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Highway four-laning devours trees
NREGA: Officers ‘demanding cut’ to release wages
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Govt wakes up to water crisis in kandi areas
Punjab police comes calling for ultras in Jammu
Bhat Fojan village sans basic amenities
Yoga catches fancy of Jammu people
Vocational training for rural youth stressed
Sports Diary
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Highway four-laning devours trees
Jammu, May 11 With the felling of more trees on the cards beyond Ramban up to Banihal town in the name of development and the blasting of mountains at some spots, experts apprehend the condition of the highway worsening which has recently witnessed a series of closures for weeks together due to frequent triggering of landslides in the Nashri and Panthel areas. During a recent visit, this writer found hundreds of axed trees converted into logs lying along the highway to be transported. Most of the felled trees were `chir’, `kail’, ` kikkar’ and ` Ailanthus’. The area where the trees have been axed falls in the vicinity of Patnitop Development Authority (PDA), where such activity is banned. Dr M A Malik, chief executive officer, PDA, said his department had no role in the felling of these trees. `` It is the prerogative of the state’s Forest Department to see which tree is to be axed or spared’’, Malik maintained. S K Raina, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Batote, said trees had been felled to convert the 300-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway into a four-lane road. There was a government sanction for axing these trees, he claimed. Farooq Ahmad, range officer, Batote, also put forth the same reasons for the felling of trees. ``For the sake of development, one has to sacrifice something’’, he asserted. Prof G M Butt, a geologist at Jammu University, however, opined that four-laning of the highway may cause more landslides. Butt said since area came under the Digdole fault zone, it had a number of original and local cracks that passed through this region. He apprehended that four-laning in the identified fault-area zone could increase an angle of repose, resulting into more landslides on the strategic highway. |
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NREGA: Officers ‘demanding cut’ to release wages
Jammu, May 11 Whereas labourers of the Baspur panchayat in the RS Pura area had to struggle a lot to get their wages released, villagers engaged under this scheme in Sangoit village (Mendhar) in Poonch district have alleged that the BDO concerned has been demanding a bribe for releasing their wages. A delegation of the villagers called on Mendhar MLA Rafiq Hussain Khan and alleged that the Balakote BDO had been demanding commission from them for getting their wages released. Despite repeated attempts the BDO was not available for comments Sources said there was rampant corruption in this job scheme, especially in the remote areas not visited by senior officers. Sardar Rafiq Hussain Khan also admitted bungling and corruption in implementation of the scheme in the Mendhar area as “everyday I receive complaints about the denial of wages to beneficiaries”. Khan said though he had brought the matter to the notice of the authorities concerned nothing had been done so far. Quoting statements of locals, the MLA said that employees in the office of the BDO, Balakote, had been openly demanding bribes in exchange for getting the wages of labourers released. Two days back, residents of the Janglote panchayat in Kathua district organised a massive demonstration to protest against the failure of the authorities to release wages. They alleged that six months back, they had constructed a pond in their village but till date payment for the work had not been released. |
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Govt wakes up to water crisis in kandi areas
Jammu, May 11 The government has also decided to install deep hand pumps, especially in those areas where natural resources have been depleted. Minister for Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control, Taj Mohi-ud-Din said water tankers had been pressed into service to ensure that residents got some relief. He admitted that there was acute water scarcity in the kandi belt due to the depletion of natural resources. He said the perennial remedy to overcome water crisis was its conservation. In water scare areas, hand pumps and water tanker supply initiatives would continue, he added. The minister said the possibility of creating an artificial lake at the famous tourist resort of Jajjar (Jajjar Kotli) was under consideration
since besides enhancing the scenic beauty of the area, it would help in raising the water table by its conservation through the mechanism of check dams. Expressing concern over the water shortage owning to continuing dry spell in the state, the minister said judicious water management and its storage would provide a relatively long-term solution. Giving details about various initiatives to augment water supply in Udhampur, the minister said under the UIDSSMT, the first phase of water
supply scheme, Udhampur, would be commissioned in June, thereby adding 16 lakh gallons of water per day, which would cover the present
shortfall of 10 lakh gallons per day in the town. The minister stressed the need for completing the ongoing water supply schemes with a focus on neglected inhabitations on a priority basis. He also announced 77 hand pumps to be installed in areas of Udhampur district where water resources have been depleted to a large extent. For the purpose, he instructed
officials to take into confidence the MLAs concerned of the installation of 60 hand pumps at already identified locations. Out of 77 hand pumps, the minister also kept 17 hand pumps on the discretion of Udhampur deputy commissioner. To reduce the turbidity, the minister issued directions to PHE engineers to construct pre-sedimentation tanks with existing slow sand filtration plants. He said proper supervision by the media used in filtration plants be made on a regular basis to ensure proper upkeep of these plants. The minister also asked officers of his department to check
