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Staff threat to resume stir leaves govt worried
Turmoil makes life miserable in Valley
A protester argues with security personnel during a demonstration in the Valley. |
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Reasi Fort renovation to boost tourism
Disability fails to deter them from helping others
A damaged stretch on the road leading to Mansar lake. Photo: Inderjeet Singh
Jam-packed SPMR College lacks facilities
A view of parasite bush growth on a wall of the
Ambedkar building of SPMR Commerce College in Jammu. Photo: Inderjeet Singh
State ministers appeal for peace in Valley
Jammu diary
Symposium on global warming
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Staff threat to resume stir leaves govt worried
Jammu, September 14 After their two-week strike, over 4 lakh government employees had called off their stir after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather promised to fulfil all demands within three months. In the last Cabinet meeting the state government has cleared certain benefits to the employees but most of their demands are yet to be fulfilled. The Cabinet announced that the pensionary benefits would now be given to all with 28 years of services as against 30 years earlier. This was one of the demands conceded by the government but many others remain unfulfilled. “Our patience is running out. In April the government had promised to fulfil all our demands within three months but even after more than four months no action has been taken in this direction”, said Jatinder Singh, a leader of the government employees. The strike was suspended in April following an assurance by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the government should now keep its promise. Over 4 lakh government employees had started a strike in support of their demands in April. Although there are more than 20 demands in their charter, the main issues were release of the arrears of the 6th Pay Commission and enhancement of the retirement age from 58 to 60 years. While assuring the employees that their demands would be considered sympathetically, the government had expressed helplessness in releasing the arrears of the 6th Pay Commission at that juncture due to a financial crunch. As far as enhancing the retirement age was concerned, the government had assured that a consensus would be reached on this issue with all political parties. A senior bureaucrat said that any strike at this crucial time would give a severe setback to the functioning of the government. “Functioning of the government has already been crippled during the past three months due to the on-going turmoil in the Kashmir Valley and a strike by the employees now would aggravate the situation”, he said. Sources said the government had deputed some officers to interact with the employees and pursue them not to take such a decision at this juncture. The government has reportedly assured the employees that a decision on their demands would be taken after an improvement in the situation in the Valley. |
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Turmoil makes life miserable in Valley
Srinagar, September 14 Ever since the turmoil started in the Valley three months ago, the day after Eid was the bloodiest day when more than 17 persons lost their lives and another 70 got injured. The government has now deployed more security personnel to strictly enforce the curfew. As per an official spokesman, Monday’s protest had nothing to do with the ongoing unrest since it was a spontaneous reaction to the alleged desecration of the holy Quran in the US. But in the aftermath of these incidents, people are now confined to their houses and are facing shortage of essential commodities like milk, fresh vegetables and other such items of daily use. “There is an acute shortage of milk for the past three days. We have been drinking black tea as the milkman could not come and even the shops that sell packaged milk are closed,” says a local resident. People say for the past three days they have been consuming dried vegetables or pulses. “The curfew has been very harsh in the Valley. We haven’t been able to get essential commodities. There is a scarcity of fresh vegetables, milk and other items,” said Kousar, a housewife. Shopkeepers say they are unable to open their shops as they fear that the security forces might come and beat them up for violating the curfew. “On earlier occasions, the curfew was restricted to the main market only and shops inside localities used to open and people were able to get items of daily need. But this time, the curfew has been imposed all over, making it difficult for us to open shops,” said a shopkeeper in the Allouchi Bagh locality. Meanwhile, common people in Kashmir who have been bearing the brunt of the ongoing unrest say they are waiting for the day when normalcy returns to the Valley. “It is more than three months now and we pray for the early restoration of peace in Kashmir. Besides, education and economy, the turmoil is also taking its toll on health of the people,” said Ghulam Hassan, a local resident.
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Reasi Fort renovation to boost tourism
Udhampur, September 14 History tells that it was initially a mud fort, which was later reconstructed with stone masonry and generally used by the royal family to take shelter during emergencies. It is also an important landmark associated with the gallant career of the legendary Dogra warrior General Zorawar Singh. The majestic fort has a big wooden gate with images of Lord Ganesha and Maha Kali carved in separate niches inside the wall at the entrance. The entrance gateway is similar to the one at the fort of Ramnagar, a tehsil of Udhampur district. The fort was handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir State Archaeology Department in 1989. It was renovated by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board the following year. The surrounding areas of the monument were given a facelift with gardens and pathways. However in 1994, most of its parts were damaged badly due to an earthquake. This year, however, when Governor NN Vora visited it, he ordered the reconstruction of the damaged parts as well as renovation. It may take at least six months to complete the entire work, but it would surely boost tourism in the area. The fort is built on an irregular plan to follow the natural contour of the rock and enclosed with the lofty vertical fortification wall and bastions at regular intervals. The fort has double fortification wall made of dressed sand stone masonry in lime mortar. It has five massive round bastions. The fort can be approached by climbing an ugly iron ladder provided at the entrance of the neglected garden through a vacant plot on the main outer road of Reasi. It has three gateways built in stone masonry, except the middle one which is built with brick masonry. The fort has an open courtyard surrounded by a residential complex. Further up, there is a small temple, which is being used by security people for worship. The fort was built by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1817, the then commander-in-chief of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Its construction was supervised by General Zorawar Singh, who began his carrier as a solider under Gulab Singh. The fort though smaller in size, occupy the highest location, dominating the entire surroundings and attracting attention from a long distance. Besides, the fort displays interesting features of contemporary architecture with the declining phase of defence system of Mughal architecture with some additional features of Dogra in the form of temple. Some portions of the fort have collapsed due to neglect and lack of care. Meanwhile, locals are enthusiastic about the reconstruction and renovation and looking forward to its completion. It is expected that after the renovation, it will become a tourist hot spot, which may help generate employment for locals. Tariq Bhat, a social activist, said the renovated fort would definitely attract more tourists, as Reasi is emerging as a tourist place in the state. Vikas Sharma, who runs a shop near the fort, expressed hope that more tourists would visit the place which would help improve his business.
