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Six-laning project set to miss deadline
Ban on mobile towers near LoC lifted
Markets abuzz with shoppers ahead of Eid
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Controversy mars poll
to varsity scholars’ body
JCCB staff observe strike
Two held in Bara youth murder case
One killed, 2 injured in mishap
Army holds education camp for nomad children
Jaspal Bhatti’s death condoled
J-K Forest win football tourney
Chhatral team win T20 tourney
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Six-laning project set to miss deadline
Jammu, October 25 Sources said the government had fixed December 2012 as the deadline for Rs 19-crore six-laning project, which was approved two years ago. They said the delay in execution of the project was attributed to bureaucratic red-tape and delay in releasing payment to contractors who were engaged for completing the project. “The project was supposed to be started in December 2010 or in the first month of 2011 but it took one and half years to start the work. The shifting of electricity poles and PHE pipes, cutting of trees and telecom lines was delayed due to lackadaisical attitude of the officials at the helm of affairs,” sources said, adding that the failure of the government to release the payments of contractors on time too had contributed for the present situation. A new bridge and nine culverts would be constructed on the 5-km stretch of Kunjwani-Satwari. It had also been proposed that ornamental and other plants would be planted on the banks of the road, besides installing high mast lights on the road for attraction of tourists. A contractor, who wished not to be identified, said: “The allotment of works was done in December 2010 but we could not start the project because of delay in shifting of electric poles, water pipes, telephone lines and cutting of trees along the stretch. The work was started six months ago and it is impossible for us to meet the deadline.” He also lashed out at the ruling government for making “hollow slogans” in the name of development. “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had recently declared that all the contractors who failed to meet the deadline of development works would be blacklisted but he didn’t bother to go into the deep-rooted problem which lies in delay in payment to the contractors. The government is yet to clear my bills worth Rs 52 lakh. It is difficult for any contractor to continue development works without timely release of payment for his work.” Jammu Tribune had highlighted the problems being faced by the commuters on the Kunjwani-Satwari National Highway due to delay in the completion of project. The widening work had turned the entire stretch into a virtual death trap as unkempt and potholed road covered with construction waste has been causing a “dust haze” resulting into frequent road mishaps. Besides, shopkeepers along the stretch had been suffering huge losses for the past one and half years due to road widening work which was taking place at a snail’s pace. Thaseen Mustafa, Chief Engineer, R&B, Jammu, said shifting of utilities and removal of encroachments was a time-consuming exercise and they had completed nearly 80 per cent work under the first phase which comprised widening of road, expansion of bridges, construction of culverts and drainage. “Nearly Rs 14 crore has been sanctioned for black-topping work under the second phase which will be done soon after the completion of widening work,” the Chief Engineer said, adding “It would be wrong to say that they had fixed December 2012 deadline for the completion of the project.” He, however, rejected the allegations of contractors vis-à-vis delay in release of their payments, saying the department had received no such complaint. |
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Ban on mobile towers near LoC lifted
Rajouri/ Poonch, October 25 People in the border areas have access to mobile network from Pakistani side only near the Line of Control (LoC). It had become a matter of concern for various security agencies. After vacating the restriction, people will now have access to better mobile network in the border belt. “Any private company besides the BSNL can install tower to provide improved facilities after getting NOC,” Pilot said. “Yes, we are fully aware of the problem and we have been discussing the matter with senior officials to find out a suitable solution,” he said. Sachin said as peace had been restored in J&K and the state government was keen to restart SMS service, the Centre wa also determined to resolve the issue soon. “The Centre does not believe in censorship. If any company violates the law, it will be punished under the law of the land,” he added. The outgoing calls to Pakistan have been restricted since militancy erupted in the state. “Peace has been restored for over two years in the state. Both the Centre and the state government are keeping a watch over the situation. The ban will be lifted at an appropriate time.” “Post office inauguration to sirf bahana tha (Post office inauguration was a mere an excuse to come here). I was keen to meet people here,” he said. Pilot donated two vehicles to the post office in Rajouri saying one more post office will come up in the district by the end of this year. Later in the evening, the minister also interacted with local people, party workers. Why the decision
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Markets abuzz with shoppers ahead of Eid
Jammu, October 25 In Jammu, the biggest congregation will be held at Eidgah, Residency road, where thousands of Muslims will offer Eid Namaz and the Auqaf administration has made adequate arrangements for the same. Besides offering special Eid prayers, exchange of sweets and hugs are other notable features of Eid-ul-Azha celebrations in the Jammu region. Tight security arrangements have also been put in place across the city and its outskirts for smooth and peaceful celebrations of the festival. A large number of Muslims will also offer Eid Namaz at Jamia Masjid Talab Khatikan, Eidgah Narwal, Jamia Masjid Kachhi Chawani, Sidhrah, Bhatindi and other mosques of the city. “I have come with my family to purchase bakery items, clothes for children and other necessary items,” said one of the shoppers. “It is not possible to go to market during the festival because it is getting chaotic day by day,” he added.
