|
|
|
|
|
Power cuts spark protests
Lawyers boycott work for 2nd day
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mubarak Mandi ropeway may see the light of day soon
Shortage of fertilisers, power irks farmers
Accidents galore on NH
Tour operator gets award
JKDF begins signature drive
Pak national held in Nowshera
1,400 pilgrims pay obeisance at Shri Budha Amarnath
GMCH rebuffs allegation of missing ventilators
19 shopkeepers challaned
Rotary Club donates ambulance
GOC extends Ramadan greetings
Declining sex Ratio
Omar failed to deliver during his rule: Rehman
Multi-purpose shed opened
Shagotra gets rousing welcome at Kishtwar
IETE holds annual general meeting
|
|
Power cuts spark protests
Jammu, July 21 Some of the organisations even threatened to call for a complete shutdown in Jammu if the government didn’t take corrective measures to improve the
power scenario. Accusing the state government of adopting an indifferent attitude towards the people’s grievances, the protestors carried black flags and took out a march from Raghunath Mandir chowk to City Chowk. They raised anti-PDD and anti-government slogans to lodge their resentment. “Traders have been suffering tremendous losses due to erratic power supply for the past two and a half months. The department has forced us to take the path of agitation as it has failed to solve problems being faced by the public in this hot and sultry weather,” Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) chief YV Sharma, who led the protest march, told reporters here. Sharma said there was resentment among the public over frequent and unscheduled power cuts and the PDD had
failed to come up to their expectations. “The people are unable to have proper sleep due to power outages during the night hours and traders and the entire business community has been feeling the pinch of the department’s indifferent attitude towards their day-to-day problems,” he said, adding that the repeated power cuts, breakdowns and interruptions, both scheduled and unscheduled, had also resulted into losses of industrial production and discomforts in the domestic sector and to thousands of pilgrims visiting both Vaishno Devi and Amarnath cave shrines. The protesters, comprising office-bearers of the JCCI, members of various trade organisations and local shopkeepers also warned that they would intensify their agitation if the department didn’t take corrective steps to improve the grim power situation in the region. Reports said the city localities, too, witnessed protests where small groups of people staged demonstrations against the frequent power cuts. Similarly, activists of the Shiv Sena Hindustan (SSH) also staged a demonstration in the city against the unscheduled power cuts. Led by SSH leader Rajesh Kesari, the protesters who were carrying placards, alleged that the PDD as well as the state administration had failed miserably to ensure round-the-clock power supply in metered areas. In a press statement, Shri Ram Sena state president Rajiv Mahajan has warned that if the electricity department could not restore normal power supply within four days, they would approach the like-minded groups and call for a complete Jammu bandh. |
||
|
Lawyers boycott work for 2nd day
Jammu, July 21 The courts wore a deserted look after the striking lawyers abstained from work in all the courts of the region against the, what they described, “anti-people” Act enacted by the state government. The litigants had to face many problems following the lawyers’ strike. BAJ representatives alleged that the state government while enacting the J&K (Residential & Commercial) Tenancy Act, 2012, had divested the civil courts of powers to adjudicate the landlord-tenant disputes which have a peculiarity in terms of legal complexities involved in such disputes. They questioned the rationale and justification behind the government’s move to vesting of these powers with the Assistant Commissioners and Tehsildars. “The legislation is absolutely draconian and a brutal attempt to scuttle justice to the common masses”, they alleged. The BAJ leaders claimed that the leaders of the Kashmir Bar Association had shared the concern over the new tenancy law and decided to abstain from work in protest on the call given by the BAJ. They appealed to the representatives of various Bar Associations to create awareness among the masses about the repercussions of “flawed Act”. They also took on the State Legislature for not proposing a debate on the “pros and cons” of the new Act governing tenancy in the State with the lawyers before
its enactment. The BAJ has decided that it would chalk out future course of action after the Committee constituted to study the provisions of the Act submits its opinion. “We will move a petition in the court against the government's move to divest the civil courts of their powers,” BAJ general secretary BA Vikram Sharma told reporters. |
