Jammu, April 27
Even as the government claims it has contingency plans ready to overcome water crisis during peak summer days, the state, particularly its dry land (kandi) areas, including the winter capital, may face a real tough time in days to come.

“The water level in the Tawi, which largely caters to the needs of the capital city when it comes to potable water, has receded considerably because of scarce rains. At the same time the ground water table has also receded by 40 per cent to 60 per cent in the past two years,” said sources in the Central Ground Water Board.

“Though we continue to explore ground water, the fact is that the water table has receded considerably across the region in the past two years,” they added.

Keeping in view the situation, the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) had been entrusted with the task to build 50 more tubewells in and around the city. At the same time the government had been closely monitoring the situation to come up with a solution in other areas, said sources in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department.

A PHE official admitted that sooner or later the government had to pull up its socks to meet the situation. Jammu city had witnessed a population explosion in the past 20 years and it continues to swell, he said, adding that nearly 12 lakh people scattered in an area of over 140 sq km in the winter capital had made the task of ensuring smooth water supply very difficult.

“We virtually had no rain this winter and as a result not only the water level of the Tawi had gone down drastically but also the ground water table had depleted rapidly,” he said.

The PHE sources also disclosed that the department had not shelved the idea of bringing the Chenab waters to Jammu. Under perspective planning till 2038, the proposal was still there but with certain modifications in the original plan, they said, adding that the ERA had been working on it.

Initially, the government thought to construct water pits along the Chenab but because of the cost factor the idea was dropped, and now it was pondering over another plan to come up with a filtration plant upstream the river, the sources said. Similarly, the PHE Department had more than 700 schemes under the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), they added. However, they admitted that kandi areas may face a tough time this summer.

Chief Engineer, PHE Department, Dalip Bakshi said, “Though we are making arrangements, the contingency plan has not been put into motion as yet.” “We are making several arrangements to meet the situation, but as of now there is no such crisis,” he added.

Jammu, April 27
The Board of School Education (BOSE) has issued show cause notices to around 984 students of Class Xth and XIIth of the 2010 session and from the Ist year of the Elementary Teachers Training Course ( regular/private) of the annual session (June 2007-09) of the Jammu province for using unfair means during the examination.

Of the students, 806 students are of Class XIIth , 177 of Class Xth and one student is from the Elementary Teachers Training Course (ETTC).

The students are alleged to have resorted to the use of unfair means /misbehaviour in the examination centres . They were directed to present themselves before the Committee for Scrutiny and Disposal of Unfair Means/Misconduct to defend themselves against the charges levelled against them.

The committee is headed by the Joint Secretary, Secrecy, and comprises subject experts who would judge the magnitude and dimension of the unfair means adopted by the students. “ The committee will examine everything, including the IQ level of the students. If required, the committee will also examine the respective supervisers of the examination centres ”, said Chairman of BOSE, Prof Deshbandhu, while talking to The Tribune.

He said the guilty would be given punishment as per rules and gravity of the crime.The board could cancel one paper of the guilty, cancel the entire examination or could debar him/her for a minimum of one year and maximum of three years.

“If a student is not satisfied with the judgement of the first committee, he/ she can appeal to the apex/ review committee, which will review the case and give judgement accordingly”, said the Chairman.

BOSE Secretary Sheikh Bashir Ahmad told the Tribune that the most unusual method of copying adopted by the students during the examination was the use of bluetooth , ear phones and cellphones.

He said: “Despite repeated appeals made to the students through the electronic and print media that they should not use any electronic gadgets during the examination, many students did not pay any heed”. In order to ensure that the students would not resort to this modus operandi in future, the board would install metal detectors at all centres during the examination.

Meanwhile, the ratio of boys and girls out of these 981 students was equal, according to the Secretary. He said every year the ratio remained the same, but sometimes it varied by around five per cent in which the ratio of boys remained high.

Srinagar, April 27
Besides Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, a large number of people associated with the tourism industry in the Kashmir valley have expressed ‘shock’ over the decision of the Defence Ministry to close the Srinagar airport for 20 days in June.

The 20-day closure of the only international airport in the state will come during the peak tourist season, when tourists from across the globe and various parts of the country start coming to the valley. The airport will be closed from June 20 for commercial flights for about 20 days so that the resurfacing of the only runway there could be done.

The flight operations will be shifted to the Awantipora Air Force station from Srinagar for that period. “The closure of the airport during the peak tourist season will give a severe blow to the tourism industry of the Kashmir valley,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said.

The Chief Minister had yesterday rushed to New Delhi to meet Defence Minister AK Antony to take up the issue with him and suggested him that upgrading work and flight operations could go simultaneously.

Meanwhile, people associated with the tourism industry say that the closure of the airport during the peak tourism season will have a ‘devastating effect’ on the industry here.

“A majority of the tourists prefer to fly to Srinagar, as they want to save time. But the closure of the airport during the peak tourism season will badly affect the inflow of the tourists in the valley,” said Bashir Ahmed, a member of the Hotel Association of Kashmir.

People say that in the hope of a better tourism season they have invested a large amount on the renovation of their hotels and houseboats, but the closure of the airport will “smash all their hopes of a good tourist season”.

