Jammu, October 2
State ministers seem to be in confusion when it comes to fixing the number subsidised LPG cylinders in Jammu and Kashmir.

A few days after the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department, Shabir Ahmed Khan, announced nine subsidised LPG cylinders per family annually; his senior Qamar Ali Akhoon stated that the government would supply only six subsidised cylinders.

“The state government will go by the Central Government’s directive on supplying only six subsidised cylinders per family in a year. There is no proposal, as of now, to enhance the number of subsidised LPG cylinders from six to nine per family annually,” Akhoon told The Tribune over phone from Srinagar.

Interestingly, Shabir had “thanked the Central Government for enhancing the number of subsidised LPG cylinders from six to nine per family annually in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the Centre for providing more subsidy on LPG to the state” during his meeting with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Jaipal Reddy in New Delhi on September 28.

Shabir, according to an official spokesperson, had apprised the Union Minister that Jammu and Kashmir was a backward state and special concession on LPG under new policy, recently announced by the Centre, must be given to the state.

When Akhoon’s attention was brought towards his deputy’s statement, he refused to comment on it, saying he might have supported the idea of more subsidised cylinders to the people in the state. Earlier, Akhoon had also favoured three extra subsidised cooking gas cylinders to the consumers in the state.

The Congress-led UPA Government had announced that the number of subsidised LPG cylinders would go up to nine in all Congress-ruled states. The Congress is the main coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir. Akhoon belongs to the ruling National Conference, while Shabir is a Congress leader.

Yesterday, the government had issued revised rate of non-subsidised cylinder (14 kg) which would cost the consumers Rs 920.50. Earlier, the projected cost of the non-subsidised cylinder was around Rs 750.

The rate of commercial cylinder (19 kg) has been fixed at Rs 1,732. The oil companies had decided to provide only three cylinders on subsidised rates to the people during the remaining period of the current financial year ending March 2013.

Meanwhile, sources said despite the state government’s directions to oil companies to expedite the verification process of cooking gas connections and delivery of cylinders, people had been facing a harrowing time to get their connections verified.

“Around 1.5 lakh cooking gas connections have been blocked by the oil companies in Jammu region alone. The government should direct oil companies to increase the number of verification counters to make the process hassle-free and consumer-friendly,” sources said.

Jammu, October 2
Facing repeated warnings from the Union Power Ministry for curbing power losses, the Power Development Department (PDD) will make its two data recovery centres (DRCs), being established to monitor power usage and manage revenue recovery data, at Bemina in Srinagar and at Gladni in Jammu functional by April next year.

The centres, which are being set up under the Centrally sponsored Re-Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme (RE-APDRP), will keep an eye on the power distribution, consumer-related services, including metering, billing, revenue collection and customer care.

According to the project outline, the DRCs will enable consumers to download electricity bills and make payments through Internet.

Thirty-five per cent of the funds for the project will be taken care of by the Central government.

“The need for the introduction of this system was felt due to the failure of the department in meeting revenue targets. The ever-increasing T&D losses and AT&C losses have been a major concern for the state government as they put a huge strain on the state finances,” said a PDD official.

Sources said the Union Power Ministry had sanctioned nearly Rs 1,700 crore to the government under the R-APDRP in 2011 to strengthen the grid stations, transmission lines and the feeders.

Minister of State for Power Shabir Khan said, “Containing power losses is the main aim of the government and these centres are required to streamline the system.”

Since 2002, the Union Government has given Rs 3,900 crore under the APDRP scheme to the state government for carrying out reforms in the power sector but most of it has been utilised for the purchase of power to meet the growing demands of electricity in the state.

Amid increasing losses and failure to implement power reforms, the department, in a last ditch effort, has decided to install a high voltage distribution system (HVDS) to contain power and revenue pilferage. Sources said after converting from the existing power distribution network to the HVDS, illegal hooking, which is a common way of committing power theft in the state, can be checked.

Jammu, October 2
The traffic police’s move to chase violators who zoom past red signals by pressing into service a squad of high-tech motorcycles seems to have lost steam in just two days with motorists resorting to blatant violation of signals without any fear allegedly due to lax and laissez-faire approach of policemen.

