Srinagar, September 7
Frequent shutdowns and recurring imposition of curfew in Jammu and Kashmir has cost many people their jobs as the state loses revenue worth ` 1 billion everyday. Traders have lamented at the steep decline in tourism that has also led to unemployment in the Valley.

Shakeel Qalandar, president of the Federation Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), said there had been a loss of about ` 1 billion daily due to the unrest.

“Big, medium and small enterprise that have taken loans and opened shops, factories and service centres, whether working or not would have to pay for electricity, telephone and idle wages have to be given. You will have to pay interest to the banks. Cumulatively, the expenses for all these are about ` 100 crore everyday,” said Qalandar.

Lal Chowk, the business centre of Srinagar has been deserted for almost 10 weeks.

Shop owners are also facing the brunt as prolonged and frequent shutdowns have marred the business and they are forced to cut down the number of employees.

“I had 10 to 15 employees and I had to bring it down to half. There was no income so what salary could I give to them? All shops in Lal Chowk are closed for the last three months due to which we are suffering a lot. When a businessman sells then only he would be able to give the employees something, and only then can he buy stocks,” said Aijaz Ahmad, a showroom owner.

Employees of hotels said the hotel owners were not to be blamed, as there had been no income of any sort over the past couple of months.

“Earlier, the work was very good here. Then the situation deteriorated. Tourists no longer come here. Then the manager of our hotel said that there is no work so you take a leave. The manager said when there is work we would call you back,” said Mohammed Yousuf, a hotel employee.

“The situation here is so bad that no tourists come and there is no business. There were about 25 to 30 people who were working. Those people were also given leave,” he added. — ANI

Bhalwal (Jammu), September 7
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was right in his argument that development of power infrastructure in the state has been putting additional pressure on the government because the percentage of power theft has also increasing with the development of infrastructure. Jammu and Kashmir is leading the country in power theft with transmission and distribution losses at 60 per cent.

After inaugurating a power grid station at Barn, near Bhalwal, on Monday, the Chief Minister disclosed that the government had been bearing a recurring loss of ` 1,500 crore per year on the supply of electricity.

One of the reasons for the present situation in the power sector is the partial or non-remittance of electricity fee by consumers. "Had this amount been available to the government, we need not depend on central assistance for a vast number of projects in health, education, power, R&B and PHE", Omar asserted, adding that the availability of this amount would enable the government to address the unemployment problem in a big way. The Chief Minister expressed hope that awareness about payment of electricity dues would fast inculcate in consumers which, in turn, was in their own benefit.

During the past 40 years, the successive state government had announced to take some revolutionary steps to minimize this loss but the losses have been increasing with very passing year. Keeping in view their vote bank, no government so far in the state has dared to take some concerted measures to bring about reforms in the power sector. The statements issued by the successive rulers to minimise such losses were confined only to papers.

There are many reasons for the prevailing mess in the power sector as political parties are never unanimous on the issue of taking some effective steps. Whenever the government takes some steps, the parties in the opposition tried to exploit the situation by dubbing the government's action as anti-poor.

In the last Assembly session, the state Government had introduced a Bill to privatise distribution of power but no further action has been taken so far in this regard. The government has already constituted a committee in this regard and the said committee has forwarded its suggestions for bring about reforms in the power sector.

Jammu, September 7
In an effort to unite and keep in touch the scattered community members after their mass exodus from the Valley in 1990, a worldwide directory of displaced Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) is presently being compiled.

The initiative has been taken by some community organisations and leaders under the aegis of the All-India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS).

Moti Kaul, president of the AIKS, said after the initial mailer sent to about 10,000 members, a website has now been created to register the names of all KPs across the globe.

The website has been named after the Vitasta, a revered river of Kashmir, which is linked with the rich cultural civilisation of the KPs. The river is presently known as the Jehlum, but both local Hindus and Muslims continue to call it “Veth”, a short form of the “Vitasta”.

Seeking cooperation and whole-hearted support of the fellow community members, Kaul admitted that compiling the directory was a daunting task, more so when the community members were totally scattered across the globe. “This is the only way to keep all of us in touch,” he said.

The KP leader informed that the website (www.kpvitasta.net) gives details of the registration form with a request to every member to fill in the details of other family members, relatives and friends, besides present and past address back home.

Veerji Bhat, a KP leader, said in order to reach out to those members who may not have access to Internet, we shall be soon circulating forms in different migrant camps and KP-dominated localities here so that everyone finds a mention in this KP global directory.

