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dog menace
Animal Welfare Board asked to suggest steps other than birth control
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Tata Tele customers left in the lurch
Demolition of ‘illegal’ structures triggers protest
Autonomy for state ‘win-win’ for all: NC
Civil air service to Kargil from tomorrow
PDP to hold district-level protests over power crisis
Hurriyat welcomes Pak PM’s statement
Seminar on digital libraries held at Kashmir University
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Constitution of expert panel defective: Bar body
Calls for rejection of report submitted by the seven-member committee to the J&K High Court Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service
Srinagar, December 19 In its response filed before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, the Bar Association has pleaded for rejecting the report of the Expert Committee, which is already before the court for consideration. The high court is currently hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an end to the increasing number of stray dogs in Srinagar, which has grown to over 1 lakh. The High Court Bar Association, which has been included in the PIL as interveners, has been pressing for the destruction of stray dogs in terms of Section 304 of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation Act, 2000, which empowers the authorities to destroy the diseased dogs. “The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWB) as also the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are outsiders and are respondents to the PIL”, advocate Mian Qayoom representing the Bar Association submitted in its response to the Expert Committee report. “They have already appeared before the court and have filed their objections in which they have opposed the killing of stray dogs. In that view of the matter, the Expert Committee constituted by the government in terms of orders dated June 25, 2012, is defective. Therefore, the report of the committee deserves to be rejected”, the Bar Association said in its response submitted to the court today. Besides, the Bar has reiterated its position that the stray dogs need to be killed. “In the premises, it is, therefore, prayed that the report of the Expert Committee be rejected and the respondents (municipal authorities) be directed to follow the provisions of Section 304(2) (a-b) of the Municipal Corporation Act for destroying the dogs straying on the streets or beyond the enclosures of houses of their owners”, the Bar added in its response. The Bar has also stated that Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, are not applicable to J&K state. “Since the Act of 1960 has no application to the state of J&K, therefore, the provisions of Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001, which were published in pursuance of Section 38 of the Act of 1960, are also not applicable to J&K state”, the Bar said in response to the Expert Committee report. The Expert Committee in its report while opposing the killing and destruction of stray dogs had termed Animal Birth Control (dog sterilisation) as the only long-term, humane, permanent and sustainable solution for controlling the population of strays. The Report
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Animal Welfare Board asked to suggest steps other than birth control
Srinagar, December 19 These directions were issued today by a Division Bench of the high court, which is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an end to the increasing number of stray dogs in Srinagar. In the PIL filed by advocates Nadeem Qadri, AR Hanjura, and a law student Syed Musaib, intervention of the court has been sought to address the dog menace in the Srinagar city, whose population, according to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, has touched over 1 lakh. Besides, there are daily reports of canine attacks on human beings from different parts of Srinagar and other areas in the Valley. “The response filed by the Bar association is taken on record. Counsel (representing respondents Animal Welfare Board of India) is (directed) to apprise the court in terms of order dated June 8, 2012, about the measures other than the Animal Birth Control for checking the population of strays)”, the Bench headed by Justice Verinder Singh directed in its orders passed today. Earlier on December 5, the high court had directed the High Court Bar Association and the petitioners to file their response to the Expert Committee report, which had suggested certain measures for checking the growing canine population in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir valley. The Animal Welfare Board of India, in their earlier objections before the court, had opposed killing of the stray dogs. Besides, one of the representatives of the Board was also a member of the Expert Committee constituted by the government on the court directions.
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Tata Tele customers left in the lurch
Srinagar, December 19 While the company’s employees here, who too would be left unemployed, had avoided commenting on the matter in the past, a reply to a query through an e-mail by the customer care official of Tata Docomo said the company would not reimburse for the device. Adding insult to injury, it said Tata Photon device was an "asset" of the customers even as it would be of no use as it could not be used to avail internet services of other telecom operators. "We would like to inform
you that the device is your asset and we are not able to reimburse for the same," the reply said. When asked what value of the “asset” was and whether the company would like to buy back its "asset", the official promised to get back with a reply from the company's “higher-ups”. The attitude of the company, which has been promising jobs to unemployed youth of the state, has irked its customers. "When I paid my last bill, the company’s officials had assured that they would reimburse some amount for the device. If they don’t honour their promise, it will be unfortunate. It will also cast a shadow on the company’s claim that it wanted to do something special for Kashmir," said Irfan Ahmad, a local resident. The company's decision to wind up operations from the state had come to the fore soon after chairman of Tata Group Ratan Tata’s visit here in October, along with a delegation of corporate India’s top brass led by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, which had promised jobs to the local youth. While winding up of operations by January 18 would leave its employees in the state jobless, the Tata group had earlier this week announced in Mumbai that it will adopt a "two-pronged strategy" to give opportunities to students and entrepreneurs in the Valley. Tata had also said India Inc needed to do “something special” for the people of Kashmir rather than following normal business practices. |
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Demolition of ‘illegal’ structures triggers protest
