Srinagar, May 13
Stating that government was committed to universalise elementary education in the state, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has approved 100 mobile schools for Gujjars and Bakerwals to enable the children of migratory population get proper education. Omar has also sought a proposal for opening of more such schools with adequate arrangements for teaching staff.

The Chief Minister also directed for a comprehensive proposal for mobile medical centres (MMCs) for these communities to ensure their health cover during migration from one place to another. He asked the Health Department to move forward in this direction early and work out a befitting strategy in this regard.

Omar was chairing a high level meeting here recently to discuss issues relating to the revival of mobile schools and MMCs for the Gujjar and Bakerwal population, the scheme which was opened by the then Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah received a setback during the period of militancy, an official spokesman said.

Omar had earlier indicated the revival of the scheme to facilitate the migratory population on both education and health fronts. He had made his intension clear regarding this aspect on a couple of occasions while chairing district board and public meetings.

The meeting was attended by Peerzada Mohammad Syed, Minister for School Education; Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister for Forests; Shyam Lal Sharma, Minister for Health; Javid Ahmad Dar, Minister of State for Health; Devender Singh Rana, Political Adviser to the Chief Minister; Bashir Ahmad Naaz, vice-chairman, Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board; Madhav Lal, chief secretary; BB Vyas, principal secretary to the Chief Minister; Suresh Kumar, commissioner secretary Health; and senior officers from Education and Health Departments.

During the meeting, the Minister for School Education presented the resume of present arrangements put in place by the Education Department to reach out to the children of Gujjars and Bakerwals for elementary education. He said education was being imparted to these students through seasonal schools, which, however, function for five to six months only.

The Minister for Forests highlighted the efficacy for reviving mobile schools and MMCs for the migratory population and said that it would help provide good education and health facilities to these communities.

The vice-chairman, Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board, also explained the necessity of such centres for these communities.

Jammu, May 13
With the sudden increase in temperature and unscheduled power cuts, the price of ice slabs has shot up considerably during the past one week.

An ice slab, which was earlier available for Rs 240, is currently being sold for Rs 350 in the wholesale market.

With this sudden increase in prices, where the consumers are at the receiving end, the ice manufacturers have been blaming the state government for not providing them adequate power supply to meet the gap between demand and supply.

“The temperature is hovering around 40 degree Celsius and there is a huge demand of ice. The ongoing marriage season has also led to manifold increase in the demand. However, erratic power supply is hampering the production, which has resulted into rise in price,” said Bobby Kumar, an ice manufacturer of Narwal.

He added, “Due to intense heat wave, a large portion of the ice slabs melts during transportation, which is also a reason behind the price rise”.

He said the season lasted for a very short period. “As soon as the rainy season starts, the demand of ice drops. So, this is the best time to earn money, but poor power supply is playing the spoilsport as we are running into losses,” added Bobby.

A restaurant owner said the demand of ice had almost doubled, but the supply was much less, so the ice manufacturers were charging hefty price.

“The local administration should immediately look into the matter, otherwise the common man would not be able to purchase ice in the coming days,” said Rakesh Kumar of Sharma Restaurant at Gole Market here.

However, officials of the local administration said they were regularly keeping a check on the prices of such commodities. “The price of ice has gone up just because of the increase in temperature and it will be come down soon,” said an official.

Srinagar, May 13
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here recently reviewed the progress of transfer of land to the Central University, Kashmir, being established at Ganderbal and impressed upon the officers to finalise the transfer of land to the university as soon as possible so that the construction of the complex takes place.

The meeting was informed that 1,650 kanals had already been transferred to the Higher Education D.epartment for onward transfer to the university, while more 430 kanals would be transferred soon. It was informed that arrangements were being finalised for the transfer of another 1,400 kanals.

Vice Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir, Prof Abdul Wahid, said the university was presently functioning at a temporary campus and three subjects of M.Sc IT, MA English and MBA were being taught at present. He said five more subjects of economics, mass media and journalism, mathematics and five-year course of BA, LLB were being started from June this year.

The District Development Commissioner, Ganderbal, explained the measures afoot to finalise the transfer of additional to the university. He said the university had demanded about 4,000 kanals and steps were afoot to provide the land to the university.