Udhampur, September 7
Continuing with its tradition of helping civilian population during crisis, the Army made a laudable contribution to save people of Ladakh, which witnessed unprecedented natural disaster last month. But for the timely relief and rescue operation conducted by it, the scale of suffering could not have been minimised.

As part of Operation Cloudburst, on an average 30 Army columns were employed daily to help the civil administration in rescue operations. Army dogs, engineering plant equipment, Army communication equipment as well as medical teams were extensively employed to rescue affected people in different areas of the region. Air Force helicopters were also pressed into service for evacuation of stranded passengers, including foreign tourists.

It would be pertinent here to get a brief recall of the catastrophic events marked by unprecedented rains ever recorded in the history of the Ladakh region between August 4 and 6, which took the local population unawares. While the annual average rainfall in this region is roughly 90 mm whereas on the fateful nights, Leh alone received 250 mm rainfall in just an hour. Coupled with the nature of the terrain, which woefully lacks vegetation, it triggered mudslides, flash floods and landslides gushing down from the mountains into Leh town and villages, including Leh garrison leading to large-scale destruction and loss of lives.

While the Army suffered 26 casualties, nine other ranks are still missing. The civilian losses were 181 and 50 persons missing. Numerous culverts and bridges were washed away on various road stretches along Zizila-Leh, and Leh-Manali axes and other roads. At a number of places, large stretches of roads were breached by fast flowing rivers and nullahs.

Engineer regiments of the Army and task forces of Project HIMANK were employed for repair and restoration of the damaged road communication network. Due to their untiring efforts, the National Highway 1D was made operational on August 13 by launching six bridges and three diversions. The Leh-Manali road was also made operational on August 15. In all, 15 bridges have been launched till date. Work on some on the link roads is under progress.

Besdies, the Army set up 10 relief camps at various locations. Mobile detachments carrying food and water were sent to the affected areas. As many as 16 major and 137 minor surgeries were conducted on civil patients by 153 general hospitals. As per the available information, the IAF flew one IL-76 transport aircraft and three Cheetah helicopters and airlifted 6 tonnes of relief material up to August 19.

As per Army officials, while the phase of restoring lines of communication and clearing debris is drawing to a close, the enormity of devastation has become even more evident. Though complete recovery from the disaster will take time, the Army reiterated its commitment to convert the calamity into any opportunity by playing an active role in rehabilitation of the affected people by developing camps and posts that have suffered extensive damage into model localities. The reconstruction of habitat is expected to be completed before the onset of winter. In a befitting acknowledgment of the Army’s contribution, SP Kapur, chief secretary of J&K, has termed the Operation Cloudburst as “magical response by the Army”.

For the past seven years, Lal Bahadur, a resident of Nepal, along with his family, has been coming to Leh to earn his livelihood. He works here for six months in summers and returns home in winters. He earns enough in six months to sustain his family throughout the year. However, this year he could not do so due to flash floods in Leh. Not only did he lose his livelihood but also whatever he had to the flash floods. All those who were engaged in various projects in Leh are now planning to return to their native place. Almost a month ago they had to surrender before nature's fury. They have lost everything they had. Despite this they are being denied relief and other benefits because they don't have relevant papers to prove their claims.

"Every year, we come here to do manual labour. This year, whatever we had was destroyed. In the name of relief all we got were a few blankets and nothing else," Lal Bhadur said.

"They told us that as we don't belong to this place, we won't be given any sort of relief by the administration," said Tsreng Lama from Nepal. She said whatever they had saved for the year was washed away and now she was left with nothing to feed her child so she had again started doing manual labour.

"We have been engaged by the villagers to clear the debris of their damaged houses for which they provide us meals during the day and in the night we live in some tented accommodation in some relief camps," said Tsreng.

There is confusion among the migrant labourers as the compensation of the damaged property is being given to the landlords and not to the tenants. "The landlord lost his house so he should be given the compensation, whereas we lost our belongings the authorities should compensate us for that," said Vishal, another migrant labourer from Nepal.

The district administration in Leh say that they are in the process of conducting a survey of the damage suffered by migrant labourers and will compensate them accordingly. "A district-level committee has been formed to look into the modalities of relief to be given to the migrant labourers and people who were living in rented accommodation, everyone who suffered loss will be duly compensated," said an officer.

