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Centre approves Rs 19,000 cr for railway
project
Protest marks World Braille
Day
Visually-challenged boys more
pampered than girls
Hit by speeding bus, Class IX student dies |
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Forum protests govt move to
shift Kishtwar DC office
Govt casual towards people’s problems: BJP
Dogri adaptation of
‘Othello’ staged
Infiltration bid foiled in Rajouri, claims Army
Story of Mata Vaishno Devi narrated through ‘Karkan’
Artistes perform a Gojri dance at the Spiritual Growth Centre in Katra on Wednesday. Photo by writer
First snowfall at Vaishno
Devi shrine
Involve students in climate
awareness campaigns, says Governor
Governor NN Vohra shakes hand with Shreya Bharti, students of Heritage School in Jammu on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
Rural Job Scheme Akali Dal National
seeks relief for PoK refugees
Former NC MLA Mujahid
Abdullah dead
Omar tells PDD to handle
power crisis
Two brothers found dead in
reservoir
Kashmir clerics declare war
against alcohol, drugs
‘CISF personnel
enjoy immunity under AFSPA’
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Centre approves Rs 19,000 cr for railway project
New Delhi, January 4 Work on the 119-Kilometre Qazigund-Baramulla section was completed in 2009. Work on the Udhampur-Katra section ( 25 Kms) has been delayed and is likely to be completed in 2013 while the Katra-Qazigund section ( 148 Kms) will be completed by 2017. The Jammu-Udhampur section ( 54 Kms) is already operational. The project was announced 17 years ago and there have been cost and time over-runs since then. The delay in completing the project has led to cost escalation,necessitating sanction of more money. Difficult terrain and topography have posed technological challenges to Konkan Railway and IRCON, which are involved in the construction of the only ‘broad guage’ rail line in mountainous ranges in the country. Although the project was initially scheduled to be completed by August 15, 2007, complications related to construction pushed back the schedule to 2017 at the earliest. The project, which was declared a National Project in 2002, has the potential to revolutionise the economy of the state, emphasised the Governor, N.N. Vohra, during his meeting with senior Railway officials at the Raj Bhavan this week. The completion of excavation work for a 11-km long tunnel, the longest in the country, through the Pir Panjal mountains in October last year, marked a significant landmark. The tunnel runs below the existing Jawahar road tunnel and would reduce the travelling distance between Banihal and Wazigund from 35 km to only 11 km. The Jammu-Udhampur section has been operational since 2005 while the Qazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla stretch was commissioned
in 2009.
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Protest marks
World Braille Day
Srinagar,
January 4 The protesters, carrying placards,
gathered in the Press Enclave area this afternoon to stage a protest.
“According to the Census 2001, two lakh visually-challenged persons in
the state lack opportunities of education and employment. There is no
facility to impart education by using the Braille technique in our
schools. It should be introduced immediately,” a protester said. “All
over the world, visually-challenged people have excelled in every field
but most of them in the state are living in isolation as our schools do
not have the Braille facility,” he added. The protest was held under
the aegis of the Humanity Welfare Organisation (HWO). Honorary chairman
of the HWO Javed Ahmad Tak said the visually challenged were dependent
on monthly pension. “Today, visually-challenged people outside the
state have access to different technologies but in Jammu and Kashmir
they lack basic schooling and are dependent on monthly pension,” Tak
said. He also criticised the government for its “insensitivity”
towards the visually and physically challenged persons. “The
Disabilities Act-1998 has not been implemented in letter and in spirit
here. Persons with disabilities have no accessibility to government
buildings, schools, courts, hospitals, banks and transport. There is
lack of sensitivity among the stake holders towards the rights of
persons with disabilities,” Tak said. |
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Visually-challenged boys more pampered than girls
Jammu, January 4 She was talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a function organised by the Social Welfare Department to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille here today. “We were always told that our state had a special status in the Constitution and millions of rupees were provided to the state government every year, but unfortunately nothing was being spent on the welfare of visually-impaired girls like me,” she said. Sushma, a Class XI student at Government Higher Secondary School, Sarwal, regretted that though the government had built one residential school solely for boys it overlooked girls. “I am visually impaired by birth and am living in Louis Braille Memorial School for Sightless Girls being run by the National Federation of Blinds. We are thankful to Governor NN Vohra and the civil society, which stood by us through thick and thin providing us the requisite