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Red tape hits Power plan
J&K’s first hi-tech passport kendra opens in city
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Wheat crop gutted
Fraudsters out to trap Netizens
JU Inquiry report
Commandants’ conference
Ban tobacco products in state: Health association
Tributes paid
Jammu Riders enter JPL final
Training camp for Santosh Trophy probables begins
Ashok Sodhi cricket meet from Apr 30
Chess tourney
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Red tape hits Power plan
Jammu, April 24 Two years ago, nearly 100 youth were trained to handle field work such as bill distribution, meter reading and preparing the list of defaulters so that they could provide a helping hand to the department in curbing power theft, but the project failed because officials never took it seriously, say PDD sources. Sources in the PDD said though the youth were trained in the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Jammu and Srinagar, senior officers were not issuing authorisation letters to the trained youths to open their franchise and function on behalf of the PDD field staff. “Respective chief engineers have not issued these letter and files are pending for approval,” a source maintained. The sources said though the government was talking about privatisation of revenue collection and had engaged consultant Price Water House Cooper for restructuring of the department, including its unbundling and corporatisation, such a small project had been unable to move beyond the planning stage. Manpower shortage is a major challenge for the department when it comes to dealing with the consumers. Under the plan, the department had decided to give franchises to local youth, to ensure that the recovery process was streamlined. As per the model, the franchises were not to deal with cash as consumers had to pay their bills in banks. The franchises’ role was to assist the field staff of the PDD to keep an eye on their respective areas and monitor how people used the electricity. The PDD has a staff strength of nearly 30,000 but since there has been no expansion of infrastructure, the department has been finding it difficult to deal with consumers. Most of the maintenance work has already been given to daily wagers. Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses have also shown a substantial increase in the past decade. The losses have increased from 46.98 % in 2005-06 to 61.31 % in 2010-11, with the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) blaming it mostly on thefts by consumers. “The high level of T&D losses is due to rampant hooking of low-tension lines across the state, which is not being properly checked by the department. Even where meters are installed, various methods are adopted by a large number of consumers for tampering with the meters,” said an official of the PDD. However, Minister for State (MoS) for Power Shabir Khan said the government had bigger plans to curb losses and improve revenue realisation. “There are many proposals before us. I will have to check about this particular project with the officials and find out why it has not been taken up”. The initiative
Two years ago, nearly 100 youth were trained to handle field work such as bill distribution, meter reading and preparing the list of defaulters so that they could help the PDD curb electricity theft. Senior officers, however, were not issuing authorisation letters to the trained youth to open their franchise and function on behalf of the PDD field staff |
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J&K’s first hi-tech passport kendra opens in city
Jammu, April 24 The state got its first hi-tech Passport Seva Kendra at Jammu today, putting to end long queues and extensive paperwork that had been causing a lot of problems for the applicants. Off the 77 kendras proposed across the country, the state will get two kendras. The other one will be set up in Srinagar next month. The project has been conceived by the Ministry of External Affairs. Chief Passport Officer and Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Muktesh Pardeshi said the new system was people-friendly and aimed at streamlining the passport issuance system in the country. “Biometric data of applicants will ensure foolproof security system and curb the misuse of passports. Their fingerprints and photographs will be kept in a centralised database, which can be assessed by the security agencies and people. Photographs will now be clicked at the centres. We had detected several cases in the past wherein fake people had applied for the document,” he said. He said the MEA had already launched over 70 passport kendras across the country and 21 lakh passport applications had been processed under the new system. “Overall feedback from citizens visiting the kendras across the country has been good and we hope the people of J&K will also acknowledge its benefits,” he added. In order to provide better and faster services, the MEA has opened these kendras in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services across the country on private-public partnership (PPP) mode. Rajinder Gupta, Passport Officer, Jammu, said the Passport Seva Kendra would provide services to the people of various districts falling under their jurisdiction, including Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Doda, Kistwar, Rajouri, Poonch, Ramban, Reasi and Udhampur. “The launch of services will ease the burden and rush at the passport office in Jammu, where nearly 150 applicants are serviced every day. The kendra will start offering services to people on a trial basis from later this week,” Gupta said. Under the new system, the applicant has to log on to www.passportindia.gov.in and create a user ID. Using this ID, the applicant can apply for a passport or related service by uploading the form. An appointment can be sought online as per the jurisdiction and the applicant has to visit the kendra at the designated time along with relevant documents. New system
The applicant has to log on to www.passportindia.gov.in and create a user ID. Using this ID, the applicant can apply for a passport or related service by uploading the form. An appointment can be sought online as per the jurisdiction and the applicant has to visit the kendra at the designated time along with relevant documents.
