Jammu, June 23
With a view to dealing with the substantial increase in the solid waste generated in the city on every day basis, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has added more than two dozen vehicles to its existing fleet of nearly 150 to collect solid waste.

Officials said that most of the vehicles have been allotted to the outskirts of the city where new colonies have sprung up in the last 20 years or so. Jammu generates nearly 350 tonnes of garbage every day and it is expected that there will be a significant increase in the solid waste generation in the next decade. On the other hand, there has been no staff recruitment of late. Few years back, the corporation had hired some NGOs for sanitation purpose but the decision was shelved later keeping in view some cases of financial bungling.

A senior corporation official said a stress was laid on buying small vehicles to lift the waste material from the interior localities where it was not possible for trucks to lift the garbage.

“As the population has increased manifold in the city, our target is to reach the small lanes and bylanes and for this small tempos are needed. For this, we purchased these new vehicles to meet the requirements of the safai karamcharies,” said an official. When contacted, JMC Commissioner KL Khajuria said that they have been making efforts to bring in more modern equipments to meet the needs of city.”

“Since Jammu is expanding at a very fast pace, we need to equip the corporation with new technology. We have sent proposals to the government in this regard,” Khajuria added. Sources however said that an increasing maintenance cost and fund crunch has made many of the vehicles non-functional which could affect their functioning in the coming months.

“Despite repeated appeals by the field staff to bring in more vehicles to deal with the growing demand of the city there is little concern at the official level to take any step. The process has further been slowed down as no elections have been held so far to elect the new civic body,” a safai karamchari union member said. When the corporation was formed in 2005, the emphasis was laid on modernisation of equipment and other accessories but the fund crunch had stifled the JMC’s plans from time to time.

Jammu, June 23
The recent decision to revise the Prime Minister’s package for relief and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits has not gone down well with the Jammu migrants. These refugees, who migrated from other parts of Jammu division, are victims of militancy and had left their homes in the early 1990s.

While talking to The Tribune, Devinder Salathia, a migrant from Doda district, said, “The government never thought about us and did not provide us any relief or accommodation. The whole attention was on the Kashmiri Pandits. This discrimination has always been there.”

The Prime Minister had announced Rs 1,600 crore package for Kashmiri Pandits in 2008 under which they would get jobs and Rs 7.5 lakh for each family for their return. The package has recently been revised by the state Cabinet and sent to the Central government according to which each family will now get Rs 20 lakh for each family for construction of houses in Valley.

“The Kashmir Pandits are being given Jobs, accommodation, and cash relief but no one talks about the other migrants. We too are the victims of militancy and too have left our homes for safety and security but the government is least bothered about Jammu migrants,” said Rajiv Chunni, chairman of SOS, an organization of PoK refugees.

Chunni added, “The government is trying to create a gap between the Kashmiri migrants and Jammu migrants. If the government does not speak about others then we will protest against it.”

Under the Prime Minister’s package, the Kashmir Pandits have been provided around 1,400 jobs and a township in Jagti for rehabilitation. The government has proposed 3,000 more jobs for them, enhancement of cash relief and Rs 20 lakh for each family for construction of houses in the Valley. 

Jammu June 23
A jilted lover killed father of the girl in Billawar tehsil of Kathua late last night after the victim turned down the former’s proposal to marry his daughter.

The accused was identified as Som Raj Sharma alias Rahul, a resident of village Dadwara in Billawar, while the deceased was identified as Sham Lal, a resident of Dher in Phinter.

The police said the accused had been pressurising the victim to get his daughter married to him. “He was also troubling the girl to marry him. When his demand was turned down, the accused decided to eliminate Sham Lal,” the police said.

On the intervening night of June 22 and 23, the accused barged inside their house carrying a sharp-edged weapon (kirch) and stabbed him after a brief scuffle. The accused managed to escape from the spot, while Sham Lal was shifted to Sub-District Hospital, Billwar where he was declared as brought dead.

The police said they received the information at about 2 am about the incident. A police party rushed to the spot and based on initial clues and preliminary questioning, they zeroed on Rahul as the main suspect.

A manhunt was launched to nab the suspect and finally he was apprehended at railway station Manwal from where he tried to flee. After interrogation, the suspect broke down and confessed his involvement in the crime. The police said that an investigation was on in the case.

Jammu, June 23
Enthusiasm marked the first day of the two-day long Jammu and Kashmir Common Entrance Test (JKCET) - 2012 that went off peacefully and incident-free across the state today. As many as 23,284 candidates appeared for physics and chemistry papers, which were held at 40 examination centres in the Kashmir and Jammu regions.