support for survival,” she added. Sushma said due to a shortage of funds they were deprived of suitable appliances and requisite apparatus for the education of visually-challenged students. She added the government should have a special department for visually-challenged students to mitigate their sufferings. “Unlike other states we don’t have special departments for visually-impaired students. The government should establish such departments and appoint people, who can understand the psychology of visually-impaired people. We, too, are human beings and we do have a psyche,” Sushma said. She alleged that the state government had not taken any steps to improve the quality of their life and they did not see any ray of hope in the future as well. “Though the Union government has launched many schemes for us, our state is yet to bring its act together when it comes to the implementation of such schemes. I think, we girls, as citizens, do not have much significance in contemporary society,” she added. General secretary of the Blind Federation Ram Das Dubey said the people of Jammu and the Governor always extended their full support and cooperation to our cause. |
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Hit by speeding bus, Class IX student dies
Jammu, January 4
The protesters, including members of the victim’s family, relatives and residents of the adjoining areas kept the body of the student, identified as Jaspreet Singh, alias Amit, 13, a resident of Model Town, Gangyal, in the middle of the highway and raised slogans against the administration and the police. Jaspreet was a student of Shiksha Niketan Higher Secondary School, Jeevan Nagar, and was on the way to attend tuition classes at Gandhi Nagar when he was hit by a rashly-driven bus around 7 am today. Eyewitnesses said the bus driver fled leaving Jaspreet in a pool of blood. “The boy was waiting for a minibus when he was hit by a speeding bus. He received a head injury and died on the spot due to profuse bleeding. The police reached there after half an hour and shifted the body to hospital,” they said. Jaspreet’s father, Ranjeet Singh, told The Tribune that, “Jaspreet left home around 7 am to attend tuition classes at Gandhi Nagar. We received a phone call from a woman around 7:15 am, informing us about the incident. We rushed to the spot and found our child in a pool of blood.” Ranjeet, a roadside vendor, blamed the traffic and police personnel for their utter negligence and said, “Had the police been deployed there and had they shifted the boy to the hospital immediately after the accident, he could have been saved.” He said Jaspreet was a brilliant student and had won many trophies in different fields. “Jaspreet used to say that he would make me a proud father. He always attained the first position in his school and had won many awards,” the wailing father stammered. Jaspreet’s mother, Charanjeet Kour, was inconsolable and she was continuously counting her child’s achievements. Senior police officials, including SP (South) Rajeshwar Singh, however, had to face the wrath of the protesters, who blamed the police for its failure in checking frequent road mishaps on the highway. “The road has hardly any zebra crossing or foot bridge for pedestrians. And the police has miserably failed to act against erring drivers for reckless and rash driving,” Darshan Singh Rattan, a relative of the deceased, said. Later, Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla reached the spot and assured the protesters of suitable compensation to the aggrieved family. He also assured them that he would take up the matter of necessary deployment of traffic police as well as civil police on the highway with the department concerned. The protesters relented following the minister’s assurances and lifted the dharna. However, thousands of vehicles remained stranded for two hours. Killer highway Jan 1: A youth was killed, three seriously injured in
Vijaypur. Jan 2: A woman and her three-year-old daughter killed in
Gangyal. Jan 2: A youth was killed in Kathua. Jan 4: A Class IX student killed in Gangyal. |
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Forum protests govt move to shift Kishtwar DC office
Udhampur, January 4 The Kishtwar Peoples’ Progressive Forum (KPPF) yesterday passed a resolution asking the state government to stall the move in deference to the wishes and demands of the people of the district. “We have demanded that the DC office, Kishtwar, district Treasury and Revenue offices be retained at their existing place while the government could shift all other offices to the new complex,” president of the KPPF, Noor Hussain Malik, told The Tribune. Malik said several other organisations, including the Senior Citizens Council, the Sanatan Sabha and the Pensioners Association were also against the government decision, as it was against the interests of the public. The resolution also appealed to two MLAs and a MLC, representing the district to intervene in the matter. “The people will have access to all the government offices under one roof at the new complex. Though it will be handed over to the judiciary, but the tehsil office will be retained here,” said DC, Kishtwar, MH Malik. The construction of the new complex is in the final stage and is located about 2 km from the existing one on the Padder