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Lesser wheat yield forecast
due to scanty rain
Chattisinghpora Massacre |
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Permanent Residents (Women) Disqualification Bill
Hundreds of chinar trees face the axe
Science Express fails to draw crowds on first day
Take corrective steps, private schools to govt
Army’s initiative bears fruit
SC/ST activists protest against recruitment Bill
Transporters to go on strike on March 25
CRPF jawans save five
mishap victims
MC seizes polythene bags
Control room for essential services
Manto’s ‘Intzaar’ staged
Jawan shoots himself to death
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Lesser wheat yield forecast
due to scanty rain
RS Pura, March 21 A survey conducted by the SKUAST states that after 10 years the state is witnessing such a situation. “Farmers are already facing drought-like conditions and in the coming days, they will be affected more as the wheat crop will be ready for harvesting in April ”, Mahender Singh, an agriculture expert from the SKUAST, said. “The rainfall till today was 42.3 mm, while the basic requirement was 160 mm for the rabi crop. It means about 118 mm less rain, so it is impossible to even think about the yield as compared to the last year,” he explained. Dr SK Singh, a wheat specialist (SKUAST), said: “Moreover, the dry winter and a sudden increase in temperature, along with reduced atmospheric moisture, has ripened the crop before the normal time, thus shrinking the size of wheat grain by 25-35 per cent.” He further said a survey had been conducted on the wheat crop from Kathua to Akhnoor and the position was same almost everywhere. The SKUAST authorities are worried about the poor rainfall and change in climate and the scientists have forecast rise in temperature in the coming days as the mercury has already touched 33°C. “The temperature is rising day by day, and this is the time to irrigate the crop, be it wheat or any other crop. But there is scarcity of water in the region,” Mahender Singh said. The figures of the last 10 years reveal that the temperature has increased by 4°C. According to agriculture specialists, the wheat yield is expected to be affected by around 25-35 per cent in 2.45 lakh hectare, and in nearly one lakh hectare the damage is likely to be more. This would not only hit agriculture and horticulture, but also adversely affect industry, the specialists warned. |
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Chattisinghpora Massacre
Chattisinghpora (Anantnag), March 21 Life has never been easy for the residents who survived the massacre when on the intervening night of March 20-21,2001, heavily armed militants in military uniform asked the members of the Sikh community to gather near the gurdwara and suddenly started spraying them with bullets. “Dressed in Army uniforms, the gunmen asked the male members to gather outside the gurdwara,” Karamjeet Singh, who survived the attack, said. “I had intuition that something wrong was going to happen.So, I managed to escape from the scene. It was around 7:35 pm when we heard gunshots and then there was silence.After sometime,we again heard the gunshots,” he added. He said after the assailtants left, the villagers rushed to the gurdwara only to find 35 members of the community,including children, in a pool of blood. While 34 died on the spot, one succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital. With moist eyes, Jeet Kour, who lost five members of her family in the attack, said: “We were preparing to take dinner when all male members were ordered to go outside. My husband, two sons and two grandchildren were killed in the attack.” The village had no telephone connection. Three residents had to travel 15 km on foot to a nearby village to call the police, which reached the spot at 2 a.m. and started combing and relief operations. Since then,braving threats, the members of the Sikh community have been living in the village, but the memories are still afresh in their minds. “How can we forget that night which changed our lives forever? We had the option to shift, but decided against that,” Narinder Kour, who lost her husband in the attack, said. The victims are waiting for justice since no inquiry has been conducted into the killings so far. “The members of the Sikh community were killed when the then US President, Bill Clinton, had come on a visit to India, and he in his memoirs had termed it an unfortunate incident. However, successive state governments have failed to conduct an inquiry to bring out the truth,” Jagmohan Singh Raina, coordinator of the All-Party Sikh Coordination Committee, Kashmir, said.
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Permanent Residents (Women) Disqualification Bill
Jammu, March 21 The BJP and other Sangh Parivar organisations have launched an aggressive campaign against the Congress after the controversial Bill was allowed to be introduced in the Legislative Council by a Congress minister. The Bill seeks to debar women of their rights to property if they marry someone from outside Although Congress ministers have repeatedly made their stand clear in the Assembly, the party is finding it difficult to counter the aggressive campaign of the BJP at grass-roots level, as the Sangh Parivar has involved all its organisations in the propaganda. “Due to the error of some individuals, the party is facing difficulties in countering the BJP’s propaganda,” said a senior Congress leader and admitted that the party had landed in a difficult situation after the Bill was allowed to be introduced. Sources said majority of the Congress leaders were not aware that the government would allow introduction of this controversial Bill in the council. “We were not aware that this Bill was also listed in the business. When we got copy of the list of the business, we talked to the minister concerned, but it was too late,” said the Congress leader. Congress ministers, MLAs, leaders of frontal organisations and other senior workers have been asked to organise corner meetings to educate the people about the party’s stand. They have been told to convince the people that despite the introduction of the Bill, they would not allow this Bill to be passed in the House. Congress leaders have been assuring the people that they would sacrifice their government, but don’t allow the Bill to be made into a law.
