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After Farooq’s snub, Kamal agrees to toe coalition line
No let-up in protests against new recruitment policy
Srinagar-Leh highway closed due to snowfall |
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Massive rise in price of goats
CPM supports AFSPA revocation
Boy thrashed for not giving girl student’s phone number
Govt flayed for slow progress on tourism projects
NC leaders trying to blackmail Centre
Fate of Jan Aushadhi Stores remains uncertain
Doda to have new ropeway
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After Farooq’s snub, Kamal agrees to toe coalition line
Talking to The Tribune, Kamal said his elder brother Farooq Abdullah was right in disassociating himself from his (Kamal’s) “misquoted controversial” statements which were creating a misunderstanding between the two parties running a coalition government in the state. “I do agree that some of my statements were creating confusion between the two parties but these statements were twisted and misquoted by a section of the media,” Kamal admitted. “I usually speak in either Kashmiri or Urdu. I think some mediapersons have problems in translating the same in English,” he added. Facing embarrassment after Farooq Abdullah disowned his utterances against the Congress, Kamal shifted all blame to the media for sensationalising his statements to create a misunderstanding between the two parties. “Even I am not happy over some of my misquoted statements which appeared in a section of the media,” he said. Kamal held that his recent speeches had been projected in a “wrong way”. “There is a sea of difference between what I have said in the public speeches and that what has been reported (by a section of the local press),” Kamal said. He pointed out that he had said nothing against the Army or its role in the state. He also denied the remarks attributed to him against the Congress. Kamal, who was recently appointed additional general secretary and spokesman of the NC, observed that the smooth functioning of the coalition was in the interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the cadre of both parties should work in this direction. Even though Farooq Abdullah has disowned the statements of his younger brother, the Congress has said that just disowning “derogatory” statements was not sufficient. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) general secretary Ravinder Sharma, while reacting to Farooq’s statement, alleged that since the formation of the NC-Congress coalition government in the state, Kamal had been issuing such irresponsible statements time and again. “The advice of Farooq Abdullah, on one or two occasions, has not served any purpose in the past also. Rather, the general perception in the public is that he (Kamal) has been rewarded for these activities and assigned the duty of official spokesman of the NC,” Sharma said. Farooq had yesterday advised his younger brother to exercise restraint and follow the party policy line on all issues, particularly those pertaining to the policies of the coalition government, AFSPA and the role of the Army. The Union Minister had admitted that certain statements made by Kamal on the above issues in the past few days were regrettable and were not endorsed by him and did not reflect the NC’s policy. In his efforts to placate the annoyed Congress leadership, Farooq, who is president of the NC, said the coalition was doing a good work and it should be the endeavour of all in both parties to strengthen the coalition for the welfare of the people of the state. He urged the NC cadres to work with the Congress cadre in close coordination for the betterment of the state and its people. |
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No let-up in protests against new recruitment policy
Jammu, November 4 A large number of students of Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, Government MAM College and the University of Jammu carried out a protest demonstration on the city roads. Shouting anti-government slogans, the protesting students termed the present coalition government as anti-youth and demanded the immediate revocation of the decision. Dr Varinder Kondal, state president of the ABVP, said, “We have decided to gherao the Civil Secretariat on November 9, when the students will march towards the Civil Secretariat from their respective places. All the students should come forward to fight jointly against any such move of the government.” The ABVP unit of Jammu also lodged a protest demonstration outside GGM Science College here. Condemning the police lathicharge on students and scholars, who were protesting against the new recruitment policy of the state government the other day, Sangarsh, an organisation of students of the University of Jammu, said today that the police brutality on students showed the dictatorial behaviour of the state government. Addressing mediapersons here today, Sangharsh president Mahesh Kaul said the new recruitment policy showed insensitivity and the lack of understanding of the labour laws and the employment procedure on the part of the government. “This policy is a clear violation of the labour laws and human rights. If it is implemented, it will prove to be a breeding ground for anti-national elements, who are always eager to exploit the situation in the state,” he said. Kaul said the time had come to abrogate Article 370 and invite the private sector from all parts of the country to the state so that better job opportunities could be provided to the youth.
