Jammu, December 7
Over 1.25 crore residents of the militancy-infested, geographically disadvantaged and thus economically backward state get ration as per the projected population that existed on March 31, 2000. The figure was already short by 20 per cent as per the 2001 Census.

As per the 2001 Census, the population of the state was 1,01,43,700. The population has increased by 24, 05, 226 over the past decade. In 2011 the figure stood at 1,25,48,926.

Owing to this anomaly 24, 05, 226 inhabitants suffer because the Centre allocates ration to the state as per the projected population that existed in March, 2000.

The state government on the other hand has not come up with any scheme to issue new ration cards to people who got married and shifted out of their joint families.

“After my wedding, we left my joint family in Udhampur to live in Jammu. I never felt the need to get a ration card. When I went to the office of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), I was taken aback because the officials informed me that the process of bifurcating ration cards was never started,” said Atul Gupta, a Central government employee.

“I needed bifurcated ration card to get subsidised LPG. My dealer had asked me to produce a ration card to get LPG refills. I don’t know where to go. It seems the government wants us to starve,” he rued.

“Scarcity of LPG refills has made our life difficult and no move to bifurcate new ration cards has further aggravated the miseries of a common man,” said Gupta.

Another employee Abhinav Sharma said how could the Centre and the state governments be insensitive to the needs of the rising population. “LPG companies have not been issuing fresh connections out of the subsidised quota. New consumers like me have lost documents of the previous LPG connections. I purchased a new LPG refill from non-subsidised quota priced at Rs 1,303 and non-bifurcation of ration cards means that my family will also remain deprived of subsidised ration,” said Sharma.

Commissioner Secretary, CAPD, MA Dar said, “The Centre is allocating ration to the state as per the projected population that existed in 2000. The allocation has not been increased over the years but we are hopeful of getting new allocation of food as per 2011 census.”

He said the process to bifurcate ration cards was never put in place in the state. “The state has over 19 lakh ration card holders,” said Dar.

Jammu, December 7
To reach out to patients in emergency situations fast, the state government has decided to set up two control rooms for the 24x7 ambulance service in the twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu with the toll-free number ‘102’. It has also equipped a fleet of 800 ambulances with global positioning system (GPS).

The government had launched the 24x7 ambulance service in the state in August. The centralised control rooms with multiple telephone lines and GPS-fitted ambulances will work cohesively to trace and pick up patients before rushing them to hospitals. The entire process will be completed by March next year. “After a recent meeting convened by Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, the state government decided to set up two control rooms in Srinagar and Jammu besides equipping 800 ambulances with the GPS,” said Dr Yashpal Sharma, Director of the National Rural Health Mission in the state.

With multiple telephone lines, the control rooms will be responding to distress calls round the clock on the toll-free number, and then the control room operators will be tracing ambulances via the GPS that are near the area from where the patient has called. The ambulances that are stationed near the patients will be asked to rush them to the nearest hospital, said Dr Sharma.

The NRHM director said the new system would bring a sea change in patient care, particularly during an unforeseen event like accidents or in case of serious patients. He said the government had last month issued tenders for the purpose. Four or five firms having the requisite expertise have offered their services. “After technical evaluation and other formalities, the government will allot the tender and we hope to put in place the new system by March,” said Dr Sharma. “All 22 districts will be covered under the scheme and the fleet of 800 ambulances with basic life support system and GPS will be networked with the control rooms to operationalise the scheme,” he said.

Rajouri, December 7
Chief Education Officer, Rajouri, Makhan Lal Sharma, today suspended Deeraj Kumar, a government teacher, for allegedly trashing a Class IV girl student of Government Middle School, Nagari Jamola, a few days back allegedly for not joining his academy.

The incident was highlighted by The Tribune in the December 6 edition.

Makhan Lal Sharma said, “The accused teacher is absconding. He has been suspended from service. I have initiated an enquiry against him and have asked the Zonal Education Officer (ZEO), Peere Zone of Rajouri, to investigate into the case and submit a report.”

He said, the ZEO has also issued an explanatory notice to the teacher for beating Sonika Devi daughter of Bablu Kumar of Jamola who works as a labourer in Jammu. “As the victim is recuperating at the district hospital, Rajouri, and the accused is absconding, it will take some time to reach a logical conclusion,” he added.

