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Development Projects
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Govt wakes up to water crisis in Jammu
'Lamhaa' was conceived after I spoke to Kashmiri students: Dholakia
Wasturwan area blessed with Hindu, Muslim shrines
Colleges brace up to tackle admission rush A view of the bridge under construction at Changi Khabber village in Kalakot tehsil of Rajouri district. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather (right) receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from Oscar
Fernendes.
Special cover on Queen’s Baton released LeT may target political leaders, separatists
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Development Projects
Jammu, July 2 The majority of such works have been started in the hilly areas like Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Ramban, Kisthwar and Doda. Surinder Singh, a contractor of Kathua district, said most of the registered contractors had been sitting idle and some political activists who lacked experience got the contract. “Instead of allotting works to technically expert persons, contracts have been allotted to people having political links,” he said, and informed that during the past one year, the majority of works had been started without floating tenders. Echoing similar views, Rajnesh Gupta, an unemployed engineer, who has constituted a self-help group, regretted that political workers were given priority over the experienced contractors. “What is the point of constituting self-help group when officers at the helm of the affairs are not interests in allotting us any work,” he said. Sources in the Roads and Buildings Department told The Tribune that certain politicians had been exerting pressure on officers to give contract to their supporters without even floating tenders. Besides works of the Roads and Buildings Department, contracts of Rural Development Department and Public Health Engineering Department have also been allotted without following the set procedure. “Taking benefit of the prevailing situation, some officers of the departments concerned have also started allotted works in fake names to their relatives,” sources said and disclosed that officers who had been assigned the job to monitor the quality of the works were themselves involved in the contract. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) general secretary, who visited different areas of Kathua district, alleged that officers of the departments concerned were undertaking the projects so there was no check on the quality. He mentioned that due to involvement of officers in the developmental works, locals were also finding it difficult to intervene to ensure quality work. Earlier, village development committees used to monitor the development works and inform the department concerned in case of any lapse on the part of the contractor “Now when department officials are themselves involved in developmental activities, villagers have no option but to remain mute spectators,” Singh alleged. The issue was also raised in the Budget Session of the Assembly and Minister of Roads and Buildings Ghulam Mohammad Saroori had admitted that some works were allotted without tenders. He, however, clarified that such works were of emergent nature. Panthers Party MLA Harsh Dev Singh had listed a large number of development works which were allotted without floating tenders. He especially mentioned those works that were not of emergent nature. However, despite assurance by the minister, the process is still going on unabated. |
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Violence paralyses life in valley
Srinagar, July 2 “For the past almost one week, we are facing a shortage of essential commodities like vegetables, milk and other such items of daily use as the markets are closed due to the curfew imposed in the area,” said Abdul Jabbar, a resident of Sopore town of Baramulla from where the tension started. Even since the killing of a civilian allegedly by security forces a week ago, Sopore town has been kept under curfew. “There has been no relaxation in curfew for the past one week and we are not allowed to move out of our houses. All shops are closed and there is no source to provide us items of daily requirement,” Jabbar said. In other parts of the valley, including Anantnag district in South Kashmir where curfew was clamped after the killing of three youths allegedly by the paramilitary CRPF on Tuesday, people say they are not allowed to move out of their houses even to take patients to hospitals. “My son is suffering from severe fever for the past few days, but whenever we try to take him to a doctor, the police and the CRPF men deployed outside our house don’t allow us to move out of our house,” said Khalid Hussain, a resident of Anantnag district. Patients are also suffering a lot due to the shortage of medicines, as chemist stores too are not allowed to open in the curfew-hit areas in the valley. “I am suffering from diabetes for the past few years and I am on regular medicine, but due to curfew and regular protest, I am unable to purchase medicines as I am running out of stock for the past few days,” said Shams-ud-din, 60, a resident of downtown locality of Srinagar which is notorious for stone-throwing incidents and has been kept under curfew for the past several days. Though the authorities claimed that the situation in various parts of the valley was improving, so far they do not seem to be in mood to lift curfew from the sensitive areas. |
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Govt wakes up to water crisis in Jammu
