Jammu, November 23
The ruling National Conference’s yearning to lay foundation of Rs 95-crore Expressway Corridor (flyover) from Bikram Chowk to Women College at Gandhi Nagar on the birth anniversary of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s grandfather and Sher-e-Kashmir, late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, seems to be a broken dream due to the applicability of Model Code of Conduct in view of ensuing election to Legislative Council from Panchayat quota in the state.

The proposed 1.3 km flyover work will have four lanes. The project also includes widening of 1.5 km road from six lanes to eight lanes. The flyover work includes construction of two subways and four busways. The Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) has been entrusted with task to complete the project. The flyover is supposed to be completed within three years.

Insiders within National Conference said that the top party leaders wished to lay the foundation on the birth anniversary of former chief minister, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, on December 5.

“The top brass of the party is in a fix as to how to lay foundation of much-ambitious flyover-a proposal which was envisaged during the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed regime about six years ago. A concrete wall of Kala Kendra near ever-busy Bikram Chowk has also been dismantled by the ERA but the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has caused disenchantment among party leaders,” insiders said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has debarred ministers and VIPs from laying foundation stones and inauguration of projects and schemes till December 8, when the entire election process of four seats of Legislative Council will conclude.

Speaking to The Tribune, Rattan Lal Gupta, provincial president, National Conference, Jammu, tried to downplay things, saying, “It is the prerogative of the state government to decide as to when it will lay the foundation of the flyover. The party has always many desires and plans but it doesn’t mean all get fulfilled. We are in a coalition government and the party takes no unilateral decision.”

Chief Executive Officer, ERA, Sourabh Bhagat, also said the final decision on laying the foundation of the flyover was to be taken by the state government. “We are yet to receive any communication from the state government for laying foundation of the flyover,” the CEO said.

He however said it had already been decided that the work would be started next month and the ERA has begun the exercise to invite national and international tenders for the project.

The proposed flyover would be an elevated corridor comprising 38 pillars, two subways and four busways. After the construction of the flyover, the inter-state and inter-district traffic on the Kathua and RS Pura routes will be regulated through the flyover.

A major controversy had erupted after the inauguration a bridge over river Tawi some years back when Farooq Abdullah government had named it after Sher-e-Kashmir, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Various Jammu-based groups had opposed the move.

Jammu, November 23
The state government has constituted task force at district levels, particularly in snowbound areas of the Jammu region, to check blackmarketing of LPG and kerosene.

As the hill districts have received the season’s first snowfall, the administration is worried about public unrest if the supply is not maintained properly till the next six months.

Officials said the staff of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) had been directed to submit field reports regarding the supply on a daily basis to avoid any shortfall during the winter.

The task force will comprise of officials from the CAPD, the district administration and police personnel to check blackmarketing gangs, which emerges at the onset of winters. Of the 15 lakh LPG users in the state, seven lakh are registered in the Jammu region. At present, subsidised rates of refill are Rs 412 and non-subsidised rates are Rs 974, and till March, people will get only three cylinders.

“In the past, the administration used to overlook these gangs as supply was abundant. However, this year because of the limit put by the Union Petroleum Ministry on LPG, there is a fear about the shortage of fuel during the winters,” said an official.

Respective MLAs have already been asked to coordinate with the district administration in distribution of LPG, kerosene and other essential commodities.

However, advance stocking of food grains, sugar, kerosene and LPG cylinders in the higher reaches of the Jammu province is going on at a fast pace before snowfall closes down road connections.

Pervez Malik, director, CAPD, Jammu, said special squads were already conducting checks in their respective zones and coordination was being maintained with other agencies.

“We are jointly monitoring the situation in the urban and rural areas of the region and track is being kept of oil and gas supply,” Malik said. 

Rajouri, November 23
Three persons including an eight-year-old boy died under suspicious circumstances in different places in the hilly border district Rajouri today.

Police said that Rajesh Kumar, 8, son of Joginder Paul of Potha Dabar under Sunderbani police station, had gone to attend the marriage of his uncle’s son on Thursday.

While playing with other children in the nearby fields, he fell due to ‘fits’ but was not attended to by anybody.

After some time, a passerby woman saw the child lying in the fields and informed the villagers about it. They took him to a hospital at Nowshera, where doctors declared him brought dead.

