Jammu, November 16
After maintaining a guarded silence over the much-publicised rehabilitation policy for militants who had crossed over to PoK for arms training, the Congress finally came out openly against this proposal of the NC-led coalition regime.

“Why militants who had crossed over to PoK should be rehabilitated and why not kin of soldiers who have attained martyrdom while fighting with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir?” asked Arminder Singh, senior Congress leader and deputy chairman of the Legislative Council.

Giving hints that the Congress would oppose any such move, Arminder Singh demanded that children of martyr soldiers and cops should be first rehabilitated. He pointed out that refugees from PoK, who were forced to leave their homes in 1947 after the Partition, should also be rehabilitated. “Since 1947, PoK refugees have been agitating for proper rehabilitation. It is the duty of the government to first rehabilitate them,” he said and asserted that the Congress would aggressively take up this issue in the days to come.

It may be mentioned that the government has formulated a proposal to rehabilitate those militants who had crossed over to PoK and now wanted to return to the state. The proposal is yet to be finalised as Congress leadership has reservations over the proposal.

“The government should address aspirations of all people and our party would not allow it to take any unilateral decision on this issue,” Arminder Singh said and assured that problems of children of martyred soldiers and PoK refugees would be solved once for all.

He sought to clarify that due share would be given to all regions, sub-regions from the employment package announced by the Union government for the state. “There is no question that this package has been announced only for surrendered militants,” he said.

All Jammu-based political groups namely the BJP, Panthers Party and the Jammu State Morcha (JSM) have been opposing this rehabilitation policy. The Panthers Party has termed this move as disastrous and fraught with dangerous portends which could have far reaching ramifications. The party observed that any exclusive announcements for militants or surrendered militants or for those who have served their sentence would be humiliating for the nationalist forces, besides having a cascading effect on the morale of other meritorious unemployed youth in various parts of the state. As the Congress has also decided to take tough stand against the proposed policy, the issue is likely to create another controversy. Some parties have already announced to launch an agitation if any such move was finalised.

Srinagar, November 16
With only two days left for Eid-ul-Azha, markets here and elsewhere in the Valley are abuzz with rush of shoppers. People here are making purchases of different varieties of eatables and goods, besides essential commodities.

Even as government offices, educational institutions and banks were closed for Sunday, there was a hectic activity in market places leading to traffic congestions.

A heavy rush of shoppers was witnessed at Central Lal Chowk, the commercial hub of the summer capital, where footpath vendors occupied most of the space leaving a narrow road for vehicular traffic. The roadside vendors set up various stalls of woollen wear, dress material and bakery items. A long queue of customers were seen outside mutton and bakery shops as people purchased various varieties for making preparations for Eid celebrations.

Traffic cops had a tough time in maintaining smooth flow of vehicles on roads leading to Lal Chowk. Passenger vehicles on city roads and inter-district routes were also plying normally and there was a heavy rush of people in these vehicles.

Other major towns of the valley, including the district headquarters of Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipore, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam, were also abuzz with shoppers.

Meanwhie, shoppers here complained of high prices of all essential commodities and other goods as markets had remained closed for most of the days during the past five months of turmoil since June this year. The authorities here claimed to have intensified steps to keep a check on the prices and quality of essentials.

As part of its drive against black marketing and high prices, the police has arrested 64 shopkeepers from various parts of Budgam district for selling essential commodities at high rates.

Jammu, November 16
To tackle the prevailing traffic chaos and confusion on the city roads, the Jammu traffic police has decided to take the help of CCTV cameras which will be installed at almost every busy inter-junction and major crossings in the city.

As many as 82 CCTVs will be installed in the city as part of a new plan to streamline traffic and deal with traffic violators, a senior traffic police officer said.

“CCTVs will surely help us to deal with increasing traffic violations and the work has already begun in this direction,” said the officer. He further said so far, nearly 30 CCTVs have been installed in the city and the remaining would also be installed by the year end.

Explaining the functioning and the quality of these cameras, he said: “These cameras are more effective as they have the facility of recording in both day and night modes”.

It is pertinent to mention here that Jammu city is one of the most crowded cities of the state and to streamline the rising traffic chaos here is a big issue before the city police.

Even earlier, HK Lohiya, IG, Traffic, has stated that the installation work of traffic lights would be completed by December end and they have also started conducting survey to decide the place for the installation of traffic lights.

The traffic police is also installing radar guns, speed-checking devices and alcohol meters to keep a tab on traffic violators.

Official sources in the Civil Secretariat said the traffic police had recommended the proposal of installation of traffic signals, radar guns, speed-checking devices and other electronic gadgets to the state government in September this year which has been approved while the work would soon start on it. The purchasing of traffic lights and CCTVs would cost nearly Rs 10 crore to the government, the sources added.

It may be mentioned here that earlier the traffic police has applied a number of schemes to streamline the traffic, including deployment of women traffic cops, zebra crossings, traffic bollards, but to no avail.

Jammu, November 16
Model Girls Middle School, Prat, in the lower Hathal education zone in Rajouri district is equipped with computers for the past four years under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), but students could not get a chance to operate computers even once as the lab never opened.