mining in different nullahs for the maintenance of surface water level. |
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Punjab police comes calling for ultras in Jammu
Jammu, May 11 Police sources said after the arrest of a militant, Tarlochan Singh, alias Locha, the Punjab police along with its Jammu counterpart had raided several places in the outskirts of the city, including the Satwari, Miran Sahib and RS Pura areas, in search of some youngsters allegedly connected with Neeta in Pakistan. A few persons were detained for investigation after their names were divulged by Locha. The sources added that earlier in February, amidst reports that some pro-Khalistani groups were trying to revive their activities in the Jammu region with the help of some anti-social elements, intelligence agencies had started keeping a strict watch on the activities of youths earlier involved in anti-national acts. In their effort to keep a watch on such elements, the intelligence agencies had started observing the activities of especially those youths who used to either paste stickers or posters of late Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale on their vehicles. However Jammu Zone IG Ashok Gupta had then denied that the poster or sticker movement was vitiating the atmosphere in the militancy-affected border state. But after the Punjab police raids in this Indo-Pak border belt, where majority of the people belonging to the Sikh community reside, the government seems to have smelt something suspicious. However, a senior police officer told The Tribune that there was no need for panic as their men were always keeping an eye on such elements, adding that none was found connected with Neeta during these raids. |
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Bhat Fojan village sans basic amenities
Shopian, May 11 The livelihood of the majority of the residents here depends on cutting and selling of firewood. They leave early in the morning for jungle and after the day's work bring firewood to be sold in the market. "Early in the morning we leave for jungle and for the entire day we collect firewood, which we sell to bakery makers and sustain our livelihood," said Shuban Din, a resident of the village. To reach the village one has to trek several kilometres as this village is situated on the height of a mountain. "We do not have roads here and public transport is a big thing for us. We have to travel several kilometres to reach the village," said another resident. "Whenever somebody falls ill, the patient has to be carried either on shoulders or on a bed to a hospital, which is in Kellar village," said Bashir Ahmed. The majority of the residents belongs to the Gujjar community and they lack education and they blame the government for not taking any measures to provide education to the children of these people. "Many a times we approached the local authorities to open a mobile school here to educate our children, but the authorities are least bothered about our problems," said Abdul Aziz, another resident. The children here want education, but in the absence of a school, they are forced to help their parents in earning for their livelihood. "I too want to go to school, but we do not have one here so I have no other option but to help my father in collecting firewood, which we sell in the market to earn our livelihood," said 13-year-old Muntazir Ahmed. Another problem that the residents face is their frequent conflict with wild animals as majority of them have encroached upon the forest land, wild animals frequently attack residents and the young ones. "A large number of villagers have been attacked by wild animals here. For our livelihood, we risk our life whenever we go to jungle to collect firewood," said another resident. The residents here have appealed to the government that it should rehabilitate them so that they could also lead a "normal life". |
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Potato project on anvil to meet local demand
Jammu, May 11 Every year, Jammu consumes 1, 27,000 MT of potatoes, but despite potato being the most widely grown vegetables in the province, only 90,000 MT is grown locally on 5,500 hectares. Potato is a leading cash crop in Jammu division, next to cereal crops. To meet the demand and supply gap, every year 37,000 MT of potatoes are imported from outside the state. To tide over the crisis, the Potato Development Wing of the department has planned to benefit from the agro climatic diversity of the region, where the crop is grown all through the year. “We have potato seed development farms at Ishkunda and Narsinga in Ramban, Sanasar in Udhampur and Buddal. However, due to encroachments, the entire tracts of farms are not under cultivation,” said Potato Development Official US Sudan and added, “In Sanasar, 50 per cent of the land is under illegal occupation of nomads. At Ramban and Buddal, a major portion of farms are also under the occupation of security forces. We have taken up the matter with the local administration”. The conceived five-year-project was under process and the report would be soon submitted to the government. It had been divided into two parts, hill corridor and border corridor, for effective implementation of schemes, he said, adding that to enhance the productivity, technical support could be sought from the agriculture university and the Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla. Sudan said the region could take a lead in the potato production and export in terms of fresh potatoes, seed potatoes and processed potatoes. To meet the growing demands for potato flour, chips, wafers and French fries, the department had introduced, Kufri Chipsona-I, he said. Sudan said the project had been conceived for enhancing overall seed replacement and area expansion and would surely give economic boost to the area, thereby generating rural employment. The crop faces challenges like, price crash at the time of glut, processing units to handle surplus produce, lack of infrastructure in hilly areas and absence of insurance cover in the wake of crop failure that discourages farmers to grow it beyond their consumption, Sudan added.
