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Integrated Social Security Scheme
Finalisation of Amarnath Yatra Dates
Major, jawan killed in Bandipore gunfight
Intermittent rain in Jammu region
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Six fire incidents
Police closes in on prison supdt
MC to act against defacement
of property
Fateh Divas Celebrations
Dogra migrants meet Relief Commissioner
BJP protests against proposed
hike in power tariff
Date sheet issued 2 days before exams
MBA students of fourth semester protest outside the examination block in Jammu University on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh
PDP contests govt’s claims on development works
Pottery dying in absence of govt aid
Jawan commits suicide
Supervisors, enumerators get census training
Dispel doubts about talks with Pak: Chrungoo
Govt plans more parks in Jammu city
Youth found dead in field
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Integrated Social Security Scheme
Jammu, May 5 The failure of the higher authorities in the Social Welfare Department to dispose of 50,000 pending applications seeking pension under the Integrated Social Security Scheme (ISSS) substantiates allegations about the poor implementation of the welfare schemes. Around 50,000 applications are pending in the Jammu division and situation is almost same in the Kashmir division. The ISSS is a scheme whereby physically challenged, destitute, widows/ divorcees and old persons are being covered under old-age pension. Though the government claims 64,989 applications are pending disposal in the state, sources in the Social Welfare Department said the number was likely to cross one lakh mark because the departments concerned had not prepared record of the exact number of pending applications. “The number continued to fluctuate every month,” said Mehmood Rana, Director Social Welfare, Jammu division. “As far as the Jammu region is concerned, at present about 50,000 applications are pending disposal,” Rana said. Asked about the reason for the inordinate delay in the disposal of the cases of helpless people, Rana said, “All depends upon the sanction from the Centre. As the Union government has not sanctioned even a single case after 2009, the number of applications has been increasing.” Ironically, under this scheme a meagre amount of Rs 200 per month is being given to widows, destitute, divorces and old people, while Rs 400 is being paid to physically challenged persons. Interestingly, though the authorities are taking the excuse of the Centre’s delay in sanctioning fresh cases for not disposing of applications, according to an official document, this scheme is fully financed and sponsored by the Social Welfare Department of the state government. The scheme has so far covered 3,43,180 beneficiaries, but a majority of them are also facing hardships in getting pension. Earlier, the amount was paid by cheque sent through post, but after allegations of bungling in the disbursement of pension the government decided to make payments through banks. Notwithstanding the claims of the authorities of ensuring the payment of pension by the 7th of every month, a majority of the pensioners are facing inordinate delay in getting pensions. According to official record, Rs 115.31 crore has been spent during the current financial year under the scheme and Rs 20.42 crore will be additionally required for disposing of all pending applications. |
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Finalisation of Amarnath Yatra Dates
Jammu, May 5 Expressing resentment against what the Nyas claimed the SASB’s “unilateral” functioning, the Nyas said the annual pilgrimage should start from “Jaisth Purnima” to “Raksha Bandhan”. The SASB had decided that the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Lord Shiva would be held from July 1 to August 24 this year. “In no way the dates selected by the SASB could be accepted because the Hindu pilgrimage since centuries is being held as per rituals and religious dates of Hindu calendar”, Nyas president Surinder Mohan Aggarwal told mediapersons here today. The Yatra should commence on “Jaisth Purnima” and it should continue till Raksha Bandhan, he added. VHP state chief Ramakant Dubey, who also briefed the media, regretted another SASB decision to restrict the number of pilgrims to the cave shrine this year. The SASB decided on its own without taking the Nyas into confidence on an issue which pertained to religious sentiments of Hindus, he said. “We urge the SASB to reconsider its decision of holding the annual pilgrimage from July 1 to August 24”, said Dubey. “We had submitted two memorandums to Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the SASB, on February 5 and April 28 this year making suggestions to remove some ambiguities for the conduct of upcoming Yatra, he said, adding the Board on the contrary was trying to create confusion. Similarly, the SASB had not made any thing clear about on-the-spot registration of pilgrims, who reach Jammu, and forward base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam, added Dubey.
