Jammu, November 8
More than 400 candidates, who were provisionally selected for the post of teachers in Kathua district about two months ago, are a harried lot as their appointments have been stuck in a bureaucratic red-tape despite the fact the district has been reeling under shortage of over 800 teachers in government schools.

In December 2010, the state government had advertised the posts of teachers. In Jammu Division, there were at least 2,000 posts, while in Kashmir Division 2,500 posts were offered.

Sources in the department said while the School Education Department had made appointments in other districts of the state, barring Poonch where the court had granted a stay on the provisional selection list, the candidates from Kathua district, whose provisional selection list was declared on September 3, were still awaiting for their appointment letters due to bureaucratic red-tape.

“The level of uncertainty is quite high among the selected candidates as the provisional selection list was issued after a gap of nearly one and half years following a court stay. More than two months have passed since the list of 404 candidates was declared but we don’t know the present status of the list,” said a selected candidate.

Another candidate said, “Private school authorities discontinued the services of the selected candidates where they were working as teachers after announcement of the selection list. They are virtually left jobless as no private school is ready to hire them for a short period because the present status of the list is not known.”

The candidate said the State Education Department and the Service Selection Board (SSB) should issue a circular so that the status of the selected candidates could be known to all.

GA Qureshi, Director, School Education, Jammu, said: “We have not received any communication from the Civil Secretariat till date. You should check the status of the selection list from the Civil Secretariat.”

Farooq Ahmed Factoo, Commissioner/Secretary, School Education Department, J&K, said the SSB had not sent the list to the State Education Department so far. “We can proceed forward only after getting the list from the SSB authorities.”

Imam Din, Secretary, JKSSB, said he was not aware about the present status of the selection list and suggested that Dr Ashok Kumar, Chairman, Selection Committee, Kathua, SSB, could present clear picture on the list.

When contacted, Dr Ashok Kumar said, “The delay in recommending the selection list to the Education Department has taken place due to a court stay. We declared the list after the court vacated the stay. We are finalising the things and the list will be recommended to the state government soon.”

Jammu, November 8
With people refusing to give space to mobile phone companies to install towers in residential areas, the district administration has decided to call a meeting of senior executives of mobile companies to share tower space as no new approval could be given for installation of new towers.

An official of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) said many people in the past had lodged complaints that they feared that towers installed on old and tall buildings would fall down on surrounding buildings in case of storm or earthquake.

When contacted, JMC Commissioner KL Khajuria said, “People don’t want new towers near their homes and localities and we are also not issuing new No Objection Certificates (NoC). We also have stopped to discuss any request now from telecom companies.”

Khajuria said after the festival season, administration would invite representatives of telecom companies to urge them to share the towers to provide services to new users.

It is pertinent to mention here that over illegal installation of towers by the seven cellular companies operating in Jammu and Kashmir, the government had asked the respective district administration in 2010 to form committees to look into the complaints of violation of norms.

The Deputy Commissioners of Jammu, Samba, Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, Reasi and Udhampur were asked to take steps to deal with the menace.

In violation of rules, the telecom companies have installed towers in rural areas on farm lands.

At present, there are close to 40 lakh mobile phone users in the state and the service was started in 2003 when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the Chief Minister of the state. People in the state have to face a tough time to get security clearance from the Central agencies to get mobile phone connection.

There are 400 towers within the limits of the JMC and around the same number within the Srinagar Municipal Corporation limits, and most of these towers are illegal as per the new advisory of the Department of Telecommunication, which provides that no tower can be installed within 100 metre radius of hospitals, residential building and schools.

Poonch, November 8
After the recent disclosure of an Indian prisoner of war (POW), who is languishing in a Masira jail in Oman, has brought cheers to the family of Subedar Kalidass Sharma of Militia (presently 8 JAK LI). He was captured by Pakistani forces in the 1971 War. Kalidass was among the 56 PoWs of the 1971 War.

Subedar Kalidass was posted in Chham Jorian Sector in 1971 when he was captured by the Pakistani Army on December 8, 1971.

When the news of Sepoy Jaspal Singh, a POW of the 1971 War, appeared in The Tribune, Sharma’s family hoped that their loved one would also be alive somewhere in Pakistan.

Kanta Devi, wife of Subedar Kalidass, who never presumed her husband dead, said, “Like Sepoy Jaspal Singh, who is still alive in an Oman jail, my husband may also be languishing somewhere in a Pakistani jail and the Indian Government should put pressure on Pakistan to release all POWs of the 1971War.”

