The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Heavy Rain leaves city roads choked
Water enters houses in several localities; municipal corporation’s ill-preparedness exposed
Tribune News Service

Vehicles pass by a waterlogged stretch of the Satwari-Gangyal road; (right) a vehicle is stuck as a portion of a road caves in in Jammu on Tuesday. Tribune photos: Inderjeet Singh/Anand Sharma

Jammu, August 21
Overnight heavy rain clogged many roads in the city, leading to traffic chaos in the morning rush hours. Damaged roads further compounded the problems of motorists as vehicles were caught in mud, damaging several of these.

The rain exposed the ill-preparedness of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and other agencies as in many localities drains were overflowing after being choked by garbage. There was chaos on the Janipur-Bus Stand road, the Canal-Bohri road and Dogra Chowk as waterlogging slowed down traffic.

Dug-up roads at various places aggravated the problems of owners of two-wheelers as they found it difficult to drive through many parts of the city. A similar chaos was witnessed at the general bus stand, Gumat, Chand Nagar, Vinayak Bazar and the surrounding areas.

Roads and lanes dug up for laying of sewer lines added to the motorists’ miseries as they had great difficulty in wading through waterlogged roads.

The general bus stand presented an unhygienic look. Motorists had a nightmarish experience on pot-holed roads filled with rainwater. Rajni Koul, a resident of Janipur, said, “For the past one year, our road has been dug up. Due to continuous rain since last night, the road has become a pool of water and can lead to accidents.”

Vishal Gupta, a shopkeeper at Vinayak Bazar, said, “The main nullah passing through the area has been choked by garbage and is overflowing. Silt, polythene and garbage is littered all around”.

Water entered houses in the Preet Nagar, Gangyal, Nanak Nagar and Nai Basti areas, causing damage to property. Waterlogging at Bari Brahmana, Jewel Chowk, the science college area and other localities caused traffic disruptions during morning hours today.

The SRTC mechanical yard at Bikram Chowk was also flooded by the rain, affecting its functioning as the staff were not able to work.

Babu Ram, Joint Commissioner (Administration), MC, admitted that some localities such as Krishna Nagar, Rajinder Nagar and Gumat witnessed the problem of waterlogging this morning.

“We pressed men and machinery into service soon after the waterlogging problem came to our notice. The problem was solved immediately. In some localities, people faced problems because of road-widening work and laying of sewer lines,” he said.

0001 vehicle No. fetches Rs 1.6 lakh
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, the state today witnessed the highest-ever bid for the registration number of a vehicle. The number was sold for Rs 1.60 lakh in Samba district.

A senior official of the regional transport office, Samba, said registration number JK21A-0001 was sold in the highest-ever bid in the history of the state for Rs 1.60 lakh.

“The bid for the number started from Rs 20,000 and concluded at Rs 1.60 lakh, which was won by Bajan Pal Bhalla, who runs a hotel and restaurant on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway in the district,” the official said.

The department had organised a function on the premises of the Assistant Regional Transport Office, Samba, where a large number of bidders participated.

Earlier, registration number JK02AK-47 was sold in 2010 for Rs 1 lakh in Jammu district.

Centre has no policy to safeguard minorities, says Panun Kashmir
Assures support to people of the North-East in ‘this hour of crisis’
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
As the exodus of people belonging to the North-East from various parts of the country continues, Kashmir Pandits have alleged that the government has no policy to safeguard the minorities in the country, which has resulted in the present crisis.

During the past few days, thousands of students belonging to the North-East have fled Bangalore and Chennai after hate messages were spread through mobile phones and on Facebook.

“The Centre has no policy to safeguard the rights of the minorities in our country. Twenty-three years ago, Kashmiri Pandits were thrown out of their land and now innocent people belonging to the North-East are facing a similar situation,” said Ajay Chrangoo, president of the Panun Kashmir.

More than 12,000 people have fled from Bangalore after the hate rumours. Officials estimate that the number of people from the North-East, including students, residing in Bangalore is over 2.5 lakh.

Aditi Kaul, an activist of the Panun Kashmir, while reacting to the North-East crisis, tweeted, “Our displacement was from our homes; North-East residents can at least go back to their roots. Some newspapers claim that this is the biggest exodus, forgetting the huge figure of seven lakh Kashmiri Pandits.”

