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Bridge on Jammu-Pathankot road collapses in flash floods
City’s security scene dismal
Jammu youth dies in Dehradun college
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Hurriyat for social boycott of drug peddlers
Foreign-funded ultras active in state: BJP
Azad loyalists hold convention, flay Congress ministers
Tourism potential of Mughal road to be explored: Minister
Eight PDP leaders resign from party
Man held on rape charge
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Bridge on Jammu-Pathankot road collapses in flash floods
Jammu, September 9 The flash floods led to the collapse of the Devak bridge on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway in Samba district this morning. A police officer said there was no loss of life as the bridge had recently been closed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for carrying out repairs. MK Jain, in charge, NHAI, said, “The bridge,built in 1964,was closed to traffic some time ago. The overnight rain damaged its five pillars. We have called our engineers from Delhi to check whether the bridge can be repaired or there is a need to construct a new one”. This was the second bridge on the national highway to have collapsed in flash floods. Meanwhile, flash floods also caused damage in Rajouri district, where a number of houses collapsed last night. A senior police officer told The Tribune over the phone that the worst-affected villages were Sadyal, Mankot and Ninga Narh. He said senior officials of the district administration visited the area to take stock of the situation and assured compensation to the affected families. Jammu district also witnessed mild showers last night, which led to a fall in the temperature.
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City’s security scene dismal
Jammu, September 9 A visit to various public places, including the railway station, the bus stand and the court complex, by a Tribune team today exposed the poor security arrangements and lack of police preparedness. At the railway platform, though there were a few barricades, no one stopped The Tribune team. The metal detector at the entrance to the station, which witnesses a large number of pilgrims and tourists from across the country, was also not being used. “There is hardly any security. No one is paying any attention to unattended things. It seems the security forces are waiting for some untoward incident to happen to awaken them from their slumber,” said Harish Kumar, a resident of UP. The situation was almost similar at the bus stand.Though a police post was established there recently, not a single policeman was found keeping vigil over visitors.The place has entry points from all the sides. The security scene at the court complex was no better. Though a few barricades were installed at the entrance, vehicles were entering the area without being checked. Though there were metal detectors and security personnel in and around the area, there was no checking. The complex has CCTV cameras. Ashwani Kumar, an advocate, said : “It is an eyewash. Hardly any vehicle is being checked. What is the fun in deploying security personnel ? Senior police officers should visit the complex to see the reality.” SSP, Jammu, Anand Jain, said: “We have deployed teams to review the security.So far, everything is under control and there is nothing to worry.” Questioned about the lax security at the railway station, the bus stand and the court complex, he said: “If someone is found not performing the duty, he/she would be dealt with in accordance with the law. But, we have deployed jawans everywhere.”
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Jammu youth dies in Dehradun college
Jammu, September 9 Unfortunately, he did not live to celebrate the day. A final-year student of B-Pharmacy at the Gian Inder Institute of Professional Studies, Dehradun, Aman was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his hostel room at the college on September 6 night. While the college management and the Dehradun police said Aman committed suicide, his family in Jammu alleged that he was murdered and demanded a high-level probe into the incident. It said a member of the management staff first told them that Aman’s body was found hanging in his room. However, later it was claimed that the body was found on the hostel’s roof. His father, Arun Puri, who is an ambulance driver with the Health Department, alleged that the college management was hiding something from them and the evidence had either been overlooked or destroyed.” Aman had planned special celebrations on 11-11-11. “But he has left us in mourning forever,” he said. Aman was the older of Puri’s two sons. The bereaved family alleged that the data in Aman’s mobile phone had been deleted and the sim card was also missing.Further, the youth was having an affair with a college girl. A group of youth was reportedly opposed to the affair,the family alleged. Gaurav Puri, Aman’s cousin, said four students of the college, one of them belonging to Jammu, had old enmity with Aman. “They had beaten up Aman a few days ago. We had lodged a complaint with the Dehradun police against them. All of them are reportedly missing,” he said. Gaurav said, “A senior college functionary had scolded Aman and the girl recently and he was upset over it. He took leave for a few days, saying he was mentally upset and wanted a break. He spent a few days in Jammu and returned to the college in a cheerful mood. Now, the same leave application is being cited as an evidence to suggest that he committed suicide under depression.” He said Aman,who had called up his father around 8 pm on September 6,seemed to be fine.“But around 9:30 pm, we got a call that he was dead. We want a probe by the CBI into Aman’s death to ascertain the truth,” Gaurav demanded. |
