Jammu, January 6
Taking a cue from the Maharashtra police, the state traffic police has opened its official account on Facebook to regulate the traffic and also launched an official website, jktrafficpolice.nic.in.

The account can be accessed at igtraffic_jk@ymail.com.

The DGP, J&K, Kuldeep Khoda, today inaugurated the account at the Police Headquarters here. “The basic idea of opening a Facebook account and the website is to get suggestions and complaints of the common man, as all can easily and freely post their comments on it,” said Khoda.

He added that the Maharashtra police had achieved a big success after opening such an account.

Khoda further said the IG, Traffic, J&K, Hemant Kumar Lohia, would daily operate the account and reply to the public. “Besides some steps taken by the traffic police, a lot of things are yet to be done. But I am sure that it will prove helpful for the police in reducing the number of traffic violations in the state,” maintained Khoda.

The IGP, Traffic, said: “The department has already launched a campaign on radio, television and newspapers against offenders, but the step will surely decrease our burden in regulating the traffic.”

He asked the public to file complaints against the violators of traffic rules by posting their pictures or videos on the account. “The pictures and videos posted on this account will be a legal proof against the violators,” added Lohia.

About the delay in installing traffic lights in Jammu and Srinagar, the police officer said they were talking to some private companies to install the lights, free of cost, after giving them free advertisement rights on the lights. “We don’t want to put extra burden on the state government”, said the IG.

Jammu, January 6
Corruption seems to be the major reason behind the increase in the number of traffic violations across the state.

The IG, Traffic, Hemant Kumar Lohia, today admitted that corruption was affecting the performance of the traffic police and even senior officers were facing charges.

Replying to a question on the sidelines of a press conference here, Lohia said :” Corruption is everywhere and our department is also facing a similar problem as a number of senior cops are facing departmental inquiries for demanding or accepting bribes.”

He added that in the past six months, he had ordered 27 departmental inquiries. “Action has been taken in 22 cases,” stated the IG.

Giving the details, Lohia said four DSPs, seven inspectors, six sub-inspectors, nine assistant sub-inspectors and 11 others, were facing inquiries in corruption cases.

He added that nearly 10 lakh vehicles plied in the state and every vehicle owner committed one or more violations in a day. “We are trying to curb the meance.It is a difficult task,” said Lohia.

He also stressed that after opening an account on the popular social networking site, Facebook, their problem would be solved to some extent. “People can now complain directly on this account,” said Lohia. 

Jammu, January 6
Pakistan has constructed double bunkers in its territory along the international border, particularly in the RS Pura sector, near here.

Pakistani troops have constructed a double bunker near the Surgpur post, opposite the Abdulian border post, in the RS Pura sector. Sources in the BSF said it was a double-storied bunker.

“Though it is not for the first time that they have constructed double bunkers, the Indian border post of Abdulian is surrounded from three sides by Pakistani posts in the Surgpur area,” they said.

“Since 2002, when we started constructing ambush-cum-naka points by raising mounds and setting up our observation posts atop those mounds,Pakistan has also constructed such observation posts-cum-bunkers along the IB,” they added.

However, they were not along the IB and didn’t pose a threat to India’s security and surveillance, said the sources. “In fact, ever since we raised mounds along the IB setting up our observation posts, we are now able to look beyond their bunkers,” said a senior BSF officer.

“The raised mounds, having observation posts, give us a better view beyond their bunkers, and we certainly have an edge,” he said.

The BSF guards the 239-km-long IB in the Jammu region from Kathua to the Akhnoor sector.

When asked whether Pakistan had violated serious norms as no structure was permitted to come within 500 metres of the border, the officer said that there was no such norm when it came to the international border between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the rule applied to the Line of Control and not the IB.

In the past also, Pakistani troops had unsuccessfully tried to push in armed militants from the RS Pura sector.

Jammu, January 6
The park that was supposed to cheer up people living along the right bank of the canal in the Gangyal area has become a cause of miseries for them. The earthwork on the bank of the canal, besides the choked opening of the canal led to a breach in the canal and the flooding of houses with slush on December 31 last year.

The residents of the area staged a protest against the alleged negligence on the part of the authorities concerned today and demanded the speedy execution of the work. The road on the other bank of the canal, that leads to Mahant Bachitar Singh College, also got damaged, as a portion of it caved in during the flood-like situation.

