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25 hurt as Budgam-bound train derails in Kashmir
Cabinet to discuss food Bill today
63rd anniversary of Kargil liberation celebrated
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Need to improve postal services in rural areas, says Governor
Farooq lends mite to NC campaign against opposition parties
Srinagar-bound flights cancelled due to fog
Two-day seminar on internal migration begins
Forum formed to explore border tourism potential
Five-day science camp concludes
Use quality material in development works, says Bhalla
CM reviews Central University project
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25 hurt as Budgam-bound train derails in Kashmir
Srinagar, November 23 The engine and two bogies of the train derailed at Sadura village, 55 km from here, as the driver overshot the intended station stop by nearly 200 metres, officials said. As the train reached the Sadura railway station, about 7 km from Qazigund, two of its bogies and the engine derailed causing injuries to at least 25 persons, including the driver and two of his associates. The injured were given first aid while 10 of them were admitted to the Trauma Hospital at Qazigund, the officials said. Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon has asked Chief
Area Manager, Northern Railway, Upinder Singh to inquire into the matter and furnish a report. A technical team reached the spot soon after the accident, which took place at 12.20 pm. The cause of the accident is being ascertained by the technical team, Upinder Singh said. The derailment, however, did not suspend the movement of other trains on the Qazigund-Srinagar-Budgam-Baramulla railway line. As the train had derailed near the railway station while halting at Sadura, the movement of trains on the spare line at the station continued. An official spokesman here stated that all injured were out of danger. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Anantnag, and the CMO, Kulgam, have been deputed to oversee the medical care to the injured. |
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Cabinet to discuss food Bill today
Jammu, November 23 Highly placed sources told The Tribune that the Cabinet would discuss the National Food Security Bill, 2011, circulated
by the Union Government to all the states for their comments. The Central government has circulated the draft
Bill among all states for getting their comments before it will be introduced in Parliament. Most states have already submitted their response to the draft Bill. This Bill is aimed at providing food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people. The sources said the state Cabinet would also discuss the proposal to give compensation to the residents of Ganderbal whose land had been acquired by the government for setting up Central University of Kashmir. The proposal to fix the price of the acquired land would also be discussed and finalised in
the meeting. The Cabinet would also discuss proposal to give e-governance contract to some private players. The state government has already announced that it would promote e-governance in the state to
bring transparency and accountability in the administration. Although the discussion on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is not on the agenda of the scheduled Cabinet meeting, sources said that there were chances of some discussion on the issue also. “The AFSPA is not on the agenda of tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting but if this issue would be discussed, we would strongly put forward our party’s viewpoint on the issue,” a Congress minister told The Tribune on condition of anonymity. |
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63rd anniversary of Kargil liberation celebrated
Srinagar, November 23 Lt Gen Ravi Dastane, GOC, 14 Corps, the GOC, 8 Mountain Division, Commanders of the division, Haji Ghulam Amir, Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), and other civil dignitaries laid wreaths to pay homage to the martyrs of the 1947-48 operations. This was followed by a Special Sainik Sammelan in which the GOC, 8 Mountain Division, addressed the troops. The focus of the celebrations, thereafter, shifted to the Biamathang ground where multiple events were planned. Amir inaugurated an Army Mela in the presence of Lt Gen Dastane. Lt Gen Dastane addressed a large gathering of service personnel, schoolchildren and civilians on the occasion. A “Know Your Army” exhibition was organised to showcase the wide range of latest weapons and equipment being used by the Army. The exhibition was a big draw. Simultaneously, a multi-speciality medical camp, jointly organised by the Army and civil doctors, was held.
