|
|
|
|
|
Congress says can’t provide security to each sarpanch
Undermining panchayats an NC-Cong conspiracy: BJP
Block development council poll soon
|
|
|
Omar lacks confidence to save panchayat members: Mufti
CM approves ring roads for
Srinagar, Jammu
UNHCR team meets Myanmar refugees
Health sector on life support system across state
Creamy layer income slab for OBCs increased
Jawan, two ultras killed in Handwara gun battle
Film fury: Five minors held for pelting cops with stones
7 yrs on, police clueless about 5 missing labourers
|
|
Congress says can’t provide security to each sarpanch
Srinagar, September 25 “Security cannot be provided to every sarpanch and panch,” Soz said while addressing a press conference here. He said this after the killing of a deputy sarpanch in north Kashmir earlier this week that had led to submitting of resignations by several panchayat members. Three Panchayat members have been shot dead in the Valley this year. Stating that the attacks on panchayat members were being probed, Soz did not rule out “personal rivalries” behind the killings. “Sometimes there are personal rivalries, it (attacks) is not always militancy related,” he said. Soz said the Congress “will fight” for the implementation of 73rd Amendment to the Constitution regarding the empowerment of panchayats. He said the state should either implement the Amendment or incorporate the provisions of the Act. Soz also alleged that “some close aides” of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were “sabotaging” the implementation of the Amendment in the state. Regretting that the panchayats had not been adequately empowered, he said he had written to several deputy commissioners regarding panchayat empowerment. “Whenever we talk to sarpanches, they say they have not received any powers. I wrote to many deputy commissioners urging them to talk to the panchayat members but there are many weaknesses in the work culture,” Soz said. The JKPCC chief claimed that the panchayt members were suffering from “inferiority complex” as they were not able to “do the work” of people due to lack of empowerment. When asked why the government was not paying heed to the Congress demand when it was its coalition partner, he said: “The Amendment has to be implemented.” Soz said he had also written a letter to the Chief Minister seeking implementation of the 73rd Amendment. |
|
|
Undermining panchayats an NC-Cong conspiracy: BJP
Jammu, September 25 Taking a cue from the decision of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to not allow the resolution in the House to extend the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP said the coalition parties were unanimously against the empowerment of panchayat members. “Publicly, Congress leaders vouch for the 73rd and 74th amendments but in reality, they are hand in glove with their coalition partner National Conference to deprive the panchayat members of their constitutional rights,” alleged BJP MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma while interacting with mediapersons along with other MLAs here today. “Our resolution, which calls for implementation of the provisions of the 73rd and 74th amendments, was disallowed. This indicates that the NC-Congress ruling coalition is not serious about delegating powers at the grass-roots level. The Congress, on whose support this government is surviving, owes an explanation on this issue,” said Ashok Khajuria, BJP MLA from Jammu East Assembly segment. Congress leaders, including Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saif-ud-Din Soz, have been vociferously demanding the extension of the 73rd amendment to the state. The National Conference, on the other hand, refused to implement this amendment, arguing that the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act was powerful enough to empower panchayats. Following the decision of the Speaker to disallow the resolution in this regard, the BJP has got an opportunity to corner its arch rival Congress on this issue. “Not only the local Congress leadership, the national leadership of the party, too, has been claiming about strengthening Panchayati Raj institutions but in reality, the party is not interested in delegating powers at the grass-roots level,” Khajuria pointed out. “The passage of the resolution by the Assembly would have effectively empowered the panches and sarpanches and would have made them effective tools of social change in the villages,” argued
Khajuria. |
|
|
Block development council poll soon
Srinagar, September 25 “The notification for the BDC polls will be issued in the first week of October and the process would be completed within November,” Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar said while interacting with mediapersons. “By putting in place the third tier of the Panchayati Raj system, we will be ensuring effective decentralisation of powers,” he said, adding that the BDC elections will further strengthen the Panchayat Raj in the state. Sagar said the government was sincere in ensuring the democratic decentralization of powers and in this regard the panches and sarpanches had already been empowered with funds and charge of 14 vital departments. “The major recommendations and pre-requisites of the 73rd Amendment have already been incorporated in the Panchayati Raj Act of the J&K state,” he said. The Congress has been demanding adoption of the provisions of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India in the state to empower the sarpanchs and
panches.