SHO Nowshera Javed, confirming the mysterious death of the boy, said the postmortem has been conducted and the reports are awaited. The body has been handed over to the boy’s parents for his last rites.

In another incident, a person was found dead at a bus stand at Kalakot at about 7 am today. Commuters informed police about it and the body was shifted to a sub-district hospital. Police said that the man was seen begging several times at the bus stand and was unidentified.

After postmortem and legal formalities, police handed over the body to Hindu organisations and the cremation was done in the evening.

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Jammu, November 23
Division Bench of J&K High Court of Judicature at Jammu comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Mohd Yaqoob Mir, while dismissing Letters Patent Appeal filed by the state of J&K, observed, “We have gone through the memorandum of appeal and find no ground which may be worthwhile for admission of the appeal. Minimum wages for the post of Chowkidar have to be paid to the writ petitioner. The payment of Rs 30 per month is sheer exploitation. The appeal is ill-advised and does not merit admission.”

The writ petitioner Des Raj had approached the writ court for grant of two reliefs. He was held entitled for grant of minimum wages because according to the order of his engagement, he was to be paid Rs 30 per month. The single judge held that he is entitled to be paid the minimum wages from the date he has been engaged as a night chowkidar.

The second prayer for regularisation of his services was granted by the single judge. Feeling aggrieved, the state of J&K filed the appeal under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent, challenging the findings with the contention that the writ petitioner-respondent could not be paid the minimum wages.

Rajouri, November 23
A "Nagrik Sarai" was initiated by the Army under Operation Sadbhavana in border district Rajouri in 2010 with a motive to provide free shelter to the poor and needy attendants of the patients who visit district hospital Rajouri from far-flung and remote areas. Failing to make use of this space for the purpose for which army had built this Sarine, hospital authorities has provided the space for accommodating the police cops who are deputed inside hospital.

The sarai was build inside the hospital on January 30, 2010. It was inaugurated by General Officer of Command (GOC), RS Pradan, 25 Infantry Division, in a goodwill mission to help poor rural villagers and was handed over to the hospital authorities.

Owing to lack of concern on the part of the hospital authorities who failed to use this space for the desired purpose, the space has been converted into a police post.

The number of poor attendants of patients taking shelter in open chilly cold weather conditions of hilly boarder district Rajouri each day as hospital authorities has completely failed to provide facilities to the attendants of the patients for lack of infrastructure.

"I spend the entire day sitting near the parking place or in the hospital corridor. A shelter on the hospital premises would be a boon for attendants like us," said a poor attendant, whose son is undergoing treatment in the hospital's medicine ward.

"We have no other option but to bear the freezing weather conditions sitting in the hospital corridors," said an attendant. "We are not in a position to pay the hotel bills. He said the sarai build by the Army should have been used for the noble purpose it was originally meant for.

Speaking to The Tribune, Superintendent District Hospital Rajouri, Dr Chaman Basin, expressed his helplessness in this matter. He said, "We have failed to fulfil the noble motive of this sarai due to shortage of manpower needed for its care and maintenance and lack of drinking water facilities."

He further said that the hospital is already facing a staff crunch. "As such, we could not make use of the space for providing shelter to poor and needy people owing to lack maintenance," he stated.

SP Rajouri, Mubassir Latifi, said, "Cops also need shelter and it is the responsibility of the hospital authorities to provide them the required space, but if the hospital provides us some other suitable space, we have no problem in shifting."

Jammu, November 23
Leave aside twitter-savvy Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, separatist leaders and leaders of pro-Jammu parties, people from the Kashmir and Jammu regions are also among the first to react to any development that takes place around the world.

Be it hanging of Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, decision on Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru or pounding of Gaza strip by the Israeli forces, the people of militancy-plagued Jammu and Kashmir waste no time in taking to the streets. The frequency of such protests is more in the Valley as compared to Jammu region.

Former DGP of the state, MM Khajooria, attributed fast and quick reactions of the people of the state to the “burden of its history”.

“The state has been subjected to international pressure since the times of erstwhile rulers and from 1947 onwards, it has remained a subject of conflict between India and Pakistan,” he said.

Therefore, the people in the state breathe politics and eat politics, he added.