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World Forestry Day
Srinagar, March 21 With the state government undertaking a massive project of widening various roads, including the national highway and the Narbal Tangmarg Road, hundreds of Chinar trees en route will be axed. A large number of these trees had been cut in the past to lay a railway line in the Kashmir valley and now many more face a similar fate in the name of development. “Chinar is the identity of the Kashmir valley. In the recent past, the number of such trees has dwindled considerably and instead of protecting these,the government would be cutting them,” Nisar Ahmed, an environment expert, said. Recently the ‘unscientific pruning’ of hundreds of Chinar trees by the authorities of University of Kashmir on the Nasim Bagh campus of the university attracted a lot of criticism from various social circles and environmentalists. Surveys conducted by the government and various NGOs have found that the number of Chinar trees in the Kashmir valley has decreased considerably. The grandeur of Chinar trees add to the beauty of the Kashmir valley, especially during autumn when the mighty trees shed leaves giving a fire-like- hue to the surroundings. The government has undertaken the project to widen the roads from Srinagar to Tangmarg where the world famous tourist resort of Gulmarg is located. However, the state government says it has undertaken wide-scale plantation drive to save Chinar trees. “We have started a plantation drive to increase the number of Chinar trees, which have been cut indiscriminately in the past two decades. The plantation drive, which was launched a few days ago, will continue till March 31,” director of the Floriculture Department GS Sarwar Naqash said.
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Science Express fails to draw crowds on first day
Jammu, March 21 Efforts of the Centre and the Department of Science and Technology to popularise science and technology, especially among youngsters, through the train failed. The 16-coach airconditioned train, with 300 large-format visual images and over 150 video clips, arrived in the city this morning and will be here till March 24. It has been parked in the yard near the parcel block. The specially designed white train, which has created four national records, is open to the public without any entry fee. It will later move to Patiala and Kapurthala. It is in its third phase of journey and will cover about 18,000 km in seven months, which started on October 2, 2009. “The Max Planck Society from Germany in collaboration with the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VACSC), Ahmedabad, has designed and developed this train. Over 35 lakh persons, mostly students, have enjoyed learning about the cutting-edge research in science through the Science Express,” claimed Sudhir Sharma, its manager, and added they were hopeful of getting a good response tomorrow in Jammu. “This train has been specially designed for students, but they have not shown any interest here. However, in other cities it has got a good response,” a science communicator said. However, Ashwani Kumar, Station Master, Jammu Tawi Railway Station, said: “We have only one free track to park such a long train of 16 coaches, and we can’t provide them any other track. We have done our duty and will do it in the same manner in future. It is the duty of the Coordination Committee of the Science Express to invite the students, and they have already done that.” He further said the station staff had visited the train in the morning and now the students would watch it tomorrow and in the coming days. Sources revealed that till evening, nearly 50 persons visited the train to watch the exhibition. In the 12 exhibition coaches, each coach has its own importance. There is a coach on climate change - cause, effect and mitigation. There are other exhibitions, which explain our universe - how it all began, glimpses of space, black holes, galaxies, biotechnology, renewable energy, computer applications in medicine and global challenges, besides many others technologies.
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Take corrective steps, private schools to govt
Jammu, March 21 Members of the association held a meeting wherein they expressed disappointment over statements of the education minister and other members of state legislature on the working of private schools. The association said hasty actions to bring reforms in private sector would not yield positive results. It said it was sad that after late GM Sadiq and late Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, none of the state leaders ever took the education sector seriously, which resulted in failure of the government to provide free education. “It is the private sector that is struggling to provide the best to the society in spite of facing multiple problems,” stated the association.It appreciated the enforcement of the wage board in private schools and appealed for the same in government schools and other public bodies. |
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Army’s initiative bears fruit
Udhampur, March 21 The meritorious candidate, Aditya Sharma, did B.VSc before joining the first batch at the HRDC, Udhampur, last month. An Army spokesperson said the candidate did himself and his mentors proud by successfully qualifying in a highly competitive screening process of selecting the best of the youth for a bright career as an officer in the Armed Forces. The career-oriented personality building programme being conducted by a team under the Education Branch of the Headquarters, Northern Command, is the brainchild of Lt-Gen BS Jaswal, GOC-in-C, Northern Command. According to him, empowerment of the underprivileged youth of the state by offering them a level-playing field to compete with their more privileged counterparts from other better developed regions of the nation has been a key focus of the venture. An elated Aditya expressed his gratitude in a letter to Col AS Paul of the HRDC under whom the experienced and dedicated faculty of instructors from the Army’s Education Corps groomed and honed his potential. He also acknowledged the exceptional quality of guidance and instructions he had received during his four-week coaching. He expressed hope that his example would serve as a motivation for other aspiring youth to emulate his success.
