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Water boost for city
PDP workers demand regular water supply
Students look to rejoin classes
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JU teachers call off strike, for now
Lobby chokes plan to set up bio-polythene plant
Use of bio-polythene can save drains from clogging in Jammu. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
35 sub-centres shut in Rajouri
West Pak refugees pour out on the streets for rights
Non-teaching employees’ body celebrates annual day
‘Nawabi’ food to tickle local palate
NPSU activists hold protest
Statue of Maharaja
Cleanliness drive by NSS volunteers
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Water boost for city
Jammu, April 4 Responding to the queries during the Question Hour in the Upper House here today, Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani said 50,000 gallons of water would be augmented per day to Jammu within a month to overcome water scarcity. “From May onwards, we hope to augment the supplies,” he added. He also told the House that the recommended supply of potable water per capita per day was approximately 30 gallons for cities, 16 gallons for towns and nine gallons for the rural areas. To a specific query, Wani said at present the volume of potable water supply per capita per day was 21 gallons for Jammu city and 22 gallons for Srinagar city. However, to provide adequate drinking water to Jammu city, the PHE Department had submitted a detailed project report at an estimated cost of Rs 490.64 lakh under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to the Ministry of Urban Development for funding and approval, which if implemented, would improve the recommended volume of water supply in Jammu city considerably, he said. He added that to improve the water supply, a long-term scheme envisaging lifting water from the Chenab was conceived and accordingly conceptual proposal for the same had been worked out. “The DPR for the same is being formulated by the Economic Reconstruction Agency with funding from Asian Development Bank,” he said. Earlier, NC MLC Vijay Bakaya said the situation took a grim turn during summer in Jammu when every household had to hire water tankers to meet their requirements. His party MLC Ajay Sadhotra said even within municipal limits of the city, there was an acute scarcity of water during summers. However, Congress MLC BR Kundal was more interested in knowing whether the government had any scheme up its sleeves to provide raw (untreated) water for lawns and gardening or not. He wanted the government to lay a separate line of untreated water. |
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PDP workers demand regular water supply
Jammu, April 4 He said though meters were installed in all the houses, people were not getting regular water and power supply. During summers, there is a threat of various water-borne diseases due to ill-treated water. — TNS
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Students look to rejoin classes
Jammu, april 4
This is the case with students of a majority of departments in the university. With just over a month left for semester examinations, it will be a challenge not just for teachers to finish the course on time but even for students to cope with the pace of lectures. With seven working days going down the drain, only a few days are left in the working calendar to finish the pending course. A student of the Economics Department pointed out that only one and half section out of four has been completed. “If teachers took three months to cover one and half section, how are they going to complete the remaining portion in just over a month,” the student said. This is the sentiment across all departments, barring science departments where temporary and contract teachers took classes despite the strike. Most students depended on self-study or library to complete pending notes and tutor each others. “I have been going to tutors outside the campus to finish the syllabus. Since teachers had been on strike for so long, I did not want to waste more time,” said Siddharth Sharma, a fourth-semester economics student. Vacation time
While most students sounded perturbed about the time lost and pending course, there were those who utilised the time by going on short vacations. These students dispersed from the campus and went back home or vacationed nearby. “Since no classes were held on the campus, I decided to visit the Vaishno Devi shrine,” said Ankita
Mahajan, a fourth-semester student currently vacationing in Srinagar. |
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JU teachers call off strike, for now
Jammu, April 4 The decision was taken at a general body meeting attended by the protesting teachers and staff. While the association president, Dr Dalip Jamwal, thanked the Chief Minister and the vice-chancellors of Jammu University and Kashmir University for decision, the teachers remained skeptical about their future, thereby prompting them to suspend the strike for indefinite period. Though the teachers weren’t too happy with the decision to release just 20 per cent of the arrears, they were willing to suspend the strike, considering the fact that the semester examinations were due in just over a month. During a dharna, the teachers supported another strike in the future to get other demands — age of retirement and other financial aids — fulfilled. “It took us 10 days to get a response from the Chief Minister. We should prepare ourselves for the possibility of going on an extended strike to get our grievances heard by the government and the UGC,” said Prof Bhupinder, member of the association. With teachers keen on going on another strike in the future, the upcoming session isn’t expected to be smooth. The students are now speculating not just late examinations but also late results. “We are happy with the decision of the