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Thousands of vehicles mock ban on tint
Delay in civic poll takes toll on city
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After PDD, PHE to experiment with water e-metering
BEd colleges flouting JU norms to face action
Youth commits suicide
CD case
3,000 intoxicating capsules seized
iit Examination
Recruitment drive a mixed bag
suno tagore di
Workshop on Hindi held
hit-&-run case
Forum questions delay in upgrade of rly station
13 PHE employees suspended
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Thousands of vehicles mock ban on tint
Jammu, May 18 Thousands of private cars are still plying on the roads with tinted glasses. And, officials say people are reluctant to cooperate in most cases. Harsh, a dealer of car accessories, told The Tribune: “When the Traffic Police intensified its drive against the violation a few days ago, some customers had approached us to get the tinted films removed from their vehicles. However, their number gradually decreased and we have not received any such customer in the past few days.” Another dealer said vehicle owners were still approaching them to get films on their vehicles. “People are still approaching us to get films on the windowpanes of their vehicles. Most claim tinted glasses enhance the effect of air-conditioners in their vehicles,” he added. Rahul, a vehicle owner, said although he was not aware of the High Court directive or the police action, he would get the film removed from his vehicle. “The authorities have a genuine reason to prosecute vehicle owners, but I had been using the film on my vehicle to enhance the cooling of the air-conditioner,” he said. Jammu SSP (Traffic) Manmohan Singh said they had been doing their job diligently but the “There are over 10,000 vehicles with tinted glasses in the city. We have so far challaned and removed films from over 450 vehicles. I will be able to provide you with exact data on Saturday,” he said. Madan Lal Abrol, a social worker, said people should also co-operate with
the authorities in the initiative. “There have been instances where tinted glasses have been misused by individuals. Youths make wrong use of such vehicles and indulge in criminal acts. The authorities concerned cannot get the desired results without the cooperation of the people,” he added. |
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Delay in civic poll takes toll on city
Jammu, May 18 A visit to different wards revealed how development activities in the 71 wards had suffered due to the absence of people’s representation in the corporation for the past two years. The municipal corporations and committees in the state completed their tenure in April, 2010 and the government has been delaying the holding of elections ever since. Illegal constructions, dilapidated streets and lanes, besides overflowing drains, have spelled chaos in respective localities. Former mayor Narinder Singh Jamwal said: “The government has created a constitutional crisis in the state. Under Sections 5 and 404 of the J&K Municipal Act 2000, the election process for the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) should be initiated six months before the expiry of the term of the existing bodies.” “City wards had witnessed significant development during 2005 to 2008, when local representatives in the corporation used to hear our problems. But, people have now been forced to live in pitiable conditions. Overflowing drains, scattered garbage, dilapidated lanes are the norm these days,” said Amit Sharma, a local resident. Before the formation of the Jammu municipal corporation in 2005, there were 23 wards in the city. However, as the city expanded, the government decided to create 48 new wards, covering the newly established colonies that came up during the past two decades, taking their number to 71. “After the corporation was formed to take up development activities in the city, old wards received Rs 6 lakh, while the new wards received Rs 8 lakh. But there are no funds now in the absence of elected representatives,” said Sudhir Sharma, a trader. No elections since April ’10
The municipal corporations and committees in the state completed their tenure in April, 2010 and the government has been delaying the holding of elections ever since.