Though traffic policemen claimed that they chased and penalised violators for jumping red signals, yet motorists, particularly two-wheeler riders were noticed flouting the norms with impunity that too in front of policemen equipped with high-tech motorcycles.

“It is still a free-for-all situation on roads. Violators, especially youngsters riding high-speed motorcycles are jumping traffic signals with policemen turning mute spectators. In the afternoon, at least four cars jumped the red signals installed between Asia Crossing and the Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, but the policeman, who was virtually taking a nap on his high-tech motorcycle, preferred to let violators off,” Ajay Khajuria, a commuter told The Tribune.

He said the authorities should make the policemen accountable vis-à-vis performing their duties on roads. “The policemen should ensure that road users don’t jump traffic signals and follow norms in complete conformity. They should impose heavy penalties for such violations because they put their as well as others’ life at risk while jumping the signals,” Khajuria maintained.

On September 30, as many as 10 high-tech motorcycles were pressed into service by Shakeel Ahmed Beig, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Traffic, Jammu, in the presence of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu (Traffic) Manmohan Singh from Bikram Chowk to chase those who flee after jumping a red signal and after violating other traffic norms.

The high-tech motorcycles are equipped with wireless sets, loud speakers, sirens and flasher lights for targeting violators of traffic signals and two wheelers without crash helmets. The high-tech motorcycles have been deployed near traffic signals of Janipura, High Court Complex crossing, Bathandi crossing, Vivekanand Chowk, Bikram Chowk, Canal Head, Green Belt crossing and Satwari crossing to strictly deal with violations of traffic signals. Similar, violations were also reported at the traffic signals where these motorcycles had been deployed. A traffic policeman equipped with high-tech motorcycle posted at Satwari Chowk, however, claimed that four violators were today penalised for jumping red signals till afternoon. “We are making all out efforts to ensure that motorists follow the traffic rules. We will not let traffic violators off,” he said.

The traffic police had kept jumping of red signals under “dangerous driving” and the minimum penalty to be imposed on the offender was fixed at Rs 1,000.

Jammu DIG (Traffic) Shakeel Ahmed Beig said he would look into the matter and no policeman would be spared for adopting casual approach.

Jammu, October 2
With an aim to create awareness and encourage public participation in wildlife conservation and environment protection, the Wildlife Protection Department is celebrating ‘Wildlife Week’ from today.

Several programmes would be organised in all four wildlife divisions of the Jammu region. Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Asif M.Sagar said the wildlife divisions, including Jammu, Kathua, Chenab-Kishtwar and Rajouri-Poonch, would be organising functions involving people and schoolchildren especially those residing in and around wildlife protected areas and forests. The week would be celebrated by organising seminars, symposia, painting competitions, village meets and visits of children and students to protected areas and deer parks.

Various such programmes would be organised at Sudhmahadev Conservation Reserve, Nandni Wildlife Sanctuary, Manda Deer Park, Jammu, in Jammu Wildlife Division, Mansar, Khoon, Ramkote, Badga, Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary in Kathua Wildlife Division, Deesa, Paddar, Chatroo in Chenab Wildlife Division and Chandimarh and Azmat Aabad in Rajouri-Poonch Wildlife Division, Sagar added.

The man-animal conflict issue would also be discussed and people in potential conflict areas would be educated about do’s and don’ts to be followed to avert conflict situation. The concluding function would be held at the Nature Interpretation Centre, Manda, Jammu, on October 8 where participant winners of various functions would be given prizes.

Jammu, October 2
After being allegedly criticised for their pathetic performance in various national competitions held across the country, sportspersons of Jammu and Kashmir have revealed that they are deprived of essential practice for the competitions owing to non-conduct of preparatory camps by the sports associations.

Sources said even the state team selected for participation in the ongoing 77th Senior National Badminton Championship at Srinagar did not attend the coaching camp before the commencement of the sporting event. Sources added that the J&K Badminton Association, which is organising the tournament, was unable to conduct the coaching camp.