A total of 24,264 aspirants had applied for the examination. The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) has been conducting the test to select candidates for various medical, veterinary, engineering and other allied professional courses run by government and private institutes in the state. It has established 40 centres, including 21 in Jammu and 19 in Kashmir.

“The two papers on the first day of the JKCET were held peacefully and hassle-free. The administration, including security agencies, provided us all logistic support for the smooth conduct of the examination,” Mushtaq Ahmed Peer, chairman, BOPEE, said.

He said 10,915 candidates in Jammu and 12,369 from the Kashmir region appeared for physics paper, while 10,911 candidates from Jammu and 12,365 from Kashmir appeared for chemistry examination.

“We have received no complaint from any of the centres across the state and the examination went off peacefully,” Peer said. The papers of biology and mathematics would be held tomorrow.

Official sources said crime branch officials also conducted videography of some examination centres to ensure transparency and keep impersonators at bay.

The state government has appointed one observer each at the examination centres, along with crime branch officials, to ensure transparency and fairness in the examination. Besides, the board had appointed an observer, two senior officials and senior staff members from various colleges, where the centres had been established.

Meanwhile, enthusiasm marked the first day with candidates, some of them, along with their parents, thronging the examination centres in large number.

“I have worked hard for the examination and the first two papers were good. I hope that I will figure in the merit this year,” said Neha Sharma, a candidate at Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar.

Last year, a total of 22,000 candidates had appeared for the JKCET.

Jammu, June 23
Though girls have been consistently outperforming their male counterparts in the state, be it competitive examinations or national level entrance tests, they still carry that ‘unwanted’ tag when it comes to chose between a boy or girl child.

Almost every school boasted of a girl topper in the city in the last couple of years. There were three girls who bagged top three ranks in the JKBOSE results and Pallavi Gupta from KC Public School featuring in the CBSE all India rankers list.

Notwithstanding the fact that girls are doing very fine, the conservative patriarch mindset still prevails.

“We belong to a business family where sons are considered of greater worth than daughters. I do not see anything wrong in wanting a son. If I can determine the sex of my foetus before it is born and choose not to go ahead with the pregnancy then it is a personal choice,” said Kavita Malhotra (name changed), a local Jammu resident.

To aggravate the problem further, female feticide cases are going unregistered in J&K every year. Dr SC Gupta, the head of the Department of Human Genetics Study at Jammu University, points out that this craving for male child is often related to the mother’s stigma of being held responsible and criticised for ‘producing’ a girl child.

He pointed out that it is a scientific fact that even though the child receives its DNA or genes from both parents, it is the chromosome or gene given by the father which determines the sex of the child.

J&K has a skewed sex ratio in the category of children below the age of five years as there are close to 1,080,662 boys in the state as compared to 927,980 girls. In the age of seven years, there are only 49 lakh girls as compared to 55 lakh boys.

Jammu, June 23
To much inconvenience of the commuters in the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, the Traffic Police Department has missed its June 18 deadline to get the traffic lights operational. The department had started the process of installing traffic lights in order to restore some order on the roads of Jammu city but it has yielded no or little result so far.

The department installed the first traffic signal at the busy Bikram Chowk in the winter capital of the state on an ‘experimental basis’. A total of 30 points were selected for the installation of traffic signals in the city.

According to the sources, the traffic police had also identified around 70 points for the installation of new traffic signals in Srinagar city. After the completion of the process, it will reduce the pressure on around 1,000 traffic personnel deputed in the state. The data reveal that around 70,000 fresh vehicles hit the roads annually in the state.

“The number of vehicles is quite high as compared to the road space. In addition to registered vehicles in the state, around 10 lakh vehicles carrying tourists, pilgrims and security forces enter J&K annually adding to commuters’ traffic woes,” said one official on the condition of anonymity.

The Traffic Police Department had also decided to install traffic signals simultaneously in Srinagar and Jammu cities, the process for which will be completed in a phased manner. The road length in Jammu city is 704.22 km and the density of vehicles stands at 574 per km. Srinagar has a road length of 1,263 km.

“It is a free-for-all on roads in Jammu as mini-buses, auto-rickshaws and two-wheelers jostle for space and often indulge in rash driving. You never know from where you will get hit,” said Rashmi Gupta, a government teacher.

“An inordinate delay in the functioning of traffic lights will further compound the miseries of the commuters in the state,” she added.