HL Chatta, secretary of the All India Kashmiri Samaj said, “We are with the people of the North-East in this hour of crisis as we know what exodus means.”

Pilot launches video telephony over landline
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 21
Union Minister of State for Communication & Information Technology (C&IT) Sachin Pilot today launched video telephony service over landline in the J&K circle.

Briefing mediapersons after the launch, the Union Minister said it was the priority of the government to provide best connectivity to the people of the state, especially those living in the border areas of the state.

He said Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was the first telecom service provider in the country to offer such high-quality video calling service. “BSNL customers can also avail of this service over their existing broadband connections,” he said, adding that video conferencing, which had so far been a costly affair, would now be easily available to business and government offices.

“The facility will also help treat patients in far-off and remote areas,” he said.

Pilot said with the launch of video telephony, organisations could have instant face-to-face meetings, sale reviews and training sessions at 25 per cent the current cost. He said apart from desk-to-desk calling, video phones could also be connected to large screens. Using the service, video calls could be made within India for just Rs 2.50 per minute.

The Union Minister said the BSNL would regularly come up with new offerings for the people of the state.

“The BSNL plans to spend Rs 55 crore in the state this year. It will also put up 150 new mobile towers in the state in 2012-13,” he said.

Referring to India Posts, the Union Minister said 1,695 post offices were currently operational in the state. He said 17 post offices had been modernised under Project Arrow at an expenditure of Rs 2.71 crore.

“Fifteen more post offices will be upgraded this year under the project,” he said.

The Union Minister announced that a new head post office would be established at Samba to facilitate people.

Traffic lights on the blink; motorists bear the brunt
Questions being raised over quality; allegations of a particular company being favoured
Sumit Hakhoo

Jammu, August 21
Installed with much fanfare, traffic lights at many places in the city are giving wrong signals while the timers at Satwari, Roop Nagar and Janipur are down with technical snags for the past many days.

Launched with much funface recently, traffic lights in Jammu have developed snags. Photo: Anand Sharma

The crucial signal timers are not working, which creates confusion among commuters in the city. A whopping Rs 2.50 crore was invested to install these lights at 30 locations in the Jammu.

Sources in the traffic police said questions were being raised over the quality of the lights, with allegations that the contract for the installation was allocated to a particular company in order “to extend favour to a senior officer in the Police Department”.

“The lights are ‘isolated and stand-alone type’ while those being installed in cities across the country these days are integrated clusters controlled by coordinated timing devices and operated by an automated control room, having separate CCTV cameras for identifying traffic violators,” said a source.

Though the project was taken up on priority to regulate vehicular movement in the twin capital cities, experts say in the absence of wide roads, the signals will further create a mess.

“At times, there are confusing signals and these lights unexpectedly start blinking or stop. At Roop Nagar, the timers are not working,” said Sunil Sharma, a government employee.

A local resident said, “On Sunday, at the Satwari crossing, the red signal continued to be displayed despite the count of the timer having ended and when the green signal resumed, the timer was not showing the count.”

A traffic police official said the problem with the traffic signals was that roads were not wide enough and the per kilometre concentration of vehicles was much higher than Chandigarh, New Delhi and other big cities.

Admitting that some technical snags had developed at some places, SSP (Traffic) Manmohan Singh said, “We have identified some places and technical teams from the company which installed the lights will rectify these within a few days.” He said the company was required to take care of the maintenance of the lights for two years.

The traffic lights project was delayed for long after it was announced by the state government. The plan was initiated in 2005, when the traffic department submitted a proposal to the government. Later, the administration constituted a task force, which had sent a report to the Home Department and it was decided to implement the project on the built-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) mode.

At present, the traffic scenario is in a mess. Lack of adequate staff with the traffic police and a phenomenal increase in the number of vehicles has further compounded the problem.

Stand-alone type
Sources said the traffic lights in the city were “isolated and stand-alone type” while those being installed in cities across the country these days were integrated clusters controlled by coordinated timing devices and operated by an automated control room, having separate CCTV cameras for identifying traffic violators

Protest against power cuts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
Residents of Janipur today held a protest against frequent power cuts in the area for the past few weeks and demanded regular power supply. They also alleged discrimination against the area in the matter of release of development funds.

Addressing the protesters, Sunil Dimple, president of the Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM), urged the Chief Minister to ensure that the residents got regular electricity.