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Modern post office thrown open in Rajouri
Rajouri, October 25 Pilot said the Department of Information Technology would provide software on Dogri and Gojri in far flung areas of the state so that speakers of these languages could become computer-savvy and use internet. The minister said it was an initiative of the Centre to provide certificates, banking facilities, insurance and finance facilities at post offices. He said to interlink all the post offices in the country, the Central government had sanctioned Rs 1,877 crore. “Two months back, I tried to come here but could not reach owing to bad weather. But this time, I planned to meet people between Eid and Diwali.” To spread e-governance at the village level, the Department of Electronics and IT has undertaken an outreach campaign through common services centres (CSCs) across the country. Jammu-Poonch MP Madan Lal Sharma, Shabir Ahamad Khan, MoS for Forest, Environment & Ecology also spoke on the occasion. They thanked Pilot in mitigating the problems of people of the border districts. Pilot also announced two mail vans for the Rajouri head post office. He said a post office branch will be opened at the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in Rajouri by November end. Chief Postmaster General, J&K, S Sarkar also accompanied the minister. Pilot appreciates JU for new academic initiatives
Jammu: Union Minister of State for Telecommunications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot today appreciated the new academic programmes and initiatives undertaken by the University of Jammu in the recent past. Speaking at a formal interaction with senior Deans and officials of the Jammu University, the minister assured full support of his ministry to various forthcoming projects, especially the proposed media centre and hostel for girls of far-flung areas.
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Hunar-se-Rozgar scheme gets good response
Jammu, October 25 Although this scheme has received encouraging response from the unemployed educated men all over the state, a good number of women is also coming forward to avail benefit of this scheme in Udhampur district where the first batch completed training today. “We have received overwhelming response in this district,” said Ashish Sharma, course coordinator, for imparting training to youth of Udhampur district. Unlike other parts of the state, ITI College Udhampur is providing logistics support to the Department to Tourism for providing training to youth. Sharma, who has been deputed by the Institute of Hotel Management Srinagar, to impart a six-week training to the youth, said the first batch of 40 students today completed their training. He hoped that all the trained youth would be adjusted soon because there was a huge scope for trained staff in the hotel and tourism industry. He said women were also coming forward in large numbers to avail of this scheme. Sharma said soon training of tourist facilitator would also be started at Udhampur. Arun Parkash Gupta, chairman of the Institute of Management Committee which provides logistics support for conducting training, exuded confidence that placement was not an issue because the Udhampur area has a huge potential in tourism industry. “It is really encouraging that women are also coming forward to take benefit of this scheme,” he said. Gupta said keeping in view the increasing number of unemployed youth in Udhampur and adjoining areas, the scheme would provide opportunity to the less educated youth to get job in the tourism industry. As reported earlier, the Union Ministry of Tourism has launched a training programme, christened as Hunar-se-Rozgar (HSR), to create employable skills in the interested youth who are in the age group of 18-25 years and who are minimum 8th standard pass. The upper age limit has been raised to 28. |
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Controversy mars poll
to varsity scholars’ body
Jammu, October 25 The rival group had called for a complete shutdown in University of Jammu tomorrow to protest the “authoritarian” and “dictatorial” attitude of the authorities and blamed the Election Commissioner and others for resorting to “favouritism” at the behest of ruling political leadership of the state. The university had appointed Jasbir Singh, a professor from the Department of Computer Sciences & Information Technology as the Election Commissioner. A Returning Officer and an Election Observer were also appointed for smooth conduct of the elections. Sources said the Election Commissioner had a meeting with all the stakeholders on October 18 wherein it was decided that the last date for filing of nomination would be October 25 till 2.00 pm and the scrutiny would be done immediately thereafter. It was further decided that the contesting candidates could withdraw their candidature between 2.30 pm and 3.00 pm. The trouble erupted on the campus when the Election Body declared the panel led by Rakesh Chib, who is the former president of the JURSEA, as elected unopposed citing the “failure of the other group led by Anil Sharma, a research scholar from the Department of Botany to file the nomination on time.” The scholars led by Anil Sharma and Kapil expressed resentment on