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Report on militancy victims
Lack of manpower affects NRHM implementation
Talented sportsman feels let down by government
Pipes ‘n’ drums: Jammu jailbirds play a new tune
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Legislative Council
Hangul census report sent to Wildlife Institute
Jammu lawyer invited by Nani Palkhiwala Arbitration Centre
Udhampur Round-up
SRINAGAR DIARY
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Report on militancy victims
Jammu, April 1 Justice on Trial is headed by Justice SM Soni, a former Justice of the Gujarat High Court and a former lok ayukta of Gujarat. It has also availed the services of Justice VS Kokje, a former Governor of Himachal Pradesh, in conducting a detailed report on militancy-infested areas of the region. Maya Bohra and Dr Yogesh Patel, a psychologist and a psychiatrist, respectively, who conducted the psychological analysis of victims, observe that long-term disturbance of law and order situation in the province, comprising 10 districts, has certain detrimental effects on the population as a whole and also that the ulterior goal of the terrorist activity is likely to be achieved if the state does not act immediately. “Due to chronic insurgency in the province, the worst affected people are children and women, who are going to be the future of the country,” observe the two experts, adding that for a period of over 10 years children have been deprived of their normal psychological development. As schools were closed, students, having nothing else to do, fell prey to unlawful and anti-social activities as well as other deviant behaviour like drug abuse, which are sponsored by terrorists, states the report. The normal family life has been uprooted and dysfunctional attitude has been rising, which is going unnoticed by the authorities, comment the experts. They also mention that the normal social fabric of the province is no more in existence. There are more broken homes, giving rise to insecure and vulnerable youth. The most affected population is of children between the age of five years to 15 years, whose mindset is full of revenge, resentment and destructive tendencies, which encourages their animal instincts and ultimately turn them hostile towards society and the country. “They naturally become easy recruits for the terrorists looking for garnering local support, getting logistics and to make them work as informers,” observe the two experts. They also observe that there is tremendous pain because of the loss of their near and dear ones and material possessions, which has been ruthlessly snatched away from them in the protracted spell of militancy. They are suffering from hunger, unemployment, exploitation etc and the saddest part is that the government aid which is meant for them is not reaching them properly. Thus the relief they should have got is not being given to them, states the report. Besides drug abuse and unemployment, experts also observe that domestic violence has also seen an upward trend in militancy-hit parts of Jammu region. Drawing the conclusion the experts observe that residents of the region are caught in a vicious cycle leading to social drifts hampering employment, relationship and many other severe problems. “It is very sad that people are living for the sake of living and not leading a natural healthy life,” the report concluded.
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Lack of manpower affects NRHM implementation
Jammu, April 1 There is shortage of both the medial and paramedical staff. In a reply to the question of PDP MLA Abdul Rehman Veeri in the Legislative Assembly, Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma admitted that the NRHM programme could not be fully implemented due to lack of manpower. He said engagement of manpower was time consuming as the district health societies were required to fulfill several formalities regarding the selection of candidates. The minister said against 4,744 positions of doctors and paramedical staff, only 3,781 could be filled. As far as the NRHM was concerned, there was no shortage of funds to create infrastructure, he added. When asked whether it was a fact that sufficient infrastructure and manpower had not been provided in most of the hospitals, the minister stated that in view of the increasing demand for healthcare services, the department was constantly trying to improve the infrastructure. When Congress MLA from Bhaderwah Mohammad Sharief Niaz drew attention of the minister towards the shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in his area, Sharma admitted that manpower shortage had been affecting the working of medical institutions mainly in Bhaderwah, Bhallesa and Thathri blocks. He said shortage of doctors in peripheral institutions had been met to some extent by engaging doctors on a contractual basis under the NHRM scheme. Replying to another query of Congress MLA Indu Pawar regarding steps to be taken to control TB in the remote hilly districts of Kishtwar, Ramban, Doda, Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua, Kupwara and Kargil, the minister said under the revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme camps were being oraganised regularly for the detection and treatment of TB. He further said a team of doctors had been constituted at district levels, who were conducting regular checkups of schoolchildren in different parts of the state. “During the current financial year, as many as 2.59 lakh schoolchildren were examined by these teams,” he said.