The district police has also filed FIR 648/12 under Section 323/325/341 of the RPC. A police team visited the spot where the incident took place on November 30. Sources said the accused teacher belongs to an influential family.

The investigation officer, also ZEO, Peeri, Salam Mohammed, said, “I have issued an explanatory notice against Deeraj Kumar. I am not aware about his suspension.” The victim was discharged this evening from the hospital where she was operated upon yesterday, sources said.

}The accused teacher is absconding. He has been suspended from service. I have initiated an enquiry against him and have asked the Zonal Education Officer (ZEO), Peere Zone of Rajouri, to investigate into the case and submit a report
— Makhan lal sharma, ceo, rajouri

Jammu, December 7
Three members of a family were killed on the spot when their car collided with a tractor trolley at 7:30 am near Barwal Morh on the Jammu-Pathankot highway

in Kathua. They were residents of Ward number 1 of RS Pura in Jammu.

SSP, Kathua, Atul Goel said, "The ill-fated car was at a very high speed when it rammed into a tractor trolley from behind killing two occupants of the car on the spot. The third victim, a woman, succumbed to her injuries at the district hospital, Kathua.

The SSP said both vehicles were on their way to Lakhanpur and the speeding car rammed into the tractor trolley from behind.

The police said Sarweshwar Gupta along with his parents was going from RS Pura to Punjab in a car. Sarweshwar's father Subhash Chander and mother Raj Rani were killed on the spot. The victims were taken to the District Hospital, Kathua, where the doctors declared two of them brought dead while the third victim, a critically-injured woman, succumbed to her injuries later.

Rajouri, December 7
Members of the district unit of the All J&K Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) Teachers Forum of have threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike if their demands were not met.

A spokesperson of the forum Naresh Sharma said all ReT teachers would protest in Jammu and march towards the Secretariat. “We would launch a protest in Jammu on December 26 followed by an indefinite hunger strike from December 27,” Naresh said.

He said, “The Chief Minister had assured of fulfilling our demands on May 29 but orders have been passed in this regard. Over 70,000 ReT teachers have played an important role to educate the youth under difficult circumstances.” — OC

Jammu, December 7
Despite assurances by the Department of Consumer Affairs and oil firms that residents will not face any inconvenience in the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the city, the waiting period for home delivery stands between 10 to 20 days.

In most parts of the city, LPG connection holders are asked either to collect cylinders themselves or wait for days. The problem is more for the elderly living alone.

With the cap on the supply of LPG refills, new connection holders are forced to buy cylinders at the rate of Rs 1,200 or 900, respectively.

“Our distributor says that home delivery will take 10 to 15 days or I will have to get it from a collection point five km away from my home. My husband is posted in Rajouri,” said Soni Sharma, a housewife.

Many consumers have not been able to avail home delivery facility despite having completed the verification process. Though the government has asked oil companies to speed up the verification process to avoid inconvenience to the public, but consumers are facing a lot of problems in the city.

“The distributors express inability to supply LPG refills early. The common man is suffering,” said Vicky Sharma, from Janipur.

Among the 15-lakh LPG users in the state, 7 lakh are registered in the Jammu region. Subsidized rate of refills is Rs 412 while non-subsidised rates are Rs 974.Till March consumers will get only three cylinders.

Distributors, however, blame oil companies for delay in the release of the cylinders. “We have to supply the stock sent to us by the oil companies. We have to verify that the consumers do not get additional refill that than the three cylinders allotted to them till March next year,” said an Indian Oil distributor on the condition of anonymity.

Few weeks back the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department had constituted a district-level task force, specially in the snow-bound areas of the Jammu region to check black marketing, but it seems that nothing much has been done to streamline the system.

“There is too much confusion among the consumers”, said Sunil Dimple, president Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM).

Jammu, December 7
Touted as a platform for local artists to show their talent, the Kala Kendra here has instead become a centre for commercial activity.

On exhibit are Chinese products such as roti maker, electric Tandoor, kitchenware, induction cookers and melamine crockery.

Local artists resent the promotion of commercial activities at the complex. They say how the "organisers of the shopping expo" were granted permission by the "managers" of Kala Kendra needs to be probed.

