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De-silting claims fall flat
Kupwara areas under national farm project
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Amarnath Yatra
Tea with The Tribune
Jammu MC to intensify anti-defacement drive
No check on prices of essential commodities
Private tuitions
Tribune Impact
Muslims celebrate victory of good over evil
Srinagar diary
Cold storage facility for
Srinagar growers
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De-silting claims fall flat
Nandpur (Samba), May 7 However, despite the claims that proper de-silting has been done, tributaries of the Ranbir and Ravi Tawi irrigation canals are full of garbage and filth. “The de-silting is just an eyewash to loot public exchequer,” said Bua Ditta, a resident of Nanga village, adding that no de-silting was done for the past five years. Similar is the situation at Dhag village, where farmers have already lost three successive crops due to the prevailing dry spell. “We have been demanding installation of tubewells in our area as the authorities have failed to supply water to the fag end,” said Jagdev Singh. He said five years ago efforts were made to dig tubewells, but there is a need for more tubewells. Improper de-silting is not the only cause of the present situation. There are many other reasons, too, contributing to the hardships of the farmers residing in the border areas. At some places, people have blocked channels that stops the flow of water, but the authorities have failed to take action against them. At other places, canals have developed cracks, leading to leakage of water, but again there is no effort to repair the canals. A major portion of agriculture land in the border belt of Vijaypur depends upon these two canals for irrigation. A tributary of the Ranbir canal known as D9 passes through different areas of Nandpur and farmers depend on this channel for irrigating their fields. In other parts of this belt, channels of the Ravi Tawi irrigation canal are the only source of irrigating fields. Congress leader Manjit Singh stated that taking water of the canals to their tail ends was a difficult task. There was a need to dig more tubewells to cope up with the problem, he added. |
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Kupwara areas under national farm project
Srinagar, May 7 The project was sanctioned in November 2007, but due to the winter season the work started in March 2008. The project has been confined to three clusters - Langate, Tangdhar and Machil - in Kupwara district. The district created in 1979 is spread over 2,379 sq km, comprising 369 villages with a population of 6.7 lakh and 55 per cent literacy rate. Farooq Ahmad Mattoo, principal investigator, NAIP, during the three-day (May 3 to 5) workshop-cum-Consortium Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting of NAIP of Indian Council of Agricultural Research on “Enhancement of livelihood security through sustainable farming and related farm enterprises in north-west Himalayas” said the land under cultivation under this project is 66,230 hectares. The workshop was organised by Viveknanda Parvatiya Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology - Kashmir (SKUAST-K). Dr Mattoo said four villages - Walraman, Zagsundri, Chackpuram and Gundchabutra - had been adopted in Langate cluster. “Out of a population of 1095, 360 households have been adopted in the cluster. The area has kerawa type of typography and has temperate climate. Fruit (apple) is the main crop here and accounts for 44 per cent of the gross cultivation”. He said 500 households in five villages —Tethwal,
Dringla, Gundi, Bathpora and Chitrakote - had been adopted in the Tangdhar cluster. “Typography of land is sloppy. Soils are sandy in nature,”he said, adding that four villages -
Machil, Dapal, Punchwari and Chuntwari - had been adopted in Machil, a cup-shaped valley. About interventions in field crops in Machil, he said: “Capsicum has been cultivated for the first time in the cluster and low-cost poly houses have also been introduced, here.” Dr Mattoo further said 1,100 lal ambri plants had been distributed among 125 beneficiaries and 1,200 high-yielding star crimson (plants) had also been distributed among the eight beneficiaries in Langate. “Our objective is rejuvenation, plantation and management of orchards,” said Mattoo. Apiary and mushroom has also been introduced in these areas. “Fifty apiary units and 17,000 mulberry saplings (Goshirami) have been distributed among farmers in Tangdhar and Langate,” said the principal investigator. Six self-help groups and nine women groups had also been framed under the project, he added. Arun Kumar Srivasthawa, resource person, said appropriate selection of clusters, need-based interventions, integrated farming system approach, skill development, capacity building and community organisation would help to make a difference at grass-roots level. “Robust technology, effective implementation and inclusion of all segments of society are must,” Arun added. |
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Cops fail to rein in violaters
Jammu, May 7 “Bus drivers park their vehicles wherever they want, but they are hardly fined by the cops. There might be some nexus between the two,” said Sunil Manhotra, an advocate, Jammu and Kashmir High Court. “A number of traffic rule violators are punished daily, but still there is no end to the traffic woes. We are putting maximum efforts to streamline the traffic scenario in the city, but the cooperation of public is also necessary, which they don’t,” said a senior police official. A visit to the Bus Stand, Bikram Chowk, Indira Chowk, Gummat, Residency Road, Raghunath Market, Kargil Martyrs’ Road, Janipur and Canal Road is enough to see that the authorities had done very little to tackle the ever-increasing menace of wrong parking. The situation was almost similar on every road in the city. “I have never seen the BC Road empty as whenever I take this route to go to university, I reach late for my classes. That’s why I have to go via flyover to the university,” said Ashish Sharma, a student of LLB. “The failure of cops to prevent the conversion of roadside into a parking lot will definitely make the entire city into a parking lot one day,” rued Ashish. However, SP (Traffic) Zahid Manhas said, “We are strictly dealing with the traffic rule violators. Special drives have been launched to punish the guilty”. |