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Disability fails to deter them from helping others
Jammu, September 14 For Vijay Kumar Gupta, Bhushan Kesar and Roshan Bhan, the rare occasion has come after four years when their players last participated in any such tournament. Due to lack of sponsors and funds, their players usually don’t get opportunities. Besides acting coach to them, they are also executive members of the Jammu and Kashmir Association of Deaf. The troika is witness to some life-changing events in their individual lives. They found meaning of life in empowering physically challenged people and continue to do so without any significant support from the government side. A retired electrical engineer, Gupta (69) when speaks with someone, hardly anyone can guess that he was deaf and dumb at the time of birth and many years later. “Me and my sister were hearing and speech impaired. Since I was young, I was enrolled in a school and she remained at home,” he recalled and added, “My parents got me a hearing aid in 1946. Its weight was around half kg. It was tied on my back with bandages and when my back would get wounded by it, they would tie it on my chest and vice versa”. “Subsequently, I started understanding the things and never stopped trying to speak. It kept improving by speech throughout my life,” he said and emphasised that even if a child who does not have a voice box can speak with the help of an artificial one. “Even today, if I am not equipped with the hearing aid I cannot listen the sound of a bomb blast near me,” he said and added that, “When I came in contact with the association after retirement, I devoted my life in its service. Both my sons are also working for the welfare of special children”. Gupta is speech therapist and runs shops providing aids to physically challenged people, JK Electronic Ear at New Plots and Gandhi Nagar. He is also president of the association. Bhushan Kesar, general secretary of the association, is born deaf and dumb. Kesar basically belongs to Katra and got education from Delhi. Later, he retired as a teacher from the same fine arts college in Delhi. He is a painter of repute and imparts training to upcoming painters at the exhibition ground. He has several state and national level awards to his credit and is married to a normal women and leads normal family. Honorary secretary of the association, Roshan Bhan is the founder of the only secondary school for hearing impaired children, J&K Samaj Kalyan Kendra, in the sate and second of its type in northern India. “I always wanted to join the Army, but could not make it because of my height. At that time, I plunged into cynicism,” he recalled and said his life changed after he joined Abhidananda School for special children at Rajbag in Srinagar. “The school was closed long ago, but I am living with my mission,” he said and reasoned, “I had vowed to do a different difficult job in my life”.
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Travelling to Mansar lake a nightmare
Jammu, September 14 Even as the coalition government with a sole purpose to properly develop tourist destinations in Jammu had carved out a separate tourism directorate for the Jammu region, yet badly pockmarked road with dangerous deathtraps that lead to Mansar still continue to give visitors a backbreaking, bumpy and dusty ride. Just 60 km from Jammu and 22 km from Samba, driving on the road is a nightmarish experience for motorists, who, apart from a pockmarked road, have to negotiate certain deathtraps. Paradoxically, it appears that the state government has turned a blind eye to these easily accessible tourist resorts at the expense of tourism, which is the mainstay of the state economy. “Located near winter capital, Mansar is still the first choice among tourists, but the bad road squeezes life out of those who come here,” said Meenakshi, a tourist who had come to the lake along with her family members from Delhi. “Our car moved dangerously on a slippery stretch en route and for sometime we felt that our lives were in danger,” she said. Apart from bad roads, Mansar has been undergoing unabated environmental degradation where polythene and disposable tumblers could be seen littered across the place. “The government had boasted of constituting the Surinsar Mansar Development Authority (SMDA) to develop the twin lakes, but ironically neither the SMDA could do much in the wake of certain restrictions by the Wildlife Department to develop the lake area, nor the government could provide a good motorable road,” said a local Mohan Singh. “Despite a ban, people still bring their cattle here to give them a bath, while a PHE pumping station continuously lifts water to supply it to the areas in Udhampur and Samba districts,” he added. “If we talk about road, every year the department concerned sanctions money, like Rs 22 lakh last year, to maintain the 22-km stretch from Samba, but we don’t know where the money goes,” he quipped. Every summer, Mansar witnesses huge influx of tourists, who in a bid to escape intense heat wave descend upon this fresh water lake. The Tribune team that also travelled to Mansar experienced similar backbreaking ride. It, too, had to negotiate dangerous traps, particularly two stretches where a sedimentary rock and a partially washed away stretch of the road continue to give a tough time to motorists during monsoons. “During rains, sedimentary rock caves, mudslides and rocks pose a serious threat to travellers,” said Vijay Kumar, another local. “At times, particularly during heavy rains, we come to the rescue of stranded people shifting them to safe places,” he added. Though repair work had been taken up in the recent times, why they stopped it midway could be answered by the authorities concerned only?, he said. “I am sure that those who travel on this road to enjoy serene beauty of the Mansar Lake must return home with back pain and cramps of all sorts,” he added.