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Major, jawan killed in Bandipore gunfight
Srinagar, May 5 Major Rajbar who belonged to Dehradun is survived by his mother, a sister and a brother. Rifleman Uttam Singh is survived by his wife and a two-year-old daughter.The search operation was continuing, the spokesman added. Arms seized
Jammu: The security forces on Wednesday busted a hideout of militants and recovered a huge number of arms and ammunition from the Patri area of Mendhar in Poonch district today. During the joint search operation of the Army, the CRPF and the police, one AK-56, one AK-56 magazine, four pistols (three Chinese and one Pakistan made), one rifle, five magazines of pistol, two grenades and 43 AK rounds were recovered. The grenades were defused on the spot, the police said. However, no militant was nabbed. |
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Intermittent rain in Jammu region
Jammu, May 5 “The rising temperature had made it difficult for us to attend school and the pleasant weather has definitely provided relief to us”, said Vamika Sharma, a school student. During the past one week, the mercury had been hovering between 39 and 41 degree Celsius, 1.5 degrees above normal while the maximum humidity was recorded at 40 per cent. “At the Chatha observatory of Sher-e-Kashmir University for Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Jammu, we recorded 15.6 mm rainfall”, chief agrometeorologist and head of agronomy division of SKUAST, Dr MK Khushu, told The Tribune. He attributed the rainfall to western disturbances saying, it developed yesterday and would persist over Jammu and Kashmir for the next 24 hours. There was a possibility of more rain tomorrow in the state before the western disturbances turned feeble, said Khushu. The rainfall was good for sowing new crops, he added.
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Police closes in on prison supdt
Jammu, May 5 Beg’s anticipatory bail expired on May 3, which he got on April 26 from a local court. A senior police officer told The Tribune that they had ample evidence against Beg and he could be arrested anytime. “Last year, the prison superintendent himself gave an application for the transfer of his wife, who is a government teacher, to Doda district,” he said. Terming it a family matter, the officer said they always preferred a compromise in these types of cases for the welfare of children. If things did not settle, action would be taken against Beg. Shakti Sharma, in charge of the women cell, said: “During investigation the superintendent has recorded his statement that he had married another woman after giving ‘talaq’ to his ‘earlier’ wife. But as per the Muslim Law, the maintenance allowance, which is necessary to be paid while giving ‘talaq’, has not been paid to her as yet.” She further said the superintendent had also requested that he wanted to meet his ‘earlier’ wife and was ready to give maintenance money to her. Shakti added, “We are close to solving the case, as the investigations are going on speedily. But we have not yet taken the statement of their children, which are with Mirza Saleem Beg.” However, repeated attempts to contact Shabeena Shadab over her cellphone proved futile. The sources said she was not in the city. |
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MC to act against defacement
of property
Jammu, May 5 This decision was taken yesterday at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Mubarak Singh. In the meeting, the officers of the corporation disclosed that a large number of commercial establishments had defaced public property in the city. The Commissioner has directed the staff of the enforcement wing to remove all such defacements. He further directed the officers to initiate immediate action against the offenders in accordance with the J&K Municipal Corporation Act and J&K Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act. |
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Fateh Divas Celebrations
Jammu, May 5 Two night halts each at Jammu and Amirtsar have been arranged on the way. In a statement, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee, said the committee in collaboration with the J&K State Gurdwara Board, DGPC Shiromani Akali Dal (B), Jammu, besides other Sikh organisations would the celebrate 300th Fateh Divas (Victory Day) in Sirhind from May 12 to 14. Chief Minister Omar Abduallah will flag off the “victory march” at Gurdwara Shri Nanak Dev Ji, Chand Nagar, Jammu on May 12. The Shiromani Akali Dal has appealed to the public in general, religious bodies, political parties, social and other organisations to participate in this historic event. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur fought for justice to annihilate evil designs of the ruthless ruler of the time and established Sikh Raj where everyone could live in peace and preach the religion of his own choice in a harmonious manner. |
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Dogra migrants meet Relief Commissioner
Jammu, May 5 The migrants from the Kashmir valley have been demanding adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the community like other displaced communities. The Relief Commissioner took note of their woes and assured the delegation that their genuine problems would be solved. |
