Jammu, November 19
In the absence of quality checks, more than 10 lakh residents of the city are being supplied adulterated milk. The Jammu Municipal Corporation or other agencies do not have the requisite manpower or equipment at their disposal to monitor the quality of the milk being supplied in city.

Though the officials claim to conduct routine checks, but it is proving very difficult to monitor quality of the milk because of small private dairies mushrooming in residential colonies.

Residents accuse vendors of selling sub-standard milk despite increasing the price. Health is a major concern with them.

The MC had recently announced introduction of computerised mobile-testing laboratories to check samples at major road junctions on a daily basis. Checks will be conducted on the road junctions from which bulk supply of milk enters the temple city.

The move is pending approval of the government. The government has to release funds for purchase of equipment to conduct the checks.

“Residents are unhappy with the quality of milk and milk products. Milk producers and distributors are openly playing with the health of the residents,” said Rajni Sharma, a housewife.

Unable to cope up with increasing demand of milk, Jammu annually imports nearly six lakh MT from other parts of the country and most of it is supplied to the distributors directly, without any tests for quality.

Health Officer, JMC, Dr Vinod Sharma, said regular tests are being conducted in the city, but as tones of milk is consumed daily, it becomes difficult to monitor quality.

“A proposal has been sent to the government and we are waiting for funds to be released for purchase of small electronic labs.”

Last year, the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) have claimed that 83 per cent of the milk sold to consumers in the state was adulterated. Though these findings were challenged by the Drug and Food Control Organisation (D&FCO), but it still raises doubts as the FSSAI is a reputed organisation when it comes to food standards.

The study had found that most common adulteration in the state is of glucose and skimmed milk products, mixed with the intention to earn profit at the expense of the heath of the common man.

Jammu, November 19
A panel of the Legislative Assembly Committee constituted to find out the reasons behind the increase in the number of deaths at the SKIMS, Srinagar, and SMGS Hospital (Paediatrics), Jammu, today suggested imposition of a ban on the private practice of government doctors, particularly those posted in the Government Medical College and Hospitals.

The committee met under the chairmanship of Balwant Singh Mankotia here today. The members discussed issues about how to streamline functioning of the government hospitals. The members also stressed for adequate manpower to be made available in the hospitals. They also emphasised on recruitment of doctors and paramedic staff to meet the shortage.

The committee with Zulfikar Ali, Dr Mohammad Shafi Wani, Durga Dass and Charanajit Singh, decided that Director Health Services, Jammu, Director Health Services, Kashmir, all Chief Medical Officers and Medical Superintendents would be called in the next meeting to discuss the health care delivery system, including the referral system. The meeting was attended by senior officers of Assembly Secretariat.

Jammu, November 19
The state government is likely to revise passenger fare soon. Sources say the government is considering a 15-per cent hike in the fare. A sub-committee constituted for the purpose has rejected the demand for a 30 per cent hike as sought by the transporters, sources add.

Representatives of various unions who met Commissioner Secretary Finance Iqbal Khandey in Srinagar recently had submitted that frequent fuel price hike is putting great operational burden on the transporters.

“The threat of the transporters to go on strike is a pressure tactic, but the government is also considering their demands. It cannot avoid it for long,” an official source said.

Transporters plead that frequent increase in the diesel and petrol prices and imposition of the taxes by the government from time to time has led to huge losses to the sector in the state.

Sources said a strong transport lobby which is supporting the government had contained the resentment of the unions. But it too was feeling helpless now as there is lot of pressure on them not to stall announcement of hike.

Transport Commissioner, Jammu, Mehraj Ahmed Kakroo said, “We have submitted the report to the government and now the Cabinet has to take a decision. We have told transport unions that the decision cannot be taken in haste.”

The passenger fare was hiked in October 2011, when the Transport Department had increased the fare by 13 per cent with the assurance that it would be revived in proportion to the increase in the fuel prices in future.

“The state government has assured us that the decision will be taken soon and if there is any further delay, we will have to resort to a strike again,” said Anil Chopra, president All Jammu & Kashmir Passenger Transport Association.

Meanwhile, across Jammu region buses, matadors, taxis, and autos remained off the road.

Auto and Taxi Union, Matador Union, Jammu-RS Pura Buses Union, Jammu-Kathua Route Bus Union, Jammu-Poonch Bus Union and others had extended complete support to a wheel-jam call given by their association.

Katra, November 19
Passenger vehicles, including long-route buses, mini-buses and taxis remained off the roads across Reasi district because of transporters’ strike. Thousands of Vaishno Devi pilgrims and commuters were put to great inconvenience because of the strike.

The strike had a substantial impact on the functioning of government offices as well as educational institutions as thin attendance was reported in the offices across the district. Most office-goers could not reach their places of work as road connectivity was severely affected.