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After PDD, PHE to experiment with water e-metering
Jammu, May 18 An order has been placed for 1 lakh water meters, which the department plans to install in the next few months, targeting commercial establishments like hotels, lodges, restaurants, educational institutions initially, and extending the project to the domestic areas later. e-Metering is being taken up under the Urban Infrastructure Development in Small and Medium Towns (UIDSMT) and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Though officials have been expressing apprehensions about the success of the project, which was announced two years ago, sources say keeping in view the huge pressure on water resources, the department is experimenting with different options to curb its misuse. The PHE Department also plans to provide two separate connections - one for drinking and the other for various purposes. “The water for drinking purposes will be supplied from treatment plants, while that for other purposes will be supplied directly from the water bodies,” said a source. “This is a far more ambitious project. The government has already delayed its implementation after objections were raised by officials,” the source added. Vinod Luthra, Superintending Engineer, PHE, said: “We are expecting the delivery of meters by next month. The installation process will be started subsequently. A survey had already been carried out a few years ago.” As per government data, there are 1,21,814 water connections in the city. Of these, 78,970 are in division I, while 42,844 fall in division II of the city. Further, out of 13,549 commercial connections, 12,092 come under division I, while 1,457 connections fall in division II. In spite of thousands of glacier-fed rivers and streams in the state, the effects of global warming have started showing in the state in the past few years, mainly due to exploitation of water bodies. Curbing misuse of water
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BEd colleges flouting JU norms to face action
Jammu, May 18 Sources said Prof Deshbandu Gupta, Director College Development, was likely to take action against these institutions next week and they would be asked to clear their position on alleged illegal admissions or face de-affiliation. The sources said the identified colleges were already under scanner of the JU from last September after the detection of 4,700 fake admissions, which had raise a question mark over the scrutiny mechanism adopted by the authorities. Out of 24,000 candidates who took the examination last year, forms of 4,700 students were found to be fake, after which the then Vice-Chancellor Prof Varun Sahni had constituted a committee to investigate the role of various college managements involved in the fraud. Most of the fake cases were detected by special flying squads, which had found that students had taken fake admissions with the help of the “education mafia” who were providing candidates to these colleges on commission basis. At times their photographs were not matching with the actual candidates and when it was pointed out by the officials, they failed to give any satisfactory answer. Prof Gupta said, “I cannot give you full details, but the JU will take action against colleges who are using illegal means to admit students and are not adhering the guidelines.” He said several meetings had been held with the principals of different colleges so that the admission and academic process was streamlined in BEd colleges. As per the Modus operandi mostly being adopted by the colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, candidates never attend classes in the respective colleges nor fill their own forms, but instead the entire process is completed by agents and students only visited the state to take the exams. According to the official data, there are 65 private BEd colleges in the Valley and 77 in the Jammu region. Intake capacity of all private BEd colleges in the state is 40,450 candidates.
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Youth commits suicide
Rajouri, May 18 SHO Chingus police station said, “The body was sent for the postmortem in Nawshera hospital.” The police has registered a case and handed over the body to the family.
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Battered NH1A stretch cries for repairs
Batote, May 18 Drivers can often be seen driving on the wrong side of the road in a bid to avoid potholes and sunken portions on the stretch. Till April 17, two-way traffic was not allowed on the NH1A due to the bad shape of the stretch. The Traffic Police, however, had to change its decision on account of heavy rush of tourists to the Valley. The decision is being resented by the public and motorists, as it has resulted in frequent traffic snarl-ups on the stretch. The NH1A stretch between Chenani and Nashri was handed over to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from Beacon for maintenance in May, 2011. The stretch has remained badly neglected ever since, as the NHAI has remained preoccupied with the work on the Chenani-Nashri tunnel. “I had suffered multiple fractures in an accident on November 26 when my car collided head-on with another one at
Tringla, Batote. The driver of the other car was driving on the wrong side of the road in a bid to avoid potholes,” claimed Mohd Latief of
Batote. Also, five persons, including a truck driver and three soldiers of 31 Medium Artillery Regiment, were injured when the truck driver, while trying to avoid a head-on collision with a Tempo
Traveller, overshot the parapet and his vehicle plunged into a gorge on April 19. The Tempo Traveller was also driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid a big pothole. “We will carry out repairs on this stretch as soon as the temperature rises. We couldn’t carry out the repairs earlier, as the temperature was not conducive. The road had suffered damages due to the clearance of snow by heavy machines last winter,” said a senior officer of Leighton Wellspun Contractor Ltd., the company working on the
NHAI. “Beacon has better expertise, experience and manpower to construct roads and clear snow. So the work should be give back to them,” said Jagdish
Chand, sarpanch, Chakwa, Batote. |
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Ex-SSP, SP summoned
Legal Correspondent
Jammu, May 18 The two officers have been asked to explain their stand in relation to the alleged CD, which contains video of interrogation of the accused during his custody in the police lockup. The court has directed the issuance of notices to both officers through the IGP, Jammu Zone. These directions were passed in a complaint filed under Sections 500 and 503, RPC, and Section 66-A, Information Technology Act, by Choudhary Nagar Singh, alias Nago, who is facing trial in the Amandeep Singh murder case and is currently lodged in the Sub-District Jail, Hiranagar. Police officers Basant Rath, Mubassir Latifi, Abdul Rouf Lone, Kamaljeet Singh and Hardeep Singh Gill had allegedly subjected the complainant to torture to extort his confession with respect to certain other case. In a bid to publicly defame the complainant, the police officers made a video, exhibiting complainant’s custodial interrogation, and posted it on the Internet.
