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Tragedy strikes Kathua family
Super-speciality hospital: Health Dept sets 40-day deadline
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Woman plots to kill husband, 3 arrested
Rs 49 lakh to boost water supply
Excess holidays a boon for employees
Sikhs demand quota in jobs, admissions
J&K contingent eye
better medal haul
War veterans’ rally held in Sunderbani
12 J&K sport climbing meet from August 25
15 JAT organises iftar party
JYM elects students’ wing
Man, nephew electrocuted
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Tragedy strikes Kathua family
Jammu, August 19 Reports said all the four boys had come to their uncle Ilam Din’s house to observe last day of Ramadan together and were sleeping in a room when the tragedy struck the family at 2 am on Sunday following incessant rainfall, which lashed many parts of the region since Saturday evening. Though the family members and neighbours started the rescue operation after the incident, the boys could not be saved as rainfall and darkness hampered the rescue operation. The six injured had to wait for more than seven hours to reach nearby health centre as the local ravine was flooded. It was only around 8:30 am when the injured were shifted to a hospital where they were given first aid. The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Ramzan (10), son of Roshan Din, Ali Mohammad (11), son of Mohammad Aziz, Mohammad Sadiq (10), son of Saif Din, and Mohammad Din (8), son of Roshan Din, all residents of Makwal village of Billawar tehsil. The injured have been identified as Karim Din (50), son of Ilam Din, Mohammad Rafiq (15), son of Roshan Din, Abdul Majid (16), son of Karim Din, Tajdin (20), son of Karim Din, Alam Din (25), son of Mohammad Hussain, and Iqa (8), son of Nawab Din, all residents of Makwal. In the morning, local MLA Manohar Lal Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner SD Meena, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Basohli Rafiq Manhas rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Assuring the people that every help would be provided to the affected family and other people in the village, whose properties were damaged due to heavy rainfall, the administration mourned the tragic death of the four boys. However, the villagers complained that the injured could have been shifted to the hospital earlier if there would have been a bridge on the ravine. Meanwhile, overnight rainfall in Udhampur, Reasi and other areas also flooded the Tawi, which affected a number of Gujjar families. Though the situation is under control, the administration has alerted the men and machinery to deal with any eventuality if the rain again lashes the region. |
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Super-speciality hospital: Health Dept sets 40-day deadline
Jammu, August 19 Nearly 819 posts of various categories have been created for the super-speciality hospital, which as per the fifth deadline, are likely to be filled by the end of September. Many people have raised doubts over the announcement, as medical equipment and other infrastructure are still to be put in place. Moreover, the staff have not been trained properly to handle these equipment even as directions have been issued to officials to speed up the recruitment process. Minister for Medical Education RS Chib said, “A 40-day deadline for completing the process of engaging staff for various disciplines has been given and directions have been issued in this regard”. He said during a recent meeting chaired by him, issues like phase-wise shifting of departments, laundry, diet, medical services, canteen and medical shops were also discussed. “Other issues like parking, training of manpower in different super-speciality services, including handling of sophisticated equipment, residential facilities for the staff, besides various other matters relating to streamline the functioning of GMC, SMGS and Dental College were discussed”, the minister said. The hospital will have six super specialities, including cardiology, cardio thoracic surgery, urology, neurology, neuro surgery and nephrology. The hospital, which is under the administrative control of Government Medical College Jammu, has already missed four deadlines so far mainly due to delay on part of the executing agency - Central Public Works Department (CPWD) - to complete the project. Initially, the project was set to be completed in 2008, but the executing agencies had sought an extension to complete the project. The construction of the hospital was approved in February 2004 by the then Union government and work on the project was started during the tenure of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. For the Rs 120-crore project, the state has received Rs 100 crore from the Centre, while Rs 20 crore were contributed by the state government. About the hospital
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To wear mask or not? Traffic cops in dilemma