Though the state government plied additional State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses to ferry people from Jammu to Katra and vice versa, people particularly Vaishno Devi pilgrims and tourists faced a tough time and were seen walking with their luggage on different roads.

Raman Sharma, a resident of New Delhi, said the authorities concerned must make arrangements of buses in advance at Katra bus stand. “I had to wait in a long queue for return journey tickets. My wife and children had to stand out in the cold, as no shed or sitting facility was available at the bus stand for Vaishno Devi pilgrims,” he said.

Every day thousands of pilgrims reach Katra to pay obeisance at Vaishno Devi shrine, but as the private buses remained off the roads, the State Road Transport Corporation buses were their only option.

Katra, November 19
Delay in the inauguration of the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) in Reasi has been causing inconvenience to the pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and other areas in Reasi. The centre is being built at the cost of Rs 479 lakh.

Work on the construction of TRC, along with electrical wiring and other interior civil works was completed one year ago but it is yet to be inaugurated. “It has been more than a year that the building for the upcoming TRC got completed but the area remains devoid of any tourism related facility as it has not been inaugurated yet,” residents said.

The foundation for the building was laid in 2007 to facilitate the tourists visiting Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and other spots in and around Reasi town.

Director Tourism, Jammu, Robin Singh Metha said, “The work has been completed. The centre could not be inaugurated so far because some formalities remained to be completed. The process has been now been completed. TRC, Reasi, will be inaugurated by the end of this month.”

Jammu, November 19
Despite facing severe criticism for not sending the basketball contingent to Rajasthan for the National School Games, the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) has made it clear that it would continue to tighten the noose around weak contingents.

Sources said the Department of Sports has asked the officials in-charge of major disciplines to prepare a detail of the medals, which each state contingent has bagged in National School Games to evaluate their performance.

Sources said due to inclusion of new disciplines in the calendar of activities of School Games Federation of India (SGFI), the Sports Department was unable to focus on the improvement of the state contingent in important disciplines.

“We cannot take the risk of sending weak contingents because there is cut-throat competition in major disciplines like basketball, judo, badminton, table tennis, lawn tennis, swimming in the National School Games and poor performance of the state team brings humiliation not only to the department but to the state as a whole,” Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director, Youth Services and Sports said.

“Cancellation of the basketball contingent is a warning to other contingents to pull up their socks as the axe is likely to fall on them if they continue to lag behind,” Ashok Kumar, who is also the vice-president of School Games Federation of India (SGFI) said.

“DYSS will soon formulate a strategy to find out the shortcomings responsible for poor performance of the state contingent in important disciplines and the cancellation of contingents for the games is part of that strategy,” Ashok Kumar said.

“There are many other important disciplines which need immediate attention of the department to uplift their performance and for that we have to take some harsh decisions which we are doing at present,” he said.

Katra, November 19
The four-year-old ban on the sale and use of polythene has had no impact within the municipal limits of Reasi. From big shops to roadside vendors all hand out commodities to their customers in plastic bags. The ban was imposed in 2009. Rules in this regard are being violated in broad daylight without any fear of the authorities concerned.

Sources say though the Municipal Committees of Reasi and Katra have been conducting anti-polythene drives to implement the decision of the High Court and direct the state government to ban polythene; the authorities have failed to impose the ban completely.

“The ban on the use of polythene was imposed more than four years back. But I have never seen anybody here following the ban. From vegetable sellers to big shops all sell commodities to their customers in plastic bags. Even in the university, where anti-polythene posters are seen near all entrance points, people can be seen carrying polythene bags,” said Vishal Pondoh, a teacher at Government Higher Secondary School, Reasi.

In 2009, the state government had imposed the ban in the state on the use of polythene bags under the SRO-122 issued under Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Non-Biodegradable Material (Management, Handling and Disposal) Act.

Denying non-implementation of the ban, MC officials, Reasi, say the anti-polythene squad inspects and conducts raids at different areas of Reasi and destroy huge quantity of banned polythene bags from vegetable vendors and fruit vendors, sometimes.

Rattan Lal, Executive Officer (EO), Municipal Committee, Reasi, “Since the day the High Court directed offenders to surrender themselves to the Anti Polythene officers, we have been conducting drives on regularly. The squad has also recovered huge quantity of polythene bags.”

Rattan Lal said plans are afoot to launch a massive anti-polythene drive wherein the squad, dressed in uniforms would carry huge quantity of paper bags as alternative to polythene. “The squad will stop the passersby who are seen carrying polythene bags and replace their polythene with the special paper bags free of cost. The idea behind is to limit the use of polythene in our society,” he added.

Jammu, November 19
Various organisations and educational institutions celebrated the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi here today.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Saifuddin Soz presided over one such function at the party headquarters in Jammu which was attended by senior functionaries of the party.