|
|
|
Omar lacks confidence to save panchayat members: Mufti
Jammu, September 25 With the killings of panchayat members followed by resignations of panches and sarpanches generating a debate in the political circle, former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today joined the bandwagon saying the Congress, being a coalition partner, was equally responsible for the mess. “The present dispensation has systematically undermined democratic institutions including the panchayats and the Congress is equally responsible for this undemocratic deed of the government,” Mufti said while addressing a meeting of the office bearers of his party at Jammu. He observed that the decision of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take the matter of panchayat members’ killings to the Unified Command reflected his “helplessness”. “If those at the helm of affairs are lacking in confidence, how can they revive the faith of the people?” he questioned while referring to the insecurity among panchayat members following the killings. The PDP patron was of the opinion that “deceitful tactics” adopted by the ruling coalition to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institution had already demoralised sarpanches and panches and the recent killings had further shaken their faith in the system. “The undermining of democratic institutions will only fuel alienation among the people,” he cautioned. Mufti said there was total chaos and anarchy in the state which was the outcome of wrong policies of the coalition regime. “From the day this government was formed, there is instability and uncertainty in the state and the situation is worsening with every passing day,” he said. He said the urban local bodies’ elections had been scheduled for February, 2010, but the government had been delaying them. Observing that there was no agreement between coalition partners National Conference and Congress, he mentioned that the Deputy Chief Minister, who belongs to the Congress, also holds the portfolio of the Urban Housing Development Department so the Congress was also responsible for the delay in the elections. ‘Omar appears helpless’ The decision of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take the matter of panchayat members’ killings to the Unified Command reflects his helplessness. If those at the helm of affairs are lacking in confidence, how can they revive the faith of the people? asked PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed |
|
|
CM approves ring roads for Srinagar, Jammu
Srinagar, September 25 While approving the projects at a meeting with high-level officers of the National Highway Authority of India
(NHAI) and the Jammu and Kashmir State R&B Department here, the Chief Minister directed the NHAI to formulate the detailed project reports and put forth the proposals to the R&B Department for their
finalisation. "The ring road for Srinagar will start at Galander and meet the national highway at the Narbal junction in phase-I of the project. It will be a four-lane road with a scope for making it six-lane in future. Under phase-II of the project, a two-way road will start at Narbal and meet the national highway in
Ganderbal," an official spokesman said. The project is likely to cost Rs 1,195 crore in phase-I and Rs 448 crore in phase-II. The road length in phase-I will be 34.72 km and 27.2 km in phase-II. In the proposed four-lane project from Galander to
Narbal, there will be 155 culverts, two overbridges, two flyovers, five major junctions, 17 minor junctions and one toll plaza. The two-lane road from Narbal to Ganderbal will have 135 culverts, five major junctions and nine minor junctions. The Jammu four-lane ring road, which is to be built at the cost of Rs 1,355
crore, will have one toll plaza in each of the homogenous sections. It will start near Vijaypur
(Raipur) and meet the national highway at Akhnoor from where it will go up to the Nagrota bypass. The Chief Minister said creation of better road infrastructure was one of the priorities in the development policy of his government and that all avenues were being explored to ensure better traffic management and commuting facilities to people besides generating economic activities. Omar said ring roads for Srinagar and Jammu were the need of the hour so that futuristic requirements of the two capitals, which are growing at a fast pace, could be catered to. THE PROJECTS The Srinagar ring road will start at Galander and meet the national highway at the Narbal junction in phase-I of the project. Under phase-II of the project, a two-way road will start at Narbal and meet the national highway in
Ganderbal The Jammu ring road will start near Vijaypur (Raipur) and meet the national highway at Akhnoor from where it will go up to the Nagrota bypass |
|
|
UNHCR team meets Myanmar refugees
Jammu, September 25 Sources said the team, led by the Chief of the Mission,
Montserrat, asked unregistered refugees to get themselves registered with the
UNHCR. Since complaints about refugees being involved in unlawful activities have reached the
