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Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Convocation
Pratibha gives away Dogra Rattan Award
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8 shops, BSNL tower gutted in Katra fire
ABVP holds ‘maha dharna’ against recruitment policy
Frequent Road Accidents
Saffron production set to achieve target of 18.5 metric tonnes
40 duped by Jaipur-based finance company
‘Bharat Ko Jano’ quiz held
World Heritage Week ends
Forum voices concern over vehicle thefts
Saroori for action against absentee teachers
GAD guidelines
Amandeep Murder Case
Central funds for Kashmiri Pandits not used properly: PDP
Teacher killed, another injured in road accident
Army jawan shot at by militants
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Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Convocation
Katra, November 25 As many as 672 students -- 342 in person and 330 in absentia -- and scholars received degrees from the President. She also handed over the Chancellor’s Gold Medal, the Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medal and other medals to the recipients in the presence of the Chancellor, Governor NN Vohra. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was the Guest of Honour. The President lauded the efforts of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in developing a state-of-the-art educational institution in just about a decade. Governor NN Vohra, who presided over the function, in his address stated that the university had forged ties with 20 national and international institutions for collaborative research and exchange programmes of teachers and students. He hoped this connectivity along with other similar initiatives would help convert the university into a leading centre of excellence. Expressing his gratitude and thanks to the visionary founders of the university, the Governor pointed out that the institution had emerged as the first technical and fully residential university in the state. The Shrine Board, he informed, had invested Rs 200 crore to set up the campus. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed hope that the students would emerge as leaders in various fields, including politics, by dint of their talent, quality education and hard work. Prof RNK Bamezai, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, presented the report card, giving details of its rapid growth and development, past achievements and future plan of action. Prominent among those present on the occasion were the Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly, ministers, Adviser to the Chief Minister, MPs, legislators, Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Vice-Chancellors of various universities in the state and members of the Board. Governor hosts dinner Jammu: Governor NN Vohra hosted a dinner in the honour of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at Raj Bhawan here on Friday evening. First Lady Usha Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, chairman of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Karan Singh, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Mohammad Akbar Lone, chairman of the Legislative Council Amrit Malhotra, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, ministers, advisers to the Chief Minister, MPs, MLAs, leaders of various social and political organisations, Vice-Chancellors of various universities, senior officers of the police and security forces and the civil administration attended the dinner.
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Pratibha gives away Dogra Rattan Award
Jammu, November 25 Speaking at the Dogra Rattan Award function at the General Zorawar Singh Auditorium on the campus of the University of Jammu this evening, Patil appreciated the richness of the Dogri art and culture, literature, Pahari paintings and the valour of Dogra people. She gave away the award to Prof Nilamber Dev Sharma, Dhan Raj Badgotra, Rangil Singh, Heera Lal Verma, Prof Reeta Jatinder, Sohail Kazmi, Jagdish Singh Jamwal and Satpal Sahni (posthumously). The award was instituted by the Council for Promotion of Dogri Language, Culture and History and comprised a shawl, a citation and a memento. The President said, “The Dogra people with their rich culture and language represent a discernible part of the many hues that make up this enchanting state and the nation. The Dogri language has evolved over the years and enriched our literature and poetry. It has a well established repertoire of poetry, fiction and drama and a rich tradition of oral literature. Its songs speak of a range of emotions, from love to heroism and sacrifice. The proud and brave Dogras are known for their valour and the name of Gen Zorawar Singh can never be forgotten.” Governor NN Vohra emphasised the need for preserving and effectively showcasing the rich composite cultural heritage of the Jammu region, particularly the miniature paintings of the Basohli school. He said the Jammu region had produced many prominent personalities, who had made outstanding contributions to the field of art, culture, literature, law, journalism and varied other fields. |
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Hurriyat strike hits life in Valley