— TNS
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Need to improve postal services in rural areas, says Governor
Jammu, November 23 The Governor, who was the chief guest of the function, emphasised the need for bringing progressive improvement in the delivery of postal services, particularly in the remote and far-flung areas of the state. Referring to various initiatives being taken by the Department of Posts to open new post offices and the proposal for establishing a Digital Post Office, he hoped that all these measures would contribute towards improving the postal services in the state. The Governor said postal stamps brought out in earlier years and the first day covers in later years were an important source of history, culture and heritage of various parts of our country. He emphasised the need for promoting the hobby of stamp collection among the children. He added the date of stamping of letters should be legible so that the period when the mail was delivered could
be known. The Governor hoped that the Department of Posts would shortly introduce digital stamping of letters as had been indicated by John Samuel, Chief Post Master General, Jammu and Kashmir circle. He congratulated Samuel and appreciated his initiative of launching the “My Stamp” scheme in the state. The Governor released four special covers on the occasion as part of the show and released “My Stamp” with the photograph of a small child on it. He congratulated Samuel and other officers of the circle for organising the exhibition where around 1,00,000 stamps and special covers were at display. Earlier, the Governor lit the ceremonial lamp to mark the commencement of the exhibition. The Governor was honoured on the occasion with Samuel presenting to him a memento. Samuel dwelt on the improvements recently brought about in the functioning of the department in the state and the new initiatives being taken to improve the delivery system. In his welcome address, Amit Sharma, Director, Postal Services, spoke about the aims and objectives of the event. Rattan Lal, Senior Superintendent, Post Offices, Jammu, presented a vote of thanks. A cultural programme was presented by schoolchildren on the occasion. Prominent among those present on the occasion were
Minister for Medical Education RS Chib, Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST, Jammu, Dr B Mishra, senior officers, prominent
citizens and students. |
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Farooq lends mite to NC campaign against opposition parties
Jammu, November 23 Farooq was addressing a public meeting at the border town of Rajoui to step up the party’s campaign to counter the “malicious” propaganda launched by the opposition parties, especially the PDP. Today’s public rally was the second convention in connection with the ongoing campaign of the party. Although Farooq Abdullah adopted a soft view on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), he seized the opportunity to lambast his arch rival PDP for indulging in politics of “deceit and lies.” Launching a scathing attack on PDP leaders for unnecessary criticising the state government, Farooq regretted that instead of playing the role of a constructive Opposition, the one and only task of the PDP was to criticise the government without any reason. “The PDP has been trying to befool the people by raking up some irrelevant issues,” he observed and cautioned the people against the gimmicks of the Opposition. “The PDP leadership has the habit of churning out propaganda to hoodwink people,” he said, adding that “the edifice of lies has no roots and collapses under its own weight”. He further asserted that the propaganda and baseless allegations unleashed by the PDP would not eclipse the performance of the coalition government. The Union Minister came out openly in support of the new recruitment policy announced by the state government and claimed that it would benefit a large number of unemployed educated youth of the state. He exhorted the party workers to educate people, especially the youth, to dispel misconceptions created by certain vested interests regarding the policy. On the AFSPA, he said that his party was pushing for the removal of the AFSPA from the areas where peace had returned. “The AFSPA will be removed gradually in view of the perceptible improvement in the security scenario in the state,” Farooq said, adding that issues like revocation of the AFSPA and troops cut would be sorted out with the passage of time.
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Srinagar-bound flights cancelled due to fog
Jammu, November 23 Most of the flights were behind schedule. While no one from the Airports Authority of India was willing to speak on the issue, sources said a few flights reached here almost 3-4 hours later than their scheduled arrival. This delayed arrival and departure of some other flights, as the runway was occupied by the Srinagar-bound flights, sources said. “Only one private flight went to Srinagar, and even that reached there via Delhi. The flight took off from here and then went to Delhi before reaching Srinagar,” said a police officer at the Jammu Airport. He further said this was the first day of the season when the flights got delayed. Till the evening, the situation had not improved. When contacted, SK Anand, Air Traffic Controller, Jammu Airport, did not speak on the issue. Meanwhile, Met officials at Srinagar said the visibility was less than half of what was required.