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Talented sportsman feels let down by government
Srinagar, April 1
Gullaulam Geer, a resident of Srinagar, has won various awards at the national and international level in martial art. Despite this, he says the government has not extended any helping hand to him. “At the age of eight, I won my first medal in sub-junior category and since then there is no looking back as it was then I decided to pursue martial arts as a profession,” says Geer. “Since my childhood, I was fascinated with the forms of martial arts and I dedicated myself to the game and learned various forms of the art,” he says. Geer says in 2006, he got his first opportunity to play an international event in Thailand, but despite his efforts to get sponsorship from the state government, he did not get any. “It was my father who took some loan from other people and arranged money for me and I participated in the event,” Geer rues. He says the event was the international championship of “Muoy-Thai”, a Thai martial art in which he won the bronze medal. “I stood third in the world and first in India in the event and when I returned home there was no recognition from the state government,” Geer resents. After that, Geer won several medals at the national and international events, but failed to find a single sponsor. “After failing to get recognition, I switched over to boxing and thought that I would get a sponsorship from the government, but again I was dejected.” He even went to the Chief Minister’s office, but to no avail. Geer now plans to open a boxing school in Srinagar so that he could train the next generation.
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Pipes ‘n’ drums: Jammu jailbirds play a new tune
Jammu, April 1 The 12-member band, all lifers, is a part of the jail authorities’ experimental plan to reform the prisoners and create opportunities for them once they are out. “Once a criminal is not always a criminal. With changing times, it was required to change our thinking,” said Rajni Sehgal, senior superintendent of the jail. And what better way to change than with music. “This is food for the soul. It dilutes the mind’s cruelty, hate and aggression,” she said. Narinder Sharma, in his late 30s, serving life imprisonment, is the band master. The members of the group, attired in red and black colour police band uniforms with “jail band” embossed on the masts of the pipes, do not look like prisoners, nor do they feel like one. “When we change into this uniform and start practising, we forget that we are prisoners,” said Mohammad Yasin, who plays the pipe. The prisoners declined to say what crimes they have been convicted for. Sehgal says the focus is to reform the prisoners. “He has to come back into society after completing the confinement. The idea is to make them self-dependent and strong so that they do not revert back to crime”. Bhupinder Singh, who has been in the jail for 16 years, said: “I used to work as a weaver or in “langar” (kitchen) earlier and I was under a lot of depression. But after I joined the band, I am feeling better”. The start was not easy. More than grappling with pipes and tunes, the prisoners had to convince themselves they could do it. “We never believed that we will be able to play the band,” said Mohammad Yasin. The band can now play the National Anthem and a number of Hindi, Dogri and Kashmiri songs. “Though we love to play any music, my favourite is a Bollywood song ‘jaane waale aaja teri yaad sataaye’,” said Singh. Sharma said he told his father, who came to meet him last month, about his learning the pipe and being the band master. “He was happy and delighted.... as I am expecting to be released for good conduct. I can earn my livelihood when I go home,” he said. Now the band wants to venture out - well literally. “We want that this band should play at public functions now,” one of the band members said. To this jail superintendent Sehgal said: “Why not? The state Home Department is already working on the modalities of how this band can play in public functions. The day is not far away when this will happen”. — IANS
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Legislative Council
Jammu, April 1 The issue was discussed in the House, when Mohammad Amin Bhat of the Congress asked what steps were being taken to facilitate the legislators and other dignitaries staying at the JK Guest House in Delhi. On this, Naresh Gupta of the Congress also added, “The bed sheets are torn, televisions are also not functioning, no heating systems have been provided at the JK Guest House. So, the department should immediately take action in this regard”. Another legislator, BR Magrey of the Congress said, “It is more of a slaughter house than a guest house. The acting chairman has also raised this issue with the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a meeting, but no action has been taken in this regard as yet”. He added, “The peons deputed there do not respond to the guests. Fresh staff should be sent from Srinagar, so that the