The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

SRTC employees call off stir
Decision follows assurance from management on their demands
Sumit Hakhoo

Jammu, August 8
Employees of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) have called off their five-day-long strike following an assurance given by the management of the corporation to allow the old office in Srinagar to function and also to reconsider its decision on land sale.

The decision was taken after a meeting between the management and representatives of the employees yesterday following which the employees decided to end their agitation.

The workers of the SRTC were on strike opposing the shifting of its headquarters from Maulana Azad Road, Srinagar, to Nowgam on the outskirts of the summer capital.

The strike affected inter-state bus services to Pathankot, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Shimla, Chandigarh and Haridwar, besides those on the Srinagar, Kargil, Leh and Katra routes.

J&K SRTC Employees Union leader Ashok Mehra said the management had accepted their demands.

“They have told us that operations will continue from the old office and other demands will be considered during future meetings,” Mehra said.

Meanwhile, the strike also affected the foodgrain supply forcing the management to hire the services of private trucks to resume the supply in Jammu and far-flung places in the region. Nearly 400 trucks supplying essential commodities and foodgrains to various districts of the state had stopped working, creating a crisis.

Of the fleet of nearly 1,200 vehicles of the SRTC, nearly 700 are buses and about 400 trucks ply on various routes.

Nearly 170 trucks have been deployed for transporting essential commodities (rations) in the Jammu region, including Jammu city.

SRTC Managing Director JS Tandon said talks were held with the union and the government had agreed to provide sufficient space to the corporation for boarding and de-boarding of passengers.

From a frontline service provider in Jammu and Kashmir a few decades ago, the SRTC is now struggling for survival with its share in the transport sector falling to a dismal less than 3 per cent.

PoK refugees to gherao MPs’ houses today
Say they have failed to take up the cause of displaced people
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
Refugees from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have decided to gherao the houses of Members of Parliament (MPs) tomorrow in protest against their alleged failure to effectively take up the cause of displaced people with the Centre and the state government.

“Two MPs from Jammu province elected by the people, including PoK refugees, have not taken any interest in solving the problems of the people, refugees in particular. They have done nothing to mitigate their sufferings and have miserably failed to provide the people their fundamental rights,” Rachpal Singh Chib, general secretary of the PoK Refugee Front, told The Tribune.

He alleged that the future generation of refugees would remain slaves of Kashmir-based political parties and their bosses while the Jammu-based leadership would remain a mute spectator to their plight. “We will assemble at the Mubarak Mandi complex and will march towards the residences of the MPs to acquaint them of the problems of refugees,” Chib said.

“The three-member panel of interlocutors appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recommended an honourable settlement package for the PoK refugees. However, Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla recommended an incomplete and intriguing financial package for the PoK refugees and West Pakistan refugees in the same memorandum, complicating their case,” he said.

The leader said the West Pakistan refugees could not be equated with the PoK refugees as two categories of refugees could not be mixed up in the matter of a settlement package.

The refugees have been demanding settlement of the displaced people by granting them special economic, educational, employment, social and political packages.

Forum flays parking fee hike at railway station
Alleges nexus between cops, parking contractors
Tribune News Service

Jammu August 8
Expressing concern over the recent hike in parking charges at the Jammu railway station, the Citizens Forum today alleged there was a nexus between the police and parking contractors. Parking charges were increased from Rs 20 to Rs 30 per vehicle per visit.

The forum said this was causing a huge inconvenience to passengers who were forced to pay parking fee even if they would just come by to drop someone there.

The forum held a meeting here that was chaired by its president RK Chadda. He alleged the nexus was aimed at benefiting the parking contractors. He said the railway authorities were trying to erect a divider at a small stretch of the road up to the entry point of the main platform building which again was causing hardships to passengers.

“The passengers are facing problems, particularly the elderly ones and those with some disabilities as they need to walk and climb stairs with luggage to a long distance,” Chadda said.

He said that in response to a PIL filed by the forum for upgrading and modernisation of the railway station, the J&K High Court had constituted a committee to look into the matter.

The forum said the Inspector General (IG) of Police had given written assurance to the high court last year that a divider would be laid at the stretch of the road up to the entry point but the same had not been raised till date.

The forum president further alleged the Divisional Traffic Manager (DTM) was not allowing the laying down of the divider in a bid to benefit the parking contractor.

He criticised the DTM for arbitrarily allowing the contractor to increase the parking charges even if a vehicle only passed through the parking lot to drop passengers.

Spiritual music therapy for jail inmates
Five-day special session begins at Ambphalla jail
Varun Suthra
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
To counter the increasing stress levels among inmates, the authorities at the district jail, Ambphalla, are organising a session on “spiritual music therapy” for them. The five-day special session, which started today, is being conducted by the Swaranga Meditation Charitable Trust under the supervision of eminent music therapy expert Raj Kumar.