association to call off strike but a lot of work is pending. Now that the classes will resume from Monday, we have to start planning the datesheet for the examinations and coordinate classes for the remainder of the semester. We will urge teachers to utilise the coming days to catch up with the lost time,” said Naresh Padha, Registrar, Jammu University. The teachers had earlier promised to hold classes during holidays and weekends to cover up for the lost time, but no classes would be conducted in the coming holidays. With the strike ending on the eve of an extended weekend, including holidays on account of Mahavir Jayanti (Thursday) and Good Friday, there was little urgency among teachers to take classes during holidays. “Since the holidays have a religious significance, we do not want to upset students by teaching them during this period,” a teacher maintained. Having lost out on 10 working days, students are now waiting for lectures to begin with the hope that they will be able to complete the course before the semester examinations. |
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Lobby chokes plan to set up bio-polythene plant
Jammu, April 4 Sources say a lobby having close ties with politicians has forced the derailment of the project, which was to be executed by an Italian company, M/s Earthsoul Pvt. Ltd. The government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the firm on August 4, 2009 for the manufacture of 100 per cent biodegradable products. The plant, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore, was proposed to produce 70 metric tonnes of bio-plastic from maize, corn and potato starch to replace chemical polythene being used in the city. The High Court had banned the use of chemical polythene in 2009. “The project has faced opposition from various quarters right from the start. Though some groundwork was initiated, the work never took off,” said an official. Sources said the plant was “sabotaged” by a politician-industrialist nexus, which controlled the plastic manufacturing sector in the state, as it was interfering with their business that ran into crores of rupees. “Though the polythene is banned in the state, products are being made from plastic having a big market in the state,” said a source. Had the plant been completed, it would have manufactured films for the floriculture department, plant pots, packaging material for food products and products for hotels, industry and clubs, which depended on polythene products for their business, the officials said. “Nearly 300 tonnes of garbage is generated in the city daily. In spite of a ban on the use of polythene, 60 per cent of it comprises poly bags, which lead to clogging of drains,” said Nadeem Qadri, an environment activist.
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35 sub-centres shut in Rajouri
Jammu, April 4 Of the 77 sub-centres opened in the Jammu division, 37 were opened in Rajouri, two in Udhampur, 10 in Kishtwar, 12 in Doda, nine in Jammu, two in Reasi, three in Kathua and two in Samba, the report states. While almost all sub-centres were closed down due to shortage of staff in Rajouri district, the centres in other districts were working without any problem. Members of the Health Committee felt that the information regarding the closure of the sub-centres in Rajouri was not based on facts. In the report, the members were intrigued by the inability of the department to provide requisite staff to Rajouri centres when the remaining institutions at Udhampur, Kishtwar, Doda, Jammu, Reasi, Kathua and Samba districts had requisite staff. Of the 37 sub-centres in Rajouri district, only two were functional, that too on court orders. On the contrary, of the 40 centres in other districts, only three were non-functional. Dr Madhu Khullar, Director (Health Services), Jammu, while talking to The Tribune, said: “We did not single out any particular district. We left only those centres open where there was no other heathcare facility.” “Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Samba, Reasi and Nagrota do not have any other healthcare facility, so the need of sub-centres there was more. The need for a sub-centre in Rajouri district was found to be far less than other districts,” she added. The House committee has recommended the reopening of all sub-centres in Rajouri district and make these functional with immediate effect. |
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West Pak refugees pour out on the streets for rights
Jammu, April 4
They alleged that the successive state governments had betrayed their trust in spite of the fact that they had left their homes during the Partition. Nothing had been done for their rehabilitation, they added. Demanding citizenship rights for more than 2 lakh people, the refugees started their march from the Jammu Press Club and after moving towards the Tawi bridge, they assembled at the club. “We have been denied our citizenship and property rights in the state, which is the worst form of human rights violation. Most refugees who have settled in other parts of the country have received every possible help from their respective governments,” said Labha Ram Gandhi, president of the West Pakistan Refugees Action Committee. Most people who preferred to stay in Jammu and Kashmir after the Partition belonged to Pakistani Punjab and Sialkote, but as they are not the state subjects, they enjoyed no rights as enjoyed by the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. “We cannot own land or property in the state nor can our children take admissions in professional and academic colleges. Give us our basic rights as enshrined in the Constitution of India,” said Labha Ram. Most of these people are not given the permanent resident certificate (PRC) and cannot vote in the Assembly elections. A huge traffic jam from the BC Road to Bikram Chowk was witnessed on account of the rally.