“How can you expect from us to win medals for the state when there is hardly any conduct of proper coaching camp by the association”, one of the sportspersons said.

Sources claimed that some sportspersons had earlier approached the J&K State Sports Council and complained that the associations were not showing any interest in conducting coaching camps for the selected players. The council took a serious note of that and issued strict instructions to all its affiliated associations to conduct preparatory camps on regular basis.

“The sports associations are least bothered about the circulars being issued by the Sports Council regarding conduct of coaching camps. In fact, the associations are completing a mere formality to organise camps just to show that they are following the procedures”, another sportsperson claimed.

“Lack of preparation of state shuttlers due to non-conduct of coaching camp is the latest example of the present state of affairs in the State Sports Council. Issue of an order is not sufficient, it is imperative that the council should implement it by using its full authority,” he added.

“It’s high time now that the sports council should take some strict measures to ensure proper implementation of its orders relating to the coaching camp,” said the sportsperson.

Meanwhile, a senior sports council official said, “We are very much concerned with the poor performance of our state sportspersons in national competitions.” “Non-conduct of coaching camps by sports associations is a serious issue and the council will take stern action against those associations,” the official maintained.

Jammu, October 2
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Shamsher Singh Manhas began his 48 hours fast at Premnath Dogra Chowk against rampant corruption and series of scams in the state especially the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

Addressing the party activists, Manhas demanded an inquiry into the JKCA scam by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), resignation of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah from the post of president of the JKCA and reconstitution of the association.

He said the JKCA had been under the control of Farooq Abdullah for the past several years and instead of serving its purpose of promoting cricket, it has become a den of misappropriation of funds by a handful of individuals.

He said as per the statements of JKCA’s former treasurer Ehsan Mirza and officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank, dubious transactions were carried out with alleged approval and signatures of Farooq Abdullah.

The CBI should also investigate the huge funds received by the JKCA from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for promotion of the sport, including infrastructure and training of young sportspersons to compete at national and international levels.

Manhas said the BJP was committed to fight against corruption at the all levels and had been continuously protesting against various scams in the state, both on streets and in the Assembly.

He said till the JKCA scam inquiry was taken to its logical end, the BJP would continue its agitation.

Others, who joined Manhas on hunger strike, include Bansi Lal Bharti, Yudhvir Sethi, Arun Kumar Chibber, Subhash Bhagat, Ghulam Ali Khatana, Priya Jral, Sat Paul Choudhary, Iqbal Singh Sambyal, Surinder Choudhary, Tripta Jamwal, Jeet Angral, Dinesh Gupta, Manu Manav Mahajan, Chetan Mehra, Arjun Sharma and Kanta Devi.

Earlier in the morning, Manhas was taken in a procession from the BJP headquarters here to the Dogra Chowk by party activists.

Jammu, October 2
The District Tuberculosis Centre, Jammu, today organised a function to mark the 143rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Regional Research Laboratory, Canal Road. The 63rd TB Seal Sale Campaign was launched on the occasion.

Minister for Health, Horticulture and Floriculture Sham Lal Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion. He inaugurated the 63rd TB Seal Sale Campaign.

The Chairman TB Control Society Jammu and District Development Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma; Director Health Services Jammu Dr Madhu Khullar; Director Horticulture JN Sharma; Drug Controller Jammu Satish Gupta; Vice-Chairperson TB Association Prem Lata Bakshi;Deputy Director ISM Kashmir Singh; Deputy Director Central Dr Baldev Raj Sharma; medical superintendents, CMOs, BMOs, doctors, para-medicos, NGO’s, Asha Workers, prominent citizen and students of various institutions were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said Mahatma Gandhi’s message of ahimsa and non-violence holds greater relevance today when the world is witnessing intolerance and violence.

He said, “Today on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti we all must bow our heads in respect, to pay a tribute to the father of the Nation.”