“Air service is used mostly by tourists who have the potential to spend more here. But as they won’t be able to come here, our hopes of a good tourist season will be shattered,” said Ghulam Qadir, a houseboat owner, adding that, “We have spent a lot of money on the renovation of the houseboats, but now we fear the worst. The state and central governments should do something so that the renovation of the airport does not affect our livelihood.”

This will be the second time in the past 12 years that commercial flights from the Srinagar airport will be suspended. In 1998, the airport had to be closed for three months and the operations were shifted to Awantipora, which then had a ‘bad impact on tourist inflow’.

Jammu, April 27
Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here today reviewed the ongoing development works aimed at improvement of the infrastructure at Katra and en route the holy cave shrine.

They emphasised that projects aimed at strengthening the arrangements for adequate supply of water and power and improving road connectivity need to be accorded priority and called for initiating short, medium and long-term measures for the purpose. They stressed that all projects must be completed within a fixed time-frame.

Referring to the need for taking all measures to check forest fires in the shrine area, the Governor stressed for implementing the comprehensive plan formulated for the purpose. He said besides the creation of fire lines, water bodies should also be created, wherever possible, to control the forest fires.

Reviewing the progress of the renovation and development work of Bhimgarh Fort at Reasi, the Governor underlined the need for completing the project expeditiously.

While reviewing the status of Tikri-Katra and Katra-Banganga roads, the Governor called for completion of roads connecting the upcoming railway station at Katra, well before the commissioning of the Udhampur-Katra rail project. The Governor was informed that the under-construction hospital at Katra, estimated to cost more than Rs 6 crore, was expected to be commissioned in 18 months. He asked the Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Raj Kumar Goyal, to strengthen the medicare facilities at Adhkawari and the Bhawan.

The Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Dr R. K. Jerath, Principal Secretary, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, A. K. Angurana, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Principal Secretary, Power Development, B. R. Sharma, Commissioner/Secretary, Planning and Development, B. B. Vyas, Commissioner/Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Suresh Kumar, Commissioner/Secretary, Tourism, Atal Dulloo, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal, Transport Commissioner, Syed Mohammad Fazalullah, Inspector-General of Police, Jammu Zone, A. K. Gupta, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Dr Mandeep K. Bhandari, Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, P. K. Pole, SSP, Reasi, Anand Jain, besides various Heads of Department, Chief Engineers and other senior officers participated in the meeting. 

Jammu, April 27
This summer, policemen need not bring chilled water bottles from home, as the Jammu police has decided to install water purifiers and water coolers at all 26 police stations and 45 police posts in the district. Besides, the police has also decided to provide water campers at all police pickets (nakas).

Concerned over the health of the policemen, the step has been taken to provide chilled and purified water to them, a senior police officer said.

Earlier, the policemen had to bring water from home or to go to the market to get purified water, as there were no such arrangements at the police stations. It would be one of its kind initiative taken by the Jammu police, as even neighbouring Punjab has not even installed water purifiers at police stations.

An Inspector said it would save them money as they were spending a lot to purchase three-four gallons of purified water and ice regularly these days.

“We are thankful to the senior officers, who took this initiative as the problem will be resolved now. The department has placed orders for purchasing water filters and water coolers for installing them in every police station,” he added.

Another policeman said when hospitals and other government buildings had installed water filters and coolers, their department should also install these in the police stations where a large number of persons come daily from far-flung areas.

Basant Rath, SSP, Jammu, said, “The project has been approved and within a short time water coolers and filters will be installed in every police station and post.” He further said a camper would also be provided at all nakas.

Jammu, April 27
Major-Gen TPS Waraich, VSM, is the new GOC of 26 Division (Tiger Division). He took over from Major-Gen K Surendranath, SM, VSM, GOC Tiger Division, who is proceeding on transfer as MGGS, Southern Command.

Major-Gen Surendranath was given a farewell by Gautam Sen, Principal Controller of Defence Account: Northern Command, IDAS officers and senior officers of his PCDA (NC) office here today.

Both Major-Gen Surendranath and the PCDA recalled the all-round close functional cooperation between the Army establishments at Jammu and the Defence Account Department, particularly in the matter of logistics, functional and accounting support.

Jammu, April 27
With efforts of Childline Jammu and Chandigarh, besides the Jammu and Kashmir police and Punjab police, Lali - a six-year-old child from Ludhiana who had been missing for the past 10 days was finally united with his parents here this morning.

Jammu cops played the good Samaritan by taking care of Laali, who suffers from memory retention problem, all these days as there is no government-run SOS Home for such children.

He stayed in a resting room of a police post in Nehru Market ever since a police patrol party found him moving aimlessly at Bikram Chowk past midnight on April 17.

The cops gave him new clothes and fed him and even gifted him two new dresses when he was handed over to his parents today afternoon. The child was all smiles upon hearing that his parents were coming to take him back home.

The police had actually handed him over in the custody of Childline, an agency running a child help project of the Union Ministry for Child and Women Development. The Childline admitted him into Bal Niketan at Ved Mandir, but Laali ran away from there the very same evening and was again located by the police. Thereupon, he had been putting up with the samaritan policemen at Nehru Market.