Jammu, July 2 Similarly, the government has also allotted Rs 326.62 crore and Rs 189.19 crore for the Jammu urban and Gandhi Nagar areas, respectively, to upgrade the drinking water infrastructure there. Raman Bhalla, Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, has said that the coalition government is fully aware of the hardships being faced by the people in their respective areas, adding that the authorities concerned have been instructed to mitigate the same without any delay. Bhalla said that the Omar-led government aimed at developing the peripheral areas of the state on a par with urban centres by providing all basic amenities there. He said the Centre had provided liberal funding for developing every nook and corner of the state by creating durable assets. He asked the people to cooperate with the executing agencies in completing the ongoing development works in their areas within stipulated time. He said the government had approved Rs 15.84 crore for the sinking of of tube wells in the Gandhi Nagar constituency, adding that Rs 10.92 crore tubewells have already been dedicated to the people of the area. The government has approved Rs. 20.93 crore for the construction of overhead tanks (OHTs) and groundline supply routes (GLSRs) out of which Rs. 13.68 crore had been spent on 21 OHTs and eight GLSRs in the Gandhi Nagar, Rail Head, Shastri Nagar, Bahu top and Old Channi areas. Similarly, the government had approved Rs.64.71 crore for the laying of pipes in Greater Kailash, Sainik Colony, Old and New Satwari, Trikuta Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Kunjwani, Adarsh Enclave, Apna Vihar, Belicharana, Nanak Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Nai Basti, Langer and Preet Nagar. |
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'Lamhaa' was conceived after I spoke to Kashmiri students: Dholakia
Mumbai, July 2 Dholakia, who won the National Award for his "Parzania" (2005), says he took the decision to make "Lamhaa" after meeting a few Kashmiri students. "The reason why I decided to make a film on the valley was that during one of the screenings of 'Parzania', I met a few Kashmiri students. They said Kashmir was a beautiful prison. That's something that caught my attention," Dholakia said in an interview. "Lamhaa", a film that deals with the life of Kashmiris in the valley, has fallen into the Censor net many times. Initially, it was reported that the Censor Board rejected the promo of the film and the filmmakers had to approach the revising committee. Then the board demanded deletions of words - like "sabse" from the dialogue "duniya ki sabse khatarnak jagah Kashmir" (the world's most dangerous place Kashmir) and also "farji" from "farji elections" (bogus elections). "Lamhaa" stars Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt, Kunal Kapoor and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles. Why did he choose Bipasha to play a Kashmiri girl, even though her look is very unlike one? "There were many reasons to cast Bipasha in that role. I needed someone who could give time, who could battle both internal and external conflicts of the character and someone who was brave enough to come to the valley and shoot. She was the one who did that," he revealed.
— IANS |
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Wasturwan area blessed with Hindu, Muslim shrines
Ladhoo-Pampore, July 2 Prominent Sufi saint, Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali, popularly known as Sheikh-ul-Alam, meditated here for 12 years in a cave, says Ghulam Mohammad Mir, a caretaker, adding, “From here, the saint went to Dadderpan-Loopenwaal, where he meditated for another 12 years and then left for Char-e-shareef. The cave was later developed into a shrine”. Mir says, “Many people visit the shrine, especially during religious occasions”. Adjacent to the shrine is Fakirtaang-hund-taakiyee. Mir states that saints like Aziz Kumar, Miskeen sahib, Lassa sahib Negoo and Bashir Ahmad mediated at this place. “People who visit the shrine of Sheikh-ul-Alam visit taakiyee as well. The area should be brought on the tourism map.” Few steps further, are temples belonging to the era of Pandavas, including the Lidoora temple. In the midst of Shashar Naag is a temple. The "naag" has dried up now and fish can be seen with a naked eye. “Last year, the ‘naag’ was filled up, but this year, it has almost dried up. The government is also indifferent to it,” says Ravi jee, a social activist. He adds that the area has been named "Ladhoo" after "Lidoora" temple. He has demanded renovation of these heritage sites. At a close distance lies another temple in one of the local residents’ garden, who has preserved it well. Just a couple of kilometers away stands a two-storey shrine of famous saint Bramh Reshi Jeewan Sahib, which is in dilapidated condition. Comprising of a hall and a room meant for "langar" on the ground floor and saints’ "dhuni" (sacred fire), where he used to meditate, and a store on the first floor, almost half portion of the shrine has been razed to ground. Its walls have developed deep cracks, window openings damaged, mud and wooden pillars almost tilted and stairs out of order. There is another shrine of Wahab Sahib at Shar shalli. Abdul Hamid Ahangar, a devotee, says people mostly visit the shrine on Thursdays and Sundays. “On festive occasions, traffic congestion is a serious problem, but the government seems to be non-serious towards mitigating problems faced by the public in general”. He adds that during festivals, devotees face problems on account of performing ablutions. Rehti Bano, a local resident, says, “We want separate revenue status from Shair, a nearby village, so that our area is gets basic facilities like a ration depot, drinking water facility, proper roads and street lights”.
