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Juvenile boards in distress?
Jammu varsity set to uproot ragging
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CM’s hospital visit inconveniences patients
Kirni villagers return home across LoC fence
Author focuses on KPs’ plight in travelogue
Cash-for-vote scam
Dr Hajini to attend literary meets in US
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Juvenile boards in distress?
Jammu, April 26 A district board comprises deputy commissioner, tehsildar, chief medical officer, social welfare officer, assistant labour commissioner and public activists. Sources said due to preoccupations with other assignments babus had not been able to spare time for juveniles. Due to lackadaisical attitude of the government, the proposals for setting up a juvenile court, juvenile homes, special homes, observation homes and aftercare organisations have been hanging fire for many years. The board functions as a Bench of magistrates and has the powers conferred by the code of criminal procedures, Samvat 1989 on a chief judicial magistrate or the judicial magistrate of first class. Call it an irony, the JWB of Jammu district does not even have an office to carry out its operations. Earlier, the then DC would hold board meetings at his office, but the sources revealed that for the past five months board meetings had not been convened. The plight of other district boards is no different. “The juvenile Act makes it mandatory on part of the board to hold meetings on a daily basis, but the rules are not being followed,” said a social activist working for the rehabilitation of abandoned children. “We have been facing problems arranging shelter for abandoned children and newborns. Basically, it is the job of the board but it exists on paper only,” added. Rakesh Vaid, a board member and assistant labour commissioner, Jammu, said: “Holding board meetings is the prerogative of its chairman. I am one of the board members who attend the meetings only when invited”. When asked about the month in which last meeting was held, he said: “I cannot recall, you better ask the chairman”. CMO Baldev Raj, who is also a board member, said: “The board has not been convening meetings for the past one and half month. Only chairman of the board can tell you the reason”. Atul Gupta, district social welfare officer, Jammu, maintained that meetings were not being convened due to ongoing panchayat elections. “In our earlier meetings, we had sent proposal to the government for allotment of land for the board offices. The board has also proposed for juvenile court and homes besides observation homes.” “The last meeting was held in November or December in which decisions taken in the previous meeting were reviewed,” said another member of the board, advocate Deepika Thussoo. “Even issues related to the custody of many abandoned children are long overdue as the board is not meeting,” she said and added, “I personally believe that the board is sinking due to obvious reasons. The government must seek a status reports from the DCs over the functioning of boards in the state”. Sanjeev Verma, chairman of the board, and Jammu DC, was not available for comments. |
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Jammu varsity set to uproot ragging
Jammu, April 26 On its part, the state government recently passed an Anti-Ragging Bill to deal with violators more strictly. To ensure that the directions of the Supreme Court on ragging is followed in letter and spirit, the university authorities have pasted a number of posters and pamphlets on all notice boards and important places to inform the students that ragging is prohibited. The authorities have also uploaded UGC guidelines on ragging on the university’s website. All these measures are being taken to ensure that not even a single incident of ragging takes place. The university has also constituted an anti-ragging squad comprising senior officials to deal with any such incident, if it occurs. A visit to the University reveals the seriousness on the part of the authorities in deal with this menace. A senior official of the university said, “We have appealed to the senior students to deal with the freshers as their family members”. He added, “The students have also agreed that they will not bring a bad name to this prestigious institution by indulging in ragging”. The university has also been taking an affidavit from the students that they will not get indulge
in ragging or any other illegal activity. “If any student found involved in any such incident, he will be expelled and booked under the law,” said the official. However, he added that there was nothing to worry about, but “sometimes students belonging to different communities do indulge in illegal activities that’s why we are adopting preventive measures”. |
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CM’s hospital visit inconveniences patients
Srinagar, April 26 At each of these gates was parked bullet proof APC vehicles to keep a strict vigil on the passers by so as to ensure smooth visit of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to the hospital recently. While the attendants and visitors arriving from different areas with lunch and other requisite items for the kin attending on their patients admitted to the hospital were made to wait for several hours, only medical and para-medical staff members of the oldest tertiary hospital, were allowed entry or exit. “You can enter the hospital, but the vehicle has to be parked somewhere away from the premises not even in the sight of the police and security personnel,” said a visitor as he
