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Cricket Association Scam
2 JU students hurt in clash with police
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Rajouri
Unrest
Railway Budget
Privilege motion against Mehbooba, PDP members
9,469 hectares of forest land encroached upon in Jammu
Steps taken to empower panchayats: Sagar
Stranded for a month, passengers hold rally
Governor felicitates Red Cross supporters, sponsors
Performance of banks reviewed
State to get back projects from NHPC, says Omar
Legislative Council election
Congress supporters distribute sweets in Reasi on the selection of Jugal Kishore Sharma as party candidate for the Legislative Council election. Photo by the
writer
MLA marshalled out of Assembly
7,310 marital, maintenance cases pending in courts
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Cricket Association Scam
Jammu, March 13 National Conference members also clashed with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislators for mentioning the name of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, who is heading the JKCA, in the scam. As soon as the House assembled this morning, NC members, including three ministers, were on their feet. They demanded that remarks passed against Farooq by PDP members on Monday should be expunged from the proceeding of the Assembly as he (Farooq) was not a member of the House. Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone tried to pacify the agitating ruling party members but to no avail. “You are members of the ruling party and it is your duty to maintain discipline in the House. Don’t disturb Question Hour. I will give you time after Question Hour,” the Speaker repeatedly said while trying to restore order in the House. Shouting slogans against the PDP, the NC members trooped towards the well. In the meantime, PDP members also resorted to sloganeering against Farooq, causing a commotion in the House. The Speaker tried to take up some questions to start Question Hour but failed as the ruling party and opposition members continued to raise slogans. The PDP members shouted slogans against the NC and demanding a CBI probe into the “embezzlement” of funds. They contended that such bungling could not have taken place without the connivance of Farooq and his political adviser Mohammad Aslam Goni. Amidst the sloganeering, the Speaker gave the ruling that all remarks passed against Farooq should be expunged from the proceedings of the House. He quoted some rules to expunge the remarks against Farooq. The agitating NC members were pacified after the Speaker gave the ruling. The multi-crore JKCA scam has snowballed into a major political controversy in the state. For the last four days, the PDP has been raising the issue in and outside the Assembly. Besides demanding a CBI probe into the scam, the PDP has been demanding action against Farooq. Mehbooba asked for a CBI probe into the scam. “If (organising committee chairman) Suresh Kalmadi could be booked for corruption related to the Commonwealth Games, why can't similar action be taken against those who were at the helm of affairs in the JKCA,” she asked. Meanwhile, National Conference members created a pandemonium today over the JKCA scam in the Upper House, too, leading to its adjournment. |
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2 JU students hurt in clash with police
Jammu, March 13 The sources said some students wanted to enquire about the result of BEd examination but the security staff prevented them access to the building. The situation took an ugly turn when the students, who had staged a sit-in outside the department, entered into an altercation with the security staff and later clashed with them. Irked at the “unwarranted act” of the security staff, the students resorted to stone-pelting. They also ransacked various departments on the campus. The police resorted to cane-charge to control the situation. Two students, identified as Talib and Murtaza, of the Department of Laws sustained serious injuries. In the melee, a policeman allegedly slapped a female student, adding fuel to the fire. At least four security personnel also received minor injuries during the clash. The injured were taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof MP Singh Ishar, was holding talks with both sides till the reports last came in. The Vice-Chancellor has constituted a panel to probe the incident. The panel will submit its report within a fortnight. The sources added that the police had decided not to guard the university from tomorrow.
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Rajouri
Unrest
Jammu, March 13 “With normalcy fast returning to the town, we relaxed curfew restrictions from 8 am to 7 pm today. Though the situation is improving continuously, as a precautionary measure the night curfew will remain for a day or two,” Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Khawaja Ghulam Ahmad told The Tribune over phone. The DC also disclosed that Industries Minister Surjeet Singh Slathia and Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmed Khan today held talks with representatives of both communities at Dak Bungalow in Rajouri to restore normalcy in the communally sensitive town. “The Industries Minister and Minister of State for Power today held separate meetings with their respective communities and then held a joint meeting to end the impasse,” said the DC. After both communities put forth their demands, the two ministers promised them that appropriate action would be taken, he added. However, sources said the representatives of both communities indulged in blame game demanding the arrest of troublemakers belonging to both the majority and minority communities. “Representatives of the Sanatan Dharam Sabha wanted the arrest of some troublemakers from the majority community. They accused them of throwing stones on a religious procession of Hindus while representatives of the Muslim Action Committee demanded the arrest of troublemakers from the minority community,” said the sources. But both the ministers in the presence of senior district and police officials convinced both communities to end the impasse, they added. In a bid to end the impasse and soothe the frayed nerves of both communities, the
district administration has been holding talks with members of the two communities since March 11. The police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in and around the town to keep watch on the situation. The police has so far registered four cases, including one against VHP leader Parveen Togadia for his alleged inflammatory speech, which had sparked communal tension in
the town. |
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Railway Budget
Jammu, March 13
Main Demands
