The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Jammu international cricket stadium project in limbo Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 The much-talked about project of the state government for constructing an international cricket stadium in Jammu is yet to get off the mark, courtesy red tape and the multi-crore scam in the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA). The JKCA, which was entrusted with the task to identify land for the purpose, complete tendering process and supervise construction work, had last year proposed to complete the stadium in two years and host international matches. But to the utter dismay of one and all, the foundation of the stadium has not been laid yet, thanks to bureaucratic hurdles. Official sources told The Tribune that the JKCA had identified 615 kanals at village Bajalta on the outskirts of Jammu city for this with an estimated cost of Rs 128 crore. The contour design of the stadium was prepared by the Pune-based Frish Manon and Prabhu Company, sources said. “According to the proposal, the state-of-the-art stadium will have a sitting capacity of over 40,000 spectators. Besides, 2,500 to 3,000 spectators will be seated in different corporate boxes,” sources said. The JKCA is headed by union minister Farooq Abdullah while his political advisor Mohammad Aslam Goni is its chairman. In September last year, the JKCA floated tenders and it was expected to complete the process by October 1. “Citing some ambiguities in the tender draft, the JKCA had fixed October 22 last year as the date for finalising the tendering process. It had received 27 national-level tenders from various construction companies,” sources said. As many as 21 companies are said to have qualified the criteria and out of which 17 purchased the tenders. Sources claimed the project hung in balance after unearthing of a multi-crore scam involving senior officials of the JKCA. “Since then, the project got virtually pushed into oblivion despite the JKCA had set the deadline of June 2013 for making the stadium operational. Ironically, it has failed to lay foundation till date,” sources said. “The then JKCA treasurer Ahsan Mirza and general secretary Saleem Khan were sacked in connection with their alleged involvement in the Rs 15-crore scam. Thereafter, Farooq Abdullah refused to lay the foundation for a cricket stadium as he has been awaiting the completion of ongoing investigations into the embezzlement of funds in the cricket body,” a JKCA working committee member said. “We want to expose the culprits. Unless the investigations reach their conclusion, no foundation will be laid for the cricket stadium at the proposed site,” another member said quoting Farooq Abdullah. Opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP, had demanded a CBI probe and also sought action against Farooq Abdullah. Muhammad Aslam Goni, JKCA managing committee chairman, could not be contacted for his comments as he did not respond to repeated phone calls. WHAT AILS THE PROJECT The JKCA identified 615 kanals at Bajalta village on the outskirts of Jammu with an estimated cost of Rs 128 crore In September last year, the cricket body floated tenders and it was expected to complete the process by October 1 Citing some ambiguities in the tender draft, the cricket body had postponed the date for finalising the tendering process The project did not move ahead after the unearthing of a multi-crore scam involving senior officials of the JKCA
	Bandh gets mixed response in Leh dist Yangchan Dolma Leh, September 21 Ladakh Bandh was observed today as part of the Bharat Bandh call given by the BJP and its allies yesterday to protest against the recent government decision of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI), hike in diesel price and putting a cap on LPG cylinders. The Leh unit of BJP had to postpone the proposed bandh yesterday in the district due to the arrival of Buddhist spiritual leader Saskaya Rinpoche in Leh as part of his ten-day-long Ladakh visit. Supporting the bandh call, all business establishments in Leh town remained closed from morning till afternoon. During the bandh, the entire Leh town wore a deserted look as there was very less movement of people. Transportation was not affected much during the bandh. Addressing a public gathering at the old bus stand in Leh town, BJP regional president and former CEC Chhering Dorje criticised the Congress-led Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh. He alleged the holding of general council meeting of LAHDC for approval of annual district plan in the month of September is an indication of inefficiency of the council. He said the meeting should be held in May or June keeping in view the short working season in the region. Dorjey said the annual district plan which is supposed to be increased by 10 per cent every year has remained same for the past two years.
