Jammu, December 3
Protesting employees of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) called off their more than three-month-old strike here today.

After various rounds of talks with the representative of the state government failed, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had constituted a high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary SS Kapoor to end the impasse.

The high-level committee held a meeting with the SRTC Workers Union leaders today and agreed to accept the demands of the agitating employees, including running the corporation on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

Ending the 100-day impasse, the government today agreed to implement the Road Transport Corporation Act 1950, which was adopted by the state on April 1, 1976. As per the Act, it becomes the responsibility of the state government to extend and improve the facilities for road transport in any area and provide an efficient and economical system of road transport services.

Under the Act, the powers and duties of the corporation are to provide its employees with suitable service conditions, including fair wages, establishment of provident fund, living accommodation, place for rest and recreation and other amenities. “The government has agreed to implement the RTC Act 1950 in the state and run the corporation on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation,” said Ashok Mehra, provincial president of the union, Jammu.

He said in a three-page order issued after the meeting the government agreed to fulfil their demands and release their salaries pending for the past seven months in the coming days. “We have called off our strike and will resume our duties from tomorrow,” Mehra said.

The government today accepted the 16-point proposal of the SRTC employees. “There are some short term demands and some long term. The government decided to fulfil all of them. It has agreed to revive the SRTC and implement the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in the due course of time,” said Paramjit Singh, general secretary of the union.

Around 4,500 SRTC employees had been protesting and around 1,000 vehicles of the corporation remained grounded for more than three months. The end of the strike has come as a boon for interstate passengers, who were being fleeced by private transport operators.

Jammu, December 3
Taking a strong note to ensure punctuality in government offices, Minister for R&B GM Saroori today suspended two officials of the R&B Department and ordered an inquiry against an engineer for not maintaining the dispatch register for the past almost 20 days.

Saroori was on a surprise visit to government offices in Doda district. “I was on a surprise visit to the government offices in my native districts as I had complaints that come officers were remaining absent from their duties,” GM Sroori told The Tribune.

He said during his surprise visit to the government offices, he found two junior assistants of the department absent from their duties. The two junior assistants - Adil Rashid and Sunny Parshad - were found absent from their duties and were suspended.

“I also checked the files of the office and found that the engineer had not made any dispatch in the file since November 13, which shows dereliction of his duties. I have ordered an inquiry into the issue,” Saroori said.

Jammu, December 3
The Sangharsh Movement has appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abduallh to make it clear as to when educated unemployed youth, who are registered with the employment exchange, would be entitled to the allowance.

During the last Assembly elections, the NC had promised a comprehensive employment package for the unemployed youth of the state.

General-secretary of the Sangharsh Movement Suresh Kumar said: “ Rumours have been making rounds that the unemployed youth of the state registered with the employment exchange would be entitled to allowance by the state government as per their educational qualification.”

Srinagar, December 3
Members of the All J&K Handicapped Association held protests here today against the apathetic attitude of the government for not fulfilling their demands despite assurances on numerous occasion.

The association has decided to continue the agitation until all demands were fulfilled.

A spokesman for the association said the police prevented the demonstrators from highlighting their problems. He said while there were lakhs of differently abled persons in the state, successive governments had failed to fulfil their needs and demands despite assurances.

The association had also submitted a 22-point list of demands to the Social Welfare Minister recently, but no steps had been taken to resolve the issues, the spokesman said. The demands include three per cent reservation in jobs for the differently abled, an increase in monthly pension from Rs 400 to Rs 1,500, education from nursery to the university level free of cost and 50 per cent subsidy on loans on minimum interest rates.

Members of the Humanity Welfare Organisation Helpline, an NGO, organised a rally here this evening carrying candles to highlight the issues of the differently abled. They also carried placards in support of their demands.

Javed Ahmad Tak, chairman of the organisation, said while the day in other parts of the country was being observed to review existing policies, the differently abled in the state were being treated as a liability. He demanded concrete programmes for their rehabilitation with a school imparting Braille education.