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Jam-packed SPMR College lacks facilities
Jammu, September 14 The authorities state that the problem of insufficient infrastructure can be overcome to some extent only if the language block of the old University of Jammu, which is situated adjacent to the college, is handed over to them for conducting regular classes. “Though the government has given us verbal assurance that the language block of the old university would be handed over to the college, no written approval has been conveyed so far,” Dr Anita Sudan, principal, Commerce College, told The Tribune. The strength of students far exceeds the seating capacity. The students allege that their studies are suffering because of lack of proper facilities on the campus. This is evident from the fact that as against the intake capacity of 680 students in Part-I of B.Com, BBA, BCA and M.Com courses, around 1,065 students have been enrolled. The college administration claims that the overall strength of students in undergraduate courses is over 2,000 while the college has only 28 lecture halls. “In one lecture hall, we are accommodating 80 students in each section whereas the seating capacity of the hall is 30. In some big lecture halls having capacity of 60 students, we are accommodating 125,” revealed an employee of the college. To tackle the problem of space constraints, the college has converted its gymnasium hall, games storeroom, girls’ common room, committee room and table tennis hall into lecture rooms. Neera Bhalla, a lecturer of the college, said, “As the student strength is more than the seating capacity, we have to deliver lectures at the peak of our voices which is very tiring for us”. “We have converted every available space into classroom. Even the library has been shifted to the auditorium,” she added. The college is in a pitiable condition. The Ambedkar block of the college is in worst condition as cracks have developed in one the walls of the building and it can collapse any time. |
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State ministers appeal for peace in Valley
Srinagar, September 14 The ministers said the video had hurt the sentiments of people and “we along with the Muslim community condemn this shameful act in the US by one mad individual”. They said the conspiracy behind the act needed to be unearthed. The ministers appealed to the people to maintain calm. They described the reaction in the Valley as a result of the sensitive issue and said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also condemned the issue raised earlier by pastor Terry Jones. The ministers said the state government after confirming from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting found that the said channel was not even registered and as such, the government had put a ban on the channel. Regarding protests and demonstrations held against the issue in various parts of the Valley, the ministers said those were the reactions of the people against the shameful
act. Sagar said in the past too, some vested interests tried to desecrate the holy
Quran, but never succeeded. Replying to a question, Sagar said the government would never want any untoward incident or innocent killings. He appealed to the media to play its role in disseminating the truth. He said the government had already initiated measures for bringing the state back on rails. |
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Congress leaders out to impress Soz
The rally that was organised by Health Minister Sham Lal at Nud Jourian in Akhnoor to celebrate the election of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Sonia Gandhi, was virtually turned into “praise Soz” rally as one after another speakers crossed all limits to praise the PCC chief. Some leaders, who are not in the race ministerial berths, were surprised over the way Congress leaders were praising Soz. “It is nothing but competitive sycophancy,” observed one of the senior party workers. Mobilising people for rallies
Vehicles meant for ferrying stone, sand and construction material are used by political parties to transport people (see photo) from villages to attend political rallies. Mostly overcrowded with people with every fear for leading to an accident, these vehicles, mainly tractor-trailers remain the main medium of mobilising public. Despite being an offence, the traffic police seems to remains a mute spectator to the violation. (Contributed by Dinesh
Manhotra and Sunaina Kaul) |
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Symposium on global warming
Jammu, September 14 The function was presided over by Dr YP Sharma, Assistant Commandant, SSB. Ashok Kumar Sharma, former legislator and state convener, ICELA, was also present on the occasion. The symposium was attended by a number of academicians, environmentalists and social activists. On the occasion, saplings of neem were
distributed among students. In his address, Ashok Sharma proposed the formation of ICELA eco-clubs at the school and college level. He said competitions would be organised at the zonal level. “An educational tour for three days would be sponsored for the first five position holders,” he said. Dr YP Sharma stressed on checking global warming and preventing melting of glaciers. In symposium, Priya Bhagat won the first position whereas Pankaj and Payal stood second and Ritika Virdi secured the third position. |
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With an indefinite curfew imposed yet again in various parts of the Kashmir Valley following violence in Srinagar after Eid prayers, people in the Valley are facing an acute shortage of essential commodities.
Jammu, September 14
Congress leaders have started indulging in “competitive sycophancy” after Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saif ud Din Soz hinted at reshuffle in the Cabinet. All MLAs and MLCs, with a hope to get ministerial berth, have been trying to keep him in good humour.