"A cultural academy must not encourage ongoing commercial activities on the premises of Kala Kendra which was set up to provide a platform to local artists. Organising photo exhibitions and other cultural activities is a welcome step but big shopping expo for sale of Chinese goods must be stopped," a senior artist Kusum Tikoo said.

She demanded that how permission to sell Chinese goods was granted to the organisers must also be probed. "Who granted them the permission to organise 'exhibition-cum-sale' of Chinese goods must be probed," Tikoo said.

An exhibition of photos of migratory birds and a shopping expo was organised by the Department of Information from December 1 to 10. A fortnight-long Mega Show-2012 was organised from October 26 to November 11.

Jammu, December 7
Sports associations continue to charge additional fee from parents of trainee children right under the nose of the J&K State Sports Council. The council had claimed to keep an eye on the activities of the sports associations but to no avail.

Some associations charge an additional fee on a monthly basis to impart coaching to their children at M A Stadium premises here. Sources say the matter came to light when some parents approached a martial art association. After depositing the annual charges to the stadium authorities, the instructors asked them to pay an additional Rs 200 each on a monthly basis as training fee.

Sources said when the parents had informed the association that they had already deposited the required fee to the authorities; the instructors told them that the fee deposited by the parents will be used to buy kits and jerseys for the players.

It may be mentioned here that the J&K State Sports Council has a fixed annual admission fee structure for both junior and senior categories for admission in any discipline.

The admission fee for the junior category (U-16) is Rs 295 while Rs 570 is being charged annually for the senior category.

“This is just one example of how these associations are minting money. The associations are keeping us in the dark and are charging extra on the pretext of selecting our wards for the state team to further take part in national competitions,” one of the aggrieved parents said.

“It has now become a source of income for these associations. Going by this it is possible that the associations may even charge in lakhs for selection of players for international championships,” he rued. “These associations are making a mockery of the rules and regulations of the Sports Council and continue to fleece innocent parents like us to promote the game,” a parent said.

Katra, December 7
The Voluntary Health Association of India, in collaboration with the district administration, organised a workshop on tobacco control laws and measures. It was held under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, Rajinder Singh Tara.

ADC impressed upon the officers to put in their sincere efforts for implementing the norms about the ban on smoking so that Reasi district will become a smoke-free city by January 26. Besides a schedule would also be formed and circulated to all officers regarding the necessary steps required to make Reasi a smoke-free city.

He directed all officers to enforce the law, particularly Section 4, ban on smoking in public places and Section 6(b) sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions in their respective jurisdiction. He said a proper coordination and implementation will make some positive changes about the ill effects of this menace in the society.

The workshop was attended by all district officers, and the representatives of NGOs.— OC

Jammu, December 7
The J&K Christian Dalit Association today celebrated after the coalition made a clean sweep in the election to four seats of the Legislative Council.

Chairman of the association S Peter organised a function to celebrate the victory. National Conference additional general secretary MLA Sheikh Mustafa Kamal was the chief guest on this occasion.

S Peter paid rich tributes to late Sheikh Abdullah, describing him as a messiah of weaker sections.

Dalit leaders recalled Sheikh Abdullah’s visit to the Christian Colony in the city to address a convention of Christian organised by him in 1979. “Sheikh sahib patiently listened the grievances and problems of the Christian community and issued on-spot instructions to the authorities concerned to redress the grievances,” Peter said.

Association leaders said after his death it is now Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, who are upholding his legacy. On the same lines, a number of plans and programmes have been launched for the upliftment of the weaker sections in the state.

Among those present at the function were Jammu provincial NC president Ratan Lal Gupta, Ram Pal and Govind Ram Sharma, former ministers; party provincial treasurer Jugal Mahajan, Jatinder Bakshi, Beli Ram, P. Kenny, Hammed Mattoo, Madan Gill, Vicky Lawrance, William Paul, Saleem Mashi and John Bhatti.

Jammu, December 7
The decision of the state government to hike the passenger fare by 14.4 per cent has evoked strong reaction from students, women and private as well as government employees. They accused the administration of succumbing to pressure tactics of private transporters.

