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Jagti abattoir remains a pipe dream
1,378 missing in state in past 20 years: Govt
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Power Dept yet to recover over Rs 1,300-cr dues
Navratra Festival
Mission Dosti
Minister inducts Rs 4.2-cr dredger
Workshop on disaster management held
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Jagti abattoir remains a pipe dream
Jammu, October 4 As the Darbar move is on the cards, people residing in areas adjoining slaughter houses are a worried lot as the production of meat is likely to go up and they will be forced to live in unhygienic surroundings. They say for the past almost a decade, they have been listening about the slaughter houses being relocated as a modern abattoir is coming up at Jagti, but the project remained only on paper. “It has been our long pending demand that the slaughter houses be shifted from their existing locations,” they say and add, “The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) authorities failed to pay any heed to our grievances despite protest demonstrations. The improper disposal of waste generated by slaughter houses has made the surroundings unhygienic for us”. Pradeep Raj Bharti, municipal veterinary officer, says: “The city-based abattoirs produce sheep and goat meat only. The Gujjar Nagar abattoir produces ‘halal’ meat whereas the one at Dogra Hall produces ‘jhatka’ meat”. “Both the slaughterhouses remain close on Tuesdays and produce meat as per the demand which increases with the darbar move to the winter capital,” he adds. Bharti further states that last year, as many as 18,716 sheep and at least 19,329 goats were
slaughtered at both the abattoirs, besides illegal slaughtering in the peripheral areas. Official sources say the government in response to a question regarding this issue had replied last year that, “The Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India, has approved a project costing Rs 20.70 crore for the setting up of a modern abattoir at Jagti”. The Central Government has already released the first installment of Rs 1.53 crore,” the sources say, adding, “The land at Jagti has been acquired and fenced, but the tendering process for the constructing the state-of-the-art abattoir has hit a roadblock”. “The commissioner has asked us not to issue any press statement over the upcoming abattoir,” says Babu Ram, joint commissioner, JMC. |
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1,378 missing in state in past 20 years: Govt
Srinagar, October 4 However, local human rights activists have been claiming that the number of missing persons in the state is around 10,000. Of the 1,378 missing persons, South Kashmir’s Pulwama district accounts for 275 missing persons followed by North Kashmir’s Kupwara district (235) and Srinagar (225), it said. North Kashmir’s Baramulla district has 195 cases of missing people in the past 20 years, while South Kashmir's Anantnag district has 121 such cases registered there, it said. Poonch district in Jammu province accounts for the lowest number with three cases of missing persons registered in the past 20 years, the Ministry said in the reply. It also said that ex gratia relief has been sanctioned in 740 cases, making up nearly 50 per cent of the total cases. As many as 530 cases are under process for ex gratia relief, while 108 cases were rejected due to adverse report from the police.
— PTI |
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Power Dept yet to recover over Rs 1,300-cr dues
Srinagar, October 4 Various departments of the state government owe a whopping Rs 700 crore to the PDD, with the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department being the biggest defaulter having an outstanding of Rs 393.71 crore, they said. The PHE Department’s dues are till end of August this year, they said, adding that Rs 332.15 crore arrears were outstanding in the Jammu division and Rs 61.56 crore in the Kashmir division. The department uses the electricity for supplying drinking water to consumers in the state. The arrears of other state departments stand at a cumulative Rs 233.07 crore. Security forces, including the Army, also have an outstanding payment of Rs 21.30 crore. An amount of Rs 53.71 crore is due from municipal corporations and municipal committees on account of electricity usage for public lighting, they said. Central government institutions have to pay Rs 21.20 crore towards the PDD as electricity usage arrears. Similarly, commercial and industrial units in the state have an outstanding of Rs 108 crore and figures of domestic consumers stand at Rs 238.15 crore. The arrears have accumulated over years as there is no provision for electricity dues in the budgeting process of various government run departments, they said.
— PTI |
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Navratra Festival
Katra, October 4 The pilgrimage, which has so far crossed the mark of 75,73,298 this year, is getting almost 38,000 pilgrims on an average daily. A senior official of the shrine board said: “Over 2 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Vasihno Devi Cave Shrine since the beginning of Navratras last week. “We are expecting to cross the mark of 3 lakh pilgrims during the eight-day long Navratra Festival,” said the official sitting at the registration counter. He said: “This year, the pilgrims are coming here in large numbers as the weather conditions are also favourable”. The colourful procession, comprising tableaux by artistes, who have come here from Himachal Pradesh, UP, Madhya Pradesh and J&K, is also making the pilgrims to stay here longer than their scheduled visit. Besides, the triangular wrestling competition between India, England and Pakistan also paid off well, which was won by India’s Joginder Kumar who defeated his Pakistani rival Zaman Anwar at the 7th Mission Dosti International Indian Style Wrestling Competition at Vivekananda Sports Stadium here. The religious procession in the evenings is also drawing huge crowds. Darshan Kumar, a hotelier, said: “Pilgrims are enjoying a lot during the festival. This year, the shrine board has made special arrangements to attract the pilgrims”. “We are also offering 30 per cent discount to pilgrims on room tariffs. Every year, our association offers discounts to pilgrims during the festival,” he added. Radhika Khanna, a pilgrim from Delhi, said: “The arrangements made by the shrine board are excellent and the performance by the artistes has won our hearts”. “After watching the performance of various cultural troupes, we have decided to come here during the Navratras next year,” she added. |
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Mission Dosti
Katra, October 4 The championship was organised as part of the Navratra Festival by the J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association with the active support of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), J&K Tourism Department, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Navratra Festival Committee, Katra Municipal Committee, District Administration and the local people of Katra. In other main contests, Yousaf of Pakistan defeated India’s Akshay of Akhara Khanna, while Ahmed Khan of Pakistan defeated India’s Rinku. Minister of Youth Services and Sports RS Chib, who was the chief guest on the occasion, praised the J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association, SMVDSB, District Administration and all other agencies for holding the first-ever triangular wrestling event at Katra to promote goodwill between the two countries. Chib said India always favoured good relationship with Pakistan, adding that efforts were being made to promote peace and brotherhood in the subcontinent through the medium of sports. To encourage sports culture in the state, the Minister said adequate sports infrastructure was being created in the state, adding that work on the construction of Vivekananda Sport Stadium at Katra would be started soon. He said the completion of the stadium would enable young players to display their talent in a big way, besides facilitating the holding of mega sports events at the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. Dilbagh Singh, IGP Jammu, while praising the organisers for holding the wrestling event at Katra, assured all possible support for the promotion of sports culture in the state. Joginder kumar was awarded Silver Gurj, Patta and a cash prize of Rs 61,000 and the runner-up got a cash prize of Rs 41,000 awarded by the chief guest.
