New Delhi, July 27
The Central University of Jammu is likely to have a former bureaucrat from the state as its first Vice-Chancellor. The thus-appointed Vice-Chancellor will, however, serve in the interim as the administrative head until the Search and Selection Committee, which President Pratibha Patil constituted in her capacity as the Visitor of the University, makes the final selection of the Vice-Chancellor, which will take time.

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has already recommended to the Visitor the appointment of a former state bureaucrat as the inaugural Vice-Chancellor of the troubled varsity, the academic session of which has been delayed inordinately on account of administrative problems. Currently, protests and fasts are being held in Jammu in protest against the delay in the commencement of the Central varsity.

The HRD Ministry’s recommendation is awaiting the nod of the President, who is currently on a visit to Seoul and Mongolia. The measure has been resorted to in order to put the derailed varsity on track after Prof Amitabh Mattoo declined to assume the charge of the Central varsity as its first Vice-Chancellor on account of severe vilification he suffered at the hands of some Jammu-based groups, which saw him as pro-Kashmir.

The new Vice-Chancellor, the HRD Ministry has suggested in the panel sent to the President, is learnt to be from Jammu. Once appointed, the first Vice-Chancellor, though part of the interim arrangement, will have sufficient tenure to set up and build the institution. But there will be an understanding that he will not get another term.

The Central University of Jammu was born out of a political agitation after the Centre announced a varsity for Kashmir. Subsequently, the process of the appointment of its Vice-Chancellor remained mired in controversies, with Jammu-based outfits repeatedly petitioning the government to appoint a Dogra as the Vice-Chancellor. They opposed the appointment of Prof Mattoo, a Kashmiri Pandit, who eventually refused to take charge.

Jammu, July 27
Succumbing to the pressure of the civil society and various social organisations, the Jammu and Kashmir Study Group has postponed its much-publicised scheduled Roundtable Conference with the three interlocutors of the Centre.

Social organisations were exerting pressure on the study group not to invite Dileep Padgaonkar to the Roundtable Conference following the disclosure that he had attended a seminar organised by Sayeed Ghulam Nabi Fai under the banner of the Kashmiri American Council (KAC). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Fai on July 20 for his nexus with the ISI.

Although the study group has said the Roundtable Conference had been postponed due to the ongoing students’ stir in the Jammu region for the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Jammu, sources said the decision was taken under pressure of the social organisations. “Activists of some social organisations have threatened to disrupt the conference if Padgaonkar was allowed to attend it,” said the sources. They added that keeping in view such threats the organisers had decided to postpone the programme for the time being.

“We have postponed the conference due to unavoidable circumstances. It will be held after the holy month of Ramzan,” Ravinder Raina, an activist of the study group, told The Tribune.

Raina said the conference had been postponed due to the ongoing agitation of the student in support of the Central University of Jammu. He added that the interlocutors had agreed to attend the conference after Ramzan

As the venue of the scheduled Roundtable Conference was fixed at Jammu University, there was apprehension among the study group that some student organisations would disrupt it over the Padgaonkar issue.

Furthermore, the study group convened a meeting of the representatives of various social and religious organisations to seek their suggestions on the proposed conference. A majority of the participants were opposed to Padgaonkar’s presence.

The sources said the interlocutors had invited a team of the study group to New Delhi to discuss various aspects of the Kashmir problem. The Jammu and Kashmir Study Group, an organisation comprising intellectuals, writers and professionals, had planned a Roundtable Conference on July 29 and 30 to present their views to the interlocutors.

Srinagar, July 27
Governor NN Vohra here today reviewed the ongoing Amarnath yatra, which is scheduled to conclude on the occasion of Shrawan Purnima on August 13.

The Governor, who is the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, reiterated his earlier directions about the effective maintenance of sanitation and cleanliness at all the camps in the yatra area, besides cleanliness along both yatra routes. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the shrine board, RK Goyal, informed the meeting that a good number of workers were currently engaged for cleaning work round the clock, besides all the camp directors had been asked to launch a week-long special cleanliness drive in their respective camps and ensure appropriate disposal of all biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.