Sources in the Irrigation Department said the Department of Floriculture did not seek permission before starting the work on the bank of the canal. They said it was a cognisable offence entailing a minimum sentence of three years for those who damage the bank of the canal. Though heavy machinery and men have been pressed into service to repair the canal and scoop out the sludge from it, the area residents fear that in case of rain the situation could worsen.

When the Tribune team visited the spot, earthmoving machines were digging out slush from the opening of the canal into a nullah. Meanwhile, the compounds of the houses near the canal and the nullah were still covered with slush.

A former sarpanch of the Gangyal Panchayat, Rakesh Singh Raka, said, “Due to the breach in the canal, water and slush entered at least 35 houses. It happened due to the negligence of the Department of Floriculture, as its workers were working without taking climate into consideration. Due to digging along the bank of the canal, its swollen water during rain got an outlet.”

Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din said, “The Department of Floriculture did not seek permission from our department. During the de-silting of the canal, the bank, where the park is being developed, is the only place for dumping sludge. Therefore, the place selected for the development of the park is inappropriate.”

Raman Bhalla, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister and local MLA, who inaugurated the work for the park at the site, denied the charge that the breach occurred due to the earthwork on the canal’s bank. “The opening of the canal was choked for years and this led to the breach.”

On the issue of permission from the Irrigation Department, he said, “The urban area needs to be beautified.” He added that the dug out sludge could be collected on the road and later removed. 

Jammu, January 6
Bheem Canal that the mighty Bheema in the Mahabharta era was said to have dug in the upper Bhaderwah area of Doda district, and which disappeared mysteriously a few centuries ago, may soon flow out of the mythical times into the real world.

For centuries, its mention was there only in folklore. The signs of the Pandavas’ existence in the state have been found in several parts where they were said to have spent a considerable period of their exile.

Now, satellite images developed by the Indian Science Research Organisation (ISRO), have established the track of the canal and confirmed its existence.

A boon for agriculture in the region, the canal is being revived as the Jammu and Kashmir Government has started a survey along the track shown by the satellite imagery. The work of digging the old track has also started in some parts under the supervision of the Ministry of Irrigation.

The Irrigation Ministry’s reasons for undertaking such a project are based on a precedent as it has almost revived another mythological canal, Vaski Nag, near Qazigund in Kashmir after satellite images confirmed its existence.

Taj-Mohi-ud-din, Minister for Irrigation , Public Health Engineering and Flood Control, said the latest satellite images had proved the existence of many canals and rivulets, whose signs, though minor, were found at various places. He said the Bheem canal flowed from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh to Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the cause of the mysterious disappearance of the canal was not known. He said water would soon flow in Vaski-Nag Canal as work to construct the newly dug canal with water source or glaciers was in the final stage.

He said,“But this is just the beginning. I keep doing research on history, topography and truth behind folktales. The ISRO is helping us find many other lost water bodies.” 

Srinagar, January 6
It was a feast for everyone’s eyes, as it happened after almost 27 years when people got a chance to see a completely frozen Dal Lake. The frozen lake has become a major tourist attraction in the Valley.

The last time the Dal Lake froze completely was in 1984.

However, the shikarawalas are having a tough time.“When we woke up in the morning, we could not move our boats due to a sheet of ice that had accumulated over a large portion of the lake. We could not break it due to its thickness,” said Iftiqar Dar, a shikarawala.

An official of the state Meteorological Department said: “At certain places, the thickness of the ice formed on the Dal Lake is around one feet while at other places where there are underwater springs the ice sheet is quite thin.” The authorities, however, have warned people not to walk on the frozen surface of the lake as it can cave in due to their weight and cause a disaster.

A police team prevented some youths from playing on the thin ice sheet and also broke it with the help of axes.

“Though it was difficult to break the ice sheet, we had to do it at certain places keeping in view the safety of the tourists who did not adhere to advisories issued by the authorities”, said a police officer.

Jammu, January 6
The two-day national workshop on ‘Revisiting sources of history with special references to Jammu and Kashmir’ organised by the Department of History, University of Jammu, in collaboration with ICSSR, NW Regional Centre started today.

