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Lack of policy breeding graft
Drug mafia thrives as police stays mum
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Rising unemployment driving state youth to suicide
Forum opposes rehiring of retired officials
No fooling, change date: Panthers Party
The veiled statue of Maharaja Hari Singh that is slated to be inaugurated on April 1 in Jammu. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh
Flower Garden fails to see the full bloom
Rosy Picture: Flowers are in full bloom, albeit for just two months, at the Flower Garden in the Bhor camp area of Jammu. Tirbune photo: Anand Sharma
Varsity teachers intensify strike
Members of the Jammu University Teachers’ Association hold a protest rally in support of their demands at the University of Jammu on Thursday. A Tribune photograph
JE selections condemned
Conference at GMC begins today
Academy releases two books
Trends in wireless communication discussed
AGM of Association for Social Health in India
JU campus becomes cleanliness conscious
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Lack of policy breeding graft
Jammu, March 29 The government today accepted on the floor of the Upper House that absence of the inter-transfer system in the local bodies, including the Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees and Municipal Councils, was leading to stagnation, corruption and lack of accountability. He said measures were afoot to rationalise the system. Minister of Home for Housing and Urban Development Nasir Aslam Wani while responding to MLC Dharam Bir Singh’s query on the non-existence of a proper inter-transfer policy said it was not included during the Constitution of the local bodies. “The MCs of Jammu and Srinagar and municipal committees and councils had been constituted under the J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000, and the J&K Municipal Act, 2000, respectively. These bodies have the status of local self-government. Each of these is an independent body and has no linkage with each other. As such, inter-transfers in the local bodies are not made,” he said. Singh asked the minister why the government was not interested in making a system of inter-transfer in the municipal cadre to avoid the stagnation. He said, “I have served in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation for over a decade. So, I am in a position to bring the issue to the fore. It is a matter of grave concern which has always been overlooked. I want to know whether the government has made a thought to revisit the Constitution of the local bodies.” Congress MLC Bashir Ahmad Margay said the employees were taking undue advantage of the impunity. “Over the years, this practice leads to stagnation and encourages corruption and malpractices. Now, the government is required to reply when it will bring reforms in such policies,” he said. NC MLC Ghulam Pardesi said following political considerations, numerous persons have been employed in the local bodies during various regimes. He said, “Both the MCs have appointed excess number of employees whereas the intake capacity is low. And these additional number of employees are more involved in politicking. The government should rationalise the recruitment and transfer policies.” “The government can do it for once as the inter-transfers would also inculcate a sense of accountability among the employees,” he added. Replying to the queries, Wani said the government was trying to make a new cadre for the MCs but they were facing problems as the organisations were constituted under the different acts. “This is not the trouble with our state only. The issue was also taken up by the Union Ministry of Urban Development. The concern of members is genuine and alteration is must in the transfer policies to ensure accountability,” he added. |
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Drug mafia thrives as police stays mum
Jammu, March 29 The residents alleged that the locality had become a safe haven for drug addicts as well as those involved in the “illegal sale of drugs and intoxicants”. “Police officers are aware of the prevailing situation in the locality, but they should at least act against the drug addicts as well as drug peddlers. The nexus between the police and drug peddlers can’t be ruled out,” alleged a local resident. Mannu of Nai Basti was allegedly stabbed by a drug addict, identified as Sukhvinder Choudhary, on Tuesday night after they had a quarrel during a religious programme in Satwari on Monday. Mannu belonged to a poor family and worked as a fruit vendor. He also used to work in a hotel in the Nai Basti during late night hours. On the fateful night, Sukhvinder Choudhary picked up a fight with the victim. The accused stabbed Mannu with a sharp-edged weapon and fled the scene. The victim succumbed to his injuries at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, yesterday morning. Sukhvinder has been arrested by the police and has reportedly confessed to the crime. “The accused stabbed Mannu with a sharp-edged weapon under the influence of drugs. Though the police arrested the accused within 24 hours, the drug mafia was spreading its tentacles in the locality. We urge the police to take some concrete steps to deal with the drug addicts and drug peddlers in the locality,” said Ashwani Kohli, a local political worker. Citing the killing of Shalin Gupta, a 10-year-old boy of Nai Basti, who was kidnapped and murdered by two youths for ransom