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Yoga catches fancy of Jammu people
Jammu, May 11 Besides, youngsters are also showing inclination towards yoga, particularly the health conscious ones. The samiti would soon start yoga classes in far-flung villages of the district to make villagers aware of its benefits. As per records, the number of yoga learners has shown tremendous increase in the current year. The rising number of its followers depicts the fact that yoga is catching the attention of all those who want to remain fit. Prof Uma Sharma, coordinator of Patanjali Yog Samiti, says in 2009, there were 410 persons registered with the samiti, but the same has increased to 1,650 this year. “Besides those who suffer from various diseases, many people suffering from obesity also come to us and ask about exercises which could help them reduce weight. Some ask about how they could increase their height,” says Prof Sharma. Vandana Sharma, a PG student, says, “I have been practicing yoga for the past one year and it has really helped me to get rid of obesity”. Samiti members also hold workshops in colleges and universities for the promotion of spiritual, physical and mental health of the students. Prof Sharma says the samiti receives special requests from university girls’ hostels where girls always remain in stress. “Stress is a big enemy to the health of a person and yoga has authentic potential to reduce stress,” says the coordinator. She adds mostly girls come to yoga centres to learn exercises for physical fitness. |
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Vocational training for rural youth stressed
Srinagar, May 11 He stressed the need to popularise low-cost poly houses to ensure food security in the changing climatic scenario. He said to exploit full potential of available technologies through extension programmes and approaches, there should not be any overlapping of programmes between the Development Departments and the university. MS Gill, director, Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, gave tips on extension methodology, which is used for transfer of technology. “Punjab farmers are able to realise yields of different crops and commodities close to potentials created by research,” he added. Research director Prof AR Trag stated that the Development Departments, NGOs and progressive farmers should work together, so that they could utilise these technologies in their respective fields. The two-day programme discussed various facets of extension activities carried out by various divisions of the university, besides proposals for the current year, said Parvez Ahmad Bhat, public relations officer, SKUAST-K. Dr GH Shah, director, Horticulture, Kashmir; deans of SKUAST-K University and representatives of the Animal Husbandry and Sheep Husbandry Departments were also present on the occasion. |
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jammu diary Who will regulate traffic when traffic cops standing in groups remain busy in gossiping? It has been observed that a single traffic person performs his duty with dedication, but the moment another joins him, the concentration of both cops shifts towards gossiping. They remain so busy in talks and even if there is chaos on the road, they do not bother to come forward and regulate the traffic. What they do in such a situation is that shout loudly from their place once and then again get busy in gossiping. Forgotten promise
Politicians have a common habit of making promises only to forget them later. Due to this habit, Minister for Higher and Medical Education RS Chib was caught on a sticky wicket at a function in Birpur recently. He had to cut a sorry figure when Shamsher, a villager took many by surprise by exhibiting his superb retention power. Showing a DO (demi official) letter undersigned by the minister some 22 years ago, the modest villager reminded Chib that in a similar function at the village in 1988, he in the capacity of Health Minister had assured a primary health centre to the villagers - a promise that remains unfulfilled even today. What is a DO letter?
Though hardly anyone knows the exact meaning of a DO letter, ministers don’t miss a chance to issue the same. In connection with a news report, a correspondent tried to know the exact meaning of this abbreviation. To his surprise, when nearly 12 former and acting ministers were asked over phone, none of them could provide an answer. Finally, it was known from a veteran journalist that DO is demi official, meaning a half official letter that has no binding on the official concerned. A DO letter seems to have become a safe tool in hands of ministers to ward off immediate wrath of voters and keep them in good humour. Politics on water
Inhabitants of Kandi belt have been facing acute scarcity of drinking water these days and leaders are brazenly politicising it. When Minister of PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiud Din had gone to start service of water tanks (see photo) to supply drinking water in the areas bordering Udhampur and Samba districts, politicians irrespective of their party affiliations thronged the function to take credit. Though the function was official, it was virtually hijacked by politicians to hoodwink their voters that it was all due to their efforts that the service has been started. The minister concerned, who was watching activities of politicians, asked officers to tell them that it was an official function and there was no need to politicise the
issue. (Contributed by Sunaina Kaul, Ashutosh Sharma, Archit Watts and Dinesh Manhotra) |
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Sports Diary
Simula Cricket Club (SCC) won the IInd Ashok Sodhi Memorial T-20 Cricket Tournament on Monday by defeating Rohit Dogra Cricket Club (RDCC) with 11 runs. Shashi of the SCC was adjudged the man of the match and the man of the series. Climbing
competition
The second round of the monthly series of the North Zone Sports Climbing Competition is being held at Sprawling Buds School, Chinore, on May 23. Nearly 100 climbers will participate. Football tourney
KC Public School and JK Public School won the under-14 and under-17 titles of the Inter-School Boys’ Football Tournament of Jammu district on Saturday.
— TNS |
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