Jammu, May 13
If jeans-clad, Chavvi Rajawat, an MBA, bade adieu to the corporate world to serve her native village in backward Rajasthan, a 37-year old journalist of Jammu and Kashmir has also taken a plunge into politics to improve the socio-economic condition of the people in his village in militancy-infested district of Poonch.

Shafiq Mir has been unanimously elected as sarpanch of Poshana village in Bafliaz block of Poonch district. “He was elected unopposed because villagers wanted an educated and visionary man to lead them and their children to the path of development and awareness and they found Shafiq Mir as the perfect candidate,” said a civil administration official.

Talking to The Tribune, Shafiq Mir said, “Even today, this village is without electricity, medical facility, and road and telephone connectivity. Despite these shortcomings, several people belonging to this village have carved a niche for themselves in various spheres of life”.

“By electing me the villagers have reposed their faith in me and now I feel that there is a major responsibility on my shoulders,” said Mir.

This young man has a vision not only for his native village but also for the entire panchayati raj system.

“Poshana is located at the far-end of the district in the foothills of Pir Panjal range. In the 21st century, when development is the buzzword, the village with a population of 5,000 is still without basic amenities like electricity, medical facility, telephone and road connectivity, post office etc. It may come as a surprise but this village does not even have a ration depot,” he said, highlighting backwardness of this village vis-à-vis official apathy.

However, Mir strongly felt that if the government wanted to delegate powers to the grass-roots level then it had to ensure liberal financial assistance to panchayats.

Besides, the government should give powers to the panchayats to hold accountable various government agencies and local officials for development works. Otherwise, the whole purpose of forming the panchayats would be defeated, he added.

Mir is also of the view that the government should judge the performance of its officials as per the report submitted by the panchayats they are working in.

The journalist-turned-sarpanch also wants to wipe out corruption from the system, a reason enough for disgruntled officials in the district to act cautiously.

Uttersoo, Shangus (Anantnag), May 13
This sleepy village, located 10 km from the tourist spot of Achchabal in south Kashmir, is among the 110 model villages, entrusted by the Rural Development Department under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme during 2006-2008.

These villages are supposed to have all civic amenities like pucca streets and drains, safe drinking water and regular power supply. However, things are entirely different on ground, at least for this village that falls in Shangus block.

“We call it a mud village rather model village. That is the way the plight of this village can be described,” said Ghulam Hasan, a villager. The quality of life is pathetic in this village, which is located just 20 km from the district headquarters town of Anantnag.

“We had participated in a big way in the panchayat elections with the hope that our exploitation will end soon,” said another peasant.

The road from Achchabal to this village is in a condition of dilapidation, which has been damaging vehicles coming from Anantnag on the Achchabal-Nowgam-Shangus-Uttersoo route. Both sides of the 10-km road have been dug up and the sidewalls of culverts and bridges are missing. Due to this, commuters have to spend more than an hour to travel on the small stretch.

Waterlogged potholes, muddy slopes and dusty portions ruin the impact of fresh air coming from forest trees on one side and ripe mustard crop from vast fields on the other.

While Rs 23 crore was to be spent to recarpet the road, it has remained in poor condition for the past about three years. An amount of Rs 1.23 crore meant for the development of a model village also failed to make any difference as there is little sign of development in this village. Within the village, there are muddy lanes and drains which pour into a small brook that flows through the nearby jungles. There is no proper facility of safe drinking water and the villagers have to rely on the brook and make its use for washing clothes, utensils and drinking water.

The village is also faced with acute shortage of power due to poor infrastructure like wooden poles for transmission of power and worn-out wires. “We get power supply for hardly two-and-a-half hours in a day,” laments a villager. Despite being a model village, people here continue to suffer on various fronts. In view of its location, the government had decided to set up a degree college, but poor connectivity and lack of other facilities have been major problems of the residents, who have pinned hopes on the panchayat elections.

Srinagar, May 13
The government has planned to install hi-tech electronic lights in Srinagar and Jammu on the built operate own transfer (BOOT) basis to regulate the smooth flow of traffic in both cities.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened to review the functioning of the Transport Department under the chairmanship of Minister for Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon here recently, an official spokesman said.

The meeting was informed that 123 crossing points had been identified for the installation of signals, of which 68 were in Srinagar and 55 in Jammu city.

