Jammu, September 7
Work in government departments like public health engineering, health, banks and various other public sector units was affected here today, as the employees observed a strike and held a rally against the price rise, unemployment and privatisation.

The closed branch of the State Bank of India at Gandhi Nagar in Jammu on Tuesday following a nationwide strike by public sector employees

The rally was jointly organised by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Railways Loading Unloading Workers Union (RLUWU), Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association (NZIEA), All Indian Trade Union Congress Council (AITUCC), Seed Multiplication Farm Workers Union (SMFWU), Jammu and Kashmir Bank Employees Federation (JKBEF) and the J&K Asha Workers Union (JKAWU).

Hundreds of employees carrying placards and banners sought the protection of the rights of workers in the unorganised sector. The rally started from the Press Club, Jammu, and concluded at the Indira Chowk. It was led by MY Tarigami, state secretary of the CPM.

Addressing the rally, Tarigami criticised the government for the price rise, violation of labour laws, ad hocism, disinvestment in public sector companies and demanded a provision of universal social security for the workers in the unorganised sector as part of the national programme of various central trade unions.

“The prices of all essential commodities have risen a lot, putting the common man, working class and low-income group people to grave hardships,” said Tarigami.

“The neo-liberal economic policies have played havoc on a vast section of our population and the net result of these policies is the sheer accumulation of wealth in a few hands, thereby, denying any viable and sustainable sources of livelihood for the common man,” he asserted.

Tarigami said, “The tall claims of ‘India shining’ and ‘GDP growth’ cannot hide the reality that a majority of our population is still undernourished.”

He emphasised the implementation of the universalisation of PDS instead of the existing targeted PDS, which allegedly denied the availability of ration to a majority of people.

Tarigami also criticised the proposed food security legislation in its present form, which proposed 25 kg of foodgrains (rice/wheat) to BPL and Antodaya cardholders that is 10 kg less than the existing limit of 35 kg per family for Rs 3 per kg.

“Under the proposed legislation not only the APL subsidy is being eliminated but also the APL category will be deleted and no foodgrains will be allocated to it. The net result will be the withdrawal of Rs 4,000 crore of food subsidy when the demand has been for more subsidy on food items,” he said.

Others who spoke on the occasion included president of the JPBEF Arun Kumar Gupta, president of INTUC Shiv Kumar Sharma, general secretary of INTUC Raghubir Singh, president of AITUC NK Dogra, general secretary of the NZEIA Pawan Gupta and joint secretary of the NZEIA Ramesh Chander.

Jammu, September 7
The successful culmination of the Dudu-Kailash Kund Yatra is an example that faith ultimately prevails over terror. Furthermore, the active participation of a large number of Muslims in the yatra speaks volumes about how fed up people are with the bloodshed and they want peace and communal harmony.

After a gap of 18 years, the Kailash Kund Yatra restarted from the Dudu area on September 4 and culminated peacefully today. Over 5,000 devotees from the Udhampur area participated in the yatra, which passed through those areas where the terror of militants still looms large.

“It was really a challenge for us and we accepted it with the support of the local population, including Muslim brethren,” asserted RS Pathania, a local political activist, who along with some youth had decided to restart the yatra from the traditional route of Dudu to Kailash Kund. “It is a victory of peace over terror. The youth of the region have given a message to the younger generation of the state to take up the challenge of militants and other anti-peace forces,” he told The Tribune over the phone from Bhaderwah.

Elated over the successful completion of the yatra, Pathania said through the 23-km track from Dudu to Kailash Kund the youth spread the message of peace. They also succeeded in removing the fear psychosis that had gripped the residents of this belt for a long time.

After the eruption of militancy, the Kailash Kund Yatra from the Dudu area was stopped in year 1992. Dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen militants Farooq Ansari, Shakeel Ansari and Manzoor Hussain, had let loose a reign of terror in the belt through which the yatra used to pass. This belt was considered a safe haven for militants as they had started training camps in the Seoz Dhar valley, which was earlier used as a base camp by the devotees on way to the Kailash Kund.

The yatra used to be taken out simultaneously from Bhaderwah and the Dudu area prior to the eruption of militancy in this hilly belt and Seoz Dhar was used by both parties as a base camp. After militants captured Seoz Dhar, devotees from Bhaderwah changed the route of the yatra, while pilgrimage from the Dudu area was stopped.

Shiv Charan of Chithari village of Dudu, who was a member of the batch that conducted the yatra in year 1992, told The Tribune over the phone that he had lost all hope of undertaking the pilgrimage once again in his life. “It is all due to the efforts of the youth of the area that I again participated in the yatra,” he said.

Jammu, September 7
Notwithstanding claims of the authorities, a large number of students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) have been facing hardship in getting scholarships due to lack of coordination among different government agencies.