Dimple said people were having sleepless nights due to unscheduled power cuts and low voltage. He alleged that the PDD had no satisfactory answer to these power cuts, adding that the voltage was so low that even inverters were not getting charged and electrical gadgets had become non-functional.

He warned that the JWAM would call for a bandh in Jammu if the power situation did not improve and regular water supply was not restored. He said the Chief Minister had announced an allocation of Rs 200 crore and additional power for the Jammu region, but nothing was visible on the ground. He alleged that the Chief Minister had misled the public by issuing such hollow announcements.

Dimple alleged that the government had not taken any step to improve the power and water situation. Ministers were enjoying in the Valley while people of the Jammu region were facing huge power cuts, he added.

Dimple said the construction work on a Rs 300-crore flyover was in full swing at Jahangir Chowk, Nati Pora, in the Kashmir valley while in Jammu the project had been delayed, which was ample proof of discrimination against the Jammu region.

“Work on the flyover and multi-storeyed parking lots at Panjterthi, Shalamar and the bus stand has not been started as yet and the coalition government is befooling people of the region,” Dimple alleged.

He demanded that work on the flyovers at Rehari Chungi, Jewel Chowk and Vikram Chowk should be started immediately.

He also demanded that traffic lights should be installed in all the spots identified by the government. He demanded that the Metro should be started in the city and circular roads should be constructed to solve the traffic problems being faced by the people.

SRTC honours 12 employees
MD exhorts staff to work hard to raise profit of corporation
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
With a view to boosting the morale of its employees, the State Road Transport Corporation today honoured 12 employees with gold and silver medals, besides a cash prize of Rs 5,000 and Rs 3,000 each and a citation, at the Rail Head Complex, Jammu, under its award scheme, which was introduced recently.

The medals were presented by Managing Director of the SRTC SJS Tandon. Senior officers of the SRTC and other staff members were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director said the employees were honoured for their exceptional contribution to the functioning of the corporation. He said a similar function was held in Srinagar last week in which various employees of the corporation were honoured.

He said due to the strenuous efforts of the employees, the SRTC was able to clear all its pending liabilities such as gratuity, salary on account of accumulated leave and undeposited provident fund of retired employees since 2002 and payment of dues of revised salary under the Sixth Pay Commission.

He asked the employees to work with dedication to further raise the scale of profit of the corporation, adding that its financial self-sufficiency would be beneficial for the employees.

He called for adopting innovative ideas so that additional services could be provided to the employees and their families. He hoped that the employees would work with zeal to make the SRTC a profitable unit.

Meanwhile, the Driving Training Institute at the Rail Head Complex, Jammu, which was imparting training for light motor vehicles has now decided to impart training for heavy goods vehicles as well.

Leaders express grief over road mishaps
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and senior party leaders have expressed grief over the tragic road accidents at Salar Pahalgam and the Bodimood area of Rajouri district in which several persons lost their lives.

A bus met with an accident at Salar Pahalgam. It was carrying passengers who were going on a picnic to Pahalgam from Sopore. A minibus skidded off the road on the Rajouri-Kotranka road this morning in which nine persons were killed.

In a statement issued here today, BJP leaders also expressed sorrow over the tragic loss of precious lives and wished speedy recovery of the injured.

Govt ignoring panchayats: BJP
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
The BJP has ridiculed the campaign launched by the Congress leadership in support of extending the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir. It alleged that the Congress had surrendered before the National Conference (NC) to enjoy power.

Addressing a gathering of elected representatives of panchyats at Dasal village and Dongi in Rajouri district, BJP MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma accused the NC-Congress coalition government of ignoring panches and sarpanches in the state.

On the last day of his tour to Rajouri under a special membership drive, he said the state government had deceived sarpanches and panches as nothing had been given to panchayats as promised by the government. Sharma said the basic problem in the state was the denial of justice to the poor. Demanding implementation of the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, he said nothing less than a central panchayati raj system was acceptable. He said sarpanches and panches were being meted out a raw deal in government offices. He said he had received many complaints from sarpanches and panches about misbehaviour with them in government offices. He assured the elected representatives of panchayats that he would raise this issue in the coming Assembly session.

Sharma ridiculed the Congress leadership for its failure to protect the interests of the people and said the party had completely surrendered before the NC for power and was not interested in the empowerment of panchayats. Vibodh Gupta, Yogesh Sharma, Kewal Sharma, Devinder Sharma, Bader Din, Mohammad Hanief, Balbir Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Darvinder Singh and Fazal Chouhan were among those who spoke on the occasion.