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Amarnath Yatra
Jammu, May 7 The pilgrimage begins July 1 and would conclude on August 24. “Like every year, the CRPF would be guarding base camp at Bhagwati Nagar, besides ensuring security of convoys leaving for the cave shrine,” sources in the CRPF said. “We would be performing the duties of road opening on the Kashmir highway and also at the two base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal,” they said. During last year’s pilgrimage, the CRPF had deployed 44 companies while the BSF 27 companies. “Since the BSF was relieved from such duties to focus more on the borders, we might have to deploy more forces. However, the CRPF doesn’t have additional reserves in the state that could be deployed for the conduct of the pilgrimage,” they added. However, the Home Ministry, on the request of the state government, may send additional companies from outside the state, exclusively to regulate and provide security to the pilgrims undertaking the annual pilgrimage, the sources said. As far as 312-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway is concerned, it would be sanitised completely and would remain under 24-hour vigil of ROPs, they said. Troops equipped with sophisticated weaponry and equipments required for sanitising the highway would be placed on the highway to keep saboteurs at bay, they added. The state in tandem with Shri Amarnath Shrine Board
(SASB) has already set the process into motion, mobilising its resources to ensure an incident-free pilgrimage, said the sources. “We have already initiated the process and are looking into the requirement of troops so as to have ensure security arrangements in place,” sources in the state Home Department told The Tribune. |
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Shamsher Singh Manhas,
State BJP president Scrapping of Article 370 must for state’s growth: Manhas Shamsher Singh Manhas, state president of the BJP and a hardcore RSS man, was earlier considered as a weak president, but now he has started showing teeth. In his four-month tenure, Manhas has tried to prove himself as an assertive president. Instead of succumbing to the pressure of party stalwarts, he is taking decision on its own and trying to keep the RSS and other Sangh Parivar organisations in good humour.
Following are the excerpts: Ravi Krishnan Khajuria (RKK): The Amarnath agitation brought the BJP to the fore and it later won 11 Assembly seats, all in Jammu. But now people don’t connect anymore with the party. Do you feel that the BJP has lost the pulse of Jammu people? Shamsher Singh Manhas (SSM): Jammu has always remained a top priority for the BJP and will remain so, but there are certain issues that should be seen in right perspective. For instance, we stand by our word that Article 370 must be abrogated because it is a deterrent in attracting industry to the state. It has marred the progress of the state. The Omar government claims that there are nearly five lakh registered unemployed youth in the state, but the figure has touched a million-mark. Similarly, 27,000 unemployed youth leave the state every year for greener pastures and if the trend continues, the state after 10 years would be nothing more than a home for the aged. We stand by our commitment to uphold the interests of Jammu and at the same time, people of the Kashmir valley have started connecting with the BJP because of our clear-cut policies. They also feel that in the larger interests of the state and its people, Article 370 must be scrapped. RKK: In the backdrop of political setup of the state where Kashmir-centric parties rule the roost and where even the Congress plays a second fiddle to them, do you really feel that a day will come when Article 370 would go? SSM: Surely, because Article 370 has given nothing to the state but problems. Now, there is a change among the people of Kashmir. Recently, 150 activists of the BJP were detained in Kashmir because they were demanding abrogation of Article 370. The day is not far away when it would eventually go. Further, people in Kashmir have started realising the ground situation and I am confident that a time would soon come when they would discard parties like the National Conference and the PDP. Dinesh Manhotra (DM): In the last Assembly elections, the BJP won an all-time high 11 Assembly seats. It is widely perceived that the party is losing its hold. What steps would you take? SSM: I want to make it clear that winning seats is not my priority. My priority is to strengthen the party at grass-roots level by spreading ideology of the party in every nook and corner of the state. After becoming president, I have been working overtime to strengthen organisational structure at grass-roots level. Ashutosh Sharma (AS): Corruption is rampant in the state. Your observation? SSM: Corruption is as dangerous as terrorism. The first is weakening the state and the other is dangerous to the nation. The development works going on in the state lack accountability and transparency. Charges are being levelled against ministers but nothing comes out of investigations. State vigilance organisation as well as the accountability commission needs to be strengthened. Archit Watts (AW): What is the reason behind less vote bank of the BJP in the Kashmir valley? SSM: No, the time has changed and we are getting