road. There are apprehensions that the local business community would be adversely affected if the DC office was shifted. Besides, the people of the district have an emotional attachment with the existing complex due to its historical importance. Meanwhile, the Bar Association at Kishtwar has welcomed the decision. President of the Bar Association, OP Parihar, said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had in a meeting last month accepted their demand to hand over the premises to the judiciary after shifting of all offices to the new complex. “We were facing an acute shortage of space at the existing court complex, housing the courts of the District and Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate and Munsif. Besides offering convenience to lawyers and litigants, the government will not have to spend money on the construction of new courts complex,” said Parihar. |
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Govt casual towards people’s problems: BJP
Jammu, January 4 Vibodh Gupta, state secretary of the BJP, while addressing agitating workers of the Power Development Department (PDD) at Rajouri, said there was total anarchy in the state because the government was not serious in providing basic amenities to the people. He said in a democracy people were supreme, but in Jammu and Kashmir the people were protesting on roads for the last many weeks demanding wages. Gupta said there were many daily wage workers and need-base workers in Rajouri district, who had been working in the department for the last 20 years. He added these workers had been engaged temporarily and even need-base workers were not being paid wages. Gupta extended full support to the daily wage workers and assured them that BJP leaders would even join their relay fast. Yogesh Sharma, district president of the BJP, said governance had totally collapsed in the state. — TNS
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Dogri adaptation of ‘Othello’ staged
Jammu, January 4 The play has been
scripted in Dogri by Rajneesh Gupta and designed and directed by Mushtaq Kak. The story was very similar to the original plot, but the director was successful in showcasing the events in accordance with contemporary society. The main character of the play, Oma, is shown as a counterpart of Othello and his wife Raano represents the Shakespeare’s much celebrated character of all times, ‘Desdemona Beauty’, who infuriates and disappoints her father, as she ties the nuptial knot with Oma against her father’s wish. Likewise, Fanna replaces Iago, one among the Shakespeare’s most sinister villains. The central theme of the play was that there was never any cure for jealousy. The play depicted that how a suspicious husband spoilt his small world after being bitten by the jealousy bug. The frequent use of the Dogra folk music to depict change of moods and shades helped the audience to connect with the local background. The use of lights was a peculiar feature of Kak’s production and added to the performance. The cast included Sunil Sharma, Vikram Khatri, Indu Kerni, Aparna Kapoor, Mohit Chib, Sandeep Verma, Rahul, Mohit Mehra, Arnav Mangotra, Pooja Langeh, Shiv Dev Singh, Janak Khajuria, Shabnam Dogra and Amandeep Singh. Kak told The Tribune, “To estimate the accomplishment of Shakespeare as a dramatist one must first understand the public for whom he wrote. We have done the ‘Dogrification’ of Shakespeare for our people.” |
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Infiltration bid foiled in Rajouri, claims Army
Jammu, January 4 However, intelligence sources said a group of four to five ultras had managed to sneak into the Indian Territory from the Kanga Datote post being manned by the 20 Jat Regiment. Sources said, it all began around 9 pm yesterday when the Pakistan troops opened fire on the forward Indian posts to provide cover fire to a group of militants, who were trying to sneak into the Indian Territory from the Kanga Datote post. It was raining in the area and the exchange of fire between the two sides lasted till 11 pm, said sources. Today at around 6 am the Pakistan troops again opened fire and intermittent firing continued till 8 am. However, an Army spokesperson said the infiltration attempt was foiled. “We retaliated and pushed back the intruders into the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). It is believed that two of the militants had sustained injuries in a retaliatory fire during the night,” he said. — TNS
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Story of Mata Vaishno Devi narrated through ‘Karkan’
Katra, January 4 The most striking performance was ‘Karkan’ singing by the Pritam Chand and party, which narrated the story of Mata Vaishno Devi in the traditional singing style. People believe that ‘Karkan’ singing is a living art form, dating back to some 1,000 years. Through this art form the whole history will be disseminated from generation to generation with the effective use of narrative styles. The community of ‘Karkan’ singers is known as ‘Jogis’ and they have preserved the age-old wisdom and priceless heritage by performing and practising
Karkan. The other attraction of the day was Gojri dance by the artistes of
