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Governor underlines importance of satellite campuses
Congress infighting goes public
Trade across LoC remains suspended
Special SIM cards for Amarnath pilgrims
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CRPF may vacate hotels for tourists
JKP celebrates Raising Day
Employees announce fresh stir schedule
CRPF to deploy 18 companies along national highway
NRHM staff allege bias in salary payment
JKPCC chief Soz tours Srinagar city
After 30 warnings, Northern Grid slashes power supply to state
PDP committed to removing trust deficit, says Mufti
Panthers Party demands ST status for Paharis
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Governor underlines importance of satellite campuses
Srinagar, June 19 He was speaking on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of the Kargil campus of the University of Kashmir that was unveiled by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Khumbathang, Saliskote, near Kargil today. “This will provide an opportunity to youth to pursue higher education without spending more money and moving away from their native place,” the Governor said. The Governor, who is the Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, spoke about the opening of opportunities for students of Kargil district The emerging human resource would competently serve the region, state and the country, he observed. Underscoring the importance of education in the holistic development of society, the Governor said the expansion of education and creation of avenues for youth to receive higher education in a remote and economically backward area like Kargil was of great importance. The Chief Minister said besides creating a chain of new degree colleges across the state, he had taken personal interest to see that new campuses were established at identified places in the state. “My government has flagged the education sector as one of the important elements of the state’s development policy,” he said. He added that the focus was on introducing subjects of high market value in colleges and universities to increase the ambit of employment and economic activities for the educated youth. Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs AR Rather; Minister for CA&PD Qamar Ali Akhoon; Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad were present on the occasion. In his address, the Vice-Chancellor said the Kargil campus would be spread over 600 kanals. The process of finalising the conceptual drawings and master plans has started and the construction work on the campus would commence shortly. The University Grants Commission has sanctioned Rs 25.86 crore for the Kargil campus, including construction of administrative, social science and science blocks, hostel, residential quarters, construction of roads, external electrification, water supply and fencing work. More than Rs 12.93 crore has already been released. |
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Congress infighting goes public
Jammu, June 19 Today at a convention of party workers in Hirnagar, former MLA from the area Girdhari Lal Chalotra exposed “misdeeds” of his party MLC Subash Gupta and publicly charged him with misusing his official position for his personal comforts. Gupta belongs to the Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district. Chalotra is a supporter of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz, while Gupta belongs to the faction which owes its allegiance to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. As today’s convention was organised by Soz loyalists, Chalotra took the opportunity to “expose” his arch-rival. When some workers raised the issue of the collapsed power scenario in Hiranagar, Chalotra pointed out that the matter was repeatedly brought to the notice of the party MLC but nothing had been done. He publicly disclosed that Gupta had managed an illegal connection from the emergency power line of a hospital to keep his air-condition going even during power-cuts. “Those who have managed illegal connections from the emergency power line of a hospital have no concern about the hardship being faced by people,” he said. Chalotra also exposed other “misdeeds” of his party colleague and regretted that instead of solving problems of the masses, the party MLA was more concerned about his own comforts. He warned that such an attitude would prove disastrous for the party in days to come. In the convention, Congress workers lambasted the local administration for not looking into the problems highlighted by party leaders. They demanded a complete overhaul of the administration to bring transparency and accountability into governance. |
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Trade across LoC remains suspended