Deepak Sharma, a frequent rail traveller, said, “We had heard of the double-laning of the railway track from Jammu to Jalandhar. But the work on it has been very slow. The work on it should be completed soon for proper connectivity of the Jammu station.” “There should be Shatabdi trains from Jammu to New Delhi for the convenience of passengers. And the Chandigarh-Jammu Duronto should also be started soon,” he added. The Chamber of Industries and Commerce had also submitted a memorandum to the Union Minister of Railways, Dinesh Trivedi, highlighting the demands of the people regarding the upcoming Railway Budget. YV Sharma, president, Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said, “We have requested the Railway Minister to start a direct train from Jammu to Bangalore. It is a very old demand and would cater to thousands of students studying there. We have also demanded one Shatabdi train from Jammu to Delhi and back, as it will benefit both tourists and business class.” The Chamber of Commerce and industries had also demanded a railway coach factory in the state that would generate employment for the youth here. RK Chaddha, Chairman, Citizens’ Forum, said, “We have been demanding the extension of Jammu railway station, as the present space is not enough for the passengers visiting here. “We had also demanded that the station should be developed into a world-class station with modern facilities so that the people do not face any problems,” he added. |
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Privilege motion against Mehbooba, PDP members
Jammu, March 13 The privilege motion was moved by Saifullah Mir, Nazir Ahmed Gurezi, T Namgyal, Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo and Chowdhry Mohammad Ramzan against PDP members, including Mehbooba Mufti, Abdul Gaffar Sofi, Abdul Haq Khan, Syed Bashir Ahmed, Mansoor Hussain and Javeed Mustafa Mir. The Speaker while quoting the contents of the motion said, “Please take notice that we intend to move a privilege motion under Rule 238 and 239 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly against the members mentioned in the annexure for having committed a contempt of this august House and breach of its privilege by presenting documents in the House on March 12 during the Zero Hour, regarding the JKCA and its president and levelling baseless and unfounded allegations, with an intention to mislead the House and deceive its members. “Consequently, the proceedings of this House also got obstructed. Orders of the Speaker may please be obtained in this regard.”
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9,469 hectares of forest land encroached upon in Jammu
Jammu, March 13 In a written reply to a starred question of Panthers Party MLC Sayeed Rafiq Shah, Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology Mian Altaf admitted that a number of people had illegally encroached upon forest land, adversely affecting the forest wealth. Giving a region-wise detail, the Forest Minister read that 9,469.49 hectares had been encroached upon in Jammu and 3,890.61 hectares in Kashmir. On the fact that encroachers had also raised illegal constructions on pastures belonging to the nomadic Gujjar community, the Minister said, “In fact the pastures are located in the alpine and sub-alpine zone away from habitations while the encroachments are confined mostly to areas close to the habitation. On the allotment of alternative pastures to save the life of domestic animals, the Minister read that the question did not arise in view of the earlier replies. Green Numbers
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Steps taken to empower panchayats: Sagar
Jammu, March 13 After moving the demand for the grants, the Minister in his reply to a debate in the House said in order to ensure the overall and sustained development of the rural and far-flung areas, panchayat elections were held in all 4,128 panchayats and the first tier of the Panchayati Raj institution had been put in place. Besides the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1998, two separate government orders had been issued for empowering the Panchayati Raj institution, the Minister said, adding that Rs 41.28 crore had been sanctioned to panchayats. From this, Rs 1 lakh would go to each halqa panchayat for building infrastructure. Referring to national flagship scheme MGNREGA, the minister said due to the sustained efforts of the department, the labour budget estimation had registered a three-fold increase during the last three years and the demand for the next financial year had crossed to Rs 2,030 crore. The number of
job card holders had reached 971,037. |
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Stranded for a month, passengers hold rally
Leh, March 13 Stanzin Tonyot, president, Zanskar Block Congress Committee, who led the procession, said: “The passengers are frustrated over the failure of the authorities to operate the helicopter service. They have been stranded here for over one month.” In addition to the hardships caused by bad weather, most passengers do not have proper accommodation or ration. Tsewang Rigzin, liaison officer appointed by the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Kargil, to look after the welfare of the passengers travelling by helicopter, said: “The authorities have been forced to reschedule the flights of MI-17 helicopters since February 7, when they last flew. The helicopters have not been able to operate due to bad weather. The flights scheduled to operate today have also been cancelled following bad weather.” |
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Governor felicitates Red Cross supporters, sponsors
Jammu, March 13 The Governor was speaking at a felicitation function held at Raj Bhawan here
this evening, after felicitating supporters and sponsors, who had extended support during the Red Cross mela and the raffle draw organised by the Regional Red Cross Society, Jammu, in October last year. Referring to his long association with the Red Cross movement, the Governor observed that the organisation had a rich history of doing missionary work in the country, particularly during natural calamities and other emergency situations by providing support and succour to needy. He added that there was no dearth of affluent people in Jammu and Kashmir and emphasised upon one and all to come forward and contribute to the noble cause and expand the orbit of the Red Cross activities. The Governor, who is also the president of the Indian Red Cross Society, J&K State Branch, interacted with the awardees, congratulated them and thanked them for their support during the Red Cross mela and the raffle draw held last year. The Governor was presented a painting by Pawan
Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, and Chairman, Regional Red Cross Society, Jammu.
