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Forest encroachers face axe Forest land in the Jammu region is under constant threat from encroachers. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
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Tawi: Part 3
Political parties out to woo voters |
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Broken sewerage pipes on the GMCH, Jammu, premises pose a threat of infection to the patients.
Tribune Photo: Inderjeet Singh
In brief
Man, constable injured in clash
Licence of fertiliser dealer
cancelled
Governor NN Vohra tees off during the inauguration of the Army Commander’s Golf Club at Udhampur on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
Gufran T-20 championship in May
Kashmiri Pandits of Shopian celebrate Zang Trei
Poor students get scholarships
Bar Association Annual Sports Meet
MAM College claim T-20 trophy
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Forest encroachers face axe
Jammu, March 25 “The department has initiated the spade work to legally evict more than 20 encroachers in a phased manner from a forest enclosure falling between Garkhal and Kanachak,” said a senior official of the Forest Department. The state government has so far failed to free green cover from the clutches of the land mafia. The official said after the Chenab changed its course in Akhnoor tehsil 30 years ago, the Forest Department had established an enclosure over a piece of reclaimed land measuring 300 kanal. “We had set up minor forest produce projects in 1994-95 in the Rajpura Mandi and Garkhal areas of Jammu and Akhnoor tehsils,” he said. However, some land grabbers encroached upon the enclosure in 2008 and after conniving with some
officials of the forest and revenue departments, they succeeded in registering some portion of the land in their names. He admitted that in response to a complaint filed by the MFP Project Officer, Jammu, in 2008, the then Jammu Divisional Commissioner had directed the Jammu Deputy Commissioner to intervene and evict the encroachers from the state land. He had also directed the Deputy Commissioner to submit an action taken report. Sources in the Forest Department said the action taken report had not been submitted to the Divisional Commissioner to date. “It is an intricate issue because more than 20 encroachers had occupied the land and now some portion of it is being used for farming purposes. But the fact remains that it is a state land and the Forest Department had set up an enclosure there,” they added. Some portion of the enclosure was retrieved and handed over to Forest Department by the revenue authorities in June, 2011. However, it was again illegally occupied by the land grabbers. The Forest Department had lodged three FIRs at the Akhnoor police station in this regard. The Forest Department officials regretted that the Revenue Department was not cooperating with them, which had delayed the process of evicting the land grabbers. “Some encroachers had died during this period and the state land is now being occupied by their widows and families. The issue has to be tackled sensitively. We will dispossess the encroachers and their families legally and then evict them from the state land in tandem with the civil administration and the police,” an official said. The Forest Department had spent Rs 3,97,679 to set up an enclosure in Garkhal and Kanachak in 1994-95 and had further invested Rs 1,43,255 from 2001 to 2009. Sneak-Peak
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Tawi may ‘dry up’ in 20 years
Varun Suthra Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 25 Maj Gen Goverdhan Singh Jamwal (retd), president, J&K Paryavaran Sanstha, who has been working on climate change in the Shivaliks, says: “The Tawi currently releases about 100 cubic metre per second in Jammu, which is almost one-third of what it was about two decades ago. If the water level keeps falling, it may die in the next 15-20 years. Most of the shrinking has occurred due to deforestation in its catchment area in the Shivalik region.” He says the Shivaliks in the Jammu region get 50 inches or 1,250 mm rainfall annually, but not even one inch of the same is being held before it is out of the Shivalik area.
“Being part of many governmental and non-governmental forums working on the ecological changes in the Shivaliks, I learnt that most of the ravines that used to feed the Tawi have dried up or shrunken. Neeru, Jajhar and Dudhar nullahs, which mainly fed the river, also witnessed considerable reduction in water levels over the years,” says Jamwal. Dr CM Seth, chairman, WWF, J&K, and former Chairman, State Pollution Control Board, says the contributing nullahs to the river were perennial, which have now dried up. “The Tawi originates from the Duddu hills in lower Himalayas and moves through Pattangarh, Chenani, Udhampur, Kharta, Kishanpur-Manwal, Jindrah, Nagrota, Jammu city, Belecherana, Suraj Pur, Makhwal and finally meets the Chenab near Marala in Pakistan. Nature of the soil in its huge catchment area is sandstone and is non-porous, therefore, deforestation causes considerable soil erosion,” he says. Describing the source and nature of the Tawi, VP Sharma, former director, Geological Survey of India, and former chairman, WWF, says, “Rivers can be broadly classified into two types as per their origin — snow fed and rain fed. The latter is further classified as with and without forest catchment area. The Tawi is fed little by snow and mostly by rain, as the snow cover at its source is very less, which is about 1,300 feet from the sea level, and melts mostly in March and the water level decreases up to June.” He says earlier there was a dense forest cover in its catchment area, but it has depleted over the years. “When the soil does not remain porous, velocity of rainwater falling down will increase and its contact period with the soil decreases. It leads to obstruction in the groundwater recharging,” he says. Another major reason, he points out, for drying up of the Tawi is denudation of natural nullahs, which pour water into the river.