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Pulwama encounter ends
Srinagar, March 21 “The operation was called off in the morning and the body of the militant was recovered from the debris,” said a senior police officer. He said an AK-47 assault rifle and a pistol were also recovered from the possession of the slain militant. Meanwhile, militants shot dead a mechanic in Sopore in Baramulla district last night. The 27-year-old, Mohammad Saleem Dar, was shot dead while he was going home in the Chankhan area of the town, a police spokesperson said. “He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. This was the second such attack on him in the past two years. He had sustained a bullet injury in a similar attack in 2008,” the spokesman said. |
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SC/ST activists protest against recruitment Bill
Jammu, March 21 Reacting to the statement of Minister for Rural Development and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohd Sagar that the government had decided to bring a Bill in the current budget session, the AJABM activists raised slogans against the They described the government and the parties supporting the Bill as anti-SC/ST and other weaker sections. The AJABM leaders demanded that clause 6 of the Bill dealing with the mode of recruitment be amended with a condition that the rights of SC/ST are protected. The protesters appealed the political parties of the state to oppose the Bill in the House or face the wrath of the SC/ST communities. |
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Transporters to go on strike on March 25
Jammu, March 21 “We will go on a strike on March 25 to press for our demand to increase passenger fare due to hike in petrol and diesel prices,” chairman of the Mini-bus Workers Union Anil Chopra told mediapersons here today. Despite increase in prices, the state government has refused to increase the passenger fare. Transporters in the state were facing hardship in view of the hike in petrol and diesel prices, besides VAT on lubricants and imposition of 8.4 per cent service tax, he said. The transporters urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to ensure that passenger fare was increased as Omar had earlier committed to form a committee to deal with fare increase and also other problems of the transporters. But no such committee has been formed so far, Chopra said, adding that if the government fails to increase the fare even after the token strike on March 25, the transporters will go on indefinite strike. — PTI
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CRPF jawans save five
mishap victims
Udhampur, March 21 According to official information, a Tata Sumo, JK-06B-1430, was going from Tathri to Bhatiyas on the Doda-Gandoh road. Around 9 pm, the vehicle rolled down and fell into Kacha Nalla near Bhatiyas. On getting information, jawans of the A/151 Bn of the CRPF under the command of Sub-Inspector Ganesh Prasad rushed to the scene and pulled five persons, including the driver,out of the vehicle and took them to government hospital, Tathri, in an ambulance. The injured driver was identified as Satish Kumar of Badgai village.
— TNS |
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MC seizes polythene bags
Jammu, March 21 Intensifying the drive to implement the ban, the JMC enforcement staff raided various outlets in the city. An amount of Rs 6300 was charged as fine from 27 defaulters on the spot. Besides, the team also made people aware about the ban imposed by the state government on the use of polythene bags. The team led by the Chief Enforcement Officer along with the police inspected the shops and other outlets in the areas of Narwal Vegetable Market, Narwal Bypass and Sainik Colony.
— TNS |
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Control room for essential services
Udhampur, March 21 Under this, the health, PHE, PDD, education and consumer affairs and public distribution departments will be covered. The Additional District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, will head the district control room. The sectoral heads of the departments concerned will nominate their officers to be deployed in their respective control rooms. The District Control Room would keep maintain liaison with other control rooms established in other offices of the district and submit hourly reports to the DM about the functioning of essential services in the district. In another order, the DM has asked the Subdivisional Magistrate and tehsildars to monitor the functioning of essential services departments in their respective areas and submit reports directly to him at 8 p.m. on phone. They will also keep close liaison with Station House Officers to deal with any law and order situation in their jurisdiction. |
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Manto’s ‘Intzaar’ staged
Jammu, March 21 The play presents a comic situation wherein a boy named Mantzar is anxiously waiting for his beloved. To pass time during the wait, he speaks with his own self on the daily budget, music, literature and whatever he could think of in order to divert his attention from his anxiety about the meeting. To make the situation worse, some unwanted people approach him, making his condition even more miserable. Finally, when the girlfriend arrives, he falls unconscious because of exhaustion. The girlfriend thinks he is unconcerned about the meeting and is sleeping. She leaves in disgust and the much-awaited date turns out to be an ironic disaster. Mohit Sharma, who played protagonist Mantzar, was successful in getting the appreciation of the audience by putting real-life feel into the character. He was equally supported by Rohit Verma as his inner self. Richa Sharma as girlfriend was equally confident, Pankush Verma as friend and Ankush Lakhnotra as a newspaper vendor impressed everybody with their performance. The show was coordinated by Mohd Yaseen. |
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Jawan shoots himself to death
Jammu, March 21 Jawan Rajinder Kumar of the 39 Rashtriya Rifles, posted at forward defence location in Jallas near the Line of Control (LoC), shot himself from his service rifle during duty hours, the police said. The police said on hearing the gunshot, jawans and officers rushed to the spot and found him dead. The police said no suicide note had been recovered from the site. |
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RS Pura, March 21
Jammu, March 21