The salient features of the session included “dhyana” through music, chanting of sargam and ragas and listening to hymns.

The inmates were given a chance to repeat the chants with the expert for their benefit as they have been confined to the boundaries of the jail.

Vinod Kumar, Superintendent of the district jail, told The Tribune that jails had now been turned into reformation and rehabilitation centres and they had been focusing on improving the potential of the inmates.

He said, “Now, the concepts have changed and we are trying to follow the European model of jails, where the inmates are provided the most conducive environments for a better living. Living in a confined environment leads to stress, anxiety and depression, and music provides a remedy for overcoming these.”

Vinod Kumar said they kept on organising such events, which helped the inmates “develop their personality and live quality life after they come out of the jail”.

He said the other important events included sessions on the art of living, yoga camps and meditation sessions. Vocational courses are also being run to engage the inmates, which include candle making, embroidery, tailoring and other similar courses,” he said.

On education facilities for the inmates, Vinod Kumar said were associated with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the DOEACC centre of Jammu University, which conducted various courses for the inmates.

He said, “A special centre is also being run under the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan for the education of the inmates.”

Farmers oppose fertiliser policy
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
Hundreds of BJP activists today staged a demonstration to highlight the problems being faced by the farming community and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu.

The protesters, led by BJP Kisan Morcha state president Karan Singh, raised slogans against the Congress-led UPA government and accused it of following “anti-farmer policies”.

“The Central Government is changing the fertiliser policy. The prices of all fertilisers except urea are being decontrolled by the government and thus the rates of all fertilisers have increased by two to four times. Under the new policy, the manufacturers and importers have been allowed to fix the rates of the fertilisers at their own sweet will,” Karan Singh said while addressing the protesters.

He said the prices of urea were increased by 10 per cent by the government in April 2010 and the government was again contemplating to increase the rates of fertilisers by 10 per cent.

“Due to the late arrival of the monsoon in the state, farmers are going to suffer a substantial loss of crops. The farmers will undergo great hardship and loss of income if the government implements the new policy on fertilisers,” he said and demanded that the farmers should be provided direct subsidy and bank accounts should be opened for farmers to channel the subsidy directly to them.

Their demands include a rollback in the price hike of fertilisers and continuing with the present policy on fertilisers till an appropriate pricing mechanism, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission, is put in place.

2-day workshop on heritage education concludes
Our Correspondent

Katra, August 8
A two-day heritage education awareness workshop for the government schools of Reasi concluded here today. The workshop was organised by INTACH, Jammu, in collaboration with Common Services, INTACH, Delhi. It was attended by 35 teachers to enhance their knowledge on heritage. The trainees were exposed to the local heritage of Reasi and Jammu and were asked to open heritage clubs in their schools.

MK Bhandari, Additional Chief Executive Officer, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Katra, was the chief guest on the occasion. The workshop was attended by officials of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, Katra, school principals, representatives from the hospitality industry, senior citizens of Katra, district planning education officers, members of INTACH and officers of the shrine board.

Technical sessions were conducted by Director, HECS INTACH, New Delhi, Poornima Dutt, along with local resource persons Moby Zachariah, Gopal Krishan, Director (Museology), Jammu University, and Prof Poonam Chowdhary. Convener, INTACH, Jammu, SM Sahni, along with other executive members Sardari Lal Dubey, Rakesh Wazir, Imarn Chowdhary and Junior Manager Spiritual Growth Centre, Katra, organised the workshop.

Police plans to launch ‘suicide helpline’
Alarming rise in number of suicide cases in Rajouri border belt
Ranjit Thakur

Rajouri, August 8
Concerned over an alarming rise in number of suicide cases in the border belt of Rajouri, the district police is working on a strategy to curb the menace and plans to launch a suicide helpline website.

This was stated by DIG, Rajouri-Poonch range, Manish Kumar Sinha, here.

“We have noticed that many youth are committing suicide owing to failure in education, love affairs or some other family-related issues. Such cases are on the rise in the absence of a helpline or guidance,” Sinha said.

“We are planning to launch a website that will educate the youth by creating general awareness, especially among those who are depressed over some social or family-related issues. It will be a helpline centre where well-trained staff of psychiatrists will be available who will try to find solutions to the problems they face and also motivate them positively.”

The police would provide them special counselling and lectures at schools and colleges. The youth would learn how to deal with such situations and develop confidence to face any crisis, Sinha said.

Chaman Basins, Superintendent, Rajouri Hospital, said the suicide rate was on the rise in the district. He added there were four to five deaths due to suicide every week and the victims were mostly young boys and girls.

