh, Ishan Singh, Harshvardan Singh, Chanderpratap Singh, Priyanshu Sharma, Jatin Kaul, Harbir Singh, Simran Gupta, Archita Sharma, Kritika Bahu, Aavishi Arora, Akshaj Rohmetra, Devashish Singh, Sanyam Gupta, Bhabika Singh, Srijan Anad and Abhi Bargotra.

Written and directed by Sumeet Sharma, the play was produced during the 40-day children’s theatre workshop, organised by the Natrang Theatre in collaboration with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.

Pawan Kotwal, divisional commissioner, Jammu, was the chief guest, while Ashok Sharma, divisional traffic manager, Northern Railways, was the guest of honour.

If you have a grievance against a public utility, or if you have a complaint about any dealing with a public servant, in a government office, bank, finance company, post office, insurance company, in a train or at a bus stand… or if your grievance has not been attended to, write to Tribune Adalat, J&K Plus, The Tribune, Sector 29 C, Chandigarh.

Complaints against individuals will not be entertained.

Your complaint is our concern and The Tribune offers to suitably highlight it.

The Tribune for a better J&K