“He was accompanied by Sepoy Amarchand and Sepoy Lekh Raj of the same unit when he was captured,” Kanta Devi said.

Narrating her struggle in search of her husband for the past 41 years, Kanta said, “We came to know on December 17, 1971, through a telegram that my husband had been captured by the Pakistani forces and kept in a Lahore jail and from time to time, we heard his voice on radio from Lahore, Chaklala and Atkani jails. The POWs in Pakistan were given a chance to air their voice to convey massage to their family members of their survival and intimation of their whereabouts in Pakistani jails so that required steps could be taken for their release,” said Kanta Devi.

“Several people, especially my husband’s friends used to come to me to inform me that they heard his voice on Radio Lahore,” Kanta said.

“We raised the issue several times with the Central Government that he (Kalidass) is alive in Pakistan jail and necessary steps for his release should be taken but nothing happened so far,” said Kanta.

She claimed that the Gujarat High Court on December 23, 2011, passed an order: “Kalidass is to be treated as alive up to deemed date of retirement, July 30, 1972, and thereafter liberalised awards and death gratuity is to be granted.” In the order, he has been elevated as Honrory Captain.

Kanta believed that like Sepoy Jaspal Singh, her husband would also be alive in a jail somewhere in Pakistan.

Kanta, who is suffering from orthopedic problems, is planning to meet the President of India for requesting him to include POW’s issue in Indo-Pakistan dialogue.

Kalidass’ four sons and two daughters are desperately waiting for his return.

Jammu, November 8
Irked over inordinate delay in completion of the Tawi irrigation project, the Duggar Vikas Manch today alleged that the government was delaying the project.

Manch president Dineshwar Singh Jamwal, in a meeting of the working committee members of the organisation, said the state Cabinet had accorded its approval to the project in February 2010.

Jamwal demanded immediate clearance for the project from the Finance Department as already a lot of time had been lost which could have been used for the construction of the proposed canal from village Satwain instead of Shapur Kandi.

He said the work on the project should be started at the earliest as thousands of acres of land would come under irrigation and 25 MW of power would be generated after completion of the project which would benefit people of the Kandi area of the Jammu region.

Jammu, November 8
Taking serious note of the unsatisfactory performance of state contingent in major disciplines in the National School Games, conducted by the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) of the state has now decided not to send teams with poor record in the 58th edition of the sporting event.

The basketball team has become the first casualty of this decision as the department did not grant it permission to participate in the championship, presently being played at Rajasthan.

It may be mentioned here that Director of DYSS, Jai Pal Singh, had expressed concern over the dismal performance of the state teams in major disciplines and also gave indications of taking strict action besides selection of teams on merit basis for national-level competitions.

Sources claimed that cancellation of other major disciplines for the ongoing National School Games is also on the cards as the department is not able to focus on important games due to the inclusion of so many new disciplines in the calendar of activities.

“There has been addition of a number of new disciplines causing difficulty for the DYSS to conduct activities due to paucity of funds”, said one source on condition of anonymity. “No additional funds have been released by the authorities to conduct the activities and it is almost impossible to organise tournaments in multi-disciplines with a limited budget. The department is already facing severe criticism from the medal winners of the 57th National School Games for not awarding scholarships due to non-allocation of additional grant and it is high time now that concrete steps are taken to improve the prevailing scenario”, he added.

Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director, Youth Services and Sports and vice-president of SGFI, said, “Yes, the basketball team has not been sent for participation in the championship. The department will soon formulate a strategy to find out the shortcomings that have been responsible for poor performance of the state contingent in important disciplines and cancellation of contingents for the games is a part of that strategy.”

Jammu, November 8
Markets in the city are a choc-a-bloc these days as Divali draws closer. The rush has given rise to another problem: encroachments by shopkeepers in the hope of earning more money.

The Jammu Municipal Committee (JMC) authorities are seen to be liberal on encroachments, saying they do not want to create more mess by demolishing illegal structures during the festive season.

Suman Gandotra, a private school teacher, shared her experience, “Visiting markets is a nightmare. There is no space to walk. Cars have been parked haphazardly at the market entrance and the interiors roads have all been encroached upon by the shopkeepers”.