Policy legally defective: Panthers Party Jammu:
Panthers Party MLA and former Education Minister Harsh Dev Singh today said the new recruitment policy announced by the state government was legally defective and was a nullity in law. Addressing a press conference here today, Singh said the salary of government employees was fixed under the Civil Services Pay Rules, 2009, issued vide an SRO 93 of 15-4-2009. He added that the pay bands of all the categories of government employees were defined in the said SRO, which could not be altered, modified or reduced by the issuance of a mere government order.
—TNS |
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Srinagar-Leh highway closed due to snowfall
Srinagar, November 4 Traffic on the strategic highway was temporarily suspended this morning after the snowfall, a spokesman for the Traffic Department said. He added about five inches of snow had accumulated on the road at the 11,578 foot high Zojilla Pass, 107 km from here. — PTI
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Massive rise in price of goats
Jammu, November 4 An average healthy goat, which was available between Rs 4,000 and Rs 7,000 last year, now comes for Rs 15,000- Rs 25,000. As a result, neither the buyers nor the sellers are showing much enthusiasm to purchase the livestock. Nazir Ahmed, a meat seller outside the Jama Masjid in the Talab Khatikan area, said: “Last year, we got good business. But, this year the prices of goats have been touching the sky, which have dampened the excitement of Bakr Eid.” “Normally, a week before Eid, goat sellers from various places gather outside the mosque in this area, but this year no one has arrived as yet,” added Nazir. Besides the prices of meat, the cost of other goods have also gone up. Aslam Khan, owner of Qasmi Kutubkhana that offers religious items for sale, said: “As the prices of all essential commodities have been shot up, people are not interested in doing much shopping. Inflation has drastically affected our business this year.” Mohammad Asif, a local resident who had come to buy a goat, said, “The prices are too high. Now, I will have to go to a rural area where the prices will be cheaper as compared to the urban areas.” He demanded that officials in the Sheep and Animal Husbandry Department should immediately intervene or take some steps so that the prices could be controlled and goats could be bought for Eid without pinching the pocket.
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CPM supports AFSPA revocation
Jammu, November 4 Addressing a press conference here today, state secretary of the CPM and MLA, Kulgam, MY Tarigami said he had in 2004 given a proposal to the government for declaring some areas as peaceful zones on a trail basis. “I don’t think there is any reason to oppose the withdrawal of the AFSPA from some peaceful areas where the Army is not needed,”
he argued. In an obvious reference to the NC, Tarigami said the issue should not be politicised. Asked about the performance of the state government, he said this regime had lost its credibility. “The Omar-led government is under the scanner,”
he added. Tarigami criticised the coalition government for its new recruitment policy. He said on the one hand the government had failed to attract industry to the state, on the other it had formulated an anti-youth policy. “This policy is yet another blow to the jobless educated youth, who are already disillusioned with the anti-youth policies of the state government,”
he said. “The policies and programmes of the Central and state governments aimed at containing unemployment are inadequate and those implemented are not giving satisfactory results,” he said, adding nothing concrete had been done to provide much-hyped one lakh jobs to the youth of the state under the Prime Minister’s Employment Package. |
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Boy thrashed for not giving girl student’s phone number
Jammu, November 4 The victim, Shariq Nissar (18), in his complaint to the police, alleged that when he reached the school yesterday teacher Shahid Mughal asked him about the phone number of a girl student. When Shariq refused to give the teacher the girl’s phone number, the latter beat him up. Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Nissar Hussain, father of the boy, said, “Shahid Mughal is the son of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and has been engaged as a teacher on contract for the past five months. Earlier, Shahid had tried to get the phone numbers of girls from other students and was not ready to mend his ways.” “Yesterday, when my son reached the school, Shahid, who was already there, started beating him. I got a call from my son’s friends that he had been injured. I rushed to the school and there I found him crying with pain,” added Nissar. He said they had lodged a complaint with the Chief Education Officer (CEO), Rajouri, ML Sharma, demanding stern action against the guilty teacher. “Shahid Mughal attended the school this morning, but neither the police nor the Education Department took any action on our complaint,” said Nissar. Meanwhile, the CEO, Rajouri, has initiated an inquiry into the incident and asked the school authorities to file a report within two days. “I have received a complaint that a teacher beat up a student when the latter refused to give him the phone number of a girl student. However, the inquiry report is still awaited,” said Sharma. The Manjakote police said it was also investigating the matter. |
