Jammu, April 16
Over 200 refugees from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including women, today courted arrest in the winter capital of the state in protest against the Central as well as the state government’s “apathy” and “indifferent attitude” towards their long-pending demand for permanent settlement.

Carrying banners and placards, the PoK refugee families from Chhamb, Deva, Watala, Manwar, Bhimber, Kotli, Nah, Bagh, Poonch and Muzafarabad assembled at Maheshpura Chowk, Bakshi Nagar, under the banner of the PoK Refugees Front (1947, 1965 and 1971) and raised anti-government slogans.

The protesters, while marching towards the Bakshi Nagar police station for courting their arrest, accused the Centre as well as the state government of trying to befool them by making hollow slogans.

“The ruling dispensation in the state has lost its credibility and is trying to befool our people by making hollow announcements regarding package for giving compensation to the people who suffered loss of life and immovable property in the Indo-Pak wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971,” said Rashpal Singh, general secretary of the front.

He pointed that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is the executive head for announcing any package for the refugees in the state, didn’t utter a single word for the permanent settlement of the refugees who had been living in miserable conditions in various camps and non-camps since the past six decades.

“The announcements for the package are being made by Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla. We are well aware that the refugees will get nothing out of these hollow slogans as these announcements are just a political gimmick which are being made keeping in view the 2014 elections,” Singh alleged.

He also recalled the memorandum submitted by the Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on March 4, 2011, and described it as “meagre, incomprehensive and lacks insight.”

The leader alleged that though the Government of India had sanctioned relief package for the non-camp displaced persons of 1947 after directions of the National Human Rights Commission, the Provincial Rehabilitation Officer has not started the process of disbursing the relief package for not staying in the camps till date.

“The PoK refugees constitute 15 per cent of the state’s population whereas their present share in employment is hardly 0.5 per cent. Most of the population is illiterate because of poverty and repeated displacements during the three Indo-Pak wars,” he said.

While seeking comprehensive settlement of the PoK refugees, the leader demanded political, social and educational reservation for their youth. “The government should reserve one-third seats of the state legislature for the PoK refugees for their political empowerment. Besides, they (refugees) should be given the status of ‘backward class’ as they are living in miserable conditions in remote areas of the state,” he said.

Jammu, April 16
Notwithstanding tall claims of the authorities to provide all the infrastructural facilities to the potential sportspersons of the state, the fencers said they were denied equipment by the Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council. The matter came to light when two fencers namely, Ujjwal Gupta and Rashid Ahmad, were selected in the 12-member Indian contingent for the 2nd South Asian Fencing (SAF) Championship to be held at Yousuf Guda Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, from April 17-19.

The Jammu and Kashmir Amateur Fencing Association approached the Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council in a bid to arrange equipments for the selected fencers, but it failed in its efforts. Further, the association said it was in 2005, when the equipments were last purchased during the 5th Junior National Fencing Championship hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir at MA Stadium.

Kiran Wattal, Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council, while talking to The Tribune said, “Yes, the fencers came in the office premises and informed us about their demands but we requested them that they should have inform in advance so that we could manage it.”

Meanwhile, both Ujjwal and Rashid are undergoing a coaching camp along with two other fencers Varinder Singh (Punjab) and Rajendra Kumar (Karnataka). All these four fencers will participate in Sabre event, both individual and team events, respectively.

For Epee event, the Indian team comprised of Janta Kumar (Manipur), Hatish Karnaik (Punjab), Amit Singh (Madhya Pradesh) and Nitin Kohli (Services). Kirpal Singh (Punjab), Deepak Kumar (Assam), Vicky (Manipur) and Roshan (Manipur) were selected for the Foil event.

Before attending a preparatory coaching camp at Hyderabad, the fencers from across the country also participated in a selection camp conducted at the Army Sports Institute, Pune. Only 12 top rankers could make it to the national contingent to attend the coaching camp prior to their participation in the coveted championship.

In the previous edition of the championship held at Chennai, Ujjwal Gupta of Jammu and Kashmir, won gold in Sabre individual event besides being a part of the team that had bagged the yellow metal in Sabre team event.

Jammu, April 16
Summer is playing hide and seek this year with Jammu, as chill in the air in the second week of April has given people a reason to smile.

Add to this, hovering clouds over the city with intermittent showers in the past few days have created a pleasant weather, with common man enjoying the cool condition before facing the ruthless hot days that lay ahead.