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Non-teaching employees’ body celebrates annual day
Jammu, April 4 The Vice-Chancellor congratulated the union for working for the welfare of the employees. He assured the union members that their genuine demands would be taken care of. Various cultural events were also organised on the occasion. A skit on female foeticide was a huge success among the audience. The function was attended by Registrar Naresh Padha, Provost (hostel) Lokesh Verma among other members of the university administration.
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‘Nawabi’ food to tickle local palate
Jammu, April 4 Awadhi dishes like kakori kebab, galawati kebab, dorre kabab, awadh tangri, mawa ki kakori, kele aur anjeer ke kabab and others will be served during these days. “Jammu people are fond of spicy food. Awadhi food will suit the taste of the people here. Awadhi food cannot be found everywhere,” said Rehman. Its recipe is secret and only those who have acquired the ways of cooking it from their forefathers can prepare it better,” he said. “I joined the hotel industry in 1994 and there are only few chefs who know how to cook Awadhi food because of its secret recipe. Jammu people will surely like it as they have a royal taste,” he added.
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NPSU activists hold protest
Jammu, April 4 The protests were undertaken to underline the ‘shortcomings’ in the curriculum of the university. Varindar Singh, president of the NPSU, threatened to hold a massive demonstration against the state government if they failed to introduce vocational as well as science and other relevant courses. The student body is also raising concern regarding the discrimination against the Central University, Jammu, in the allocation of funds and setting up infrastructure. The union also demanded reservation for the local students in Jammu on par with the students of the Central University of Kashmir. The protesting students are demanding new infrastructure, new job structure and allotment of more seats in the recruitment process for the Jammu students. |
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Villagers upset over ignoring sculptor
Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 4 Residents of Birpur village yesterday expressed anguish against the attitude of the authorities and observed that the organisers had not only humiliated Jamwal but also the people of entire Jammu region. As Ravinder Jamwal belongs to Birpur village, sarpanch of Birpur village Goutam Singh regretted that Jamwal had worked overtime to complete the statue but the authorities had humiliated him by not inviting him at the statue-unveiling function. “We the people of this belt feel humiliated”, he said and put the blame on politicians for meting out such treatment to Jamwal, who, according to him, deserved felicitation at the function. “Villagers are shocked over the attitude of the authorities”, he said. He added that those responsible for humiliating Jamwal should be singled out. Singh said the residents of Birpur and adjoining localities had decided to felicitate Jamwal for his work because he had made the people of this kandi belt proud by making statue of last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh. Meanwhile, the Citizen Forum has regretted that unveiling statues of Maharaja Hari Singh had become a single party ceremony, as many prominent people were ignored by the organisers. The forum also criticised the organisers for making the ceremony a single party show by not inviting leaders of Jammu-based political parties, including the former BJP mayor of Jammu, under whose tenure the corporation had conceived the project to install the statue.
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Cleanliness drive by NSS volunteers
Jammu, April 4 The drive was organised under the supervision of Dr RK Bhardwaj, programme officer, NSS. The programme was inaugurated by Dean Dr SK Gupta and Associate Dean Dr MS Bhadwal. Two dustbins were installed near the faculty canteen. The dustbins were donated by the NSS wing. The drive aimed at making the students realise the importance of cleanliness and instill the habit of keeping their surroundings clean at all times. The drive was appreciated by Dr SK Gupta, who interacted with the participating students and hoped that the group would organise many more drives of the same nature. |
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A day after the state government agreed to release 20 per cent arrears under the Sixth Pay Commission, the Jammu University Teachers Association today decided to suspend its strike for indefinite period and resume classes from Monday.
Even after the passage of three years, the plan to establish the first integrated bio-polythene plant of the state at Bari-Brahmna has remained only paper owing to a strong lobby of chemical plastic manufacturers that is opposed to its construction.