Kathua, September 7
The twin towns of Kathua and Lakhanpur, bordering Punjab, are emerging as the major industrial hubs of the state.

Entrepreneurs opting to establish their units in the state prefer Kathua for the reason that the area has all these years remained peaceful. Further, all-weather roads and rail connectivity, besides being in the vicinity of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh suit outside industrialists, who are now being encouraged to invest in the district.

Presently, work is on full swing to develop industrial areas in these towns. It was in this context that the district administration under its single window clearance system okayed five more cases last week by granting schemes and benefits to entrepreneurs to set up their units here.

The entrepreneurs are planning to set up units to manufacture a wide range of products like detergents, garments, textiles, hardware and sanitary items, besides electric appliances.

“The step will definitely help in creating tremendous job opportunities for the local youth,” opined Devendra Sharma, chairman of Kathua Industries Unit Association (KIUA).

Sharma claimed that the town had a potential to emerge on the industrial map of India. “It would certainly benefit the people of the state, especially the unemployed,” he said.

The KIUA chairman said a number of entrepreneurs from neighbouring states had already evinced keen interest to set up their units here.

Sanjeev Verma, deputy commissioner, said the government was setting up two major industrial units at Ghatti and Govindsar near here. Around 5,000 kanals had been earmarked for the purpose.

“We intend to establish Ghatti and Govindsar as major industrial hubs and most of the land for it has been notified. Presently, facilities for water and electricity are being worked out at both these places,” he said.

The deputy commissioner said about 125 small and medium industries were being set up which would generate a large number of job opportunities. “While setting up industrial units, entrepreneurs have been told to stick to pollution control norms,” Verma added.

Srinagar, September 7
After the resignation of Dr Haseeb Drabu from the post of chairman and chief executive (CE) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, a search committee has been formed to find the successor of Drabu to hold the coveted office in the state. Drabu’s resignation came after the state government asked him to step down from the office reportedly for his closeness with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Drabu said: “For me, it’s institution that is important and not the individual. I leave with the satisfaction that I have worked for the past five years with integrity and the best of my competence”.

“I think we have transformed the bank from a good institution to a great institution. This has not been possible just because of me, but of course, it’s because of the collective efforts of the employees of the bank,” he said.

After the board of directors of the bank accepted the resignation of Drabu, Sudhanshu Pandey, IAS-commissioner/secretary, Finance Department, state government, who is also on the board of the bank, was appointed as acting chairman and CE of the bank.

While after the resignation of Drabu, the speculations of who would be selected for the coveted job are making rounds, the predecessor of Drabu, MY Khan blamed his successor of distorting the facts and figures. “Even as the performance of the bank during my tenure is undisputed, the consistent distorted presentation of facts and figures while narrating the success story of the bank by my successor Drabu has hurt my sentiments,” Khan said.

He said while Drabu claimed that during his tenure, major focus was on the state in which the bank in the past five years raised its credit portfolio from Rs 1,200 crore in 2005 to Rs 12,000 crore in 2010. “This is a total lie as the credit portfolio as on March 2005 was roughly Rs 5,000 crore and not Rs 1,200 crore,” Khan said. He said he had sacrificed his performance for the sake of the bank and his successor to make bank more stable to face any shock of market fluctuation. Meanwhile, the committee has forwarded three names to the RBI for its approval.

Jammu, September 7
Amid turmoil in the state, Jammu is all set to witness the much awaited 56th National School Games Under-19 Football championship for boys and girls from September 20 to October 1.

For the first time, the All Jammu and Kashmir Chess Association (AJKCA), is hosting a national championship in the winter capital in the first week of November.

Earlier, the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) had allotted these events to both Jammu and Kashmir, but due to unrest in the Valley, the SGFI has accepted the request of the authorities to conduct both events in Jammu.

In the games, about 25 states of the country are participating. The Department of Youth Service and Sports (DYSS) is making all efforts to ensure the smooth conduct of games.

Six venues have been finalised. These include MA Stadium, University of Jammu grounds, GGM Science College grounds, BSF Paloura, Gulshan grounds and Youth Hostel.

The football match in boys’ section would be played from September 20 to 25 while girls would be seen in action from September 27 to October 1.

Meanwhile, this time, the AJKCA has been allotted the XXI Under-17 boys and girls National Chess Tournament by the All India Chess Federation.