On April 10, the temperature had reached up to 37 degrees Celsius, while today, it was 29 degrees Celsius with the minimum temperature hovering between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius. This variation in temperature has provided relief to the citizens from the extreme heat.

“This year the sun is still tolerable and nights are cool. Days are still not that hot as it used to be during the past few years during this month”, said local resident Sudhir Jamwal. With higher reaches of the state, including mountainous areas, receiving snowfall during the first week of April, there is unusual chill in the weather. “For the past few days, we are not using ceiling fans and air-conditioners during the night hours. Let’s hope this month remains little bit cool,” said Tahir Mushtaq, a college student.

However, while the citizens are enjoying the pleasant days before facing the heat wave, farmers are concerned over the present conditions. As the harvesting of wheat has just started, the farmers are worried over the sudden rainfall or hailstorm, which could destroy the standing crops. “We have kept our fingers crossed as the clouds are giving us sleepless nights. It has happened many a times in the past that as we began the harvesting, the weather god plays mischief. Sunshine is important during the coming days”, said Balvinder Singh, a farmer.

“Our worry is that next two weeks should be without rains so that we are able to harvest our crop, which is our only source of livelihood. Dry conditions are good during the harvesting period”, he said. But the Met department says a strong western disturbance passing over the state is responsible for the present condition.

“It is expected that these conditions will continue for the next few days. After that sunshine will again be there. But it has given some respite from the heat”, said Dr MK Khushu, a weather scientist at SKUAST-Jammu.

Jammu, April 16
Jammu University today postponed the examination schedule of BA part-1 for May 16 along with the venue and timing.

An official spokesperson said the university received a number of complaints with regard to the contents of the question paper of English-B of undergraduate part-I held on April 16 (morning and afternoon sessions both).

The complaints were basically with regard to the inclusion of grammar portion from part-2 of the syllabus in the question paper of part-1.

Consequently, the examination was rescheduled and both examinations have now been fixed for May 16.

At the same time, the authorities are also enquiring about this unpleasant situation and will take steps to prevent such mistakes in future.

Jammu, April 16
Burglars made an unsuccessful attempt to loot State Bank of India’s branch in Bishnah town on the outskirts of Jammu city on the intervening night of April 14 and 15.

The police said the burglars entered the bank by cutting the iron rods of a window and tried to enter the strong room but failed in their attempt.

“A gang of five-six burglars entered the SBI’s branch located at KC Morh in Bishnah town at around 1:00 am on Friday by cutting the iron rods of a window. Firstly, they damaged the CCTV camera and lights of the bank and then tried to break open the lock of the strong room with the help of a gas cutter,” the police added.

When the burglars were trying to break open the locks, a siren in the bank started beeping inside the bank due to smoke emitting from the spot following the use of gas cutter. Alarmed by the siren, the burglars fled from the spot.

“Local people noticed the alarm of the siren and informed the police about the incident. The police rushed to the spot and seized the pipe used for gas cutter. Preliminary investigation suggests that the burglars were five to six in number and had come in a four-wheeler,” a police official said, adding that all the items and valuables were intact in the bank.

He said senior officers of the department also visited the spot and issued directions for the early identification and arrest of the culprits.

The police has registered a case against unknown persons and launched a manhunt to arrest the burglars.

Jammu, April 16
Advocate Rohit Kapoor, who is a consultant registered with the Asian Development Bank, has been admitted as a member of the prestigious Association for International Arbitration (AIA), Law Society of Ireland, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and European Union Law Group.

He is the first person to get all these memberships from J&K. AIA is a non-profit organisation with an increasing number of members among arbitrators and mediators of international backgrounds.

Kapoor said AIA was established with the aim of facilitating arbitration, mediation and general forms of dispute resolution internationally. “AIA has developed into an organization dealing in the private international law field to meet the needs of the fast-growing evolution of dispute resolution within the international community,” he said.

“It provides information, training and educational activities, to expand the promotion of arbitration by means of securing partnerships with various organisations. It also encourages and promotes scholarship and publication, and is a forum for legal discourse. It organises training and educational activities to foster further learning and professional accuracy,” he said.

Katra, April 16
A sensation was created here late this afternoon after a decomposed human arm of a man was found on a road near Banganga.

Additional SP Katra, Mohan Lal, said the police had started investigation into the case to determine the identity of the man and the nature of his demise. The decomposed arm has been sent to the hospital for DNA analysis.