MLA talks tough
BJP MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma, while demanding the implementation of the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, said nothing less than a central panchayati raj system was acceptable

SCMA welcomes new administrator

Jammu, August 21
The Sainik Colony Members Association led by its Chairman Maj BD Pangotra gave a rousing welcome to the Deputy Registrar Udham Dass Sharma who had been appointed as the administrator of The Sanik Colony House Building Society Ltd, Jammu.

The members expressed their gratefulness to the commissioner secretary and the registrar co-operative society for their patient hearings and deci Jammu, August 21

The Sainik Colony Members Association (SCMA) led by its Chairman Maj BD Pangotra gave a rousing welcome to the Deputy
Registrar Udham Dass Sharma who had been appointed as the administrator of The Sanik Colony House Building Society Ltd, Jammu.

The members expressed their gratefulness to the commissioner secretary and the registrar co-operative society for their patient hearings and decision to dismiss the board of directors and take over the functioning of the society.

The members appreciated the efforts of Capt Anil Gour, president, JK Peoples Democratic Ex-Serviceman Wing, in taking up the cause of the members of Sainik Colony and raising it in various forums that helped in the dismissal of the board and appointment of the Deputy Registrar as the administrator . The residents briefed the administrator on various methods of embezzlements and illegal allotments of plots to the relatives of the chairman and the board of directors asking to take a strong action against them. - TNS

e-governance a boon for people

Jammu, August 21
The web portal launched by the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) for municipalities in the state has received a good response from the people.

The service was launched by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand recently to ensure the availability of municipal services like building permission, birth certificate, birth and death registration, e-tendering and public grievances on the web portal of the department. The aim was also to ensure transparency and efficiency in the working of the municipalities. e-governance will go a long way in providing a transparent and people-friendly administration.

The Deputy Chief Minister had said that “tools of the IT” would also be used to check master plan violations and ensure that no illegal constructions took place in cities and all development was in tune with provisions of the master plan.

“It is a good step as it will allow us to get information and essential details at the click of the mouse and will allow help us provide different services,” said Parveen Sharma, a local resident.

According to officials, under centrally sponsored projects, the use of IT services was being increased so that the delivery mechanism got strengthened. Meanwhile, the government has also started the process of master plan revision for Jammu and Srinagar cities and new master plans are being formulated for several other towns. Officials said once the draft got ready, it would be discussed with all stakeholders and would be adopted after necessary deliberations. On traffic lights, Tara Chand had claimed that the traffic lights in Jammu and Srinagar had considerably eased the traffic flow and it was now the duty of motorists to follow these signals. — TNS

Khajuria is chief of officers’ assn

Jammu, August 21
Ramesh Khajuria was elected as the new president of Jammu University Officers Welfare Association today. The elections for the posts of president, vice-president, treasurer and five executive members JUOWA were held in the office of the Director, Directorate of Sports and Physical Education.

BL Bhat and RS Dalpatia were elected as the vice-president and the general secretary respectively, while PP Sharma was elected unopposed for the post of treasurer.

Ashwani Kumar, Sumita Sharma, Saranpreet Kaur, Kailash Gupta and RS Dalpatia were elected as the executive members of the association. Prof Dhain Singh Bhau was appointed as the election commissioner. — TNS

Rape accused flees, rearrested; 2 cops suspended
RK Kichlu
tribune news service

Batote, August 21
A rape accused who escaped yesterday was rearrested by the Batote police today morning from outskirts of Batote.

Two cops accused of dereliction of duty were arrested and suspended. Taking advantage of the absence of the cops, the accused gave a slip to the police, when one of the cops got busy in taking tea and the other took the handcuffed accused inside the hospital for a medical check-up. Two cops identified as head constable Shashi Kumar and constable (SG) Prabhat Singh were immediately suspended and taken into custody for their suspected connivance yesterday. A case was registered against them under RPC 223 and against the accused under RPC 224.

Kashmiri Pandits hold protest
Demand enhancement in cash assistance
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
Kashmiri Pandit “relief holders” today held a rally in protest against the “silence” of the Centre on a proposal for the enhancement of the cash assistance for them. The rally started from the Relief Commissioner’s office.