situation could improve”. On this, Abdul Rahim Rather accepted the guests were facing problems there. He said, “The Resident Commission has been provided with Rs 15 lakh for the purchase of furniture and furnishing of the guest house”. Murtaza Ahmad Khan of the PDP said, “One Member of Parliament is residing at the Guest House for almost two years, despite the fact having a government owned residential accommodation in Delhi”. Some other members namely Vijay Bakaya of the NC, Amrit Malhotra of the Congress also raised the same issue. Meanwhile, Mohammad Amin Bhat said, “If we talk about the Guest Houses for legislators in our own state, the condition is pitiable. Even an insect will not stay there”. After a long discussion, Rather said, “I knew the legislators will raise a number of questions, as the issue is related to them”. Specifically replying to Murtaza’s question, he said, “Yes, it is true that MP Mohammad Shafi Uri had stayed there, as the Union Government had requested us to provide him an accommodation. Can anyone refuse Centre’s request? But now, he has shifted to the accommodation provided to him by the government”. While replying to the questions of other members, he said, “The Resident Commission is already in the progress of upgrading the system. Besides this, the Indian Tourism Development Corporation has also been approached to organise a refresher training course for its staff in housekeeping, front office and room service”. He also accepted the vehicles with the Guest House were in bad shape and the Resident Commission had requested the state government to replace them. |
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Hangul census report sent to Wildlife Institute
Srinagar, April 1 He said hangul (Kashmir stag) was a critically endangered species found mainly in the state’s Dachigam National Park and the adjoining areas. “Conservation of this species assumes great significance as this is the only survivor of the red deer group in the Indian subcontinent,” he said. The Department of Wildlife Protection in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India has been regularly monitoring the hangul population in Dachigam National Park and the adjoining areas since 2004 through researchers, university students, institutions, individuals and NGOs. “The recent hangul population census was conducted from March 17 to March 24, 2011 in Dachigam National Park and the adjoining areas like Dara, Cheshmashahi, Khrew, Shikargah, Tral, Hajin and Satura Wildlife Conservation Reserves and the adjoining forest areas of Akhal, Najwan, Surfrao and Mammar. |
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Jammu lawyer invited by Nani Palkhiwala Arbitration Centre
Jammu, April 1 Rohit Kapoor has also been appointed as a consultant for post-award contract legal management to a US-based company engaged in construction projects there. According to the concept, as put by Kapoor, lots of attention gets paid to the processes leading up to the signing of a contract - things like strategic sourcing. Those processes get attention because they produce the first statement of how much money will be earned in a contract. It has been observed that the government and industry focus their time, attention and key resources on soliciting, proposing, negotiating, and forming the contract-simply said, getting the deal. Without contract management to ensure that those earnings are realized, it’s likely that the settled amounts will differ greatly from the actual. Kapoor has also received an invitation from the Australian Forum for International Arbitration. He had recently been invited to attend the seventh empanelment workshop on “Domestic and International Arbitration-Law, Procedure and Awards in New Delhi by the Construction Industry Arbitration Council in association with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
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Udhampur Round-up A lok adalat and legal awareness camp was held recently on the premises of Sub-Judge Court, Ramnagar, under the chairmanship of Sub-Judge, Ramnagar, Kalpna Revo, who is also the chairman of the Tehsil Legal Services Committee. Advocates as well as several tehsil-level officers also attended the programme and helped in negotiations and reconciliation for amicable settlements of disputes of litigants. A large number of people attended the programme and acquired knowledge about the legal aid and lok adalats. As many as 13 cases were taken up at the lok adalat, out of which 10 cases were settled on the spot. The adalat also disposed of seven traffic challans. A compounding fine of Rs 2,275 was also recovered on the spot. — TNS First-aid camps for migratory livestock
Keeping in view the migration of livestock of sheep and goats towards highland pastures, the District Sheep Husbandry Officer has ordered for the establishment of first aid camps at various locations of the district to provide first aid to migratory livestock en route. The locations of the camps would be at TCP Udhampur, Dramthal, Kud, Majouri, Dudu, Nallaha Mallian and Kaitha. The concerned officers have been asked to display signboards/ banners written in English and Urdu at the prominent place for the convenience of sheep breeders. The Agriculture Dept holds awareness camps