||
|
Mubarak Mandi ropeway may see the light of day soon
Jammu, July 21 The project is pending for the past over 10 years as the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has raised objections over its impact on the forest areas falling on its way. Sources said views of the people living close to the proposed project would be incorporated in the final report, which will be sent to the Centre after which the work is likely to start on the ambitious project. Row between the state’s Environment Impact Assessment Authority (EIAA) and J&K Cable Car Corporation had threatened the ambitious Rs 24-crore Mubarak Mandi-Bahu fort ropeway project, as despite directions by the government to start the work, the EIAA
had not given its clearance to the project. Sources said the EIAA, which was established in 2006 in Jammu and Kashmir to clear the environmentally fragile projects, had not given its consent to the ropeway citing the reason that it would damage the environment around the area and threaten the wildlife. Lal Chand, chairman of the PCB, said, “The feedback of people is must before the environmental clearance as per rules laid down by the government. Nod from the EIAA and the Union Ministry is also necessary before starting the work”. Sources said officials of the PCB had also raised questions over the project by saying that it falls within 10 km of the Ramnagar wildlife sanctuary. The project has been hanging fire since 1996 when it was conceived by the then Farooq Abdullah government to boost tourism in the Jammu region. In 2005, much hype was created by the government to start the project, but it continued to face delay due to differences between different agencies in the state. The PCB chairman said they were studying the impact of the project on local ecology. He said steps would be taken to
ensure that every care is taken to safeguard the environment. The ropeway was to be constructed on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis, in which the state government had to provide land and private parties had to raise the infrastructure, operate it for 30 years or so and then transfer it back to J&K. When completed, the project will connect Mubarak Mandi, Mahamaya Termple, Bagh-e-Bahu, Bawe Wali Mata Temple and Peerkho temple, allowing people to enjoy the beauty of
these places. About the project
The project is pending for over 10 years as the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has objected to its impact on the forest areas falling on its way. |
||
|
Shortage of fertilisers, power irks farmers
Jammu, July 21 While farmers in most parts of the rain-fed areas of Jammu district are anxiously waiting for rains to cultivate their land, those who have irrigation facilities in their areas are confronting with the shortage of fertilisers. BJP MLA from Marh Choudhary Sukhnandan today alleged that the farmers were facing acute shortage of fertilisers. He said he had conducted an extensive tour of a number of villages during the past few days and everywhere he found that the farmers had a common complaint that fertilisers were not available in Jammu. He said in the absence of fertilisers the farmers apprehended losing kharif crop as it was peak season for sowing. “The department wants the farmers requiring fertilisers to first deposit money in advance with the department and then wait till the fertilisers are purchased and delivered to them,” he said. While farmers of Marh area are protesting against the non-availability of fertilisers, those of border belt of Ramgarh area of Samba district have threatened to launch widespread agitation against the Power Development Department (PDD) and the district administration for its failure to provide adequate electricity due to which the farmers have been facing starvation-like situation in the border villages. While organising a protest demonstration two days ago, the farmers had demanded that the government should take immediate steps for restoring power supply and water for irrigation purposes for the cultivation of paddy crops in the border villages of Samba. "The farmers have been facing problems due to the non-availability of power supply in the border villages of Ramgarh. Due to shortage of electricity and unscheduled power cuts, they have been facing starvation-like situation because they have failed to cultivate paddy on time," said former minister and Congress leader Manjeet Singh while addressing the protesters at Ramgarh. Farmers of Bishnah tehsil have already showed their resentment against the failure of the government to ensure functioning of tube wells in the border areas. The farmers have been demanding that these tube wells be made functional so that they can irrigate their fields in the absence of adequate rains.