in 2010, he alleged: “The gruesome murder was an eye-opener for the authorities who seemed to have been waiting for a tragedy to happen.” Kohli demanded that the police should take measures to stop the import of “deadly drugs and intoxicants” from other parts of the country. Official sources said though the police had prepared a list of drug peddlers and drug addicts in the locality, it remained reluctant to act against them. Meanwhile, Mannu’s family members accompanied by local residents today visited the Gandhi Nagar police station and met with the SHO, demanding stern action against the accused and other drug addicts of the locality. |
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Rising unemployment driving state youth to suicide
Jammu, March 29 Sources close to the family told The Tribune that Navjot Singh, son of Rajinder Singh, a driver with the State Road Transport Corporation, was under depression due to unemployment and was trying hard to get a government job for the past two years. Navjot is the second youth to end his life out of frustration caused by unemployment in less than a month. A BTech degree-holder from Tali Morh in the Simbal camp area, on the outskirts of Jammu city, had allegedly committed suicide 20 days ago. “He (Navjot) had completed his diploma in automobile engineering in 2010 and had been looking for a job since then. He was suffering from depression that forced him to take the extreme step. He locked himself in his room and hanged himself from the hook of a ceiling fan,” sources said. Navjot was Rajinder Singh’s only son. His mother, Manveer Kour, is an active woman wing leader of the ruling National Conference. “He had repeatedly been asking his parents to arrange a government job for him. But he couldn’t fight depression,” a source said. The growing number of suicide cases in the state due to unemployment and professional or career problems are ringing alarm bells for the government in Jammu and Kashmir where the number of registered unemployed youth have crossed the six lakh mark. The number of registered job seekers was 1.11 lakh in 2007. “Unemployment has assumed alarming proportions in the state and needs to be dealt with seriously. The government should create more job opportunities in the government and private sector so that educated youth do not take such extreme steps,” Navjot’s relative said while expressing shock over the death. A recent government survey suggests that Jammu and Kashmir has the highest unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent in comparison to its four neighboring states. As many as 3,21,562 youth have registered themselves in Kashmir, while the number of unemployed youth registered in Jammu province stands at 2,80,285. 5.3 pc people jobless
Jammu and Kashmir has the highest unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent in comparison to its four neighboring states. As many as 3,21,562 youth have registered themselves in the Kashmir region, while the number of unemployed youth registered in Jammu province stands at 2,80,285
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Forum opposes rehiring of retired officials
Jammu, March 29 Vikas Sharma, state president of the forum, criticised the government for granting extension to retired officials and re-engaging them as advisers, consultants, PROs and officers on special duties with various ministers during the past three years. This, when there is a backlog of hundreds of fresh applicants and youngsters awaiting recruitment in various state departments. “While hundreds of youngsters await jobs, these retired officials are not willing to let go of their posts and the state government is withholding their seats,” said Sharma. He pointed out that it was the obligation of the state government to ensure the welfare of the youth. There are 6 lakh educated unemployed people in the state and septuagenarians continue to get re-employed. There are 149 re-employed officials in various state departments, getting salaries between Rs 50,000 and Rs 80,000 per month. While they are enjoying the perks, the youngsters have to pay the price of not having any “links” within the state departments to help them get a job. “I have appeared in all requisite examinations but there seems to be no seat available for us. It is disheartening to know that instead of selecting us, they prefer to re-employ the retired staff. If it carries on like this, we will never get a chance to start our careers anywhere,” said Arvind Dogra, another youngster awaiting employment.
