Jammu, August 6
Just two days after being made operational in the city after a long delay, two traffic signals suddenly “died” today, courtesy erratic power supply.

Road users had a tough time at the busy intersections, including Bikram Chowk, where the Deputy Chief Minister along with his Cabinet colleagues and senior administrative functionaries had inaugurated the traffic signals on Saturday evening.

Chaos prevailed on these busy intersections as motorists faced snarl-ups and had to weave their way around traffic.

Official sources said the two traffic signals installed at Bikram Chowk and Satwari Chowk stopped blinking late last evening following erratic power supply.

“The timer of these traffic signals could not adjust to the frequent and repeated power fluctuations and they stopped blinking in the evening, leading to chaos at these intersections,” a source said.

Sources also raised a question mark on the quality of traffic signals installed across the state.

“The traffic signals don’t meet the guidelines, as they are obsolete. These signals don’t have CCTVs to identify the violators jumping the red light. These signals also lack integrated clusters controlled by coordinated timing devices and operated by an automated control room,” a source added.

Sunil Sharma, a Jammu University scholar, said: “It is unfortunate that these signals turned dead just two days after their inauguration. Their breakdown signalled the return of chaos on the roads as motorists faced snarl-ups.”

Jammu SSP (Traffic) Manmohan Singh said both traffic signals were made functional this evening.

“The traffic signal at Bikram Chowk was made functional at 2.30 pm, while the other started blinking in the evening,” he said, adding that power fluctuation had led to a technical snag in these signals.

“These signals have been equipped with a special line to ensure regular power supply. Hope motorists don’t face any such problem in future,” he said.

On violators jumping the red light, he said the department had issued an order to impose a minimum penalty of Rs 1,000 for the violation.

“We have also directed the traffic police to suspend the licence of habitual offenders. Their licence will be cancelled after third such violation,” the SSP said.

Jammu, August 6
Acting on a public interest litigation filed by two lawyers, Ashok Sharma and Deepak Singh Baloria, over traffic jams in Jammu city due to digging of roads, the division Bench of J&K High Court, comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Hasnain Massodi, today directed the state to file their response within four weeks from Friday.

The petitioners had highlighted the problems being faced by the public because of the digging of roads and slow pace of work, which had been resulting in frequent traffic jams.

The petitioners had sought directions to the state to place on record the entire sewerage plan to facilitate the disposal of sewerage from the city to the disposal plant, as a huge amount of money had been invested with no accountability in the projects. This had caused a great loss to the state exchequer over a period of five years, hampering the growth and development of the state.

They contended that the projects should have been completed within minimum time but the misuse of funds and mismanagement on part of the state government had led to harassment to the public.

The petitioners further sought supervision/monitoring of the execution and completion of the sewerage project by constituting a committee, including experts, to prevent the misuse of funds.

Jammu, August 6
The Jammu and Kashmir Housing and Urban Development Department today launched the online registration of vital statistics of birth and deaths. The department also brought the building permission system under the purview of e-governance.

The official spokesperson said the online and systematic operation of building permission would ease the cumbersome procedure of seeking no-objection certification from various authorities and departments and bring respite to the residents.

The launch was marked by grant of building permission to five applicants under this system.

Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, who formally launched the online facilitation of vital statistics and building permission this evening said bringing registration of births and deaths under e-governance would be supplemented with creation of a database of new births and deaths apart from storage of the earlier data of these vital statistics in an easy and assessable mode.

Sharma said the tampering of record was virtually impossible under the software developed by the National Informatics Centre.

He said bringing the Housing and Urban Development Department in the mandated frame policies apart from preparing plans and schemes for the growth of urban areas under e-governance would invariably strengthen urban local self-governing units, thereby enabling them in speedy and correct discharge of their functions, particularly in providing quality municipal services to the people.

Madhu Khullar, Director (Health Services), Jammu; Dr Aniece Chowdhary, Principal, GMCH; Sarita Chouhan, vice-chairman, JDA; KL Khajuria, Commissioner, MC, Babu Ram, Joint Commissioner, Jammu, besides medical record officers, superintendents of different government and private hospitals were also present.

Jammu, August 6
The police has stepped up security ahead of the Independence Day, especially in the wake of recent attempts by extremist elements from across the border to disturb peace in the region.

Jammu IG Dilbagh Singh, while interacting with mediapersons today, said there were no specific threats from any militant outfit to disturb the Independence Day celebrations but they had tightened security in the region.

“Considering the two recent attempts to hamper the peace process, including digging up of a tunnel in the Indian territory in Samba and yesterday’s cease fire violation by the Pakistan Rangers, we have tightened the security net in all districts.”