	Boy ends life as teacher didn’t let him play cricket Arteev Sharma/TNS Jammu, September 21 A Class X student of the Army Public School (APS), Janglot, in Kathua district who died on September 17, has left behind a suicide note alleging his teacher of mentally cruelty as the latter “did not let him play cricket and forced to study”. Sources said the teenager wanted to become a cricketer but his class teacher wished him to pursue his academics seriously. The boy could not bear the pressure being exerted on him and decided to end his life. Vinay Sharma, the victim, hanged himself with the ceiling hook at his uncle’s residence at Patel Nagar in Kathua town last Monday. The school authorities today suspended the teacher following protests by the students and the deceased’s relatives. The police said it was awaiting the autopsy report and was also verifying the writing in the suicide note with the help of forensic experts. “We have started inquest proceedings under Section 174 of CrPC. The boy was found dead under suspicious circumstances. A board of doctors has conducted autopsy and we are waiting for the report. We are also trying to verify whether the deceased had written the suicide note,” Kathua SHO Chanchal Singh said. According to the suicide note, the copy of which is with The Tribune, the deceased wanted to become a cricketer but he could not play the game because of certain reasons. He added that his class teacher, whose name also happens to be Vinay, always laughed at him and forced him to study every now and then. Sources said the student was living with his uncle and aunt. The deceased’s uncle DR Badyal blamed that one of Vinay’s teacher used to harass him and therefore he was forced to take the extreme step. “Vinay used to complain against the teacher who had been harassing him for some time. Though I brought the matter to the notice of the school authorities, they did not act against the teacher,” Badyal maintained. Last evening, students of APS Janglot and relatives of the deceased staged a demonstration and demanded immediate removal of the teacher.
	India must continue talks with Pak and China, says Marshal Arjan Singh Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 21 Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh today said India should continue to hold talks with its neighbouring countries China and Pakistan. “It is important for India to continue having a dialogue with China and Pakistan,” the Marshal of the Air Force said after a wreath-laying ceremony held at the Srinagar Air Force Station on the outskirts of the city. The wreath-laying ceremony was held to pay homage to the personnel who lost their lives during the 1947, 1965 and 1971 wars and the Kargil operation, said Srinagar-based defence spokesman Lt Col JS Brar. Addressing personnel of the Air Force Station, the Marshal said: "As long as the country honours and remembers its martyrs there will be no shortfall of men to fight for her sovereignty. It is on their lives that we live and fight." Commissioned in 1944, the Marshal is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and is the only living five-star rank officer of the Armed Forces, Lt Col Brar said.
	Pathribal Fake Encounter GCM being held in Nagrota to ensure fair trial: Army Says Valley-based 15 Corps had contested case on behalf of accused officers Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 The Army, which began General Court Martial (GCM) proceedings yesterday against the accused Army officers in the Pathribal fake encounter case, maintained that to ensure fair and impartial proceedings the case had to be shifted to the Nagrota-based 16 Corps. The Army has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the accused Army officers, said Lt Col Rajesh Kalia, defence PRO of the Northern Command headquarters, in an official release issued here this evening. Following the Supreme Court order on May 1, the Army had taken over the case from the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, and thereafter attached these officers to its Nagrota-based 16 Corps, he added. Yesterday, the GOC, 16 Corps, Lt Gen AS Nandal, in his capacity as Commanding Officer had heard the charges levelled by the CBI against the officers and directed that the summary of evidence be recorded against them, said Lt Col Kalia. During the hearing, Lt Gen Nandal heard the evidence led by CBI Inspector Ashok Kalra, who had investigated the case. He also produced the “challan” which had been filed by the CBI in the CBI Court. All witnesses examined by the CBI during its investigation will now be told to appear before the officer recording the summary of evidence, said Lt Col Kalia. After the summary of evidence is recorded, the final charge sheet will be prepared for the next stage of proceedings, he added. About the change of location of the court martial proceedings, he stated that the GOC of the Valley-based 15 Corps had contested the case on behalf of the accused persons right up to the Supreme Court. Therefore, it was just and proper as also fair to the victims’ families that the proceedings be conducted by another commander of a different corps. On September 13 this year, the Army had ended speculations when it had started the court martial proceedings into the fake encounter which took place in 2000. While disposing of an Army appeal against the CBI in the case, the Supreme Court had on May 1 given the Army an option to choose between a court martial or civil trial of the accused Army men in the case. Consequently, the Army authorities had opted for court martial proceedings and had summoned family members of the five civilians who were killed in the fake encounter as witnesses in Nagrota on September 20. However, the families of the victims had refused to attend the proceedings on the ground that Nagrota is located over 300 km away from Srinagar. The case Five civilians were abducted in May 2000 from their homes, just days after 36 Sikhs were massacred by unknown gunmen dressed up in Army fatigues in Chattisinghpora in south Kashmir After the massacre, the Army had claimed to have gunned down five Lashkar militants responsible for the massacre of Sikhs However, the relatives of the abducted men grew suspicious of the Army claims. In 2002, the state government handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI The accused The CBI filed a charge sheet in 2006 against five Army personnel of 7 Rashtriya Rifles, who were identified as then Commanding Officer Colonel (now Brigadier) Ajay Saxena, Major (now Lt Col) Brijendra Pratap Singh, Major Sourabh Sharma, Major Amit Saxena and Subedar Idrees Khan
	Jugal front runner for post of BJP state chief Dinesh Manhotra /TNS Jammu, September 21 More than a dozen senior BJP leaders have been working overtime to replace state party president Shamsher Singh Manhas but two-time Nagrota MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma is emerging as the front-runner for the post as he has managed to win over various organisations of the Sangh Parivar. The term of the incumbent state president will end in December this year and the process for electing the new party chief had started with the beginning of the membership drive. Sources in the BJP said over a dozen leaders were eying the coveted post but the BJP leadership would take the decision after consulting various organisations of the Sangh Parivar. “Jugal Kishore is emerging as a consensus candidate because he is in the good books of the Sangh Parivar, which is going to play a key role in the election of the BJP state president this time,” said a source. This assumes significance because in the last election of the state president in 2010, the candidates proposed by the Sangh Parivar were outrightly rejected by the BJP leadership and Shamsher Singh Manhas, who had the support of two local BJP stalwarts, was appointed for this post. “This time the Sangh Parivar wants to appoint its own man for the post so the process was started much earlier to bring about a consensus,” a source said, adding that the beleaguered Sangh Parivar was looking for a young face to revive the shattered confidence of the cadre.