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3,000 intoxicating capsules seized
Jammu, May 18 The official spokesperson said a team from police post, Industrial Estate, Hatli Morh, Kathua, intercepted Naresh, alias Kungri, of ward No. 10, Kathua, near Nag Nagar Morh and seized 1,000 capsules from his possession. Another man, Sunil Kumar, alias Daddu, of the same ward fled the scene, leaving behind a polythene bag containing 2,000 capsules. The police has launched a hunt to arrest the accused.
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City students excel
Malvika Sharma
Jammu, May 18 Even though the students from the city did not make it to the top 30 ranking of the IIT, there was respite for those who cleared the examination. Abhinav Chanda cracked the examination with a ranking of 1,446. He attributed his success to hard work and regular practice. He said he had work hard to achieve his goal. Sahil Badeyal, a student from JK Public School, was another student to make it through to the IIT. He was ranked 11,339 on the list. His father is a mathematics teacher in Bilawar, Kathua. The year is turning out to be good for students from the state, since they have managed to make a mark in various competitive examinations so far. With students from the state topping the UPSE and other examinations, it comes as no surprise that students are steadily cracking the engineering examinations as well.
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Recruitment drive a mixed bag
Jammu, May 18 For students, this recruitment campaign was a mixed bag. On the one hand, most students were expecting job profiles outside the BPO sector, on the other there were some who were happy that big corporate houses had come to the city and given a chance to interact with them. On the first day of the recruitment, around 70 students attended the on-campus orientation programme by Wipro officials. The students from the university and other colleges were offered jobs in the BPO sector. The qualification for most of the job profiles was reduced to graduation, postgraduation and in some cases, preference was given to BTech students. While the aim of the project is to employ 8,000 students every year, some students are skeptical about the profiles being offered to them. “It is not satisfying for me to know that being an MBA, I have to compete with a graduate for the same job and salary. What is the point of doing an MBA if I cannot expect a better pay package and a job outside the BPO sector?” said Rajeev Sharma (name changed), a student of the Business School. There are some others who see this as an opportunity for a better future. “I am happy and nervous about this interview since this is my first interaction with a big name like Wipro. We are fortunate that we have got a chance to step out of Jammu and explore new career options”, said one of the short-listed students for the interview. The university officials are satisfied with the progress made by Udaan to employ the students in Jammu. It seems right that when students are ready to explore other options apart from government jobs and are willing to step out of the region to explore new careers, it is being perceived as a positive response towards the university, which has been building on its brand value as a major recruitment destination for big brands across India. “It is encouraging for all of us that students are moving beyond government job mindset and taking active part in the recruitment process. It is an achievement for the university that we are being seen as a potential centre for recruitment by most big corporate companies”, stated Public Relation Office, Jammu University. |
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Tagore’s women-centric works staged
Devinder Thakur