Pawan Kotwal said over Rs 10.3 lakh were raised by organising the Red Cross mela and the raffle draw in October last year. He said since 2008, the Red Cross melas were being organised regularly to raise funds for the
needy. Kotwal threw light on activities to be held during the Red Cross Mela this year. Anil
Padha, Honorary Secretary, Regional Red Cross Society, Jammu, presented a vote of thanks. The awardees included
IGP, Jammu zone; IG, BSF, Jammu; IG, CRPF, Jammu; Deputy Commissioners of
Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Udhampur; Chairman, J&K Bank; Director, School Education, Jammu; Chief Engineer, PWD (R&B), Jammu; Chief Education Officers of
Kathua, Udhampur, Doda and Jammu; Deputy Commissioner, KV Sangathan, Jammu; Principal of Government College for Women, Gandhi
Nagar, Jammu and Principal of Government College for Women, Parade Ground, Jammu. |
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Udhampur, March 13 A detailed review was held on various issues, including promotion of self-help groups, performance of different banks under various government-sponsored schemes, achievement under agriculture and SSI sector, bank-wise position of deposits and advances in Udhampur district, ground-level credit flow under district credit plan and position of kisan credit cards issued by various banks. Stressing the need for generating awareness about different poverty alleviation schemes of the government, the ADDC exhorted the bankers and sectoral officers of different departments to hold joint awareness camps in the district, particularly in the remote areas, about the schemes by involving elected panchayat representatives. Sharma also instructed the banks to take up the cases of self-help groups on a priority basis, besides liberally issuing kisan credit cards to farmers and the general public. The lead district manager,
Udhampur, Kishore Sadhotra, said various banks had advanced Rs 101.30 cr to 4,271 beneficiaries in the district, against a yearly target of Rs 132.94 crore under priority sector advances up to December 2011. The annual credit plan, 2012-13 prepared by Nabard with a credit outlay of Rs 150
cr, covering 10,152 beneficiaries for Udhampur, was also approved. — TNS |
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State to get back projects from NHPC, says Omar
Jammu, March 13 “The Cabinet had approved the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) on power projects to get back power projects from the NHPC. Obviously, the NHPC will not be happy with the decision. We are committed to move forward in this direction and will share the necessary measures to be taken regarding payments and other aspects with the Legislature,” Omar told the Legislative Assembly while intervening during Question Hour. He added that his government would take the House into confidence, as they had not yet finalised the nitty-gritty of payments with the NHPC. The Chief Minister also disclosed that the state government was in talks with the Centre on the implementation of the Rangarajan Commission recommendations and said it would continue to do so to make a necessary dent in this regard. The Rangarajan Commission had recommended the transfer of 390 MW Dulhasti hydroelectric power plant to the state government. Underlining the importance of a multifaceted approach in the all-round development of the power sector in the state, Omar said the government was simultaneously focusing on generation, transmission, distribution and other aspects in the power sector. He said restructuring of the power sector was on the cards for improving and upgrading the generation and distribution of electricity in the state.
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Legislative Council election
Katra, March 13 At a meeting held today under the leadership of Pritam Singh, district president, Congress, the youth wing of the Congress also expressed its gratitude to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for showing confidence in Sharma. While addressing Congress activists, Pritam Singh said the induction of Jugal Kishore Sharma in the Upper House would gave a boost to grass-roots level Congress workers of the state, especially the Congress cadre in Reasi and Udhampur districts where the Congress was lying defunct for the past few years. Pritam added that Jugal Kishore was the right choice and he would come up to the expectations of people of the state. Congress activists also distributed sweets among each other and celebrated the occasion with beating of drums and shouted slogans in favour of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jugal Kishore. |
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MLA marshalled out of Assembly
Jammu, March 13 As PDP and NC legislators were exchanging heated words over money being siphoned off from the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, Engineer Rashid stood on his seat and said the government should explain why the mass rape victims of Kunanposhpora had not been paid any compensation till date. As all efforts to pacify him failed, the Speaker (at 10.27 am) directed that Rashid should be marshalled out because he was creating an uproar in the House. At 10.42 am, the Speaker said Rashid should be allowed to return but he did not come back.
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7,310 marital, maintenance cases pending in courts
Jammu, March 13 Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar, in reply to a query sought by Peoples Democratic Party MLA Abdul Haq Khan, stated in the Assembly that there were 2,448 matrimonial and 4,862 maintenance cases pending in various courts. On the setting up of Special Courts for speedy trials, the Law Minister said the matter was not under consideration of the High Court at this juncture. Around 2.7 lakh cases were pending in various courts of the state. The government had cited slow judicial process as a major reason for the pendency.
— TNS
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On the second consecutive day, the multi-crore scam involving the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association dominated the proceedings of the Assembly as members of the ruling National Conference (NC) created an uproar in the House to counter allegations of the Opposition.
Jammu, March 13
