Srinagar, October 18
With the shortage of the supply LPG cylinders, local residents are desperately switching to buying kerosene oil to prepare for the winters. An acute shortage of kerosene by 22 lakh litres per month has added to the woes of the residents.

The Consumers Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) officials said the state gets its monthly supply of kerosene santioned by the Union Petroleum Ministry supplies kerosene to the state as per the 1990 Census. “Even though the population has increased exponentially over the past 12 years, the supply of kerosene to the Valley remains the same. This year, the demand for kerosene oil will increase further due to inadequate LPG supply,” a CAPD official said.

Residents rue that they are getting half the supply of kerosene per month as against the quota of 7 litres for each family mentioned in the ration card. Many of them can’t afford even this much kerosene. “The CAPD depots in our locality deny that they have kerosene stock available and they are mostly shut. I had to buy kerosene at Rs 50 per litre though its fixed rate is Rs 34.5 per litre. If the state government fails to ensure the supply of essential commodity in the winters, residents would have no option but to hold protests,” Muhammad Imran, a resident said.

Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Urban Local Bodies Employees United Forum raise slogans against the state government in Srinagar on Thursday. Tribune photo: Mohd Amin War

Srinagar, October 18
The police has foiled the bid of the Jammu and Kashmir Urban Local Bodies Employees United Forum (JKULBEUF) to gherao the Civil Secretariat here today.

The JKULBEUF members led by Manzoor Ahmad Pampori, president of the forum, and Abdul Qayoom Wani, president of the Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC-Q) staged a demonstration at the Press Enclave.

Speaking on the occasion, Pampori criticised the government for failing to address their pending demands. He threatened to intensify their agitation if the government failed to meet their demands.

The steps towards the redressal of their genuine grievances were being “sabotaged” by “some blue-eyed officials”, Pampori said.

He regretted that the government had failed to take any action against the corrupt officials of the department despite having formed a committee to probe the irregularities. After protesting at the Press Enclave, the agitators tried to take out a march towards the Civil Secretariat. However, the police foiled their bid by taking several protestors into the preventive custody.

The forum demands include implementation of service recruitment rules, release of 20 per cent arrears under the Sixth Pay Commission, setting up of a transparent transfer policy within the department and regularisation of daily wagers and consolidated employees having more than 15 years’ service in the department. The forum is also demanding time-bound settlement of pension and commutation cases besides timely release of salaries.

Srinagar, October 18
The relatives of a woman from Pulwama, who was allegedly killed by her in-laws over dowry, staged a protest in Srinagar today. The family demanded the arrest of the husband and father-in-law of the deceased.

Kulsuma, hailing from Kirhama village of Pulwama district, allegedly died under "suspicious circumstances" at the SMHS Hospital in Srinagar on October 9. She was brought to the hospital from her in-laws house at Chandhara village in the district. Her relatives and neighbours staged a peaceful protest here today.

They also alleged that Kulsuma was harassed by her in-laws over dowry. They also accused them of killing her.

The protestors carried placards and shouted slogans against the police demanding immediate arrest of the accused.

Besides, the protesting relatives also shouted slogans against the SHO, Pampore, alleging that he was trying to hush-up the case.

"The police is hushing-up the case by not arresting the accused. We are being told that she committed suicide, which is not true," said Mohmmad Ramzan Yatoo, uncle of the deceased.

Yatoo said Kulsuma was married for two years and was eight months pregnant when she died under mysterious circumstances at a Srinagar hospital.

"How can a woman kill herself when she is carrying a child in her womb? It is impossible. We suspect that she was tortured by her husband Ghulam Mustafa Bhat and her father-in-law Ghulam Mohammad," Yatoo alleged.

He also alleged that the husband of the deceased had demanded Rs 2 lakh from the parents of the deceased two months ago. He also demanded that the money paid by the family be returned to them. “She was regularly harassed and tortured by her in-laws for dowry,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, the police today claimed that Pampore police has taken cognizance of Kulsuma's death. “The viscera has been sent to FSL after the post-mortem examination of the body.”

Srinagar, October 18
Governor NN Vohra today stressed on the need to introduce educational courses with high employability potential to help students of universities and other higher education institutions find immediate placements.