Anantnag, December 19 The shopkeepers were protesting against the high-handedness of the Municipal Committee, Bijbehara, and the district administration’s failure to handle the situation. According to reports, vehicles remained stranded on the national highway for more than an hour and traffic was resumed only after the intervention of the district administration. Reports said the municipal authorities razed some structures to ground in the Pazalpora area deeming them to be illegal constructions. However, the shopkeepers of the area alleged that the buildings were not illegal and were demolished as owners of these buildings refused to pay bribe to the municipal authorities. The protesters said their area does not fall within the limits of the Municipal Committee, Bijbehara, and the intervention of the authorities was totally uncalled for. “We have an active panchayati system in our area
and that automatically excludes us from the municipal jurisdiction of the Town Area Committee. The repeated intervention of these people is to extort money from the poor shopkeepers,” said Abdul Rashid, one of the protesters. The district administration, however, maintains that the structures were illegal and had to be demolished. “We had asked the Municipal Committee, Bijbehara, to assist us in demolishing the structures and they were just obliging us,” said Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah. On the allegations levelled by shopkeepers against the municipal authorities, Shah said he had talked to the shopkeepers and they have denied that they levelled such allegations. “I had summoned some of the shopkeepers to my office and they categorically denied that they have levelled such allegations against any of the officials,” the Deputy Commissioner said. |
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Autonomy for state ‘win-win’ for all: NC
Srinagar, December 19 “The neighbouring countries must enter into a sustained dialogue and find a permanent solution to the Kashmir imbroglio,” NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said. Sadiq said the solution should be ‘acceptable to all the stakeholders’ and should lead to a ‘lasting peace’ in the region. The National Conference spokesman, however, said the restoration of autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir continues to be the ‘bedrock of the party’s policy and agenda. “It (Autonomy is) is the only solution that can become a ‘win-win’ situation for all,” Sadiq said. “The autonomy which was approved and accepted on June 26, 2000, is a constitutionally guaranteed document stamped and passed by the two-third majority of the state legislature and has all the ingredients to become an ultimate panacea between India and Pakistan,” Sadiq said. Sadiq accused BJP of weakening the autonomy proposal and dividing the people of Jammu and Kashmir by giving birth to an idea called PDP. “Their plan was to introduce a party in the state that can incite regional sentiments, hoodwink the people with false slogans, and weaken the autonomy. At that time the only willing anti-Kashmir available was Mufti,” Sadiq said.
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Civil air service to Kargil from tomorrow
Srinagar, December 19 In a statement, MP Ladakh Haji Hassan Khan said a high-level consultative meeting of the Ministry of Civil Aviation was held in New Delhi where the clearance to start flights to Kargil was given. Khan said the starting of the service would fulfil the long-pending demand of the people of Kargil. A private airlines company had conducted a test flight to Kargil. Khan said CM Omar Abdullah had been requested to inaugurate the service. — TNS |
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PDP to hold district-level protests over power crisis
Srinagar, December 19 Addressing a joint meeting of party senior leaders, legislators, district and zone presidents and prominent workers, party president Mehbooba Mufti said the coalition government had left no one in any doubt about its intentions, priorities and inability to address people's problems. In a statement, Mehbooba said the Omar Abdullah government in four years of its rule had brought immense miseries to the people and having refused to learn from its failures. “People of the state now realise the difference that a state government can make to their lives and would surely respond to this through the democratic weapon of vote. This government had the advantage of having inherited a state that had by and large come back on rails after the militancy and repressive government of Farooq Abdullah between 1996 and 2002. But instead of building on that solid foundation, it mismanaged the situation so much that the state suffered humiliation as a political entity and its residents have once again been rendered destitute and disempowered,” she said. She added the rulers were focused only on their personal luxuries and dealt with people with an arrogance that borders on contempt. Mehbooba said the party would soon hold district-level demonstrations against power crisis, non availability of cooking gas and rations and price rise.
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Hurriyat welcomes Pak PM’s statement
Srinagar, December 19 The Hurriyat has termed the Pak PM’s statement as a big diplomatic win. “Hurriyat expresses its pleasure over the statement of the Pak PM and terms it a good omen and a diplomatic win for the Kashmiri people,” a spokesman of Hurriyat Conference (M) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in a statement issued here yesterday.— TNS |
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Seminar on digital libraries held at Kashmir University
Srinagar, December 19 University Vice Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad, who presided over the inaugural session of the seminar, said the university’s Allama Iqbal library is now included among the top libraries of the country. It has opened up an array of information sources to university students and teachers. He said digital libraries are emerging as information hubs and document retrieval- cum-delivery mechanisms, dissemination and accessibility portals and subsequently attempting to evolve them for user-friendly avenues. Librarian of the Allama Iqbal Library DR A M Baba said the seminar is designed to provide an opportunity to discuss various aspects of ‘digital libraries’ and has brought scholars of repute to deliberate on the challenges and issues concerning the theme of the seminar. Dr Baba also spoke about various initiatives of the Allama Iqbal Library in its endeavour of dissemination of knowledge and information. “We make efforts to develop the Allama Iqbal Library at par with the other centres of excellence or leading libraries of the world and to make it a knowledge centre,” he said. In his power point presentation KU Registrar Prof Zafar Ahmad Rishi talked about the evolution of different waves of open access repository. Islamic University of Science and Technology librarian Prof Wajih Ahmad Alvi presented the keynote address.
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The Kashmir Bar Association has termed the constitution of Expert Committee, which suggests ways for controlling stray dog population in Srinagar, defective.