He took a serious note of open sale of poisonous substances in the market. He alleged that several complaints to the district administration had failed to yield any result.

Recently, two gang-rape victims had committed suicide in the district.

Work on Bikram Chowk flyover to begin soon
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
The government today formally handed over the construction work of Bikram Chowk flyover and seven more projects to the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA). The ERA is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Tranche-II).

The international bids for the construction of Bikram Chowk flyover and widening of the road from Bikram Chowk to Convent School, Gandhi Nagar in Jammu have been floated by the ERA. Other sub-projects in the Jammu city include construction of overhead tanks (OHTs), installation of 19 tubewells, up-gradation and replacement of worn-out machinery of pumping stations, replacement of worn-out pipes and strengthening of distribution of network in Channi Himmat, Channi Rama, Mattoo Colony, Dilli and Bikram Chowk besides supply and installation of 8,000 domestic metres in Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar, renovation of primary drains and construction of new secondary drains in Digiana, Gangyal, Ashram, Thanger Nallah (T4) and tributary of Thanger nullah (TT4) among others.

The construction of flyover will help in easing the traffic rush in this stretch of the road. ERA Project Manager, Jammu, Jai Gopal Mengi said the construction of the flyover and other projects would be completed in the stipulated time and proper care will be taken to avoid any inconvenience to general public once the construction starts.

Road repairs admn’s priority
Our Correspondent

Katra, August 8
“Carrying out repairs on roads damaged during the past few days is our priority,” said District Development Commissioner Nirmal Sharma while reviewing the progress of work on the ongoing road project.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner, the Subdivisional Magistrate, the Divisional Forest Officer, executive engineers of the PWD and the PDD, besides representatives of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and officers of the line department were present on the occasion.

Expressing concern over the slow pace of work on some road projects in the district, Nirmal Sharma directed the officers concerned of the executing agency to speed up the work to ensure that these were completed on time. She sought a weekly progress report from the officers.

Nirmal Sharma directed the Executive Engineer of the PDD to shift electricity poles so that the project got completed on time. She issued instructions to BRO officers to undertake immediate repair work on the Katra-Reasi road for the smooth flow of traffic.

She asked the agencies concerned to clear the debris due to landslides on the Reasi-Mahore road.

Infighting among JU faculty members
Students bear the brunt
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
Jammu University (JU) is grappling with infighting among its officials as well as faculty members these days. Sources in the university say that genuine problems of students and staff have taken a back seat since “chaos and mismanagement” prevail in the administration.

TIRESOME JOB: Students queue up for getting their application forms attested in Jammu University on Wednesday. tribune photo: inderjeet singh

Students from far-off places visiting the campus are also a harried lot. While higher-ups and senior faculty members are busy settling their personal scores, students are being subjected to umpteen hardships due to the “indifferent attitude” of the authorities.

Long queues outside fee counters, application form sale counters and enquiry counters, besides students moving from one place to another to get their application forms attested, are a common sight on the university campus.

Moreover, internal squabbling is taking toll on academic affairs of the institution. Several posts on the campus have been lying vacant owing to “vested interests” of higher-ups and senior faculty members.

“Infighting among the higher-ups has caught the varsity on the wrong foot. It is turning murkier with senior faculty members and other administrative officers virtually fighting it out in open,” regretted a senior faculty member.

He said the recent media reports on infighting between two senior professors of the mathematics department and two senior administrative officers spoke volumes about the situation.

“The Vice-Chancellor should take a serious note of such incidents,” he added.

Rakesh Chib, president, Jammu University Research Scholars Executive Association (JURSEA), said there was no accountability in the university administration. “Professors and administrative officials have lost focus on genuine issues the student community confronts. The administration is lacking in vision to redress the grievances of the students,” he said.

There may be a conflict of opinion among professors. However, they should not fight for personal gains as it adversely affects the functioning of the institution.
— Sunil Sharma, scholar

Chib said the university higher-ups did not involve the JURSEA or department representatives while making policy decisions, including formation of “students’ charter or quality policy”.

Sunil Sharma, a scholar of the Dogri department said, “There may be a conflict of opinion among professors. However, they should not fight for personal gains as it adversely affects the functioning of the institution.”

Prof NK Tripathi, Dean Students Welfare (DSW), however, chose to downplay the infighting on the campus. He said, “The university is like a family and there is always a difference of opinion on certain issues.”

About the chaos outside fee counters, Chib said the university was contemplating to open its account so that students could deposit the fee from any bank branch in the state.

Long queues

Long queues outside fee and application form sale counters are a common sight
Students find it difficult to get their application forms attested
Recently, there were reports on infighting between two senior professors of the mathematics department and two senior administrative officers.