The Governor said this while chairing the 73rd meeting of the Jammu University Council at Raj Bhavan here today.

The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the Jammu University, said all the necessary measures must be taken to strengthen the monitoring mechanism of the universities.

Reiterating the need to organise short-term vocational courses in identified disciplines to provide better job opportunities to the youth, the Governor urged the university to start these courses at the earliest.

Reviewing the infrastructure development on the main campus as well as offsite campuses of the University, the Governor stressed that upcoming buildings must have the provision to use solar energy and other non-conventional energy sources. The buildings must also have rain water harvesting facilities and must fulfill the needs of the physically-challenged.

Abdul Gani Malik, Minister for Higher Education, stressed on the need to generate employment opportunities. He emphasised on a detailed analysis while introducing new courses so that these are in consonance with the emerging job market.

Prof MPS Ishar, Vice Chancellor of the Jammu University, in his power point presentation, gave details of the academic and extra-curricular achievements of the students. He also thanked the Governor for taking keen interest in the growth of the university.

The meeting was also attended by Prof Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor University of Kashmir, among others.

Baramulla, October 18
A school being run from a shop; and teachers taking classes on the roadside may seem unthinkable but this is how Government Boys Primary School, Singhpora, 7 km from here, has been functioning since 2005.

With no space to hold classes, teachers make children squat on the roadside, risking their lives in the process.

“In the absence of a school building, the school has been operating from a shop for past seven years. Safety of the students is compromised because we are forced to take some classes on the roadside, despite the flow of traffic," said Farooq Ahmad, a teacher. "We feel the chill from underneath sitting on thin mats put on a cemented floor. In addition, the noise due to the traffic movement creates disturbance," the students said.

"The dust from the road makes the children vulnerable to severe chest infections due to the dust emanating from the road. Some of them have already developed breathing complications," rued a teacher.

The school has no bathroom or kitchen either. The residents say Panchayat members also took up the issue with local authorities but to no avail. A Class V student Faisal Ahmad said, “Some of the classes are conducted on the roadside, which poses danger to our lives as there is great rush of traffic on the road.”

The parents feel the future of their wards is at stake due to the non-serious attitude of the authorities. “The authorities claim to be spending crores on school infrastructure but the school here runs from a shop, which tells the real story. Despite repeated pleas to relocate the school, the authorities have not bothered to do anything to address the problems of students," said Abdul Ahad, a parent.”

Zonal Education Officer (ZEO), Singhpora, Qamar-u-Nisa said, “Despite efforts, we could not arrange a piece of land for the school building. We will try to make some alternate arrangements to address the problem.”

Anantnag, October 18
Peerpora village in the Nanil area, located at a distance of 5 km from the Anantnag district, remains devoid of basic amenities like water supply, electricity and proper roads.

Locals say they have been drinking contaminated water from the stream that flows through their village and despite repeated reminders to the authorities nothing has been done to supply them water from a proper source.

“Our village accounts for cases of jaundice and gastroenteritis regularly. The water of the stream gets murkier when it rains. We can only boil it but that does not improve its quality,” said Peer Anayatullah, a local resident.

He said, “I along with other local residents have been moving from pillar to post to get the attention of the authorities, but to no avail.”

According to local residents, another problem being faced by them is the power supply, which is almost negligible and takes a toll on students.

“Though we do get power at times, the voltage is so low that it’s of no use,” said Imtiaz Ahmad, a local resident.

He said they get power supply through a transformer of an adjoining village and despite various pleas to the authorities, they were yet to get a transformer.

“I have rented a room in Anantnag town to study because it is impossible to study at night in my village as the voltage is too low,” said Rayees Ahmad, a Class XII student.

Local MLA Abdul Rehman Veeri acknowledged the fact that residents of this village were devoid of basic necessities. He, however, said steps were being taken for improving their condition.

“There is a new water supply scheme for the village and hopefully that will start working soon. As far as transformer is concerned, I have issued a sanction letter for that too,” said Veeri.

Sopore, October 18
Residents of Seer village, near Sopore, are facing problems due to a bad road. The locals said in spite of making repeated representations for repair work of the road, the authorities concerned had not paid any heed to their problems.