With the conduct of national events, the association foresees a bright future for the game in the state.

The important aspect of the chess tournament is the prize money of Rs 1.25 lakh, which the host association has to distribute among first 15 position holders in both boys and girls categories. In all, over 150 players from different states are expected to participate in the tournament.

Srinagar, September 7
Though educational institutions in the Kashmir Valley, mostly in urban centres, have been facing the brunt of the ongoing turmoil and remaining closed, the Teachers’ Day on Sunday did not go unnoticed. Far away, one of the teachers from the valley, Fareeda Showq, received the National Best Teacher Award from the President in New Delhi on the occasion.

While many schools in the valley observed the Teachers’ Day a day before as it fell on Sunday, many other institutions, including government schools, observed it on September 5.

For the students of Delhi Public School (DPS), Srinagar, it was an enthusiastic experience because it was yet another school day with full of activities for them. This was one of the few days that they had to attend the school after days of shutdowns and curfew restrictions.

“There was a time when it was boring to be in the school without any break. Now, it is really boring to be at home without being able to going to school,” said Sana, one of the students of DPS. “We wish to go to school everyday without any breaks,” she adds.

Sunday was declared as a normal working day as per the protest calendar of the hard line APHC, which gave the students of many institutions an opportunity to attend schools.

Minister for Education and Public Enterprises Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed extended warm greetings to the entire teaching community of the state while addressing a function organised by the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir, in a school here on the Teacher’s Day. He said: “It is a fact that teaching is a noble profession and teachers play pivotal role in shaping lives of generations”.

The Minister said with the good guidance of a teacher, students could face the challenges of life, adding that the efforts of teachers could make even an average student a bright one. Quoting verse of a renowned poet, he said: “Even fate of a stone can be changed provided it is chiselled well”.

Peerzada said the government was committed to addressing the issues pertaining to the teacher’s fraternity and to encourage result-oriented teachers, best teacher awards were being given by the government. He said at the national level only Rs 25,000 were given as the Best Teacher Award, while the state government had enhanced it to Rs 1 lakh, besides two awards of Rs 75,000 were given at the state level and Rs 25,000 each were also given among 50 teachers at the district level every year. The Minister said implementation of the Right to Education was under active consideration of the government.

Speaking on the occasion, commissioner-secretary, Education, Naseema Lankar, appealed the teachers to uphold the moral values and said teachers were catalysts of social change and hoped that they would continue to play their essential role in eradicating social evils and imparting quality education to youth.

The director, School Education, Kashmir, speaking on the occasion, said during the past two years, hundreds of promotions had been affected, including 406 master as headmasters, 2,303 teachers as masters, 101 senior lecturers as principals, 160 headmasters as ZEOs, 13 ZEOs as principals, 110 masters as in charge lecturers. Moreover, 3,658 ReTs were engaged and 7,528 ReTs were regularised.

Leh, September 7
Though the majority of people of Ladakh depend on tourism for their livelihood, local businessmen continue to fleece tourists by overcharging them.

Tourists said they were subjected to overcharging by local businessmen and alleged that the businessman sell fake artifacts in the name of original one.

“They sell things at a high rate as a single slice of bread is sold for Rs 10 and a cup of tea for Rs 20, that is too much,” rued Isac, a French national.

He alleged that the local businessmen cheat foreigners by selling duplicate and factory made artifacts and labelling them as original and hand-crafted items.

“They fake artifacts and sell them at exorbitant prices to tourists, who are caught unaware about the genuineness of items,” Isac added.

Not only this, the local businessman here also import machine-made shawls from states like Punjab and label them as original Pashmina and sell it to tourists.

“A Pashmina shawl costs thousands of rupees, but shopkeepers here import shawls from Punjab and label them as Pashmina and sell it at very high rates not only to foreigners, but also to domestic tourists,” said Mann Singh, a hotel employee.

He said shawl dealers from Punjab come and stay in his hotel where most of the trade takes place.

“Every month traders from Punjab brings three to four bags of shawl and sell them to shopkeepers here, who again label it as Ladakhi product and sell it to tourists,” Singh said.

Even owners of cyber cafés also charge as per their own wish. “While the standard rate of Internet usage per hour should be Rs 30, café operators in Leh charge between Rs 90 and Rs 120 per hour,” said an Internet user.

Taxi operators, too, do not like to remain far behind as they have a fixed price for their services, which are quite high as compared to the rest of the state.