Fauji mela organised
Our Correspondent

Rajouri, August 8
In an attempt to win over the hearts and minds of the youth of Kalakote, the Rashtriya Rifles organised a Fauji mela at Kalakote today.

The mela was inaugurated by Rajender Kumar Khajuria, SDM, Nowshera. Around 1,000 people participated in the mela despite hot weather. Tug of war, dangal and sack race were the major attractions of the mela. Apart from the games, a spot painting competition was an attraction among children. The forum was also used to guide the youth in exploring the job opportunities in the armed forces. The Army had set up a recruitment guidance stall. The display of weapons also turned out to be a major attraction, especially among the youth.

Khajuria praised the efforts of the Army in restoring sustainable peace and spreading awareness among the population.

People of all age groups enjoyed the mela. Senior citizens expressed their happiness over the relentless efforts of the Army for improving the standard of life of the people.

1 dead, 2 hurt in road accident
Tribune News Service

A crane lifts the passenger minibus that met with an accident at Domana in Jammu on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Jammu, August 8
One person was killed and two were injured in a road mishap at Domana today when a minibus collided with a motorbike and a scooter. The incident took place around 12.30 pm.

Karan Singh, son of Budhi Singh of Domana, who was riding the scooter, died on the spot whereas his wife Anita sustained serious injuries. The other injured has been identified as Ankush, who was riding the motorbike.

The minibus driver reportedly lost control after the collision and skidded off the road into bushes. However, no minibus passenger was injured.

Thousands throng Baba Than Pir dargah
Our Correspondent

Poonch, August 8
The annual Urs of Baba Than Pir was today celebrated amid enthusiasm at the Than Pir dargah, Gali Pindi, in Mandi tehsil here. Thousands of devotees thronged the dargah here.

The dargah is considered a symbol of co-operation between the Army and local residents. With the dargah, a temple and a gurdwara on the same premises are a common rallying point for all religious groups.

A langar was also organised on the occasion.

Col Harjeet Singh, Commanding Officer, 15 Jat, said the dargah was a symbol of communal harmony in Poonch district. He also appreciated the role of people of the Gali Pindi area for showing great respect to saints.

Killings in US gurdwara flayed
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
Expressing concern over the brutal killing of Sikhs in a gurdwara at Oak Creek in the USA, the J&K Sikh Societies Amalgamate has urged the international community to lodge a protest against such acts.

At a meeting held here under the chairmanship of Gurdeep Singh Sasan, members condemned the brutal killing of innocent people. Sasan termed it as a blot on American society.

The members expressed grief over the tragic killings. They appealed to the US government and civil society to take measures to stop the recurrence of such criminal attacks against the peace-loving Sikh community and other minorities.

City Club Blues win
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 8
City Club Blues dispatched Kupwara XI by seven wickets in the ongoing Parvez Qureshi Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Kashmir University ground today.

Batting first, Kupwara XI were bundled out for 139 runs in 22.3 overs. Bilal played a fine knock of 69 runs studded with some delectable hits to the fence. Other batsmen got the starts but just could not convert them into big ones.

For City Club, Manzoor was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets. In reply, City Club overhauled the target for the loss of three wickets in 27 overs. Moonis was the star batsman with a defiant 64-run knock. The tournament is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.

Two held

Jammu, August 8
The police arrested Makhan Din of Bari Brahamana in Samba against whom warrants were issued by the District Mobile Magistrate, Kathua, on February 11. In another incident, the police laid down a naka at Zero Morh near Basholi petrol pump and apprehended Isher Dass of Ghodal for possessing four bottles of liquor. A case under Section 48(a) of the Excise Act has been registered at the Basholi police station. — TNS

Army computer course ends

Rajouri, August 8
The Rashtriya Rifles organised a 14-day computer training course for the youth at Kalakote, which concluded today.

The unique concept of “Training the Youth” was started by the Army to give basic knowledge of computers and the use of the Internet. Nearly 15 youths were given training by three Army instructors. — OC

Matador Union gets new chief

Jammu, August 8
Members of the Matador Union have elected Subash Singh as the president of the union. The decision was taken to sort out the issues of the Batra, Bajalta and Khanna Chargal routes. Subash Singh assured the members that their grievances would be redressed. Among those present were Gopal Sharma, Rajinder Singh, Joginder, Lal Hussain, Talib Hussain and Sardar Ali. — TNS

Bikram Club enter semis

Jammu, August 8
Bikram Club, Baramulla, defeated Khalsa Club, Uplina, 3-0 to secure a berth in the semifinals of the ongoing District Baramulla Hockey Championship being played at Government Degree College Ground, today.

Rajinder Singh scored goals in the 45th minute and 50th minute, respectively to make the score 2-0 for Bikram Club. — TNS