Jammu/Poonch, June 19 “There was no trans-LoC trade via Chakan-da-Bagh today as well. I had a conversation with my counterpart in Rawalakote this morning. He informed me that the higher authorities in PoK had suspended trade and travel till further orders,” Abdul Hamid, custodian of the trans-LoC trade and travel, told The Tribune. Hamid said the Indian Army had no objections to trade and travel across the LoC. The Pakistani authorities had not opened the gates yesterday for the weekly Poonch-Rawalakote bus service and had suspended the trade on June 14 and 15. “Unless the much-needed flag meeting between the two sides takes place, the solution to the impasse looks distant,” said Hamid. The president of the Poonch Cross LoC Traders’ Association, Pawan Anand, derided the Pakistani army for sabotaging the confidence-building measures (CBMs) between the two countries. The trade had come to an abrupt halt last week and it seems it will remain suspended this week as well because the authorities in PoK are not opening the gates, said Anand. We have always worked to strengthen the CBMs between the two countries but the Pakistani army has always tried to sabotage them for obvious reasons, he said hinting at two parallel authorities in Pakistan. The Pakistani army’s misadventures along the LoC are ample proof that it doesn’t want normal relations with India, he added. The trade takes place four days a week from Tuesday to Friday. Meanwhile, the recent skirmishes along the LoC, provoked by Pakistan, have created a sense of scare among divided families. Families from PoK which had come to the state and families from this side which had gone to PoK via the trans-LoC bus service are in a dilemma about their safety and early return to their respective countries. The tense situation has compelled several applicants to withdraw their applications to visit
PoK. |
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Special SIM cards for Amarnath pilgrims
Srinagar, June 19 “The BSNL has agreed to provide pre-paid SIM cards with roaming facilities. This arrangement has materialised after Governor N N Vohra, who is also Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), took up the matter with the Union Communications Ministry,” an official said. The Additional CEO of the SASB, PP Singh, said the SIM cards would be sold only to registered yatris at special counters being set up at the Nunwan and Baltal base camps. The SIM cards would operate only for four days to cover the pilgrims’ journey to the holy cave shrine from either route. Any pilgrim, who is interested in obtaining a pre-paid connection, has been advised to produce the counterfoil of the registration slip for the yatra along with four photographs and proof of identity and address.
CRPF may vacate hotels for tourists
Srinagar, June 19 Due to the heavy rush of tourists in the Valley, there has been a shortage of accommodation for tourists. The Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation has been running a round-the-clock helpline for tourists to help them find accommodation in Srinagar. “The government has almost decided to provide an alternate accommodation to the CRPF deployed in various hotels on the Boulevard road,” said a Tourism official. “It will take the CRPF some time to vacate the hotels. The government has to look for an alternate accommodation for them,” he said. “We are paying the rent to hotel owners and if there is a plan to shift the CRPF from any hotel, the state government has to provide an alternate accommodation,” said the Public Relations Officer of the CRPF, Sudhir Kumar. Nearly 6 lakh tourists have visited Kashmir so far and all the hotels and houseboats in Srinagar are fully booked till July end. At some places residential houses have been turned into guest houses to accommodate tourists. “The plan of the government to vacate the CRPF from the hotels at Boulevard is timely. The government should start the process of vacating over 40 hotels and guest houses in Srinagar which are occupied by the CRPF,” said Fayyaz Ahmed, a hotelier in Srinagar. “The heavy inflow of tourists this year has forced stakeholders to devise a strategy for the future. The government should ensure that there is sufficient accommodation to host a large number of tourists,” Fayyaz said. Officials said the Tourism Department has been continuously taking up the issue of lack of accommodation with the state government. They said the decision to vacate the CRPF from the Boulevard hotels had been in the pipeline for quite some time. Over 70 hotels and guest houses were occupied by the BSF after militancy erupted in the Valley in early 1990s. When the CRPF took charge of security from the BSF in Srinagar in 2005, it occupied the hotels vacated by the BSF. It 2003 when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was heading the coalition government, the paramilitary troops started vacating hotels to accommodate tourists. |
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Srinagar, June 19 Rajendra said the period of turmoil after the eruption of militancy in the state was a “great challenge” for the JKP, but with the cooperation of the people the force had succeeded in facing the situation effectively. “The forces involved in the fight have made great sacrifices without caring for their comforts. The jawans and officers stepped forward and succeeded in restoring peace and safeguarding the lives and property of people,” he said. The function was attended by a large number of officers and men from all wings of the force. Various cultural programmes and a parade were held on the occasion, an official said. — TNS |