Soz paid floral tributes to Indira and described her as a dynamic leader who was committed towards working for the welfare of the poor and the downtrodden in the country. Soz said she had launched various programmes for this purpose. He said the country had progressed on all fronts under her leadership.

While referring to the ongoing elections to the four seats to the Legislative Council from the panchayat quota, he said the benefits of democracy could only percolate to the grass-roots level by strengthening and fully empowering the Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The Women College, Gandhi Nagar, also held a function in this regard. Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmed Khan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said Indira had worked all along her life for the betterment of people, particularly those belonging to the poor sections of society. Shabir asked students to imbibe the ideology of the late leader and contribute in making India a prosperous, civilised and a developed country. — TNS

Jammu, November 19
The Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation has filed a writ petition before the National Commission for Schedule Tribes and the Reserve Bank of India accusing two banks in the state of not implementing rules pertaining to reservation in recruitments and promotions for the Schedule Tribes at various levels.

The foundation, which is a frontal organisation of the Gujjars and Bakerwals, represents the Scheduled Tribes (STs) of the state. It has alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir Bank (JKB) and the J&K Grameein Bank had failed to implement the reservation laws for the STs in recruitments, thereby violating constitutional obligations and denying safeguards available to the tribal communities of the state.

Confirming the move, the secretary of the foundation, Javaid Rahi, said the Chairman of the National Commission for Schedule Tribes and the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India had been approached through a counsel and that he hoped for immediate resolution of the issue. The petition maintained that all the banks in India, operating from different states, were providing reservation to the SCs and the STs in recruitment except these two banks of Jammu and Kashmir, which categorically failed to fully implement the directions of the RBI regarding the the upliftment of the weaker sections of society.

The petition further maintained that as per laws of the state, the Gujjars, the Bakerwals and other ST communities were entitled for 10 per cent reservation in recruitment and promotions in all the government and autonomous bodies of the state but these banks were not providing even one per cent recruitment to the STs.

The petitioner demanded full benefits of reservation for these tribes and direct recruitment to posts. The petition maintains that there is a negligible representation of the STs, especially the Gujjars and the Bakerwals, in the both the banks.

Jammu, November 19
Like other parts of the country, Chhath festival was celebrated by people belonging to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of women thronged River Tawi to pray to the setting Sun.

Devotees, mostly married women, also took a dip in the water as part of the prayers. Later they prepared traditional meal comprising boiled rice and pumpkin.

Married women fast for 36 hours and devotees offer wheat, milk, sugarcane, bananas and coconuts to the Sun. “In this ancient festival, devotees worship the Sun and the festival is celebrated mostly by Hindus belonging to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” said a devotee Radhe Sham.

Jammu, November 19
A three-day faculty development programme on Scholarly Writing and Case Analysis is on at the Central University of Jammu.

The programme, which has been organised by the Human Resource Management and the Travel and Tourism Management departments, was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, SS Bloeria on Sunday. In his address, Bloeria highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance between clarity and conciseness besides advising the faculty and research scholars not to compromise on the quality of writing.

The Dean, Planning and Development, IIM-Lucknow, Prof RL Raina, emphasised the critical areas in contemporary scholarly writing and case analysis.

Earlier, Prof Ashok Aima welcomed the participants and highlighted the key dimensions and the details of the programme. He announced that workshops on Human Resource and a national seminar on restoring cultural linkages on the Silk route would soon be organised. — TNS

Poonch, November 19
As part of Operation Sadbhavana, inter-school quiz and painting competitions were organised by the Garhi Battalion under the aegis of the Poonch Brigade at Natu Auditorium here today.

Students from various schools of Poonch district took part in the competition. The quiz was based on history of Jammu and Kashmir, current affairs, sports and entertainment. The Christ School won the quiz competition.

In the painting competition, students showed their talent on the theme ‘Save the Environment’.

All the participants were given motivational prizes by the organisers. The winners of the competitions will be felicitated on the Poonch Link-Up Day on November 22 by the General Officer Commanding, Ace of Spade Division. — OC

Jammu, November 19
J&K Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather today said the government would soon launch a recovery drive against tax defaulters in the state. He said the required data had been gathered by the Commercial Taxes Department (CTD) and the action would soon be initiated.

The minister was speaking during a quarterly review meeting of the Jammu Division of the Commercial Taxes Department at the Excise and Taxation Complex here today.

The minister laid emphasis on recovering the arrears with full might of law. He also reviewed the progress of the two committees which were constituted for vigorous and effective recovery of arrears. He impressed upon officers that their performance would be judged by their behaviour with tax payers and their contribution to recovery of arrears. He said every dealer/tax payer should be treated with dignity and honour.