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Govt flayed for slow progress on tourism projects
Jammu, November 4 Members of the AJHLA today held a meeting under the chairmanship of its president Inderjeet Khajuria and demanded immediate completion of the ongoing works. Khajuria said the work on artificial lake in the Tawi, laying of cable car between the Mubarak Mandi complex and the Bahu Fort and from the fort to the Maha Maya hill top and the upgradation of the the Manda Wild Life Sanctuary to the National Wild Life Park were getting delayed. The association demanded some concrete steps should be taken to develop tourism at Suchetgarh and Chamliyal. — TNS
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NC leaders trying to blackmail Centre
Jammu, November 4 Gupta alleged that an attempt was being made to blackmail the country as a whole. He added that their fight was with the Congress, which was known for being power hungry even at the cost of national interests. Referring to the statements of the NC, that the accession of the state to India was temporary, conditional or even a political issue, Gupta said legally as well constitutionally, Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India. “To challenge the finality of the accession is not only against the law of the land, but treacherous too,” he said. He added that, “It is surprising that the NC leaders are indulging in such unlawful utterances, ignoring that they are under the oath of the Constitution by virtue of which they are enjoying power and the provisions of the Constitution and that of the law. It is very clear that no one has the right to challenge the accession and the integrity of the country.” Gupta questioned the NC leadership for joining hands with the Congress, whom their founding father, late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had described as “insects of the dirty lanes”. He said the history was witness to the fact that whenever the Congress and the NC were in power, they brought sufferings and miseries for the people of the state and harmed the interests of the country. |
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Fate of Jan Aushadhi Stores remains uncertain
Jammu, November 4 With an aim to provide medicines to the people at rates cheaper than the market, the Jan Aushadhi Stores were to be opened at four places initially and later at all district headquarters. Last year, the Indian Red Cross Society was given approval for the establishment of four stores, one each in Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu and Leh. But a drug store had been opened in Srinagar so far. The fate of the other three stores is in the balance, as the powerful drug mafia is said to be opposing the project. “To provide generic medicines to the patients at cheaper rates, these stores were decided to be opened, but due to some technical problems the project was getting delayed,” said Feroz Ahmad, general secretary of the Indian Red Cross Society, Jammu and Kashmir chapter. Asked about the reasons for the delay in setting up these stores, Feroz said, “Land has been allotted for the other three stores. But the state government is yet to waive the rent of these stores, which is delaying the project.” He said once the Civil Secretariat started functioning in Jammu, the demand for rent waiver would be taken up with the government. The Drugs Department authorities said they were concerned over the delay in the opening of the stores. “Once these drug stores start functioning at main government hospitals, the people will be able to get quality medicines at affordable prices,” said a senior official of the Drugs Department. |
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Jammu, November 4 “The ropeway will not just boost tourism but also create jobs in the district,” District Development Commissioner, Doda, Farooq Ahmed Khan said. “Besides setting up a ropeway, officials are also planning to use the scenic resources of the district to promote adventure sports like skiing, mountaineering, biking and others,” he said. — PTI |
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Jammu/Srinagar, November 4