The former DGP didn’t see the Kashmir dispute as the sole reason for the people’s frequent reactions.

“The Kashmir issue is one of the components. Since 1931, the Kashmir valley has had a history of struggle against the rulers. Earlier, the state was subjected to foreign rulers and today, all the major powers in the world are interested in the strategically and historically important Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

There are too many international pressures working in the state, he added.

However, Khajooria observed that the people of Jammu, by and large, react amateurishly, unlike their politically mature counterparts from Kashmir.

“It is important for Jammu to wake up before they are overwhelmed by the circumstances,” he said.

The founder of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party and Hurriyat leader, Shabir Shah, attributed the supposedly volatile nature of the people of the state to their political awareness and “atrocities” committed on them since 1947.

“The people of this state are politically conscious and they react to developments around the world because of atrocities committed on them in the past 65 years,” he said.

At a time when the world has become a global village and for the people, who have been witnessing turmoil for the past 65 years, their reaction to unpleasant developments across the world like pounding of Gaza strip by Israeli forces are natural and immediate, he added.

Even when two Muslim youth were killed during the Operation Blue Star in 1984, the Valley had witnessed protests, he recalled.

Shah felt that the people of Jammu region have also become politically conscious over the years. But he attributed acerbic and frequent reactions of the people of this restive state to the Kashmir dispute.

“Amicable solution to the Kashmir dispute is indispensable not only for bringing peace and stability to the state but also to the sub-continent,” he said.

Another separatist leader Yasin Malik, however, refused to talk on the phone. “You have raised an interesting aspect but it needs to be talked about in person and not over the phone,” said Malik.

Be it hanging of Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, decision on Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru or pounding of Gaza strip by the Israeli forces, the people of militancy-plagued Jammu and Kashmir waste no time in taking to the streets.

Poonch, November 23
The 64th Poonch Link-Up Day was celebrated with characteristic gaiety and fervour here at Pritam Pavillion yesterday. The celebrations commemorated the historic link-up carried out by Brig Pritam Singh’s forces and forces from Rajouri at Danna Ka Pir on November 21, 1948.

Maj Gen KH Singh, YSM General Officer Commanding, Ace of Spades Division was the chief guest on the occasion.

The celebrations started with the wreath laying ceremony at Naman Sthal, the war memorial. Maj Gen KH Singh, Mr Ijaz Jan, MLA Poonch and Jehangir Mir, MLC, Brig MK Mago, SM, Commander, Poonch Brigade, Shri AK Sahoo, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Shri Shamsher Choudhary, SSP, Poonch and ex- servicemen laid wreath and remembered the supreme sacrifice made by the soldiers defending Poonch.

The Poonch Link-Up Day is celebrated every year by the people of Poonch to commemorate the link-up between Brig Pritam Singh’s forces and the forces advancing from Rajouri near Poonch. Like every year, this year too, the occasion was celebrated with much enthusiasm and gusto. The celebrations began with a trek of Army personnel and school children from Poonch to Danna Ka Peer.

The day was also marked by ‘flagging in’ of a bicycle expedition from Rajouri to Poonch, which was earlier flagged off on November 20 from Rajouri. The expedition traversed 88 km through BG - JWG - Surankote on the route followed by the link-up forces advancing from Rajouri in 1948.

Jammu, November 23
The Department of Students Welfare, University of Jammu, today organised an inter-college poster-making competition to mark the communal harmony campaign week on the campus.

The topics for the poster making were “Communal Harmony”, “National Integrations” and “Flag Day”.

Shayaan Bhat and Tarun Kumar, both from Government MAM College, Jammu, bagged the first and second prizes, respectively, while Sipaj Jain from Government Women College (GCW), Gandhi Nagar, clinched the third position in the contest.

The certificates of merit were given to Malti from GCW Udhampur, Ridhi Datta from Kalra College of Education, Udhampur, and Sangeeta Shivgotra from MIER College of Education.

Dhian S Bhau, director, Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, Jammu University, was the chief guest on the occasion and distributed prizes among the winners, while DC Gautam from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, was the guest of honour.

The podium was also shared by NK Tripathi, Dean Students Welfare, Neeru Sharma, chairperson, Campus Cultural Committee.