Demanding immediate action on the enhancement of the relief, they hit out at the government for being silent on the issue. Addressing the rally, leaders said it was an irony that despite a rise in the prices of essential commodities, the issue of cash enhancement had not been taken seriously by them.

Even two months after the recommendations regarding the revision of the Prime Minister’s package of relief and rehabilitation and enhancement in the cash relief for Kashmiri Pandits were sent to the Home Ministry, the revision was yet to see the light of day, they alleged.

The leaders appealed the government to respond to their problems.

Inter-school competitions begins
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 21
The U-19 inter-school multi-discipline competitions organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) got underway at different venues here today.

The competitions, including badminton, table tennis, judo, taekwondo, wushu and yoga are being played at Indoor Complex, MA Stadium, GGM Science College, Mini Stadium Parade, KK Hakku Stadium and Green Fields, Gandhi Nagar.

On the inaugural day, weights and registrations of about 600 boys from various private and government institutions were completed.

A total of 16 teams are competing in the football event while 10 teams are competing in the basketball event for top honours.

Meanwhile, some of the outdoor events, including hockey, basketball, cricket, tennis-cricket and softball could not get a start due to rains.

Tirath Ram, District Youth Services and Sports Officer (DYSS) declared the competition open in presence of the officials of the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS). Tirth Ram asked the students to participate in the sports activities to keep their body physically and mentally fit.

Results:

U-19 Judo: Sourav of BSF School trounced Akshay Sharma of SMHSS in U-45 kg category.

U-19 Taekwondo: Vishal Mahotra of SP Smart School thrashed Ashu Singh Bandral of Oriental Academy in below 46 kg category. Gagandeep Singh of Oriental Academy dispatched Aman Subha of SRML Higher Secondary School.

Inter-district cricket tourney gets under way

Jammu, August 21
The divisional-level inter-district cricket tournament for U-14 boys organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) commenced at Udhampur today.

In all, nine teams of the Jammu province are participating in the tournament which was declared open by the MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia in the presence of Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director, Department of Youth Services and Sports.

Balwant Singh Mankotia exhorted the players to participate in the more physical activities. He announced a cash award of Rs 11,000 and Rs 5,000 for the winner and runner-up teams respectively.

The tournament is being organised under the supervision of Sukhdev Singh, District Youth Services and Sports Officer (DYSSO), Udhampur. — TNS

Six die in mishaps
Victims include five youths of Sopore
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 21
Six persons, including five picnickers, were killed and dozens others injured in different road accidents across the Valley on Eid. Five passengers were killed when a bus overturned at Sallar near the tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir.

The ill-fated bus was carrying picnickers to the resort from Sopore in north Kashmir.

Officials said two passengers were killed on the spot while the three others died at the hospital.

Around 20 passengers were injured in the accident, which occurred yesterday afternoon.

The five dead have been identified as Sayeed Ahmad Mir, Ishfaq Ahmad Mir, Firdous Ahmad Mir, Khursheed Ahmad Mir and Rameez Ahmad Bhat, all residents of Sopore town.

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and its senior leaders expressed grief over the loss of life in the accident.

In another accident in Kupwara district of north Kashmir, a cab hit a motorcycle, killing its rider. The pillion-rider was seriously injured in the accident, the official said.

Two persons were injured in separate roads accidents at Gulmarg in north Kashmir and Bijbehara town in south Kashmir, respectively.

Two more persons were injured in a road accident at Kangan in central Kashmir.

In Srinagar, two passenger busses collided while trying to overtake near Barzulla locality.

The officials said four passengers were seriously injured in the accident.

Tragedy strikes Sopore village on Eid
Amin Masoodi

Sopore, August 21
Tragedy turned Eid festivities into mourning when five youths of Adipora, Sopore, were killed in a road accident at Sallar, Pahalgam, last evening. A pall of gloom descended on the village, when the bodies of the five youths (four of them related to each other) reached the village this morning.

Wails of Zaiba (44) tore through the streets of Adipora as she lost her 23-year-old son in the accident. “I want to see him for one last time. I want to apply henna (mehandi) to his hands,” she screamed and fell unconscious.

The deceased included Sayeed Ahmad Mir, Ishfaq Ahmad Mir, Firdous Ahmad Mir, Khursheed Ahmad Mir and Rameez Ahmad Bhat, all below 25 years of age and residents of Mir Mohalla.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed when the grieving families received the bodies of their loved ones in the morning.