Rather said the CTD had realised a revenue of over Rs 2,888.61 crore during the first seven months (ending October 2012) of the current fiscal against Rs 2,280 crore collected during the corresponding period in the last financial year, marking an increase of 26.66 per cent. — TNS

Jammu, November 19
The Jammu Kashmir Female Multipurpose Health Workers Welfare Association (FMPHWA) held a demonstration outside the Directorate of Health Services Complex here today.

The protest was led by Rajesh Bala, president of the Kathua association.

The protesters demanded recruitment or promotion of the FMPHW-trained LHVs as Health Educators by modifying the existing recruitment rules, creation of LHV posts in new Primary Health Centres and the Family Welfare Department and regular disbursement of salaries.

Association members said that state Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma had assured to solve their long-pending demands but had failed to do so. Later, Sushil Sudan, president, Jammu Kashmir Medical Employees Federation, had also given similar assurance to the association.

Jammu, November 19
Minister for Youth Services and Sports RS Chib has said the Union government is contemplating inclusion of students’ sports performance in their overall academic merit to promote games among youngsters. The statement was made after the minister announced the commencement of the All India Vice-Chancellor’s T20 Cricket Cup in the University of Jammu here today.

Chib said the university was a centre of excellence in both curricular and extra-curricular activities. He complimented the university Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, and his management for organising the sporting event.

The minister said the upcoming indoor stadium in the university would provide added facilities to enthusiastic sportspersons and that the Department of Youth Services and Sports would provide every possible support to upgrade the sports infrastructure of the institution.

Chib announced Rs 10 lakh out of his CDF for the construction of the indoor stadium.

The university Vice-Chancellor, while highlighting the importance of November 19, said the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Late Indira Gandhi is celebrated throughout the country as National Integration Day.

As many as 20 teams including the university team are participating in the 15-day cricket tournament, which is being played on a league-cum-knockout basis.

Jammu, November 19
The Hiranagar Hockey Club got the better of the Bagh Bain Hockey Club, Gole Gujral, by 9-8 goals via a penalty shootout and the Nanak Nagar Club beat the Samba Club to advance to the next round of the ongoing Vijay Pal Memorial Hockey Tournament organised by the Hockey J&K at the Army Field at Bandu Rakh here.

Both the teams scored 4 goals each in the stipulated time and the match was decided through penalties. Earlier, Rajinder Singh of the Hiranagar Club drew first blood but the rival team managed to equalise the lead through Swastik in the 16th minute. Swastik then scored another goal in the 18th minute. It was Sandeep Singh of the Hiranagar Club who scored an equaliser in the 19th minute. Vishal Verma slammed another goal in the 33rd minute to give his team a lead of 3-2.

Gagandeep helped the Bagh Bain Club to equalise the lead in the 43rd minute. Sanjay Singh of the Hiranagar Club had other ideas as he scored a goal to make it 4-3 in the 50th minute.

In the 58th minute, Surinder Singh of the Bagh Bain Club scored a goal to score the much needed equaliser in the dying moments of the game.

The winning team was then decided through penalty shootouts wherein the Hiranagar Club had the last laugh.

For the Bagh Bain Club, the goal scorers were Inderpal Singh, Surinder Singh, Daljeet Singh and Jagjit Singh. Navjot Singh, Digvijay Singh, Rajinder Singh, Jamroad Singh and Shelar Sharma scored goals for the Hiranagar Club. In another match, the Nanak Nagar Hockey Club beat the Samba Hockey Club.

The match was officiated by MS Reen, Charanjeet Singh, Jagjeet Singh, Manjeet Singh, Satbir Singh, Kamaljeet Singh and GS Bakshi.

Rajouri, November 19
A delegation of panches and sarpanches today held a demonstration inside the office of the Block Development Officer, Rajouri, to protest against the vacant post. They said the post had been lying vacant for the past five months.

Muradpur panch Ranjit Tara claimed that the Centrally-sponsored schemes were yet take off in the district.

Tara said, “The work should have been started in April but owing to the government’s apathy, the post has not been filled in 5 months.”

The protesters have demanded that the post be filled within a week.

Jammu, November 19
Kathua police today arrested three drug peddlers and seized 1800 intoxicant capsules from their possession at Kalibari.

The accused have been identified as Rashpaul Singh, a resident of Manka Talab, Ward No 17, Jatinder Singh, a resident of Patel Nagar and Sandeep Singh, a resident of Shiva Nagar, Kathua.

Reports said, the police had set up a naka at Kalibari near petrol pump (NHW) and intercepted three persons riding a scooter. During search of the scooterist and two pillion riders, police recovered 1800 Par-Van Spas Capsules from their possession. A case under Sections 8/21/22 of the NDPS Act has been registered. — TNS