the decision of the Election Body and alleged that they (election officials) worked under the political pressure. “It was a pre-planned move which was entirely influenced by the politicians as few leaders of Jammu University wanted to retain their positions. It is a sheer injustice with the scholars and we will not tolerate this authoritarian attitude of the university. We will not allow normal classwork on the campus from tomorrow,” Kapil said. He alleged that the authorities deliberately had given just two hours time for filing nomination papers from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Later, they also staged a protest against the authorities alleging “political interference” in the elections of the JURSEA fixed for October 31. They also surrounded the Vice-Chancellor Secretariat to lodge their protest against the “injustice”. Prof NK Tripathi, Dean Students Welfare, University of Jammu, said Rakesh Chib-led panel had been declared elected unopposed because the other group failed to file the nomination papers on time. “We had appointed an Election Body for fair and transparent elections. They (protesting scholars) failed to file nomination papers well in time that forced the Election Body to reject their nomination and the other group was declared elected unopposed. There was no question of any political interference in these elections,” he said. Rakesh Chib, who is also the president of National Conference Student Union (NCSU), was elected president of the JURSEA for the second time. All the six seats of the JURSEA were won by the NCSU supported candidates. Varinder Singh Waris was elected general secretary, Inderjeet Kour vice-president, Akshay Kumar joint secretary, Gourav Kumar treasurer and Rachna organising secretary of the JURSEA. Chib said, “I am thankful to Jammu varsity students for reposing faith in me and my party - J&K National Conference. I am also thankful to my party and its leadership. I assure you all that I will work with dedication for the welfare of students and create an environment where the students’ fraternity has a say”. |
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JCCB staff observe strike
Jammu, October 25 Their demands include release of dearness allowance, annual increments, no extension to backdoor appointees who were engaged on daily basis and withdrawal of transfer orders of executive members of employees’ bodies. —
TNS
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This city skydiver has her eyes set high
Jammu, October 25 During an interaction with media, Archana said she would approach different schools in the Temple City and suggest them to introduce such camps for their students. About the suitable age to initiate into the game, Archana said, “It depends on one’s mental ability and age has nothing to do with it.” “Even I got initiated into scuba diving after I got married in 1997. It was my passion that helped me to achieve this in such a short span of time,” she quipped. Born in Jammu in 1972, Archana completed her schooling from Presentation Convent in Srinagar. After completing BSc she did a diploma in interior designing and computer. Then she went on to do a course in adventure, basic and advanced mountaineering from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi. Archana holds the distinction of being the first woman to do ‘free fall’ from a height of 13,500 ft and unfurled the Tricolour in the USA. She recently accomplished another feat in deep sea by becoming the country’s only woman master scuba diver trainer certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), USA. She has also has ventured into extreme adventure sports to promote the cause of girl child by creating awareness about female foeticide. She is the recipient of Adventurer of the Year Award-2010 and recently entered the Limca Book of Awards for creating a national record in base jumping, scuba diving and skydiving.
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Two held in Bara youth murder case
Jammu, October 25 The youth was killed in the Ramgarh area on September 27. The accused have been identified as Deepak Singh of ward number 6 in Vijaypur and Harshwar Singh of Bari Kamila in Vijaypur. On September 27, the police had recovered the body of one Narender Singh of Bara which was found floating in a canal at Garwal village in Ramgarh. The throat of the victim was slit with some sharp-edged weapon and it was almost in a decomposed condition. The body was shifted to the District Hospital, Ramgarh, and a post-mortem was conducted on it. Its photographs were circulated in all the police stations in the area. The family of the deceased approached the Ramgarh police station and identified the body. Narender Singh had reportedly left his house on September 24. The police obtained the call details of the cell phone of the deceased. A scrutiny of call records revealed that the victim had made last call to one Deepak Singh of ward number 6, Vijaypur. The police interrogated Deepak following this. After sustained questioning, the accused confessed to crime. He disclosed that he had killed Narender Singh in connivance with one Harshwar Singh over a monetary dispute. Deepak said he owed the victim Rs 80,000. He said Narender had even threatened to kidnap his younger sister.