The Governor asked the CEO to ensure that all the camps were cleared of all types of solid wastes by August 20. He said he would personally visit all the camps in the coming days to inspect the level of cleanliness.

Goyal informed the Governor that the officials of the shrine board, various state government departments, Army, paramilitary forces and the state police had been performing duties in close coordination for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.

He added that the shrine board would undertake a post-yatra review involving senior officials of each of the agencies concerned to elicit their views and suggestions for bringing about progressive improvements in the future yatras.

The CEO informed the Governor that the yatra to the Amarnath cave shrine had been progressing satisfactorily on both Baltal and Chandanwari routes. Preet Pal Singh, Additional CEO, and other officers also attended the meeting.

Meanwhile,the Governor discussed the issue of the regularisation of the services of the striking contractual college teachers with Higher Education Minister Abdul Gani Malik here today.

During an hour-long meeting, the Governor and the minister discussed various issues relating to the demands of the All Jammu and Kashmir College Contractual Teachers Association, an official spokesman said.

A delegation of the association had presented to the Governor their list of demands when they had called on the Governor on July 15. Their main demand included the regularisation of the services of contractual college teachers. The minister said he was personally looking into the matter.

Several other issues relating to the higher education sector came up for discussion.

Over 850 contractual college lecturers in different streams are on a strike for the past two weeks in support of their demands. The strike in 35 government degree colleges in the state since early last month has adversely affected academic activities.

“For the past about two weeks there has been no classwork in many colleges as a majority of the teachers are contractual employees. They have been demanding the regularisation of their services and change in their nomenclature from ‘academic arrangements’ to contractual lecturers,” the spokesman said.

Jammu, July 27
The BJP has reacted to Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s meeting with the Hurriyat leaders and termed the development as a matter of concern.

Addressing a press conference here today, state president of the BJP Shamsher Singh Manhas said, “It is a matter of serious concern that the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, currently on a visit to India, chose to hold a close-door meeting with the Hurriyat Conference leaders even before her scheduled official meeting with the Indian Foreign Minister and the Congress-led UPA government remained a mute spectator.”

“It seems the Pakistan Foreign Minister had planned in advance to discuss with the separatist leaders her views and receive their inputs before talking to Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna and the UPA leadership facilitated her designs. This has not only made a mockery of the functioning of the Central government, but also compromised the security of the country,” said chief spokesman for the BJP Jatinder Singh, who was also present at the press conference.

He said at a time when the separatists were feeling down and out, the development had provided oxygen to their sagging spirit. “Besides, this also amounts to a breach of protocol as the Pakistan Foreign Minister is meeting individuals and groups according to her choice and the Congress-led UPA government owes an explanation for this,” he said.

Doda, July 27
The District Development Board (DDB), Doda, has recommended to the higher education authorities to introduce commerce studies in Government Degree College (GDC), Doda, from the next academic session.

The issue was discussed urgently at a meeting of the DDB yesterday under the chairmanship of Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma after The Tribune highlighted the issue in its July 26 edition that the students were suffering due to the non-availability of the commerce stream in the GDC.

Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Farooq Ahmed Khan said the DDB recommended to the government that the commerce stream should be introduced in the college from the next session in the interest of the students of the district. “The DDB was of the view that the problem of infrastructure should not come in the way of starting commerce classes. The required classrooms could be constructed later depending on the availability of funds as the career of students should be the priority,” said Khan.

As reported, principal of the college SP Sharma had said the matter had been hanging fire due to a condition laid by the university that no new classes could be allowed without the college having required classrooms. The college authorities had already submitted a plan related to the construction of additional classrooms to the Department of Higher Education through J&K Project Construction Company. However, nothing had been done so far.

Every year, more than 200 students from Doda town and other parts of the district have to either give up studies or take up other streams in the absence of commerce studies in the college. It is highly ironical that while government higher secondary schools in the district offer commerce as a subject, it is not available in Government Degree College.

Srinagar, July 27
The state government has urged the Centre to cover the entire rural population and 90 per cent of the urban population under the proposed National Food Security Bill.