was confronted by a policeman outside one of the gates to the hospital. “The security arrangement is tight and nothing can be carried to or out of the hospital,” said a para-medical staff member, who had come out to offer prayers in the afternoon. Scores of people, both visitors with patients and attendants of those admitted indoors were made to wait for long hours before the Chief Minister concluded his visit. Many of those waiting outside the Emergency gate complained of being made to wait with suffering patients. Amid all this the CM inaugurated a new Casualty Block at the SMHS hospital. The modern facility developed at a cost of over Rs 6.94 crore comprises three-storey complex equipped with modern medical gadgets and surgical competence. The casualty block comprises of five modern operation theatres with all latest equipments, 26 passenger bed lifts, a 20-bedded medical emergency ward and a 30-bedded surgical emergency unit. The CM also inaugurated Oncology Block and Cath Lab there. Minister for Medical Education RS Chib, Minister of State for Health Javid Ahmad Dar, Advisor to the CM Mubarak Gul, the Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir and principal of Government Medical College, Srinagar, were also present on the occasion. The CM inspected all units of the emergency block and received detailed brief about its construction status and functioning schedule. The CM said upgradation of health facility and consolidation in the sector was his government’s priority. “While we have concentrated on equipping the health infrastructure with qualified personnel and modern appliances to improve the healthcare delivery, we are also on upgrading and enhancing the medical service in the state,” he added. The CM said the new casualty block opened for general public would enhance the emergency healthcare service system and attend to the important needs on this front. He said, “Emergency treatment to save human lives is a significant and critical discipline of healthcare and the government is giving due attention to it.” He further said creation of a new specialised medical facilities at the twin cities of Srinagar and Jammu and upgradation of existing healthcare disciplines had been flagged priority concern along with universalising better healthcare service in the rural areas so that the extraordinary patient rush in the hospitals at towns is reduced and people in the villages get medical treatment at their door steps. “District, sub-district and other government hospitals are being provided with modern medical machinery and other facilities to provide better treatment to the patients,” he said underlining the need for sincere service by the doctors and para-medical staff to the patients. “At the end of the day it is the zest and dedication to the profession, which makes service up to the mark,” he told medical fraternity. |
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Kirni villagers return home across LoC fence
Jammu, April 26 After putting in place proper checks and balances Army in tandem with the Poonch civil administration relocated these villagers to their native village on the other side of the barbed fence on April 21. Kirni, a small village with the population of nearly 1,400, is located along the Kirni and Dorungli Nullah in Poonch. The village is spread right up to the LoC. The life of the people of this village had been in turmoil for many decades as they often get caught in cross-LoC fire between India and Pakistan. Firing was particularly intense during the year preceding Operation Vijay and up to Operation Parakaram and the villagers had to bear the brunt. In 2004, the villagers were evacuated to two new colonies, namely Kallu Colony and New Colony, which were away from the LoC. While the villagers were permitted to work on their fields during the day, they were required to return to the colonies before dusk. The above arrangement, although implemented for the safety of the people, put them to considerable inconvenience. Each day, they had to leave behind their elders, women and children at the colonies before going to work. The condition to return to the designated colonies at night also meant that they had to leave behind their livestock in fields and unattended. Further, the land and houses that the people were given in lieu of original land and homes were very meagre and did not compensate them adequately for their hardships. The LoC fence was also constructed at about the same time. While Kallu Colony remained ahead of the fence, New Colony was located behind it. The construction of the fence resulted in more hardships for the people of New Colony as they had to pass through additional checks before being permitted to go ahead of the fence. After the Indo-Pak ceasefire agreement and implementation of confidence building measures, relative calm prevailed along the LoC. Subsequently, the people of Kirni village approached the Army and the civil authorities for their return to the original homes ahead of the LoC fence. The authorities however, were of the view that location of Kirni village and terrain obtaining in the area was prone to infiltration. Due to the presence of terrorists at launch pads opposite the village, it would be preferable to keep the area ahead of the LoC fence free from people so as to prevent atrocities on locals by terrorists and collateral damage during Army operations. Keeping in view the security concerns, shifting all villagers, including those from New Colony, behind the LoC fence with adequate compensation or realigning the current fence along the reverse slopes of Kirni Spur were being considered earlier. However, the stalemate ensued as the security concerns with respect to the population remained as there was always a large strength of terrorists opposite this area. The stalled issue was given a major impetus by the GOC, Ace of Spades Division, Maj-Gen Om Prakash who, fully empathising with the people’s plight, advocated that the way forward was to relocate the people of Kirni ahead of the LoC fence. In a meeting held at Kirni in June last year, chaired by the GOC and attended by DC Poonch Maulana Ghulam Qadir, prominent people of Kirni and other officials from the administration, a strategy involving active participation of people of Kirni and phase-wise relocation was worked out. The villagers signed a declaration stating that they will not indulge in any terrorist or anti-national activities. They have also worked out a plan to relocate the people in a gradual manner in six phases. The police has also established a post near the village to ensure security of the villagers. It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had deputed the divisional commissioner and IGP to assess the situation and take up the issue with the district administration and the Army to find out a workable solution. Accordingly, the Army and the civil administration jointly chalked out a strategy to relocate these villagers in a phased manner. |
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Author focuses on KPs’ plight in travelogue
