The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Mafia eating up state’s forest land Arun Suthra Tribune News Service Jammu, March 6 The state in general and the Jammu region in particular are reeling under the threat of land mafia as every now and then incidents of illegal land encroachments, mostly of forest lands, are coming to the fore through efforts of some RTI activists or a section of the media. The issue even rocked the Legislative Council on Monday when MLC from the ruling National Conference Ajatshatru Singh raised the concern regarding the incidents of illegal land grabbing by land mafia coming under four-laning of National Highway project between Nagrota and Udhampur. “I want to draw the attention of the members and the government towards this issue of serious concern. Whenever any such projects like road widening, which involve the inclusion of land are substantiated, land mafia of Jammu becomes overactive,” said Ajatshatru. He said: “Land mafia always exploits the ST community, including Gujjars and Bakarwals, to substantiate their malicious designs.” The MLC alleged that the mafia had been activate along the under-construction Nagrota Udhampur Highway and the authorities concerned needed to take stringent measures to tackle the situation. “They (mafia) exploit innocent tribes for illegally encroaching upon the lands near the highway,” he said. He again asked the government to clarify its strategy on the floor of the House to curb this menace. “I want to know that how long such practices are going to happen?” asked the MLC. Syed Mohammad Rafiq Shah, MLC, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, had also raised the issue of illegal land encroachments of the forest land by the land mafia in Jammu in the Upper House. “Gujjar and Bakarwal tribes contribute considerably to the economy of the state and they have been using the forests of Jammu as their sojourn during the winters. But for the past few years, it has been observed that due to the unchecked land grabbing by the overactive land mafia here, forest lands have shrunk, thereby leading to decrease in grazing lands,” he said.
	13,360 hectare government land under encroachment Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, March 6 In a major disclosure, the Jammu and Kashmir Government today admitted that there were 38,410 land encroachers who had illegally occupied 13,360 hectares of government land in all 22 districts of the state. Ironically, the government also admitted that an extensive exercise was yet to be carried out in order to ascertain the exact quantum of land which was under illegal occupation of “unauthorised occupants”. As many as 23,002 land encroachers in the Jammu region and 15,408 land sharks in the Kashmir division have encroached upon the government land. Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla, in a written reply to a question asked by Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator MY Tarigami, told the State Legislative Assembly that 55,721 kanals of state land and 53,744 kanals of kacharai land (grass land) was under illegal occupation of land mafia. In border Rajouri district alone, 3.92 lakh kanals of state land and 3,495 kanals of kacharai land was under illegal occupation of encroachers. There were 9,614 land grabbers in the district. The government, however, preferred to keep the particulars of land encroachers intact as no information about their identities was furnished. Similarly, the minister said 1.16 lakh kanals of state land and 362 kanals of kacharai land were encroached upon in mountainous district of Doda where the number of land encroachers stood at 1,185. “The area under illegal occupation of land encroachers in Poonch, Nowshera, Reasi, Mahore, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, Ramban, Udhampur and Jammu is 1,792 hectares, 546 hectares, 125 hectares, 879 hectares, 278 hectares, 615 hectares, 1,533 hectares, 15 hectares and 186 hectares, respectively,” the minister said. In the Kashmir division, the maximum area under illegal occupation was identified in Anantnag district where 2,791 land encroachers have illegally occupied about 1,000 hectares of land. Asked about the steps being taken against these land grabbers, the government said: “It is a fact that some unscrupulous elements make attempts to encroach upon the state, kacharai and forest land in and around major cities of the state”. “Efforts are made from time to time to evict the encroachers and restore the land to its original position as and when such encroachments are reported or noticed. Pursuant to the enactment of the J&K State Lands (Vesting Ownership to the Occupants Act) - 2001 and in view of the provisions of the J&K Land Revenue Act, appropriate action is being taken on a case-by-case basis,” the Revenue Minister said. The government, however, faced tough time when the legislator sought the attention of the Speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone, regarding the deliberate concealment of the particulars of land encroachers. “There is a deliberate attempt to conceal the names of land encroachers. A direction should be given to the government for deliberately hiding the names of land mafia,” Tarigami said.