In his welcome address, Tripathi said the national foundation for communal harmony observed the communal harmony campaign week every year from November 19 to 25.

It has two-fold objectives to raise donations for orphans or destitute children affected by violence and to maintain peace, communal harmony and national integration.

Manoj Chopra, Gobind Singh Rana and Kamal Sharma were the experts for the poster-making competition. Vijay Atri coordinated the event.

Jammu, November 23
A Dogri book on collection of children poems, “Nikkre Fangru Uchhi Udaan” was released by noted Dogri poet Padma Sachdev at the Seminar Hall of the Environmental Science Department, University of Jammu, today.

Professor Archana Kesar, director, Academic Staff College, Prof Shiv Dev Singh Manhas, Head, Dogri Department, Jammu University, Mohan Singh, president, Duggar Manch, and Prof Majrooh Rashid from Kashmir University attended the function.

Speaking on the occasion, Manhas said in this era of globalisation, everything was being sold, produced and used except literature.

The book has been edited by Sapna Narania, a PhD Scholar from the PG Department of Dogri. The programme was attended by a large number of students and scholars. Later, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, Professor Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, felicitated the noted Dogri poet. 

Jammu, November 23
Traditional Kashmiri bakery items have become a favourite among the people of the city. The influx of thousands of people from Kashmir after the militancy erupted in the state has contributed in its spread.

In most of the localities inhabited by Kashmiris, these bakery items are attracting people for ‘kulchas’, ‘lavvasa’ and other traditional flood items. As most of them are salt based, they are considered good for diabetic patients.

The ‘kulchas’ are a popular breakfast items in Kashmir and certain parts of Doda and Kishtwar.

“Earlier, only Kashmiri-speaking people used to buy them, but in recent years, a number of other community members are our regular customers and we do a brisk business,” said Shiv Nath, who runs a shop at Subash Nagar.

Items like ‘kulchas’ don’t become stale as they are dry. They can be stored for months and could be found in almost all the Kashmiri houses. There are a number of such shops in the Gujjar Nagar area, which has a sizable Muslim population. They are prepared in a regular ‘tandoor’, but the process is time consuming and requires effort.

Jammu, November 23
Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora has said to restore the pristine historical glory of the Mubarak Mandi Palace and to make it a tourist attraction, conservation and restoration work of the royal palace complex has been entrusted to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

He said the Centre had already sanctioned Rs 66.50 crore under the 13th Finance Commission and Tourism Mega Destination Scheme, of which Rs 12 crore had been released to take up the conservation work on the palace.

He stated this during his visit to Mubarak Mandi Heritage Palace here yesterday.

He was apprised that joint inspection by the ASI and the Tourism Department had been conducted.

Jora said the conservation work of the Army headquarter had already been completed by investing Rs 3.50 crore.

He instructed the authorities concerned to make it functional by shifting Maharajas’ Museum artifacts to the building for tourist attraction.

He asked the ASI authorities to involve skilled persons for the restoration works of the palace buildings and ensure that the works should be completed in a time-bound manner.

Jora said the restoration and conservation works of the palace of Raja Amar Singh, Queens Mehal of Raja Ram Singh, Badi Deori, Royal Court, Gadvi Khana, Darbar Hall and Central Hall form the first phase of the conservation project for which the Centre had approved Rs 66.50 crore.

He directed the authorities concerned to formulate another DPR to seek funding under the Central scheme for taking up the remaining conservation works of the palace complexes. 

Batote, November 23
The Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Battalion donated an information technology laboratory (ITL) equipped with computers, video projector and other accessories to Ashiyana Boys Orphanage (ABO) at Jangalwar Thathri in Kishtwar today.

The General Officer Commanding, Counter Insurgency Force (Delta), after inaugurating the ITL in presence of the Commander, 9 Sector RR, Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar, other prominent citizens, said the true development of any area could take place only if the people there were well educated. — OC

Jammu, November 23
A medical camp will be organised at Government Higher Secondary School, Majalta village, Udhampur district, by Command Hospital (Northern Command) for the needy on November 25.

Various specialists, laboratory and ECG facility of the hospital will be available at the camp. Besides giving free consultation and medicines to the needy, the medical team will screen patients for cataract, ear, cleft lip, palate and other surgical cases, which will be operated later at the hospital free of cost. — TNS