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Kishtwar cyber cafe owners not keeping users’ records
Jammu, September 9 This has been revealed in the investigation about the alleged e-mail claiming responsibility for the Delhi blast sent from a cyber cafe in Kishtwar. Police sources said records about the identity of Internet users were rarely maintained by the cafe owners in Kishtwar. “The owners of Global Internet Cyber Cafe as well as other cafes in the city do not insist on seeking copies of identity cards of users and do not maintain registers having their names and addresses,” said a police officer. According to the cyber cafe owners, most of the users were teenagers who did not want their parents to know about it, the police officer said. “The owners will lose business if they insist on identity cards, as there will be many others ready to oblige the youths,” he said. Kishtwar recently witnessed a rapid growth of cyber cafes. Some of the owners utilised a new self-employment scheme of the government under which finance for opening a small venture like a cyber cafe was given. The police officer said all the cyber cafes in the district had been asked to maintain proper records and their registers were being checked. “The cyber cafe owners may have their arguments, but it is against the law to allow anonymous users. Strict legal action will be taken against the owners,” he said. |
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Hurriyat for social boycott of drug peddlers
Srinagar, September 9 “The Hurriyat has formed a comprehensive policy to deal with
drug peddlers, which includes persuading them to refrain from such activities. In case of non-compliance, they will face social boycott,” the Hurriyat faction said in a statement here. It added that it would soon launch an anti-drug campaign from Sopore town in Baramulla district.
— PTI |
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Foreign-funded ultras active in state: BJP
Jammu, September 9 In a statement issued here today, he said the demand by certain Kashmir-centric political organisations to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was motivated by political considerations, and not based on an objective assessment of the ground situation. The Delhi blast and its reported link with Kishtwar as well as with elements sympathetic to Afzal Guru should serve as a rebuff to certain politicians in the state, who had been seeking clemency for Guru. He blamed the UPA government’s confused Kashmir policy coupled with the Congress leadership’s indulgent and patronising attitude towards the National Conference-led government for the dangerous situation in the state with unprofessional demands being made for the withdrawal of the troops. Singh lamented that India was the only country in the world and Jammu and Kashmir a unique state where even state office-bearers, who were sworn in under the oath of the Constitution of India got away by questioning the same Constitution. He said that in their misguided effort to appease the separatists, the Kashmir-centric political parties were competing with each other to make unsubstantiated allegations of human right violations by the Army even when Union Defence Minister AK Antony had stated in Parliament that more than 95 per cent of such allegations were untrue. |
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Cousin flays Omar for ‘misusing’ official position
Jammu, September 9 Addressing an Eid Milan function organised by the party to felicitate newly-elected panchayat members, Shah said, “More than four lakh government employees in the state have been agitating to get arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission and the government has been giving the excuse of non-availability of funds. However, the same regime has spent a whopping Rs 8 crore on the helicopter services of the Chief Minister”. Shah criticised Omar for “misusing” his position to accumulate luxuries of life. “Had this amount been spent on giving stipends to the unemployed youth of the state, it would have given them some relief,” he said. He added that wrong policies of the NC had been fuelling alienation among the youth. Although Shah had earlier criticised the functioning of the coalition government headed by the NC, it was the first time that he launched a direct attack on Omar. Shah repeatedly mentioned Omar’s name while highlighting the prevailing “chaos” and “corruption” in the state. He said except promises, the government had done nothing to minimise the misery of the people. While alleging large-scale corruption in the administration, Shah challenged Omar to publicly declare his assets. “Corruption has crossed all the limits. The only noticeable achievement of the government is the legalisation of corruption,” he said. Shah said the Central funds were being pocketed by a few influential persons in connivance with the ruling elites in the state. He said his party would launch a campaign against corruption in the state. “We will hold demonstrations at the headquarters of all the 22 districts to expose corrupt practices of the regime,” he said. Shah also announced that he would strengthen his party in the Jammu province to give a tough fight to the NC in the next Assembly elections. |
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Azad loyalists hold convention, flay Congress ministers
