Jammu, May 8
The displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in Jagti Township blocked the national highway for over two hours today to protest against long power cuts in the area. They alleged that the government had been ignoring the residents of the area ever since the township came up at Jagti.

The residents of the township converged on the highway, the main link for traffic going in and out of the city, around 10 am and blocked the traffic.

The protest led to a massive jam, as vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the highway. As a result, motorists had to take the alternative route from the Nagrota bypass to reach their destinations.

“Power cuts for 18 hours at a stretch have become commonplace in the area. The government has been boasting of providing quality living conditions to the displaced community but we are fed up with their attitude, which has forced us to take to the streets,” said Shuban Raina, a protester.

Jammu Additional Deputy Commissioner later reached the scene and assured uninterrupted power supply to the township for one week, saying the issue would be resolved through discussion by then.

Relief Commissioner RK Pandita, while talking to The Tribune, said: “In the past 22 years, we have provided electricity worth Rs 90 crore to different migrant camps in Jammu. Now they have to pay up for the facility. But we do not know whom to discuss the issue with. There are so many groups in the township that it is not easy to discuss the issue with them.”

“We are ready to give some concessions but cannot provide them with electricity for free. They should discuss the issue with us and find a way out,” he added.

The Relief Commissioner said a team led by the Jammu Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Relief Commissioner would visit the township tomorrow and hold a discussion with the people there to resolve the issue soon.

Katra, May 8
Incidents of supply of food items well beyond their expiry dates have surfaced at Mari and Bhaga anganwadis in Reasi. These items were being supplied under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme of the government.

The incidents came to light when residents of some villages received supplies of expired material from these anganwadis.

On receiving the supply from the anganwadis, the residents noticed that some of the material, including edible oil, was way beyond their date of expiry.

The residents claimed that the items were not fit for consumption, with some being infested with insects. These items were being distributed under the ICDS scheme of the government to lactating mothers as well as small children.

Senior officials swung into action and issued notices to the administrators of the anganwadis.

Reasi Deputy Commissioner Sheetal Nanda acknowledged that the matter had come to their notice.

“We have issued instructions to destroy the expired material and asked the Child Development and Planning Officer concerned to submit a detailed report in this regard at the earliest for further action,” Nanda added.

Jammu, May 8
The district administration of Samba today penalised four businessmen for selling adulterated items. Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) imposed a fine of Rs 51,000 under the provisions of Food and Drug Control Act.

The official spokesperson said a team of food and drugs department led by food safety officer, Rajesh Singh Jamwal, under the supervision of designated officer Rajan Kapoor collected the samples from various business establishments.

“Four samples were found adulterated and sub-standard quality. The department brought the case before the ADC through advocate Anuj Bakshi for legal action, said the spokesperson.

Jammu, May 8
While the Finance Department has extended the date for verification of pension payment orders (PPOs) for the convenience of the aged pensioners, there is no letup in the hardships being faced by the latter.

Contrary to the claims of the authorities, officials of the Finance Department have failed to visit ailing, handicapped and aged pensioners at their homes to conduct verifications.

Consequently, all pensioners, irrespective of their health status, have been forced to visit treasury offices and banks to get their PPO verified. The worst hit are illiterate pensions who belong to the rural areas.

As the timing of the government offices has been changed, the woe of the pensioners has compounded as officials at the treasuries have other engagements apart from addressing the grievances of pensioners.

It had earlier been announced that the problems of the pensioners would be redressed after 2 pm every day. However, the office timing had been changed from 8 am to 2 pm.

The Jammu Province People Forum (JPPF) has expressed resentment against the dictatorial attitude of the state government towards its pensioners.

The members criticised the “draconian” government order slapped on pensioners, compelling them to get their pension verified from the treasury offices personally to draw their pensions in the future.

They said the verification exercise involved obtaining of pension books from the bank, presenting the same personally before the treasury office and again depositing the same with the bank after verification. The pensioners were mostly too weak to withstand the arduous exercise of standing in queues for hours, which in itself was a punishment.

Jammu, May 8
While the state witnessed peaceful summer last year, the government has started taking preemptive measures to tackle any ugly situation this summer by starting a special “riot-control” training course for policemen here.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) has been training its special squads at a ground near Balole Nullah for the past one week.

The squads are being prepared particularly to counter attacks from stone-pelters. The police personnel were being exposed to heavy stone-pelting during mock drills and experts were on job to impart special skills to tackle such situations.

Jammu SSP Prabhat Singh told The Tribune that they had selected the best men from the police force for the job.

“We have drawn policemen from various duties, where they were least needed, and deployed them on this special task. They will undergo rigorous training for a month. They are being trained to handle intense stone-pelting, which they seldom face during ground operations. We want to prepare them for the worst,” he added.

He said their aim was to prepare the policemen mentally and evolve them as staunch defenders.

“Over 70 policemen are being trained for the job and they have been provided with latest gear. The gear includes a safety kit that ensures minimum injury to the policemen during rioting. We have also procured top-quality chest and lag guards, helmets, etc. They are covered in safety gear from top to bottom.” He added that they had kept 500 such gears in reserve.

