Jammu, September 28
The much awaited festival of Dussehra, symbolising the victory of good over evil, was celebrated in Jammu with religious fervour and gaiety today.Effigies of demon King Ravana, Kumbhkarana and Mehgnatha were burnt at various places across the city. The main function took place in Dussehra ground atGandhi Nagar.

“Dussehra symbolises the victory of good over evil. To commemorate the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king, this festival is observed so every year,” said an organiser of the programme in Jammu.

People in large numbers, especially children, reached at the ground to witness the burning of the effigies. “I bring my son every year with me to watch this festival. The aim is to inculcate in him the sense that good always prevails on evil, so that he does not take to the path of evil,” said Sushma Kaul, a resident of Shastri Nagar, Jammu.

Children were seen purchasing swords, bows and arrows. Many of them were dressed as Lord Rama and were seen enjoying the burning of effigies.

SRINAGAR: Thousands of people gathered at the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) Ground here this evening to witness Dussehra celebrations. “Ravana Dahan” was organised by Kashmiri Pandits residing in the valley.

People from all communities, including Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, participated in the event. It seemed as if they were trying to send a message of peace and harmony to the government and political leadership of different shades, said Sanjay K Tickoo, president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS).

“Many of our Muslims brethren who offered Id prayers at the TRC grounds on Monday last were witness to the Dussehra celebrations at the same place this evening,” Tickoo said. 

Jammu, September 28
Every day, hundreds of devotees who are coming to Katra on buses from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu to offer prayers at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine are facing hardship as the buses from these states leave them at Lakhanpur toll plaza, instead of dropping them at Katra or Jammu for the past few days.

Cashing on this crisis, private vehicle owners are also fleecing more than double fare from the devotees.

Complaining about the mismanagement and chaos, Ramesh Sharan, a devotee from Una, said: “We have no option but to pay high fare for opting for private transport services, as the bus dropped us without caring for our grievance, complaints and arguments. We wonder, if the administration is also sleeping through this, which earns crores of revenue through pilgrims.”

Jagdish Verma, traffic manager, Jammu, said: “By dropping passengers to Lakhanpur instead of Jammu or Katra, the buses from other states are incurring at least 20 per cent loss in their revenue.”

He said even the private buses, which have been given permit to ply only from Jammu to Kathua, were going up to Pathankot to pick these passengers and make quick money from this predicament. Surprisingly, no body was checking this illegal operation, he added.

Regional transport officer, Kathua, Ravi Kumar expressed ignorance about the private buses minting money by going out of the way from their permits. He assured that he was going to check this menace strictly.

Meanwhile, Ashok Mehra, provincial president, SRTC said: “We welcome the unconditional support from bus-operators of other states but we also sympathise with the devotees who are facing umpteen problems.”

Jammu, September 28
A Jammu-based agricultural scientist has warned farmers growing Bt cotton in Punjab and Haryana against complacency, as the cash crop could fall prey to various pests in the coming years.

Dr. Rajinder Peshan, associate professor at the division of agriculture extension education of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences, after years of research, has warned Bt cotton growers that the pest- resistant variety of the crop would also fall prey to various insects if they do not adopt Integrated Pest Management practices.

In 2002, the government of India had started cotton insecticide resistance management programmes in 10 states, covering 28 districts. “As the yield of seed cotton in Punjab decreased from around five quintal per acre to two quintals due American bollworm, the programme was necessitated” Peshan said.

“It was only after Gujarat released Bt cotton in 2002 that the yield increased to about seven quintal per acre,” he added.

“In 2005, the Punjab government gave an official nod to cultivation of Bt cotton, but prior to that 78 per cent farmers in Punjab had already started its cultivation,” he said.

Dr Peshan, who has authored three books, said there was no proper mechanism for evaluation of IPM programmes and projects in the country.

“In the first book, we found that reduction in the use of pesticides since 1997 was due to the banning of BHC by the Government of India, introduction of newer molecules whose dosage were 35 times less than the organophospate etc,” Peshan said.

The third book titled “Evaluation of insecticides resistance management programme: Theory and practice” provides a model for evaluation of insecticide resistance management programmes.