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Govt stance on Amendments ‘misleading’
Jammu, April 24 He said the minister ought to know that notwithstanding Article 370, these amendments were extendible to the state much in the same way as around 200 provisions of Indian Constitution were already applicable to the state. He said the only requirement was that it had to be adopted by the state legislature and incidentally, barring the National Conference, all other parties were in its favour. While the other ruling coalition partner, Congress, had these amendments in its manifesto, the PDP had also supported such empowerment of local bodies, he said. Addressing a press conference here today, Jitendra Singh said the 73rd and 74th Amendments were brought in during 1990s. It was aimed at making local bodies “institutions of self-governance” with full administrative as well as financial independence. The spirit of these amendments was that every local body should be able to function with same independence as a state Assembly, he explained. After the two amendments, all Central grants would come directly to the elected representatives in panchayats and municipal bodies with no interference from the State Council of Ministers. The audit of these funds was to be done by a committee appointed directly by the Governor of the state. Citing constitutional references, Singh said while Article 243 ZD provided for creation of district-level planning committees, Article 243 ZE provided that for metropolitan areas, a metropolitan planning committee should be elected by and from amongst the elected members of municipalities and chairpersons of panchayats within the metropolitan area. In 1998, the Godwale committee report had also advocated 73rd and 74th Amendments. While Karnataka was one of the first states to adopt these amendments, most other states also adopted the same subsequently, he added.
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Wheat crop gutted
Jammu, April 24 The police said the wheat crop was destroyed in Saidpur and Langate villages of Kathua tehsil. The reason behind the fire could not be ascertained. “The fire tenders prevented the fire from spreading to other fields. Farmers alerted the fire department, which ensured that it did not spread to the surrounding 1,200 kanals having standing wheat crop,” he said. The farmers have demanded relief from the administration. — TNS |
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Fraudsters out to trap Netizens
Official sources told The Tribune that the Crime Branch of the J&K Police had received around 15 complaints wherein Internet users had either been cheated or asked to deposit specific amounts through “unsolicited links” on their e-mails. The potential victims have been asked to deposit money in a designated bank in lieu of getting a cheque for a “winning” amount of a lottery. “We have received several complaints from people who have received e-mails purportedly from international banks. The fraudsters either request the people to give their security details (perhaps as part of an update or confirmation process) or ask them to follow a link to a site encouraging them to provide a range of information like credit card number, personal identification number (PIN), password or other personal information,” said Ranjit Singh Sambyal, ASP, Crime Branch, Jammu. The ASP said: “We have received a joint complaint from eight persons who fell victims to these fraudsters. They (fraudsters) also targeted a girl who lost nearly Rs 28 lakh in the lottery scam.” Advising people against disclosing their personal information like name, family background, telephone numbers or residential address, the police officer pointed out that the fraudulent e-mails could seem “convincing” as fraudsters were continually devising new ways of trapping gullible people. He urged people to treat all unsolicited e-mails with caution and desist from clicking on links from such e-mails or entering any personal information. Sambyal said people also complained of receiving phone calls from unknown locations, with callers requesting them to deposit a specific amount in a designated bank in lieu of getting the cheque for a “winning” amount of a lottery. “People should treat such phone calls with caution and desist from responding to such calls,” he said. Earlier, a group of cheats active across the state had targeted people, particularly in the rural areas, by making “money-spinning” calls on their mobile phones. They used to pose as employees of a particular telecom company and lure people by asking them to deposit money - ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 - in a bank account for the installation of mobile towers at their residences, under the assurance that the company would pay them a monthly rent of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 for the towers. Lottery Fraud
Potential victims are asked to deposit money in a designated bank in lieu of getting a cheque for a “winning” lottery amount |
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Ramban residents face LPG shortage