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Srinagar diary Once again SMS service has been banned not only in Kashmir valley but also in the rest of the state. The restriction has been imposed in view of the prevailing security situation following the death of at least 11 youths during the past three weeks. This is not for the first time that the SMS service has been blocked. Earlier, during the Amarnath land agitation in 2008, the service was blocked. The recent move was preceded by jamming of mobile services in north Kashmir where the trouble started last week. The frequent blockade of services has been creating inconvenience to over five lakh subscribers across the state. People of the state have already paid the price in the name of security when the mobile services were not available until the government allowed it in 2003. Student community suffers Students in the valley are the worst sufferers of the ongoing strike and curfew as majority of them are preparing for various examinations. All schools, colleges and other educational institutes have been closed for the past many days (see picture). Kashmir University, too, has postponed its various examinations. Though students have got some extra time to prepare for their exams, mental stress due to the turmoil is taking its toll on them. The stress level amongst students has increased due to uncertainty over timing of exams. Besides, students of various schools were preparing for their mid-term examinations and some schools were in the middle of examinations, but the strike has upset the whole schedule. Healthcare gets costly Health ought to be the priority of every society, but unfortunately it is the most neglected sector here. Even funds available to this sector are meagre compared to other sectors. Healthcare should be easily accessible to the masses. The sector should be the most preferred segment for any planning or investment. Health investment is a sign of healthy society. However, even basic health facilities are out of bounds for the common man. Despite advancements made in the medical field, common masses suffer for the want to timely medical assistance. Government hospitals are overcrowded and private nursing homes have become money-minting institutions. Under the circumstances, people especially from the weaker section feel burdened and they fail to reap benefits of modern sciences. (Contributed by Ehsan Fazili, Tejinder Singh Sodhi and Afsana Rashid)
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Colleges brace up to tackle admission rush
Jammu, July 2 With a view to making education accessible to all, some colleges have decided to admit as many students as possible. Most of the colleges are expecting that they might have to admit more students than the intake capacity, although this might cause space constraints for some colleges, which are witnessing huge rush of admission seekers. Dr Anita Sudan, principal of Sri Pratap Memorial Rajput (SPMR) Commerce College, said in view of admissions in excess of capacity, they had taken up the matter of space constraint with the government. “For the purpose, we have identified one block of nearby Government Engineering College and soon the block will be handed over to us where we will adjust additional students,” said the principal. The college is 560 seats for boys and 160 for girls whereas it has sold around 1,500 admission forms. Dr Sudan said last year, the college admitted around 965 candidates whereas this year, the number of students might go up to 1,500. Similarly, in Maualana Azad Memorial (MAM) College, the authorities claimed to have sold around 1,500 admission forms against 1,300 seats. Principal Ajeet Aggral said, “Last year, around 1,300 students took admission in arts and science streams and this year, the number of students might exceed the previous year figure”. The Government College for Women (GCW), Parade, has 1,760 seats and it has sold around 3,000 forms. The college has 800 seats in arts stream, 300 in medical and 220 in non-medical. In electronic and commerce stream, the college has 40 and 400 seats, respectively. Dr Kiran Bakshi, principal of the college, said, “Though we have limited capacity, we always try to accommodate more students than the available seats”. The GCW, Gandhi Nagar, has sold around 3,000 admission forms against 1,500 seats and Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College has around 1,300 seats and it has sold an equal number of forms.
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Bridge construction left midway Kalakote, July 2 In the absence of a bridge, several villages do not have road connectivity and other rural infrastructure. They lack even basic amenities like power, water supply and phone connectivity. Villagers believe that unless they have road connectivity, their villages will remain backward, as many of them have been officially classified for many years. The upcoming bridge was aimed at providing road connectivity to remote villages like Rainthal, Potagala, Karsal, Chirdoni, Dharoti, Lalu Kheter and Bagla besides improving connectivity with Saroti, Taryath and Devak. The villagers were euphoric when the construction of the bridge started, but the work has been stopped halfway from the last three months. Three pillars of the bridge stand completed besides embankments at the construction site. The miserable villagers said the construction material was dumped at the site for the past four years, but the work started in the beginning of this year. “The project was sanctioned years after our grandfathers, fathers and now our generation kept on pressing the issue,” said Ram Chand, a villager and added, “Despite the struggle of generations, our problems still remain unaddressed”. However, due to the suspension of construction project, the areas may remain abandoned stations for some more time. “We thought that the road will bring economic prosperity and development for us. But our hopes have been dashed due to the suspension of construction work,” residents of Rainthal village said. “Our area is militancy infested and every year witnesses several fierce encounters between security forces and militants,” the villagers said and added, “We don’t have even phone connectivity. Several villages here are still without electricity”. “Road connectivity could have made our existence easier, but the construction work has been abandoned midway,” they said and rued, “Areas in the hinterlands like ours generally remain out of developmental purview”. The bridge, according to the block development officer, was a project of the R&B Department. Additional executive engineer was not available for comments.