	Farmers told to utilise modern technology Tribune News Service Srinagar, March 6 “The need of the hour is to utilise all resources for increasing agriculture production,” said PK Saha, Deputy Commissioner, Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, while addressing farmers’ awareness camp at Tangmarg in Baramulla district of north Kashmir recently. He urged the farmers to make the use of modern technology to ensure increase in productivity. He said: “The state needs 23 lakh million tonnes of food grains and there was a 37 per cent gap in production and consumption which needs to be abridged for which farmers must use modern farming techniques”. The Deputy Commissioner, Crops, appreciated the efforts of the Agriculture Department which it made to acquaint the farmers with the latest farming techniques and various centrally sponsored schemes. He urged the farmers to shift to organic farming as organic crops have a vast international market available. Farooq Ahmad Lone, Director, Agriculture, Kashmir, exhorted the farmers to cooperate with the department for achievement in crop production. He said the department was working as a bridge to provide technology from Agriculture University to the farmers. He said the objective of organising the camp across the Valley was to make the farming community aware of various state and Central schemes and latest hi-tech agriculture innovations. He further said in the next fiscal, 17 lakh credit cards would be distributed among the farmers to enable them to get loans from financial institution on a lesser rate of interest. He said soil health cards were being provided to farmers to check the fertility of their farms, so that they make judicious use of chemical fertilisers in their farms. A large number of farmers participated in the camp and interacted with agriculture experts on various issues related to farming and crop production. Later, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Director, Agriculture, distributed 63 poly-green film and hybrid vegetable seed kits among the farmers. Besides, cheques of financial assistance were also provided to the farmers who had purchased farming machinery.
	KU felicitates Jammu varsity Vice-Chancellor Tribune News Service Srinagar, March 6 Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, who has recently taken over as the Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, was felicitated at a function in the University of Kashmir during his first visit to the campus here recently. Deans of faculties and heads of different PG Departments of Kashmir University had assembled during an interactive session organised by KU to know professor Ishar’s views on higher education and to facilitate him as well, a spokesperson for the university said. The meeting, held in the committee room of the administrative block of the university, was presided over by Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, Kashmir University. Noted academician Ishar was appreciative of the present Vice-Chancellor of Kashmir University, Prof Talat Ahmad, and, while hinting at KU Vice-Chancellor’s dream of “making the university a research hub”, he said: “Research is the backbone of improving quality in higher education.” Emphasising that knowledge revolution was a possibility the Jammu University Vice-Chancellor called for creating more and more infrastructure while proliferating schools and colleges, which, he said, was the need of the hour. Earlier Talat Ahmad felicitated the guest by presenting him a shawl on behalf of the KU fraternity. “I will cherish and remember the love showered on me by the KU fraternity and their Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad,” Ishar said, who was impressed the way KU fraternity felicitated him. Ishar was impressed with the ideas KU faculty shared with him in the interactive session. A noted educationist of the country, Ishar has undertaken various research projects funded by different national agencies.
	Jammu gears up for Holi festivities Sonika Raina Tribune News Service Jammu, March 6 As people in Jammu are making final preparations for Holi, herbal colours, modern pichkaris and masks are replacing traditional things for the gala celebration of the festival of colours. For the first time, beautiful and colourful masks made of plastic are available in the markets here. They will not only add colour to the festival but will also protect face from an unwanted material during the celebrations. Jammu is wearing a festive look during the festival, markets are abuzz with heaps of gulals of various colours donning the roadsides on the day before festival. Pichkaris are of the modern design that is used to drench the person. Women are making preparations for special dishes at the time of Holi. Gourav Mahajan, a shopkeeper from Pakka Danga in Jammu, said, “People have changed the way of celebrating Holi as in the old days they were scared of damaging their face or some other harm due to synthetic colours available in the market. Now with the herbal colours and masks available in the market that makes the Holi safe.” “People have become aware and they specially ask for herbal colours. Though they are a bit costlier than the synthetic ones, but people prefer the herbal colours,” he added. Though the festival has not lost its relevance over the period of time, but people now prefer to keep it a family affair without going out and celebrating it among the crowd unlike the old days. Savita Sharma, a housewife from Pakka Danga, said, “I personally do not get much involved with this festival, but my children like it. We go for herbal colours and make sure that they celebrate it indoors and do not go out on this particular day because there are many people who put synthetic colours, eggs, grease or some other things that are harmful for the skin.”
	GOC flags off second batch of 17 students M Aamir Khan Srinagar, March 6 SA Hasnain, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 15 Corps, flagged off a group of students to New Delhi for interviews as a part of the state-run “Himayat” programme aimed at providing employment to the youth of the state. The GOC flagged off the second batch of 17 students of Skill Development Programme, ‘Athrout’ (helping hand), run by Dr Reddy’s Foundation under the aegis of the Army and the Civil Administration at the Harmukh College of Education in Bandipore district earlier this week. The first batch of 27 students was sent to Delhi for their interviews on February 19. On the occasion, Hasnain congratulated the students. While addressing the gathering which included sarpanches of various villages of Bandipore, he said: “The Kashmir Valley is going through a change and the smiling faces of youth and elders are a proof of this positive change.” He also assured that the Army was always ready to provide every possible help that would make the Valley more peaceful and prosperous. DC Bandipore Manzoor Ahmed Lone and a former MLA Bandipore Usman Majid also spoke on the occasion where they thanked the Army for taking up this initiative for the betterment of the youth of the area. Later, a local musical band, “Bandipore Rockstar”, performed on the occasion. Besides, Gen Hasnain, Kilo Force Maj Gen Ravi Thodge and Brig Anil Puri were also present on the occasion to felicitate the students selected for interviews.