Batote, April 24 Since 80 per cent of the LPG consumers in the district are of Hindustan Petroleum (HP) who had got their connections from the outlets of a Kud-based HP agency in Batote, Chanderkot, Ramban, Banihal and Gool in the past, they are finding it difficult to get their cylinders refilled. They have to go to Kud from Batote, Chanderkot and Ramban for refilling of cylinders. “Before the creation of Ramban district, I was authorised to supply LPG cylinders to Ramban, but with the opening of Indane LPG agency in Ramban city, I am no more authorised to do so,” said KL Khajuria, proprietor of Kud-based HP LPG agency. Tilakraj, proprietor, Indane LPG agency in Ramban, admitted that he has got the supply of HP LPG cylinders stopped in Ramban district from Kud as only he is authorised to cater to this district now.“I have opened this agency here after investing a huge amount and if I don’t get at least 10,000 connections how will I make profit. At present, I have only 3,000 connections,” he said. “The Naib Tehsildar has assured us that after consulting the Deputy Commissioner he will soon find out some solution. If the problem is not redressed permanently, we will resort to agitation,” said Sanjay Gupta, president, Beopar Mandal, Batote. “For the time being we are dependent on Srinagar-bound LPG-loaded trucks that drop a few cylinders here at exaggerated rates secretly,” he added. “Any HP subscriber can come to us at Kud and deposit his cylinder with us and take a transfer voucher and get a new Indane connection from Ramban after producing the transfer voucher there,” said Khajuria. “I have directed the Assistant Director, CAPD, to get the supply of LPG from Kud HP agency resumed to Batote and Chanderkot for the time being. We have recommended new LPG agencies for Batote, Banihal, Ramsu and Gool but it will take some time. Replacement of HP connections with Indane is the only solution at present,” said Shabir Ahmed Bhat, Deputy Commissioner,
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Forum hails Governor’s action
Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 24 Addressing mediapersons today, NSF president Vikas Sharma said: “We are grateful to the Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellor of the university for taking due notice of the inquiry report. The authorities have acknowledged that irregularities have taken place at various levels in the past. We had been urging the government to act against those appointed to various posts as a result of favoritism and now our demands have been respected.”The forum urged the Vice-Chancellor, Prof MPS Ishar, to convene a special Syndicate meeting, as was held in the case of the Priyadarshini Institute fraud case. The NSF requested the university authorities to lodge an FIR against former Registrar MS Pathania in a case of financial fraud and demanded the removal of Meenakshi Kilam from the post of Director Distance Education. The Students’ Union felt that these people were given undue promotions.
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Policing needs to evolve: DGP
Stresses better synergy in police to deal withemerging threats Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 24 Addressing the participants after inaugurating a two-day 10th Commandants Conference of Jammu and Kashmir Armed/IRP Battalions at Armed Police Headquarters here, Khoda said: “Policing needs to evolve in view of the new challenges posed by the criminals and anti-social elements.” Expressing satisfaction over the working of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP) in the day-to-day policing, he said the JKAP was the backbone of the police organisation and its jawans and officers had demonstrated great professionalism, discipline and valour in maintaining peace and saving life and property of the people. He said the force had made many sacrifices for the integrity of the state and the nation would always remember these martyrs. Elaborating the achievements of the force, the DGP said better supervision and inspection by the supervisory officers would improve the working and performance. Encouragement and rewards for the performers and speedy disposal of departmental inquiries would also help yield the desired results, he added. Referring to the measures taken with regard to training and logistics, Khoda said the department had taken many initiatives to sharpen the training skills of its men. “Latest equipment have been introduced in the force to tackle any situation and all police training institutions across the state have been imparting training with new techniques to face the challenges” he asserted. He said with the introduction of the latest methods of investigation, the force would be able to crack and curb the activities of the elements inimical to peace. In his welcome address, K Rajendra Kumar, ADGP (Armed/Law and Order), gave a detailed PowerPoint presentation on the agenda points, aims and objective of conducting the annual conference. He said the conference would deliberate and discuss various aspects of functioning of the JKAP and formulate a comprehensive policy to enhance the performance of the force.
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Ban tobacco products in state: Health association
Jammu, April 24 Addressing a seminar organised by the VHAI, Minister of Health, Sham Lal Sharma pledged his support to curb the growing menace of tobacco in the state by signing a pledge to call a complete ban on “gutka” and “khaini” in the state. The VHAI also thanked the state government for extending its support in reducing the consumption of tobacco products in the state. As part of the initiative to curb tobacco consumption in the state, the Finance Department has already agreed to increase VAT on all tobacco products from 25% to 30% for 2012-13. The Health Minister mentioned that he would take initiatives to curb the menace in the state. The Global Tobacco Survey India 2009-10 conveys that about 26.6% population of the state is using tobacco product in one form or the other. Also, the state has 12% cigarette smokers, 3.8% bidi smokers and 8% smokeless tobacco users. The food safety officers and drug inspector of drugs and food control department are also actively involved in securing compliance of Section 4 of the cigarette and other tobacco products Act, which prohibits any commercial advertisement promoting the use of tobacco. These steps are being taken to control and reduce tobacco use, especially amongst the vulnerable population in the state.