Sham said, “At this juncture, the most befitting tribute which can be paid to the father of the Nation would be to re-invigorate and strengthen the bonds of communal harmony, brotherhood, amity and secular ethos, which were the essence of Gandhian values and philosophy.”

Jammu, October 2
On the second day of the ongoing Philatelic Exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi, RS Chib, Minister for Medical Education and Youth Services and Sports, along with John Samuel, Chief Postmaster General, Jammu and Kashmir, today released two special covers one each on Mahatma Gandhi and International Non-Violence Day at Kala Kendra here.

In addition to that, the Minister also launched a special hand-made soap manufactured by Gandhi Seva Sadan which would be available at post shops in the state from tomorrow.

“My Stamp” on Gandhiji which was released by Chib was the first which has been issued by the Department of Posts in J&K. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister complimented the department for organising the exhibition on philately, adding that the teachings of Gandhiji were not restricted to India but have universal appeal.

The Minister also lauded the efforts of Chief Postmaster General John Samuel in guiding J&K in many fields like philatelic exhibitions, post office festivals, sports activities etc.

John Samuel said the Department of Posts was initiating many steps to connect with the people of Jammu and the present exhibition on Gandhiji was one such step in this direction.

Jammu, October 2
The upsets for seeded shuttlers continued today as four shuttlers were crashed out din singles event after losing their third round matches in the 77th Senior National Badminton Championship being held at the Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Stadium, Srinagar.

Wild card entrant Ajay Jayaram (PET) scripted an excellent win over Mayank Behal of Food Corporation of India (FCI) in straight sets 21-12, and 21-7 in the third round encounter.

Ajay will now face 11th seed Pratul Joshi of Air India in the pre-quarter-final. After losing the first set, Pratul Joshi staged a brilliant comeback to overcome the challenge of Hirak Jyoti Neog 16-21 21-12 and 21-9. Love Kumar of Punjab ended the aspirations campaign of 15th seed Oscar Bansal of Chandigarh by 21-16 and 21-19 in just 30 minutes. Love Kumar’s will not meet Shreyansh Jaiswal of Chhattisgarh who continued his winning spree after defeating Nikhilesh Sarma of Assam 24-22 and 21-15 with consummate ease.

Abhimanyu Singh of Madhya Pradesh stunned 12th seed Rohit Yadav C of Airport Authority of India (AAI). Abhimanyu started off badly by losing the first set 7-21. However, the Madhya Pradesh shuttler fought back with vengeance and won the next two sets with a margin of 21-14 and 21-19.

Results of Men Singles (3rd Round)

Shreyansh Jaiswal bt Nikhilesh Sarma 24-22, 21-15, Love Kumar bt Oscar Bansal 21-16 21-19, Nanda Gopal K bt Vijetha N V S 21-9 21-12, Arvind Bhat [16] bt Chetan Anand B. 21-18 17-21 22-20, Mohit Kamat [3] bt Aneesh K. A. 21-14 21-12, Abhimanyu Singh bt Rohit Yadav C 7-21 21-14 21-19, Ajay Jayaram bt Mayank Behal 21-12 21-7, Pratul Joshi [11] bt Hirak Jyoti Neog 16-21 21-12 21-9, Anup Sridhar bt Aditya Prakash 22-20 21-12, Srikanth K bt Abhinav Manota 21-11 21-11, R.M.V Gurusaidutt [14] bt Gopi Raju G. 21-13 8-6, Subhankar Dey bt Prem Singh Chouhan 21-9 20-22 21-9, Suraj R. N.w/o Anand Pawar Kashyap P bt Sachin Rawat 21-10 21-11, Velavan V bt Deepak Khatri 22-20 21-12 and Sai Praneeth B bt Shivam Sharma 21-11 21-14.

