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Power play behind crisis in
Jammu
Passenger vehicles flout traffic norms
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PDP: NC-led coalition legalised corruption
Soaring prices of vegetables hit common man’s budget
Mankotia submits memorandum to Union Minister
Youth wing of JKDF holds protest
Tributes paid to Swami Vivekananda at JU
Gymnasts gear up for international championships
Convincing wins for Dachini Club, Friends XI
FCC topple SPCC by 45 runs
Inter-school tourney concludes
Sopore
t20
Srinagar Shahjahans enter quarterfinals in KPL
Jammu (A) thrash Majid Sports
Workshop on DOTS Plus concludes
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Power play behind crisis in
Jammu
Jammu, July 4 Notwithstanding the tall claims of the Chief Minister of providing more electricity to the region, facing the onslaught of an unprecedented summer heat, over 50 lakh people have been deprived of regular power supply for the past two months, while the ministers and babus are enjoying the cool environs of the Valley. Though the Power Development Department (PDD) has blamed excessive load of air-conditioners and undisclosed load for the mess, which according to them has put a huge burden on the grid, going by statistics, ministers, big businessmen and localities inhabited by influential people are the major users of electricity against whom the PDD has failed to take action. This has deprived the common man of power in the heat of the summer. Unscheduled power cuts coupled with frequent tripping of transmission lines amid soaring mercury have added to the misery of the people, who are up in arms against the Omar government for its discriminatory attitude towards the people of the region. During 2010-11, the PDD collected Rs 587 crore from Jammu, while it only managed to collect Rs 363 crore from Kashmir. In spite of this huge gap, the region got less power. While the state required 2,300 MW electricity, it was currently facing a shortfall of 850 MW. Of the 1,500 MW being supplied by the state to its consumers, the Jammu region was getting just 650 MW to 700 MW, while the rest was being supplied to the Kashmir valley, where temperatures rarely exceeded 30 °C. The failure of the government to take action against defaulters has raised the revenue losses during the 2011-12 to an all-time high of Rs 1,900 crore. Official figures revealed that the PDD had to purchase electricity worth Rs 3,100 crore from different grids and power stations during the last fiscal, but it was able to collect only Rs 1,203 crore in revenue. Of this, Rs 1,000 crore came as electricity charges and Rs 203 crore as electricity duty. “This has left a deficit of around Rs 1,900 crore in the power purchase bill and revenue, including electricity duty, generated from the power supply,” said an official. The state government had fixed a target of Rs 1,600 crore for revenue generation from electricity during the last fiscal that ended on March 31. However, the department fell short of the target by Rs 400 crore. T&D losses high
in posh areas Though the government blames the common man for the deficit in power revenue, its departments and senior ministers, even Chief Minister, continue to be major defaulters. Different departments owe Rs 1,000 crore in pending bills despite the fact that the Finance Department had asked them to clear their dues last year. “Bureaucrats and ministers use air-conditioners and other gadgets without paying the bills. All government offices indulge in blatant misuse of cooling machines,” said a PDD official. While the PDD was ruing the loss of revenue, its field staff and inspectors were busy collecting hefty amounts every month from business establishments and posh areas to allow them to draw power illegally, sources claimed. A recent survey conducted by the department had shown that T&D losses were more in areas inhabited by the rich and influential. Raw deal for Jammu
During 2010-11, the PDD collected ~587 crore from Jammu, while it only managed to collect ~363 crore from Kashmir. In spite of this huge gap, the region got less power. Rs
1,900-cr revenue loss
The failure of the government to take action against defaulters has raised the revenue losses during the 2011-12 to an all-time high of
Rs 1,900 crore. PDP holds protest rally in Katra
KATRA: The opposition PDP on Wednesday took out a protest rally here against the shortage of power and water supply in Reasi and Katra and demanded immediate restoration of the
basic amenities. "It is inhuman on the part of state government to curtail electricity and water supply in this scorching weather", the protesters alleged. They claimed that despite Jammu region making major contribution towards the government’s revenue, the people here were forced to live without power and water. "Around 70 per cent of the revenue is generated by Jammu and still we are being treated as second-class citizens. The state produces 2,300 MW of electricity, out of which 1,600 MW is kept for the use of the state", the protesters averred. "... And out of this, just 40 per cent is diverted to Jammu, while 60 per cent of the electricity is dispensed to Kashmir", alleged PDP district president Partap Sharma. He said there is a general perception that along with the darbar move, the government also shifts electricity to the Valley. The protesters also raised slogans against the government.