After remaining at loggerheads for nearly six months, State Cabinet led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah finally gave an approval to increase the passenger fare but it is the common man who will suffer its consequences as he has to shell more from his pocket.

“It seems those in power have no mercy for the people. The authorities are busy in minting money and eating our hard-earned money,” said Kuldeep Gupta, who commutes daily on a matador to reach his office situated at Bari-Brahmna.

While transporters rue that due to increase in the prices of petroleum products and spare parts, they were finding it difficult to even manage monthly bank instalment of their vehicles, which they had purchased after securing loan on heavy interest.

“Whenever the government hikes the prices of petroleum products, private transporters start making hue and cry. The rates of petrol and diesel were slashed by the government recently but have the transporters reduced their fare?”, said Yashpaul Khajuria, a marketing execuive with private firm. Student community is the worst victim of these hikes and they have frequent verbal clash with the conductors and drivers. The students from rural and far-off places are quite worried with the price hike.

“Household budget is already in a mess. The hike in transport charges will have impact on other sectors also. Simple things are slowly becoming luxuries for a common man,” said Romi Gupta, purusing her PG Course.

As per the announcement of the government, 14.40% hike has been approved in existing fares of big buses (stage carriage), 13.49% hike in mini buses, 12.13% hike in taxi, maxi cabs and 8.81% hike in petrol driven auto rickshaws.

Batote, December 7
Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) (Delta) General Officer Commanding Maj Gen Anil Kumar Singh today flagged off a motivational tour, organised for 22 students of Kishtwar district, from the Headquarter of the CIF (Delta).

The tour aimed to highlight the importance of national integration among the people of the backward areas of J&K.

Jangalwar, a Thathri-based battalion of Rashtiya Rifles (RR) under the aegis of CIF (Delta), has organised the tour. The students are accompanied by two teachers, an Army officer, a JCO and two NCOs. Besides, other two NCOs will join them in Kerala as they had left earlier to make arrangements. The students will return to Kishtwar on December 23 after visiting Trivandrum, Coimbatore and Ooty.

To mark Flag Day, a two minute silence was observed by the CIF (Delta) at its Headquarters on this occasion.

Calling the students as the ambassadors of J&K, Gen. Singh wished them best of luck. He hoped that they would share their experiences about the rich and diverse culture, tradition, heritage and the advancement made in the various areas with other after their return.

Jammu, December 7
Churchill Brothers and Jammu United Club registered convincing wins over their respective opponents today to storm into the semifinals in the ongoing Christmas Soccer Tournament being organised by the Christian Sports Organisation (CSO), in collaboration with the J&K Police Department, the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) and the J&K Sports Council at GGM Science College Football Ground here.

In the first quarterfinal, Churchill Brothers got the better of Mussa Club in a one-sided contest. Rahul was the star striker with three goals while Moon Stephen and Binny chipped in with a goal each.

In the second quarterfinal, Jammu United Club overcame the challenge of Vijay Club by a solitary goal to seal a berth in the last four. Rahul Sharma scored the all important goal.

Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Narinder Gupta was the chief guest in the first match whereas Former Mayor Manmohan Choudhary was the chief guest in the next match.

Bhaichung Bhutia Football School director Anurag Khal said Bhaichung Bhutia Football Academy would be established at Jammu soon. 

Katra, December 7
Sungri Cricket Club emerged champions of Mahore Cup by beating Shajroo Cricket Club with a narrow margin.

Winning the toss decided to bat first and they put up a fighting total of 96 in the allotted 20 overs. Chasing the target, Shajroo started off well but lost its way in the middle overs due to some tight bowling and impressive fielding. Eventually, the host fell short by 16 runs and the final was won by Sungri Cricket Club.

The Army and Shajroo Cricket Committee had jointly organised the final match of the tournament at Shajroo cricket ground.

Shajroo Sports Club captain Mustaq Ahmad emerged as highest wicket taker and run-getter by scalping 8 wickets and amassing a total of 123 runs in the tournament.

Commanding Officer of the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion gave away the trophy to the winning team. He appreciated the youth whop participated in the tournament. Chairman of Shajroo Cricket Club Shakeel Ahmed thanked the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion located at Sarah and the Rahstriya Rifles Sector of Mahore for helping them in organising the tournament.