With a view to making the farming community aware of the latest technology in agriculture, especially the use of hybrid vegetable seeds for increasing vegetable production, the Agriculture Department recently held farmer awareness camps with a focus on seed treatment in the hilly areas, including Latti, Dudu, Jakhed, Sarota, Bandole, Begger and Pundal in the Agriculture Extension Zone, Latti of Udhampur district. Gopal Sharma, agriculture extension officer, Latti, attended these camps with his field staff who delivered lectures on the subject for the general awareness of farmers. He asked the farmers to grow such cash crops to substantiate their income under the Technology Mission, RKVY of the Agriculture Department. Gopal further said the department had also distributed hybrid vegetable seeds of ladyfinger, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, tomato, chili, brinjal and cucumber free of cost to vegetable growers, besides knapsack spray pumps, sickles on 25 per cent subsidy and plastic crates, fungicides, pesticides and insecticides on 50 per cent subsidy. — TNS Awareness-cum-demonstration camp
The Civil Defence Organisation, Udhampur, recently organised a one-day awareness-cum-demonstration camp at the Kalra College of Education, Udhampur, under the supervision of Bodh Raj, deputy controller, Civil Defence, Udhampur. Rita Kalra, director, Kalra College of Education, was the chief guest on the occasion. Principal of the college Ranjna Sharma, deputy chief wardens Ved Parkash and advocate Swantantar Dev Kotwal, civil defence wardens, staff and students of the college attended the programme. Deputy chief wardens of the Civil Defence, Udhampur, delivered detailed lectures on different measures to be adopted for safeguarding life and property in the event of natural or man-made disasters. Rita, while speaking on the occasion, lauded the role of the Civil Defence Organisation, Udhampur, for holding the camp on the premises of the college for the benefit of students and hoped that the effort would go a long way in protecting the precious lives and property in the event of war, any fire breakout and other exigencies effectively. On the occasion, live demonstrations of different rescue operations and use of equipments in disaster management were also organised by the trained instructor of the Civil Defence. — TNS |
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Kashmir in bloom
The Kashmir valley is once again in full bloom with the early spring flowers, tulips, almond blossoms and the mustard flowering attracting people everywhere. The hard and harsh winter has generated a fresh hope of a full-bloom spring and a prosperous summer ahead. There are huge stocks of snow on the high mountains around the valley, which will help enrich water resources for agricultural and horticultural produce during the months ahead. These water resources are also utilized for power generation in Kashmir’s hydel projects to light up homes. Not only this, the blooming mustard crop has adorned vast agricultural fields as of now. The farmers have started working in the fields ahead of the farming season. The full blossoming of the mustard crop (see photo) is the first sign of a prosperous farming season ahead. Cricket buff Omar
During the recent World Cup semi-final cricket match between the arch rivals India and Pakistan, the twitter followers of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah saw his new avatar as the latter turned into a commentator of the game and gave a ball-by-ball account. Omar not only shared his comments with the followers but also expressed disappointment when the players lost their wickets. Omar expressed unhappiness when Yuvraj Singh lost his wicket at zero, but the Chief Minister was all praise for the all-rounder after he did wonders with the ball and took two wickets. The Chief Minister replied to all the tweets of his followers as he could not escape the excitement of the game. The Chief Minister expressed extreme happiness when India won the match. This was not for the first time that the Chief Minister shared his views on the social networking site as he has been doing so for the past many months. This has become a platform for the common people to connect with their Chief Minister who otherwise cannot meet him in person. (Contributed by |
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The Kashmir valley is once again in full bloom with the early spring flowers, tulips, almond blossoms and the mustard flowering attracting people everywhere. The hard and harsh winter has generated a fresh hope of a full-bloom spring and a prosperous summer ahead. There are huge stocks of snow on the high mountains around the valley, which will help enrich water resources for agricultural and horticultural produce during the months ahead.