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No fooling, change date: Panthers Party
Jammu, March 29 The Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party and Young Panthers have condemned the state government for choosing April 1 as the date for the ceremony. Addressing mediapersons here today, Syed Mohd Rafiq Shah, MLC and president, Young Panthers, alleged that the decision to unveil the statue on such a date amounted to humiliating and hurting the sentiments of the people of the state. “Evidences based on the historical facts show that the NC and the Congress have been responsible for the Maharaja’s exile because they intended to take vengeance on the Maharaja for having disallowed Jawahar Lal Nehru to enter the Kashmir valley via Muzaffrabad to support the tirade of the NC against the Dogra ruler.” “It was Hari Singh who acceded to the Union of India by keeping the interest of the people of the state protected,” he added. The party threatened to launch a campaign against the government if the date for the ceremony was not changed. Daljit Singh, Anita Thakur, Bansi Lal Sharma, Paramjeet Singh Marshall, Pushvinder Singh Manhas and Partap Singh were also present. The Jammu municipal corporation had roped in noted sculptor Ravinder Singh to sculpt the Maharaja’s life-size statue after eminent residents stressed the need to remember the former ruler in a befitting
manner. |
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Flower Garden fails to see the full bloom
Jammu, March 29 The idea of a flower garden was conceived in 2007 on the pattern of Tulip Garden in Srinagar and was planned to be an all-season botanical garden. But the department is still awaiting the release of funds for the project to kick off. Spread over 563 kanals, the garden was projected to cost Rs 32 crore. However, the garden blossoms for just two months, owing to the paucity of funds. As one takes a turn from the Jammu-Suchetgarh road towards the garden, the uneven connecting road presents an ugly picture of the garden. The visit to the garden shows how the land has been lying waste there, as flowers only blossom for two months on a small patch of land. KK Sharma, Director, Floriculture Department, Jammu, admitted that the garden is not what it was planned to be. “The flowers that we are currently growing there are just to keep the garden alive. We are trying to make it beautiful. But the flowers last just two months i.e. March and April. We want to beautify the garden but till the government sanctions money, we cannot take
any steps.” At the inception of the project, a musical fountain was planned to welcome the visitors to the garden. Also, an amphitheatre, a water garden, separate picnic areas, a biotechnology lab, an animal topiary garden and a garden having exotic flowers, were to be developed across the garden. Even after four years of the inauguration, a spread of flowers over 80 kanals is all that the garden has to offer to the visitors. Sources in the Floriculture Department said two gardens - Tulip Garden in Srinagar and Botanical Garden in Jammu - were inaugurated simultaneously. The Tulip Garden has flourished as the government is providing funds for its upkeep. But the garden in Jammu has never bloomed to its potential due to lack of funds. Shreya Sharma, a student of NIIT, Bhoar Camp, who had come to visit the garden along with her friends, said: “Different kinds of flowers make it a beautiful garden. But the garden must offer recreational facilities to people who travel
long distances to reach here.” Snapshots *
The garden was conceived on the lines of Tulip Garden in Srinagar * While it is spread over 563 kanals, only 80 kanals have been converted into a garden
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Varsity teachers intensify strike
Jammu, March 29 They suspended work for the fourth day even though Vice-Chancellor Prof MPS Ishar visited their dharna site today to persuade them for calling it off. The teachers fear that if the grant of funds for arrears is not released within two days, the issue will roll over to the next financial year. The teachers also carried out a rally on the campus carrying placards against the state government and raised slogans in support of their demands. Addressing the teachers, Prof Dalip Singh Jamwal, president, Jammu University Teachers Association (JUTA), said they had been protesting peacefully in the university for the past four days against the non-implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, which is mandatory for the reimbursement of 80 per cent of arrears from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). He reiterated that in the past two years a series of meetings had been held with the authorities concerned, including the Chancellor, the Chief Minister-cum-Pro-Chancellor, Higher Education Minister, Chairman, UGC, and officials in the HRD ministry, regarding their demands but in vain.
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JE selections condemned
jammu, March 29 Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, the members of the association alleged that the two selected persons had used forged mark sheets to secure the appointments. They have also demanded a high-level probe into the entire issue. |
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Conference at GMC begins today
Jammu, March 29 The two-day conference is being organised by the PG Department of Surgery, GMC, Jammu. There will be six scientific sessions each day with additional poster presentation session on March 30. “The national and local faculty will deliver lectures on theme ‘What is new in surgical practice’,” said Rakesh Saraf, HOD, Surgery, GMC, Jammu.
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Academy releases two books
Jammu, March 29 Welcoming the guests, Shamima Akther, additional secretary of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, said releasing books and other literary journals was part and parcel of the academy’s mandate. Noted writers Ayaz Rasool Nazki and Wali Mohammed Aseer presented papers on “Satisar Ka Suraj”. Both of them highlighted different aspects of Khalid Hussain’s stories. Appreciating the unique style of the author, both lauded Hussain’s effort in bringing out a valuable publication like “Satisar Ka Suraj”. Chief guest Prof MPS Ishar, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, congratulated Hussain on having come out with yet another publication. Guest of honour Mohammed Yusuf Taing, Deputy Chairman, Legislative Council, said over the decades Hussain had done a lot for the promotion and propagation of languages like Urdu. Praising Hussain for his contribution, Taing said the writer should keep up the good work. In his presidential remarks, SS Bloeria, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Jammu, lauded Hussain’s effort and said it was because of dedicated writers like him that languages like Urdu were being read and appreciated in the Indian sub-continent. Besides releasing Hussain’s “Satisar Ka Suraj”, the academy also released Beeba Balwant’s “Athroon Gulab Huway”. Javaid Rahi, Chief Editor, Gojri section, moderated the event, while Arvinder Singh Aman, additional secretary of the academy, presented the vote of thanks.