He said all district SPs had been asked to remain alert in the runup to the celebrations.

“Our officers have been told to keep a watch on the movement of anti-social elements in their jurisdiction. There is no report of any threat as such but security has been stepped up at crucial places,” he added.

On the installation of CCTV cameras, he said it was a major project undertaken by the police to keep an eye on the happenings.

“We have asked for more funds as the cameras are to be installed from Lakhanpur to Jammu. The installation of cameras will help us strengthen the security network on highways and surrounding areas.”

Jammu, August 6
At a time when the setting up of separate bio-engineering departments at the Government Medical College and Hospitals (GMCHs) of Jammu and Srinagar is nowhere in sight for the repair of critical equipment, medical superintendents of these hospitals have been asked to provide a list of all vital equipment installed along with their functional status.

Officials said executive engineers had been directed to submit their pending detailed project reports within a week so that the same could be submitted to the administrative department for approval so that faulty equipment could be repaired.

Sources said an ambitious proposal to set up separate bio-medical engineering wings at GMCHs in Jammu and Srinagar was grounded due to the failure of the Medical Education Department (MED) to pursue the case with the General Administration Department (GAD).

The proposal was aimed at benefiting specialised engineers and technicians, and to save the public exchequer from the unnecessary annual maintenance costs of repairing diagnostic equipment.

It said the GMCH, Srinagar, and its associate hospitals had an immediate requirement of 13 service engineers, 18 technicians and 10 assistant technicians, while the GMCH, Jammu, and its associate hospitals needed 14 service engineers, 17 technicians and 15 assistant technicians.

Officials said key equipment installed in different departments of these medical colleges needed minor or major repairs.

“Whenever an equipment develops a snag, we have to wait for days to get it repaired, as we don’t have trained staff. At times, a minor fault puts the machine out for days,” said an official.

The problem is more acute in health centres at district level, where fault in equipment affects services for weeks.

Dr Aniece Choudhary, in-charge Principal, Government Medical College, Jammu, said the hospital managements had been asked to submit details at the earliest.

“They have been asked to submit technical details and the condition of equipment. If there is any fault, it will be rectified. I visited the SMGS Hospital and inspected various wards and units besides taking stock of health and hygiene on the premises,” Dr Choudhary said.

The department currently engages engineers from outside to service damaged equipment.

“It puts a huge burden on the public exchequer,” an official said.

Officials said the recommendations were sent to the GAD last year for the approval of proposed engineering wings at the GMCHs following the announcement by the minister.

The two branches of DOACC set up by the Department of IT, Government of India, in Jammu and Srinagar are the only repair centres available to fix faulty equipment.

Jammu, August 6
Professor of diabetes and noted author Dr Jitendra Singh today said the challenge of rapidly rising prevalence of diabetes in the Indian subcontinent was too serious a matter to be left to a diabetologist alone, as it required a consistent crusade involving various government and non-government health agencies to educate people.

Dr Singh was addressing a CME programme on “Diabetes Update” for doctors, MD students and medical professionals for the management of type-2 diabetes.

He cited alarming statistical figures of disease prevalence in India and said even in a state like Jammu and Kashmir, where diabetes was said to be less common compared to other states in the country, the prevalence was no less than 15 per cent in the urban areas.

In a presentation aided by PowerPoint projections, Dr Singh gave a detailed resume of some of the latest breakthroughs in the management of diabetes and also some of the common difficulties and challenges that a medical practitioner was likely to confront while treating a patient for diabetes.

He said some of the frequent treatment consequences of a strict blood-sugar control included increase in body weight and hypoglycemia or sudden risky fall in the blood-sugar level.

He also spoke about a number of anti-diabetic drugs that have become available in the past few years and also enumerated the various drugs that were in the pipeline or under trial with likelihood of becoming available in the next few years.

Dr SK Gupta and Dr Bharat Bhushan Gupta, former HoDs (medicine), GMCH, Jammu, jointly chaired the scientific session.

The programme was marked by an academic interaction in which a number of doctors and medical students participated.

Rajouri, August 6
Irked at the wrong policies of the government, the local unit of the People Democratic Party (PDP) organised a demonstration on the Mughal Road and blocked traffic for nearly three hours today.

Traffic on the Rajouri-Thanamandi road, near District Hospital, remained affected for over three hours as protesters alleged acute scarcity of drinking water, power cuts and lack of sanitation in Rajouri town.

They also demanded the completion of work on the main road from Khachar ground to Darhali bridge, besides expansion of the road from Gujjar Mandi to Khachar ground.

The protesters were led by Abdul Qayoom Dar, district president.