Jammu, December 3
The BJP yesterday charged the Centre with meting out step-motherly treatment to the Jammu region, alleging the Centre as well as the state governments had been propagating anti-Jammu policies.

Interacting with different delegations at the party headquarters, BJP Legislative Party leader Chaman Lal Gupta questioned the wisdom in changing the plan for the upgradation of Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, to the level of AIIMS.

The BJP leader recalled that the foundation stone for raising the status of GMC to that of AIIMS was laid by the then Union Health Minister, Sushma Swaraj, on the premises of CD Hospital in 2003, and Rs 120 crore were sanctioned to complete the task within five years.

“After the change of guard at the Centre, the coalition adopted “go-slow tactics” and the original plan has been changed leaving little chances for its expansion. Seven years on, the whole scheme is hanging fire”, he stated in a statement.

About the growing congestion in the capital city, Gupta regretted that poor funding and slow work were coming in the way of construction of flyovers and improving the sanitation affairs. He said the government sanctioned Rs 60 crore for Jammu while Rs 150 crore had been earmarked for Srinagar city for the purpose. This was yet another example of discrimination with the Jammu region at the hands of the coalition government, he said.

Jammu, December 3
The inter-collegiate/ departmental quiz (prelims) competition in the Ist phase of “Display Your Talent” 2009-10 was held at the Brig Rajinder Singh Auditorium, University of Jammu.

Out of 29 teams which participated , five qualified for the quiz (final) contest to be held on December 7. The five colleges are Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar; Government MAM (PG) College (Morning); Government Degree College, Kathua; Luthra College of Education and Government College of Engineering and Technology. — TNS

Jammu, December 3
The body of 21-year-old Rimpy Bhagat, a daughter of a BJP corporator from Ban Talab, was found from a canal in the Belicharana area of Satwari this morning.

Official sources said last evening Rimpy Bhagat, a daughter of BJP corporator Manohar Lal Bhagat, along with her mother and brother had gone to attend a marriage ceremony of her friend at Barnai from where she disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Her body was spotted in a canal in Belicharana this morning by some passersby.

“She along with her mother and brother had gone to attend a marriage ceremony in Barnai. After she went missing we kept searching for her throughout the night,” Manohar Lal said.

This morning around 9.30 am we lodged a missing report at the Domana police station and subsequently came to know from the police about a body shifted from Belicharana to the Government Medical College and Hospital here, he said, adding that when we went to the hospital to see the body our worst fears came true.

We had no enmity with anyone and everything happened all of a sudden, the victim’s father in a choked voice said. The girl had recently done her polytechnic course from a college here.

Jammu SSP Basant Kumar Rath said the police had initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174, CrPC, but prima facie it didn’t appear to be a murder.

The police found sandals of the victim near a temple on the roadside of the canal in Belicharana, the SSP said. However, her body had a head injury when the police shifted it to the GMC&H, he added. The girl had gone to Nakul Palace in Barnai to attend the marriage ceremony.

Sources said at the marriage party the girl had gone missing soon after her mother went to fetch a glass of water for her, adding that she had also vomited at the banquet hall.

However, going by the circumstances that led to the girl’s disappearance from the marriage ceremony at Barnai, her sandals on the roadside in Belicharana and the body in a canal, that too, at a place about 15 km away from Barnai, possibilities of a foul play couldn’t be ruled out, they said.

Jammu Deputy Commissioner MK Dwivedi said he had issued necessary instructions to the authorities concerned to constitute a panel of doctors for conducting autopsy on the corpse.

Satwari police station SHO Arjun Singh Chib said the autopsy report was awaited to move in the right direction.

Jammu, December 3
The police yesterday seized 70 quintals of wheat and 13 quintals of rice being smuggled from a ration depot of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department at Udhampur.

The ration meant for the BPL families was being smuggled in a truck for being sold on the black market.

Reports said the ration was loaded from a CAPD depot in a truck by Surinder Kumar of Karlai in connivance with a government ration dealer Rajesh Kumar of Kashira.