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Trends in wireless communication discussed
Katra, March 29 The aim was to provide a platform to researchers, academicians, industry professionals and students from various parts of the country to interact and learn about the new trends in the field of wireless networks and sensor networks. Prof Vinod Kapoor, Head of the Department (E&CE), NIT, Hamirpur, said optical communication and networks were of vital importance in the field of day-to-day communication. It was the duty of technical universities to provide a platform for such interactions in the field of communication and sensor networks, he added. Prof Dilbagh Singh from the NIT, Jalandhar, talked about the application of wireless communication and networks in the field of tele-medicine and body area networks. Dr Ankur Gupta from the MIET and Dr Vipan Kakkar from the university spoke about network management and aspects of the VLSI in sensor networks. |
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AGM of Association for Social Health in India Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 29 Expressing satisfaction over the significant growth in the activities of the ASHI, she observed that all members of the society need to contribute meaningfully for helping the underprivileged segments and making their lives easier. She emphasised the need for according greater thrust on safe drinking water, sanitation, health, literacy and skill upgradation programmes being undertaken by the ASHI. She stressed on the ASHI members to focus on adult literacy programmes for ensuring education to all children, particularly girls, in the adopted villages, as education can make the real difference in promoting speedy socio-economic empowerment. Referring to the health sub-centre, which was recently inaugurated at Jagti, the First Lady stressed for equipping this sub-centre to provide the best possible medicare services to the needy persons. Referring to the Self-Help Groups set up by the ASHI, she said possibilities need to be explored for working out some arrangement with the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board for purchase of various products prepared by these groups. She presented a cheque of Rs 5 lakh on behalf of the Governor as a token of support for various activities of the ASHI and asked to mop up resources to give momentum to its activities. While reviewing the functioning of two short-stay homes - Neha Ghar and Apna Ghar - run by the ASHI, she underlined the need for undertaking skill upgradation programmes for the inmates of Neha Ghar. The meeting also took stock of the action taken on the decisions of the last meeting and approved the budget and action plan of the ASHI for the next financial year (2012-13). Sushma Choudhary, vice-president, ASHI (J&K Chapter), gave a presentation to highlight the various activities undertaken by this NGO and its future action plan.
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JU campus becomes cleanliness conscious
Jammu, March 29 Not just that but also piles of garbage, waste furniture and rubble stocking up for over two decades in the corners, departments and even in lawns on the Jammu University campus are finally being removed. Sweepers and cleaners using old cleanliness tools as well as heavy machines are working overtime to finish this exercise. Old timers said such cleanliness was witnessed after decades. The concrete rubble, broken furniture pieces and other junk, which were also dumped near the unused gates of the campus till recently, has now been cleared. The grounds behind the boys’ and girls’ hostels have also been cleared off all the garbage. Dustbins are now being used to the optimum, students are being encouraged to keep the campus clean and participate in the movement. Apart from getting the campus cleaned up, the move will also aim at giving the campus a makeover. While sweepers are busy in their work, a team of gardeners are in the waiting to take over from them. Sources said new Vice-Chancellor Prof MPS Ishar was upset at the ugly surroundings and has ordered this massive exercise.
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Once employed in Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), a person spends his whole job tenure in the same organisation at the same place without any fear of transfer or posting.
The government today accepted on the floor of the Upper House that absence of the inter-transfer system in the local
bodies
Former ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh’s first-ever full-size statue in the city has remained covered for nearly two months due to the unavailability of a VIP to unveil it. And now, the selection of April 1 as the date for unveiling the statue has angered Jammu residents.
The Flower Garden in Bhoar Camp, inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2008, was planned as an all-season botanical garden offering a variety of recreational facilities. However, the garden has little to offer to the visitors.
With just two days to go for closing of the current financial year and remote chances of release of grant, teachers of the Jammu University intensified their strike today by carrying out a rally and increasing hours of strike period.
Two books, “Satisar Ka Suraj”, written by Khalid Hussain, and “Athroon Gulab Huway”, penned by Beeba
Balwant, were released here recently. Welcoming the guests, Shamima Akther, additional secretary of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, said releasing books and other literary journals was part and parcel of the academy’s mandate.
