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CM launches crop insurance scheme
Antony writes to Omar Abdullah
Talks with Pak should focus on Kashmir issue:
Mirwaiz
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Vohra, CM mourn deaths in accidents
The topper wants to design a plane
Two failed students of Class XII commit suicide
Gory Pictorial Warnings on Cigarette Packs
Needy students given books, uniforms
2 judicial officers attached
6th Pay Panel Arrears
Police on Varsity Campus
Hideouts busted, arms seized
Entry of heavy vehicles restricted in Dabbar Chowk
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CM launches crop insurance scheme
Srinagar, May 22 He said government would provide all possible assistance to the farming community for boosting the agriculture sector, including horticulture, and saffron. The Chief Minister was speaking at a function at the SKICC here this morning after launching the National Crop Insurance Scheme. The function was organised by the Agriculture Production Department in collaboration with National Agriculture Insurance Company Limited. He said people of the state, particularly farmers, have not forgotten the revolutionary step taken by my grandfather Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah by bringing the historical land to the Tiller Act. He said since then, farmers and tillers had became masters of their land and added that since then the party and my family had been working tirelessly for the cause Omar said 70 per cent of the state population belongs to rural areas and it should be our endeavour to initiate concerted efforts for the uplift of the rural population. Referring to the unemployment problem, he said over 5 lakh educated youth were registered with various employment and counselling centres. He said the government employment was not the only solution for tackling the unemployment issue and stressed, “we have to explore the possibilities for our educated unemployed youth in private sectors also”. Omar impressed upon the agriculture authorities and scientists to redouble their efforts for bringing glamour in the agriculture sector by introducing latest scientific agricultural now-how, so that our farming community could not only yield good produce for their own sustenance, but also go for commercialisation of their agriculture produce. Omar assured that the government would leave no stone unturned in providing all possible financial assistance to such progressive farmers who would come forward in a big way to run their agriculture produce on commercial basis, adding that the government would cover their risk for at least three years till they become stable. |
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Antony writes to Omar Abdullah
Srinagar, May 22 Antony has conveyed the decision to this effect to Omar, who had urged the former that the Srinagar Airport should not be closed for civil air operations during the tourist season. Omar had advocated for keeping the airport operational to civil traffic during the current tourist season to avoid inconvenience to the tourists and the local people. He had suggested the upgrading of the airport without shifting the civil air operations to Awantipora. The Air Force authorities had asked for the closure of the airport for about a month during the season to undertake urgent improvement works and shifting of the civil air operations to Awantipora. The issue was discussed with high-level state officers in Srinagar. However, the officers did not agree with the idea of closing the airport for one month during the tourist season. No decision was taken in that meeting and the Chief Minister took up the issue with the Defence Minister.
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Talks with Pak should focus on Kashmir issue:
Mirwaiz
Srinagar, May 22 “We expect the Centre to go ahead on a solid basis if they want to proceed with the composite dialogue. The main issue of the composite dialogue is Kashmir. India is trying to put this on the second or third position,” the Mirwaiz said while addressing a gathering to commemorate the death anniversary of slain Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone. He said India wanted to make terrorism the main issue “but if Kashmir is not made the main issue the composite dialogue will fail.” The Mirwaiz also reiterated his demand for the release of all political prisoners, demilitarisation of the state, abolishing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and a comprehensive political package. “A comprehensive political package should be announced, the objective of which should be the resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue with Kashmir, Kashmiri people and Pakistan,” he added. Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in Handwara town to pay tributes to Abdul Gani Lone. Various Hurriyat leaders, including the son of the assassinated leader, addressed the gathering.
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Vohra, CM mourn deaths in accidents
Srinagar, May 22 The police must also take punitive action, including impounding vehicles, whenever any operator is found running an overloaded bus, he added. The Governor recalled earlier meetings he had with Transport Minister Qamar Ali Akhoon in regard to the loss of lives in road accidents and the need for stringent measures. He would be discussing the matter again with Akhoon, and also with the Chief Minister. In his condolence message, the Chief Minister has expressed sympathies with the bereaved families. He prayed for peace to the departed souls. He also wished speedy recovery to all injured, who had been airlifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu. Omar has also ordered the authorities concerned of the Health Department for providing free medical treatment to the injured. |
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Shubam tops Class X exams
Jammu, May 22 Vibhor Sharma of Shanti Niketan High Secondary School, Jeevan Nagar, and Saima Sadiq of Christ School, Poonch, stood joint second with both securing 97.6 per cent marks. Kiran Anand of New Era Environmental School in Jammu, Shubham Mahajan of Montossori Nargis Dutt High Secondary School in RS Pura and Umtul Aleem Kokab of Christ School in Poonch stood joint third with 97.2 per cent marks. This year the total pass percentage is 56.5 per cent, while it was 51.1 last year. As many as 45,175 students appeared in the examination, while 25,531 passed it. Christian missionary schools led by Christ School in Poonch and Nowshera stole the show in the Class X results. Of the 143 students on the merit list, Christian missionary schools had 53 students with Christ Convent School alone having 18 students and that too from the backward regions of Poonch and Nowshera. Shikhsha Niketan School had nine students on the merit list, while Dream Land Public School had six.