Natrang. The musical tradition of Gujjars has very interesting narratives, which portray their cultural ethos and incidents related to their daily life and pet animals. The Gojri performance today was an interesting musical narrative of a Gujjar woman, who was teased by a wild fly. Dr Mandeep
Bhandari, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, while speaking on the occasion, said the pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine had little idea of the cultural heritage of the place. |
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First snowfall at Vaishno Devi shrine
Katra, January 4 It rained in the shrine area last evening before it started snowing in the upper reaches. The Bhairon Nath Mandir is covered with snow. While the upper reaches experienced snowfall, the lower areas of the region witnessed first rain of the year since yesterday, thereby bringing the day temperature down to 12.2°C (6.1°C below normal), according to the Met sources. Though people here preferred to stay indoors, there was, however, not much difference in the number of pilgrims reaching the holy cave shrine to pay obeisance and over 20,000 devotees had paid obeisance at the cave shrine till 6 pm today. |
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Involve students in climate awareness campaigns, says Governor
Jammu, January 4 Describing students as future leaders, he said their involvement in awareness generation campaigns could make a significant difference on how we looked at various issues. The Governor said this after interacting with Shreya Bharti, a Class XI student of Heritage School, who called on him after participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change held at Durban in South Africa from November 28 to December 9 last year. She was among the four Eco-Club students selected to represent the country in the conference, as part of the official Indian delegation. Shreya was accompanied by Dr CM Seth, Chairperson of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, India (Jammu and Kashmir chapter),and Subeena Dogra, her eco-teacher. The Governor said climate change would affect all forms of life, fauna and flora and cause wide-range of adverse consequences on varied fronts. Off season rain and snow would impact the traditional cropping patterns. “We should prepare ourselves to meet all challenges,” he said. He added essays, articles and write-ups by students in different languages could be published in journals and newspapers to disseminate awareness about climate change. The Governor said the universities of the state would do well if they launched some pilot projects on issues relating to climatic change, particularly in view of Jammu and Kashmir, having three distinct agro-climatic zones. He said the participation of students from Jammu and Kashmir in such international conferences could inspire children in other states to take part in such activities. He presented a gift to Shreya and wished her a bright future. Shreya shared her experience of the Durban Conference with the Governor and said she participated in group discussions, youth meets and several other events in the conference. |
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Rural Job Scheme
Jammu, January 4 Commissioner Secretary, Rural Development, Farooq Ahmad Peer; Director, Rural Development, Jammu, Shafiq Ahmad Raina; Member Secretary, MNREGA, Dr Hanief Balkhi and other senior officials of the department were present at the meeting. It was also decided at the meeting that a separate Directorate of Social Audits would be set up, which would ensure transparency. — TNS
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Akali Dal National seeks relief for PoK refugees
Jammu, January 4 The 11-member delegation led by Gurbachan Singh Dutta, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal National, demanded a provision for one-time compensation for movable and immovable property left behind in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the displaced persons of 1947, compensation in lieu of deficient land according to the number of persons in the family, job reservation in the Central and state government services, reservations in admission to professional educational institutions for the children of such families, and the computerisation of the records of these families as well as of their land holdings. Other demands projected by the delegation included the grant of the minority status to the Sikh community in Jammu and Kashmir, the establishment of a Minority Commission in the state and representation to the Sikh community in the Legislative Assembly. The Governor gave a patient hearing to the deputation and assured it that he would bring its demands to the notice of the Chief Minister, the Revenue Minister and other authorities concerned in the state and Central governments. |
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Former NC MLA Mujahid Abdullah dead
Srinagar, January 4 Mujahid had been a close associate of NC founder leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and had remained in jail for several years. He held various positions in the party. He was first elected from the Baramulla Assembly constituency to the state Assembly in 1996. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over Mujahid’s death, describing it a great loss to the people. Omar said Mujahid worked throughout his life for the uplift of the people and the state.