Initially, the missing child - who is mentally weak and has poor retention power - could not disclose his antecedents to the Childline or the police, but three days ago he told them that he was from Punjab. Therefore, the matter was reported to the Punjab police and Chandigarh Childline.

“Initially, the child was in distress and could not tell his antecedents. But on much coaxing, he only said he was from Punjab. We consulted our head office in Delhi and later established contact with Chandigarh Childline. Subsequently, it discovered that the child was from Ludhiana,” project coordinator of Childline OP Gupta said.

“We had filed a missing report in Chaura Bazar City Kotwali No 1, Ludhiana on April 16. Last evening, we came to know from the police that our child was in Jammu,” father of the child Harbans Singh from Maligunj, who works at an embroidery shop, said. He reached here in the morning along with his wife Surinder Kaur.

How he boarded the bus and reached here, it still remains a mystery.

Srinagar, April 27
Various political parties are looking forward to the SAARC Summit beginning in Bhutan tomorrow, as they hope Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani and hold deliberations on the Kashmir issue.

Only a day earlier, the PDP had in a memorandum to the Prime Minister sought immediate steps towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue, while it held statewide demonstrations in support of its demand.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s APHC during its executive council meeting last week expressed hope that the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan would come out with concrete steps towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue and ensure peace in South Asia. The APHC has urged the Centre to resume a “meaningful composite dialogue” with Pakistan for finding a solution to the Kashmir issue.

The Mirwaiz here today expressed hope that the two Prime Ministers would demonstrate political will and take immediate steps for the resumption of dialogue when they meet in Bhutan. Former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has also pined hopes on the SAARC summit that would provide an opportunity to the two Prime Ministers to take up the issue. The meeting was important, he said, adding that this would be the first time they would be meeting after New York. The Mufti hoped that the two leaders would take up the Kashmir issue on a “substantial level”.

Meanwhile, the Mirwaiz said the APHC had decided to launch a protest against the recent verdict of a Delhi court awarding death sentence to three persons in the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blast case. It would be seeking the support of the other separatist organisations outside the conglomerate, including hardline APHC chairman Syed Ali Geelani and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters after a meeting of the top leaders today, the Mirwaiz said a two-member committee had been constituted to negotiate with the other leaders to chalk out a programme. The two members, Agha Syed Hassan, executive member of the APHC, and Mohammad Abdullah Tari, leader of Shabir Shah’s Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), would be meeting others, including Geelani and Yasin Malik.

The APHC would be chalking out a strategy after the meetings with the separatist leaders outside the APHC, the Mirwaiz said. This would be after a gap of two years that the separatist leaders would be joining hands on one issue. Earlier, the separatist organisations joined hands during the agitation over the Amaranth land which had led to prolonged agitation dividing Kashmir and Jammu regions on regional lines in 2008.

A programme would be worked out only after the meetings were held with other leaders outside the APHC and their viewpoint known, he said. 

Srinagar, April 27
Seeking revocation of the special powers to security forces, the Awami National Conference (ANC) has blamed the Centre for the alleged murder of one person in Shopian district of south Kashmir last Saturday.

In a statement issued here, ANC vice-president Muzaffar Ahmad Shah demanded the arrest of the security personnel allegedly involved in the killing of Ghulam Mohmmad Kalas in the Keller area in Shopian during a search operation by the Army.

“Arrest of the accused under Section 302, speedy trial with exemplary punishment and immediate removal of the RR from Kashmir is the least that is demanded,” Shah said at the party headquarters here today. He sought an immediate end to the human rights violations at the hands of security forces.

Commenting on the death sentence to Kashmiri youths in the Lajpat Nagar blast case, Shah stated that the legal cell of the ANC was examining all pros and cons of this case and would do all that was required to ensure no innocent was convicted until proved.

Shah also sought the attention of the Election Commission of India towards the “gross irregularities and serious lapses” in connection with the issuance of fresh election cards in the state, particularly in the Kashmir valley. He claimed that falsified and distorted election cards had been issued, saying it vindicated the party’s earlier plea on the “mass irregularity” in the conduct of free and fair elections in the state. The ANC unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly elections after a gap of 22 years in the state.

Jammu, April 27
Governor NN Vohra has expressed profound grief over the death of Rajasthan Governor Prabha Rau, whom he had known ever since she took over as Governor, initially in Himachal Pradesh.

According to an official statement issued here, in a condolence message, the Governor recalled Prabha Rau’s contributions in varied fields in the past five decades. The Governor expressed sympathy with the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.

Jammu, April 27
A youth was killed and three others were injured when their car fell into the Ranbir Canal, near Paloura late last night.

The police said four youths were going from Akhnoor to Jammu in a car at night when the vehicle fell into the river,killing Ramit, a resident of Shivnagar here. He was driving the car.

It further said three others, namely, Aditya, Atul and Abhishek, all residents of Jammu, sustained injuries.

Bharat Sharma, SHO, Domana police station said as soon as the car fell into the river, the public informed the police and a rescue operation was launched.

The injured were taken to Government Medical College and Hospital where the doctors declared Ramit as brought dead.