Minister for Consumer Affairs, Public Distribution and Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon made this plea at a conference chaired by Union Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution KV Thomas in New Delhi yesterday, an official spokesman said.

Akhoon said the food allocations were currently being made on the basis of the population estimates of the Registrar General of India in March 2000, which is a decade-old estimate as the current population was 25 per cent more than the estimated population. Thus the shortfall in foodgrains as per the current population had put tremendous stress on the public distribution system, especially in view of a steep hike in the prices of foodgrains in the open market during the last three to four years, he said.

Akhoon dwelt upon the efforts made by the state government to meet the shortfall in the foodgrain allocation by utilising the special ad hoc allocations made by the Central government from time to time. He also mentioned receiving a sufficient allocation (normal plus additional) for the below poverty line (BPL) families. However, there was a substantial shortfall in the foodgrain allocation for the above poverty line (APL) category.

On the availability of storage capacity, Akhoon said the Food Corporation of India (FCI) lacked a proper storage capacity in the state, as it also had to cater to the Army and paramilitary forces. He said to overcome the shortage in the storage capacity, the FCI was in the process of creating an additional shortage capacity for 3.62 lakh metric tonne foodgrains. The agreement for the execution of the additional storage capacity for 1.62 lakh metric tonne had been accepted by the state government. The execution process needed to be accelerated as during the winter the Ladakh region remained cut off from the rest of the country for six months and dispatches to the Valley remained suspended due to the frequent closure of the highway, Akhoon added.

Doda, July 27
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Sham Lal Sharma today attached the Chief Medical Officer, Doda, Dr Mohammad Ashraf Mir, with the Director, Health Services, Jammu, for dereliction of duty and noticeable poor performance. The District Health Officer, Doda, Dr Mohammad Iqbal Zargar, was given the charge of the CMO till further orders.

The Health Minister, who is on a two-day tour of Doda and Kishtwar districts, inspected various health institutions today and found the functioning of some of them unsatisfactory, prompting him to order the CMO’s attachment with the Director, Health Services, with immediate effect.

Issuing a stern warning to the doctors against showing slackness in performing their duties, the minister maintained that the dereliction of duty would not be tolerated. Anybody found guilty would face action, he added while reiterating the steps taken by by the government to improve the working conditions of the doctors and paramedics in the health institutions.

To improve the work culture in the health institutions, particularly in rural and far-flung areas, the minister said the monitoring mechanism would be strengthened. As part of this, the sarpanches and the panches would be entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the functioning of the local health institutions falling under their jurisdiction, said the minister.

The minister inspected the District Hospital, Kishtwar, Sub District Hospital, Bhaderwah, Primary Health Centres at Prem Nagar and Chhatru.

Doda, July 27
Self-styled commander of the Hijbul Mujahideen Subhash Kumar Shan, having a prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Kishtwar district yesterday.

Son of a serving police official in the state, Shan, alias Kamran, alias Wasif, was the deputy divisional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen. He belonged to Razna Palmar village in Kishtwar district. His family had disowned him after he joined militants. He was an A category militant and operated in the high altitude Palmar-Dachin and Marwah areas of the district. Of the seven FIRs registered against him, five were on murder charges.

SSP, Kishtwar, Bhim Sen Tutti said the encounter took place yesterday. The SSP said Shan’s killing was a big blow to the Hizbul Mujahideen as he was believed to be a skilled motivator. Shan was also involved in the killing of three security personnel last year. He became the Hizbul commander after Firdaus Ahmed Mattoo surrendered in 2009.

Jammu, July 27
After some youths converged on the BSF’s Frontier Headquarters here with application forms enquiring about a purported recruitment rally tomorrow, the BSF has clarified that it has no plans of any recruitment drive.

“We noticed that application forms for recruitment to the BSF are being sold in Jammu town when the matter of fact is that recruitments to the BSF is done by the Staff Selection Commission, New Delhi,” stated an official release issued here today.

The advertisement for recruitment is published in the leading newspapers of the country and posted on the BSF’s website -- www.bsf.gov.in. There was no open rally being conducted at the BSF’s Frontier Headquarters at Paloura, it stated.