Besides, Qamar Hussain, senior leader; Anjum Mirza, district president (youth); Ashok Sharma, block president, also took part.

They accused the GREF authority of failing to repair the main road leading to the District Hospital and Darhali bridge, which was in dilapidated condition.

The protesters said they had been raising the issue in the past but to no avail.

Dar said they would launch a protest in a democratic way to highlight the wrongdoing of the government.

Quamar Hussain said the road from Khachar ground to Darhali Morh was in bad shape and potholes were causing problems for motorists.

He said the people of Rajouri had been deprived of basic amenities like water, power and road.

A traffic jam stretching up to 3 km was witnessed following the blocking of the road.

Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Sougt Biswas and Assitant Commissioner (Revenue) Sachin Dev Singh visited the scene and assured the protesters of expediting the repair work on the road.

Jammu, August 6
The Jammu and Kashmir Women Society organised a five-day training programme for adolescent girls at Popular Model Public High School which began on Saturday.

Nirmal Padha, president of the society, said, “During the programme, adolescent girls are being imparted education and training in literacy, skills and health.”

She said the girls were being made aware of balanced diet, hygiene and cleanliness, career options, adults issues, confidence building and stress management. Experts from different faculties including Dr Balwinder Kour, Raj Bhart and Usha Sharma imparted the training.

Rajouri, August 6
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday expressed grave concern over the pathetic condition of city roads, waterlogging, lack of garbage dumping plant and unscheduled power cuts.

The local unit of the PDP held a district-level party workers’ meet at the district president’s office. It was presided over by Abdul Qayoom Dar, district president. Other senior party leaders who attended the meeting included Choudhary Qamar Hussain, Zubair Shah, Maqsood Rahi, Tazeem Dar, Ashok Sharma, Haider Ali Aatish, Tahir Lone, Zahoor Bhatti,Shahida Parveen, Farooq Lone and Ayoub Wani.

Various matters pertaining to the party and general public of the Rajouri were discussed.

Dar said Rajouri town had been converted into a garbage dumping ground as the municipal committee had failed to identify the dumping site for the disposal of garbage.

Dar said the state government had failed on all fronts. He said the PDP would soon launch protest demonstration to highlight the suffering of the people.

A senior leader of PDP, Qamuar Hussain, condemned the state government for ignoring the district.

Jammu, August 6
The J&K Employees Workers Union supported the agitation launched by State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) employees, opposing the decision of management to sell the landed property.

Union said, on one side government assures that survival of SRTC steps are taken for its revival, but on other hand, it is selling prime land with greater economic value.

Union has warned to start indefinite strike and statewide agitation, if decision of selling the land is not taken back.

Jammu, August 6
The All-J&K Home Guards Welfare Association has expressed concern over the disengagement of some guards by the government in some divisions of the state.

The association has further sought enhancement of their salaries and alleged that the government had failed to solve their problems despite giving them repeated assurances.

Addressing a meeting, Kamla Sharma, president of the association, said J&K was the only state where the home guards were getting Rs 545 per month.

She said they had been protesting against low wages for the past six years, but the government had not paying heed towards their demands, compelling them to hold a mass agitation.

Sharma said the state government was drawing huge funds from the Central government for the welfare of home guards, but the same was not being utilised for the benefit of the home guards.

She demanded compensation of Rs 2 lakh to each home guard. She urged the Chief Minister to stop the exploitation of home guards and grant of benefits on a par with the those of Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

Jammu, August 6
The Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) has instructed its officials for the optimum utilisation of the Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) scheme, an ambitious scheme of Government of India, to strengthen sports infrastructure at grass root level.

According to sources, the department has asked the officials to ensure maximum participation of the youths at panchayat level in sports competitions in various disciplines.

Sources said that when the scheme was launched in the year 2008 in J&K, it was imperative for the government to immediately appoint a technical consultant for the overall monitoring.

As a result, the department failed to achieve the initial set targets. After much delay, the government had appointed a retired senior DYSS officer as a technical consultant.

Sources claimed that lack of adequate sports infrastructure has been the major constraint for the DYSS in taking the sports activities to the grass-root level.

“There is hardly any convening of meeting by the officials regarding the conduct of competitions under PYKKA, even though there is a coordination committee”, said one of the DYSS officials.

A senior official of DYSS said, “We have a coordination committee for the smooth conduct of competitions under PYKKA. There are more than 4,000 panchayats in the J&K state which are to be covered under PYKKA before the completion of the scheme in the year 2017. Till now we have covered around 700 panchayats”. 