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Employees announce fresh stir schedule
Srinagar, June 19 “It will be a four-day lock-out but we have exempted the educational institutions on July 9 and 10. We have given enough breathing time to the government to leave room for negotiations,” said JCC leader Khurshid Alam. Alam warned that the JCC would include emergency services in the next phase of strike if the government’s attitude towards them continued to remain “apathetic”. JCC leader Nisar Ahmad said the employees would also hold demonstrations in all districts of the state on June 11, which would be followed by a sit-in dharna at the Lal Chowk here on June 12. The government had signed an agreement with the JCC leaders last year in September which stated that a decision regarding the employees’ demands would be announced by March 31, 2012. The employees had decided to resume protests when the government “failed” to honour the agreement made with them. The JCC demands include release of full arrears recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers working in various departments. Meanwhile, Alam tendered his resignation from the post of Assistant Director, Mills, CA&PD. Alam had yesterday announced his decision to quit following Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent statement in which he had claimed that employees’ leaders were playing with the future of the youth by demanding an extension in the retirement age. Alam was scheduled to retire from service in September. |
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CRPF to deploy 18 companies along national highway
Jammu, June 19 While reviewing the arrangements at the Yatri Bhawan in Bhagwati Nagar, CRPF Inspector General of the Jammu region Gurinderjeet Singh said the force has made all the arrangements for
the smooth conduct of the yatra. He was accompanied by IGP, Jammu Zone, Dilbagh Singh and other officers. “Most of the companies will be deployed along the national highway to guard it. They will also provide necessary logistics help to the pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave shrine,” said Singh. He said the CRPF will also provide langar, bedding and tents to the pilgrims along the highway. The IGP said the police had finalised security arrangements and so far there was no intelligence report on any militant threat to the yatra. “Our personnel are assessing the situation on a daily basis so that effective measures are taken to thwart any attack,” he said. He said during the interrogation of a person, who had crossed over to the Indian side in Sunderbani tehsil of Poonch district recently, they had come to know that around 500 militants were getting a refresher course in training camps in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. “They will definitely try to intrude into this side when their course completes. We are ready to face any challenge,” IGP Dilbag Singh said. |
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NRHM staff allege bias in salary payment
Udhampur, June 19 In a meeting attended by the ISM doctors of all the primary health centres of the district, district president of the NRHMEA Dr Hamid Parray criticised the Central and state health authorities for the step-motherly treatment given to ISM doctors of the state. Dr Parray said the salary of MBBS doctors working under the NRHM was increased from Rs 19,000 to Rs 45,000, but the ISM doctors were being ignored. There are 344 allopathic dispensaries, 375 primary health centres, 13 CHCs and 14 district hospitals in the state where the ISM doctors are working round-the-clock to make these health institutions fully functional. The meeting recalled that the ISM doctors had performed their duty during militancy when nobody was ready to serve in rural and remote border areas of the state. It was also alleged that the ISM doctors were not being paid salaries and rural area incentive on time causing great inconvenience to them. The NRHMEA appealed to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and state Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma to personally look into the matter and enhance the salary of ISM doctors on a par with MBBS doctors to remove the sense of discrimination among them. |
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JKPCC chief Soz tours Srinagar city
Srinagar, June 19 “Soz spoke to people at various places, met delegations and took note of the problems faced by the people in respect of roads, drinking water, drainage, development of sports fields and parks,” a JKPCC spokesman said. “He (Soz) assured the people that he would invest a considerable time to get their problems solved as early as possible,” he said. The areas toured by the JKPCC president included Nowgam, Panthachowk, Khonmoh, Saida Kadal, Ashai Bagh, Rangpora, Alamgari Bazar, Lal Bazar, Saidapora, Wantpora, Sekidafar and Eidgah. — TNS |
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After 30 warnings, Northern Grid slashes power supply to state