Although the state government had constituted the Directorate of Tribal Affairs especially to solve problems of the ST students, still a majority of the students belonging to the community are finding it difficult to get the scholarships and benefits they are entitled to in time.

ST students studying in different educational institutions have registered protest a number of times against the delay in the release of their scholarships. “There is need for better coordination between the Directorate of Tribal Affairs and the Social Welfare Department,” suggested Javid Rahi, Secretary of the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation. He admitted that a large number of ST students were facing hardship in getting scholarships.

Assistant Director of the Tribal Affairs Department Farid Ahmed admitted that last year, the ST students had to face hardship because funds meant for tribal students were diverted to other sectors by the government. He, however, claimed that this year everything had been streamlined to ensure that all deserving students would get scholarships.

Over 10,000 ST students are entitled to get post-matric scholarships under the Centrally sponsored schemes. Similarly, a large number of ST students are getting pre-matric scholarships. The Directorate of Tribal Affairs and the Social Welfare Department have assigned the job to disburse the scholarships, but due to lack of coordination between two departments some students have been facing hardship.

Before the constitution of the Directorate of Tribal Affairs, the job of disbursing the scholarships was being looked after by the Social Welfare Department. It was in the year 2008-09 that the Directorate of Tribal Affairs was set up to deal with things in a focused and coordinated manner."The funds meant for the uplift and development of the Scheduled Tribes should not be diverted at any cost", asserted Javid Rahi, who stressed the need for better coordination between two departments to ensure the distribution of scholarships on time.

Sources said due to the absence of adequate manpower, the Tribal Affairs Department had some jobs to the Social Welfare Department regarding th disbursement of scholarships at the district level, but the "over-burdened" staff of the Social Welfare Department finding it difficult to clear the files in the stipulated timeframe.

Udhampur, September 7
Already far behind the target, work on the Katra-Quazikund railway project has once again lost its pace. The reason: engineers working on this prestigious project have been on strike for the last 10 days against the move of the Konkan Railway authorities to hire new staff.

The striking staff are demanding immediate withdrawal of an advertisement for the recruitment of engineers for the Rs 17,000 crore rail project in the Valley. The All-J&K Konkan Railways Consulting Engineers Association has also demanded an extension for engineers engaged in the project whose five-year agreement will end this year.

Rajpaul Singh, chairman of the association, said today that Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) under an obligation should invite applications from graduate civil engineers of the state only, but the corporation vide advertisement number KR/CO/P/USBRL/02/2010 of August 27 has now invited applications from graduate engineers from all over the country.

Rajpaul termed the corporation’s move as unjustified because the engineers had been working with dedication and sincerity in the militancy-affected state. “Instead of rewarding us in terms of extending our job agreements, the KRCL has invited applications on the all-India basis to hire new staff,” he alleged.

Rajpaul said, “Leave aside extension, no preference has been given to the working engineers in the advertisement. Most of the civil engineers have crossed the upper age limit. Instead of considering our case sympathetically, the KRCL has delivered us a death-blow.

The state has been facing militancy for the past 20 years and the youth here is facing an acute shortage of job avenues. This advertisement of the KRCL has led to further exploitation and harassment of the engineers.”

The engineers working on the project have already gone on an indefinite strike from August 28, 2010. Inder Jeet Singh, association’s vice-president, alleged that for the past over a year the KRCL had been giving false assurances of giving extension to the working engineers, but nothing had been done. “We demand the immediate revocation of the advertisement and extension to the engaged engineers. Otherwise, we will fight for our rights and could go to any extent,” he said.

Meanwhile, over 50 drivers of various contract carriers for the KRCL have also suspended their work in support of their demand for a hike in the monthly amount paid to them. Deputy Chief Engineer (Headquarters), KRCL, Reasi, Mohit Mahajan said all engineers and the other staff working with the KRCL on the project were part of a contract agreement. The new appointments were being made due to the requirement of more engineers for the project of this scale.

Jammu, September 7
Many private schools violated government norms by remaining functional on a gazetted holiday on the occasion of Shab-e-Qader today.

Meanwhile, following the government orders, all government schools remained closed today.

“Disobeying government norms by working on a government holiday, once again these private schools have proved that government orders are meaningless for them,” said Farooq Akhtar, a parent.

Madu Gupta, another parent, said: “This violation is not for the first time. Private schools hardly obey government norms. They always show that they do things their own way.”

A monitoring team of the Directorate of School Education, headed by joint director SS Dutta, today paid a surprise visit to the city and peripheral areas to enquire the matter. They found many private schools functional despite a government holiday.