Srinagar, November 25 Shops and business establishments in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and adjoining areas remain closed due to the strike, officials said. Though private schools remain closed in most parts of the valley, the government ones were open but attendance was thin due to non-availability of regular transport facilities. The strike, however, failed to evoke a strong response from suburban and rural areas, officials said. Meanwhile, the police has rubbished the allegations that 51 minor boys detained recently were political prisoners. “They were arrested on the grounds of rape, sodomy, theft, outraging modesty of women, eve teasing, drug peddling, murder, kidnapping and other heinous social crimes,” DIG (Srinagar range) Abdul Gani Mir said here yesterday in reaction to the shutdown called by Geelani following a report by New Delhi-based Asian Centre for Human Rights. Mir said of the 51 cases mentioned in the report, only 38 belong to the Kashmir valley. “The majority of these alleged minors have already been bailed out, which exposes the sinister designs of separatists (for calling the strike) to malign the image of the state and the police. These Hurriyat leaders stoop low to portray rapists, thieves, rogues, gamblers, drug peddlers, eve teasers and murderers as political prisoners,” he said. Militant attack Militants on Friday shot at and injured a village head in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said here. Militants shot at Poonzo village head Abdul Salam in Tral town market, 35 km from here, they said. The bullets hit his hand and thigh, they said, adding that no militant outfit had claimed responsibility for the attack so far. — PTI |
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8 shops, BSNL tower gutted in Katra fire
Katra, November 25 Additional SP, Katra, Mohan Lal said a short circuit might have caused the fire. The incident took place around 5 am, an hour before the opening of the Yatri Registration Centre nearby. The incident sent the police and the local administration into a tizzy as President Pratibha Devisingh Patil was on a visit to the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. Police personnel from the nearby police station reached the spot and informed senior officers. Panic gripped the area and the people, especially pilgrims, were evacuated immediately and the area was cordoned off. Three fire engines were pressed into service and the flames were doused after about one and a half hour. Meanwhile, a BSNL tower was damaged and the mobile phone services were disrupted. Three transformers were also damaged. Sources said the damaged shops were located on an encroached upon land in the congested area. Former president of the Hotel and Restaurants Association Shiv Kumar Sharma termed the incident as a providential escape as it took place during the lean phase of the pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi. “The Fire Services Department should immediately take steps like spreading awareness among vendors and shopkeepers to prevent any such incident in future because Katra is a congested and busy town,” he said. Chief General Mmanager, BSNL, Jammu circle, RK Koul told The Tribune over the phone that since the cables of the BSNL tower and the generators were completely damaged, their batteries were used to restore the Internet services three hours after the incident. “We hope the BSNL mobile phone service will be restored by the evening as the replacement of the burnt cables will take time,” said Koul. He added the local authorities should take steps to prevent encroachment by shopkeepers in the area. |
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ABVP holds ‘maha dharna’ against recruitment policy
Jammu, November 25 A large number of ABVP activists gathered at Shaheedi Sathal and shouted slogans against the anti-youth policy of the government. College students boycotted classes. The protesters appealed to the students to join the protest. Pawan Sharma, in-charge of the ABVP, Jammu and Kashmir, said, “Students from various colleges and the University of Jammu participated in the maha dharna. They expressed their resentment against the state government and demanded that the policy be revoked immediately.”
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Frequent Road Accidents
Jammu, November 25 CPM MLA MY Tarigami, who is heading the committee, told The Tribune that after an on-the-spot survey of the roads in the accident-prone areas, the committee had given some suggestions but no action had been taken so far. “We fail to understand why the authorities concerned are not serious about tackling the problem of frequent road accidents which has claimed number of lives during the last some years”, he said. After much debate in the Assembly during the last Budget session on the growing number of road accidents in the erstwhile Doda district, the Speaker had constituted the committee to assess the ground situation. The committee had visited some accident-prone areas on the Jammu-Srinagar and the Batote-Kishtwar national highways. Tarigami said the committee had suggested the proper screening of the drivers of passenger vehicles in these areas, the withdrawal of the vehicles which were in a bad condition and the construction of parapets on both sides of the road. “These short term measures call for priority attention and strict adherence, as they do not neither entail any big financial implication nor require special planning,” he argued, but regretted that no action had been taken so far in this regard. Tarigami, however, said despite indifference of the authorities, the committee was preparing a report enlisting long-term measures to minimise causalities on the roads. “We are visiting Ramban on December 2 to hold a meeting there and all officers of erstwhile Doda district have been called,” he said. Meanwhile, a meeting of the committee was held under Tarigami’s chairmanship today. The meeting observed that the number of road mishaps in the area had increased primarily due to overloading, lack of crash barriers and rash driving. The committee observed that as nothing could compensate a lost human life, the government was duty bound to promote safety and security of its people on priority. Legislators Naresh Kumar Gupta and Ashok Kumar, besides other senior officers attended the meeting. |
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Saffron production set to achieve target of 18.5 metric tonnes