	JCCBL chairman Gupta joins PDP Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 A day after he was elected the chairman of the Jammu Citizens Cooperative Bank Limited (JCCBL), Dinesh Gupta along with his supporters today joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The move is being seen as a big boost for the PDP because as Gupta was considered to be close to a faction of the Congress and he has proved as capability as a good organiser in the just-concluded elections of the board of directors of the JCCB. Gupta-led panel swept the recently held prestigious elections. Sources in the PDP say the party MLC Sayeed Asgar Ali has played important role making Gupta join the party cadre. PDP patron Mufti himself welcomed Gupta into the party and hoped this would strengthen the party in the Jammu region. Buoyed over joining of Gupta, Mufti highlighted various steps taken by the previous government in eliminating discrimination against the Jammu region. The PDP patron said it was a matter of satisfaction for the party leadership that people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions were considering the PDP as their voice. “Due to its convictions and commitments, the PDP has emerged as a credible and strong political force in all the regions of the state,” Mufti said. He observed the PDP’s agenda of development was now being seen positively not just in the Valley but in Jammu and Ladakh regions as well. “People of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions are connecting themselves with the PDP. We have earned credibility and faith of people of all regions and sub-regions of the state,” he said. “Formation of the PDP in 1999 was a turning point in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. In a short span of time, the party has earned credibility and connected itself with the masses,” Mufti said.
	Poonch ‘rape’ victim remains untraceable Three accused Army men in police custody for past 8 days Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 The Jammu and Kashmir Police still does not know whether the woman who was allegedly kidnapped and raped by three Army men on May 19 in Mandi tehsil of Poonch district is alive or dead. The police has registered a case under Sections 366, 376 and 109 of the Ranbir Penal Code and taken into custody the three Army men who had allegedly kidnapped and raped the woman. While the Superintendent of Police, Poonch, Yougal Manhas, said he wasn’t aware about the latest development in the case, the Station House Officer (SHO) at Mandi police station, Ashiq Bukhari, said: “We can’t say if the woman has been killed or not. Our investigation is on.” The 38-year-old woman, a mother of three, had been allegedly kidnapped on May 19 and raped by three Army men from Mandi. Since then her whereabouts have not been known. “We have no clue about her whereabouts. The main accused, Jaswant Singh, had told us that he had sent the woman on a train from Jalandhar to Jammu on June 13,” said the SHO. “However, the three Army men are in our custody for the past eight days and we have been questioning them,” he added. A senior Army officer said: “Since the police wanted to question the three accused soldiers, we brought them from Assam and handed them over to the police.” The accused soldiers have been identified as Jaswant Singh and Manmohan Singh of Amritsar and Gurvinder Singh of R S Pura. All three are from 13 Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in Assam, the Poonch Senior Superintendent of Police, Shamsheer Hussain, had told The Tribune on September 10. Following the alleged kidnapping of the victim, her family had lodged a complaint with the police, which had registered a case at Mandi police station.