The village folk got together to grieve the loss. The outpouring of grief delayed the burial of the victims.

“It is an extremely painful moment for all of us. The poor boys who greeted us on Eid yesterday morning have left us for ever,” said Ghulam Hassan, a local resident.

The victims worked as labourers to support their families. They had left for the tourist resort of Pahalgam to celebrate Eid after greeting their families yesterday morning.

A Pahalgam resident, with whom the victims worked as labourers, ferried the bodies in his vehicle to the village.

“The poor youths could hardly afford a trip to Pahalgam on their own,” an aggrieved relative said.

The entire Sopore town joined the Adipora families in their grief, with people from neighboring villages visiting the families to express their condolences.

Eid spirit continues to grip Valley for second day
M Aamir Khan
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 21
Eid-ul-Fitr festivities continued for the second consecutive day across the Kashmir valley as people were seen visiting their relatives.

Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is celebrated for two days in the Valley, while Eid-ul-Adha scheduled to be observed in October is celebrated for three days.

While congregational prayers are held on the first day of Eid, people on the festive occasion visited their friends and relatives to extend greetings.

While public transport remained off road, locals jostled to catch a handful of buses to visit their relatives.

“I could not find a single bus yesterday and auto-rickshaws charged arbitrary rates. I was able to visit my relatives today,” said Abdul Rasheed, a resident of Rawalpora.

Children remained busy receiving Eidyaan (money given by elders as a gift on Eid). Many were seen visiting parks and bursting fire-crackers.

“Eid is enjoyed the most by children and seeing them enjoying the festival by wearing colourful clothes is a source of joy for elders,” said Muzammil Khan, a housewife.

While most government offices, business establishments and educational institutions remained shut, normal life isexpected to resume from tomorrow.

Visitors keep Omar busy
Scores of people from all walks of life called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his residence on the second day of Eid to convey their greetings and share the festive joy. “Omar received them with affection and reciprocated good wishes. He also wished them good health, well-being and prosperity,” an official said.

Chief Justice’s novel gesture
Allows 10,000 devotees to offer prayers at his residence
Ishfaq Tantry
Tribune News service

Srinagar, August 21
City residents got a rare treat on Eid when Justice MM Kumar, Chief Justice, Jammu and Kashmir High Court, who took charge recently, threw open the gates of his official residence at Sonawar and allowed thousands of women devotees to offer prayers in his compound.

The women had arrived at the shrine-mosque of Sa’ad Shahab located in the posh Sonawar area to offer Eid prayers.

Later, sweets were distributed among the devotees to convey a message of brotherhood and communal harmony. The Chief Justice allowed around 10,000 Muslim women to offer special prayers on the sprawling lawns of his official residence, which is adjacent to the famous shrine of Syed Yaqoub Sahib.

“When the women, who had arrived at the shrine could not find place to offer prayers due to heavy rush, the Chief Justice ordered the opening of the gates of his compound for the prayers,” a court official said.

“Sweets were also distributed on behalf of the Chief Justice among the devotees after the prayers,” he added.

The official said the gesture would send a message of communal brotherhood and harmony among the people of the Valley.

People termed it as a welcome step. “It is a wonderful gesture on part of the judge. It’s for the first time that any Chief Justice has opened his doors to the Kashmiri ethos and allowed people to pray in his compound,” said Nadeem Qadri, a lawyer at the High Court.

Welcoming the gesture, J&K High Court Bar Association general secretary GN Shaheen said: “People in the state are in need of justice and we hope gestures like these will also reflect in the decisions by the judiciary in the state.

Opening up
The Chief Justice allowed around 10,000 Muslim women to offer special prayers on the sprawling lawns of his official residence, which is adjacent to the famous shrine of Syed Yaqoub Sahib

Governor for promotion of water sports in state
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 21
Governor NN Vohra today underscored the need for promoting watermanship among youth by involving them in varied water sports as the state had numerous lakes and rivers.

He said this while addressing a meeting convened by him at Raj Bhawan here with a view to promoting watermanship activities among the youth of the state.

He said the youth of the state were highly talented and if provided opportunities, they could excel in various sports activities at national and international levels.

The Governor said the State Youth Services and Sports Department, State Sports Council, Naval Wing of the J&K Directorate of NCC, University of Kashmir and other agencies concerned needed to consider the proposal jointly for the conduct of water sports like swimming, sailing, rowing, boating, kayaking and canoeing.