Bhaderwah, June 23
While preparations are in full swing for the four-day annual Bhaderwah festival starting from June 24, hundreds of tourists from different parts of the country have already thronged this picturesque hill resort popularly known as “Chota Kashmir” due to its scenic beauty. As Bhaderwah has become a popular tourist destination of the country, the local authorities are expecting some foreign tourists also.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is a native of Bhaderwah, is especially coming to inaugurate the festival on Sunday, which will conclude on June 27. Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora and Minister of State for Nasir Aslam Wani will also accompany Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The festival is being organised by the Bhaderwah Development Authority in association with the Department of Tourism, but a number of social and business organisations are also rendering all possible help to the organisers in making the festival a grand success. The inaugural function will be held at Government Higher Secondary School of Boys, Bhaderwah.

“We are expecting more than 25,000 tourists during the four-day long festival,” Kalayan Singh Parihar, chief executive officer, Bhaderwah Development Authority, said.

He said the festival would be inaugurated at 2 pm on Sunday and followed by two-hour-long cultural programme in which cultural troupes from different parts of the state will participate. A cultural night will also be organised on the first day of the festival. A number of prominent starts from different parts of country are expected to participate in the festival.

“Kamal Khan, producer, director, actor, writer and lyricist from Bollywood, has also given his consent to participate on the concluding day of the festival,” Parihar said.

He said a big dangal (Indian style wrestling contest) would be held on June 27 in which wrestlers from different parts of the country would participate.

Various government departments and private stakeholders are setting up their stalls at the venue to provide first-hand information regarding government schemes and variety of products to the public.

Bhaderwah has a chain of picturesque and bewitching tourist destinations like high-altitude Seojdhar meadows with a chain of ice-water fed streams, resort place Jai Valley with its thick woodlands and top tourist spots Nalthi, Gatha and Khellani apart from pilgrim and water sport destinations.

On the eve of the festival, most of the hostels and guest houses have already been booked in Bhaderwah.

Rajouri, June 23
A 21-day computer training course for teachers, conducted by the Rashtriya Rifles, concluded today at Kalakote.

This unique concept of training the teachers was started by the Army in collaboration with the state Education Department in order to ensure the optimal utilisation of computers, which were distributed among various schools of the state under the “Operation Sadbhavana” projects.

The course was aimed at empowering the teachers who would work towards fostering and furthering the spread of computer education for the children of schools located in the remote and underdeveloped areas of the state.

As many as 9 teachers, who had been nominated by the CEO, attended the course. Certificates were also awarded to all the teachers today at the valediction function organised by the 63 RR under the command of Col DD Swain. The certificates were presented to the awardees jointly by the CO and ZEO, Kalakote.

Jammu, June 23
The state unit of the BJP organised a programme to commemorate the “Balidaan Divas” (death anniversary) of Shyama Prasad Mookherjee at the party headquarters here today.

Senior party leaders, including former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, state president Shamsher Singh Manhas, national executive members Nirmal Singh and Ashok Khajuria garlanded the portrait of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee.

While paying tributes to Mookherjee, Joshi said Mookherjee never compromised on principles and questioned the provision of separate symbols for this state despite the fact that it, too, was a state of Indian Union like others.

Manhas said he sacrificed his life while agitating to end the permit system under which anyone leaving the state or entering the state had to obtain a permit, a practice that did not exist in any other state of the country.

Ashok Khajuria said every activists of the party should adopt the principles and ideology of Mookherjee in their lives so that they could educate the masses in a more effective way and bring them into the party manifold.

Meanwhile, the Ladakh unit of the BJP also organised a function at Leh in memory of Mookherjee.

Rajouri, June 23
A large number of youth from the villages of Nowshera gathered today on the foothills of Jhangar which had witnessed a fierce battle in 1947. The battle was led by Mahaveer Chakra awardee Brig Mohd Usman to recapture Jhangar from the enemy.

As part of the celebrations to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Brig Mohd Usman who is popularly known as the ‘Saviour of Nowshera’, Aman ki Daud was organised by Nowshera Brigade here yesterday.

The youth of the area participated with great enthusiasm. It concluded at Usman Memorial where they paid homage to Brig Usman.

The participants were felicitated by Nowshera Brigade Commander.

Jammu, June 23
The foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of Shani Dev mandir at Ram Mandir Nanak Nagar was held here today.

The Shri Ram Mandir Committee laid the foundation stone for the construction of the temple.

On the occasion, a special pooja was performed, followed by a vishal bhandara in which a large number of devotees participated.

Among those present on the occasion were Ashok Gupta, Raj Kumar Gupta, GS Samral, Shashi Bhushan, Ashok Kumar, Krishan Lal Gupta, Somnath, Mohan Lal, Bhushan Kumar and others.