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BJP protests against proposed
hike in power tariff
Jammu, May 5 Gupta, while addressing the party activists on this occasion, expressed concern over the proposed hike from existing Rs 40 to Rs 200 for 1 KW. He said this jump of 500 per cent by the department was not justified. He said the people were already finding it difficult to manage their monthly budget due to increase in prices of essential food items and this hike has created more problems for them. Gupta said on one hand the government had increased the tariff while on the other it had failed to ensure regular supply of electricity to the consumers. “A minimum of five hours cut is imposed on areas which are fully metered and those which are still not metered there is power cut of 13 hours,” he said, adding, “the power cuts of such long durations have badly affected the housewives, students, patients and aged people.” Suresh Jamwal, Usha Choudhary, Shiv Kumar Gupta, Balbir Ram, Jaideep Sharma, Vikram Randhawa, Karan Singh, Vinay Gupta, Sureshta Jamwal, Amrik Singh, Baldev Singh, Balwan Singh, Sanjay Mahajan, Priya Jral, Meera Samral, Ayodhaya Kumar, Rakesh Mishra, Parshant Puri, Ramesh Sharma, Sunil Dogra, Purduman Singh, Pushpa Wazir, Arun Khosla, Rakesh Gupta, Narsingh Dass, Munish Sharma, Munish Khajuria, Bal Krishan, Pran Chand, Chander Shekhar, Ludhar Mani, Naresh Mahajan, Dinesh Gupta, Ashok Gandhi, Madhu Sharma, Vidya Devi and Arun Chhibber were prominent among those who took part in the protest demonstration. |
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Date sheet issued 2 days before exams
Jammu, May 5 According to the date sheet published in a local daily today, the first paper is scheduled for May 7. The students alleged that according to the university norms the authorities concerned should have informed them about the exams at least 15 days before the commencement of the exams. Surinder Raina, an MBA student of SET Business School, said, “We are depressed as the university authorities have published the date sheet in a local daily suddenly. The university has not given us time to prepare for the exams.” Under the banner of the Jammu Joint Students’ Federation (JJSF), over 90 students of five private colleges affiliated to the university held a protest outside the examination block in the university. The protesting students were demanding that their first paper of services marketing should be postponed so that they get ample time for preparation. They also accused the university authorities of discriminating against them as the students pursuing MBA course in the university were informed in advance about the exams. Nakul Gupta, student of Mahant Bachiatar Singh College, said the university authorities had shown their bias against the students of private colleges as they informed the student of Business School of University in advance about the exams. He said, “Private college students came to know about the date sheet today as it was published in a newspaper. Neither the college nor the university informed us about the exams.” Gupta added, “Students have gone out of the state for interviews in different companies and those residing in far-flung areas are still unaware about the date sheet.” According to sources, the Controller Examination has assured the students that their first paper would be postponed. Meanwhile, many students, whose examination centres fall in distant areas, demanded that the centres be changed. Deeraj Sharma, a student of SET Business School, said, “Many students have their examination centre at Mahant Bachiatar Singh College, which is situated away from the main road and is not connected by transport. The university should change our examination centre.”
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PDP contests govt’s claims on development works
Jammu, May 5 Addressing public meetings in the Darhal Assembly segment, Choudhary Zulfikar pointed out that most of the development work started in the Rajouri district in general and the work in the Darhal constituency in particular has been halted without any reason. He said instead of doing work on the grass-roots level this regime seems to be more particular about giving press statements and conducting photo sessions. He further said most of the work which was started two months back has been stopped midway, reasons best known to the government. PDP MLA pointed out that on one hand government has been claiming that 25 per cent of the funds from the Capital Component have been released while on the other hand there was no progress in developmental activities. “I don’t think there is any reason to stop developmental works midway,” he said and demanded that developmental work started in the Darhal Assembly segment be completed before commencement of the rainy season. Choudhary Zulfikar regretted that in the present working season the government has failed to accelerate developmental activities in the Rajouri district. Even the project which was started early this year has been stopped midway.
