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LPG crisis hits consumers in valley
state assembly |
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Notification for municipal committees poll soon, says government
Lambardars, chowkidars hold protest, seek hike in honorarium
Staff shortage hits childcare dept in Anantnag, Kulgam
One dead, 13 hurt in mishaps
107 officials suspended in Shopian
Differently abled threaten to immolate themselves
wildlife week
Govt For humane ways to curb dog menace
Man injured in leopard attack in Kupwara
46th session of AIOC concludes at University
17th batch of pilgrims leaves for Haj
Man injured in firing
Three held with narcotics
in Baramulla
Judo Championship
Volleyball Tournament
State students shine in judo meet
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LPG crisis hits consumers in valley
Srinagar, October 3 Further, the LPG dealers have stopped the home supply of cooking gas cylinders as they have been asked by the oil companies to complete the verification of documents of the consumers by October 15. The decision to fix the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per family annually was taken by the Central Government on September 14. Long queues of people could be seen outside the gas agencies in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley with documents to complete the verification process which has been set in motion following the cap on the subsidised cooking gas cylinders by the Central Government. As the gas dealers are busy with the verification process, they have almost stopped the home supply of cooking gas cylinders in localities across Kashmir, which has triggered a severe shortage of the LPG across the Valley. Consumers complained that gas dealers were refusing to supply subsidised gas cylinders on the existing red booklet for domestic use. “We are running short of LPG supply at home as the home delivery in our locality has been stopped. However, when I approached my gas dealer with the red booklet, he refused to supply the gas, saying that first I need to complete my verification process,” said Mohammad Tariq Lone, a consumer at Baramulla. “I have not been able to complete my verification process as there are long queues and it is going to take time. But in the meantime, the cooking gas should be supplied to the consumers, otherwise the crisis is going to worsen in the coming days,” said, Raviss, another consumer. He added that oil companies should relax the verification norms for Kashmir as a special case. Many customers complained that gas dealers were not accepting documents like passport, driving license, telephone or electricity bill as the mandatory proof of address. A majority of dealers in Kashmir were accepting only ration cards as the address proof, the said, adding that it had left many genuine consumers high and dry, who feared that their gas connections would be rejected in view of non-verification of documents. Already, tempers have started running high in the Valley as the winter has started to set in. During winters, the energy demand increases many fold, as apart from cooking, people in Kashmir use LPG also for heating purposes during. “Kashmiris are habitual hoarders. During winters, they hoard everything, including LPG. This is necessitated because during heavy snowfall, the Valley gets cut off from the rest of the world for days together as roads get blocked,” said Abdul Hameed, a teacher. “The government needs to consider this aspect also while capping the supply of LPG cylinders,” he added. Dealerspeak
On the other hand, dealers in Kashmir said the verification process would take time and they felt that they might not be able to meet the October 15 deadline set by the oil companies for completing the process. “At present only 20 per cent verification process has been completed by the dealers in Kashmir. The process has been complicated as most of the consumers in Kashmir have lost their documents or are not been able to trace them,” said Jagmohan Singh Raina, general secretary of the LPG Dealers Association in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the situation in Kashmir was different as compared to other parts of the country, including Jammu, where the consumers were already registered with the dealers. “In Kashmir, owing to disturbed situation, no comprehensive verification process has ever been carried by the oil companies,” he added. Raina, however, denied that only ration card was being accepted as the address proof. “In the verification form, there are nearly 11 documents, which can be furnished as valid proof of address during the verification process, including passport, driving license or electricity bill,” he said. |
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3,929 hamlets yet to be electrified in state, says govt
M Aamir Khan Tribune News Service
Srinagar, October 3 Even as the question hour got suspended today following protests by the Opposition bench over cap on subsidised LPG cylinders, a written reply to a question submitted to the House by National Conference MLA Bimla Luthra said the state intended to electrify 4,478 hamlets. The reply further said 549 hamlets had been electrified by August-end this year under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna (RGGVY). “The leftover un-electrified/de-electrified villages and hamlets are being taken up for electrification under phase-II of the RGGVY which is presently under active consideration of the Ministry of Power, Government of India,” the reply of the Power Ministry added. Under the scheme, the state government had also set a target of electrifying 249 villages. Till August end, 152 villages had been electrified. The government also stated that it did not plan to provide free power to the “small” farmers in border areas for agricultural purposes. The Power Ministry said the legislators were “at liberty” to identify areas requiring replacement of worn out transmission lines and transformers. This was stated after Luthra had inquired about the steps being taken by the government to replace worn out transmission lines and transformers in Jammu region of the state. “The government has already launched a scheme….wherein MLA/ MLC are provided funds in their Constituency Development Fund allocation for the purpose of replacement of rotten wooden poles/ replacement of damaged conductors etc,” the government added.