Jammu, June 23
In the ongoing SDA Drabu T20 Cricket Tournament, two matches were played at TRC Ground today.

In the first match, City Hunks got the better of Madina Sports by 66 runs. Batting first, City Hunks garnered 181 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted overs. Tariq with 41 runs was the highest scorer, while Asif Khan with 40 runs also made a useful contribution.

In reply, Madina Sports managed to score only 115 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Arshad with 24 runs was the highest scorer, while Shahid took three wickets for City Hunks.

In another match, Kashmir Gymkhana Blues had the last laugh against ECC Elahi Bagh by 27 runs. Batting first, Gymkhana Blues scored 169 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Usman with 50 runs was the highest scorer, while Musaib with 32 runs and Irfan with 33 runs were other notable contributors. Irshad took two wickets for ECC.

In reply, ECC could manage only 127 for the loss of nine wickets. Irshad with 29 runs was the highest scorer, while Mehfooz and Musaib took three wickets apiece for Gymkhana. The event is being organised by the J&K Cricket Players Association.

Jammu, June 23
Wrestler Naresh of Jammu today lifted the 75th Annual Wrestling Title-2012 by defeating wrestler Parladh Singh of Kalakote in a tough bout played at Bhambla (Reasi).

The competition was organised by the Bhambla Dangal Committee in collaboration with the J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association.

The winner wrestler was awarded a cash prize of Rs 3,100, while Parladh pocketed a sum of Rs 2,000. The second main bout was won by wrestler Ballu of Gurdaspur, who toppled Baaz Singh of Jammu. A total of 60 wrestlers drawn from different districts participated in the event.

Those who helped in the smooth conduct of the competition included Kewal Puri, Rashpal Sharma, Des Raj, Deep Singh, Tara Chand, Rakesh Kumar Anil Kumar, Yash Pal and Sanjeev Kumar Sharma.

Jammu, June 23
Kashyap Cricket Club (KCC) thrashed Vijayanta Cricket Club (VCC), Akhnoor, by four wickets today in the ongoing 4th Pawan Memorial T20 Cricket Tournament being organised by Singh Cricket Club, Akhnoor, at Government Higher Secondary School Ground, Akhnoor.

Electing to bat, VCC accumulated 130 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Jimmy Mangotra top scored with 36 runs with the help of five boundaries and a six. Chandan Sharma contributed 20 with the help of four boundaries.

For KCC, Kuldip Kumar, Rahul Mussa, Rohit Sharma and Pankaj scalped two wickets each, while Satish Kumar took one wicket.

Kashyap Club in reply did the needful in 18.5 overs by losing six wickets. Nipun was the top scorer with 40 runs off 42 balls, which included six hits to the fence. Amrit Pal Singh scored unbeaten 33 runs off just 24 balls.

For VCC, Jimmy Mangotra snared two wickets, while Abitash claimed one. Nipun of KCC was declared the man of the match.

Jammu, June 23
A total of 15 boys were selected by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in basketball for its ongoing day-boarding scheme at Gymnasium Hall of Jammu University here. During their stay in the day-boarding, each boy is given a complete sports kit worth Rs 6,000 besides a monthly scholarship of Rs 600. Basketball coach,SAI, Aman Sharma said the selected boys were also insured Rs 1 lakh against any injury during play.

The selected boys include Inderjeet Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Shubam Bhardwaj, Rohan Kumar, Raza Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Shafqat Mir, Abhinandan Singh, Kunal Sharma, Sanatjot Gupta, Zahid Choudhary and Harsimran Singh. The standbyes are Sukhwinder Singh, Nishant Sharma and Shivam Mahajan.

Jammu, June 23
Srinagar Shah Jahans got the better of Pulwama Panthers by 27 runs to advance into the next round of the ongoing Kashmir Premier League (KPL) Phase-II T20 Cricket Tournament being organised by the Indian Army in collaboration with the Department of Youth Services and Sports and the J&K State Sports Council at Delhi Public School (DPS).

Earlier, electing to bat first after winning the toss, Srinagar Shah Jahans piled up a mammoth total of 205 runs in the stipulated 20 overs for the loss of four wickets. Promising cricketer, Owais Shah, who slammed two centuries in the BCCI Under-22 Cricket Tournament last season, again lived up to the expectations and played a fine knock of 60 runs to help his team post a formidable total.

In reply, Pulwama Panthers managed to score 178 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted quota of overs. Owais Shah scalped 2 wickets for Shah Jahans and was adjudged the man of the match for his all-round performance.