Jammu, April 26 The travelogue is one of the first to make the reader know the truth that tries to unmask the real tragedy of ordinary Kashmiris and describes how guiding principles of their lives got a severe mauling and changed their identity. The Kashmir-born author, who recently visited his homeland after 18 years, in this travelogue, brings out the tragedy of the Kashmiri Pandits (KPs), who were driven into exodus of unparalleled magnitude in modern times. Dr Chowdhury mentions that two decades later, the institutions of KPs, their estates and their temples lie in a shambles. To add to it, their gods lie abandoned and forlorn, looking for devotees who had fled in fear. The author poses a query: What hope for a reconciliation and reconstruction of the devastated social and cultural edifice that was the hallmark of Kashmir? The Governor while describing Dr Chowdhury’s book as an excellent piece of literature, hoped that he would continue to write and receive awards for his works. Dr Chowdhury has already been awarded by the state government for his book “The enchanting World of Infants”. Recalling Dr Chowdhury’s reference to noted author Theodor Adorno, the Governor reiterated the quotation for the latter’s work: “For a man who no longer has a homeland, writing becomes a place to live”. He was all praise for the physician, who had equally flair for writing. The Governor stressed the need for promoting tolerance, brotherhood and harmony to foster a peaceful, productive and orderly society. Referring to the Partition of the country and uprooting of millions of people from their homes, Vohra said when societies lose balance and give up tolerance, the consequences of such unfortunate episodes lead to disastrous situations. He stressed the need to ponder over such events in history. The Governor said whatever were the ideologies and objectives of any political organisation, society at large must not allow the evolution of an environment which results in destroying the civilisational moorings of the people. |
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Cash-for-vote scam
Jammu, April 26 The famous face of “Sas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi”, Smriti Irani, has been travelling different parts of the Jammu region to convince women folk to join the party. Although the party has been claiming that Smriti’s programme had been scheduled before the cross-voting episode, sources disclosed that her visits were arranged only to revive the shattered confidence of the party workers. Dedicated BJP workers were de-motivated after seven of the 11 party MLAs voted in favour of Congress and National Conference (NC) candidates in the Legislative Council elections held on April 13. During the past one year, the BJP has been agitating against the coalition regime, headed by Omar Abdullah, for challenging accession of the state with Indian Union. Incidentally top brass of the BJP, including its former president Rajnath Singh, and national general and spokesman Ravi Shanker Parshad, was in the state when BJP MLAs cross voted. Meanwhile, addressing a rally at Sunderbani town of Rajouri district Smriti said the BJP was the most disciplined party and the party was committed to fight corruption, price-rise and black money which were spurious elements and had been destroying the nation. Referring to the cross voting issue, Smriti said the action taken by the high command over the issue had to be accepted by everyone in the party and any comment in this regard amounted to indiscipline. She also firmly apprised that the party did not believe in dynastic rule. Any party worker, who was sincere and dedicated, could rise to occupy the chair of even party’s national president. Appreciating Mahila Morcha activities, she said during her first visit to Jammu last time she was quite hopeful that Mahila Morcha activists would set up Nari Shakti Kendras and take up problems of women like their economic uplift through self-help groups, awareness about their rights, awareness about corrupt practices etc and she was happy to know that the work in this direction had been initiated. She mainly spoke on issues like widely prevalent corruption in the country, abnormal price rise of all essentials and black money. |
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Dr Hajini to attend literary meets in US
Srinagar, April 26 Convener Kashmiri Advisory Board at National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Academy), New Delhi, Dr Hajini, is one among 170 noted writers of the world, participating in these international-level conferences, seminars and debates, an official spokesman here said. Dr Hajini is one of the five writers selected from India for participation in these international multi-lingual literary events. The events are being organised by the United Nations Academic Impact and the Indian High Commission, Ottawa, Canada. Local coordinating agency is the Indian Council for Cultural Relation, New Delhi. |
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jammu diary
As the mercury has started soaring, it has become a common sight to see people, especially children and youth, taking a dip in the Ranvir canal. During summer, most of the people from Jammu prefer to go to the Chenab in Akhnoor to cool off. However, many other bathe in the cool water of Ranbir canal which is an off shoot of the Chenab. Visit the stretch of the canal and you will find it mobbed with the people ready to jump into the water. BJP leaders up against each other
After the cash-for-vote controversy, the “disciplined” BJP leaders have been seizing all opportunities to expose each other. As many as seven suspended MLAs have been targeting four of their colleagues who were given clean chit by the party in the cross-voting episode. The MLAs “loyal” to the party are even instigating journalists to grill the “detractors” who voted in favour of Congress and NC candidates in the Legislative Council elections. During a press conference which was organised by suspended BJP legislative party leader Chaman Lal Gupta, a senior party leader who got a clean chit despite his dubious role in the scandal, was seen asking mediapersons to grill Gupta. He even gave some clues to the journalists. The rival factions, on the other hand, were targeting the same leader by highlighting his proximity with the ruling elites.
(Contributed by Ashutosh Sharma and Dinesh Manhotra) |
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