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Notification for municipal committees poll soon, says government
Srinagar, October 3 Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand said this while chairing a high-level meeting that was also attended by Minister of State for Urban Development Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Secretary Madav Lal, Principal Secretary Home Iqbal Khandey, Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Suresh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police K Rajindra, Chief Electoral Officer Umang Narula and other senior officers. The deputy Chief Minister directed the Chief Electoral Officer to complete all the formalities within the shortest span of time, so that the elections would be conducted to ensure the democratic decentralisation of the powers. Tara Chand asked the officers to work in a coordinated manner to ensure that the elections are completed within the shortest span of time.
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Lambardars, chowkidars hold protest, seek hike in honorarium
Srinagar, October 3 Hundreds of protesters, who had come from different villages from the region, later held a demonstration on the Residency Road in support of their demands. Lambardars and chowkidars - under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Lambardar and Chowkidar Association - shouted slogans and held a brief sit-in before dispersing off peacefully. They were demanding that their monthly honorarium - which was Rs 81 for lambardar and Rs 80 for chowkidar till 2007 and was later hiked to Rs 501 and Rs 500 - be increased to Rs 1,500. Association president Bashir Ahmad Teli said their planned march to the Legislative Assembly was foiled after the police prevented them from marching ahead. “Nearly 450 lambardars and chowkidars lost their lives during this turmoil but nobody cares for us,” Teli said. “We have been left with no option but to come on roads to demand our rights.” The association demanded grade equal to other employees, representation in block and district development board and representation in the Legislative Council. They demanded that one of their family members be adjusted under the government sponsored employment packages. The association warned that they would continue their protest until their demands were accepted.
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Staff shortage hits childcare dept in Anantnag, Kulgam
Anantnag, October 3 The office of the district project officer (DPO), ICDS, in Anantnag, being the headquarters, caters to the needs of about 3,000 anganwari centres of the twin districts of Kulgam and Anantnag. However, the irony is that the office has only three employees. “It’s unfortunate that an office with only three employees has to cater to the needs of more than 3,000 anganwari centres. The work load is immense and we are helpless,” said DPO Muhammad Akbar Wani. He said, “3,000 anganwari centres means 6,000 field workers as every centre has two workers attached to it.” “We have a footfall of about 50 workers a day. They all come with their issues and three people in the office have to look after everything, including the office work,” said the DPO. He said even some people were sent to his office from the Social Welfare Department but that did not end their woes, given the fact that they were not well versed with the work. “The office has to handle finances, including salaries of 6,400 workers, and due to shortage of well-trained staff, we are forced to engage untrained people to handle finances,” said Wani. Comparing his department with other offices, the DPO said anybody could spot a difference. “Other departments have abundance of staff whereas the ICDS remains short of staff,” he added.
