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Cholera spreads to Pattan
Streetlights along national highway lying defunct
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Ailing Kokernag sub-district hospital needs care
Education Department’s claims fall flat
Ahead of convocation, KU hostelers told to vacate rooms
EX-Chief Election Commissioner visits KU
Governor for implementation of schemes for differently abled
Speaker reviews arrangements for Assembly session
Farmers’ awareness camp held at Shopian
Preserve rich cultural heritage of Kashmir: Mir
MLA to press for Afzal’s clemency during Prez visit
Drug menace spreads tentacles in Kashmir
Birth anniversary of Sri Chand celebrated with fervour
Devotees offer prayers during the 518th birth anniversary of Sri Chand at Chandra Udaseen temple in Srinagar on Monday. photo: Yawar kabli
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Cholera spreads to Pattan
Baramulla, September 24 Baramulla CMO Dr Mohd Younis said at least 21 persons have fallen prey to cholera and a few of them seem to be suffering from gastroenteritis. “At least 21 persons in Pattan and a few in adjoining areas have got the infection. A few of them may be suffering from gastroenteritis,” he said. The official said all necessary drugs and IV fluids have been procured and teams of doctors were spreading awareness about the symptoms and prevention of the disease. “There is no need to panic. The infection will be contained in due course of time. People in the affected areas must consume boiled water and also keep the surroundings clean,” Dr Younis said. Quoting reports of some other tests received by his office today, Dr Younis said many victims, including women in Tangmarg areas, were suffering from gastroenteritis. To a question, he said, “Hopefully, the infection may not spread further. It has been contained to a good extent”. Cholera is a water-borne disease and the chances of its outbreak loom large in summer season. It is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or contaminated water. Cholera is the most feared epidemic because of its severity. Abdominal cramps, dehydration, diarrhoea, dry mouth, excessive thirst, leg cramps, low urine output and low blood pressure are some of the common symptoms of cholera. The infection seems to be widespread in Kohipora, Kunzar, Suckkar, Karihama, Miahen, Qazipora, Vulgam, Gushi and Taratpora villages. |
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Streetlights along national highway lying defunct
Anantnag, September 24 People from the civil society of Pampore said, as a step towards the community development, residents of Pampore town amicably decided that the money received as compensation by the district administration for the state land acquired for highway widening would be used for different community development exercises. “Out of Rs 1.5 crore received as compensation, Rs 37 lakh were earmarked for the installation of lights along Sempora-Gaelender stretch of the national highway,” said Abdul Salam Mir, general secretary, Falah-o-Behbood Committee, Pampore. He said the decision to install the lights was taken keeping in view the absence of any lighting arrangement along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which has become the biggest reason of frequent accidents. “However, it took the municipal committee of Pampore three years to get the lights installed,” said Abdul Salam. Other members of the civil society said, “Now that nearly three months have passed since the installation of the lights, officials in the PDD are showing reluctance in getting these lights connected to the power supply,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a member of the Committee. He said the authorities promised to get the lights connected to power supply by the end of Ramadan month this year, but nothing has been done in this regard to date. Sources said the PDD was adamant that the Municipal Committee, Pampore, should clear their dues with the department first and only then the streetlights would be connected to power supply. Executive officer, Municipal Committee, Pampore, said, “That is not an issue. I have been talking to the PDD officials regularly and it’s just a matter of time before the lights get functional.” He said the inspection wing of the PDD was yet to submit their report and electricity supply to the poles would be started within a week’s time. |
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Ailing Kokernag sub-district hospital needs care
Anantnag, September 24 Locals said the hospital was sanctioned in 2002 by the then state Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed with an aim of improving healthcare facilities in the area. However, after all these years, the authorities have failed to deliver the promised healthcare system, rendering it no better than a primary health centre (PHC). “Right from the beginning, the hospital has been short of staff. We hoped that its condition would get better with the time but instead of improving, it is worsening by the day,” said Fayaz Ahmad, a local resident. He said apart from being short of manpower, doctors as well as paramedics, the hospital lacks basic facilities like electricity. “Electricity is the biggest problem that the hospital is facing right now and it affects the working of the hospital to a great extent. Even the X-Ray machine
remains defunct most of the times,” said Fayaz Ahmad. Other locals said patients are referred to hospitals in Anantnag and Srinagar frequently because of lack of proper equipment in the hospital. “There is only one ambulance available in the hospital and in case of emergency, one can only pray that it is not busy,” said Javaid Ahmad, another resident. The authorities, however, refuted the claims that the hospital was under-staffed but acknowledged the other issues that the hospital was facing. “We are looking into the issue of electricity supply to the hospital and