UNHCR, the team asked them to stay away from illegal activities, the sources added. The refugees in turn urged the visiting team to convince the state government to provide them basic amenities like electricity, water and BPL ration. Incidentally, the state government hasn’t got the data about the number of Rohingya Muslims living in the state. While unabated influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar continues, security forces feel that they pose a threat to security in the militancy-plagued state. A senior officer had recently told The Tribune that a “porous” border with Bangladesh had allowed illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar to enter India. “Some of them have been issued a refugee card by the
UNHCR, New Delhi. The majority of the refugees in Jammu have settled in slums in and around the city. They do petty jobs to eke out a living,” said a source. The BSF has been arresting illegal immigrants close to the border when they try to ex-filtrate to Pakistan in search of greener pastures. |
|
|
CM, Governor discuss security in J&K
Srinagar, September 25 “The Governor and the Chief Minister discussed issues relating to internal and external security, implementation of development
programmes, strengthening the functioning of panchayats, elections to panchayat samitis and urban local bodies and strengthening the various commissions which act as the watchdogs of democracy, governance and accountability,” an official said. The meeting lasted an hour and a half, the official added. |
|
|
Health sector on life support system across state
Jammu, September 25 While Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday expressed hope to see Jammu’s “AIIMS-like” super-specialty hospital functional by the yearend, health institutions across the state continue to
face acute shortage of manpower. “The state has 3,400 health institutions, including community health
centres, primary health centres, sub-district hospitals, district hospitals and
sub-centres, and nearly 12,000 beds for patients,” said National Rural Health Mission director Dr Yashpal Sharma. However, to supplement the system, the government had appointed 5,500 doctors and
para-medics under the NRHM project recently, he said. Sharma said the government had started providing the manpower as per the work load of each health institute. The director, Health Services (Jammu region), Dr Madhu
Khullar, admitted that the state had indeed been facing a shortage of doctors and
para-medic staff “There is a shortage of doctors but the government has been doing everything it can to overcome the problem. Recently, some medical posts were referred to the Public Service Commission,” she said. The medical superintendent of a busy city hospital here, however, has a different opinion. “While the rush of patients to various hospitals has increased manifold in the past few years, no serious exercise has been undertaken by the government to provide efficient and effective healthcare facilities to them,” he said, adding that the shortage of staff had adversely affected the healthcare services in the state. The Sarwal Hospital in the winter capital, which enjoys the status of a district hospital, witnesses over 800 patients on an average every day at the
OPD. “All the major hospitals in the capital city such as the Government Medical College and Hospital, SMGS Hospital, Sarwal Hospital and Gandhi Nagar Hospital are bursting at the seams but no one in the administration seems to be bothered about streamlining the system,” said a doctor working at the
GMCH. On an average over 3,200 patients depend upon one health institution in the state now as against over 2,600 in 2000-01. “No doubt, former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had raised big, glassy buildings as hospitals across the state but, it seems, no serious thought was given to increasing the manpower,” said a doctor. |
|
|
Creamy layer income slab for OBCs increased
Jammu, September 25 Addressing a press conference, vice-chairman of the OBC Advisory Board Kuldeep Raj Verma today said the state government had accepted the long-pending demand of the OBCs to enhance the creamy layer income slab. He said an official order in this regard had been issued by the authorities concerned. Verma said the issue was raised in the OBC Advisory Board meeting, which was recently held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Verma said the pre and post matriculation scholarship for OBC students had also been enhanced. The government has also decided to construct hostels for OBC students on the pattern of those for Gujjar Bakerwal and Pahari students. “The land for the constructruction of hostels has already been identified in the Jammu region,” he said. Replying to a question regarding enhancement of the percentage of reservation for the OBCs, Verma said the matter was under consideration by the government. “I hope that very soon, the reservation for the OBCs would be enhanced,” he said. |
|
|
Jawan, two ultras killed in Handwara gun battle
Handwara, September 25 The soldier has been identified as sepoy Sandeep Kumar of 30 Rashtriya Rifles. The identity of the militants could not be ascertained, sources said. The soldiers of 30 RR and the police launched a joint cordon and search operation in Haril hamlet of Handwara town early in the morning following information about presence of militants. During the search operation, militants hiding in the village fired several rounds towards the security forces. A gunfight broke out in which two militants were killed, reports said. The encounter ended around 4 pm. Two AK-47 rifles and six AK magazines were recovered from the slain militants, an army spokesman said. He said the identity or group affiliation of the slain militants could not be ascertained. |
