Jammu, May 18
The ongoing protest of students and scholars of University of Jammu against the setting up of police post on the campus entered its 7th day today.

Under the banner of the Student Scholars’ Committee Against Police Post (SSCAPP), the students, scholars and the activists of various student organisations held protest demonstration against the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university.

These organisations include the National Secular Forum, Progressive Students Association, Jammu University Research Scholars Executive Association, National Students Union of India and the People Democratic Students Forum.

The students boycotted classes and held a protest rally in front of the Vice-Chancellors’ office.

The students alleged that the university authorities wanted to suppress the democratic rights of the students by establishing a police post on the campus. They demanded immediate withdrawal of police personnel from the university.

Jammu, May 18
Growers of the world famous basmati in the state are worried over the supply of poor quality seeds and the shortage of fertilisers for the coming sowing season. Despite repeated assurances by Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir in the Assembly session recently, farmers of the RS Pura belt, known as the rice bowl of Jammu and Kashmir, are facing shortage of traditional seeds called Basmati-370.

The crop will be sown in June and the farmers have no option but to sow other rice varieties that are not suitable for this belt and give lesser yield as compared to Basmati-370.

In previous years also the position was similar and the Agriculture Department did not adopt any methods to solve the problem of the farmers. As a result the yield was far less as compared to the previous years. And this year too the farmers have been left in the lurch and with only option to sow other quality seeds.

If the condition persists, the RS Pura area, known all over the world for the best quality traditional basmati, would lose on quality rice crop in the coming years, said a progressive farmer, Tejinder Singh.

He added, “Though Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is introducing various new schemes for the agriculture sector, there is an urgent need for the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter personally in the interest of the rice growers and the region as well.”

Another rice grower, Harjit Singh, said, “Go to other states and you will see the difference in facilities being provided to the farmers. Though the state Agriculture Department and the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) are working in the interest of the farmers, there is a need to distribute assignments between the two.”

Harjit said most of the times the university and the Agriculture Department were working on the same assignment. “There should be some parameters for the two,” he demanded.

Dev Raj, president of the RS Pura Rice Growers Association, said, “Due to the unprofessional attitude of the officials concerned, 25 per cent of rice growers have given up sowing rice and a similar percentage of farmers are planning to leave sowing the traditional crop of the area.”

Dev Raj demanded that the state government should provide all basic facilities to the rice farmers to increase the crop yield and the minimum support price for the crop should also be increased.

On the other hand, a senior official of the Agriculture Department said they were working on various schemes in this regard and the farmers’ interests would never be overlooked. 

Jammu, May 18
Entire Kishtwar district and some parts of Doda plunged into darkness due to snapping of the only transmission line supplying power to this mountainous belt from the Udhampur grid station.

General Manager of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Raju Husto told The Tribune that it would take at least 10 days to restore power in this mountainous belt. The 132-KV Udhampur-Kishtwar line is maintained by the NHPC.

“We have pressed our men into job, but it is a time-consuming work,” Husto said. He informed that one tower had been completely damaged, which led to total breakdown of power supply. The mountainous belt of erstwhile Doda district has been experiencing heavy rain and storms for the past two days.

A tower located near Pul Doda got completely damaged when a tree fell on it yesterday, which ultimately led to snapping of the transmission line.

Though power supply has been restored in some parts of Doda district and the Bhaderwah area, entire Kishtwar district, comprising a population of more than 2.5 lakh people, is still in darkness due to the snag.

Meanwhile, two brothers were electrocuted when a high-voltage power transmission line fell on a house in the Assar area of Doda district late last night.

Sources said due to some technical snag, 11-KV transmission line snapped from the main tower at Jathi, near Assar, yesterday, resulting the death of two villagers. Deceased have been identified as Ram Kumar and Surjit Singh. Senior cops and PDD officials immediately launched a rescue operation and shifted the bodies to the hospital for postmortem.

Meanwhile, state senior BJP leaders Nirmal Singh and Bali Bhagat have expressed shock and grief over the death of two brothers. The BJP leaders demanded immediate payment of ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each and a government job to the next of the kin of the deceased. They also demanded a high-level inquiry into the unfortunate incident and stringent action against those responsible for the negligence of their duties. 

Jammu, May 18
Justice J.P. Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court today dismissed a petition filed by Khem Raj, seeking the quashing of framing of charges for his prima facie involvement in the illegal transportation of chir logs, against the permission to carry only chir firewood, with a direction to the trial court to proceed expeditiously in the case and conclude the same preferably within a year.

Found to be transporting chir logs in a truck against the permission to carry chir firewood, the petitioner along with others was proceeded against for commission of offences punishable under Sections 6/15/16 of the Jammu & Kashmir Forest Act, 1987 (1930 A.D) and Section 379 RPC. The Judicial Magistrate, Ist Class (Forest Cases), Jammu, however, discharged them of the offences.

Finding the discharge bad in law, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, recommended its setting aside, making a reference to the High Court. Allowing the reference, the discharge was set aside, leaving the petitioner free to question his discharge which was not otherwise found barred by limitation. The petitioner again approached the High Court for quashing of the charge.

Srinagar, May 18
Fake currency notes have become a major headache for law enforcing agencies in the valley. The police arrested two persons carrying a large amount of fake currency notes of the denomination of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 yesterday.

“Two persons were arrested and fake currency of Rs 25,000 was seized from their possession,” said a police spokesman. He said the duo had been identified as Manzoor Ahmad Bhat and Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, both residents of Seer Hamdan, Anantnag.

As per sources, fake currency is being sent from across the border by the Pakistan intelligence agency either through the LoC or via Nepal and Bangladesh border to destabilise the economy of the country.