hopefully it will be sorted out soon,” said Dr
Gulzar Ahmad, Chief
Medical Officer (CMO), Anantnag. He said the hospital would get another
ambulance soon as nine new ambulances have been sanctioned for the medical block. |
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Education Department’s claims fall flat
Baramulla, September 24 The school building was damaged in an earthquake in 2005 and it has not been re-built since then. Due to acute shortage of space, the students and teachers are facing a lot of problems. The students are forced to sit in one small room. “The school building is unsafe and poses a risk to the lives of students and teachers. The building was damaged in an earthquake in 2005 and it has not been repaired since then,”
said a teacher. The students said the classrooms become noisy and chaotic due to lack of space. “We are unable to concentrate on lectures as we are forced to sit in one classroom due to shortage of space,” said Irshad Ahmad, a Class VII student. Rain makes the matters worse. “The roof is porous and the rainwater flows into the classrooms. The classes are abandoned when it rains heavily,” said a Class VIII student. For about six months till June this year, the teachers had hired a room for additional accommodation but the same was vacated following landlord’s insistence. “For about six months, we accommodated at least 40 students in another room but we had to vacate the room as landlord needed it for his personal use,” said another teacher. The parents said future of their children was at stake due to negligence of the authorities. “The future of our children is at stake due to the negligence of authorities. In spite of repeated pleas, the authorities have done nothing to mitigate the problems of students and teachers,” said Abdul Ahad. Despite repeated attempts, director school education could not be contacted for his comments. |
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Ahead of convocation, KU hostelers told to vacate rooms
Srinagar, September 24 The students have been directed to shift from the hostel premises on September 25 and return by September 28. This decision has led to anger among the hostel inmates, particularly girls who come from far-flung areas of the Valley, Jammu and Ladakh regions. The university has not even made alternate arrangements for the hostellers for these three days, leading to resentment among the students. The teaching work would also remain suspended for these three days in the wake of annual convocation arrangements. The three girls’ hostels on the campus house 700 girl students while there are approximate 500 boys, including resident scholars, staying in the hostels. Students alleged that the university was going overboard with the security arrangements of the high-profile guests at the cost of their inconvenience. The Kashmir University Students Union (KUSU) has extended its support to the hostel inmates and called for extensive protest against the authorities. A KUSU statement said it has directed the students of the university to boycott the event and observe the week of September 24-30 as black week. The students would wear black bands and hoist black flags in defiance of the university circulars. “Have they even thought where we would go. Most of us come from far-off places in the Jammu and Ladakh divisions and it is not possible for us to go home and return within three days. The problems for girls are more as it is not easy to find alternative private accommodations in the town,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a resident scholar.
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EX-Chief Election Commissioner visits KU
Srinagar, September 24 The lecture was organised by the Department of Students Welfare, University of Kashmir, during which he spoke on the importance of votes. Acknowledging about the shortcomings at the university, especially the influx of money, berth to those with criminal background and ticket to youths in elections, Chawla referring to the department of Political Science, Kashmir University, said “Money in the elections and entry to those who have criminal background is still an issue for us. We would like to have some working group of students from the University who may study the election models across the world and devise a way to ensure clean and corruption-free elections in the country.” “In 2008 elections in Rajasthan, a single vote decided the fate of Chief Minister and the person who lost by that single vote would have been the Chief Minister of Rajasthan today,” said Chawla . Chawla said in 2008, the commission had to set a polling booth at Zanskar at a height of 16,000-23,000 ft above the sea-level, which comprised of only 23 voters only to ensure that even those 23 get the chance to exercise their right, he said. While explaining the electoral reforms and comparing the statistics of 2004 and 2009 general elections, he said there had been an exponential growth in suffrage from 40 crore to 70 crore. “Voter card is the powerful and important form of identity and every citizen must seek its possession. It is after our endeavour that today 92 per cent of the population holds the EPIC card which counts up to 582 million,” he said. He said holding an election to 840 million registered voters with such an efficacy is an achievement in itself as being the largest management exercise across the globe. University of Kashmir Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat said the University is providing opportunities to the students and faculty members to interact with the veterans in the field and learn from their experiences. Department of Political Science head Prof NA Baba said “Conducting elections in India is hard task due to tremendous challenges, particularly where people are separated with geographical, cultural and other barriers.”