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Pottery dying in absence of govt aid
Jammu, May 5 As the state government does not have any policy aimed at promoting pottery, the traditional potters belonging to the community, officially classified as other backward class, are losing the battle against modernity. Despite many prospects, the problem with pottery promotion is that potters and the departments concerned tend to work in isolation. Additionally, there is no separate pottery development centre in the state despite a huge population of skilled potters. Some 10 years back, each household in Gharota village in the Bhalwal block, primarily inhabited by Kumhars (potters), would turn out at least 5,000 earthenware, especially pots and pitchers, considered as natural water-coolers, during summer every year. But not any more. The number of potters and the production of earthenware both have dwindled substantially over the time. The village panch and community leader Banarsi Lal reasons: “Pottery is no more profitable. I myself abandoned pottery 7-8 years ago.” “In this village, there are 25 households of our community but now only 10-12 families make earthenware,” he says. He adds: “The community does not have any land holdings. Nowadays, either the potters are rearing mules and have turned porters or they are doing menial jobs.” On a positive note, he says their children have started going to schools as the government gives them scholarship. Working on manually-run pottery wheel in his courtyard, Soam Dutt says the input cost has increased while the demand for earthenware has declined. “A clay load of one tractor-trolley costs us Rs 1,500. Then, firewood is needed to bake clay ware in kiln. Now, I utilise only two tractor-trolley of clay loads and earn around Rs 20,000 a year,” he says. He adds, “Earthenware are made on clear sunny days during summer only.” Officially, its not true though. Deputy Chief Executive Officer, J&K Khadi and Village Industries Board, PK Nargotra says potters like other artisans can get benefits under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme. They can get loans in groups, but not individually. “A majority of them are no longer associated with the traditional occupation that is why there is minimal turn out at awareness camps. A negligible number of potters have availed of benefits under the programme,” he adds. Deputy Director Handicrafts Tilak Raj says, “There is no exclusive scheme but still we can help potters (irrespective of caste affiliations) if they want to start joint ventures.” Pottery does not come under the jurisdiction of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Institute, its Assistant director Ashwani Kumar says.
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Jawan commits suicide
Jammu, May 5 Narcotics seized
The Jajjer Kotli police today seized 2 kg of poppy husk and arrested a person from the Domail area today. The police said acting on specific information, a naka was laid and during the checking of a truck coming from Srinagar to Jammu, the narcotics was seized. It further said the driver, Mukhtiar Ahmed, was arrested and the truck seized. A case has been registered at Jajjer Kotli police station in this regard. |
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Supervisors, enumerators get census training
Jammu, May 5 According to sources, the training programme will continue till May 13 in which around 1300 enumerators and 200 supervisors will be trained. It has been made mandatory for every employee to get training. The training was imparted to selected enumerators and supervisors by the master trainers at SRML Higher Secondary School and at Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar. In SRML Higher Secondary School, around 307 employees were trained whereas around 350 employees were trained in Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar. However, at both venues where the training was imparted to the selected employees, the arrangements were inadequate. The seating arrangements were not proper at both venues. In Government School, Gandhi Nagar, the employees were accommodated in a single hall. The electricity facility as well as potable water facility were also insufficient at both venues.
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Dispel doubts about talks with Pak: Chrungoo
Jammu, May 5 While addressing a press conference here yesterday, Chrungoo appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove the apprehensions of people about the commitment of the government to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. He said, “The resumption of the dialogue with Pakistan seems to be an abject reversal of the stand of the Central government over Pakistan’s support to terrorists against India.” Chrungoo further said the resumption of dialogue with Pakistan only meant the endorsement of Pakistan’s viewpoint that talks had to be delinked from terrorism. He said it was shocking that at a time when infiltrations from across the border were rising, the Central government had allowed the perception to grow that India was buckling under pressure. “The Centre is proving the contention of the separatists that India has been thoroughly isolated internationally on the Kashmir issue and has been forced to enter into a dialogue with Pakistan and the separatists,” said Chrungoo.
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Govt plans more parks in Jammu city
Jammu, May 5 The minister disclosed this during a visit to various parks of the city. He issued instructions to the Director Floriculture to formulate a comprehensive proposal for upgrading existing parks and identifying locations for new parks. Sham Lal said in view of the growth in population of the city there is an urgent need to set up more parks, especially on the outskirts of the city, so that people could de-stress themselves in the open. During his visit to Zanana Park, the minister directed the officers concerned not to allow any organisation to hold any type of function in the park to maintain its aesthetic beauty and cleanliness. He asked the officers to pay more attention to proper upkeep of the park and creation of more recreational facilities there. Similar instructions were passed for Green Belt Park, Sohan Singh Park, Gandhi Nagar, and other parks.
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Youth found dead in field
Jammu, May 5 It said the body was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Jammu, for a post-mortem. The doctors at the hospital said Daler might have died after consuming some poisonous substance. Inquest proceedings under Section 174 of CrPC have been initiated. |
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An Army Major and a jawan were killed in an encounter with militants in the forest area of Chithibandi in Bandipore district late last night.
Acting on information about the presence of militants in the Aragam area, the Army launched a search operation last night, defence spokesman, Lt-Col J. S
Brar, said.
Overcast sky followed by intermittent rain across Jammu region, including the winter capital and the surrounding areas, today led to a considerable fall in the
mercury
Jammu, May 5
Jammu, May 5
Jammu, May 5
Jammu, May 5