According to Dr Peshan, Integrated pest management is a strategy that includes mechanical and cultural control of resistant varieties in as compatible a manner as possible and maintaining pet population at levels below those causing economic loss. The pesticides have to be used as a last resort and beneficial insects, which provide natural control, should be conserved.

Jammu, September 28
The revenue wing of the local municipal corporation has launched a special drive to collect rent from the municipal allottees who have failed to deposit the same to the corporation in time.

For the first time, the corporation has started this drive under the supervision of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Charandeep Singh.

The purpose is to strengthen MC’s weak exchequer and to teach a lesson to shopkeepers who seem reluctant to pay rent to the corporation.

The corporation has provided land for running shops, godowns and community halls to certain persons, in lieu of rent ranging between Rs 300 and 500.

“Majority of these municipal allottees have not paid their rent for the past many years. As a result, the arrears have gone up. These persons seem reluctant to pay the rent,” said Charndeep Singh. “We will further intensify the drive against defaulters and can even take the help police for that,” he added.

Four shops were sealed by the corporation yesterday in Shakti Nagar, Bakshi Nagar and Maheshi Gate. These shopkeepers had not paid the rent despite several notices by the corporation. According to sources, the corporation has collected a rent of Rs 15 lakh from its allottees since April. The CRO has appealed to all shopkeepers to clear their dues so as to avert any action by the corporation.

Jammu, September 28
Visitors to the Lakhdatta Bazaar were a harried lot today, as the two-feet main drain in ward number11, which passes through the market, got choked and sewage was leaked onto the road. The foul smell emanating from the sewage made the problem worse.

Lambasting the Municipal Corporation, Pawan Kumar, an area resident said: “The drain has not been desilted by the corporation since its construction. It has become a nuisance for the residents of the area now.”

Sanjay Mahey, councillor from the area, squarely blamed the Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) for the mess. “This drain was constructed by the UEEDthree months back, but they closed it entirely by putting slabs over it. They have left no place from where it can be cleaned,” he said.

He added that the contractors did not take advice from the area residents before constructing the drain.

“As soon as information was received, I deputed 10 safai karamcharies for clearing the silt but there was no place from where it could be done,” he said.

He has also brought the incident to the notice of secretary and health officer of the corporation, who has assured that the drain would be cleaned in the morning.

Rajouri, September 28
In a rare act of bravery, a 20-year-old girl, along with her brother, axed a militant to death in Kalsian village of Upper Shahdara area of Thanamandi, late last night. The slain militant is believed to be a commander of Laskar-e-Toiba militant outfit.

Police sources said Rukhsana along with her younger brother Ajaz Ahmed (18) after seeing their parents - Noor Muhammad and Rasheeda Begum - and uncle Walayat Hussain being roughed up by three militants entered into a scuffle with them.

In the melee, the girl killed one of the militants with an axe and injured the others, who later fled.

“At around 10.00 pm a group of three militants knocked at the door of Noor Muhammad’s house. Since he did not open the door, the militants entered his brother Walayat Hussain’s house and forced their way into Noor’s house with his help. They later started to beat them up. However, Rukhsana mustered courage and attacked them with an axe,” said a local from the area.

The third militant, who was unarmed, carried his injured partner back and left the body behind.

Source added that the father and uncle of Rukhsana also managed to snatch the AK rifles from the militants.

Later, they handed over the weapons as well as the body to the police. A police personnel has been deployed for the security of the family.

Immediately after the incident, intercepts by the security forces revealed that the slain militant was named Osama and was a commander with the 
LeT outfit.

“We are investigating the matter. If what the locals are claiming is right, we will recommend the girl for a bravery award,” said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, Rajouri-Poonch range, SD Singh Jamwal. 

Rajouri, September 28
With fencing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the twin frontier districts of Rajouri and Poonch almost complete, one may have expected a dip in infiltration from across the border.

However, if sources were to be believed there has been a marked increase in infiltration attempts and a majority of them have been successful. As many as 50 militants have reportedly entered Rajouri and Poonch districts in the recent past.

Between July and September, infiltration bids by militants were between 12-15, which is higher than last year’s figures for the same months.

“A majority of these infiltration attempts have been through the hilly areas, as the maize crop as well as the grass is fully grow during this time of the year, which provides perfect hiding conditions. As many as 50 intruders have sneaked in through Mendhar, Krishna Ghatti and the Sawjian sector of Poonch district,” a source claimed.