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One dead, 13 hurt in mishaps
Srinagar, October 3 A passenger cab hit and injured three women near Dangerpora village in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. One of the injured, identified as Muskan, succumbed to her injuries, while two others, identified as Sumiya and Nuzhat, were being treated, the spokesman said. In Budgam district, a passenger cab skidded off the road near Saidpora in Beerwah town resulting in injuries to seven passengers. A passenger cab hit a car at Bemina in the city here resulting in injuries two persons who were travelling in the car. Both the injured were shifted to a hospital, the spokesman said. In Baramulla district, a car hit and injured a 10-year-old girl at Agmoona near Kunzer town. The injured girl was taken to a hospital where she is being treated, the spokesman said. |
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107 officials suspended in Shopian
Srinagar, October 3 The village sarpanches and panches were also included in the inspection team and four officials from the rural development department were suspended due to negligence of their duties in the respective panchayat blocks. Khan conducted the inspection with his team in various government schools, animal and sheep husbandry centres across the Shopian district during which the suspended officials were found absent and the disciplinary action was taken against them. Before this suspension drive, 144 officials were suspended in earlier inspection drives held in the district. |
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Differently abled threaten to immolate themselves
Srinagar, October 3 The JKHA members led by its president Abdul Rashid Bhat continued their hunger strike for the third consecutive day. The strike began on Monday at the Press Colony. “We are going to burn ourselves tomorrow at Ghanta Ghar at 12 noon,” Bhat said. Bhat said none of the government official came to see or ask for the demands since the day they sat on the hunger strike. He said an ambulance at the protest venue had also been removed after one of the companions fell unconscious on Tuesday. The JKHA has set a list of 21 demands, which had remained unchanged in the past 12 years since they formed the association in 2000. One of the demand before the government was to enhance the monthly pension for the disabled. “We are paid Rs 400 per month that should be increased to Rs 3,000 per month,” they said. Other demands include reservation for the handicapped to be implemented vertically rather than horizontally, free education for the children, loans at a low interest and an advisory board to provide representation in district-level board. They demanded reservation in favour of the handicapped employees in the promotion quota and the introduction of Braille Education System from the primary to the university level in the state. JKHA president said they met the ministers to seek a solution to their demands on several occasions. “They always gave us assurances but never did anything for us,” he said.
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Minister for preservation of flora and fauna of state
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, October 3 The Minister was speaking at a function organised by the Department of Wild Life Protection in connection with the celebrations of Wildlife Week here today. The Minister said, "The Jammu and Kashmir state has a conducive ecological flora and fauna to support the rich population of the wildlife." He said Kashmir Valley had been a habitat for rare species like 'Hangul' Snow Leopard, Brown Beery, Mush Deer and some exotic birds. He said present government had initiated various projects for conservation of the wildlife, including conducive environment and habitat protection, setting aside protected areas network in the form of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserve for threatened and rare species.
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Govt For humane ways to curb dog menace
Srinagar, October 3 The government admitted that dog population is nearing one lakh in the city. The increasing population of dogs has resulted in an alarming rise in the canine attacks and bites. Minister for State for Urban Development Nasir Aslam Wani in the State Legislative Council said, “Under the High Court directions, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has already started dog sterilisation and 680 dogs have been sterilised till date.” The sterilisation of the dogs had started at the Shere Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST). The government had planned to sterilise the dogs in Srinagar. The minister informed that present dog population in city was 91,110. “We sincerely look forward to eradicate this menace, he added. The dog menace in the Valley had sparked the protests from the civil society members earlier this year, who accused the state government of failing to take any measures to curb the stray dog population. The increase in the dog population in the Valley is due to the discontinuation of culling of dogs for the past several years after the protests from animal rights activists. Population on the rise
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Man injured in leopard attack in Kupwara
Srinagar, October 3 Abdul Ahad Gani, a resident of Rangward village of Kupwara, was attacked by a leopard while he was grazing his cattle in a nearby jungle, a police spokesman said. Gani was seriously injured in the attack, the spokesman said. The injured man has been shifted to a hospital for treatment. Six people including a five-year-old boy and 55-year-old man were earlier injured in incidents of man-animal conflict in the Valley last month. There have been regular wild animal attacks in the region allegedly due to shrinking of forest space for these animals and growing intrusion of humans into the wild animal habitats. In Kashmir's mountainous and forested areas, residents venture into forests to collect firewood and sometimes trespass into the space of wild animals leading to a bloody and violent confrontation. Many of the attacks had led to fatalities or severe injuries in the past. The Himalayan black bear and leopards, found across this mountainous region, are involved in most of these incidents of man-animal conflicts.