A member of the monitoring team said: “We paid a surprise visit to many areas to check whether schools are obeying government norms or not. We found many private schools violating government norms by working on a gazetted holiday. These schools include Naveen Vidya Mandir, Sharda Public School, Silver Bells School, SM Shishu Niketan, Tender Heart School and Raina Higher Secondary School.”

According to sources, the Directorate of School Education had constituted this monitoring team after following the directions of the state government.

It was learnt that some parents had made complaint to the Chief Minister that some private schools work even on government holidays, following which the order of constituting a monitoring team was issued to the Directorate of School Education.

While talking to The Tribune, Zahida Khan, director, school education, said action would be taken against these schools as they had violated the government order.

“We will take up the matter with the Administrative Department in the Secretariat and action will be taken against them. We will also seek explanation from them,” she added.

Srinagar, September 7
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today directed the Housing Department to take immediate steps to acquire and develop land at different identified locations for construction of flats to be provided to the people at concessional rates.

He passed on the directions to the housing department while addressing a high-level meeting here which was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla and senior officers of the department. Underscoring the dire need to provide shelter and housing facilities to the common people, Omar said Srinagar and Jammu cities have become too congested and families were dumped in a small house as a result of non-availability of cheaper land in and around the cities.

He directed the housing board to construct a large number of flats and develop plots for distributions among deserving people on priority basis at concessional rates.

A committee was also constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, planning and development, Khurshid Ahmad Ganaie to finalise the acquisition of land.

Officials of the department said the department had developed 14 colonies and distributed over 8,700 plots to the deserving people.

They said the department was developing low cost colonies in Jammu and Srinagar for weaker sections of society. Similarly, plots of various sizes are being developed for distribution among the people at concessional rates, — PTI

Jammu, September 7
Minister for Higher Education Abdul Gani Malik said today that the coalition government was contemplating to start free casual classes in colleges in odd hours to facilitate students.

According to an official statement issued here, this was stated by the minister at a function organised by Government Degree College, Paloura.

Malik said the government had also a plan to feed the study material of various subjects of higher education in the Website www.jkhighereducation.in for the convenience of students.

He said the government was committed to provide quality higher education to students of far-off areas at par with urban pockets of the state by opening new degree colleges at their doorsteps.

Later, the Principal of the College, Dr (Prof) Hemla Aggarwal presented a cheque of Rs 11, 470 to the minister for Leh cloudburst victims.

Malik asked the principals of colleges to collect contributions from students and staff members and deposit the same in Chief Minister’ Medical Aid Fund for helping cancer patients, particularly those who could not afford the expenditure of such disease.

Jammu, September 7
A sadhu died in a road accident in the Banota area of RS Pura this afternoon.

According to reports, a motorcyclist hit the sadhu and fled the spot, leaving him in a pool of blood. He was shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu, where he breathed his last. His body was shifted to the mortuary.

The police impounded the motorcycle while the accused was still at large.

Meanwhile, a boy and a girl were injured when their bike collided head-on with a matador at Tali Morh here this evening.

Reports said Rekha and Rohini Sahni were seriously injured and rushed to the emergency ward of the GMCH, Jammu, in an unconscious condition.

The driver of the matador ran away after the accident while the police impounded the vehicle.

Jammu, September 7
A four-day workshop on “Bioinformatics: Converting Data to Knowledgebase” started at the University of Jammu here today. The workshop is being organised in association with the School of Biotechnology, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra.

Prof Varun Sahni, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, who was the chief guest on the occasion, inaugurated the workshop.

In his inaugural speech, Sahni acknowledged the role of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, in boosting progress in the field of biotechnology by entrusting the universities with the responsibility.

Dr Ram Vishwarkarma, Director, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, who was the guest of honour, delivered the keynote address on “opportunities for informatics in drug delivery”. He emphasised on the need for more innovation and original thinking on the part of the scientists in this field.

Earlier Prof MK Dhar, coordinator, Bioinformatics Centre, and Director, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu, highlighted the main achievements of the school, which included the school being ranked 12th among the top 20 biotech departments in India in a survey by Biospectrum.

He emphasised the use of trained manpower in the field of biotechnology for which the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, had set up bioinformatics centres across India, including three centres at University of Jammu, SMVDU, Katra and the IIIM, Jammu.

Dr V Verma, coordinator, Bioinformatics Centre, SMVDU, stressed the concept and need of bioinformatics in the modern biological research.

The workshop is being attended by faculty and research scholars of different universities, colleges and institutes of the state. On the first day of the workshop, lectures were delivered by Dr D Sundar, Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT, Delhi; Suchir Arora, senior computational biologist, MASCON Global Ltd, and Mohit Sharma.

Srinagar, September 7
The curfew was imposed in parts of Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag today in view of the tension following the killing of four persons in clashes and police firing in the Pattan area of Baramulla yesterday.