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Political parties out to woo voters
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti addressed four public meetings in different localities of Jammu, while BJP state president Shamsher Singh Manhas participated in two meetings held in different parts of the winter capital of the state. Senior leaders of the ruling National Conference, including Cabinet Minister Surjeet Singh Slathia and political Adviser to Chief Minister Devinder Singh Rana, also addressed a public meeting. Mehbooba Mufti blamed the ruling NC for lack of civic amenities in the city. As the PDP has been trying to expand its base in
the city, considered the citadel of the BJP, Mehbooba listed various development projects started during Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s regime. She addressed public meetings at Sanjay Nagar, Kachi Chowni, Raj Bagh and Reshghar Colony. A battery of NC leaders addressed a public meeting in the Gole Talab Tillo area, listing the achievements of the coalition headed by Omar Abdullah. Slathia said the Chief Minister wanted people to be actively involved in governance at all levels. Devinder Singh Rana said like panchayats, the urban local bodies in the state would be made powerful to work on development issues at their level. The BJP organised a public meeting at Dewan Mandir. The BJP leaders highlighted the issue of discrimination against Jammu and asked people to remain vigilant against the polices of “Kashmir-centric” parties like the NC and the PDP. |
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Sanitation a casualty at GMCH
Jammu, March 25 The public conveniences adjacent to the emergency ward are in bad shape, making the conditions miserable for the patients as well as their attendants. This has forced many patients to go to a facility run by the Sulabh International around 200 metres outside the hospital. Shikha Mahajan, an attendant of a patient, said: “The bathrooms are used by a large number of people throughout the day but these are seldom cleaned. Using the lavatory at the hospital is a challenge for many. Even if one chooses against using the toilets, the foul smell emanating from these makes things worse
for us.” This is not the story of the emergency ward alone. Lavatories across the hospital present a
similar picture. Broken sinks, filthy conditions and foul smell are commonplace at all public conveniences in the main referral hospital of
Jammu. The level of hygiene at the hospital is worrying and the threat of spread of fatal infections, especially among patients, is real. “The hospital is huge and we cannot change things overnight. It may take some time to get things in order. We recently replaced missing doors at the women’s bathrooms near the emergency ward. We hope things will get better soon,” said Dr Wasiq Rasool, Deputy Medical Superintendent, GMCH, Jammu. “We have outsourced the job of maintaining sanitation on the first floor of the hospital. We are trying to do it on all floors. But it will take time,” he added. |
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'Kabab Mein Haddi' staged
Jammu, March 25 ‘Kabab Mein Haddi’ is a story of an intruder between two lovers. Naseem is in love with Jameela, who studies with him in university. Jameela stays in the girls’ hostel, whereas Naseem stays with his friend Safdar in a rented accommodation. Despite being engaged, the couple rarely finds any space and avenue to meet and share their feelings. The couple’s efforts to meet fail repeatedly. When they get an opportunity to meet after long, their sincere friend spoils the same. Safdar’s overwhelming concern creates dramatic turns in the story. Actors Rahul Singh, Sunil Bhardwaj and Sajra Qadirs played their respective characters with full confidence and professional ease. Neeraj Kant executed the lights. Mohd Yaseen coordinated the show and Sumeet Sharma introduced the play to the audience in an effective manner. |
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Mystery shrouds man’s death
JAMMU: Lal Singh (50), a resident of Burj Noa Shehar, Punjab, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the Narwal area of the city late on Saturday night. The police said Lal was found lying unconscious near a parked truck in the Narwal area. He was admitted to GMCH Jammu, where he was declared brought dead. Scholar injured
A chemistry scholar on Sunday received injuries after he was hit by a speeding vehicle outside the main gate of Jammu University here. The injured, identified as Anil Gupta (26), was hit by an unknown vehicle when he was crossing the road outside the university. He was admitted to GMCH, Jammu, where his condition was stated to be normal. Teenager manhandled
A teenager was allegedly manhandled by some unidentified persons near the Jammu University campus here on Sunday. The victim was identified as Sonu (18), son of Thakur Singh, a resident of Katra. The police said the boy was beaten up by some unidentified persons near Jammu University. The police has started investigation into the case.
— TNS |
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Man, constable injured in clash
Jammu, March 25 Sources said Pawan Khajuria Kumar, a resident of Muraray Chak village in Bishnah tehsil, got critical injuries after he was allegedly attacked by his neighbours Sunil Sharma, Ram Sawroop and
Nek Ram. Pawan’s neighbours objected to installation of a tube-well in latter’s agricultural field. When Pawan insisted on its installation, his neighbours attacked him with stones and sticks. His family members shifted him to a nearby hospital in Bishnah, where his condition was stated to be normal. Later, when a team of police visited the village, Pawan’s neighbours attacked the policemen too causing minor injuries to constable Parshotam Singh. The police arrested Ram Swaroop and Nek Ram, while a search operation was launched to nab
Sunil Sharma. |
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Licence of fertiliser dealer
cancelled
Jammu, March 25 Malhotra said it was the mandate of the department to provide quality inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to the farming community. He warned the other dealers of Samba district, who were dealing with the sale of fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and insecticides, to adhere to the norms and provisions.