Jammu, August 19 Despite some precautionary measures being taken such as providing masks to the constables on duty and organising health camps to keep tab on their health, it was found that close to five per cent of the force suffers from various respiratory problems. A traffic constable posted near the Gandhi Nagar area said the heavy air pollution was taking a toll on every traffic policeman’s health. “On an average, every constable is required to put in two shifts of two hours each every day. This exposes us to thick smoke, exhaust fumes and scorching heat for the most part of the day. During our duty hours, it is impossible to sit and relax since we have to monitor the traffic movement constantly. I myself am suffering from a persistent cough and irritation in my throat despite having shown to the doctor regularly,” said the constable. Though the traffic department provides its personnel with masks but they are rarely used as it becomes difficult to perform duty effectively while wearing them. “If we wear masks throughout, we will not be able to blow the whistle on time whenever there is any traffic violation. Since we are required to verbally assist people and help clear the roads, it really become difficult to wear masks all the time,” the cop quipped. Manmohan Singh, SSP (Traffic) said, “Since there are health issues for on-duty traffic personnel, we have a police hospital which provides free medical aid and consultation to them. Any constable who complains of breathlessness or other ailment is immediately sent to the doctor. We also conduct regular medical camps for our traffic personnel in order to keep a check on their health.” Medical experts suggest that people put on duty in highly polluted and congested areas are more prone to respiratory disorders than others. Dr Ravindar Ratan, superintendent, Chest Diseases and TB Hospital, GMC hospital, said, “In such cases, the patients complain of chronic bronchitis, breathlessness, asthma, excessive sneezing or secretion from the nose. I will suggest them to wear the mask during the
duty hours.” |
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Drive against use of tinted glasses in Reasi
Katra, August 19 Reasi SHO Jatinder Singh Sambyal said the Supreme Court ruling did not allow use of film on windshields. “We are
strictly enforcing the apex court's direction that came into effect since
May 4. We are going to intensify the drive further,” Sambyal said. The Supreme Court had put a blanket ban on black films with any percentage of tint in its ruling in March this year. The court's judgement said, "We prohibit the use of black films of any visual light transmission (VLT) percentage or any other material on the safety glasses, windscreens (front and rear) and side glasses of all vehicles throughout the country." The court had ruled that traffic police "shall also remove black films from such vehicles”. "All vehicles with any percentage of tinted film have to remove them or challans will be issued and the tinted films removed immediately," Sambyal added. He also informed the drive would continue in future as well. |
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Two Vaishno Devi pilgrims washed away in Ban Ganga
Katra, August 19 He added that the deceased have been identified as Himanshu Sharma, 9, son of Sati Sharma, a resident of Balraj Nagar, Kaithal, Haryana, and Sahil Ahuja, 20, son of Surinder Ahuja, resident of Dharampur, district Mansa, Punjab. Himanshu was washed away during the wee hours today when he slipped into the Ban Ganga near Geeta Temple. "The police acted swiftly and tried to rescue him but due to fast current of water, he was washed away," Mohan Lal said adding that his body was recovered later. Sahil also washed away in flash floods in Ban Ganga last night when he was taking a bath. His body was recovered from Kanjali village, about 20 km from Ban Ganga, the police added. Three persons, who were trapped in the flash floods, were rescued by the police. One dies of cardiac arrest
A Vaishno Devi pilgrim died due to heart attack on his way to the holy shrine in Reasi district today. Police sources said the deceased has been identified as Himmat Patel (38) of
Pune. |
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Woman plots to kill husband, 3 arrested
Rajouri, August 19 The case was solved after the arrest of the deceased’s wife Shenaz Begum, her paramour and two supari killers hired to eliminate Rehman, police said. Sources said that after closing his grocery shop at Juglanoo on July 16, Abdul Rehman went to his brother Mahammed Gafoor’s house and went missing thereafter. DSP (Operations) Ayaz Sheikh said that Shenaz Begum, her brother-in-law Mohammed Aslam and her alleged paramour Abdul Queem had lodged a missing and kidnapping report at the concerned police station. Abdul Queem also happens to be the cousin of deceased Abdul Rehman. They told the police that Rehman was kidnapped by some unknown persons hinting towards militants, the DSP said. However, police recovered Rehman’s body in a mutilated condition. His face was beyond recognition as acid was thrown over it and his head was also decapitated. “The murder mystery was cracked down after we traced the call details of all the suspects and got the clue,” the DSP said. He added after interrogation, Shenaz confessed to committing the crime with the help of her Paramour Abdul Queem by hiring supari killers paying them Rs 50,000. The hired killers have been identified as Mohammed Aslam of Janglanoo who is also Shenaz’s brother-in-law and his associate Mohammed Shafi, police said. DSP Sheikh said the police had recovered Rs 22,500 from Mohammed
Aslam. |
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Rs 49 lakh to boost water supply