They said almost all link roads in Sopore had been made repaired during the past few years but the road leading to Seer village had been ignored. “The road leading to Seer village has not been repaired since 2003. It is dotted with potholes and has become non-motorable. The Sumo drivers have suspended service on it for more than past three months. We made several representations to the senior officials of roads and buildings department but to no avail,” said Abdul Rashid, a local.

The locals said they were facing serious problems in emergency cases like ferrying a patient to the hospital. “We prefer to carry the patients on stretchers as the unattended road has become non-motorable. Horse cart runners too choose to avoid ferrying the passengers on a road with potholes,” said a local.

They said they approached the MLA for his intervention in this matter but to no avail. “The legislator assured us that he would ask the department concerned to repair the road but his assurance too proved hollow,” said a local.

The locals said they held protests in the past to press the authorities concerned to take up the repair works of the road but to no avail.

A senior official of Roads and Buildings Division, Sopore, said the department was waiting for the release of funds. “Patch work will be carried out on the road. A project to carry out repair work of some link roads in Sopore is still awaiting an approval from the higher authorities,” he said.

Srinagar, October 18
Call it an influence of western culture or drifting away from one’s own culture, the people of Kashmir no longer prefer speaking the native language that once upheld the unique identity of this ‘Peer Vaer’ (Land of Sufis).

Historians and writers of Kashmir observe that only 20- 30 per cent of the population living in Kashmir speak the Kashmiri language. It hints towards the extinction of mother tongue of over 50 lakh people in the near future.

The trend of shunning the ancestral language in the Valley has particularly increased over the past half a decade, the experts opined.

Interestingly, the state government despite all the assurances has failed to introduce Kashmiri language as a compulsory subject at the elementary level of schooling.

In some government and private schools of the Valley, Kashmiri language has been inducted as a third additional or an optional language at secondary (class IX and X level) after English and Urdu or Hindi.

“The non-seriousness on the part of government in ensuring that Kashmiri language is to be taught across all the government or private schools of the Valley has also contributed to gradual disappearance of the language from our cultural scenario,” commented Zareerf Ahmad Zareef, an eminent Kashmiri poet and historian.

Veterans say that Kashmiri speaking community in the Valley has been reduced to the old timers. Speaking the once profound language is considered as “pretty old fashioned” now.

“The problem lies in every home where parents and other elders are hell bent on copying the western culture in terms of lifestyle and language. Kids these days are discouraged from talking in Kashmiri language by their parents and teachers considering it to be a matter of shame. This is what our society has come down to,” Zareef said.

“In an age, where Europeans and Americans are reviving their culture by focusing on speaking their native languages, people of the Valley are moving away from their roots,” he added.

Interestingly Kashmiri language was a medium of education in all the educational institutions of the Valley till 1954. Experts say that although the English assumed the priority since it is universally spoken and written, but that should not have happened at the cost of giving up a traditional language.

“Apparently, we are losing out on a treasure of literature and glorious history which is 5,500 years old as a majority of the works written was in Kashmiri language. The translation of these works is a huge concern now as we are left with a handful of linguists who specialise in Kashmiri language. They could translate these works in the English or any other language,” Prof. Shameema, a lecturer teaching Kashmiri language at Government College for Women, Nawa Kadal, said.

Srinagar, October 18
In order to promote Kashmiri language, the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) is organising a two-day conference on ‘Kashmiri language - challenges and opportunities’ from October 31.

Experts and scholars will read out research papers on different topics related to the subject matter of the conference.

Prominent writers of the Kashmiri language from within and outside the state will attend the conference as observers. They will deliberate on issues related to the Kashmiri language ranging from journalism, curriculum, computerisation, academics and translation. Each paper reading will be followed by an open-house discussion and question-answer session.

Secretary JKAACL, Khalid Bashir Ahmad said that the conference would be inaugurated by the minister for finance, Abdul Rahim Rather.

Srinagar, October 18
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), today provided two computers to the students of Babies Land Secondary School in Sumbal area of north Kashmir.