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One killed, 2 injured in mishap
Batote, Ocotober 24 Zaffar Hussain, driver of Mahindra Xylo (JK19-0896), died on the spot while two of his co-passengers got injured when their car hit a parapet while trying to avoid a head-on collision with another vehicle. The injured were identified as Shakti Singh of Kainthi in Ramban and Kailash Singh of Doda. They were rescued by the CRPF personnel on patrol. Both the injured were admitted to the district hospital in Ramban from where Shakti Singh was referred to the GMC, Jammu. Investigations in the case are on, police said. |
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Army holds education camp for nomad children
Jammu, October 25 The classes were conducted with the help of the Counter Insurgency (Romeo) Force. Elementary knowledge of arithmetic and the ability to read and write was imparted to these children who are deprived of basic schooling facilities. The aim of conducting these classes was to encourage parents to send their children to school. Study material, including stationery, books and appropriate teaching aids were provided by the Army. Many village elders of the neighbouring areas had made a request for conducting such classes at one of the meetings of the Army. It was decided at that meeting that the children from remote areas who have been denied access to education for want of basic educational infrastructure would be provided requisite study kits. These classes will act as a catalyst among children to seek education. Sarpanch of Bhattadurian village thanked the Army for this enabling initiative. Commanding Officer of the RR Battalion assured that the Army would continue to hold such classes in future as well. -- TNS
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Jaspal Bhatti’s death condoled
Jammu, October 25 In a press statement issued here, Gurdeep Singh Sasan, chairman of the Amalgamate, recalled his long association with late Jaspal Bhatti and said he was an icon in comedy and was a great director, producer, writer philanthropist and multi-faceted personality. He said he exposed malpractices and other social evils — TNS
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J-K Forest win football tourney
Jammu, October 25 Both teams played outstandingly throughout the match. The first half remained goalless as both teams did not show any aggression. In the second half, Mushtaq scored the all important goal for the J&K Forest in the 65th minute to give his side a decisive lead that eventually maintained till the end. J&K Forest team dominated the proceedings from the word go while the J&K Bank forwards were on the other hand on the slower side. The strikers of the J&K Forest team missed quite a few chances they got in the first half. Had they capitalised on the chances, the score line could have been different. Inspector General of Police, Armed, Kashmir Range, Rouf-ul-Hassan, was the chief guest on the occasion. JK Bank executive president Taffazul Hussain, . Atul to lead Jindrah skating club in nationals
International skater and national champion, Atul Sharma, will lead the Roller Athlete Skating Club, Jindrah, in the 7th All-India Invitational Roller Skating Championship slated to be held at Mussoorie in Uttrakhand from October 27. Atul has already participated in two Asian Roller Skating Championships held in South Korea and China. Pardeep Singh Jamwal, another International skater and goalkeeper, has been named vice-captain of the team which comprised Atul Sharma (captain), Pardeep Singh Jamwal, Param Vir Singh Bhatia, Ankush Kohli, Krish Gupta, Arya Vir Singh Jamwal, Sorab Bakshi, Amit Nargotra and Uday Singh Jamwal. |
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Jammu, October 25 A total of four local teams participated in the tournament which was played on knock-out basis. The teams were Ari, Chhatral, Degree College and Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Mendhar. Iqbal Singh, Tehsildar, Mendhar, was the chief guest who distributed prizes to the winner and runners-up teams. While speaking on the occasion, Iqbal Singh said the Army was working positively to give direction to the youth for achieving excellence in sports. – TNS
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The ambitious project of six-laning of Kunjwani-Satwari National Highway is set to miss its first deadline, courtesy bureaucratic quagmire.
As the holy festival of Eid-ul-Azha is just few days away now, markets in the winter capital are abuzz with shoppers purchasing Eid special items besides daily items, including bakery
products.
The much-talked about elections of the Jammu University Research Scholars Executive Association (JURSEA) has been marred with a major controversy after the authorities today declared one of the contesting panel of candidates elected unopposed following the “failure of rival group to comply with the guidelines”.