Women Singles (3rd round)

Neha Pandit bt Anuradha Shrikhande 21-14 21-13, Arathi Sara Sunil bt Kaberi Phukon 15-21 21-8 21-12, Arundhati Pantawane bt Jacqueline Rose Kunnath 21-15 17-21 21-17, Saili Rane bt Nisha Karamchand 21-9 21-10, Sheshadri Sanyal bt R Santoshi Hasini 15-21 21-7 21-16, Mohita Sahdev bt Shruti Mundada 21-12 21-14, Anita Ohlan bt Susan Rajan 9-11 retired, Rasika Raje bt Dhanya Nair 21-18 21-11, Trupti Murgunde bt Sonal More 21-15 9-21 21-7, P.V. Sindhu [3] bt Sanskriti Chhabra 21-7 21-8, Tanvi Lad [9] bt Anura Prabhudesai 21-4 17-21 21-10, Sneha Santhilal bt Pinky Karki 21-13 21-13, P Kanthi Visalakshi bt Sara Naqvi 21-12 21-17, P.C. Thulasi bt Sanyogita Ghorpade 21-14 21-13, Riya Pillai bt G.M. Nischitha 21-16 21-15 and Sayali Gokhale bt Sindhu Bhardwaj 21-9 21-15.

Jammu, October 2
Seeded cueists Ishuk Chowdhary, Kuldeep Sharma, Sohail Khalid and Sumesh Turki today secured a berth in the quarterfinals in senior snooker event of the ongoing Jammu District Open Junior and Senior Snooker Championship being organised by the J&K Billiards and Snooker Association (JKBSA) at Billiards Hall, M A Stadium here.

In the first pre-quarterfinal, Ishuk Chowdhary toppled Ankush Dogra by 3-0 frames with utmost ease. The frame score read 78-31, 65-31 and 76-31. In another pre-quarterfinal match, Kuldeep Sharma trounced Himanshu Phaul by identical margin (62-27, 42-09 and 77-38).

Sohail Khalid also had no difficulty whatsoever in dispatching Sourav Dogra by 3-0 frames. Sohail pocketed the opening frame by 66-33 and then went on to win the next with an even more comfortable margin of 78-8.

Sourav Dogra looked out of sorts throughout the contest and eventually lost the final frame by 29-58. Sumesh Turki survived some anxious moments before scripting a never wrecking victory over Ankit Gupta by 3-2 frames.

After pocketing the inaugural frame by 53-15, Sumesh lost his momentum and lost the next two frames. Ankit Gupta fetched the second frame by 59-45 and then stretched his lead further with 49-41 win.

With 2-1 down, Sumesh relied on all his experience to claw his way back in the match. He drew parity with 62-28 win. In the decider, Sumesh had last laugh with a frame margin of 57-30.

In the remaining second round matches, Mukesh Kapahi beat Sachin Bamba by 3-0 (70-62, 56-26, 48-37), Vishal Abrol beat Kashif Ahmed by 3-2 (72-25, 68-02, 45-66, 44-47, 50-37), Abhimanyu Arora beat Dheeraj Goswami by 3-2 ( 46-48, 49-63, 61-38, 69-18, 66-65), Sahil kapadia beat Amarjeet Singh by 3-1 (32-68, 49-21, 47-40, 66-04) and Ishan chowdhary beat Sidharath Bhatia by 3-0 (70-35, 45-25, 37-23).

Earlier, Mohit Mahajan, Jaswinder Singh and Satyajeet notched up thumping wins over their respective opponents to move into the second round.

Mohit Mahajan trounced Ravi Sharma by 3-1 frames in a keen contest. Mohit started off well by pocketing the opening frame by 71-35. He continued his supremacy in the next frame by winning it with an emphatic margin of 43-22.

Ravi Sharma finally managed to pull one back with a thin 65-63 win. He made a promising start in the fourth frame but just could not keep his cool to lose the frame by 17-59.

In another second round match, Jaswinder Singh drubbed Sanjay Sharma by 3-0 frames. The frame score read (60-52, 47-40 and 65-54. Satyajeet thrashed Vishal Mahajan 3-0 (64-33, 50-42, 48-35) in another one sided contest.

Udhampur, October 2
Choudhary Lal Singh, Member of the Parliament, today inaugurated the newly constructed multipurpose hall in the premises of the Jagriti Oldage Home, Udhampur.