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Omar tells PDD to handle power crisis
Srinagar, January 4 “The operationalisation of a gas turbine will provide another 100 MW and enhance the current availability of power from 950 MW to 1,050 MW daily. This should have an impact on the ground,” Omar said. He told the PDD to ascertain the status of power availability and take necessary measures accordingly. The Chief Minister was chairing a meeting of officers to review the power status in the Valley here today, an official spokesman said. Omar asked the District Development Commissioners and officials of the PDD to constitute public committees in all areas and have a constant liaison with the people through these committees to ascertain the power availability in any particular area and the bottlenecks hampering the smooth supply of electricity. “Managerial capacity has to be put in place to rationalise power supply and face the challenge of a huge deficit,” he told the PDD. He asked the PDD officials to utilise additional 100 MW in such a way as would provide relief to the people, especially in the morning and evening hours. On the directions of the Chief Minister, a team of PDD officials led by Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmad Khan and comprising Principal Secretary, Power, Sudhanshu Pandey is at present on a tour of the Valley to look into the public grievances on account of electricity shortage. The team visited South Kashmir and parts of Srinagar yesterday. It was scheduled to visit other parts of Srinagar and Budgam district today and Bandipora, Ganderbal, Baramulla and Kupwara districts in the next couple of days to ascertain the functioning of power installations along with the availability of power in these areas. Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmad Khan, Principal Secretary, Power, Sudhanshu Pandey and Development Commissioner, Power, Manzoor Ahmad attended the meeting.
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Two brothers found dead in reservoir
Srinagar, January 4 The police here said Mushtaq Ahmed Wagay and Rafiq Ahmad Wagay, residents of Khudpora village in Shopian, died under suspicious circumstances while cleaning an under-construction water reservoir in the village. The reservoir was being cleaned with the help of motors to supply fresh drinking water, officials said. It is believed that the two brothers died after inhaling some gases generated by the motors. Locals, the police, personnel of the Fire Department and the CRPF were engaged to trace the duo, who were later found dead in the reservoir.
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Kashmir clerics declare war against alcohol, drugs
Srinagar, January 4 He made the statement after an executive council meeting of the MUAS here. Hami said the MUAS had formed three sub-committees to ensure the proper implementation of its scheduled campaign against alcohol and drugs. “The full details of the campaign will be issued later,” he added. Hami flayed the government for failing to issue the complete details of madrassas that had received funding from the Centre and said the MUAS would soon file an application under the Right to Information Act and a public interest litigation in this regard. He said this in reference to media reports quoting an RTI application that revealed that the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development had disbursed Rs 7 crore to the madrassas of the state. The MUAS had last month threatened to take legal action against the government if it failed to disclose the “complete details” of the madrassas that had received financial aid sanctioned by the
Centre.
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‘CISF personnel enjoy immunity under AFSPA’ New Delhi, January 4 After an inquiry at the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) plant, Uri, where CISF personnel had fired on protesters, killing a Class XII student, Director General, CISF, NR Das, briefed Union Home Secretary RK Singh about the incident. Das said its personnel enjoyed protection under the AFSPA, official sources said here. Altaf Ahmad Sood, a resident of Boniyar, was killed on January 2 when a mob in Uri tried to rampage the NHPC property, guarded by the CISF. The people were protesting against acute power shortage. Das also explained to RK Singh the circumstances , leading to the incident, the sources said. While the police was a mute spectator to the incident, the CISF personnel acted only after the mob started ransacking the NHPC facility, the sources said. Das has also understood to have told the Union Home Secretary that the CISF personnel would be provided with non-lethal weapons. — PTI
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Visually-challenged
persons of the Kashmir valley staged a protest here on World Braille Day today
demanding the use of Braille’s method of reading and writing in schools.
‘Karkan’
and ‘Gojri’ music and dances were the major attractions on the ninth day of
the ongoing cultural show of the Trikuta hills organised at the auditorium of
the Spiritual Growth Centre, Katra, today. The most striking performance was ‘Karkan’ singing by the Pritam Chand and party, which narrated the story of Mata Vaishno Devi in the traditional singing style.
Jammu,
January 4 
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah was present at the meeting.