He said the policemen were being trained to make them mentally tough to handle the law and order situations.

“Our teams undergo the exercise at 10 am every day. A group of CRPF jawans also undergoes two sets of similar exercises for our assistance,” he said.

“The summer period is always crucial for the state, as the inflow of pilgrims and tourists goes up during this period. The administration has to ensure that troublemakers are not allowed to disturb peace and we are preparing for that,” he added. Prabhat said their anti-riot gadgetry included four vehicles equipped with special sirens and 28 motorbikes.

Jammu, May 8
The Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) scheme of the Government of India, which was launched in J&K with a motive to provide basic sports infrastructure and equipment at the Panchayat level, has not turned out successful.

According to the sources, the major cause of the low success rate of PYKKA was the inordinate delay by the government in the appointment of a technical consultant at the state level to oversee the effective implementation of this scheme in J&K. When the scheme was launched in 2008, it was necessary for the government to immediately appoint a technical consultant to avoid a mess but unfortunately that did not happen, said a senior sports official.

“Now, when just a few years have left for the completion of this scheme, the government has now appointed a retired senior official of Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) in January this year, which is a mere formality,” he added. The official further said, “Limited availability of the sports infrastructure has been the major constraint in the development of sports.”

“Although there is a coordination committee, for example, at the block level, Block Development Officer (BDO) is the coordinator and at the district and state level, there are Deputy Commissioners and Chief Secretary respectively. But there is hardly any convening of meeting by the officials regarding the conduct of competitions under PYKKA,” added the official.

Jai Pal Singh, Director, Youth Services and Sports, said, “We have a coordination committee for smooth conduct of competitions under PYKKA.” “There are more than 4000 panchayats in J&K, which are to be covered under PYKKA before the completion of the scheme in 2017 and till now we have covered around 700 panchayats”, he added.

He said, “The department is trying its level best to create adequate sports infrastructure and also to achieve the set targets under the PYKKA scheme”.

The PYKKA scheme is based on 90.10 per cent share basis between the Central and State Government to be completed in 10 years. However, there is a special concession for border and hilly states, including J&K where the scheme can be completed in only five years. The main objective of the scheme is to encourage sports and games especially in the rural areas through annual sports competitions at block and district levels.

As per the data, funds under the central share to the tune of Rs 475. 98 lakh were received during the year 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 against the approved action plan of Rs 531.72 lakh by the Government of India for the year 2008-2009.

All Panchayats are being provided capital grant at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per Panchayat and Rs 5 lakh per block Panchayat for the development of playfields. Around 413 Panchayats were taken up during the year 2009-2010 for the development of playfields.

Jammu, May 8
Taking some time off from their laborious task of maintaining “arteries and veins” of J&K, Project Sampark celebrated 52nd raising day of the Border Roads Organisation here today.

BRO was raised on May 7, 1960, and has contributed to the road development in remote and difficult border areas, including J&K.

Project Sampark has been looking after the construction, improvement and maintenance of nearly 2600 km of strategic roads in Jammu, Kathua, Doda, Udhampur, Rajouri, Reasi and Poonch districts, for the past 37 years. It has been a major contributor in enhancing the socio-economic growth and ensuring all-round sustainable development of the region.

The celebrations started off with a ‘pooja’ followed by GREF Sammelan, where Umesh Chander Mehta, Chief Engineer, Project Sampark, addressed all the ranks of the project. He complimented all the ranks on behalf of Lieutenant General S Ravishankar, Director General of BRO.

He also motivated all the ranks to hold high the motto of BRO “Shramen Sarvam Sadhyam” i.e. with hard work everything is possible. He congratulated all the ranks on their excellent efforts, hard work and perseverance in successfully bringing Project Sampark to the second position amongst all the 18 projects of BRO all over India. The celebrations ended up with Barakhana at respective messes.

Jammu, May 8
The National Secular Forum has urged the state government to fill vacant posts in Jammu University at the earliest in order to prevent a sense of disillusionment from building amongst the unemployed youth of the state.

At a meeting held today, Vikas Sharma, president, NSF, asked the government to formulate a policy wherein extra or vacant seats for the posts of contractual teacher in the university could be allotted to deserving unemployed candidates.

Sharma said appointments against teaching posts should be made under the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines and preference should be given to PhD holders.

He added that permanent recruitment should be carried out for such posts.

He said the teachers should work according to the UGC rules.

The forum added that new subjects in certain undergraduate streams such as statistics, home sciences, biology, chemistry, information technology and psychology should also be introduced.

Jammu, May 8
Noor Mohammad was elected president of the District Baramulla Football Association (DBFA) today. Naseemul Gani and Shabir Ahmad Halwai were elected secretary and treasurer, respectively.

The elections were held at Degree College, Baramulla.

Prof Bashir Ahmad Shah and Fayaz Ahmad Sofi were deputed as observers of the Kashmir Wing by the JKFA president. Earlier, the chairman for the elections briefed the voters of the DFA and invited names for the three posts. The chairman exhorted the newly elected office-bearers to work with dedication for the promotion of the game in the district.