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Tributes paid
Jammu, April 24 While paying tributes to the deceased, the speakers recalled his contribution to the field of commentary, especially on the historical visit of former President APJ Abdul Kalam to the Sher-i-Kashmir Police Academy in 2003. The speakers said the deceased was associated with the police organisation for the past three decades and was instrumental in conducting police functions. A two-minute silence was observed for the departed soul. Condolence meetings were also held at various police training institutions.
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Jammu Riders enter JPL final
Jammu, April 24 Batting first, Kathua Knights failed to take advantage of a decent start provided by their openers on a flat wicket at MA Stadium. They garnered 121/9 in their allotted quota of overs. Shakir Ali looked in ominous touch but he too gifted his wicket away by playing a reckless stroke. He contributed 45 runs, studded with four hits to the fence. Rahul and Sahil chipped in with 24 and 15 runs, respectively. For Jammu Riders, Bandeep Singh, Sameer Khajuria and Hilal Rather shared two wickets apiece. Chasing a modest target to win, Jammu Riders had no difficulty whatsoever, as they cruised to victory in the 19th over, losing six wickets in the process. Bandeep Singh played a fine knock of 29 with some occasional boundaries. He paced his innings well by punishing bad balls to the fence. Hardeep Singh and Ram Dayal also made useful contributions of 18 and 12 runs, respectively. For Kathua Knights, Jatinder was the pick of the bowlers with a three-wicket haul, while Rahul took one wicket. The final match will be played on April 27 at the same venue.
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Training camp for Santosh Trophy probables begins
Jammu, April 24 Earlier, three-day selection trials were conducted by the J&K Football Association (JKFA) at the same venue. The Santosh Trophy for national football championship is scheduled to be held at Cuttack (Odisha) from May 10. J&K will open its campaign against Arunachal Pradesh on May 13. On May 15, J&K will be up against Maharashtra. The team will leave for Cuttack on May 8. JK Police coach Ranjit Singh has been appointed as the coach of the team, while the first international footballer of state, Muhammad Shafi Nari, has been appointed the manager. Ashiq Hussain has been appointed the physiotherapist of the team. The 24 short-listed players include 10 newcomers who will make their debut in the championship. In the previous edition of the championship, held in Assam, J&K had managed two draws, while they lost to Manipur, which went on to qualify for the knock-out stage. Zamir Ahmad Thakur, JKFA president, while interview with The Tribune expressed confidence that the state team would perform well in the championship. “The experience of Ranjit Singh and Muhammad Shafi Nari will help the team prepare better for the prestigious championship,” he said. He added that the association was planning to host Federation Cup this year. “I am going to meet Sports Minister RS Chib and apprise him of the recent developments,” he added. The only time that the state hosted the Federation Cup was way back in 1984 at Srinagar. The Santosh Trophy probables are: Riyaz Ahmad, Arshid Ahmad, Wasim Feroz, Aman Thapa, Khalid Umer, Rohit Kumar, Khalid Qayoom, Owais Farooq, Yaseen Ahmad, Ashiq Ahmad, Vinay Kumar, Asif Majeed, Sandeep Sharma, Aiman Rashid, Azhar Ali, Mansoor Yusuf, Wasim Yousuf, Rizwan Shafi, Asif Quadir, Irfan Ahmad, Ujawar Nabi, Uzair Ahmad, Vishal Kumar and Umer Jan.
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Ashok Sodhi cricket meet from Apr 30
Jammu, April 24 The tournament is organised every year in the memory of Late Ashok Sodhi, senior photojournalist, who lost his life during an encounter at Samba on May 11, 2008. Sodhi had strong passion for cricket and thus his colleagues and friends decided to pay homage to the late soul by organising Ashok Sodhi Memorial Cricket Tournament. The tournament will be played on knock-out basis and 2 matches will be played on regular basis, one at 8:30 am and another at 1 pm. The two teams who qualify for the finals will take on each other on May 11. The interested clubs and teams have been directed to register themselves on or before April 28. The entry fee for the tournament is Rs 2,500 and may be deposited at Mini Stadium, Parade.
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Chess tourney
Jammu, April 24 The championship will be held to select the state team for the forthcoming national championship to be held at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Interested players can submit their entries at the Hotel Nek by May 5.
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As part of a nationwide e-governance project to create centralised databank of passport holders, the Regional Passport Office will now record biometric data of applicants in the state.
The government plan to privatise the electricity bill distribution and revenue collection in the urban areas of the state has failed to take off due to red tape and official apathy which mar the functioning of the Power Development Department (PDD).
Jammu, April 24