|
|
Film fury: Five minors held for pelting cops with stones
Srinagar, September 25 The five were arrested on Saturday from different localities of the old city for taking part in a protest against the anti-Islam film, which had angered many in Kashmir and led to a week of protests in the region. The police has booked the five minors - three of whom are in Class IX and two in Class VIII -at Shaheed Gunj police station under Sections 148 (rioting), 152 (assaulting or obstructing public servant when suppressing riot) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), a police source said. The birth certificate of one of the arrested minors shows he was born on February 2, 1998. Another arrested minor's date of birth certificate shows he was born on April 10, 1997. The police case against the five minors says they were part of a group which had thrown stones at a police patrol near Habba Kadal on Friday last week, when a complete shutdown was observed in the region over the anti-Islam film. Sporadic protests had broken out last Friday at several places in the region despite severe restrictions imposed by the government. Internet services and mobile networks had been blocked for most of the day. The five minors were arrested on Saturday and were lodged at the police station for a night before being sent to a juvenile home, said advocate Babar Qadri, who is pleading the case of two of the arrested boys at a local court. The advocate said bail had been secured for the twp boys after they were produced before the court on Tuesday. “Two minors have been granted bail but they have not been released as yet. We may move to court again and file a contempt petition if they are not released by tomorrow,” the lawyer said.
|
|
|
7 yrs on, police clueless about 5 missing labourers
Jammu, September 25 On July 30, SHRC Secretary Tariq Ahmed Banday sought a fresh investigation report from the police by August 23. The Ram Munshi Bagh police station in Srinagar submitted a status report before the Commission on August 17. Though the police had registered the case (FIR number 124/2005) under Section 364 of the RPC, the investigation to date remains inconclusive. The police in its status report submitted that on June 25, 2005, complainant Mehboob Khan of Tradawari in Surankote had lodged a written complaint with Nehru Park police post stating that he along with his associates had come to Srinagar from Surankote a couple of months back and were working as labourers. “On June 13, 2005, an unknown person approached them at Badyari Dalgate and sought five farmhands. He also gave Rs 1,000 to each labourer in advance,” reads the police report. The unidentified person had also given these labourers his cell phone number and then he took with him Mushtaq, son of Syed Mohammed; Mohammed Rafeeq, son of Mohammed Aslam; Mushtaq Ahmed, son of Bashir Ahmed; Javeed Ahmed, son of Mohammed Sadiq; and Majeed, son of Faiz Mohammed — all residents of Sanghlani in Surankote tehsil. The police report further reads that since then the
five labourers have been missing. Complainant Mehboob Khan, who didn’t accompany these labourers, suspected that they might have been taken by the unidentified man with the intention of killing them. The police traced the owner of the cell phone number and identified him as Mohammed Sadiq Malik of Darul Salam in Kupwara. But the SIM was being used by another man identified as Abdul Qayoom Baba of Gulgam in Kupwara. Both these men were interrogated but no clue about the missing labourers could be extracted from them, reads the police report. Another complainant, Mohammed Aslam, has alleged that the two men were working for the Army, said an SHRC official. Now the SHRC has ensured reinvestigation into the case, he added. In the militancy-hit state, thousands of people are listed as missing. Some of them are believed to have crossed the border for arms training, some kidnapped and killed by militants and a few others killed in fake encounters. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
sarpanches following attacks by unidentified gunmen, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee
(JKPCC) president Saifuddin Soz today said it was not possible for the government to provide security to every panchayat member.
Amidst resignations of panchayat members in the Kashmir valley, the BJP today charged the National Conference-Congress coalition regime with hatching a conspiracy to weaken the panchayati raj institutions in the state. 
The People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) today came out openly against the Congress leadership for, what it called, succumbing before the coalition partner National Conference to remain in power.
With the killings of panchayat members followed by resignations of panches and sarpanches generating a debate in the political circle, former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today joined the bandwagon saying the Congress, being a coalition partner, was equally responsible for the mess.
