|
|
|
|
|
Soz loyalists fume
over Cong minister’s pro-NC remarks
Criminals taking advantage of militancy in state: Report
|
|
|
Turmoil in Kashmir takes toll on psychological health: Study
Militants give cops the slip in Mendhar
Gujjars demand adequate time slots for Gojri on DD, AIR
Measures afoot to revive sericulture industry in J-K
No need to pay compensation to NHPC for power projects
Govt college for Mandi demanded
Speeding truck kills motorcyclist
Play ridicules practice of exchanging sweets
Fire in Sharika Devi temple
|
|
Soz loyalists fume
over Cong minister’s pro-NC remarks
Jammu,
October 30 Taj Mohiuddin, while addressing a press conference at Srinagar yesterday, had contradicted the PCC chief on many issues and stated that there was no question of having rotation of chief ministership and Omar Abdullah would continue as Chief Minister of the state for the full six-year term. In contrast, the Pradesh Congress Committee has been demanding change of guard after the completion of the three-year term of Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister of the state in January next year. Infuriated
by the utterances of Mohiuddin against the PCC chief, senior
vice-president of the PCC Muzaffar Parray today charged Mohiuddin with
promoting the NC at the cost of his own party. “Taj Mohiuddin should
know that he is seen in the public as a person who promotes the NC at
the cost of the Congress party. He is also seen as a person who enjoys
public perception of being more loyal than the king. It is for him to
decide whether it will be morally right for him to continue to be in the
Congress,” said Parray in a hard-hitting statement against his party
colleague. When contacted, PCC general secretary and spokesman
Ravinder Sharma also endorsed the statement of Parray and asserted that
the PHE Minister was not a super-PCC chief who had to take any decision
unilaterally. “The Congress in the state is united under the
leadership of Saifuddin Soz,” he declared. Mohiuddin had not only
opposed the demand of the Congress for having rotation of chief
ministership but had also contradicted Soz’s statement that the
Congress had not been consulted by the Chief Minister while announcing
revocation of the AFSPA from some areas. Mohiuddin had declared that the
Chief Minister had consulted him on the issue. Sources in the
Congress said Mohiuddin wanted to be remain in the good books of the NC
so he had convened a press conference to counter the PCC chief. “The
party leadership has taken the statement of Mohiuddin as an act of
indiscipline and decided to bring the matter to the notice of the high
command,” sources said. |
||
|
Criminals taking advantage of militancy in state: Report
New Delhi, October 30 In its recent report,
the Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir said while bandits and criminals
were there in every society, in Jammu and Kashmir, however, they were taking advantage of the troubled situation. “They are abducting
people for money, raping, murdering, extorting money, using mafia practices, etc. under the cover of ‘the movement’. For them this is a lucrative industry and under the present circumstances, it is easy to blame the security forces for all crimes that are committed,” said the report prepared by the Belgium-based organisation after visiting the state in summer this year. During the visit, the team of the think-tank led by Paul Beersmans met a cross-section of people, including pro-Pakistan Syed Ali Shah Geelani
and moderate leaders like Bilal Lone and Abdul Gani Bhat besides politicians from the mainstream political parties. In its 17-page report, it condemned the separatist leadership for turning a blind eye to human rights violations being committed by terrorists. — PTI
|
||
|
Turmoil in Kashmir takes toll on psychological health: Study
Srinagar, October 30 “Conflict situation in Kashmir led to an increase in psychological problems... traditional mechanisms of care crumbled in various ways, mosques got closed for sheltering everyone, including persons facing psychological problems, (and) health care system faced paucity of manpower,” a report released yesterday by ActionAid International-India said. A sense of insecurity, exposure to sufferings, abuses, instigation to and participation in violence, a choked atmosphere that blocks avenues of expression, humiliation and torture, were some of the reasons cited by the report for the increase in psychological problems in Kashmir. Among other causes were death of those in proximity, rape, feeling for revenge, tragedies, the breaking down of family structures, all of which were consequences of conflict situations, it said. The care that existed here in the form of mental institutions became inaccessible on account of “hazards involved in travel and stay in Srinagar”. “On top of it psychologically disordered persons became vulnerable targets in encounters,” it alleged. Also, the Mental Health Act of 1987 makes it obligatory for the state to create a mechanism for licensing and monitoring mental health care facilities, the report said. “The state has created such an authority but it remains non-functional as there
are no recognised mental health care facilities in the private state sector... whatever exists is unlicensed as no licence has ever been issued by the authority," the report claimed. The mental health facilities are expected to be monitored by the Mental Health Authority, but there is no such monitoring, it said. “There is a high incidence of psychiatric disorders among those who are in jails and other detention centres. The reason for high incidence of persons with psychological disorders in jails can have two reasons -- either the ones getting involved in crimes suffer from psychological disorders, or these disorders overtake them once they are lodged in jails,” it said. The prime reason for non-adherence to mental health care standards is unfamiliarity of those who are in this job with their responsibilities, it said. “For this purpose, the study suggests creation of a mental health manual so that everyone involved in mental health care is familiar with his assignments and responsibilities,” it said. — PTI |
||
|
Militants give cops the slip in Mendhar
Jammu, October 30 The police said that
acting on a tip off regarding the presence of two to three militants holed up in the Dharian locality, an operation was launched last night. However, after the exchange of gunfire, the militants
managed to escape in the garb of darkness. The operation was led by SDPO, Pardeep Kumar. The villagers reportedly lodged a protest with the police today. They claimed that the police launched an operation in the area on the basis of wrong information, as there were no militants in the area. However, the SDPO