|
||
|
Accidents galore on NH
Batote, July 21 “The reasons of accidents include the drowsiness of drivers, especially the taxi and truck drivers because of lack of sleep and in a bid to earn more they tend to drive continuously for several hours and even make to and fro trips between Jammu and Srinagar in a day and momentary blinding of drivers by the reflection of the dazzling headlights of the vehicles coming from the opposite direction, which makes them unable to see obstructions like boulders on the road as the same happened during the July 14 accident at Digdol in Ramban,” said BA Khan, ADC, Ramban. “So far I have conducted inquiries in eight accidents before this July14 accident and in all these inquiries I have raised the issue of non-removal of boulders and debris from the highway but all in vain and consequently we faced yet another loss of precious lives,” he bemoaned. “I recommend that no long route passenger vehicle should be allowed to ply on the Jammu-Srinagar highway especially, across the Jawahar Tunnel during the night,” he added. Ashok Kumar, MLA, Ramban, also demanded a ban on the vehicular traffic at the night on the highway. “Such tragedies are man-made. Taking strict notice of the growing number of accidents the government should immediately take remedial measures to prevent any further loss of lives, he said. |
||
|
Tour operator gets award
Jammu, July 21 Master Tours and Travels has been in the forefront of the Tourism Industry since 1994 and has been organising quality tours for leisure, business, pilgrimage, incentive and educational purposes in Jammu and Kashmir and other places all over the world. |
||
|
JKDF begins signature drive
Jammu, July 21 The signature campaign was led by district general secretary of youth wing Rohit Kerni. Earlier, a large number of activists of the JKDF and youths gathered near GGM Science College to mark their signatures in favour of their demand for a stipend of Rs 2,000 per month till they get jobs. The signature campaign was started by the youths to express their resentment against the policies of the government and non-serious attitude of the government to formulate a concrete policy for solving the problem of unemployment. While speaking to signatories, chairman Anil Gupta said, “We organised a series of peaceful protest demonstrations, rallies and dharnas to apprise the government of our demand for unemployment allowance of Rs 2,000 per month for youths till their absorption in corporate or government jobs. But this government paid no heed to our peaceful ways of protest to highlight our demands.” Munish Khajuria, while speaking to the media, said, “The continuous harassment and discrimination will further frustrate the younger generation. Youth might adopt the path of violence if peaceful methods fail to give results. The government must open its eyes to see the reality on ground.” Murari Lal, Krishan Lal, Prashant Puri, Monika , Ravi Mehar, Raman Sharma, Krishan Kapoor, Gulshan Rattan, Anil Balgotra, Ankush Sharma, Salil Arora, Vijay Marwah, Mangal Singh, Abhishek Slathia, Raghav , Vijay Kumar, Sourav, Rishab, lucky, Ajay Manhas, Sukhpreet Singh, Rahul, Nitish Sharma, Amit Baloria were among those who spoke on the occasion. |
||
|
Pak national held in Nowshera
Rajouri, July 21 He has been identified as Azgar Ali (35), son of Chirag Din of Gandoya Punjab (Pakistan), and had allegedly entered into J&K without valid documents, SP Rajouri Mubassir Latifi said. Sources said the police also recovered Pakistani currency worth Rs 265, a driver’s licence and a voter ID card of Pakistan from his procession. The police has registered an FIR and said it was interrogating him. He disclosed during interrogation that he was forced to cross over to the Indian territory because of threat to his life after a quarrel with some locals of Punjab in Pakistan, who were chasing him, Latifi added.
|
||
|
1,400 pilgrims pay obeisance at Shri Budha Amarnath
Poonch, July 21 As many as 816 pilgrims boarded in 19 vehicles from Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Punjab reached Dashnami Akhara Poonch last night and were accorded rousing welcome by all communities of Poonch. Punjab Health Minister Vijay Laxmi Kanta Chawala was the prominent personality among the pilgrims. With 1,400 pilgrims performing darshan at Budha Amarnath today, the total pilgrims visiting the Budha Amarnath this month have touched 13,700. It may be recalled that over 40,000 pilgrims had performed darshan at Shri Budha Amarnath situated on the north-east of Poonch town, since 1st May this year, which also include returnees from the Amarnath shrine. Chanting “Bum Bum Bole” and “Har Har Mahadev”, the pilgrims left for Rajpura Mandi this morning under tight security. At College Ground Poonch, the pilgrims were accorded with warm reception by the prominent citizens, social organisations and district officials yesterday. The Budha Amarnath Committee, Bajrang Dal, Vishav Hindu Parishad and Dashnami Akhara Poonch have made adequate arrangement for the stay of pilgrims at various places in Poonch.