Jammu, August 19 Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla announced that for providing adequate and regular
drinking water facilities to the Sanjay Nagar, Bathindi, Sunjwan, Narwal, Chatta and Raika areas, the government has given Rs 49 lakh to the PDD for boosting water supply through Boria Intake Filtration Plant. He said 80 per cent of works had been completed and the remaining works were going on a war footing and would be completed by the next month. Boria Intake Filtration plant caters to the needs of many parts of the Gandhi Assembly segment. After improvement of infrastructure in this plant, supply of water in some outskirts of Jammu city would be improved. Bhalla said people of the city had faced a lot of hardships due to prevailing hot weather conditions and unscheduled power cuts during the summer season. He said to improve the power scenario, the government had approved Rs 200 crore for the purchase of additional electricity and termed this action as a vital decision to ensure fluctuation-free and regular power supply. He said the government had taken various innovative measures to develop all the rural pockets on a par with the urban centres by providing all basic amenities like safe drinking water, road connectivity, healthcare, education, electricity, sewerage besides better lanes
and drains. He said the UPA government has okayed Rs 7,300-crore state annual plan, including Rs 700 crore under the PMGSY for construction of roads in unconnected areas of
the state. |
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Excess holidays a boon for employees
Batote, August 19 Some of the institutions remained closed today because of the absence of students and teachers who were reluctant to attend their classes after availing consecutive holidays on August 15, 16 (Shab-e-Quadar) and 17 (Jumait-ul-Vida), 18 (Sunday) and 19 (Eid-ul-Fitr). The 2012 calendar has 100 holidays, including Sundays, and a working day between two holidays on 21 occasions. Besides, the secretariat employees avail of 20 extra holidays during the durbar move in early May and November. This year, there are four exclusive holidays each for Kashmir and Leh districts, three for Jammu province in addition to the three holidays each for Jammu, Kishtwar and Bhadderwah districts and one for Ramban district on account of local festivals, melas or yatras. Local employees who have settled their families in Udhampur or Jammu for the education of their children usually skip a working day between two holidays by taking a casual leave to be with their families, thus affecting the working in offices. The problem is more serious in Batote as many employees, especially teachers hailing from Kishtwar, Doda and Bhaderwah, are staying in Jammu and Udhampur. “Many people have got themselves posted or attached here as they find it easy to avail of such opportunities from here at they see it as a transit point,” said a teacher. The attendance in state government offices and banks also remained thin today because of the same reason. “Most of our teachers are from the Kashmir valley or other districts of Jammu province. They left on August 14 afternoon or August 15 morning after applying for a casual leave for Saturday, the only working day between five consecutive holidays. Because of the thin attendance of students and teachers, I had to keep the college closed, barring the office and library, today. We are left with only four months of academic year. It will be difficult to complete the syllabi,” said SS Bhalwal, Principal, Degree College, Ramban. “During a conference in Srinagar last year, I along with other colleagues had requested the government to shelve the 10-day summer holiday in the winter zone institutes. Even the 5th Pay Commission had recommended the cancellation of all holidays except three national holidays,” he said. “Our business has been suffering owing to this calendar,” said Sanjay Gupta, president, Beopar Mandal, Batote. |
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Sikhs demand quota in jobs, admissions
Batote, August 19 Their demands include ownership rights to the 1947 refugees over the lands left by them in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), nomination of a Sikh member in the PSC and the SSB, compensation to the orchardists for the loss of fruit trees during snowfall this year and tehsil status to Batote.Jasbir Singh, organising general secretary, said the collective bhog of 112 Akhand Path that had begun on July 12 was performed today. Manjit Singh lamented on the moral decadence among the youth, religious intolerance and bigotry. He called upon parents to inculcate spiritual and moral values in their children. Taadi Jatha led by Tarlochan Singh Salimpuri of Punjab, Bhai Jagtar Singh, B.Bachan Singh, B.Daljit Singh, Sant Pooran Singh, Ranjit Singh and Balbir Singh of Jammu were the prominent performers during the Samagam. |
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J&K contingent eye
better medal haul
Jammu, August 19 Sources said the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) has lauded the efforts of the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) for better preparation of contingent in multi-disciplines but it has emphasised for initiating efforts to uplift the standard of sports in