Jammu, August 6
Ram Imagine Art, Hari Om Kailash Entertainment, International Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD) and Lok Sangeet Kala Sansthan jointly organised auditions for a talent hunt programme, “Taalash-e-Hunnar”, today.

Priya Mahajan, joint director, Hari Om Kailash Entertainment, was the chief guest. Underlining the necessity of folk music and dance, she emphasised the need for organising such events in future as well.

ML Dogra, chairman, Bhartiya Lok Sangeet Kala Sansthan, said the state had produced artistes of international repute like Pt Ravi Shankar, Bahaj Sopori, Ustad Allah Rakha Khan, KL Saigal and Uma Dogra.

KL Verma, Mahesh Kotwal, Zulekh Farid, Chandni Malhotra and Priya Mahajan adjudicated the contestants.

Jammu, August 6
The Jammu Tourist Traders Peoples Federation (JTTPF), yesterday, expressed satisfaction over the successful conduct of the 39-day Amarnath yatra in which more than six lakh people paid obeisance at the shrine.

The association congratulated the Shri Amarnathji Shrine board (SASB), the state government and all private stakeholders for managing a heavy rush of pilgrims on the narrow slippery tracks.

The federation, however, expressed grief over the demise of over 100 pilgrims, during the course of the yatra due to health problems and road accidents.

The association attributed this to uneven rush of pilgrims at different times of the yatra.

To avoid such cases in future, a mechanism will be evolved so that the number of pilgrims performing the yatra remains even during the entire period.

The JTTPF hailed the Tourism Department for providing adequate arrangements for the pilgrims during the yatra and also extended their cooperation to the SASB and government agencies for the smooth conduct of the yatra.

The association suggested the provision of oxygen cylinders after every two kilometres to ensure good health of the pilgrims in future and setting up of more health camps en route to the cave.

The association also sought the extension of the duration of the Kailash yatra in Bhaderwah from three to 15 days this year and reduction in helipad fares. It has also demanded reduction in the helicopter fares for the Machail yatra in Kishtwar.

Jammu, August 6
National Panthers Students Union (NPSU) held a demonstration at MAM College in protest against a shooting incident at a gurdwara in the US.

Lucky Singh, student union president, MAM College, said the attack at a gurdwara was a shameful act. It had hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs across the world.

He said: “Such incidents posed a serious threat to peace and harmony in the society. The occurrence of such incidents in a developed country like the US reflected poor policies towards curbing gun culture. It also posed a threat to the minorities, who were to being suppressed.”

NPSU pradesh president Partap Singh Jamwal appealed to the Central government to take up the matter with the US government.

Taman Singh, Vishali Sharma, Ramneek Singh, Kamal Singh, Michael Singh, Gannu, Deepak Raj Panday, Lovely Singh, Gursimran Singh, Sahil Sharma, Rawat Manhas, Mittu Singh and Mahesh Bakshi were also present.

Jammu, August 6
Singhpora Sports Club defeated Khalsa Blues, Baramulla, by 5-0 in a contest to seal a berth in the semi finals in the ongoing District Baramulla Hockey Championship being played at Government Degree College Ground today.

For Singhpora Club, Shahid scored a goal in the 22nd minute. Till half time Singhpora Club was leading by 1-0.

In the second half, as many as four goals were scored by Singhpora Club. The second goal came through Ali Mohammad, who converted a penalty corner in the 37th minute. Both Shahid and Ali slammed two goals apiece in 40th and 47th minute, respectively.

The match was officiated by Ranbir Singh, Pardeep Singh, Satinder Singh and Maninder Singh. Tomorrow, Bikram Club, Baramulla will take on Khalsa Club, Uplina to be played at the same venue tomorrow.

Jammu, August 6
The Udhampur Police in collaboration with general public organised an inter-district police-public meet at Sankhpal, a village situated at the highest altitude on the mountain range separating Udhampur and Ramban district.

Around 15,000 people belonging to Udhampur, Ramban , Doda and Reasi participated in the event.

He requested the people to fully cooperate with police in solving murder cases and in apprehending the culprits.

He announced that the J&K Police would organise games for youth at Sankhpal on the day of annual festival next year.

Jammu, August 6
Chetan Cricket Club (CCC) defeated Karan Cricket Club (KCC) by 16 runs in the ongoing T-20 Cricket tournament being played at Ratnal, village today.

Electing to bat first, CCC scored 169 runs in the allotted overs for the loss of eight wickets. Shubam scored 87 runs for Chetan Club. For KCC, Dheeraj took four wickets. Chasing the score of 170 runs, KCC team was bowled out for 153 runs in 19.3 overs. For KCC, Dheeraj scored 53 runs. Pankaj took three wickets. — TNS