According to a statement issued here, speaking at the inaugural session of the workshop, Prof Suman Jamwal, Director of the workshop and Head of the Department of History, University of Jammu, provided a background to the workshop and spoke about why workshops like this were required. In this context, she explained how the study of sources was central to the craft of history writing and essential for progress in historiography.

The presidential remarks were delivered by Prof Varun Sahni, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu.

Prof Sahini laid emphasis on the issue of description and analysis in social sciences research. The first academic session was moderated by Prof Varun Sahini, whereas Prof Chetan Singh of Himachal Pradesh University was the resource person.

The theme of the first academic session was ‘Problems of reading sources and theorising them in their context’. This was followed by the second academic session which was on the theme ‘Geographical and temporal context of the sources’. Prof BP Sahu, Department of History, Delhi University, was the resource person who spoke on the subject, ‘Inscriptions and their changing Context’.

Prof Upinder Singh, Department of History, Delhi University, who is daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was the resource person for the third academic session.

The central theme of this session was ‘Reconstructing ancient religions through the material remains’.

Prof Upinder laid stress on the methodological issues related to the sources for the construction of ancient Indian history. Her special focus was on the issue that arises when using archaeology, inscription and art remains as the sources for religion.

Jammu, January 6
A day after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asked the BJP to give up its proposed plan to hoist the National Flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on January 26, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saifuddin Soz said it would be a provocative act. 

Talking to mediapersons here today after attending a political convention of the Jammu District Congress Committee (Urban) here, Soz said: “Why should we indulge in an act that can provoke a section of society.”

There was nothing wrong in hoisting the National Flag, but why they (BJP) unnecessarily want to create trouble, he added.

He lamented that the BJP was indulging in divisive politics. “It seems the BJP has embarked upon a policy of dividing people. The move to hoist the National Flag is a gimmick to gain political mileage,” he said.

Soz said the BJP had no long-term policy and it always played to the gallery. He described the flag-hoisting plan as nothing but negative politics.

On the issue of the rotation of chief ministership in the state, a suggestion recently made by his veteran colleague and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, Soz said he had already expressed his views on the issue. “I have said it earlier also that it is the prerogative of the Congress high command. It is between the National Conference and the party high command and I don’t have any jurisdiction to comment on the matter,” he added.

“This is the stand of the PCC and I stick to the same”, he said. On provisions to incorporate the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution in the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, Soz said the matter had been brought to the notice of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and a committee had been studying the provisions. Meanwhile, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said, out of power, the BJP was resorting to a political gimmick. 

Talking to reporters here today, the Mufti said when the BJP was in power at the Centre, it had put its own demand for the abrogation of Article 370 into cold storage. Now, the party was again raking up the issue, he added.

Jammu, January 6
Despite Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s warning, the BJP has decided to go ahead with its plan to hoist the National flag at the historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day.

The party has accused Omar of toeing the line of separatists comparing him with JKLF leader Yasin Malik. Omar had warned the BJP against hoisting the National Flag on the ground that the move might create disturbances in the Valley where normalcy had returned.

Talking to The Tribune, national executive committee member of the BJP and former state president of the party Nirmal Singh said:“Not only will the National Flag be hoisted but also homage will be paid to martyrs like Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Brig Rajinder Singh and Maqbool Sherwani.”

As part of the BJP’s ‘Rashtriya Ekta Yatra’, starting from Kolkatta, the party has decided to unfurl the National flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day, he said.The BJP was conducting the yatra to convey a message of unity, and the yatra, after covering several states would reach Jammu and Kashmir, which was an integral part of the country, he added.

Instead of opposing it, the Chief Minister should have welcomed it, but unfortunately, he had always toed the line of the separatists in Kashmir, Singh chided, and asked how the Chief Minister could forget Maqbool Sherwani. Reacting to Omar’s warning, Singh said, “It appears that by asking us to stay away from Kashmir, the Chief Minister wanted to instigate the people of Kashmir. There is no difference between Omar Abdullah and separatist leader Yasin Malik.”

It was a nationwide campaign for unity and solidarity. How could one oppose it, he asked. 

Srinagar, January 6
Reminding the people of his efforts to pave the way for addressing political issues, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said despite fighting the 2008 Assembly elections on the development plank he also focused on the settlement of the state’s political matters.