To implement the proposal at the ground level at the earliest to provide hassle-free traffic facilities to the people and check traffic congestion and jams in both cities, the minister constituted a four-member committee under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, with the Transport Commissioner, IGP, Traffic, and the Special Secretary, Home, as its other members. The committee would negotiate with the parties, who had offered their services to launch the project. The spokesman added that the committee would submit its recommendations for further action.

The meeting decided that the Housing and Urban Development Department would be the nodal agency for the purpose while the Traffic Department would provide maintenance and up-keep facilities. He underscored the need for the timely installation of traffic signals so that traffic on city roads was streamlined to a large extent. The minister urged the agencies concerned to check overloading and rash driving to curb mishaps.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has completed two-and-a-half years as the head of the coalition government, has fascination for two things, driving through high mountains and remaining in touch with people through social networking sites like Twitter. His fascination for driving through high mountains again came to fore when he recently drove from Jammu to the summer capital a day before the reopening of Civil Secretariat and other offices in Srinagar. He also drove 113 km from Srinagar to Gumri on the Srinagar-Leh highway to inspect the work on the highway (see photo).

When asked about his fascination for speed as he covered about 300 km distance in hilly area within six hours with half an hour lunch break, he said he was not driving his vehicle at a high speed that was controlled by escort vehicles which do not go beyond the speed of 80 km. “Otherwise it would have taken lesser time,” he commented.

Srinagar, May 13
Three stone-throwers of Baramulla, who were responsible for the death of an 11-day-old baby boy last year and were wanted in many cases, were arrested recently for abducting a woman and her 18-month-old child. The Baramulla police has solved a kidnapping case within 10 hours and arrested three wanted stone-throwers of the town for kidnapping a woman and her child from their house.

“The motive behind woman’s abduction was to molest her. All three accused are wanted stone-throwers, they are the ring leaders who last year instigated people to pelt stones in the name of religion and freedom and now they were caught in a kidnapping case,” SP, Baramulla, Dr Haseeb Mughal said.

Baramulla police station received a complaint from Javeed Ahmad Mir, a resident of Dardpora, Baramulla, that in the dead of the night three men forcibly broke into his house and beat him severely. The SP said the three accused, namely Suhail Nazir Sheikh (22), a resident of Toheedgunj in Baramulla, Naseer Ahmed Mir (23), and Suhail Ahmed Bhat (21), both residents of Mohalla Mir Sahib, were arrested from Qazigund in Anantnag and the abducted woman and her child were recovered. The Tata Sumo bearing registration number JK05/1690, which was used in the crime, was impounded.

Udhampur, May 13
The J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association in collaboration with J&K Bank Ltd, the J&K Police, Amar Memorial Trust, Katra, and Bamhag Kesari Dangal Committee is organising an annual Bamhag Kesari dangal on May 16 as a part of the upcoming three-day Moungri mela at Sardabbar, Kalsote, about 50 km from Udhampur. The decision in this regard was taken in a meeting at Katra held under the chairmanship of Shiv Kumar Sharma, president, J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association. Others present at the meeting were Swantanter Dev Kotwal, advocate, chairman, Lord Shiv-Parvati Caves (Moungri) Development Board, Major RS Manhas, NCC officer, Katra, and Sham Saroop Kalsotra, president, Chamber of Commerce, Udhampur.

The organisers put on record their appreciation for additional deputy commissioner (Udhampur) Rajinder Singh for sanctioning financial assistance to organise the popular wrestling competition. Sharma informed that it was also decided to honour the winner of the main bout as the best wrestler with a handsome cash prize in addition to “Silver Gurj and Patta”. Veteran coaches of this traditional form of wrestling from the area would also be felicitated, he added. This dangal is being organised regularly at Kalsote since 1999 on the eve of three-day mela, which begins from May 14. The organisers have requested Tehsildar Udhampur Sushil Kesar, who is also the mela officer to make foolproof arrangements of security and cleanliness in and around the venue of the competition.