— TNS |
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Governor tees off At golf meet
Udhampur, March 25 The trophy is a rolling trophy, presently held with the Dhruva Golf Club which was the winner of the Army Commanders Cup in 2010. Seven ‘four balls’ each comprising of a combined team of the Kashmir Golf Club,
Srinagar-Jammu & Kashmir Golf Association played versus the combined Army and Air Force team. The event was played as Stableford over eighteen holes in accordance with the rules of “The Royal and Ancient Golf Course of St. Andrews” and the local rules of Dhruva Golf Course,
Udhampur. The best eight cards from these were considered to decide the winners. Lt-Gen KT Parnaik and his wife Anagha
Parnaik, who is the regional president, Central Welfare Organisation, distributed the prizes among the winners and runners-up in various categories of the Best Gross Score, Max No of Birdie, Longest Drive, Closet-To-Pin. A special ‘putting’ event was also organised for women. A host of military and civil dignitaries
were also present on the occasion. |
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Gufran T-20 championship in May
Jammu, March 25 Patron of the YSCC Manzoor Ahmed Batt, while briefing mediapersons, said a total of 64 teams, including international clubs from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, besides 30 teams from outside the state, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, UP, Mumbai, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Kolkata, Kerala, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Assam, were likely to take part in the championship. He said cricketers of international repute like Sanjay Bangar, Amit Ponekar and Faiz Fazal of the IPL Rajasthan Royal team, besides various other international players, were expected to participate in the tournament. The tournament will be played in two different phases. In the first phase, the matches will be played on knock-out basis wherein local teams of the state will compete. In the second phase, matches will be played on a league basis for national and international teams and the qualifying teams of the first phase will be eligible to enter the second phase. The last date for team enrolment-cum-registration will be up to March 31 or one can contact on cellphone number +91-9906139425 for further details regarding the tournament.
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Kashmiri Pandits of Shopian celebrate Zang Trei
Jammu, March 25 The community members recalled the time when this auspicious day was celebrated in a harmonious way in the Valley.
Bhalla cassured the Kashmiri Hindus of his support. The demand for passing the Kashmiri Hindus Temple and Shrines Bill, which is pending in the Assembly, was vehemently raised by the community members today. The minister assured the Hindus that Tith Raj Kapal Mochan and its properties would be taken care of as per the tradition. A committee headed by DN Kichloo was formed to coordinate the social and religious affairs of the Hindus .
— TNS |
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Poor students get scholarships
Jammu, March 25 He was addressing the 15th annual scholarship function organised by the Harbans Bhalla Educational Trust and Roshan Educational Society here today. Bhalla lauded the contribution of the Trust by providing financial assistance to blind, physically challenged and deprived children of 54 villages of the Jammu region for pursuing their education.
— TNS |
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Bar Association Annual Sports Meet Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 25 Batting first, Legal Paradise piled up a challenging 176 runs in the allotted 20 overs losing three wickets in the process. Guru Partap played a scintillating knock of 82 runs with the help of some delectable hits to the fence. He was ably supported by Ravi Abrol and Sahil who contributed handy 47 and 27 runs, respectively, in quick succession. For Legal Stars, Vivek was the wrecker-in-chief with two wickets while Amit chipped in one wicket. Chasing 177 runs to win, Legal Stars cruised to victory in 19.1 overs with seven wickets intact. Pranab played a match winning knock of 44 runs while Gourav Jamwal and Sanjay Bagga also contributed useful 43 and 37 runs, respectively. For Legal Paradise, Ajay Manhas and Ravi Abrol grabbed a wicket apiece. Sanjay Bagga was adjudged as the man of the match while Guru Partap was declared as the man of the series. Minister for Youth Services and Sports RS Chib was the chief guest on the occasion who gave away winner and runner-up trophies to the teams.
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MAM College claim T-20 trophy
Jammu, March 25 Tanzen bagged top slot in karate championship. In the valedictory function, Kiran Wattal , Secretary, Sports Council, J&K, was the chief guest, who distributed trophies and medals among the participating cricket teams and the karate players. Meanwhile, in the first match, MAM College got the better of GGM Science College by 2 runs. Batting first, Science College XI garnered a modest total of 64 runs in the stipulated 10 overs, losing 8 wickets in the process. Mayank was the top scorer, while Naman and Chander contributed 8 runs each to the total. MAM College, in reply did the needful in just 9.1 overs, losing 2 wickets in the process, thus won the match by 8 wickets. Manik played a magnificent innings of unbeaten 25 runs in just 19 balls. In another match played today, MAM College XI thrashed GGM Science College XI by 2 runs.
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The Jammu and Kashmir State Forest Department has finally decided to evict encroachers from the state land.
“Our ancestors had dug over 500 ponds between the Ravi and the Rajouri Tawi, which is over 10,000 sq km of the catchment area, most of which has been encroached upon, filled up or lying in disuse. As a result, the groundwater level has gone down by many feet,” he says. 
Jammu, March 25