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46th session of AIOC concludes at University
Srinagar, October 3 About 2,572 delegates and 2,332 scholars from various educational institutions of the country and abroad presented their papers in more than 105 technical sessions during the three-day conference. On the valedictory function, executive committee for the 47th session of the AIOC was also elected which will be held at the University of Guwahati, Assam. Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmed was the chief guest on the occasion. He said the University feels proud to host the 46th session of the AIOC which brought around 3,000 delegates from various regions, linguistics, cultures and corners of the country together on a single platform. Acknowledging the support provided by various institutions for the smooth conduct of the conference, he said without the support of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, the conference would not have been possible. Prof Hari Dutta Sharma, vice-president of the 46th session of the AIOC, said over the years the quality of papers presented in the various sessions of the AIOC was decreasing which needs to be looked into. Department of Sanskrit Prof S Razdan while terming the conference as a great success said, “The success of any intellectual deliberation depends on the number of participation and the response we received from the huge number of participants was great.” Razdan, who was also local secretary of the conference, said the University of Kashmir was assigned the job of organising the mega event for the second time after a gap of 48 years. Earlier, hundreds of research papers on various oriental themes were read in the auditoriums and conference halls of the University of Kashmir on the second and third day of the conference, which was inaugurated by Governor of Assam JB Patnaik on Monday.
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17th batch of pilgrims leaves for Haj
Srinagar, October 3 “A total of 5,939 pilgrims comprising 3,494 males and 2,445 females besides three infants have left for Medina from the Srinagar International Airport till date,” an official said. The first batch of Haj pilgrims was seen off by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the Srinagar International Airport last month. While Air India is operating direct Haj flights from here to Saudi Arabia after a gap four years, around 9,170 pilgrims from the state are expected to perform Haj this year. This year’s quota for Jammu and Kashmir has been increased from 8,441 to 8,670. In addition, private Haj operators are facilitating 500 intending Haj pilgrims. The last Haj flight from here is scheduled to leave on October 10.
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Man injured in firing
Baramulla, October 3 Troops fired at him and he got injured in his leg. He was rushed to a hospital in Srinagar, sources said, adding that his condition was stated to be out of danger.
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Three held with narcotics
in Baramulla
Srinagar, October 3 A police spokesman in Srinagar said Baramulla police laid a naka near Tapper village last night and a vehicle bearing registration number JK05-1626 driven by Jahangir Ahmad Ganie, a resident of Balgam was intercepted. “Upon the search of the vehicle, about 6.5 kg of narcotic substance was recovered. Two more persons in the vehicle, identified as Bilal Ahmad Sofi of Aalibagh and Javid Ahmad of Palhalan, were also arrested,” the spokesman said. Police has registered a case in this regard and investigations are on. |
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State team selected for national games
Tribune News Service
Jammu, October 3 The boys’ team included Diwakar Singh, Shresh Mansotra, Kavish Gupta, Ashish Pandita, Paras Kumar, Shashank Baru, Sumit Kumar, Subhigya Singh, Sebaz Manhas, Jeevan, Subham Singh and Jaspreet Singh. The girls’ team included Sumedha Gupta, Bhumika Mahajan, Tanvi Panjgotra, Komal Mangotra, Mehak Pandita, Ridhima Ghai, Adhitya Sharma, Subasi Kiran Shikha Bhau and Arpita Puri. Suraj Bhan and Samvedna Sharma are accompanying the team as coach and manager, respectively.
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J&K Police beat Ramkot
Tribune News Service
Jammu, October 3 Earlier, the Additional Superintendent of Police, Udhampur, Benam Tosh, declared the tournament open after a brief introduction with the spikers. Speaking on the occasion, the Additional Superintendent of Police said the tournament was organised under the Police Civic Action Program and it would continue till October 6. He said the District Police, Udhampur, will organise similar tournaments of volleyball and cricket at nine venues in different areas of Udhampur district.
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State students shine in judo meet
Jammu, October 3 In the U-12 age group, Shivam Sharma secured second position. In the U-14 age group Shikha Bhau bagged the top honours. In the U-19 age group, Mehvish Marwha clinched first position. —TNS
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Consumers in the Valley have been severely hit by shortage of LPG cylinders. The State Assembly today passed a resolution urging the Central Government to take a “sympathetic view” on its decision.
A planned march by lambardars and chowkidars to the state Legislative Assembly in the city was today foiled by the police. They were demanding their monthly honorarium be increased to Rs 1,500.
Hundreds of protesters, who had come from different villages from the region, later held a demonstration on the Residency Road in support of their demands.
The state government today said that they were adopting humane ways to get rid of dog menace in Srinagar which has turned into an empire of dogs.