Jammu, June 19 Sources said Northern Grid, which supplies electricity to seven northern states, has sent 30 warnings to the PDD to adhere to the allocated schedule and refrain from overdrawing electricity, which could affect the supply system in other states. While the peak summer season has pushed up the power consumption to 2300 MW across Jammu and Kashmir, the PDD at present is able to provide only 1500 MW from all its sources. It provides 600-700 MW to the Jammu region and 700 to 800 MW to Kashmir. “We have to strictly follow the schedule. We cannot draw more power. All other states get affected if we are not able to maintain the grid discipline,” said executive engineer, State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), Sanjay Sharma. Sharma said if extra power is drawn, the state has to pay five times the normal power tariff set by Northern Grid. Officials said that since last year, load of 150 MW has been added to the system and 20 lakh additional units have been drawn by the Jammu region so far this year. However, a senior officer of the PDD said power crisis in the state was not only due to its extra consumption but also due to high T&D losses. The T&D losses have shown a substantial increase in the past decade. The losses have increased from 46.98 per cent in 2005-06 to 62.31 per cent in 2010-11, with the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) blaming it mostly on power theft by consumers and failure of the department to take effective steps. “Power losses are mainly attributed to the rampant hooking of low tension lines across the state, which is not being properly checked by the department. Even where meters are installed, a large number of consumers tamper with them,” said a source. Minister of State for Power Shabir Khan said that government was trying everything to curb the T&D losses. “It is a major challenge for us to improve the power scenario and we are taking various steps for it. We are talking to Northern Grid officials to release additional units to J&K to meet its demands,” Khan said.
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PDP committed to removing trust deficit, says Mufti
Jammu, June 19 “During our tenure we had treated all regions and sub-regions equally and the party would further facilitate the process of bridging the gap to ensure justice and equality to all regions and sub-regions,” Mufti said while addressing a large public meeting in Jhiri town of the Marh Assembly segment. He said the PDP government had set an example of equitable and balanced development in Jammu and Kashmir. “The credit goes to the PDP-led regime that for the first time after 1947, all regions were treated equally for developmental and other activities,” he said. Pointing towards the worst ever power crisis in the state, the PDP patron called upon his workers to come out on the streets to force the government to provide power to the people, especially during the present season. — TNS |
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Panthers Party demands ST status for Paharis
Jammu, June 19 While launching the first unit of the Pahari Panthers Students’ Union (PPSU), a unanimous resolution seeking ST status for the Pahari fraternity was passed. The party said students and youth from all Pahari areas were prepared to take the struggle from streets to the Supreme Court to achieve the goal. The resolution identified Kupwara district, Uri in Baramulla, Poonch and Rajouri as Pahari areas. The resolution demanded hostels for students in Reasi, Pouni, Buddhal and places where colleges had been opened. It also demanded adequate teaching staff in the newly opened colleges and higher secondary schools. NPP chairman Bhim Singh and party leaders Faqir Nath, Anita Thakur and Bansi Lal Sharma visited the migrant camps in Rajouri, Sunderbani, Reasi and Talwara. Bhim Singh accused the NC-Congress coalition government of discriminating against Jammu migrants. He said the state government had deliberately chosen to defy the orders of the Supreme Court to pay Rs 21 crore balance relief to the Jammu migrants. — TNS |
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Governor NN Vohra has underlined the importance of satellite campuses in remote areas of the state to give a fillip to attainment of educational goals.
In dire straits since June 14, the cross-LoC trade between Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Jammu and Kashmir via Chakan-da-Bagh did not take place today.
Srinagar, June 19
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Prof Saifuddin Soz toured various parts of the city today to take stock of day-to-day problems being faced by locals. Soz was accompanied by Chairman of the Social Welfare Board Khem Lata
Wakhloo, president of the Mahila Congress Indu Pawar and other state Congress leaders.
Reiterating the resolve of his party to bring people of different regions and sub-regions of the state together by bridging the gap, patron of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today asserted that the PDP would remove the trust deficit between people of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country.