good response there. In the past 4-5 years, the situation has changed and people in Kashmir are supporting the ideology of our party. Even after the Amarnath land row when the state was divided on regional lines, the BJP got 49,000 votes from the valley, which according to me is an encouraging achievement. AW: What efforts are being made to strengthen the party in Kashmir valley? SSM: We are regularly visiting Kashmir to strengthen the party there. I have planned to hold rallies in all districts of Kashmir from May 26 to June 5. Our senior leaders from Delhi are also expected to come to boost the morale of party workers. AS: You had been a Sangh pracharak in the beginning of your political career. The names of many RSS activists have recently surfaced in the investigations into some bomb blasts. Your comments? SSM: Being an RSS activist and a BJP member, I would say that we treat our country on a par with the status of mother. Anyone, who is caught in anti-national activities, we are against him. Moreover, in such cases usually our activists are framed. AW: What is your achievement ever since you took over the reins of the party in the state? SSM: In such a short span of time, we have taken up many issues and forced both the state and Centre governments to take decisions in favour of Jammu people. My party members fought against the Inter-District Recruitment Bill and got success in excluding SCs from the bill. In another fight against the Sagir Ahmed Committee’s report, we showed our power to the state government. AW: What is the reaction of the BJP over the appointment of Prof Amitabh Mattoo as vice-chancellor of the Central University in Jammu? SSM: I can’t speak on the issue. Only the selection committee will decide the matter. But I want to make only one point that we have no objection whether he joins as VC or not. We have to fight for a big cause not these small issues. We have to keep in mind the larger interests. DM: Some political parties have floated the idea of statehood for Jammu. What is the stand of the BJP on this issue? SSM: It is a reality that people of Jammu region have been facing discrimination in every sphere since 1947. As far as the BJP is concerned, we are of the opinion that separate provincial council for Jammu is one and the only solution for remove this discrimination. We are not supporting the demand of separate state.
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Jammu MC to intensify anti-defacement drive
Jammu, May 7 This decision was taken by the corporation authorities after observing the rising level of defacement of public property done by some commercial establishments. During the initial stage, the corporation has started removing/erasing posters and paintings fixed on walls by different agencies in the city. After removing/erasing all posters and paintings from walls in various areas, the corporation would paint the walls to give a good look to the city. JMC Commissioner Mubarak Singh has also directed the official to take immediate and strict action against the defaulters in accordance with the J&K Municipal Corporation Act and the J&K Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act. While talking to The Tribune, Charandeep Singh, chief revenue officer (CRO) of the JMC, said during the past year the corporation had sent notices to over 50 violators under the J&K Prevention of Defacement Act 1985. He said: “Various student organisations deface roadside walls of government buildings and other public places for putting their advertisements. I appeal to them that they should not do so.” The CRO added that all commercial establishments as well as social and students’ organisations should resist from defacing public property, instead they should approach the corporation for getting approval to put their advertisements at approved points. According to sources, the corporation had neither charged any fine nor had taken any action against the violators which were booked during the past year. Sarveshwar Shud Basmati Rice, Reliance and Aircel falls under the category of the biggest violators under this Act, said an officer of the corporation on the basis of anonymity. The officer alleged that though the corporation had always sought help from the state police to deal with offenders strictly, yet the police had never given its support to the corporation. |
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No check on prices of essential commodities
Srinagar, May 7 As part of its price-control exercise, the director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD), Kashmir, earlier this week fixed the retail rates of broiler chicken at Rs 72 per kg. Consumers have been advised not to pay more than the rates fixed by the government. Anyone found selling chicken at the rates higher than fixed by the government would be dealt with sternly, an official spokesman here said. But, it has not changed the situation at the ground level. Chicken dealers have been selling chicken at any price between Rs 75 and Rs 80 per kg. “This rate is applicable to the locally produced chicken,” said Farooq Ahmad, a shopkeeper in the Rajbagh area. He added that the local supply would last for few days only after which total dependence is on supplies from outside the valley. Chicken supplied from outside the valley is available at Rs 92 per kg, he pointed out, adding that the rates could not be maintained like that even as officials fix the rates. The valley is dependent upon chicken supplied from outside the valley throughout the year, except for occasional supplies for about one month. Similarly, the CA&PD last week fixed the rates of toned packaged milk in the market at Rs 18 (toned) and 20 per kg (double toned). There is hardly any compliance to the government orders. The milk continues to be sold at higher rates of Rs 21 and Rs 22 for different brands available in the market. The fresh orders have not provided any relief to common man. Same is the case with the rates of mutton which had been earlier fixed at Rs 180 per kg, but was being sold at Rs 200 till recently. After mutton dealers and suppliers last winter launched a campaign in support of their demand of raising rates, it had been fixed at Rs 200, but consumers in the market have been getting mutton at Rs 220 per kg. Consumers continue to be sandwiched between the government and dealers in essential commodities without getting any relief. They are forced to pay higher prices even as these have been fixed by the departments concerned. There is a need to strict adherence and compliance of the government orders so that common man does not continue to suffer unheard. |