The District Development Commissioner, PK Pole; Dr RC Nagar, president, Jagriti Oldage Home, Udhampur; Amit Vermani, block development officer, Udhampur; and members of Jagriti Oldage Home were present on the occasion. Singh said the government has initiated many welfare programmes to extend assistance to the old people in the state.

Jammu, October 2
Sushant Makhnotra and Amitpal Singh, 3rd Semester students of The Business School (TBS), University of Jammu, clinched first position in the inter-university quiz competition held at the Central University Jammu.

The TBS team won the preliminary round which was held to shortlist and selects five best teams out of nine teams. The different rounds were based on the theme ‘tourism sustainability and development - a way ahead’

MPS Ishar, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, congratulated the winning team on their achievement and interacted with them.

Professor Versha Mehta, director, TBS, accompanied the winning team who met the Vice-Chancellor in his chamber today. The participating team was prepared under the supervision of Dr Vinay Chauhan, Dr Amisha Gupta, Dr Komal Nagar, Dr Jaya Bhasin and Saloni.

Jammu, October 2
Army XI defeated Air Force XI in a friendly cricket match played at Bikram Park Stadium, Udhampur.

Batting first, Air Force XI got off to a tremendous start with Wing Commander Anand and Group Captain AK Gandotra scored 44 runs in the initial seven overs. Air Force XI scored 110 runs for the loss of nine wickets.

In reply, the opening pair of Army XI, Col HS Brar and Col Vinayak, scored 18 runs in the opening over. As a result, Army XI scored 37 runs in just five overs.

Later, the team overhauled the target with a consummate ease. Col HS Brar was adjudged the man of the match. Lt Gen KT Parnaik, GOC-in-C, Northern Command, gave away the prizes.

The best bowler and the best all rounder were won by Lt Col PR Vinayak and Capt S Ahlawat, respectively.

The best batsman award went to Flight Lt Vipul of the Air Force XI.

Before the commencement of the match, both the teams were introduced to Maj Gen AK Sehgal, GOC 71 Sub Area, and Jasbir Walia, AOC HQ, J&K.

Jammu, October 2
Government Degree College (GDC), Rajouri, defeated Government Degree College, Bishnah, to move into the next round of the Annual Inter-Collegiate (men and women) Kabaddi Tournament being organised by the New Age College in Kathua district.

In other matches, GDC Akhnoor defeated GDC Paloura while GDC Doda thrashed GDC Hiranagar. GDC RS Pura beat Trikuta Degree College. GDC Mendhar, Government MAM College got a walkover.

The competition was declared open by the Zahid Manhas, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kathua. Professor Dhian Singh Bhau, director, sports and physical education, University of Jammu, was also present on the occasion. In the welcome address, Prof A K Malhotra, director, New Age Degree College, expressed his thanks to the University of Jammu for allowing the college to host the event.

Jammu, October 2
Harshdeep Singh of the Delhi Public School (DPS), Jammu, clinched the gold medal in the U-19 boys’ pistol shooting 10m range and Namandeep Singh of the same school won the gold medal in the U-17 boys’ pistol shooting 10m range in the inter-school shooting competition, organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports at the Delhi Public School’s shooting range, today.

The silver medal in the U-19 category was bagged by Gurashishpal Singh of the Delhi Public School. The silver medal in the U-17 category went to Ananya Sahni of the Delhi Public School. In all, 15 boys took part in the sporting event. The selected players would represent Jammu district in the inter-district competitions. — TNS

Jammu, October 2
Rajesh Sharma has been elected as president of the Malhotra Mohalla Businessmen Association, elections for which were held today.

Sharma secured 47 votes, while his opponent Vijay Kumar got 37 votes. Three votes were found to be invalid.

Jeet Raj and V K Verma were elected vice-presidents and got 37 and 45 votes, respectively. Sandeep Gupta and Rajeev Vaid were elected general secretaries.

Sanjay Sharma was elected secretary, while Bharat Bhushan was unopposed elected cashier. The elections were held at Mahajan Hall, Shalamar, Jammu, which were conducted by Chander Mohan.