Sharma said about 45 wrestlers from within and outside were expected to participate. Already wrestlers from Pathankot, Khanna, Amritsar, Attari, Jammu, Udhampur, Moungri, Roun - Domail, Panjar, Kalsote, Panchari, Ladda, Badota, Lander, Ramnagar, Lalli Danmote, Meer, Guglwan, Kainthgali, Sadi, Bansote, the J&K Police, BSF, the Army, Devigarh Jasserkote, Galiote, Sadal, Dhobakbag, Nalli Nikka, Ramban and Sanasar have confirmed their entries.

Jammu, May 13
Apparently embarrassed after the US elite forces killed the Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in its territory, Pakistan has temporarily stopped helping terrorists in their intrusion bids to enter Jammu and Kashmir.

“With US stiffening its posture with long time ‘ally’ following Osama’s killing and international community glued to Pakistan, the latter as part of temporary shift in its strategy has now stopped getting involved directly in helping terrorists to attempt intrusion bids to enter the restive state,” said sources in a counter-insurgency force.

According to sources, even before the killing of Osama there were around 400 militants in various launching pads on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) in PoK. About 200 of them were present in south of the Pir Panjal mountain range. But Pakistan as of today has been pushed on the back-foot, they said.

At the same time Pakistan can start helping them again, so question of remaining off-guard does not arise at all, they added.

Sources attributed the brief lull in infiltration to some messages intercepted by the security forces in wake of the‘pressing’ circumstances in Pakistan.

“While Pakistan is trying hard to wriggle out of the situation post-Osama killing, we have intercepted messages in which militants in Jammu and kashmir were asked to go for local recruitment,” they said.

In recent times various militant outfits, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba suffered a lot of casualties of their top leaders at the hands of security forces in the state. The remaining ultras have been asking their mentors on the other side of the LoC to replenish their cadres, said sources.

But for obvious reasons Pakistan has refused any replenishment at this stage and has asked the ultras active in Jammu and Kashmir to lure the local youth, they added.

Repeating what the GOC-in-C Northern Command, Lt Gen Parnaik, had said on May 5, a senior officer said, “Though ability to foment trouble, including attempts to infiltrate existed with Pakistan, present circumstances do not allow it to openly support intrusion bids at the LoC, the way they had been doing in the past by resorting to ceasefire violations and providing cover fire to militants at the border to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir”.

In the past, the ISI used to hire a guide for Rs 25,000 per assignment. It is now willing to increase the amount to Rs 1 lakh per assignment, but still there are no takers, said sources.

A senior officer attributed the “lean phase” to tight security at the borders coupled with Osama’s killing inside Pakistan.

He also rubbished reports of Pak Army build up along 749-km long Line of Control and 229-km long international border in Jammu and Kashmir, in wake of Osama’s killing.

Udhampur, May 13
The Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), civil defence, Auxiliary Police and Home Guard, J&K, Ram Lubhaya, presented the Director General Civil Defence medals to the deputy controller, civil defence, Udhampur, Bodh Raj, and the deputy chief warden, Ved Parkash, at a function organised here recently.

The medals were awarded by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Director General, civil defence, and the National Disaster Response Force, New Delhi, to both the functionaries for their distinguished and meritorious services in the field of civil defence.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DGP), Udhampur-Reasi range, Jagjit Kumar, and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Udhampur, Surinder Gupta, were also present on the occasion.

Complimenting the medal winners, the ADGP said it was their sincere and dedicated efforts in motivating functionaries under their charge which had been recognised at the national level. He also appreciated the role of all wardens in executing various public interest programmes of the civil defence in different parts of the district to make general masses aware about the disaster management. He hoped that the Udhampur unit would work with the same zeal to touch new heights of excellent work.

On the occasion, he also assured to provide a rescue van to the Udhampur unit to tackle any eventuality due to man made or natural disasters. Efforts would be made to extend the reach of civil defence activities even in the remote and far-flung areas to educate the masses about disaster management and other welfare programmes, the ADGP added.

In their address, the DIG and the SSP, Udhampur, had all praise for the civil defence, Udhampur, for launching different programmes of public interest, including community policing in the larger interest for general public. They assured every help to the organisation to carry on their mission of “nish kam sewa” (self-less service) in future also.

The deputy controller, civil defence, Udhampur, presented a vote of thanks. The proceedings of the programme were conducted by deputy chief warden advocate Swatantra Dev Kotwal. Among others, chief warden advocate Surinder Khajuria, CD wardens and prominent citizens were also present on the occasion.