Citing faulty policy implementation and poor supervisory mechanism of the Education Department, all five computers and a gen set are lying defunct in the lab hence raising doubts if non-functional computers and gen set were dispatched to the school or they ran out of order due to some other reasons.

The computer lab in Government Middle School, Prat, was under lock and key since 2006. The computers could only see light of the day when Dev Raj Raina, headmaster of the school, was transferred and he handed over the charge to Mohd Saghir Mughal, the new headmaster of the school.

The lab wears a shabby look with doors, windows and other objects completely decayed. Moisture under the laminate sheet and on the walls due to seepage has caused everything to corrode.

In 2006, three schools in the district, including Government Middle School, Jawahar Nagar, Nowshera and Prat, got five computers each with an aim to impart computer education to upper primary students under the ambitious project.

The former headmaster of the school got transferred to Middle School, Marchola, in August this year, but he handed over the charge to the new principal on November 9 by writing on the stock book of the school: “Five computer sets are not functioning and cannot be repaired either”.

“When we opened the lab, it was not possible to stand inside for even a minute due to the obnoxious smell of decayed things. Doors and windows have completely decayed, while computers are not functioning,” said Mohd Saghir.

He said a teacher in the school has the knowledge of computers and electronics. “If the department cooperates with us, we can run computer classes in the school,” the headmaster claimed.

The school that has about 40 students on its rolls is a model school in papers, but its building is in a pitiable condition.

“It’s the duty of the chief education officer who happens to be the chairman of the SSA and zonal education officers who happen to be the members of the body constituted for the implementation of the SSA in a particular district to carry out regular inspections,” said Vinay Mohan, director, SSA, and assured: “Since you have brought the issue to my notice, a departmental enquiry would be initiated”.

Gurcharan Singh, CEO, Rajouri, said: “I will look into the matter before I comment”.

RS Pura, November 16
Call it a colonial mindset, laid-back attitude or simply indifference of babus, in illiterate and semi-literate subdivision of RS Pura, a rice farming belt, vital information pertaining to procedures to sell/purchase land and to acquire permanent resident’s certificate has been put up on a hoarding in English language.

“Despite Urdu being the official language of Jammu and Kashmir and Hindi being the widely read and understood in the area, the administration (office of the sub-divisional magistrate) has put up the information in a language alien to us,” said Mohan Singh, a farmer from Abdulian. “For old people like me who either know Urdu or Hindi, this board serves no purpose,” he added.

Another old woman, who doesn’t even remembers her age, also expressed similar views. “I want to sell my small landholdings to sustain my family and my frequent visits to the office also taught me the ways, but this board has no meaning for people like me. I can read a little bit of Urdu language,” she said.

When asked, a couple of petition writers sitting beneath a Banyan tree on the SDM premises where the board has been put up by the authorities concerned, they said none bothers to read the information put up on the board for the simple reason that they can’t read the language.

It may be stated here that in the RS Pura subdivision, the major profession of the people is agriculture. Those who don’t know even the difference between landless and landowners, the complicated information written in English language informing them how to apply for the sale and purchase of land, besides formalities of procuring permanent resident’s certificate is a cruel joke with farmers, said an employee of the SDM office.

TS Tony, youth leader of the National Conference, who had contested the last Assembly elections from the Suchetgarh Constituency of the RS Pura subdivision, also expressed regrets over the nonchalant attitude of the administration.

“The information shall have been put up in Hindi or Urdu languages, but for obvious reasons it has been written in English. We all know that how many farmers can read, write and speak English,” he said.

“It has come to our notice that information of various centrally sponsored programmes like poverty alleviation, literacy conservation awareness programmes, etc, via boards, hoardings and pamphlets is being disseminated in English language, which only a handful of literates in the rural areas understand,” said a banker who belongs to Dablehar.

Jammu, November 16
Flagging quality agricultural inputs as essential to boost farm production and productivity, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave nod to the proposal of enhancing funds for seed procurement and distribution for ensuing rabi cultivation. He called for seed replacement from present 10 per cent to 25 per cent under a comprehensive strategy to be worked out in consultation with agricultural universities.

Chairing a high-level meeting here, the Chief Minister gave nod for the release of funds for the procurement and supply of certified seeds to be worked out by the Agriculture and Finance Departments. He also approved a revolving fund for stocking and supplying dia-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriat of potash (MOP) fertilisers to farmers at the hour of need.

The meeting was attended by Abdul Rahim Rather, Finance Minister; Ghulam Hassan Mir, Agriculture Minister; Dr Manohar Lal and Javid Ahmad Dar, Ministers of State; Jaleel Ahmad Khan, economic adviser; Iqbal Khanday, principal secretary, agriculture production; BB Vyas, principal secretary to CM; Sudhanshu Panday, commissioner/secretary, finance; and other senior officers.

The Chief Minister underlined the need of enhancing the production of certified seeds and propagating these through progressive farmers. “The concept of creating seed villages should also be given a fillip so that adequate quality seed production is achieved indigenously,” he said.

Omar Abdullah said the utilisation of high-yielding seed varieties and application of balanced dozes of fertilisers was essential to raise agriculture production. “The Department of Agriculture should concentrate on this aspect and help farmers to the best of its capacity in this regard,” he added.