the state. As per the new list issued by the SGFI, J&K is presently ranked at No 15 making a slight improvement in terms of medal haul. Sources said the SGFI has emphasised on the need to explore the hidden potential of youth in J&K by imparting necessary training and better infrastructure to prepare them for the biggest sporting events like the Olympic Games and the World Championships. “J&K has been entrusted with the responsibility of hosting the U-17 boys football championship after the SGFI expressed satisfaction over the available infrastructure,” the official said. A five-member committee has been constituted by the SGFI for inclusion of a new discipline in the upcoming edition of school games. |
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War veterans’ rally held in Sunderbani
Rajouri, August 19 As many as 1, 000 war veterans, including, 18 women, attended the rally. Ravin Khosla reiterated the commitment of the Kalidhar Brigade towards supporting welfare schemes and measures for improvement of the quality of life and upliftment of veterans and veer naris of the region. The director, Zila Sainik Welfare Organisation, and the SDM, Nowshera, also spoke on occasion. Hony Capt Surjeet Singh (Retd) of 20 Punjab said, “We are grateful to the Kalidhar Brigade for organising veterans’ rally every year. Such rallies provide us a platform to come forth and convey the problems and difficulties faced by the veterans.” The Army veterans were informed about the welfare and financial schemes available to them. The rally aimed at addressing relevant issues pertaining to health services for the veterans and to acquaint them with various schemes and plans for enhancing their quality of life. Brigadier Ravin Khosla felicitated the war veterans and veer
naris. |
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12 J&K sport climbing meet from August 25
Jammu, August 19 About 200 climbers dawn from various districts of the state are likely to participate in the competition. The event will be conducted on the pre-fabricated 40ft high Tenzing Norgay sport-climbing wall in Sprawling Buds school premises. The competitions will be held in six categories of men/women (born in 1995 and earlier), boys/ girls (born in 1996 and after) and sub-junior boys/girls (born in 1999 and after). An office bearer of the mountaineering association said, “The championship is a regular feature of the association which helps in spotting out the budding climbers”. He said the association is organising adventure camps on regular basis to give the much-needed exposure to the climbers of the state. Param Club log win
Param Club thrashed Shiva Club by 3-2 today in the ongoing volleyball tournament at village Sarore. Param Club got to an excellent start by winning the first set with 21-15 margin but Shiva Club clawed their way back in the match with a comfortable win in the next set. The set score read 21-14. In the third set, Param Club held their nerves and clinched the set 21-18. It was do or die for Shiva Club in the fourth set to remain in fray and eventually they managed to surprise their rivals with a stunning 21-17 win to make it 2-2. The decider proved a real cliffhanger as both sides played out of their skins in a bid to seal the issue. In the end, it was Param Club who had the last laugh with a thin margin of 15-12. |
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15 JAT organises iftar party
Poonch, August 19 As many as 70 persons attended the party. Many religious leaders spoke about the importance of Islam and Rozas. The local sarpanches, maulvis and other prominent citizens of Mandi expressed their gratitude towards the 15 JAT Battalion for their thoughtful gesture of organising the iftar. Local religious leaders said the 15 JAT had made a valuable contribution in bringing normalcy in the region and also in the uplift of the locals. The efforts of the Army had succeeded in restoring peace in the region. By organising the iftar, the 15 JAT has strengthened the bonds of solidarity it shares with the local people. Col Harjeet Singh, Commanding Officer, 15 JAT, said, “India is a country of different religions and celebrating all religious functions together strengthens the brotherhood in
the area”. |
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JYM elects students’ wing
Jammu, August 19 He said since the youth and people of the state were losing faith in the existing ruling parties of the state, it is the right time to introduce the youth to a new ideology that is best suited for their needs. "JYM will emerge as one of the leading regional party from Jammu which will fight for the equal development of all the three regions of the state,” he said. Congratulating the newly elected students president and its team, Sharma appealed the workers to fight collectively for the cause of Jammu and play a bigger role against the discrimination. |
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Man, nephew electrocuted
Batote, August 19 Ramban MLA Ashok Kumar visited the bereaved family. He also spoke to the Ramban DC Shabir Ahmed Bhat, SP Anil Magotra and Executive Engineer, Sailender Kumar Manhas for the interim relief and compensation to the aggrieved family. The DC sanctioned Rs 5,000 each to the family members of the deceased. The MLA has demanded employment to one of the family members of each deceased besides compensation.
— OC |
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