The shopkeepers have their own reasons. They say it is the season to earn more money. “An additional counter outside the shops helps our business,” said a shopkeeper.

Deepak Sharma, a cosmetics shop owner from Purani Mandi said, “During the festive season, the demand skyrockets. To cope up with the increasing demand we are bound to put up an additional stall outside the shops. It creates problems for the people but we do it for a very limited period”.

KL Khajuria, Commissioner, JMC said, “We know there are some illegal encroachments in the old city market. But during the festive season, we too get liberal for the convenience of people as well as the shopkeepers. We do not want to create any mess during Diwali time”.

He said once the festivities were over, “we will get into action and demolish all illegal encroachments”.

Batote, November 8
Stolen items worth Rs 65,850 and 800 gms of charas were recovered by the police in Ramban district, at two different places today.

The police recovered 11 cell phones and related accessories worth Rs 65,850 by arresting a thief, Romesh Kumar of Jath Gali, Ramban, from Gool.

Romesh had allegedly stolen these items on the night of September 11, from the shop of Dilawar Beg in Salbala.

He was booked under FIR No 59/2012 u/s 457/380 RPC in Police Station, Gool.

In the other incident, the police searched an under-construction shop in presence of an Executive Magistrate, 1st class, Banihal and recovered 800 gms charas from under the bricks. An FIR No 197/2012, U/S 8/20/NDPS was registered at Police Station, Banihal and the investigation started.

Poonch, November 8
Danish Rana, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Rajouri-Poonch Range, conducted a public meeting today in Kulali, Surankote tehsil and interacted with the Village Defence Committee (VDC) members.

Fazal Tahir, head of the 171-member VDC, appreciated the role of police in fighting militancy and crime in the area.

He said the first VDC was constituted by the then DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range, SM Sahai, who visited the village after successful culmination of ‘Operation Sarvanash’ in May 2003. He said four VDC members of the area sacrificed their lives and many were injured while fighting the militants. “VDC members remained on the forefront in all anti-militancy operations which led to the elimination of more than 100 militants, including some top commanders, besides demolishing permanent structures and training camps in hill kaka forests,” he said.

Rana lauded the role played by the local residents, especially VDC members, for supporting the police and Army in fight against the militants in Marha area, the hub of militancy till year 2003.

He urged them to remain alert to achieve peace.

SP Poonch, Shamsheer Hussain, said it was the only VDC in the whole state, which voluntarily came forward for fighting the militancy.

He said ‘Operation Sarvnash’ was successful only due to active and voluntary support of local residents of the area.

On the occasion, uniforms and stationary items were distributed to more than 100 students of three primary schools of the area, including PS Jani Danna, PS Nabni Behk and PS Nanoor Bala.

All the participants appreciated the gesture of DIG Rajouri-Poonch Range and SP Poonch for organising the public meeting.

Jammu, November 8
Minister for Higher Education, Abdul Gani Malik, has complimented the role played by private educational institutions in the state, in raising state-of-art infrastructure and imparting quality education.

He lauded the efforts of Gandhi Memorial College of Education, Jammu, and labeled the management of the Hindu Education Society Kashmir (HESK) as 'brand ambassadors' of the field of education.

Malik was addressing the gathering after inaugurating a two-day national workshop on the 'Role of Academic Counselors in ODL System'.

The workshop was organised by the Directorate of Distance Education, University of Kashmir, in collaboration with Gandhi Memorial College of Education, Raipur, Bantalab.

Dr Talat Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir, appreciated the collaboration between University of Kashmir and Hindu Education Society, Kashmir. He said the society could develop only through education.

President of HESK, Anil Dhar, said the Gandhi Memorial College of Education was a torchbearer in the field of education in private sector.

He also thanked Dr Nilofar Khan for giving an opportunity to the college for bridging the gap between the University of Kashmir and its affiliated colleges at Jammu.

Jammu, November 8
A 32-member karatekas team of Amateur Karate Do Association, Jammu and Kashmir, (AKAJK) today left to participate in the 1st AIKF Open National Karate Do Championship slated to be held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi, from November 8 to November 10.

Amateur Karate Do Association of Jammu and Kashmir (AKAJK) president Ambedkar Gupta accompanied the team.