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Governor for implementation of schemes for differently abled
Srinagar, September 24 “The Governor and Social Welfare Minister discussed the implementation status of various important schemes with an objective of promoting the welfare of economically weaker and socially neglected segments of the population,” an official said. The governor urged the minister to ask her officials to devote extra attention for the effective implementation of various schemes and programmes for enabling the welfare of the differently abled persons, particularly the measures which would enable such persons to secure employment, the official said. The timely utilisation of resources and effective implementation of the Centrally sponsored schemes were also discussed at the meeting. The Social Welfare Minister briefed about various measures planned for securing the
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Speaker reviews arrangements for Assembly session
Srinagar, September 24 Lone chaired a high-level meeting of police and civil administration officers to review the arrangements for forthcoming Assembly session, including security, parking facilities, uninterrupted electricity and water supply, issuance of security passes, coverage through print and electronic media by the government. The meeting was attended by the Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Mohammad Sartaj Madni, DGP Ashok Prasad, ADGP Ram Lubhaya, Kashmir divisional commissioner Asgar Samoon, general administration department (GAD) secretary Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad, Kashmir IGP SM Sahai, IGP Traffic Munir Khan, Assembly secretary M Ramzan, Srinagar district development commissioner Baseer Ahmad Khan, information director Zaffar Ahmad, estates director RK Koul, SMC commissioner Dr Qasba, Law special secretary Farhat Tasneen, Srinagar SSP Aushiq Bukhari, Kashmir floriculture director, JKPCC managing director and other officers of various departments and Assembly Secretariat. "Stressing for ensuring fool proof security arrangements during the session, Lone said the police department has to play a vital role in making the session safe and comfortable for all the ministers, legislators and officers of the government, including the media persons," an official said. Lauding the role of security agencies and civil administration for making the previous budget session a grand success, Lone hoped that the coming session will prove to be fruitful and significant for all the stakeholders of the state.
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Farmers’ awareness camp held at Shopian
Srinagar, September 24 The camp was organised under the supervision of sub-divisional agriculture officer Mohammad Shafi Malik. The organising committee of the event consisted of AEOs Showkat Ahmad, Amarjeet and Naqashbandi. The aim of the programme was to apprise the farmers about the latest techniques to increase production of the agriculture crops. The farmers were provided the basic know-how of different agricultural practices. The camp was attended by an impressive gathering of about 500 members of the farming community. All the top brass of district civil administration, police and military officers were present on the occasion. The awareness programme was held under the directives of Shopian DC Mohammad Javaid Khan. Different department exhibited their stalls in the awareness camp. The farming community expressed their satisfaction over the conduct of the agricultural awareness camp in the area.
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Preserve rich cultural heritage of Kashmir: Mir
Srinagar, September 24 DPN president said while addressing a one-day party Convention of Sangrama Constituency held at the party headquarters. "Cultural ethos is our identity and as a nation it should be dearer to us than anything else. Some people want to obliterate our centuries old heritage," he said. Referring the empowerment of people of Kashmir, DPN president said the mission of the party was to strengthen the economy of the people. "I ask people here to take the path breaking decision for having economic independence. There is a need for structural change to harness the potential of the qualified and skilled human resource of the state for peace and development," he said. He said the energy of the youth in the state was exploited by emotive slogans during the last 63 years. "Our party has been working hard to aware the masses about their potential and provide them a platform to utilise it judiciously,” Mir said. The convention was also addressed by the DPN vice-president GM Bhavan, chief spokesmen of the party Shazadi Simon, general secretary Nazir Dailgami, youth president Muzafar Reshi, Basharth Ahmad, Masrat and other senior leaders and workers of the party.