|
||
|
GMCH rebuffs allegation of missing ventilators
Jammu, July 21 Addressing mediapersons here today, Dr Aniece Chowdhary, Principal, GMCH, said a three-member committee constituted by them to investigate the matter had submitted a detailed report on Friday evening. He said: “The committee report says that there are no discrepancies and no ventilator is missing. Someone has filed two RTI applications asking for the status of ventilators in the GMCH emergency and he had alleged that six ventilators were missing.” Dr Chowdhary said earlier five ventilators were being used in the emergency and during the time when swine flu spread, three more ventilators were borrowed from the other departments. “After the swine flu threat was over, two ventilators were retuned and one was retained. Later, during the onset of new emergency six more ventilators were added thereby taking the total number to 12. At present, four ventilators are not functioning due to technical snag which have been sent for repair,” he added. He said the companies responsible for repairing these ventilators had not yet repaired despite several reminders. “Now we are issuing last communication to them and if they fail to deliver the services again in time, we would blacklist them,” he stressed. Asked about other details, Dr Chowdhary said he would share details with the media later. He said, “As I took the charge only a few days back, I would have to look into issues. But the inquiry committee reports clearly state that all allegations in this matter are baseless.” On the increasing number of incidents of clashes between security persons and paramedical staff, he said only one incident came to his notice since the time he took over the charge. He said he had marked the complaint to the Medical Superintendent . The management of the GMCH had on Wednesday constituted a committee to inquire into the alleged discrepancy of ventilators in the emergency of the hospital. The three-member committee comprising Dr Tariq Azad, Associate Prof, Surgery, Dr Smiriti Gulati, Associate Prof, Anaesthesia Department and Dr Manoj Chalotra, Medical Superintendent was constituted to inquire into the complaint lodged by Som Raj Dabgotra. |
||
|
19 shopkeepers challaned
Batote, July 21 The team seized 14 domestic LPG cylinders from shopkeepers besides destroying 170 quintals of rotten vegetables and fruits from the Chanderkot and Batote markets. —
OC |
||
|
Rotary Club donates ambulance
Rajouri, July 21 Ashish Langer, president, Rotary Club, Rajouri said, “Rotary's objective is to promote health by providing the community an air-conditioned ambulance. The services of this ambulance would be provided round-the-clock to patients in Rajouri.” Speaking on the occasion, zonal chairman, KK Langer said, “We are proud to be part of the sincere efforts in raising an amount of Rs 10.5 lakh in providing this service to the community and patients. We are confident that this ambulance will help in addressing the health requirements and medical emergencies of the needy.” The ambulance shall take care of those patients who are referred to bigger cities for further treatment, he said. Saughat Biswas, District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, Chief Medical Officer Zahoor Shawl lauded the Rotary Club for its initiative.
|
||
|
GOC extends Ramadan greetings
Jammu, July 21 In his message, the GOC said, “As the holy month of Ramadan begins, I extend my warm wishes to the people in the Jammu region and elsewhere. During this highly important time of spiritual reflection, prayer and fasting, we are reminded of the importance of charity and compassion in our lives.” He said these were the values and traditions of Islam which were shared by the people of other faiths and religions of the country. I take this opportunity to wish happiness for all during this special time. The GOC prayed for the well-being of the people and expressed the fervent hope that this auspicious time would be a harbinger of sustained peace and amity, communal harmony, brotherhood, and prosperity in the region.
|
||
|
Special chapter in schools soon
Sumit Hakhoo
Jammu, July 21 The decision has been taken during a meeting of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation constituted by the Legislative Assembly after the Census 2011 has shown the alarming decline in the girl child ratio in the state. The Census 2011 has thrown some scary figures as far as male female ratio in Jammu and Kashmir is concerned and sex determination and subsequent foeticide were being considered as culprits for this crucial mismatch. The committee, which met recently in this connection deliberated on the rules which are operational and their modification under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Sex Determination (Probation and Regulation) Act, 2012, and the Jammu Kashmir Nursing Council Act, 2012. “The committee stressed on concrete steps for protection of girl child and said such rules should be formulated so that this menace can be curbed at all levels and stress on creating awareness among students about the menace,” said a source. The falling sex ratio in the state has sent alarm bells ringing in the government, with the government involving religious preachers to create awareness among people about impact of dwindling female population in the state. In recent past, various measures have been taken by the government to rein in on the illegal ultrasound clinics and in this regard a Divisional Advisory Committee on the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (PNDT) Act has also been constituted. The committee will keep a close watch on the functioning of clinics and take effective measures under law against people indulging in sex determination and foeticide. It was also decided that no ultrasound clinic will be allowed to operate without proper registration under the PNDT Act and the registration shall be valid for three years only. As per the latest census, the child sex ratio (0 to 6 years of age) has fallen from 941 in 2001 to 859 in 2011. Not only this, Jammu and Kashmir’s overall sex ratio has been pegged at 883 females per 1,000 males indicating a fall of nine points compared to 2001 Census.