Jammu, May 8
The 15th District-Level Open Chess Championship and Open Dance Competition-2012, being organised by the J&K Rural Development Society, in association with the District Chess Association and Mind ‘n’ Rhythm got under way at Udhampur today.

The events are being organised in Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s memory . In all, 255 chess players of the district and 20 dance groups are participating in the competitions, which are being held in different categories.

Udhampur Deputy Commissioner PK Pole, who was the chief guest, declared the competitions open.

In his address, the Deputy Commissioner asked the students to take part in co-curricular activities for overall personality development. A cultural programme was also organised.

Among others, Joint Director (Planning) Rakesh Jamwal, Principal, Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports, Col Virinder Singh, chairman JKRDS, Sat Paul Sharma, general secretary GR Khajuria, director, Mind ‘n’ Rhythm, Anil Sharma, PRO of the society, Surjeet Singh and other prominent figures were also present.

Jammu, May 8
Nirmal Singh, BJP national executive member, today condemned the covert attempt by the state government to disband Village Defence Committees (VDCs) by disengaging SPOs and other members on flimsy grounds, despite the commendable role played by them in effectively countering the Pak-sponsored terrorism during the past 15 years.

Addressing a press conference, Singh said the members of the VDCs had laid down their lives and their families, too, got eliminated in this process.

“Not only that they acted as guides to lead the security forces to terrorist hideouts but most of them were front line actors in this war against terror,” he said.

“It is strange that their status is not decided as to whether they are civilians or policemen. Their duty is quite rigorous as they are deployed in militancy-infested areas far away from their homes without food and shelter,” he said.

Singh said in spite of their enormous sacrifices, VDCs members were being thrashed and beaten if they raised their grievances and dozens among them had been disengaged on flimsy grounds. “There are three SPOs in every VDC getting Rs 3,000 each, which is to be distributed among 11 members of the VDCs. In these hard days, how can they run their families?” he equipped and demanded that the services of SPOs should be regularised.

“There is a conspiracy on part of the state’s coalition government to slowly disband the VDCs when there is no guarantee of decrease in terrorism,” he added.

Jammu, May 8
The Shaheed Manjit Singh Hockey Open Tournament organised by Shaheed Manjit Singh Club in collaboration with Waryam Club will be held at Boys Higher Secondary School Ground, Poonch, from June 1 to 4. A total of 12 teams, including two from Jammu district, are likely to compete in the championship. The organising committee of the tournament include Tariq Khan, Matinder Pal Singh, Rajinder Singh, Sham Lal, Jaswinder Singh, Laxmikant, Pushkar Nath, Nazir Charak and Salil Raina.

Jammu, May 8
Khalsa Club frittered away early advantage to lose Guru Teg Bahadur Hockey Championship final by 2-1 margin against Gandhi Nagar Club at KK Hakku Stadium here today. The match went right down to the wire as both the teams played very well. Khalsa Club drew first blood in the 39th minute but Gandhi Nagar Club came up with an equaliser in the 42nd minute through Dalvinder Singh to make the contest evenly poised.

Both the teams created numerous chances in the second half to take lead but in the end it was Gandhi Nagar Club who succeeded in their efforts. Janak Singh scored a goal in the 46th minute to virtually seal the fate of the match. The match was officiated by Vijay Vaid, Joginder Singh, Harmeek Singh and Harvinder Singh.

DIG Jammu-Kathua Range JP Singh was the chief guest on the occasion. Rangil Singh, president, J&K Olympic Association, Jagjit Singh, Mohinder Singh, Avtar Singh Khalsa, Manmohan Singh, Inder Singh and P D Singh were also present. The tournament was organised by Hockey J&K.

Jammu, May 8
Kashmir Cricket Club (KCC) registered a narrow 8-run win over Singh Cricket Club (SCC) to seal a berth in the final of the ongoing Ashok Sodhi Memorial Cricket tournament being played at Parade Ground here today.

In the first semifinal, KCC won the toss and opted to bat first. They accumulated 150 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Parvez was the top scorer with a defiant 30, while Amandeep and Zeshan chipped in with 26 and 23 runs, respectively. For SCC, Raman Dutta was the pick of the bowlers with a four-wicket haul. He bowled a disciplined spell to keep a check on the rival team’s batsmen. Pardeep Bali took two wickets, whereas, Bandeep Singh got one wicket.

In reply, SCC could manage142 runs. Bandeep Singh played a gutsy knock of 40 runs studded with four hits to the fence. His dismissal was a major blow to SCC who at one stage had things under control. Bandeep’s departure eventually triggered a mini batting collapse from which SCC never recovered. Raman Dutta and Amit Baloria contributed 29 and 28 runs, respectively but in vain. For KCC, Amandeep bowled a devastating spell to scalp three wickets, while Kuldeep and Parvez shared two wickets apiece. Mudassir and Rohit took one wicket each. — TNS