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MLA to press for Afzal’s clemency during Prez visit
Srinagar, September 24 The President is scheduled to visit the Kashmir valley on September 26 and will next day hand out medals to meritorious students at an annual convocation at the University of Kashmir. Rasheed said he voted for Mukherjee in the Presidential election as he had been "assured" by the former Union Finance Minister of a "sympathetic consideration" to accept Afzal’s mercy petition. “Now that Mukherjee is visiting the state as the President of India, we want to remind him of his assurance and also to communicate him the voice of hearts of millions of Kashmiris that Guru should be released,” Rasheed said addressing a rally at Vajhama village in his Langate constituency in north Kashmir. Guru, who was handed over a death punishment for his role in the 2001 attack on Parliament in New Delhi, has appealed for clemency. Guru's mercy petition, which has led to deep divisions, is pending with the President. Rasheed, an independent and highly outspoken legislator from north Kashmir, has often raised Guru’s clemency case. Last year, his move to pass a resolution in the state Assembly seeking support for Afzal’s clemency had led to the disruption of the session on several occasions and the resolution was never passed. Rasheed said those who are campaigning hard for Sarbjeet Singh’s release deserve full support and "at the same time they should raise their voice for accepting the mercy petition of Guru". Sarabjeet remains jailed in Pakistan where he awaits capital punishment after being convicted for carrying out blasts in Lahore and Multan in 1990. “We support release of Sarbjeet Singh and that of Afzal Guru,” Rasheed said. He said his peaceful sit-in protest is also to draw the attention towards the “deteriorating condition of dozens of Kashmiris, languishing in different jails all over India, and is to press for their early unconditional release”.
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Drug menace spreads tentacles in Kashmir
Kupwara, September 24 The accused were identified as Farooq Ahmad Chohan, Dilshad Ahmad, Showkat Ahmad Chakbari and Riyaz Ahmad Chakbari - all residents of Dardpora village. Lalpora Lolab SHO Tariq Ahmad said six other youths wanted in the case were still at large and the police had launched a hunt to nab them. “A group of youth in few areas of Lolab are using drugs and doing the lucrative trade. They have cultivated Charas near the forest area in Dardpora and some other villages,” he said. The officer said police teams have been formed to nab many youths involved in the trade. “Soon we will destroy the bhang cultivated in Dardpora and its adjoining areas. It is difficult to move to the areas without adequate manpower as these areas are close to forests,” he said. The youth in villages, including Gujjarpati, Muqam, Devar, Madianpora and Warnow, are involved in the trade. Since February, Kupwara police station has recovered brown sugar, charas, codeine and other prohibited drugs worth lakh of rupees. The recovery of drugs includes at least 380 bottles of codeine commonly consumed by the addicts to overcome stress. Over 24 youths had been arrested on the charges of consuming drugs and doing lucrative trade. The situation is no better in Baramulla. The police had registered four cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and at least five youth had been arrested for using drugs. Over 12 criminal cases had been registered in the town against youths for consuming drugs. However, over 12 youths had voluntarily reported to the de-addiction centre in the town to get rid of the menace.
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Birth anniversary of Sri Chand celebrated with fervour
Srinagar, September 24 Devotees gathered for prayers at the temple located near the Residency Road in the morning. Udaseen Trust vice-president Vishwanath Sehgal said the temple is 500 years old and was revered because of a chinar tree planted by Sri Chand during his visit to Kashmir. Sehgal said around 1,000 devotees visited the temple throughout the course of the day. The celebrations started with ‘Ganesh poojan’ and ‘Sri Chand poojan abhishek’. It was followed by ‘Chandra Mantra Wani Paath’ and ‘Pooran Ahuti’ and ‘Havan yagya’. The poojan of the chinar tree planted by Sri Chand was performed later. Well known Sufi-singers Dev Dildar and Baba Balbir Bedi also performed on the occasion.
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Cholera has spread to Pattan and few of its adjoining areas in north Kashmir. Seven patients of Tangmarg had tested positive for the disease yesterday.
Kashmir University has asked around 1,000 hostelers living in five hostels on the university campus to vacate their rooms ahead of annual convocation, scheduled to be held on September 27, for ensuring “extra security measures”. The convocation would be attended by President Pranab
Mukherjee, Governor and Chancellor of Kashmir University NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the university.
Srinagar, September 24
Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo called on Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here today.
An awareness camp was organised by the Department of Agriculture, Kashmir, to acquaint farmers with latest farming techniques.
The camp was organised under the supervision of sub-divisional agriculture officer Mohammad Shafi
Malik. The organising committee of the event consisted of AEOs Showkat Ahmad, Amarjeet and
Naqashbandi.
The 518th birth anniversary of Sri Chand, elder son of Guru Nanak Dev, was observed with traditional fervour at an old temple here today.
Devotees gathered for prayers at the temple located near the Residency Road in the morning.