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New Recruitment Policy
Jammu, November 23 The protesters alleged that when they gathered near Satwari Chowk to take out a peaceful rally to reach Bikram Chowk, a police party led by DSP Mohan Lal Kaith used force, as a result of which a number of activists got injured. Sirohi Nandan, a JJM activist, said they had already announced they would carry out a peaceful rally in the city just to express their anger against the state government for the “anti-youth” policy. “But when we gathered there in huge number, the authorities could not bear it and they sent the police to disperse us,” Sirohi said, adding that they would now wait till November 25 before initiating any further action, as the high court is to take a decision on implementation of the policy on that day. The police had also detained three activists, who were released in The student community has been holding protest demonstrations in Jammu region against this policy, under which, all new recruits (non-gazetted) will get 50 per cent of their salary for the first two years of service and then 75 per cent for the next three years, without any allowances. |
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Two-day seminar on internal migration begins
Jammu, November 23 Usha Vohra, first lady, who was the chief guest of the function, said an unequal distribution of opportunities compelled people to migrate from one place to another to find work and jobs. She added, according to the Census 2010 data, migration from rural and urban areas was a dominant stream with inter-district and inter-state migration having increased progressively. Vohra said emphasis should be on framing policies that met the needs of the most vulnerable sections of the migrant population, with special attention on dealing with the adverse effects of migration on women and children. In this context, she underscored the need for providing the migrants access to social services and encouraging social inclusion and integration. There was also a need to mitigate the adverse effects of migration and strengthen the identity and visibility of migrant workers, protect their rights and promote positive human development among them, she added. Local governments and the state government had a major role to play in this regard. Vohra hoped that all the issues concerning various aspects of migration in the state and elsewhere in the country would be adequately discussed during the working sessions of the seminar and an appropriate action plan evolved to address them within a time frame. The migrants faced multiple challenges across the country, she said. In his address, Prof RD Sharma, Dean, Academic Affairs of the university, congratulated the Department of Sociology for organising the Seminar. In his keynote address, Prof MN Karna, spoke about the dynamics of migration. He added the study of the phenomenon of migration had been a long established convention in the area of sociology. Prof SK Gupta, member-secretary, Indian Association of Social Science Institutions, gave the details of the activities of the association, its history, evolution and the future action plan. In her welcome address, Prof Abha Chauhan, Head of Department of Sociology, University of Jammu, dwelt on the theme and aims and objectives of the seminar. Dr Vishav Raksha, Associate Professor, presented a vote of thanks. |
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Forum formed to explore border tourism potential
Jammu, November 23 The decision to form the forum was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Rajesh Bittu. The meeting was attended by Inderjeet Khajuria, Kuldeep Wahi, Vikrant Dogra, Shamsher Singh Choudary and Iman Hussain. It was decided at the meeting that the forum would work for the development of tourism in the entire border belt from Kathua to Akhnoor. It was observed that the entire border belt of Jammu had a vast potential for tourism development, which would also lead to the development of backward border areas. Border tourism is an entirely new concept and the Union government is serious about it, as tourism will ensure the economic growth of the residents of the area. The Centre has already advanced Rs 6 crore for the development of tourism infrastructure at identified spots of Suchet Garh, Chamlayal Hira Nagar Fort, Narsinghgarh Mandir Gahgwal and Gharana wetland. The forum said the amount sanctioned was too meagre for the creation of the required infrastructure for the development of tourism in the area. It demanded that the old border road from Kathua to Samba, which was in a dilapidated condition, should be repaired.
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Five-day science camp concludes
Jammu, November 23 The camp was organised in collaboration with the Department of Geology of the university for the science students of Class XI and XII, who had secured more then 80 per cent marks in the board examinations. More than 300 meritorious students from various schools of the region participated. Experts from all over the country shared their knowledge with the participating students. The speakers included Prof Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir; Prof AK Bakshi, Vice-Chancellor of Rajshree University, Allahabad; Rakesh Thaploo, Vice-President, Capgemini India Private Limited; Prof Satish K Verma, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, GTB Hospital, Delhi; Prof Sher Ali, NII, Delhi; Prof Ramesh, PRL, Ahmadabad, and Prof Kanchan Pande, IIT, Mumbai. At the valedictory function, Director, School Education, Gulzar Ahmad Qureshi was the chief guest, while Dean, Academic Affairs, University of Jammu, Prof RD Sharma was the guest of honour. |
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Doda residents seek anti-accident squad
Doda, November 23 Patron of the Doda-based Chenab Valley Passengers Welfare Association (CVPWA) Imtiaz Mir said the proposed squad should be headed by a magistrate so that violators of traffic rules could be punished on the spot. The existing limit of the fine for violation should also be increased so that it may serve as an effective deterrent, he added. The official data showed that 92 road accidents had taken place on the highway’s killer stretch in Doda district since April 4 this year. A major accident took place on November 5 near Thathri in which a Matador plunged into the Chenab. The bodies of 10 passengers were recovered while 10 passengers are still missing. Two passengers were seriously injured in the mishap. To draw government’s attention to the issue, the CVPWA, Doda Development Front (DDF), Beopar Mandal, Bar Association and other social organisations today organised a protest here. The protesters wearing black badges took out a rally and offered prayers in memory of those who had lost their lives in these accidents. Besides the 50 casualties, 185 persons sustained injuries in these accidents. On an average, three accidents occurred daily over the last 6 months and that too on the pick and drop points on this killer stretch as well as on the link roads. “The demand of a dedicated squad is the need of the hour. Given the seriousness of the problem, the Chief Minister should take cognisance of it,” said Ishtiaq Dev, spokesman of the
DDF.