There were reports of protesters throwing stones at the security forces in different parts of the Kashmir valley while prohibitory orders remained in force in major towns in view of a bandh call given by separatists.

Restrictions were also imposed in Palhalan and the Pattan areas of Baramulla district where demonstrators indulged in stone throwing in Singhpora, Tappar, Chinkipora, Bomai and Sopore following the clashes and the police firing last night.

There were demonstrations in most parts of Srinagar city last night against the killings in Pattan.The demonstrators also indulged in stone throwing after offering special late night prayers. The police said nine persons were held after a mob threw stones and lobbed petrol bombs at Nowhatta police station last night.

Two persons were injured when a mob clashed with the security forces at Karan Nagar police station. A group also tried to attack a deployment of the CRPF in Budshah Chowk.Following the incidents, the curfew was imposed in the Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, M R Gunj, Safakadal, Maisuma, Kralkhud and Batamaloo areas.

Incidents of stone throwing were also reported from the Nowgam and Tengpora localities near the Bypass in Srinagar, Kangan in Ganderbal district and Shopian in south Kashmir today.

A top separatist, Masrat Alam of the hardline APHC, addressed congregations on the occasion of Shab-e-Qader at different places. He is wanted by the police for spearheading the protests which started with the issuance of a weekly calendar during the past two months.

Anantnag town also reeled under curfew restrictions today following overnight clashes. The stone throwers targeted Sherbagh police station, prompting the police to lob tear gas shells injuring at least four persons. One of the seriously injured was admitted to hospital here.The town has been under curfew restrictions since the killing of three youth on June 29 which had triggered clashes across the Valley.

Jammu, September 7
An inter-school poem recitation and storytelling competition in English and Hindi, sponsored by the Bank of India, was held at Alexander Memorial School here yesterday.

Eight schools of Jammu participated in the competition. Krishna Bhati, Principal, Jodhamal Public School, was the chief guest and Amar Kumar Sinha, chief manager, Bank of India, Residency Road branch, was the guest of honour.

A host of educationists and dignitaries, also attended the function. Esther William, Principal, Alexander Memorial School, welcomed the guests and Sinha addressed the audience.

In the Hindi poetry recitation category, Lawrence Public School’s student Vansh Baru won the first prize whereas second prize was clinched by Alexander Memorial School’s Ayushi Jastolia and third prize was given to Lawrence Public School’s Krish Verma.

In English, Zoha Iqbal of Alexander Memorial School won the first prize. Second and third prizes were won by Lawrence Public School’s Sumiksha and Shivam Sharma of Model Academy, B C Road, respectively.

Aryan Sharma of Jodhamal Public School won the first prize in the Hindi storytelling category whereas Jodhamal Public School’s Ananya Sharma and Alexander Memorial School’s Christon Gill won second and third prize.

Similarly, Jodhamal Public School’s Falguni Singh won the first prize in English storytelling, second and third prizes were bagged by Model Academy’s Ananya and Jodhamal Public School’s Akansha Solanki.

Jammu, September 7
The Pooja Kala Sangam today conducted the second round of a dance competition at the KL Sehgal Hall, in which around 30 contestants participated.

The quarter final round started with lighting of the traditional lamp, which was followed by a special guest item.

Srinagar, September 7
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have paid glowing tributes to Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah on his 28th death anniversary which will be observed across the state tomorrow.

In a message, the Governor described Sheikh Abdullah as a tall and visionary leader, who nurtured a dream of peace, progress and prosperity in all parts of the state. He recalled the late leader’s notable contribution to the development of the state and referred to the crucial land reforms pioneered by him.

He said Sheikh Abdullah had worked with eminent national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and strived throughout his life for strengthening the cherished values of secularism and democracy and the socio-economic advancement of the people of the state.

In his message, the Chief Minister recalled the contribution of the late leader that made him a permanent part of the Kashmir history. He said it were Sheikh Abdullah’s tireless efforts and leadership that galvanised the oppressed people of the state to rise against autocracy and injustice.

Terming Sheikh Abdullah as a great revolutionary, the Chief Minister said the land reforms, which benefited thousands of landless peasants in the state under his regime, were still regarded as unparalleled in the whole country. He said when the whole of the subcontinent was engulfed in communal flames following Partition, it was the late leader’s resolve and belief in communal harmony that prompted Mahatma Gandhi to proclaim that he saw a ray of hope from Kashmir during those tumultuous times.

Describing the Sher-e-Kashmir’s political philosophy as relevant even more today, Omar said the solution to the problems of current times in the state was in adopting political modules as enunciated by Sheikh Abdullah from time to time. He said the best tribute to the late leader would be to follow in his footsteps in letter and in spirit and renew our commitment towards communal brotherhood, non-violence and an equitable development of all regions.