The team: Boys U-14 (Junior Category): Utkarsh Khajuria, Prakhar Jyoti, Anjan Chopra, Sparsh Bhat, Sushan Sharma, Avril Attri, Manik Sharma, Gourish Pratap Singh and Rhytham Sharma

Boys 14-15 years (Cadet Category): Amit Sharma, Sourav Mehra, Yuvraj Singh, Sahil Singh and Satyam Mahajan.

Boys 16-17 years (Junior Category): Abhishek Sharma, Nahiem Ahmed Khan, Mohiem Ahmed Khan, Wasim Iqbal Khan, Niaz Ahmed, Khurfid Ahmed Khan, Mohammad Sadeeq and Shabaz Khan.

Boys above 18 years (Senior Category): Aman Sapolia, Ravi Kumar, Anup Singh, Pankaj Kumar, Parveen Singh, Ibrar Khan and Rajesh Kumar.

Girls below 14 years (Junior Category): Fiza Khan, Ishita Raina.

Girls 14-15 years (Cadet Category): Amrita Katoch.

Katra, November 8
To redress the grievances of the poor people living in remote areas of the district, the Member Legislative Assembly (MLA), Reasi, Baldev Raj Sharma, convened a public darbar in his constituency today.

Executive engineer, PDD division, executive engineer, PHE dvision, Chief Education Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, besides other district and sectorial officers, sarpanches and panches also attended the darbar.

People raised various demands, including concession in electricity tariff for rural areas, up-gradation of Reasi-Katra Road, old age pension to the eligible people and timely payment of pension, augmentation of water supply schemes, supply of high breed variety seeds, implementation of horticulture, agriculture and allied sectors schemes in the area, posting of adequate field staff of horticulture and agriculture, issuance of ration cards for the divided families, up-gradation of various schools and clearance of pending panels in education department.

He asked the officers to make coordinated efforts for the development and upliftment of backward areas. He also asked the sarpanches and panches to keep a close eye on various developmental works in their respective areas so that the funds allotted get utilised on ground for the benefit of the people.

Regarding up-gradation of roads and drinking water supply schemes, the MLA directed the concerned executing agency to speed up the work and complete the same in time.

Sharma said he was committed to the development of every vital sector in the area and the Central and state governments had launched various schemes for the upliftment of the weaker sections of society. He added that the people should come forward to avail maximum benefits of these schemes.

Prominent people who accompanied Sharma included Shambu Nath Tripathi, Captain Kuldeep Singh, Naresh Sharma, Chaman Lal Bhagat and Ashok Kumar Mengi.

Jammu, November 8
Atman Sports Club scripted a thrilling 3-run win over Vishal Cricket Club (VCC) while JKP XI beat ACC XI by 15 runs today in the ongoing Eid-Diwali Milan T20 Cup Cricket Tournament being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Police Department, in collaboration with Simula Software, at M A Stadium here.

In the first match, JKP XI got better of ACC X1 by 15 runs to secure a berth in the quarterfinals. Batting first, JKP XI accumulated 145-6 in the stipulated 20 overs. Skipper Rajesh Gill was the top scorer with 52 runs off 48 balls, including 8 boundaries.

Amit Sharma also contributed useful 30 runs in as many balls. Naresh contributed 32 runs off 24 balls with 3 fours. For ACC XI, Ajay, Madan and Sambyal took 2, 1 and 1 wicket respectively.

In reply, ACC XI could not able to chase the target and managed to score 130-5 in the process. Sunil Sambyal played a fighting knock of 37 runs while Babla and Anand contributed 32 and 18 runs to the total.

For JKP XI, Rajesh Gill, Dilbag and Shamsher Singh snared 2, 1 and 1 wickets respectively. Rajesh Gill of JKP XI was adjudged the man of 
the match.

In another match, Atman Club notched up a thrilling win over VCC by 3 runs. Batting first, Atman Sports XI scored 118-5 in the stipulated 20 overs. Chetan was the top scorer with 62 runs in 51 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Saleem and Narinder scored 17 and 13 runs respectively. For VCC, Bansi was the chief destroyer who took 3 wickets while Kaka took two wickets.

In reply, VCC skittled out for 115 runs in 18 overs. Parveen Singh was the top scorer with 54 runs off 42 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes while Kaka and Ashu scored 28 and 22 runs respectively. For Atman Club, Chetan, Sidhant and Baljit shared 2 wickets each. Chetan of Atman was declared the man of the match.

The matches were officiated by Suhail, Harbinder Singh and JD Singh as umpires while Amit and Yogesh as scorers.