Katra, May 18 Natrang is presenting a series of ten plays ‘Suno Tagore Di’ to commemorate the 150 years of Guru Rabindranath Tagore. The plays are being organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and Ministry of Tourism and Culture, J&K Government, in all the districts of Jammu. Earlier, the shows of the series were staged at Ramban, Kishtwar, Doda and Jammu. Inspired by the great writings of Tagore on women, a mega Dogri theatre production has been evolved by Natrang in which "Guddi', the central character of the play, represents the major section of the rural lower middle class adolescent girls, who are forced to marry at a tender age. Guddi represents most of the characters portrayed by Tagore in his prose, short stories, poetry and dramas. As a protagonist, Guddi is fully prepared to fight against early marriage. She wants to grow and educate herself before she takes up the responsibility of married life. She struggles to continue her education. But, her dreams are shattered and marriage is fixed. The play highlights the plight of young girls who are sacrificed at the altar of rotten, redundant customs of illiterate and ignorant sections of our society. Tagore spoke about the need to reform the society and asserted the need of the extension of women’s role beyond the confines of domestic sphere. These strong opinions of Tagore led to the abolition of evil practices during an era of a staunchly conservative system. A team of over thirty senior actors of Natrang mesmerised the auditorium with their electrifying performances. Those who performed well included Suresh Kumar, Anil Tickoo, Sanjeev Gupta, Neeraj Kant, Dimple Sharma, Rahul Singh, Tajasvi Sharma, Mohd Yaseen, Balwinder Singh, Sushil Raina, Stanzin Paldan, Sunil Sharma, Sushil Raina, Vinay Manhas, Atin Tikka, Sakshi Prakash, Vishal Sharma, Ashwani Bali and Shivika Verma. Sheetal Nanda, District Development Commissioner, Reasi, was the chief guest on the occasion. She appreciated the efforts of Natrang for using theatre as a medium for welfare of the mankind. At the conclusion of the presentation, Natrang Director expressed his gratitude towards the authorities of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, particularly towards the Governor NN Vohra, who is the chairman of the board.
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Workshop on Hindi held
Jammu, May 18 As many as 25 personnel of various battalions, sector headquarters, Subsidiary Training Institute, Udhampur, and all the branches of the Frontier Headquarters took part in the workshop. It was coordinated by inspector (Hindi Translator) KC Mathpal. During the workshop lectures were delivered on various topics in the language. One workshop on Hindi is quarterly organised in the Frontier Headquarters, BSF. In the workshop, modern changes in Hindi, as envisaged by the Department of Official Language, and grammatical errors in Hindi are taught to the participants.
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Candle-lit vigil in BMW crash victims’ memory
Tribune News Service
Jammu, May 18 The procession started from Mian Dido Chowk and concluded at Ambphala Jail. The march was held in the memory of Sanjay Gulati from Jammu and Kshama Chopra from Delhi, who lost their lives after being hit by a speeding BMW car at Gurgaon on May 5. The deceased’s family members said they were in shock, and sought a CBI inquiry into the case. They alleged that although the Gurgaon police had registered a case initially, it remained tight-lipped over the issue as the prime accused, Suraj Sherawat, belonged to a high-profile family. Gulati’s wife sought narco test on Sherawat. The family also urged the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, to ask the Haryana Chief Minister to initiate a stern action.
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Forum questions delay in upgrade of rly station
Jammu, May 18 The forum has demanded the reasons for delay in the installation of 22 items pertaining to the modernisation of the railway station. At present, not even a single project has been started at the railway station. The forum has also raised concerns over the hygiene and security on platforms, considering the number of pilgrims coming to Jammu every day apart from the regular rush.
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Rajouri, May 18 A team of PHE officials toured this belt along with Kotranka MLA yesterday and found several employees absent from work. The Assistant Executive Engineer of Kotranka sub-division thereafter recommended the matter to Rajouri Executive Engineer Swarn Singh. — OC
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While the state government remains indecisive on holding municipal elections in the state, development activities in the city have taken a hit in the absence of civic functionaries.
While the state government is slated to file a compliance report in response to the High Court directive banning the use of tinted films on four-wheelers on Saturday, the authorities seem to have failed in enforcing the ban.