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NRIs honour Finance Minister in Dubai Srinagar, July 2 The award was conferred on Rather at the fifth annual Global NRI Summit held at Dubai on Tuesday by MP and former minister Oscar Fernendes. The Lifetime Achievement Awards were also bestowed upon Dubai-based businessmen Ram Buxani and Ram K Tulani Fernendes said "The award is given to the Finance Minister for his significant political experience. He has the distinction of being the only MLA in the state who has been elected from the same constituency six times in a row. Abdul Rahim Rather has earlier been conferred with the financial wizard of the state award for tackling the financial crisis in the state efficiently and effectively, best legislator award, Dr BR Ambedkar award in recognition of his distinguished services for the uplift of the poor sections of society and the lifetime achievement award for his meritorious services and remarkable role for boosting the state's economy. His commitment in all walks of life stands out and makes his life inspiring like no other. He is a widely travelled man with an extensive knowledge". Consul-General of India in Dubai Sanjay Verma, Chairman of NRI Institute SK Pachauri and Secretary-General Jagmohan Singh were among those present. The Finance Minister expressed his gratitude to the NRI Institute and organisers of the NRI Global Summit for conferring the Lifetime Achievement Award on him. "I accept the award with all humility and with an increased consciousness that I have to contribute much more towards improvement of the lot of my people as their representative for the past over three decades and also as a Minister of Finance, a portfolio which has a bearing on all other departments", an official spokesman said here. The NRI Institute at Dubai is a global representative of the NRIs with 26 offices in 21 countries across the globe. The institute has been forging ties with the Indian Diaspora the world over vis-à-vis the Indian real estate industry for decades. The organisation has been hosting global seminars and award ceremonies since 1985.
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Special cover on Queen’s Baton released Srinagar, July 2 The cover has been prepared and designed by the Chief Post Master General, J&K Circle, Brig YPS Mohan, who was also present on the occasion. Others present on the occasion included Minister for Health and Medical Education Sham Lal Sharma and vice-chancellor of Kashmir University Prof Riyaz Punjabi. Speaking on the occasion, Chib said such covers and stamps are released only on such special occasions. He said when the Baton entered India on June 25, a special postal stamp was also released by the Department of Posts at Wagah-Attari Border in Amritsar. “Jamia Masjid of Srinagar is situated at Nowhata, in the middle of the old city. It was built by Sultan Sikander in 1400 AD. Standing on 370 wooden pillars with a magnificent courtyard, the mosque was later enthusiastically repaired and reconstructed under the patronage of Maharaja Pratap Singh,” the cover stated. Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Naseem Lanker, secretary, Youth Services and Sports, BA Runyal, deputy commissioners, Srinagar and Budgam, and the personalities accompanying the Baton and galaxy of sportspersons and prominent citizens were
also present. Sports personalities accompanying the Baton included Lt Gen Kadayan, Col KS Banshtu, Alka Lamba, Wing Commander VN Singh, Ankit Rampal, Nitan Singhal, Nivesh Kumar, and Lt Col Y
Duhan.
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LeT may target political leaders, separatists
Srinagar, July 2 Sources in the security establishment said that some intelligence inputs were intercepted in which Lashkar commanders in the valley were receiving instructions from across the border to carry out a terrorist strike in Jammu or Kashmir which includes targeting a politician or separatist leader. The sources said that security around vital installations had been tightened and a fresh review of the security cover to all politicians and important separatist leaders had been conducted. The sources said that Lashkar might try and target a separatist leader and blame it on security forces as has been done in the past. The killing of Mirwaiz Farooq, Abdul Gani Lone and the bid on the life of Fazal-haq Qureshi earlier this year by terrorists were examples of their tactics. Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone were shot dead allegedly by Hizbul Mujahdieen terrorists. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who enjoys Z security of the state government, has been instructed about the threat perception while a round-the-clock guard was to be provided to other separatist leaders.
— PTI
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