Jammu, April 16
The Udhampur police today claimed to have arrested a person who allegedly abducted and raped a girl in the Galihote Pancheri area.

Police spokesperson said a girl had lodged a complaint in Police Station Pancheri alleging that she was abducted and raped by a person, identified as Angrez Singh of Galihote, Pancheri.

During the course of investigation, a police team conducted raids on various locations in the Galihote area and arrested the accused, the spokesperson added. — TNS

Jammu, April 16
JKP overcame the challenge of Kashmir Cricket Club (KCC) by 4 wickets in the final to emerge victorious in the Baisakhi Premier League at MA Stadium here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, KCC piled up 129 for the loss of 9 wickets. Punit was the top scorer with 29 runs off just 19 balls, while Zeeshan and Aman contributed 26 and 23 runs, respectively. For JKP, Shamsher was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets, whereas Shashi and Raman chipped in with 2 and 1 wicket, respectively.

In reply, JKP cruised to victory in 19.4 overs losing 6 wickets in the process. Shashi played a match-winning knock of 50 runs, including 5 crispy hits to the fence. Farooq and Raman contributed 32 and 13 runs, respectively. For KCC, Mudassar took two wickets. Shashi was declared the man of the match. Dilbagh Singh, IGP, Jammu, was the chief guest on the occasion.

Earlier in the first semifinal, JKP toppled Aircel XI by 9 wickets. Batting first, Aircel XI managed 82/6 in the allotted 12 overs. The match was truncated due to rain. Amar played a fine knock of 36 runs studded with 3 hits to the fence. Anand also chipped in with a handy 19. For JKP, Shamsher was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets followed by Ashok and Raman who had to settle for a wicket apiece.

Chasing 83 runs to win, JKP did the needful in 11.1 overs, losing a wicket in the process. Amit Sharma and Rajesh Gill were the notable contributors with scores of 28 and 25 runs, respectively. For Aircel XI, Nikhil took the only wicket. Shamsher was adjudged the man of the match.

KCC had the last laugh against Simula XI by a narrow margin of 2 runs in the second semifinal. KCC garnered 119/7 in the stipulated 15 overs. Aman was the top scorer with a defiant 39. Zeeshan and Mudassar also made useful contributions of 20 and 18 runs, respectively. For Simula XI, Dhruv Mahajan and Hilal Rather shared 2 wickets each, whereas Hardeep Singh and Vikram took 1 wicket apiece.

In reply, Simula XI fell short of just 2 runs as they could manage 117 for the loss of 7 wickets. At one stage, Simula XI was coasting along nicely, but the fall of wickets in quick succession proved fatal. Hilal Rather and Sameer were the notable scorers with contributions of 27 and 19 runs, respectively. For KCC, Satish was the wrecker-in-chief with 3 wickets while Kuldip snared 2 wickets. Satish was declared the man of the match.

Jammu, April 16
Physical Education Department has set up a title clash with the Law School in the ongoing Inter-Department Volleyball Tournament being played at Jammu University here today. In the first semi-final, Physical Education Department prevailed over the Law School by 2-0 sets (25-13 and 25-14). Law School made attempts to match the skills of the Physical Education department, but in vain. Rakesh Singh Rahi, Irshad Naik and Sahil Jawmal, were the stand out performers of the Physical Education department, while, Lokesh Sharma and Abdul Waheed of Law School also played well.

In another semi-final, Law School defeated the Urdu department by 25-19 and 25-15. For Law School, Nawdeep Singh and Suraj Singh, were the outstanding performers, whereas, Rizwan Mirza and Irshad Ahmad also played well. The matches were officiated by Shashi Sharma, Mulkh Raj and Wasim Raja Malik. The final match will be played on April 17 at 10.30 am. — TNS

Reasi, April 16
Preparations are in full swing at the Sports Stadium, Reasi, for the new season of the Jammu Premier League (JPL) phase-II, which begins here from tomorrow.

The aim of the event is to tap cricket potential among the youth of the state.

JPL is being organised in the Jammu Division by the Army under Operation Sadbhavana. Governor NN Vohra will inaugurate the event.

Army officials said four matches would be played every day. The aim of this tournament is to involve the youth and “enhance the existing cricketing standards” by inculcating an “environment of sports culture” among the local populace. This tournament would be a stepping stone in fulfilling the “vision statement” i.e. "Integration of Jammu and Kashmir cricketing talent into the national cricket mainstream". — OC