	Disaster management training ends at varsity Tribune News Service Srinagar, March 6 In order to mobilise community participation, particularly the activities of the youth at a large scale to spread awareness among the common man in disaster preparedness, a two-day disaster management training programme was organised at the University of Kashmir (KU) recently. While chairing the concluding training programme, Disaster Preparedness for National Service Scheme (NSS) for Volunteers in collaboration with the Divisional Disaster Management Authority of Kashmir and Civil Defence, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Samoon, said: “Since the university is the highest seat of learning, so it should be our endeavour to conduct research on disaster planning and policy and to provide professional support for review of disaster management plans already prepared by the districts”. He also stressed the need for having proper disaster preparedness training as well as adequate logistic support so that disaster management could be mainstreamed into development. The Divisional Commissioner said: “In a state like Jammu and Kashmir, where emergencies are a matter of routine both on account of natural calamities or man-made, the value of timely and adequate response to emergency situations is of paramount importance”. He said no doubt the state government had already put in place a number of measures but it was up to the agencies concerned and the volunteers to execute the measures in time and save precious lives. He emphasised the shifting of the concept of response to more pragmatic 3R’s rescue, relief, rehabilitation to a more effective measures like preventive, preparedness, etc. He said every citizen should be trained and empowered to deal with day-to-day emergencies. Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, who was also the chief guest on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of the NSS for taking initiative to train the youth in disaster preparedness. He said it was the need of the hour to ensure strict regulations for buildings so that they might be made disaster resistance. He also said the university would start diploma courses in disaster management as well as initiate steps to incorporate disaster management in the curriculum of schools and higher secondary schools. On the occasion, the rescue equipment and advance rescue tender of the Fire and Emergency Services were displayed by the Divisional Fire Office, Srinagar. The DIG, Civil Defence, Home Guard and Auxiliary Police, Mubarak Ahmed Ganai, Registrar, University of Kashmir, S. Fayaz, Programme Coordinator, NSS, were also present on the occasion.
	State to generate 6,000 MW of electricity Jammu, March 6 The state would generate 6,000 MW of electricity from hydro-power projects in the next five-year plan, a state minister said here recently. “The government has planned to generate about 6,000 MW of electricity in the next five year plan to meet the increasing demands of energy for rapid development strides,” state Minister for Industries and Commerce S S Slathia said. Against the power generation potential of 20,000 MW in the state, the minister said, only 2460 MW hadbeen harnessed so far. The coalition government had approved separate policies for the rapid establishment of minihydle and micro-hydel projects, he added. Pakaldul, Kiru and Kawar Hydel-electric power projects with an aggregate capacity of 2010 MW on river Chenab basin are under implementation of a joint venture company of Jammu and Kashmir SPDC, NHPC and PTC, which is developing them on 800 M basis. In addition, three hydel power projects — New Ganderbal, Lower Kalnaie and Parnaie — with a total installed capacity of 203 MW of power had been tendered by the State Power Development Corporation, he said. “These initiatives will not only make the state self-sufficient, but will also enable us to sell energy to other states,” he said. — PTI
	jammu DIARY Minibuses with Bollywood connect “Aa Ab Lout Chalein”, “Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke”, “Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi”, “Hum Dil Chuke Sanam”, etc, are the names of some Bollywood movies which generally attract the attention of road users in Jammu city. These names could be easily found written on the rear of buses and minibuses, reminding road users the famous dialogue and couplets of their favourite movies and Bollywood songs. Even most of the minibuses and the buses have been named after the names of super-hit Bollywood movies and commuters, particularly youngsters, prefer to travel in the minibuses with the names of their favourite movies. Sometimes, youngsters become crazy to sit in these vehicles, as they would prefer to wait on roads till they don’t get a berth in the minibus carrying the name of their favourite movie or Bollywood song. Summer water woes With summers approaching, complaints of erratic power and water supply would start bothering the authorities from every corner of the city. Mostly, people suffer optimum due to the scarcity of water and the officials of the Public Health and Engineering (PHE) Department are always kept on their toes. Some leaders wait for the summers as they get some good reasons to come in the limelight by staging protest against the PHE and in some extreme cases, people also resort to violence. But unfortunately, neither these opportunist leaders nor the public confess their deeds, when they leave the taps open for hours at public places. (Contributed by Arteev Sharma and Varun Suthra)