Computers were presented during a function organised by the 115 Battalion of the CRPF. On this occasion sweets, chocolates and other eatables were distributed among the school children, said Sudhir Kumar, CRPF Kashmir spokesperson.

The function was attended by civil administration and police officers, dignitaries, school teachers besides a large numbers of students.

On this occasion Vinay Negi, Commandant 115 Bn, CRPF stated that it was an effort to facilitate school in providing quality education through computers to the schoolchildren and to develop better relationship between CRPF and local populace.

Srinagar, October 18
The Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages today released the first issue of its 12-page bi-monthly Urdu newsletter, Saqafat, documenting the rich cultural scene of the state.

Chief Minister and president of the academy, Omar Abdullah, launched the first copy of the newsletter. He said the issuance of periodicals is a welcome step and it would highlight the rich cultural heritage of the state.

Omar expressed that the periodical successfully present the composite culture of J&K within and outside the state.

The newsletter also records the academy’s diverse cultural activities. It will highlight the important cultural events organised by the academy in the recent months. It will also present significant developments related to art, culture and languages taking place throughout the state.

Anantnag, October 18
The streetlights installed along a 4-km stretch of the Khannabal-Pahalgam road, Anantnag, have been lying defunct since a long time now. The non-functioning of these lights has caused severe inconvenience to the commuters and the locals. It has posed a grave danger to them.

Reports said only after the intervention of the Deputy Commissioner, these lights were restored up to Mattan. However, the reports said after a year of their restoration, the lights on the roads connecting Mattan to Bumzoo are still lying defunct.

The locals say that the lights were installed by the R&B department. However, they never came for the maintenance of these lights after their installation. “We have been moving from pillar to post, pleading the authorities concerned but to no avail,” said the locals.

“Being a vital road link to tourist destination Pahalgam, the road witnesses heavy rush throughout the year. The absence of lights on the road not only puts the commuters at risk but also poses a grave danger to the locals,” said local resident Mudassir.

“The children and grown up persons avoid going through this road after evening as it is dangerous to commute in absence of lights,” said Shabir Ahmad, another local.

“The drivers plying this road frequently maintain that being a double lane, they become a bit careless while driving on it. However, it becomes dangerous after evening. The carelessness doubled with the absence of lights can prove fatal at times,” said a Sumo driver.

Srinagar, October 18
Baramulla unit of the Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP), in association with Education Department, Health Department and Human Aid Society of Kashmir, Baramulla, organised an awareness camp on ‘National Rural Health Mission’ at Government Middle School, Hygam, Sopore.

“The main objective of the camp was to educate the general rural masses about the NRHM and its functions. The National Rural Health Mission actually aims to provide proper and best health care facilities to rural masses at their door step,” an official spokesman said.

“Many lectures by doctors and question and answer sessions were arranged,” he added.

The unit in charge G N Shah inaugurated the function by delivering an elaborate speech on the aims and objectives of the mission.

This was followed by lectures by the representatives of the Human Aid Society of Kashmir, Baramulla and the school headmaster.

Srinagar, October 18
A prominent politico-religious organisation Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded release of political prisoners before the Eid that falls on October 27.

“Jamaat strongly demands early release of all political detainees, including Dr Qasim, Masarat Alam, Mohammad Ayub Dar, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, before the Eid so that they are able to celebrate this festival with their families,” a spokesman of the party said in a statement in Srinagar.

The party spokesman also condemned the “ill-treatment” meted out to detainees in the Udhampur Jail.

“The ill-treatment of inmates in any jail is a violation of United Nations Human Rights Charter and also considered by civilised world as a heinous offence against the humanity,” he said.

“The Kashmiri leaders and workers detained for demanding the resolution of the Kashmiri issue are to be treated as political prisoners as per the international law and violation of their rights enhances gravity of the offence,’ he added.

Srinagar, October 18
Chief Secretary Madhav Lal today administered the oath of office and secrecy to S S Kapur as the chairperson of the State Water Resources Regulatory Authority (SWRRA), an official said.

The oath ceremony was held at the Civil Secretariat. VK Abrol and AR Tak were also administered the oath of office and secrecy as members of the SWRRA.