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The topper wants to design a plane
Sunderbani/Jammu May 22 Shubham’s father, Yash gupta, is a shopkeeper and mother, Poonam Gupta, is a government school teacher in Nowshera. He told The Tribune at Sunderbani on his way to his home from Jammu that he had finished the Class X syllabus by December end last year. “I started revision of the syllabus from January 1,” he said. Shubam had taken temporary admission in Class XI in SR Public school here. After the declaration of the results, he headed for home this afternoon. The Tribune caught up with him on the way. “I want to reach home fast to thank my parents for their support, the principal and the staff of Christ School where I studied and especially my teachers Pawan sir, Gopal sir and Dimpy madam,” he said. Shubam wants to be an engineer and wants to make better machines. “My aim is to make an aeroplane,” he said. While talking to The Tribune, Vibhor said though he was surprised at securing the second position in the Jammu province, at the same time he was little disappointed as he missed the top position by just less than a half mark. His father Vijay Magotra and mother rajni gifted him a laptop for his achievement. “Besides school notes, I used to compile my own notes by consulting different reference books and Internet,” said Vibhor. He wants to study at IIT, and do B.Tech and MBA for a good career in business management. Kiran Anand, who wants to become a doctor, said the result gave her tremendous happiness as she was not expecting to stand third in the exams. She said, “I achieved this success due to the hard work of teachers and cooperation from parents. My Principal used to encourage me all the time and this gave me the spirit to achieve good percentage,” she said.
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Two failed students of Class XII commit suicide
Jammu, May 22 Arjna is the daughter of a retired Army officer. The police said Arjna allegedly shot herself in the abdomen from her father’s .12 bore licensed gun at her house around 7:30 am yesterday. Mattu Ram, Additional SHO, Kalakote said: “The girl died in the GMCH.” Meanwhile, a boy allegedly committed suicide at his house in Sanjhi Morh village of Hiranagar yesterday after he failed in the Class XII exams. The police said Jamesh consumed some poisonous substance yesterday after he failed in Class XII.
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Gory Pictorial Warnings on Cigarette Packs
Srinagar, May 22 A gory pictorial warning on cigarette packs, according to the association, is to depict a picture of cancer-stricken mouth that will be replace the present day picture of a lung and a scorpion. “The decision of the ministry to wait for another six months (till December) before the gory pictorial warnings on tobacco packs are used indicates that the ministry has buckled under pressure from the powerful tobacco lobby,” said AM Mir, executive director of the association, during a meeting of civil society members, NGOs, tobacco control activists and health workers to condemn the ministry’s decision. Mir said products, meanwhile, would continue with the soft and counter-productive picture of a lung and a scorpion “which is tremendously mild and does not convey the ills of tobacco smoking and chewing and does not encourage a smoker to quit smoking”. He said the pictorial warnings were enforced by the Central government on May 31 last year after the intervention of the Supreme Court. “The rule mandates that pictorial warnings should be rotated every 12 months. New pictorial warning was finalised after field testing conducted by the Voluntary Health Association of India and Healis in seven states on the request of the ministry in which 98 per cent respondents chose a picture of cancer-ridden mouth as the replacement for the present day picture of a lung and a scorpion. The respondents felt that this will repulse tobacco users and in turn help them quit smoking or chewing tobacco,” he added. Mir said the warning was to cover 40 per cent of tobacco packs in local languages all over the country with a message “Tobacco kills” and “Tobacco causes cancer”. He added experience had shown that warnings needed to be big, scary and colourful “only then they catch the eye and deter people”. Mir reiterated that the association would continue to lobby and advocate for strong pictorial warnings. “Pictures with shock value will make people quit smoking,” he added. He said the focus of World Tobacco Day this year should be the enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act to save women and vulnerable youths by introducing strong health warnings on cigarette packs. |
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Needy students given books, uniforms
Sunder Bani, May 22 The B.Ed students have been taking classes at the school as part of their curriculum for over a fortnight now. At least 13 students from poor families were given books and uniforms. Group supervisor of the batch RS Chib said: “Usually, pupils and teachers organise a farewell party at the end of their teaching practice session as it also marks the conclusion of their academic course. We have made a new beginning with this small effort and hope others will also emulate it for the larger interest of society.” “We should always help others who want to be educated but cannot afford education in the face of financial constraints,” he added. The chief guest and acting chairman of SVS College of Education, Kundan Lal Khajuria, appreciated the batch of students for their Good Samaritan act, besides expressing gratitude to the school for cooperating with the college during the practice session. Principal of the school KL Sharma also attended the function.
