Jammu, December 26
Unnerved by high mortality rate among poultry birds due to outbreak of viral infection in Kashmir valley, the state administration is said to have imposed a “temporary ban” on import of fresh chicken into Jammu and Kashmir from neighbouring states. The state has advised poultry farmers to take utmost caution in preventing their chicken from getting infected with the disease.

All the chief and block animal husbandry officers have been directed to ensure that farmers get clearance certificate from officers concerned prior to sale of birds (chicken).

Official sources said import of poultry birds from neighbouring states had come down significantly following outbreak of Ranikhet disease - a viral infection - in five districts of Kashmir valley.

“Around 51,000 chicken have died in five districts of Kashmir valley in two weeks and thousands have got infected,” sources said, adding that poultry farmers had been advised to report “unusual poultry mortality to their block veterinary officer immediately, besides ensuring deep burial of dead carcass and poultry farm byproducts, after clearance of the present stock, give their farm at least one month’s rest and before stocking the next hatch, disinfect their farm and farm utensils.”

Dr GR Mir, Director, Animal Husbandry, Kashmir, said they had requested the administration “for suspending the import of fresh birds into affected districts” for a few weeks to minimise the impact of the disease.

“We have been able to ensure 100 per cent control of the disease in Budgam, Ganderbal and Baramulla districts. Barring one constituency, the department has controlled the disease in Kupwara district. Besides, there was a little impact of the disease in Srinagar district,” Mir said.

He said around 51,000 birds had died of the disease between December 10 and 25, while the maximum outbreak of disease was reported from December 17 to 19.

“We have started vaccination of chicken in four districts, while chief and block veterinary officers have been asked to remain alert. We collected 42 samples of alive and dead birds and sent them to a Jalandhar-based laboratory and High Security Animal Disease Diagnosis Laboratory, Bhopal,” the director said.

Dr Pratap Magotra, director Animal Husbandry, Jammu said no ban had been imposed on the import but they had advised the field officers as well as poultry farmers to take utmost caution in preventing their chicken from getting infected.

He admitted the import had come down following the advisory to 50 per cent. “We were earlier importing nearly one lakh birds, including 80,000 day-old chicken, but it has now come down to nearly 50,000. Necessary precautions, including sanitation and vaccination, have been taken,” Magotra said and claimed the disease didn’t have any impact in Jammu region so far.

Jammu, December 26
Crime Branch Jammu today booked four persons along with some officials of Regional Transport Office for alleged fraud during sale and purchase of vehicles.

The accused were identified as Javed Ahmed alias Sheikh Wasim Ahmed, son of Abdul Sattar, resident of Sopore, Bashir Ahmed, son of Ghulam Hussain, resident of Surankote, Poonch, Abdul Latief, son of Ghulam Nabi Lone, resident of Tangmarg and Vinod Singh, son of Jasbir Singh, resident of Gobindpura, Chatha besides some officials of the Regional Transport Office.

An official spokesperson said a written complaint had been lodged by complainant, Subash Chander of Mohalla Lajpat Nagar, Canal Road, Jammu with the Crime Branch headquarters and it had been stated that he was operating a business of motor spare parts and sale and purchase of old and condemned vehicles at Transport Nagar in Narwal Bypass area.

“The complainant stated that certain vehicles purchased by him during the normal course of business from accused Javed Ahmed Dar were suspected to be stolen vehicles as documents like bank certificates and registration certificates furnished by the accused, upon verification, were found to be fake and fabricated. Moreover, two vehicles purchased by him from the accused were suspected to have been stolen and sold to some other persons by the accused,” the spokesperson said.

Jammu, December 26
At least six Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers were injured today in police cane-charge after they made an abortive attempt to take out a protest march towards Civil Secretariat - seat of governance - in the winter capital here, to register their resentment against the state government for its “failure to keep its word” on resolving their long-pending issues.

Around 1,000 ReT teachers and education volunteers, including women from various districts, assembled outside the exhibition ground on the strike call of J&K ReT Teachers’ Forum and raised slogans against the state government. They blamed the government for adopting “dilly-dallying tactics” in conceding to their demands.

The protesters were demanding immediate regularisation as general line teachers, of education volunteers who had completed their seven years service in the department, inclusion of five years rendered ReTs’ period for seniority benefits, old pension scheme in favour of ReTs appointed before January 1, 2010, issuance of formal order regarding enhancement in the honorarium of ReTs from Rs 1,500 per month to Rs 3,000 per month as announced during Assembly session in March 2012, provision of SRO-43 in favour of ReTs and EVs and provision of transfer policy in favour of regularised ReT teachers.

Trouble erupted when ReT teachers and education volunteers were stopped from taking out a protest march towards Civil Secretariat following restrictions imposed by the district administration.

As the ReTs and EVs resisted the police action, policemen resorted to heavy cane-charge, leading to critical injuries to six teachers. Some protesters, however, managed to break the cordon laid by the policemen and marched towards Civil Secretariat. The policemen later foiled their attempt and stopped them en route. The protesters didn’t relent to the police action and continued their protest for nearly one-and-a-half hour.