The Kashmir police is working hard to tighten its grip on people involved in circulating fake currency and in this connection a workshop is being organised for select DSPs and SHOs to train them in identifying fake currency notes. While inaugurating the training session to identify fake currency notes, IG, Kashmir zone, Farooq Ahmad emphasised the need to take stringent legal action against those responsible for the circulation of fake currency in the valley. “It was with this purpose that we requested the RBI to send an expert for imparting training to our SHOs and supervisory officers so that they are in a better position to identify fake currency and take legal action in the matter,” the IG said.

Jammu, May 18
Senior BJP leader and former Mayor of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (MC) Kavinder Gupta has accused the state government of pressuring the MC staff on the electoral roll revision duty to prepare revised rolls as it wants.

Addressing a press conference, Gupta said after the recent electoral rolls revision exercise about 95,000 persons had applied for the inclusion of their names in the voter lists. “It is learnt that only the names of 28,000 applicants have been included in the revised voter lists, thus rejecting 67,000 forms,” he said. He added that the government could not digest the fact that even Jammu city had recorded an increase in the number of voters and hence it was pressuring the MC staff to reject the applications of genuine persons on the plea that the permanent resident certificate be produced for inclusion as a new voter.

Terming an advertisement published on behalf of the MC, which has fixed three days for the inspection of the new lists and filing of objections, as misleading, Gupta said, “According to the advertisement, May 17, 18 and 19 are the three days for the purpose, but no list was displayed anywhere today. This hints at some kind of conspiracy to deprive the genuine cases of their constitutional and democratic right of voting.

Raising objections about the current census going on in the state, the BJP leader said the provision of forms for the purpose in Urdu only was creating problems for people in Jammu city as the majority of the population here did not know the language.

Gupta demanded the display of the voter lists at booths for inspection, extension of time for filing objections related to new voter lists and a provision of forms for census in Hindi and English as well. BJP district president Rajesh Gupta was also present in the press conference.

Jammu, May 18
Criticising the brutal lathi charge on students on the campus yesterday, the Jan Jagriti Manch, a social organisation, today demanded stringent action against the involved police officials.

According to a statement issued here, members of the manch also supported the ongoing struggle of the students who were protesting against the establishment of the police post on the campus.

In a meeting held today, Parveen Kumar, president of the manch, said when militancy was at its peak in the state, not a single attack on any educational institution was witnessed.

He added that the establishment of the police post was only to suppress the democratic rights of students. Other members of the organisation said they would also join the agitation and would hold protests in the districts and tehsil-levels, if the demand of students would not be conceded soon.

Jammu, May 18
Justice JP Singh of the J&K High Court today allowed writ petitions while quashing the Director-General’s order dated 21.7.2005, cancelling the petitioner’s enlistment in the approved list and subsequent promotion as SI/MM, leaving the respondents free to pass fresh orders on the question as to whether the petitioner’s enlistment in the approved list and subsequent promotion as SI/MM was justified and warranted under rules.

“The respondents had neither heard petitioner before passing order impugned in the petition nor had they apprised him of grounds on which he was proposed to be removed from the approved list and denied promotion. They have, thus, violated the principles of natural justice in passing the impugned order, removing the petitioner from the approved list of B (FTR) and cancelling his promotion, which renders it void,” held the Judge.

Petitioner Babu Lal, having been brought on the approved list B (FTR) of 1/2002, was released on promotion as SI/MM Vide Directorat-General, CRPF’s letter 12.07.2002.

On his allotment to Group Centre, CRPF, Bantalab, he was promoted as SI/MM on 11.10.2002 vide office order dated 12.10.2002, when he served on the promotional post of SI/MM for over three years, but pursuant to the DG, CRPF’s, No. dated 21.07.2005, he was ordered to be removed from the approved list and the order issued for his promotion as SI/MM was cancelled. He was resultantly ordered to be brought back to the rank of Head Constable/Fitter.

During the pendency of the petition, the DG, CRPF, brought the petitioner along with others on special approved list B/Ftr 11/2006 directing their promotion as SI/MM Vide Communication dated, the 02 January, 2007.

It was indicated in the communication that the petitioner’s promotion would be subject to review as per the outcome 
of his Petition.

Jammu, May 18
The Rural Development Department (RDD) has decided to engage retired officers as state quality monitors to keep a watch on the implementation of various central schemes, especially the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme in the rural areas.

The decision to engage retired officers has been taken following a large number of complaints about manipulations, bungling and swindling of funds meant for such welfare schemes aimed at uplifting the marginalised and neglected lot of society.

Despite tall claims of the authorities, this ‘revolutionary’ rural job scheme failed to take off due to prevailing nepotism and corruption in the department concerned. Political interference in issuing of job cards, especially in far-flung areas, has created further hurdles in the proper implementation of the scheme.

Although the RDD authorities were tight-lipped over the decision to engage retired officers, sources said these officers would be assigned the job of keeping a watch on the activities of the officials of the department concerned and ensuring quality work. These officers would also ensure that only deserving persons were given job cards under the rural job scheme because it is widely alleged that employment under the scheme were being given on political considerations.

According to a notice issued by Dr Sayed Haneef Balakhi, member secretary of the cell for the scheme, applications for appointing state quality monitors had been invited from retired professors in sociology or other social sciences or retired officers of the rank of a director or a chief engineer.

The state government shall assign to the monitors the task of monitoring various schemes implemented by the RDD. They could also be tasked to look into specific complaints regarding the implementation of the programmes as required by the department, the notice stated.

According to the notice, the monitors shall have to furnish comprehensive reports to the department on the completion of their visits to the assigned districts. They would also provide necessary guidance to the state in the proper implementation of such programmes.