contradicted the claims of the local residents and said: “The police had specific information about
the presence of militants in the area and accordingly an operation was launched. The militants exchanged fire and vanished in the forest area due to darkness.” The SDPO pacified the protesting villagers and claimed that the hiding
militants would be tracked soon. |
||
|
Gujjars demand adequate time slots for Gojri on DD, AIR
Jammu, October 30 Speaking during a special gathering of the Gojri writers organised by the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation here today, Javaid Rahi, secretary of the foundation, said Gojri was one of the significant languages of India and needed special attention and encouragement from the Central government. He said a delegation of prominent Gojri writers had met Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni in Srinagar last year and had demanded that DD Rajouri be made functional on priority basis and be declared DD Gojri immediately, but nothing concrete had emerged out of it. He added that a delegation of the Gojri writers would visit Delhi in December to pursue the case there. Rahi said the Centre had allocated more than Rs 400 crore this year for DD channels in Jammu and Kashmir, but it was astonishing that DD did not telecast even a single daily programme in Gojri. The Gujjars and Bakerwals, who speak Gojri constitute more than 20 per cent population of the state. They are being completely ignored by DD in the state and no proper representation is given to their art, culture, languages, customs and secular ethos for which they are known all over the world, he said. |
||
|
Measures afoot to revive sericulture industry in J-K
Srinagar, October 30 “With the efforts of the government, the cocoon production of the state has reached 1,900 metric tonnes and the total income earned during this fiscal is Rs 11 crore," Mir said during a workshop on “Bivoltine Sericulture in Jammu and Kashmir”. The minister said the sericulture industry in the state was being revived. Various measures are already in place to regain state’s position as the best silk-producing state in the country, he added. He said due to prolonged unrest in the state, the industry had suffered and the state was lagging behind others in production. For boosting bivoltine sericulture in the state, Mir said it was the only state in the country where geographical conditions were favourable for it. The minister said there was no dearth of funds for revival of sericulture but there was a need for proper developmental strategies and their implementation to achieve the target. He called upon scientists of the Central Silk Board to come up with the latest technologies for development of sericulture in Jammu and Kashmir. He assured them that the government would make all efforts for providing financial assistance to give a boost to the industry. — PTI |
||
|
No need to pay compensation to NHPC for power projects
Srinagar, October 30 “There is a lot of talk about the state government paying the NHPC crores of rupees as compensation for Salal and Uri power projects. Since the corporation does not have any agreement with the state, the question of paying the compensation does not arise," head of the civil society group Shakeel Qalender told reporters here. Qalender, who was a member of the jobs committee formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by C Rangarajan last year, said the projects were a property of the people of the state and the state government should take all steps to restore these assets to them. “The state government has set November 12 as deadline for the NHPC to obtain water usage licence for its power projects in Jammu and Kashmir. We are waiting to see what course of action the government takes since the NHPC cannot be given the licence in view of the non-existence of any agreement or document that could prove ownership rights of the corporation,” he said. “We will use all avenues available to ensure that there is no sellout at this time. We have the option of approaching the court as well,” he said. He said in response to an RTI application the NHPC had failed to come up with any document to prove that it had any legal basis of holding on to these power projects in the state. — PTI |
||
|
Govt college for Mandi demanded
Jammu, October 30 The president of the association, Moulvi Farooq, said the degree college was a long-pending demand of the people of Mandi tehsil. He added that the economic condition of the people of Mandi was miserable and the youth of the area could not bear the expenses to go out for higher studies. He demanded the early completion of work on the Mandi-Madana and Mandi-Bufliaz roads. “More than 40,000 people are suffering due to the delay in the construction of Kalai-Sakhi-Madhana road,” he said and criticised the state government for its alleged step-motherly treatment with the people of the border area.
|
||
|
Speeding truck kills motorcyclist
Jammu, October 30 The victim has been identified as 45-year-old Mohammad Rashid, a resident of Teli Basti. According to the police, Rashid was riding a motorcycle on the national highway when the speeding truck rammed into him from behind. The police has impounded the vehicle and arrested the driver of the truck for rash and negligent driving.
|
||
|
Play ridicules practice of exchanging sweets
Jammu, October 30 The play was based on Diwali celebrations, which mark the spirit of the festival of lights. The play highlighted the tradition of exchanging gifts and sweets and advocated that the ‘give and take’ of the presents has become rather more important than the festival itself. Mohan, the main character of the play feels unwell after consuming some sweets, which were presented to him on the eve of Diwali. To make the situation worse for him, the friends who gifted stale sweets to Mohan visit him and prescribe him different remedies. Mohit Sharma as Mohan, Sumeet Sharma as Kumar, Pawan Verma as Rashid, Vipin Gupta as Madhav and Chitra Thapar as Naina were impressive in putting life into the characters and made it a visual delight for the audience. The lights were operated by Gaurav Jamwal and Rahul Singh did the presentations. |
||
|
Srinagar, October 30 The kitchen of the temple caught fire and was
damaged last night, they said. However, the main temple was not damaged, as it is located inside the Hariparbat fort in the city. The cause of the fire was being ascertained, the police said. The Sharika Devi temple is an abode of Goddess Jagadamba Sharika Bhagwati, believed to be a form of Goddess Durga or Shakti. — PTI |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