Addressing a public meeting in the Ashmuqam area of Anantnag district today after laying the foundation stone of two bridges on the Ladder nullah, the Chief Minister underlined the importance of dialogue to discuss viewpoints and work out solutions to the problems.

Omar impressed upon the separatist leaders to be partners in peace and the political resolution of the issues in a cordial and conducive atmosphere by participating in the dialogue process. “Nothing can be resolved by violence. We have witnessed a saga of 20 years of bloodshed and have recently gone through five months of disturbances without yielding any positive results,” he said, adding that the loss of over 100 lives during the recent turmoil in the Valley was an unfortunate chapter.

“The development process during these months received a severe setback and the funds earmarked for the upgrade of health care facilities, development of roads and bridges, improvement in the power sector, upgrading of education etc. could not be utilised as per the schedule. Now, the unfortunate period is over and we are looking towards a peaceful and prosperous era,” he said expressing the hope that the process of development would move on along with dialogue for political issues.

Jammu, January 6
With the arrival of New Year, Adbi Kunj , a multi-literary organisation, organised its first literary meet of year 2011 at the literary centre here yesterday.

According to a statement issued here, an eminent Kashmiri and Urdu poet and writer, Dr Nazam-ul-Din of Sopore, presided over the the meet, while another renowned Gojri and Urdu poet of Ganderbal district, Choudhary Mohammad Adrees Shah, was the chief guest. Wahid Musafar, another Kashmiri and Urdu poet of Srinagar, was also present.

In the opening of the meet, Sham Talib, president of the organisation, extended good wishes and greetings for New Year to all participants.

Talib also remembered Nargis Sitara, the founder vice-president of the organisation who died last year. In the meeting it was unanimously decided to organise special functions to pay tributes to Nargis Sitara, Rehber Jadeed and Dr RC Gupta.

It was also decided to organise a special literary function “Saz-Nur-Awas” in the honour of famous singer and music composer Darmesh Nargotra. As a part of the interactive session, a special paper “Kawan-e-Adbi Kunj” was read out by Sham Talib, covering the 36 years of contributions of the organisation towards different languages and their literature.

The other collections presented on the occasion were an Urdu write-up “Yahan Pagri Uchhalti Hai” by Jaswant Singh, a Hindi short story “Moung Phali Ke Chhilke” by MS Kamra, a Punjabi short story “Raja te Sewak” by KL Dewana, a Hindi short story “Tamasha” by Ved Upal, and a Dogri short story “Doshi” was also presented by Sham Talib.

Jammu, January 6
The Jammu-based Defence PRO, Lt Col Biplab Nath, today presented an exclusive photo album pertaining to various ceremonial events of the Northern Command to Lt-Gen Jasbir Singh, chief of staff, Northern Command. On behalf of the Directorate of Public Relations (DPR), Ministry of Defence, Lt Col Nath presented the album at the Northern Command Headquarters in Udhampur.

The photographs were taken by SN Acharaya, photo officer of the DPR, who provided photo coverage during various events from December 30, 2010 to January 1, 2011.

The General was briefed by the PRO on media matters pertaining to

White Knight Corps. Lt Col Nath also touched upon media-related issues pertaining to the forthcoming visits. Lt-Gen Jasbir Singh appreciated the quality of photographs and congratulated the PRO and photo officer for their efforts.

Udhampur, January 6
The Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, PK Pole, today ordered the suspension of six government school teachers and termination of two others from service with immediate effect.

The action was taken against the teachers for being absent from duty during the surprise checking by the DC. He visited the Chenkah area of the district for the purpose, and found that some government schools were either closed or the teachers were absent.

Those placed under suspension included Anil Kumar, Vimla Devi, Hem Raj and Neelam Devi of the Government Middle School, Kakda, Dharam Singh of the Middle School, Chinkah, and Adbul Gufar, senior assistant of the Zonal Education Office, Chenkah.

He directed the chief education officer (CEO), Reasi, Kushal Kumar, to issue termination orders of two Reheber-e-Taleem teachers, Abdul Gani of Primary School, Upper Kakda, and Sunita of Primary School, Lower Kakda. The CEO was also directed to submit an inquiry report within a week. All were attached to the office of the CEO.