	Health Minister’s home town faces shortage of doctors Against 37 posts, only 10 docs appointed in Bhaderwah Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 The death of a person allegedly due to non-availability of doctors has again exposed that Bhaderwah, the native place of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, is facing shortage of doctors. A massive demonstration was held on Wednesday in the Sartangal area of Bhaderwah after the death of Man Singh of Kuntala village of Bani tehsil of Kathua district. Singh was going to Bhaderwah to meet his relatives when he died on the way. Sources said Man Singh had a heart attack on his way to Bhaderwah. He was rushed to the Sartangal medical centre where he died on Tuesday evening as no doctor was available at the medical centre. Singh’s death due to non-availability of doctors evoked a strong reaction from locals, who came out on the streets on Wednesday morning to hold a protest. The locals alleged that doctors who were appointed at the centre had managed to go on attachment to hospitals in towns. The protesters were pacified only after the SDM, Bhaderwah, Ravi Bharti, reached the spot and ordered an inquiry into the whole episode. “The local tehsildar has been asked to conduct the inquiry,” Bharti said while admitting that the entire Bhaderwah area had been facing a shortage of doctors. He said a doctor was appointed at the Sartangal medical centre but was on attachment to another hospital. “I have asked the CMO concerned to appoint a doctor at Sartangal as early as possible,” he said, adding that some mechanism would be adopted to solve the problem of the shortage of doctors in Bhaderwah and the periphery. Residents of Bhaderwah have been facing a shortage of doctors despite the fact that this area is a native place of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Local MLA Mohammad Sharief Niaz has repeatedly taken up the issue and demanded that doctors should be appointed in remote areas. Protests against shortage of doctors have become a routine affair in the area. During the visit of state Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma in June, people had held a demonstration in support of their demand for deputing more doctors. Not only the periphery, but even Bhaderwah town is facing the problem as out of the total sanctioned posts of 37 doctors only 10 doctors have been appointed in the Bhaderwah hospital. “The shortage of doctors is the biggest problem in this area”, said Shabir Ahmed Khan, a senior Congress leader, who alleged that the authorities were not taking the problem seriously.
	Scribes get insider’s view of defence life Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 The Directorate of Public Relations and White Knight Corps organised a valedictory function for the candidates who participated in a one-month-long defence correspondent course at Nagrota yesterday. A group of 30 journalists from different media houses from all over the country began their course at the naval base in Kochi on August 16. Then they were given an insider’s view of defence life at Pathankot air base and Mamun Army cantonment. The forward area tour started on September 13 where they were given a chance to stay in bunkers along the Line of Control (LoC) fence to get a feel of soldiers’ life. The team visited Corps Battle School in Sarol to have a first-hand experience of orientation training of soldiers who have been newly inducted into the Corps. They were also given chance to witness the way troops operate along the LoC.
	Radio jockeying a new hit among youth in Kashmir Bismah Malik Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 21 Voice of the youth in the Valley is not synonymous with protests and slogans anymore as many of them are turning to careers in which they want themselves “to be heard”. Radio jockeying is one such career option that is increasingly making inroads among youngsters here. A poster of the Big 92.7 FM that reads “It is your chance to be the next Big Voice of Kashmir” is turning heads of young girls and boys alike. The auditions for selecting the next radio jockey for the Big 92.7 FM which began yesterday have already received hundreds of applications. Not only this, youngsters are queuing up with their queries about such career options, especially those who find nine to five o’clock government jobs quite boring. The Reliance Communications has been the only the private national radio channel operating in the Valley for the past six years. There have not been many ventures in the entertainment sector either but that has hardly dampened the interest among the youth when it comes to pursuing unconventional careers such as radio jockeying. Presently, two RJs of the FM station are very popular among the younger lot. They are inspiring many aspirants to take up challenging jobs and breaking professional clichés. Valley’s first RJ who hosted shows for the FM channel was RJ Sara who gave up her law career and chose to experiment with radio jockeying which was hitherto a male bastion. She went on to become a household name here. Following her success, RJ Haya, RJ Sophie and RJ Nasir became popular names on radio in Kashmir. “Earlier, people had access to government-run radio stations which were not live round-the-clock and did not have much appeal among young people. Launch of the FM station was a welcome change which not only added more entertainment options but also attracted more youngsters towards radio jockeying as a career,” said Sheeba, an advertising professional. The young college and university students are ready to sweat it out for the current RJ auditions. “It is a golden opportunity for someone like me. Apart from having good communication skills, I have been anchoring at cultural programmes in the college. I have always wanted to do something different and this could be my chance to prove my mettle,” said Zeeshan, a science graduate.
	Minister reviews PDD functioning in Jammu Tribune News Service Jammu, September 21 Minister of State for Power, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Shabir Ahmad Khan reviewed the functioning of the Power Development Department (PDD) at a high-level meeting here on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, Sudanshu Panday, Development Commissioner, Power, Manzoor Salroo, secretary, technical, Asgar Ali, chief engineers and other senior officials of the PDD. The minister took a detailed review of various ongoing schemes, including status of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana projects, upcoming grid stations, installations of 33 KV shunt capacitors and their commissioning. He also reviewed the measures taken by the department to improve the revenue realisation across the division He directed the officials to double their efforts to ensure time-bound completion of all the ongoing power infrastructure development projects taken up to overcome the system constraints.