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2 judicial officers attached
Jammu, May 22 According to orders issued by the Registrar-General, pending an enquiry, Shakti Gupta, the then Principal District and Sessions Judge, Poonch, and at present First Additional District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, has been attached to the Srinagar wing of the High Court on full court resloution. Similarly, Mohammad Anwar Al-Nasir, the then Munsiff, Chadoora, and at present Munsiff, Pulwama, has been ordered to remain attached with the Srinagar wing of the High Court on full court resolution. According to another order, pending an enquiry,Sunil Sangra, Sub-Judge, Nowshera, has been placed under suspension with immediate effect on a full court resolution to remain attached to the Jammu wing of the High Court. Similarly, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Samba, Choudhary Sikender Azam, has been placed under suspension pending an enquiry.During the suspension period, he will also remain attached with the Jammu wing of the High Court. Meanwhile, 13 District and Sessions Judges have been placed in the selection grade of the J&K Higher Judicial Service. They are Bansi Lal Bhat, J R Kotwal, Altaf Hussain, Gous-ul-Nissa Jeelani, Kaneez Fatima, Abdul Rashid Bhat-I, Abdul Wahid, Mohd Nazir Fida, Jangbahadur Singh Jamwal, Syed Farooq Ahmad, Kartar Singh, Muzaffar Iqbal Qureshi and Rashid Ahmad Lone.
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6th Pay Panel Arrears
Jammu, May 22 Addressing a meeting of activists at Kanjali, Shastri hoped that during his visit to the state the Prime Minister would announce a special economic package. He also urged Manmohan Singh to declare Jammu and Srinagar cities as B-I cities to ensure the full flow of funds for upgrading cities. Others who addressed the rally included Rajan Babu Khajuria, Sunil Kochhar, Sham Lal Sharma, Bhupinder Singh, Mohan Lal Sharma, Lal Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Surinder Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Haider Ali and Yograj. —
TNS |
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Police on Varsity Campus
Jammu, May 22 With this assurance, most of the student organisations suspended their strike and welcomed the decision of the university authorities. In a meeting between the representatives of the student organisations namely JURSEA, PSA, PDSF, SSJAC, NSF and Vice-Chancellor Prof Varun Sahni late last evening, it was decided that for the next three months guards would be deployed on the campus and no construction work related to guards’ rooms would be started in this period, Dean Academics of university Prof RD Sharma said. In a statement, leaders of the student organisations said the authorities had assured that policemen would only assist security guards deployed by the university authorities at the entrance and exit points of the campus. They further said it had also been decided that the final decision on the deployment of police on the campus would be taken after consulting the student organisations. Welcoming the move of the student leaders, RD Sharma, Dean Academics, said: “It was the need of the hour to suspend the strike of students so the authorities decided to deploy the guards for three months on a trial basis with the consent of the students.”
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Hideouts busted, arms seized
Jammu, May 22 Meanwhile, the security forces busted another hideout in the Sildhar area of Reasi district late last night. Official reports said a joint column of the Rashtriya Rifles and the police busted a hideout in the Bass area, 2 km from Sildhar in Reasi, around 9 pm yesterday and seized one PIKA gun, 50 rounds of ammunition of PIKA, one ammunition belt of PIKA (empty), one ammunition box of PIKA, one AK magazine with 36 rounds of ammunition, one pistol magazine, 14 rounds of pistol ammunition, two Chinese grenades, one hand grenade (Pakistan made), two IEDs (with 2 kg explosive each), eight detonators, one feet safety fuse and one radio set.
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Entry of heavy vehicles restricted in Dabbar Chowk
Udhampur, May 22 The order has been passed to avoid the entry of heavy vehicles, including those belonging to the Army, during day time in Dabbar Chowk as the movement of such vehicles has been causing inconvenience to public, besides creating traffic congestion. As per the order, trucks, tippers, buses, heavy load carriers and three-tonne Army vehicles will not be allowed to enter the main city to minimise traffic congestion and haphazard parking that affected all sections of public. The vehicles belonging to the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Departments, however, have been exempted from the restriction. |
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Srinagar, May 22
Chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said today that the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan would only succeed if the Kashmir issue was included in it.
