Jammu, March 27
The PHE Department will set up four new water filtration plants at four villages, currently dependent on the nullah water for drinking, to deal with the paucity of potable water in the rural areas of Jammu.

The government has sanctioned filtration plants, to be set up in the next financial year, for Damuni, Jagir, Kawara and Tara-Jankah villages of the Kandi belt in the region.

These plants will filter the water of nullahs and distribute it among the villagers.

The rural belt of Jammu district currently requires 59.72 lakh gallons of water per day. But the department currently provides only 44.58 lakh gallons of water, ending up with a shortfall of 15.14 lakh gallons.

The areas of rural Jammu that face the scarcity of water during summer are: Dhansal, Jindra, Jhajjar Kotli, Nagrota, Sidhra, Bajalta, Suriansar, Chanda, Chowadhi, Sandhi and Sumbli. The main sources of drinking water for these areas are tube wells and conventional wells. The department is yet to provide a proper pipeline for the regular supply of water in several areas.

Nazir Ahmad Chowdhary, XEN, PHE Department, said: “To cope with scarcity of water, we have been developing sources of water in the rural areas under the National Rural Drinking Water Project. We provide them with water tankers and try to supply it evenly.”

Jammu, March 27
The government has vowed to take measures to save the Tawi following The Tribune investigation on the deteriorating condition of the river. Experts have also come up with solutions.

Prof SPS Dutta, former Head, Department of Environmental Sciences, Jammu University, who had thrice conducted surveys on the monitoring of pollution in the river, said there was an urgent need to increase the volume of water and reduce the sewerage discharge.

“More and more wetlands should be developed in the catchments areas. Around seven wetlands existed in the Sidhra bypass area around two decades ago. These have vanished now. Also, plantation in the catchment area can help increase the recharging of groundwater,” he added.

On the flow of untreated sewage, he said: “The authorities concerned should not wait for the execution of the sewage treatment plant. They can immediately initiate primary treatment, which involves holding the polluted water in sedimentation tanks for a few hours. This way we can prevent pouring of non-biodegradable waste into the riverbed.”

Maj-Gen Govardhan Singh Jamwal (retd), president, J&K Paryavaran Sanstha, said watershed treatment of the Nagrota Hills would help increase the daily discharge.

“Watershed is actually a drainage basin or an area of land where surface water from rain converges into a single point like river or any other water body. Another important technique to conserve water and soil is gully plugging, which again is a technique to increase the time for water-soil contact. When water remains in contact with soil for a longer duration, its absorption rate also increases and the water seeps into the soil, thereby recharging the groundwater,” he said.

Bushan Parimoo, president, Environment Awareness Forum, stressed that the authorities concerned should first reclaim the land encroached near the Tawi riverbed.

“The government should do this on a war footing. Thousands of kanals of land has been illegally encroached upon over the years,” he said.

“The Department of Forest and Wildlife and the State Pollution Control Board should enforce the prescribed laws. No big change can be expected until the people at the helm take stern measures,” he added.

“Anyone can see heaps of clay, brick bits, municipal waste and dead animals in the Tawi downstream about 1.5 km from Sidhra Bridge. The Economic Reconstruction Agency should be requested to channel the sewerage generated from Jammu city away from the river.”

“Moreover, the project allotted to the UP Jal Nigam for the construction of the sewage treatment plant at Bhagwati Nagar should be taken on priority now,” he added.

Dr Dipika Slathia, Associate Professor, Environment Sciences Department, Jammu University, said the Tawi suffered the most during the end of Navratras when “Sakh” wrapped in polythene bags was discharged in the river.

“The Municipal Corporation should either identify some other spot for the ritual or ensure the removal of the waste after the culmination of the rituals,” she suggested.

VP Sharma, former director, Geological Survey of India, and former chairman, World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature, said: “The government should first frame a grazing policy, as the whole cycle depends on it. The cattle population feeds on flora, which leads to soil erosion. This ultimately causes a decline in the recharging of groundwater.”

Prof RK Ganjoo, Director, Institute of Himalayan Glaciology, said the municipal corporation and the State Pollution Control Board should play an active role.

“Those at the helm have taken things for granted. Lack of will is the main cause for the delay in the execution of urban development projects. For the past two decades, we have been waiting for the completion of the sewage treatment project, but nothing concrete has been done so far,” he said.

(Concluded)

Jammu, March 27
A ‘tantrik’ along with his second wife allegedly cut his first wife’s hair before trying to “sacrifice” her to propitiate Goddess Durga at Khir Pind village, 20 km from Jammu city, on the intervening night of March 25 and Mach 26.

The police, however, remained tightlipped over the issue, saying it was looking into the matter.

Though the police visited the “tantrik’s” residence for questioning, the man, Vijay Kumar, along with his second wife was at large.

The victim, identified as Ritu Devi, a mother of three, alleged that her husband and his second wife assaulted her on Sunday midnight and cut her hair.

“They assaulted me and cut my hair. They were planning to sacrifice me to appease Goddess Durga during the ongoing Navratra festival. I escaped from the residence when the two were asleep,” Ritu told mediapersons outside the Miran Sahib police station, where she had gone to file a complaint against her husband and his second wife, this morning.

The victim said she got married to Vijay Kumar 13 years ago but had strained relations with him ever since.

She alleged that her husband, who claimed to be a faith healer, had illicit relations with other women, who used to visit his residence for treatment.

“Later, I decided to stay with my parents in the Jamalpur area of Ludhiana. I stayed there for three years.

A few days before Holi, he visited Ludhiana and persuaded me to live with him in Khir Pind. I fell in his trap and agreed to his proposal,” she maintained.