“We acknowledge that infiltrators try to take advantage of the hilly terrain, but most of the times their attempts are foiled,” said a senior Army officer serving in a forward area along the LoC in the Mendhar sector. “They are acclimatised to the hills and know the terrain better than us. It is not easy to maintain guard along the whole length of the LoC,” he added.

“As long as training camps are running in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), such infiltration bids will continue,” said another source.

Jammu, September 28
Member of BJP National Executive Dr Nirmal Singh after a three-day tour of different areas of erstwhile Doda interacted with mediapersons and prominent figures from various walks of life, here today. State general secretary Bali Bhagat was also present on the occasion.

Dr Nirmal said in the political field, the valley, with a total area of 16,000 sq kms, sends 46 MLAs to the assembly while erstwhile Doda district with 10,000 sq kms area sends only six, which was discriminatory.

Regarding the Central university and other projects, he said Jammuites has to struggle hard and for long periods. He added that this step-motherly treatment with Jammu has been due to the fact that people are being misled into sending such representatives to the Parliament and Assembly who become puppets in the hands of Kashmiri leaders.

On this occasion, Bali Bhagat said during the 19 years of militancy, the SPOs (Special Police Officer) have rendered splendid services, but they are not being paid adequately.

He said the SPOs play a major role in operations against militants and many a time sacrifice their lives. However, it was unfortunate that they are terminated even if they miss duty due to some emergency even for two or three days. Bhagat demanded that the salaries of SPOs should be immediately hiked. 

Jammu, September 28
The Jammu province president of the Youth National Conference Surinder Singh Bunty today described Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as an unbiased man for whom all the three regions of the state hold equal importance.

“By convincing the Union government to set up two Central Universities in the state, the CM has proved that he treats both the regions equally and that the National Conference does not believe in divisive politics,” he said while addressing mediapersons here today.

Bunty also thanked the Congress leadership of the state for wholeheartedly supporting the decision. Notably, on Omar’s insistence the Union government shelved the plans of setting up an IIM in Srinagar and instead gave its consent for two Central varsities to prevent a regional divide.

Bunty also praised the fast-track recruitment policy of the government and the recently announced CM’s grievance call centre.

“The new employment policy of the government scheduled to be announced on the birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah on December 5 will usher in an era of dignity and security for the youth of the state,” he said.

Jammu, September 28
Despite Farooq Abdullah being the Union Cabinet Minister for New and Renewable Energy, the use of solar energy in the state is quite low.

Contrary to the department claims of having spread enough awareness about the benefits of renewable energy among the masses, people in the state seem to have little knowledge about its uses. Even those who use it said the equipment is too costly if purchased from the market.

Experts opined that given the climatic conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, solar power could be put to better use in this energy deficient state.

“Tired of the erratic power supply, I purchased a solar power panel but it was too costly and I was not aware that there was a department that was providing these panels on subsidised rates,” said Preetam Singh, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar in Jammu, who has installed a small solar panel on the terrace of his house. Notably, the average price of a domestic solar panel ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

He said a majority of the residents were facing the same problem and preferred to install battery- powered inverters. “Inverters are quite cheap as compared to a solar panel. The government claims much, but the ground reality is different. Therefore, we purchased an inverter,” said Manjeet Singh, another resident of Ambedkar Nagar.

Interestingly, when a team from The Tribune visited the office of the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JKEDA) science and technology department yesterday, the doors were found locked. The peon later informed that the staff had already left.

Talking over the phone from Srinagar, additional CEO of the JKEDA, Prithvi Raj Dhar said: “The government provides heavy subsidy on the solar electricity panel; a panel that costs around Rs 15,000 is given for only Rs 5000.”

He added that the distribution target of the solar panels are quite less whereas the amount of applications received are huge.

“When we receive our targets, we forward the information to the Deputy Commissioner who invites the applications. As the number of applications are massive, the panels are distributed after a draw of lots,” said Dhar.

Every panel the department sells has a capacity of 37 watts with two luminary lights free, but the people here alleged that the panels were only given to the influential people.

“I have been applying for a panel for the past many years, but I still haven’t got it as these are being given only to influential people,” said Manohar Lal a resident of Digiana Pully, Jammu.