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Actor Mushtaq Kak honoured
Jammu, November 23 The felicitation function was organized by a cultural organization, Abhinav Allahabad. Kak was felicitated by Justice (retd) Palok Basu for his contribution in development of performing arts. Former director of Shree Ram Centre for Performing Arts, New Delhi, Mushtaq Kak has also contributed as faculty member in various workshops held by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi in different parts of the country. Kak has directed 200 plays so far. He has also contributed 32 full-length plays for Shree Ram Centre of Performing Arts, New Delhi. He is chief patron of Amateur Theatre Group. Besides, he has essayed the lead role in Bollywood movies like ‘Hijack’ and a Hollywood movie ‘Amal’. He also played a character role in the recently released Bollywood movie, ‘Mausam’. Besides being honoured by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, he was felicitated by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal at Tagore Theatre Chandigarh for his work in the field of performing arts. |
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2 injured in grenade attack
Srinagar, November 23 Militants hurled a grenade at an Army convoy passing through the Pattan market, 30 km from here, around 2 pm but the explosive missed the intended target and landed in a shop, they said. They added shopkeeper Ghulam Mohammad Sofi and his friend Abdul Khaliq Bhat sustained minor injuries in the explosion. The injured were admitted to the nearby sub-district hospital, where their condition was stated to be out of danger. No militant group had so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
— PTI
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Use quality material in development works, says Bhalla
Jammu, November 23 Bhalla appealed to the people to monitor the development work in their areas. He was interacting with locals after launching development projects in the periphery of the Gangyal area of the Gandhi Nagar Assembly segment. The minister directed the engineers and officers concerned to redouble their efforts and accelerate the pace of all ongoing works to ensure their completion within stipulated time frame. He said the objective of the government was to build durable basic infrastructure across the state. Bhalla said the government had taken various innovative measures to improve the standard of living of the people in the rural areas by providing all civic amenities. He assured the residents that all their genuine demands and needs would be fulfilled in a phased manner. He added there was no constraint of funds in providing adequate basic amenities, including safe drinking water, electricity, education, road connectivity, healthcare, besides better lanes and drains. Bhalla said the government had introduced several modern line projects across the state to meet the basic requirements of the people living in the rural and urban areas. |
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CM reviews Central University project
Jammu, November 23 Taking stock of the progress of work for the establishment of Central University through a video conference yesterday with the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, and the District Administration, Ganderbal, the Chief Minister fixed the dead line of December-end for the completion of the Shadipora bridge. He also approved Rs 1 crore for its completion. Reviewing the progress of construction of the physical education complex at Gadoora at an estimated cost of Rs 30.39 crore, the Chief Minister approved the release of Rs 5 crore for accelerating the pace of work. He also approved Rs 1.50 crore for the construction of a polytechnic and Rs 3.75 crore for a 200-bedded hospital. Omar directed the Health and Planning Departments to work out a substantial funding pattern for the completion of the hospital within the stipulated time by at least arranging Rs 10 crore annually for the hospital from the next financial year. The Commissioner Secretary, Health, informed the Chief Minister that funds to the tune of Rs 2.50 crore would be placed in a week’s time at the disposal of the executing agency for the hospital construction work. The Chief Minister also okayed the release of Rs 61 lakh for the completion of the mini maternity centre at Wayil. The District Development Commissioner, Ganderbal, highlighted the issue of four-laning of the National Highway from Zakura to
Wayil. |
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At least 25 persons were injured today when a train from Qazigund to Budgam derailed derailed at Sadura railway station between Qazigund and Anantnag in Kulgam district.
Union Minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today cautioned the people against the gimmicks of opposition parties, which, he said, had launched a vicious campaign against the coalition regime headed by Omar Abdullah.
New Recruitment Policy