— OC |
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Passenger vehicles flout traffic norms
Jammu, July 4 Flyover and Tawi bridge are the most common spots where you can witness traffic norms being flouted with impunity by drivers of passenger vehicles. If you are driving on any of the two roads, you never now when the vehicles plying in front of you will stop suddenly to drop commuters. This practice has been going on unchecked on the two busiest city routes and the traffic police has not yet taken any measures to curb it. Most of the drivers of long-route buses, matadors and other passenger vehicles drop passengers either on the flyover slope or Tawi bridge on the Jewel end. Maruti Sharma, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, said it was a dangerous practice and could lead to some major road mishap anytime. “I can’t understand how such practices are being allowed in the capital city. These two routes are among the busiest routes and they are part of the Jammu and Kashmir National Highway. Applying sudden brakes on such roads can be quite risky as no one is mentally prepared for such an action. Drivers should know that sudden stopping of vehicles anywhere instead of earmarked stops can create a chaos,” he added. Dr Komal, a resident of Talab Tillo, said the traffic police was responsible for the mess as it never took any action against the offenders. She said, “This can’t happen in any other city and the cops seem to have closed their eyes over such happenings. This is a sheer violation of traffic norms and the authorities concerned seem to have gone in a deep slumber.” Manmohan Singh, SSP Traffic, Jammu, said they were short of manpower as most of the policemen were deployed on Amarnath yatra duty. |
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Rajouri stinks in the absence of garbage-dumping site
Rajouri, July 4 Instead of disposing the garbage and other waste material at a dumping site, the Municipal Corporation has no other option but to dump it into a nullah in Rajouri. The MC is dumping the garbage into a nullah and near Salani bridge owing to the absence of the waste-disposal plant. Due to shortage of waste-collecting containers, heaps of garbage piled up on the roadside is scattered on the roads, leading to cluttered roads and clogged drains. Moreover, people can also be seen throwing garbage on the roads, especially outside the famous ‘Rana Havi Patti’, few steps away from famous Rajouri Memorial, which represents martyr of Rajouri. "Residents need to understand their responsibility towards society and cleanliness," said a vendor. “With monsoon a few days away, the problem of stink is going to be worse,” he added. Officials of the Municipal Corporation said despite clearing all the hurdles from the state government on the much-awaited garbage dumping plant for Rajouri town, the project was yet to take off owing to suitable land. They said the court had stayed the construction of the garbage-dumping plant over the identified 3.8 marlas in Basoni village after the resistance of local residents. The land was identified by newly appointed District Divisional Commissioner Sowgat Biswas. An amount of Rs 1 crore was sanctioned for the garbage-dumping project during the current financial year. The Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, while talking to The Tribune, said: “Since I the time I was posted here as District Development Commissioner, I have been trying my best to find a suitable space for the waste management plant. This is not an ordinary project, but it will provide jobs, fertilisers and many other facilities to the local villagers, but people of the area are not cooperating. They are happy to produce garbage but not ready to provide space for its disposal which is really unfortunate.” |
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PDP: NC-led coalition legalised corruption
Jammu, July 4 In Jammu city, the demonstration was held in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner in which a large number of party workers were present. While speaking on the occasion, the PDP leaders said there was a total chaos in the state because the present government headed by Omar Abdullah had failed to solve the basic problems of the people. They said corruption had been legalised in the state and there was no accountability and transparency in the governance. They said except promises, the government had done nothing for the betterment of the common masses. They said the performance of the Omar Abdullah-led regime appeared only on paper. They called upon the workers to educate the people about the misdeeds of this regime. At RS Pura, the demonstration was held under the leadership of former Rajya Sabha member Trilok Singh Bajwa in which a large number of workers participated. Speaking on the occasion, Bajwa said except promises, nothing had been done to solve the basic problems of the people. He said corruption had crossed all limits during the past three and half years and the state government was legalising
the corruption. He said all the sections of society were facing hardships due to the wrong policies of the government. He said the farming community was the worst sufferer. Bhushan Lal Dogra, Shakti Kumar were among others who spoke on the occasion. |
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Soaring prices of vegetables hit common man’s budget
Jammu, July 4 A visit to vegetable and fruit mandi shows that the rates of vegetables have witnessed a sharp increase and were nearing double in past two months. The vegetable vendors, however, say that the wholesale rates of the vegetables have increased during the summer because of variation in demand and supply graph. “The rise in vegetables and fruits prices has disturbed the monthly budget adversely. Every vegetable has become expensive by Rs 10 to Rs 20 per kg. The vendors are citing shortage to price hike. But I do not understand why the government is not doing anything to check the price rise,” Rashmi Sharma, a resident of Talab Tillo, said. |