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Private tuitions
Jammu, May 7 Some people who consider private tutorials by government teachers as a way to earn easy money allege that the government has failed to implement the ban in letter and spirit whereas others supporting the ban expressed that there is no harm on private coaching by government teachers which proves beneficial for their children. Dr Shalinder Singh Jamwal, a university professor, said the government should once take public opinion before imposing the ban on private tuitions by government teachers. “Most people are not in support of the ban because tutorials are good as compared to government schools and colleges. Moreover, the government first passes such an order and later fails to implement it properly,” he added. On the contrary, a student leader, Pratap Singh, alleged that in government institutions, teachers do not perform their duty honestly, thus force the students to take private tuitions from them so that they could make easy money. “The teacher who shows average performance in government institution performs excellently in tutorials. They do it because they are answerable to private institutions whereas in government institutions there is no check,” said Jamwal. Expressing similar views, Sunita Rania, a parent, said getting education from the private tutorials had become a fashion. She added, “When have well-qualified and experienced teachers in government institutions, why should children opt for private tuitions. The only requirement is to raise the level of infrastructure in government schools. The government should implement the ban effectively”. Meanwhile, NR Dingra, chief education officer, said he had circulated orders to all government schools of the district, prohibiting them to take private tuitions. |
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Tribune Impact
Jammu, May 7 For the past two months 22 landless labourers, who were engaged under this scheme, were moving from pillar to post to get their wages. Earlier, the Rural Development Department (RDD) had issued two separate cheques to them but the same were bounced thrice due to non-availability of adequate amount in the account concerned of the RDD in the branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank. The Tribune in these columns on April 24 had highlighted the plight of these helpless workers who felt cheated due to repeated cheque bounce. Although, officers of the RDD had refused to comment on the entire episode, sources said. The sources said the department concerned had opened two accounts for the payment. After The Tribune highlighted the issue, the department cancelled the earlier cheques and issued two fresh cheques worth Rs 1 lakh and Rs 20,000, respectively to them and both cheques were cashed without any problem. As reported earlier, under the NREGA scheme 22 card holders of two villages, namely Gopad Basti and Raipur, were engaged by the officers of the RDD in de-silting the canal of the area. As all card holders jointly completed the work in stipulated time, a cheque worth Rs 1.20 lakh was handed over to them two months ago in lieu of their work but the same was bounced due to non-availability of balance in the account of the department concerned. |
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Muslims celebrate victory of good over evil
Aishmuqam, May 7 Situated on a hillock is the holy mausoleum of a revered Muslim Sufi Saint Hazrat Zainuddin Wali, a disciple of Sheikh Nooruddin Wali, every year on his Urs which marks the beginning of the agricultural season in the Kashmir valley, thousands of Muslims from various parts of the valley gather here and burn a mashal (torch) to commemorate the slaying of a man-eating demon. According to the legend, hundreds of years ago a man-eating demon lived in the village, who forced villagers to send him food and a man everyday for his meal. It is said Bumma Sen (Bhim of Pandava) visited this place and persuaded a widow to send him to the demon instead of her son and he fought with the demon and killed him. It is believed that to verify the demon’s death villagers lit mashals and since then they have been celebrating the day by lighting mashals. Though some Muslim fundamentalist organisations had asked the people not to celebrate the day as it had a connection with the Hindu religion, yet people here continue to commemorate the day with lighting mashals. In 1994, militants had lobbed a hand grenade at devotees who had gathered here to commemorate the day in which one person was killed and another was injured. Though the attack had some impact on the celebration, after sometime it regained its popularity. “The annual Urs of Sheikh Zainuddin Wali, marking the beginning of agricultural activities of farmers is an annual event here. The torchlight procession, known as phro, a unique characteristic of this festival, was taken out by the people from villages surrounding the mausoleum of the Rishi saint” said an officer of the state Tourism Department. |
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Srinagar diary