Srinagar, November 25 “The implementation of the Mission has started showing results with the area brought under rejuvenation and replanting by producing flowers in the first year itself,” said saffron growers in the Pampore area. With this, the saffron crop is expected to be much higher than the last two years, they observed. “The technology being adopted under the Mission is very helpful in increasing quality production,” said Abdul Majeed Wani, president of the Saffron Growers Association. The Mission was sanctioned by the Central Government in August last year with its share of Rs 288.06 crore and farmers’ share of Rs 84.12 crore and would be focusing on raising productivity of the costliest spice of saffron from the previous 2.5 kg per hectare to five kg per hectare. This costliest spice, known for its quality from Kashmir is grown on karewas, mostly in Pampore area of Pulwama district, south of Srinagar along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. About 16,000 families of the area are affiliated with saffron production and have this as the only source of income. Director, Agriculture Department, Kashmir Division, Farooq Ahmad Lone said with the introduction of new measures, the total saffron production would be increased from the last year’s 9.46 MT to 18.5 MT from an area of 3,785 hectares under saffron cultivation. The Mission also aims to produce 1,230 MT of quality corms from 82 hectares in three public sector nurseries at Allowpora in Shopian district, SKUAST nursery at Konibal near Pampore in Pulwama district and Beerwar in Kishtwar district of Jammu region. This is aimed at area expansion under saffron production, Farooq Ahmad Lone said. The Mission also envisages an efficient post-harvest saffron recovery and quality saffron drive through the use of hot air driers. On the components of the mission, Lone told The Tribune that it would include rejuvenation of existing saffron area as per latest package of practice developed by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) under which 75 per cent of the cost would be borne by the Mission. Under the Mission, five tonnes of corms per hectare would be replaced and an estimated cost of digging, soiling and relaying of corms is Rs 33,740 per kanal of land. Out of this, “We have covered 337 hectares in which incentives worth Rs 17 crore are being given,” Lone said. An amount of Rs 10.85 crore has already been disbursed so far this year under this programme. The Mission also envisages a systematic irrigation system, most important component for the saffron production, for which 125 borewells are planned to be fully funded by the Mission. The farmers would also be provided with sprinkler sets with 50 per cent subsidy. The Mission plans to set up quality testing laboratory and a Saffron Park. It also envisages an electronic auction centre that would be coming up at a cost of Rs 22 crore to be implemented by the National Horticulture Board for which tendering process has already started, he disclosed. |
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40 duped by Jaipur-based finance company
Jammu, November 25 Gold Sukh Ltd was also running a jewellery shop from a rented office complex at Gandhi Nagar but its management fled with jewellery worth crores of rupees. Earlier, the Special Municipal Mobile Magistrate, Jammu, on a petition, had directed the SSP, Crime Branch, Jammu, to investigate the matter. The company was launched in Jammu in June this year by three persons, Neeraj Kant Sharma, a resident of Laker Mandi, Janipur; Surjeet Kour, a resident of Sainik Colony; and Maksood Ahmed, a resident of Gandhi Nagar. However, the three accused had been evading arrest, the police said. “I have lost Rs 40,000. The company operated through a network of depositors and even on my initiative at least 25 persons deposited money with it,” said Mukhtayar Ahmed, a resident of Udhampur. Another victim, Palvinder Singh, said, “There were more than 20 persons in my chain. We have deposited Rs 23,000 each.” Palvinder added Gold Sukh Ltd had duped hundreds of persons like him. “The number of complaints is increasing by the day. Even from remote districts, the company has duped the people of crores of rupees,” said a police official. Most of the victims were traders and unemployed youth,
he added. |
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‘Bharat Ko Jano’ quiz held
Jammu, November 25 Students from six schools participated in the quiz comprising subjects like Indian history, politics, economics, and current affairs. The competition was held for junior and senior categories. Prof SC Anand and Prof Santosh Gupta conducted the quiz for the senior and junior categories, respectively. The chief guest appreciated the role of the Bharat Vikas Parishad in propagating the values of secularism and participation among the youth. In the junior category, Dogra Higher Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, got the first position, SD Tara Puri High School, Gandhi Nagar, second, while Blooming Dales High School, Nanak Nagar, secured the third position. In the senior category, Dogra Higher Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, got the first position, SD Tara Puri High School, Gandhi Nagar, second, while Luthra Academy School, Gandhi Nagar, secured the third position.
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World Heritage Week ends
Jammu, November 25 The aim of the celebrations was to involve the youth, the local people, especially students, in the protection, preservation and propagation of the heritage. On the concluding day today, students from Army Public School, Akhnoor, Kendriya Vidyalaya-1, Akhnoor, and DCM Public School, Akhnoor, took an oath that they would not damage any historical building or heritage of
the country. During the week-long celebrations, cultural awareness programmes and other activities were organised. Besides, a heritage walk at the Akhnoor Fort was also organised on the occasion. KCS Mehta, principal of Army Public School, Akhnoor, was the chief guest of the concluding function.