The Chief Minister directed the Agriculture Department to incorporate its demand for enhancing grant for quality seed procurement and production in the budget proposals so that the Finance Department would be able to earmark funds for the purpose at the beginning of the fiscal.

Omar Abdullah underlined the role of agricultural universities in the production of foundation seeds and formulation of a comprehensive plan for seed replacement in consonance with agronomic conditions and feasibilities of crops.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister for Finance highlighted the need for rejuvenating seed farms and enhancing their capacity for producing quality seeds.

Rather said the Finance Department would give due consideration to the requirements of the Agriculture Department for the production of quality seeds and its distribution to farmers so that farm production got the necessary fillip.

The Agriculture Minister, underlining the importance of release of additional funds, said kharif maize melas were organised in the state to educate farmers about the utility and benefits of using quality seeds.

Mir said the producers of certified seed were made to provide 3,000 quintals of quality maize seed to the farmers free of cost. “This enabled the Agriculture Department to establish 3,000 demonstration plots of four kanals each in the state. In each province, 1,500 such plots were laid,” he said, adding that the process was completed with encouraging results.

Mir said, “The Agriculture Department intends to help farmers to readily get quality seeds for propagation and cultivation”. This, he said, would go a long way in boosting farm production.

The principal secretary, agriculture production department, advocating more funds for seed procurement and distribution, underscored its need for making good the losses incurred in agricultural operations due to drought. He said there was an added demand for quality seeds as the farmers could not produce seeds on their own due to drought.

Srinagar, November 16
The government is taking various measures to ensure all possible facilities like power, water, healthcare facilities and essential commodities to the people of Kashmir during winter months.

This was stated by Ali Mohammad Sagar, Minister for Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, at a meeting of officers here recently. He also appreciated the departments of power, PHE, health, CA&PD, SMC, R&B etc for providing better facilities during the period of unrest in the recent past. He also asked the chief engineer, power, to ensure power supply to people. He said gas turbine plants should also be utilised and told the field staff to ensure that any damaged transformer should be replaced immediately from the transformer bank established by the Chief Minister. Sagar directed the PDD authorities to strictly implement the load shedding programme, if becomes necessary, and cautioned the PDD to avoid unscheduled and unnecessary power cuts.

The minister urged upon the director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD), to implement rates fixed for various commodities. He asked the traffic authorities to devise a long-term plan to check traffic mess. Regarding R&B, it was told that as many as 214 km out of 245 km had been macadamised (black-topped) and 85 per cent funds out of earmarked Rs 60 crore had been incurred so far for the purpose.

The director, CA&PD, informed the minister that about 80 per cent food grains, including sugar, had been dispatched to various destinations. Regarding snow clearance, it was told that the Valley has been divided into three zones and snow clearance machines had already been deputed in these zones.

Besides, the SMC had kept 80 mobile pumps in readiness to drain out water from low-lying areas that get inundated due to snow water and rains.

Srinagar, November 16
A three-day annual book exhibition organised by the Directorate of School Education began here on Monday, in which various local and reputed publishers from different parts of the country are participating. A wide range of books on varied subjects is on display at 171 stalls.

Speaking on the occasion, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Minister for Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, described books as important means to gain sustainable knowledge. These are imperative for economic, educational, social transformation and also in creating awareness among masses, he said.

Appreciating the organisers, Sagar said such exhibitions were necessary for inculcating book culture in the younger generation. He said by studying the works of different authors, the intellectual capability of a person, especially of the young, gets developed in a proper and scientific manner.

The minister said due to unrest in the valley during the past few months, the educational setup had taken a beating, but due to the sustained efforts of the government and with active cooperation of educational institutions it had been brought back on the track and the government would ensure that it did not get hampered.

Earlier, the minister attended the winter secretariat and while interacting with scores of deputations from various parts of the Valley, assured them that the government had already put in place a foolproof mechanism for ensuring a smooth festival of Eid-ul-Azha. He said necessary instructions had been passed to various departments to ensure that people did not face any inconvenience.

Jammu, November 16
Samooh Theatre conducted a theatre-in-education (TIE) workshop for slum children at Vasudhaiv Katubunkam School, Rajiv Nagar.

The objective of organising the workshop was to sensitize the slum children about their surroundings. A play “Sab Se Bada Shatru Koun” was staged in the workshop. The play reflects the miseries and plight of the downtrodden. Rahul, Sahil, Pooja,Suraj, Rakhi, Anuradha, Amit, Arti, Rajat ,Meenakshi,Ashwani, Shivani and Kajal were among the children who participated in the play. The workshop was conducted under the direction of Dr Sudhir Mahajan. Inderjeet Singh Sambyal assisted the workshop.

In Jammu and Kashmir the security forces regularly come across militants' hideouts from where they recover arms, ammunition and eatables. In one such incident in Rajouri district, troops recovered a plenty of warlike stores and eatables, including Pakistani dry fruits and chocolates.

At a recent display of arms and ammunition seized from such hideouts, a reporter descended upon a pile of chocolates, biscuits and dry fruits.