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Devolution of powers to PRIs reviewed
Katra July 4 Addressing the meeting, NI Parae laid emphases on the need of devolution of powers to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the
district. He disclosed that government has issued detailed guidelines for fully empowering PRIs in the state. Parae reviewed department-wise progress made in devolution of powers to the PRIs. During the meeting, all the government orders and copies of guidelines were circulated among the district officers for their reference. Parae directed the officers of line department to furnish the actions taken on the reports in this regard to District Panchayat Officer within a week. The ADDC advised the participants to make the Panchayati Raj Institutions more vibrant by fully involving them in planning, decision making and supervision of government schemes for fulfilling the government’s resolve. Among others, District Panchayat Officer, RK Badyal, Project Officer Self Employment, DRDA, Executive Engineers, PWD & REW, Chief Planning Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Agriculture Officer, BDOs and other officers were present in the
meeting. |
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Mankotia submits memorandum to Union Minister
Jammu, July 4 Mankotia urged the Union Minister for allocation of special funds for the construction of sub-national highways in Udhampur district. The NPP leader also discussed the latest political situation that was developed in state following the collapse of the coalition government and the non-functioning of the administration because of lack of political will. He also submitted a detailed plan for the development of roads in the entire Jammu region, so that the connectivity from Jammu to Poonch and Jammu to Doda is improved. |
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Workshop on research methodologies concludes
Katra, July 4 Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had inaugurated the workshop to be conducted at around 180 universities and institutions at remote centre, IIT-Bombay. The workshop was conducted under the MHRD-sponsored project of National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT), where over 8,000 faculty members across India were targeted to be trained in various aspects of Research Methodologies so as to enhance their skills in research. The unique feature of the workshop was that all the speakers were not personally present at the remote centers. In fact, the lectures were delivered via live broadcasting from different IITs using the A-view Software to different remote centres. Although the lectures were delivered remotely, participants could ask questions to the teacher and teacher could see the participant in front of a camera. In addition to the lectures by various experts from IIT-Bombay and other IITs, there were lab and tutorial sessions too. They were conducted for the participants on Scilab tool. The workshop was assignment based. All the participants on their successful completion of assignments received certificates from IIT-Bombay. Similar workshops would be conducted in future for the faculty members from various institutions and universities on different topics of research and innovations to enhance their skills for teaching-learning process. |
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Youth wing of JKDF holds protest
Jammu, July 4 The demonstration was led by Anil Balgotra in the presence of youth wing president, Munish Khajuria, Shehzad Ali and Harpreet Singh. Activists of the JKDF gathered near Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar, and shouted slogans in favour of the demands of the unemployed youths, who are deprived of their rights to get equal opportunities of earning their livelihood. The protesters burnt the effigy of the state government and expressed resentment against the policies of the government. The non-serious attitude of the government to formulate a concrete policy for solving the unemployment problem was flayed. Prominent among thosewho took part in the protest were Krishan Kapoor, Ravi Mehra, Jyoti Dogra, Kapil Shastri, Rohit Kerni, Ankush Sharma, Varinder Singh, Naveen Sharma, Vijay Kumar, Varun Gupta, Sunit Dogra, Manik Seth, Viren Koul, Raju Balgotra, Rahul, Vikram Sharma, Raman Sharma, Rajesh, Harish, Anoop, Arun, Sunny, Diwawar Manhas, Aditya, Vikrant, Dheeraj, and Rohit. |
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Tributes paid to Swami Vivekananda at JU
Jammu, July 4 Vijay Atri, Assistant Dean, Cultural Affairs, JU, was the chief guest and Dr Vikas Sharma, State President, NSF, presided over the function. Speaking on the occasion, Atri appreciated the initiatives taken by the NSF members to remember Swami Vivekananda. He also threw light on the life and works of Swami and said the Government of India in 1984 decided to observe the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (January 12) as National Youth Day every year. He also said Swami Vivekananda was one of the most admired spiritual leaders of India. Vivekananda left an indelible mark in history with his teachings, which are studied around the world. Dr Vikas said he was an inspiring personality and was well known both in India and in America during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. The unknown monk of India suddenly got fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, at which he represented Hinduism. Prominent among others present on the occasion included Ashwani Dubey, Narinder Singh, Chaman Singh, Sanjay Thakur and Pushpinder Singh. |