Jammu, September 9 The pro-Azad leaders organised a convention at RS Pura town yesterday, where they condemned the style of functioning of the state ministers,especially those belonging to the Congress. Former Social Welfare Minister and Azad loyalist Abdul Gani Vakil even demanded a high-level probe into the functioning of the Roads and Buildings (R&B) and Education and Agriculture departments. Veteran Congress leader Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed is the School Education Minister. Although Vakil avoided targeting Peerzada directly, he repeatedly demanded that the bungling in the Education Department should be thoroughly probed. He pointed out a multi-crore scam in the construction of buildings under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in the state and demanded that it be probed. Vakil said the State Accountability Commission (SAC) had received complaints against some ministers and there was a need to act on these complaints. The pro-Azad leaders also cautioned the government against succumbing to pressure from the sitting MLAs, who, according to them, had been opposing the empowerment of panchayat members. Former Rural Development Minister Jugal Kishore Sharma asked the government to constitute block and district development committees to empower the Panchayati Raj institutions. After the convention, Vakil organised an Eid Milan function at his residence this evening in which all leaders belonging to the pro-Azad faction were present. Though it was a social function, the Azad loyalists availed of the opportunity to condemn the style of functioning of the ministers belonging to the party. They expressed resentment against the “autocratic” style of functioning of the ministers and warned that this would harm the interests of the party in the state, particularly in the Jammu region. Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, who leads the pro-Azad faction, was not invited to the functions. “The Deputy Chief Minister had official work and hence was not invited to the functions,” an Azad loyalist said. Sources in the Congress said instead of depending on Tara Chand, the other leaders of the faction had decided to intensify their activities. |
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Community radio station to come up at Jammu varsity
Srinagar, September 9 This was approved at a meeting of the Council of Jammu University held under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra here today. The proposed radio station was expected to provide coverage from Bari Brahmana to Bantalab and Chatha to Nagrota, an official spokesman said. The Governor, who is the Chancellor of the university, said the educational issues required prompt attention at the highest level as delays and defaults affected the future of the youth. Referring to frequent complaints about serious deficiencies in the functioning of private institutions, he emphasised the need for taking all the necessary measures to strengthen the inspection and appraisal systems of the universities for ensuring quality education in its affiliated colleges as well as at the varsity level. The Governor said this was imperative to adequately equip the youth with knowledge and skills to successfully face the growingly competitive environment in the country and abroad. Referring to the creation of infrastructure facilities at the upcoming satellite campuses of the university, the Governor said the construction of hostels, particularly for girls, needed to be given priority. He also called for measures to ensure that all such campuses had well-qualified and experienced faculty. Minister for Higher Education Abdul Gani Malik stressed the need for bringing all-round improvement in the quality of teaching and research. In this context, he gave several suggestions to secure the desired objectives. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Varun Sahni, in his presentation, gave the details of the academic achievements of the university in the past nearly a year. He also highlighted the efforts being made to improve the existing infrastructure and listed the major achievements of the university in the extra-curricular arena. |
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Tourism potential of Mughal road to be explored: Minister
Srinagar, September 9 “The scenic spots along the Mughal road, connecting Shopian with Rajouri and Poonch districts of the Jammu region, would be developed for tourists,” Forest Minister Mian Altaf Ahmad said. Altaf, who laid the foundation stone of an inspection hut at Doongimarg-Hirpora, near Shopian, said the necessary infrastructure would be set up at all the scenic spots along the road. The inspection hut to be constructed at a cost of Rs 65.49 lakh would comprise modern bedrooms, dining and drawing halls, bathrooms, solar lights and other amenities. The minister said the hut on the road was being built for providing the best facilities to the tourists and the local people. Altaf said the Forest Department would initiate the process for the creation of eco-tourism facilities to generate employment
for the locals as well as boost trade and business in the area. — PTI |
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Eight PDP leaders resign from party
Banihal, September 9 “We have resigned from the party in protest against the appointment of some new office-bearers in the district without consulting us,” Shamshada Shan, former district president, Ramban, said. Shan, who fought elections on the PDP ticket from the Gool-Arnas Assembly segment in 2008 elections and lost to Congress minister Aijaz Ahmed Khan, said they had sent resignations to the party high command at Srinagar. Prominent among those who resigned from the party are PDP state secretary, Youth, Jan Mohammad, and Ramban district vice-president Dil Nawaz Beig. — PTI
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Srinagar, September 9 Mohammad Hanif, 38, was arrested after locals accused him of raping the girl at Nagbal, 24 km from here. According to the locals, the girl was in a paddy field when the man took her away to a nearby place and raped her.
— PTI |
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Flash floods triggered by overnight rain damaged bridges, land and houses across the Jammu region today.
The flash floods led to the collapse of the Devak bridge.
Jammu, September 9