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Forum voices concern over vehicle thefts
Jammu, November 25 In a statement issued here today, the forum observed that after the shifting of the darbar from Srinagar to Jammu the incidents of lifting of cars and two-wheelers have considerably increased and the police has not been able to nab the culprits and recover the stolen vehicles. The forum has urged the authorities concerned to take some effective steps to keep a check on such incidents and restore confidence of the people. The forum pointed out that two days back the car of a prominent business man and social activist was stolen from outside his own hotel, which speaks a lot about the prevailing situation in the city. |
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Saroori for action against absentee teachers
Jammu, November 25 During a surprise inspection of Government Primary School, Ikhwa Patnazi; Government Middle School, Banwarah; Government Primary School, Patnazi; and Government High School, Patnazi; Saroori found these government educational institutions closed with the staff posted there not
on duty. Saroori immediately got in touch with the Director, School Education, Jammu, GA Qureshi, and
asked him to take stern action against the erring teachers. “We can’t afford negligent behaviour of teachers, as the state government is focused on promoting literacy and developing the younger generation as capable and enlightened citizens,” Saroori observed. Meanwhile, the department has sought a reply from all teachers who were absent from work. |
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GAD guidelines
Jammu: The government has issued guidelines to be followed by the 14 line departments for devolution of funds to panchayats.
The guidelines issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) have come after the process initiated by the state government for the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. —
TNS
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Amandeep Murder Case
Jammu, November 25 With some 5,000 friends on the Facebook, Superintendent of Police Mubassir Latifi, who earlier headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the murder of Amandeep Singh, son of former legislator Deepinder Kour, is getting flooded with messages and wishes from Netizens. One of his friends, Khalid Mustafa Bhatti, has posted: “It pained but what can v (we) do except pray.” In response to this comment, Latifi has posted, “Need your prayers only. Thanks a lot dear.” Another friend Rizwan Ahmed has posted, “Sir, I salute u (you) for doing justice. Tou kya howa tiger aj headquarter mai hai lakin kahlayega na tiger hi na (What if the tiger has been attached to the Police Headquarters, still he will be recognised as a tiger.) Sir, once again (I) salute u. With love, Rizwan.” Some of his friends are not only sending him sympathy messages but are also wishing him a promotion. “Very soon bro (brother) is coming (as) SSP Jmu (Jammu). So, don’t take tension,” writes Thakur Virender Rulz. The action against the police officer has not only invited a stream of messages but has also started a debate on his facebook account. Following the circulation of the video, showing the interrogation of Nago, the state government at a Cabinet meeting yesterday had ordered the attachment of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rath and Superintendent of Police (SP) Mubassir Latifi to the police headquarters here. In the leaked video, the police officers have been shown using “foul” and “derogatory” words against some politicians and influential persons. Superintendent of Police Basant Rath does not have a facebook account at present. “Earlier, the SSP had made an account on the facebook, but now either he has deleted or blocked it,” said a police officer, once considered close
to him. |
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Central funds for Kashmiri Pandits not used properly: PDP
Jammu, November 25 In a statement issued here today, Bhat said though the Centre had from time to time given huge financial support for the rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits, it was not properly used by the state government. He alleged substandard material was used in the construction of the flats at the Jagti township to accommodate migrant Kashmiri Pandits. Bhat said the Prime Minister’s Employment Package announced for the community was also not properly utilised. “Due to the lackadaisical attitude of the state government all packages announced by the Centre have failed to deliver,” he said. He added at the Jagti township the buildings posed a threat to the lives of the migrants living in the flats as substandard material had been used in the construction of the building. Bhat said though 1,765 persons were recruited under the Prime Minister’s Employment Package in the Kashmir valley, the government failed to provide them proper accommodation. |
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Teacher killed, another injured in road accident
Jammu, November 25 The police said Parvez Khan (40) died on the spot, while Abdul Qyoom (45) was seriously injured in the accident. Parvez and Abdul were on the way to the school. Abdul was rushed to a nearby hospital and from where he was referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Power and Transport Shabir Ahmed Khan has mourned Parvez’s death and expressed sympathy with the bereaved family. |
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Army jawan shot at by militants
Srinagar, November 25 The incident took place yesterday when some militants fired at Riyaz Ahmad Lone, a territorial Army jawan, when he was on his way home at Naid Khai in Bandipora, 35 km from here, they said. One of his friends accompanying him and another person were also injured in the firing.
— PTI |
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Katra, November 25
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today lauded the resilience of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and hoped that the state with its resources and potential and the willingness of its people to work hard together would move forward on the path of development, prosperity and peace.
Katra, November 25
SNAPSHOTS
Though the police sealed all offices of the company, it said Gold Sukh Ltd closed all its offices across the country on the intervening night of November 22 and 23.