Ritu alleged that her husband and his second wife hatched a conspiracy to sacrifice her.

“They wanted to sacrifice me to propitiate Goddess Durga in the Navratras,” she alleged, while fearing for the safety of her children living at her husband’s residence.

Miran Sahib police station SHO Sukhbir Singh said he was looking into the matter.

He, however, maintained silence over whether they had registered a case against the two or not.

Jammu, March 27
The police today issued challans against three persons for overcharging and cheating a tourist in the Raghunath Bazaar of Jammu city. The accused were identified as shopkeepers and brothers Madan Lal Aggarwal and Rakesh Kumar Aggarwal, residents of Gandhi Nagar, and their manager Madan Lal, a resident of Shahidi Chowk.

The police said that the accused were chargesheeted for cheating a tourist, Raj Shrivastav from Hirapur, Varanasi, on June 18, 2011, on account of overcharging for blankets.

It said the accused not only cheated the tourist who visited the city but the J&K Handloom and Khadi Udhyog Corporation and the Ladakh Handloom and Khadi Udhyog Corporation, Raghunath Bazaar, which was being run by them. The police further said the business of the accused persons was blacklisted by the Tourism Department in 1994. — TNS

Jammu, March 27
Prof Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu today appealed to the Jammu University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) to call off their protest demanding release of pending arrears and implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

The Vice-Chancellor visited the dharna site and appealed to the teachers to call off their strike. He urged them not to let the students suffer because of the strike.

He apprised the association that the matter was being looked into and the higher authorities deliberating on the issue would take right steps to solve the problem.

“If required, the same shall be taken up in the ensuing joint committee meeting of Kashmir and Jammu Universities as well as the university council of the two universities,” he added.

Jammu, March 27
The Department of Physics and Electronics, University of Jammu, yesterday organised a workshop on “Recent trends in physics-2012” under Special Assistance Programme (SAP) of the UGC DRS scheme.

The Vice-Chancellor of JU, Prof MPS Ishar, inaugurated the workshop. In his address, Prof Ishar appreciated the research output of the department, including the national and international collaborations. Prof RK Shivpuri, a renowned physicist of Delhi University was the guest of honour who spoke on “Nuclear Energy and Sustained Development”.

Prof Naresh Padha, coordinator of the UGC SAP Programme, highlighted the achievements of Department of Physics and Electronics in various fields.

Prof Vinay Gupta from Delhi University delivered a lecture on application of metal oxide materials in various fields. Dr Kirti Ranjan of the same university spoke on “Computing Grid Technology”. Dr Shiv Kumar from SSPL, New Delhi, spoke on “Electronic Material and Devices - Infra Red Imaging”. Prof Rekha Choudhary, Dean, Research, was also present on the occasion.

Jammu, March 27
The Panun Kashmir today demanded the immediate transfer of the newly recruited Kashmiri Pandit employees to Jammu citing a reason of the deteriorating situation in the Kashmir Valley.

Addressing a press conference, Kuldeep Raina, general secretary, Panun Kashmir, said, “The recent terrorist attack in the Valley is an indicator of the fact that terrorism continues to be dominating here. The Panun Kashmir is aware about the experience and worries of the Kashmiri Pandit employees who joined in Kashmir under the PM employment package.”

Kuldeep said the security situation in Kashmir had never improved. The government had sent the Kashmiri Pandit youth to the Valley, which is an indicator that they are not serious regarding the community.

The Panun Kashmir also condemned the raising of pro-Pakistan slogans by the trainees from the Valley at the police training centre at Kathua during the recently held Indo-Pak cricket match. 

Jammu, March 27
Mystery shrouds the death of a 28-year-old youth whose body was recovered from the Ranbir canal, near the Kanachak area, 22 km north-west of Jammu city, here yesterday.

While the victim’s family alleged that five persons, including a class X student, murdered the youth, Banarsi Lal, alias Babli, when he was returning home from the Narwal area of Jammu city on the evening of March 25, the police said it was working on different theories to unravel the mystery.

“If the family members saw these people kill the youth on March 25 evening, why didn’t they inform the police at that time. Also, why did they leave the body at the canal. The youth had allegedly consumed liquor that evening and had possibly fallen off the bridge. The body was found lying under the bridge,” a police official privy to the investigation said.

He said the height of the protection wall of the bridge was just three feet and anybody could easily fall off.

“Also, there was not even a single streetlight on the bridge and the youth might have lost his balance, resulting in the fall. We are working on different theories to unravel the mystery,” he said.

In a complaint, the victim’s family had alleged that five persons had murdered the youth following an old enmity over a land dispute.

The youth was killed while he was returning home from the Narwal area, where he was working with a private transport company, they maintained.

They suspected five persons, including Chaman Lal, Ravi Kumar, Pawan Kumar and Jatinder Kumar, for the murder. Chaman’s son, a class X student, has also been named as a suspect. Jatinder Kumar is a BSc-II student.

The police said it had detained the five persons for questioning after receiving a complaint from the victim’s family. A case under Section 302, RPC, has also been registered. Yesterday, the victim’s family had blocked the Jammu-Poonch national highway, near Kanachak, for five hours in protest against the alleged murder of the youth after his body was recovered from the Ranbir canal.

A team of three doctors yesterday conducted autopsy at the sub-district hospital, Akhnoor, and they were awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report.

“We have sent the viscera for FSL testing and we will come to know about the exact cause of death once we receive the report,” the Kanachak SHO said.

The SHO claimed that there was no external injury or torture mark on the victim’s body but six of his ribs were found fractured. Also, blood was found oozing from the victim’s head at the crime scene. “It is premature to comment on whether the victim got the head injury after falling off the bridge or from an attack,” the SHO said.