“Dal and Mansar lakes along with other water bodies provide ideal locations for the promotion of aquatic sports and inculcation of adventure among the youth,” he said.

RS Chib, Minister for Youth Services and Sports, agreed to convene a meeting with officers of all departments and agencies concerned to chalk out a detailed action plan for promoting water sports in the state under one umbrella.

Referring to the need for bringing a much larger number of youth under the ambit of the NCC, the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the Kashmir and Jammu universities, stressed the need for setting up senior wings in the NCC in the institutions of higher learning.

He urged Prof Neelofar Khan, Dean, Students Welfare, Kashmir University, to consider urgent initiatives to establish a senior division of the NCC in the university.

Chib provided a detailed information to the Governor about the initiatives that had already been taken for the promotion of water sports in the state and the infrastructure and equipment presently available for the purpose.

He also gave information about the water sports events organised in the state in the past and those planned for September this year in Dal Lake.

Capt Aziz Lone, Naval Officer, NCC, gave details of the water-based activities being undertaken by the NCC in the state. He said there were 1,600 NCC Naval Wing cadets in the state. He also mentioned the constraints being faced by the Naval Wing.

Eidyaan: Children get fair share of joy
Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 21
A large number of children in the summer capital and other major towns thronged various parks to celebrate Eid for the second consecutive day. Some enjoyed the day by bursting crackers, while others played games. This gala time for children is likely to continue till the ‘Eidyaan’ (Eid pocket money) ruffles in their pockets.

Children play with balloons at Partap Park in Srinagar on Tuesday. Eid-ul-Fitr is time for youngsters to receive Eidyaan from the elderly. Photo: Mohd Amin War

Giving Eidyaan to children is an age-old tradition. Children receive the money from their elders and brings joy to youngsters as they can spend it they they like.

“I was waiting for this day for a long time. My joy has no bounds now that I have got Eidyaan. I can shop whatever I wish to,” said Faizan (14) from Jawhar Nager locality of the city.

With Eidyaan in their pocket, the Eid festivity is a time to rejoice for children.

Children in colourful dresses made merry in various parks of the city today. To add to their glee, many children were accompanied by their parents and relatives.

“Children collect money from the elders and spend the money according to their will. Unlike the elders who visit relatives and friends on Eid, for children this is the best opportunity to celebrate the festival the way they wish,” said Abdul Majeed, who accompanied his children to a city park.

Many parents confess that this Eid money makes the children happy. “Eidyaan is something kids always cherish. Their plans of spending this money starts a month before Eid,” said Fozia, a housewife.

Qazigund Industrial Estate remains a non-starter
Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, August 21
Almost a decade after the demarcation of land, the proposed site for an industrial estate at Vessu, Qazigund, along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, remains devoid of a single functional unit.

Industrialists already running units elsewhere had pinned hopes on the new industrial complex, coming up at an estimated at a cost of Rs 11 crore, given the fact that it had become increasingly cumbersome to get land in the already operating estates.

“Fencing is the only development work that the estate has witnessed so far. With no electricity, water supply and proper roads within the complex, it remains a distant dream for the people associated with industries to inhabit it for commercial purposes. This is proving to be a setback for the sector in this part of the Valley,” said Rauf Ahmad, who has been running from pillar to post to get land for an industrial unit.

A source said, “Lakhs of rupees are being sanctioned every year for the estate. However, the money gets released after March 25 and is required to be utilised within a week.”

“It is not possible to finish the work within a five or six-day time frame. We have been able to get the fencing part done and it’s a great deal given the apathy on part of the higher-ups,” said a source.

According to sources, this year, too, Rs 35 lakh was sanctioned after March 25 and had to be utilised till March 31, so their office tried to get the road to the estate constructed. But they could manage to construct only a dirt track

The fraternity associated with industries said the government while laying emphasis on industrial development in the Valley has failed to complete small projects in a decade.

“This shows the callous approach of the government regarding developmental projects,” said a unit holder.

The authorities however maintained that the pace of work on the estate had been satisfactory.

“It’s not an overnight process. There are so many things that need to be done, like road building, electricity and water supply,” said Mehrajuddin Kanue, Director Industries Kashmir.

He refuted the claims of the sources about the non-availability of funds and said, “Money is being released regularly for the project. We have money available even at this point in time.”