|
||
|
Omar failed to deliver during his rule: Rehman
Jammu, July 21 Rehman said since the coalition government was formed in the state, corruption had reached its zenith and the development had taken a backstage. He said the people of state were fed up with the present regime and want change. “What is the achievement of the Omar-led regime? They have even failed to provide regular power and drinking water supply to the people. They have a discriminatory attitude towards the far-flung and rural areas, particularly the Chenab Valley,” he said. Rehman said despite tall claims of the government that action would be taken against the corrupt officials and ministers, but nothing had been done and in turn cases were being closed. “The government is destroying the institutional mechanism to deal with the corruption in the state because to save the corrupt bureaucrats and politicians who are looting the state exchequer,” he added. He also warned to start a statewide agitation against the anti-people policies of the government.
|
||
|
Rajouri, July 21 Brig TK Chawla, Station Commander, Rajouri, was also present on the occasion. The shed has been constructed so that the daily morning assembly, school functions and cultural programmes can be organised there. The schoolchildren presented a colourful programme on the occasion. The musical performance by the schoolchildren kept the audience spellbound. This was followed by a science exhibition. — OC
|
||
|
Shagotra gets rousing welcome at Kishtwar
Jammu, July 21 On reaching Kishtwar, he was welcomed by the local Congress and youth Congress activists. While welcoming Pranav, prominent Congress leader and former president of the District Youth Congress (DYC), Kishtwar, Sheikh Nasir Hussain said the visit of newly elected state vice-president to this far-flung area was a positive sign and it had encouraged the local YC activists. He urged Pranav Shagotra to fight for the cause of the youth of this downtrodden area and visit each and every corner of the constituency to know about the problems being faced by the people, especially the youth of this region. While addressing the party activists, Shagotra said the Congress was committed to devolve powers to panchayats so as to make three-tier Panchayati Raj System fully functional in the state. He further said that Youth Congress was committed for the uplift and welfare of the youth. He appealed the youth Congress activists to work unitedly for strengthening the party.
|
||
|
IETE holds annual general meeting
Jammu, July 21 The meeting confirmed the minutes of the last AGM. It also received and adopted the annual report of the IETE activities for 2011-2012. The AGM also considered and adopted the audited balance sheet for the year ending March 31, 2012. The activities of the IETE were highlighted by secretary Dr Pawanesh Abrol, who read out the report. He informed the fellows and members that a website ‘www.ietejammu.org’ of the IETE, Jammu Centre, had been launched for the benefit of students. He added that a number of technical activities were held in collaboration with MIET and other institutions of the state. These technical events included robotic workshop, technical paper presentations, web page designing competitions, group discussions, LAN gaming and technical quiz programmes. The IETE also organised a one-week workshop in MATLAB applications at the Department of Computer Science and IT, University of Jammu. The objective of the workshop was to make students familiar with the advanced programming concepts in the field of image processing, communications and signal processing. “This knowledge helps the students to have an access to the latest engineering and technological trends in the field of information technology, computer science and engineering and research domains,” said Dr Abrol. It was further informed that an IETE Student Chapter had started functioning at MIET, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu. It has a strength of 114 students and was inaugurated by Joy Ganjoo, Chairman, IETE Jammu Centre, in December, 2011.
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE |
| Punjab |
Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | |
Jammu, July 21
Batote, July 21
Jammu, July 21
The revocation of this order issued in 2002 by the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohd. Sayeed is being demanded by the residents.