— PTI |
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Minister urges people to protect wildlife
Srinagar, October 4 The Minister was speaking at the inaugural function of the Wildlife Week held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre here recently. School and college students, local people, NGOs, representatives of the print and electronic media, officers of the wildlife, forest and other departments, conservationists, experts, naturalists and representatives of the police and armed forces attended the function. Addressing the function, the Minister highlighted the importance of the conservation of wildlife and its habitat and appealed to the people to contribute their mite in conserving the rich biodiversity of the state. He also distributed prizes among the winners of various competitions held earlier on the theme of wildlife conservation and also released the management action plan of the Dachigam National Park and overview document of the Wildlife Protection Department - 2001-2010. Shantmanu, commissioner-secretary, Forests, while speaking on the occasion, highlighted the ecological, spiritual, ethical, aesthetic and economic importance of wildlife and appealed to the youth to come forward and join hands with the Department of Wildlife Protection in protecting the environment, forests and wildlife. In Jammu, the Department of Wildlife Protection organised a nature tour of schoolchildren to the famous Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary in the Shivalik range near Kathua. Students from various schools of Jasrota village and its surroundings, including Government Middle School, Jasrota, Government Higher Secondary School, Forlain, Government Middle School, Amala, Government Middle School, Garniari, Government Middle School, Dhaloti, and CNHSS, Amala, along with their teachers, participated in this tour. They trekked about three km along the nature trails inside the sanctuary, along with the officials of the Wildlife Department and the sanctuary staff. During the walk, the students were sensitised about the nature, wildlife, including flora and fauna, birds and butterflies of the sanctuary, and other important aspects. The nature walk was flagged off by Upender Pachnanda, chief conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Jammu Region, an official spokesperson said. Tahir Shawl, Wildlife Warden, Wildlife Division, Jammu, interacted with the schoolchildren and briefed them about the purpose of organising such programmes involving budding and young generation living in and around the wildlife protected areas and forests. He said the youth should develop healthy habits and strive to learn and know about their natural heritage like birds, mammals, insects, butterflies and plants. |
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Minister inducts Rs 4.2-cr dredger
Srinagar, October 4 On the occasion, the minister directed deployment of the dredger at the mouth of Wullar lake for temporary diversion of water for construction of the lake embankments. The dredger has been purchased at a cost Rs 4.2 crore by the Flood Control Department. This is the start of a series of measures initiated by the department costing Rs 97 crore on the direction of the minister. More dredgers of high capacity would reach here by December which would be deployed at Khadniyar, Baramulla and Pohru, an official spokesman said. The minister has taken a keen interest in the revival of flood control activities in the valley, particularly dredging of the rivers, which could not be held during the past two decades. Commissioner-Secretary, PHE, Irrigation & Flood, Mehoob Iqbal; Chief Engineer, PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, AR Shola; consultant, PHE, AK Abrol; Deputy Commissioner BA Bhat and engineers were present on the occasion. |
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Workshop on disaster management held
Srinagar, October 4 The workshop was organised by the District Institute of Education and Trainings, Srinagar, in collaboration with the civil defence. Abdul Majid Mir, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, was the chief guest on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, the Divisional Commissioner stressed upon the teaching fraternity to play a vital role for providing necessary information to students regarding disaster management. Ram Lobia, Additional DIG, Civil Defence, also dwelt upon the activities of the civil defence personnel in handling disaster management and said 100 districts had been identified earthquake-prone zones, including 13 districts of the state. |
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JAMMU DIARY
Who cares for traffic rules in Jammu? This is a big question plaguing the traffic police and the regional transport office.
Not only the motorcyclists, the owners of heavy vehicles like tractors and trolleys are also running them without even getting the registration number. Most of the tractors are moving without bearing the mandatory registration number plates
(See photo).
Who would be responsible if one gets hurt in an accident with these vehicles? Neither the authorities concerned nor the owners of the vehicles are paying any attention towards this issue. A number of hit-and-run incidents have happened in the past, but it has to be seen when the authorities concerned awake from their deep slumber.
(Contributed by Archit Watts) |
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