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Gymnasts gear up for international championships
Jammu, July 4 According to sources, representatives from 15 affiliated units of the GFI attended the meeting of the general council wherein the members took a note of the alleged anti-federation activities by some officials of the federation. The representatives from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal attended the meet. Ajit Singh Wazir, vice-president of GFI and general secretary of state association, also attended the meeting. He said appreciation by the GFI was a morale booster not only for the association but also for the gymnasts of the state who were presently preparing for the two international championships. Wazir said, “I had briefed the GFI officials about the activities of the state association and its future plans regarding preparations of the gymnasts. In fact, the GFI officials are aware of the functioning of almost all the state associations across the country”. “As the gymnasts are gearing up for the forthcoming coveted championships, we are anxiously waiting for the selection trials,” said one of the gymnasts. “In spite of lack of infrastructure, our coaches have left no stone unturned to polish our skills. It’s because of their efforts that we have been able to prove our worth at the international level,”
he said. The gymnasts, namely Jaskaran Singh, Mayank Jain, Gourav Sharma, Inderdeep Singh, Parul Mehta, Honey Mehra and Tejpal Kour were selected on the basis of their performance in the 11th National Aerobics Gymnastics Championship held at Vadodara (Gujarat). |
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Convincing wins for Dachini Club, Friends XI
Jammu, July 4 Earlier, in the first match, Friends XI got the better of City Reds by seven wickets. Batting first, City Reds posted a challenging total of 154 runs in the stipulated 20 overs losing seven wickets in the process. Imran scored the highest 41 runs while Anees and Nadeem contributed 40 and 35 runs, respectively. For Friends XI, Latif was the wrecker-in-chief with a four-wicket haul while Zahid and Fayaz clinched two and one wicket, respectively.In reply, Friends XI did the needful in 18 overs by losing three. Mehraj was the top scorer with 47 runs while Ajaz and Zahid made useful contributions of 31 and 15 runs, respectively. Sohail, Nadeem and Parminder took one wicket each for City Reds. Latif was declared the man of the match. In another match, Dachini Pora Club scripted a narrow win over FCC Haval by six runs. Dachini Pora made 140/7 in 20 overs, with Mushtaq, Shah Lal and Feroze contributing 27, 25 and 18 runs, respectively. For FCC Haval, Javed took two wickets whereas Danish and Irfan claimed one wicket each. In reply, FCC could manage 134 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Javed, Mukhtar and Gulzar contributed 24, 23 and 22 runs, respectively. Ghulam Nabi, Tajamul, Reyaz and Feroze shared two wickets apiece for Dachini Pora. Feroze was adjudged the man of the match.
— TNS |
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FCC topple SPCC by 45 runs
Jammu, July 4 The match was officiated by Vikas Bali and Sunny Kumar as umpires while Akshay Kumar was the scorer. The tournament is being held under the supervision of Sham Singh Langeh, Chairman, Singh Cricket Club, Akhnoor.
— TNS |
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Inter-school tourney concludes
Jammu, July 4 The tournament was held under the supervision of SR Kotwal, District Youth
Services and Sports Officer, Doda.Principal HSS Chinta was the chief guest wherein 278 players drawn from various institutions of the district participated. The matches were officiated by a panel of experts, including Leena Kumari, Neeta Manhas, Sharda Devi, Jai Shree, Qasim Din, Nisar Ahmed, Bharat Bhushan, Vikram Singh, Roshan Lal and Bir Singh.
— TNS |
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Sopore
t20
Jammu, July 4 In reply, Sun Shine Kranshivan was bundled out for paltry 59 runs in 14.4 overs. Fayaz Ahmad of the winning team was declared the man of the match for his 83 runs. The second match of the tournament was played between Star Elevan Faisalabad and Neharpora Cricket Club. Batting first, Neharpora Club piled up 149 runs for the loss of seven wickets. In reply, Star Elevan could manage 165 runs. Parvaiz Ahmad was declared the man of the match. |
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Srinagar Shahjahans enter quarterfinals in KPL
Jammu, July 4 Electing to bat first, Anantnag Angare collapsed at 90 runs in 17.1 overs. In reply, Srinagar Shahjahans chased the required runs in 15.1 overs by losing four wickets. Amir Aziz of Shahjahans was adjudged the man of the match. The matches are being conducted by 126 Inf Bn (TA) JAK RIF, under the aegis of HQ 31 Sub Area. Dr Sunil Gupta, SP West, Srinagar, was the chief guest while Col SS Pathania, SC Commanding Officer of 126 Inf Bn (TA) JAK RIF, was also present. |
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Jammu (A) thrash Majid Sports
Jammu, July 4 DFA Budgam had a thrilling 8-7 win over Young Maharaja. Maharaja Sports defeated Shaheen Sports by 3-1 and DFA Sopore thrashed Syed Taj-Ud-Din by 2-0.
— TNS
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Workshop on DOTS Plus concludes
Jammu, July 4 It was a modular training programme where the participants were made aware about the DOTS Plus guidelines. Dr Arun Sharma, medical superintendent, Government Hospital
Sarwal, was present throughout the programme and thanked Dr Poonam Sharma,
DTO, Jammu, and Dr Dushyant for organising the training programme and enhancing the knowledge of doctors in relation to DOTS Plus.
— TNS |
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