Even as smoking stands prohibited, people continue to violate the law as many could be seen smoking in the open. At various public places, like bus stops and even government offices, people are seen puffing a cigarette, least caring about the law. This is observed even in public transport, where majority of passengers, especially women and children often complain that they face lots of problems due to smoking. Government servants are also least bothered about the smoking ban, as one can see them smoking on the office premises. In an ongoing drive against smokers, one constable was caught while he was smoking openly at a public place here last week. A fine of Rs 200 was imposed on him (See pic). The move was appreciated, but it was the need of the hour to spread greater awareness amongst the masses, so as to stop this menace. Fish market of Baramulla
The ‘fish market’ at Baramulla town, on the banks of Jhelum, as the name suggests once used to be dotted with fish sellers. But with the passage of time, things have changed and now at the famous ‘fish market’, one can find anything, but not fish. Those who used to sell fish, have diversified their interests, and now sell grocery, hosiery and imported items. Even though the name of the market remains unchanged, these days one can hardly find a person selling fish here. There was a time when people from different parts of the district used to visit this market to purchase fresh fish, but now one has to go to either Sopore or Sheeri to get the same. People in the town say that the very identity of this market was with fish sellers and now the rush of people visiting this market, too, has decreased. Polythene back
in city
Polythene that was banned in Kashmir valley last year, is again back in the markets. Those who were seen using polythene gave the excuse that shopkeepers gave them that, whereas shopkeepers said that since there was no other alternative available, therefore, they provided polythene bags to their customers. However, paper and cloth bags are also available in markets and shopkeepers offer the same to customers after charging them for it. But some people are not ready to avail this alternative and instead ask for polythene bags. Similarly, at some places shopkeepers deliberately provide customers with polythene bags. However, it is the responsibility of all concerned, the government, traders and customers to ensure that polythene should be discarded. (Contributed by Tejinder singh Sodhi and Afsana Rashid) |
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Cold storage facility for
Srinagar growers
Srinagar, May 7 “The CA facilities, along with state-of-the-art packing and grading line will benefit growers and corporations as they will not only earn monetary benefits during off-season, but also quality, freshness and shelf-life of fruits will be enhanced. Our aim is to be an end-to-end solution providers within a couple of years,” said Syed Tariq Bukhari, joint managing director, FIL. He added that for FIL, bringing in a world-class infrastructure and technology was a part of its core commitment in the comprehensive development of the state economy. “We believe in business as an avenue of social entrepreneurship,” he added. Bukhari said the company had played a pioneering role in food processing and had controlled the atmospheric storage facilities in India. With soaring unemployment and private sector still in infancy here, the company aspires to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs. FIL established India’s first cold storage facility at Rangreth industrial complex, few kilometres from the city-centre, he added. “The CA storage is open for everyone,” said general manager Basharat Ahmad, adding, “With a storage capacity of 10,000 (integrated) metric tonne, the facility could revolutionise valley-grower participation in market”. “The commercial terms for use of facilities are still being worked out for the current year and the company intends to hold a separate commercial meet in June to launch the same,” Bukhari said. “Fruits are ready by September to November, but we have to wait till April for its marketing. By then it gets spoilt, as there is no cold storage facility, here,” he said. “CA enhances shelf-life of fruits three times more compared to conventional cold storages,” said the general manager. A fruit grower, Abdul Rahim from south Kashmir’s Shopian, suggests that government should set-up cold storage in the valley or collaborate with those who have already set-up their CA. “They should negotiate with FIL, so that growers can store fruit in its cold storage at subsidised rate. This would ensure that benefits trickle down to grassroots level and inspire youth to take it as a profession,” Rahim added. |
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Though the state government claimed to have de-silted the Ranbir and Ravi Tawi canals to enhance irrigation facilities in Jammu district, most of the villages located on tail ends of these canals are not getting water.
Shamsher Singh Manhas, state president of the BJP and a hardcore RSS man, was earlier considered as a weak president, but now he has started showing teeth.
In his four-month tenure, Manhas has tried to prove himself as an assertive president. Instead of succumbing to the pressure of party stalwarts, he is taking decision on its own and trying to keep the RSS and other Sangh Parivar organisations in good
humour.
Jammu, May 7
Even as smoking stands prohibited, people continue to violate the law as many could be seen smoking in the open. At various public places, like bus stops and even government offices, people are seen puffing a cigarette, least caring about the law. This is observed even in public transport, where majority of passengers, especially women and children often complain that they face lots of problems due to smoking. Government servants are also least bothered about the smoking ban, as one can see them smoking on the office premises.