“We were mercilessly beaten up by the policemen for no fault of ours. It is our democratic right to raise our issues but the administration made an attempt to muffle our voice, which is not going to happen,” angry state president of J&K ReT Teachers’ Forum Vinod Sharma told The Tribune.

Sharma said of a total of six injured teachers, four had received fractures in upper and lower limbs. “We had met the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on June 1, 2012 and he had assured us early redressal of our grievances. So far, no promise has been fulfilled and we are still working in miserable conditions,” he said, adding that there were around 70,000 ReT teachers and 6,500 education volunteers in the state.

Sharma blamed the government for forcing them to adopt the path of agitation and threatened a hunger strike if the government failed to concede to their demands at the earliest.

Jammu, December 26
The Jammu University (JU) seems to have different sets of rules for kin of high officials. A case in point is the recent nod to “single candidate interview” for the open post of Professor of Botany. The only candidate who has applied for this position is sister-in-law of Registrar Prof Naresh Padha and wife of Prof Devanand Padha, who is currently holding three positions. The interview is slated for January 2, 2013.

Sources said Namrata Sharma, Associate Professor in Department of Botany, was the only candidate who had applied for the open post of Professor in her department. “Since this position doesn’t come under Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) and is open in nature, the university should re-advertise it to attract more candidates for the interview,” sources added.

“The nod to single candidate interview by Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohan Paul Singh Isher clearly reflects favouritism in this mater. The University could have gone for re-advertisement as had happened earlier,” sources said. “Rather, the Vice-Chancellor had the opportunity to set the record straight by cancelling the interview and order re-advertisement of the post,” they added.

“It is highly unfortunate that nobody in the university advised the Vice-Chancellor to go in for re-advertisement. The registrar knew that no other candidate is eligible for the post from JU, hence there is no opposition from within the campus. This is complete mockery of the system,” a source lamented.

A Jammu University Teachers Association (JUTA) member said, “The ongoing favouritism in favour of its higher-ranked officials by JU is not a healthy sign. There is an urgent need to keep a curb on this, otherwise it would become a routine for everyone on the campus to put forth his case and get it done through his influence,” he added.

Dr Mohan Paul Singh Isher, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, told The Tribune that the university had not violated any University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.

Batote, December 26
For consumers in Jammu and Kashmir, getting their ration cards renewed is a pesky and daunting affair.

“Not only are Below Poverty Line (BPL) people charged Rs 30 for the new ration card, they spend at least Rs 60 on five photographs and Rs 10 on getting the photocopies of the old ration card and voter card or identity card besides Rs 10 on getting each page of a single and double leave forms filled, which could cost one two working days,” said Durga Dass, Naib Sarpanch, Thopal, Batote.

Every head of the family was first asked to fill a single-page form and attach his four photographs, photo copies of the old ration card, voter card or identity card. Now, they are again asked to fill up another two-page form and affix a photograph on it. Shopkeepers dealing in photocopy and photography business are having a lucrative business nowadays.

“The daily wagers and the ordinary businessmen are finding it costly and irritating to fill the forms again and again. Despite devoting 14 pages on advertisement of J&K Bank Ltd on each ration card, which might have fetched the Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) a good amount, Rs 50 and Rs 30 is charged for each of the Above Poverty Line and Below Poverty Line ration cards, that too against no receipt,” rued Jagdev Singh.

Although the Antodaya ration cards are given free, those in remote hilly areas are finding it difficult to afford the other overhead charges.

“Many persons in remote areas are still unaware of this ration card renewal exercise and we have to devote our time on this instead of ration distribution besides spending on stationery,” said a Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution ration dealer (RD) on condition of anonymity.

“The second two-leave form is as per Supreme Court direction, which is required to digitise the data. But these details could also have been taken from the earlier filled D-forms,” said Pervez Malik, Director, Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Jammu.

“J&K Bank Ltd has contributed 60% of the cost of printing of the ration cards by way of their advertisement and we are charging only 40% of the cost from the consumer. The services of the teachers or students could have been taken for filling the forms instead of those of the petition writers etc. The Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution assistant directors should be informed if the dealers are ignoring their duties for this exercise,” he retorted.

Jammu, December 26
Demanding enhancement in cash relief, scores of Kashmiri migrant relief holders today took out a protest march on city roads to impress upon the Centre and the state government to fulfill their demands at the earliest.

Hundreds of migrant relief holders, who had been protesting outside Relief Commissioner office at Canal road, marched towards Dogra Chowk and raised slogans against the state government for its “indifferent attitude”. They also had a minor scuffle with the policemen near Dogra Chowk when they tried to set on fire the effigy of state government.

They alleged they were on dharna (sit-in) outside the Relief Commissioner office for the last six months but the state government had turned a blind eye towards their grievances. “It has become impossible to make the both ends meet on existing cash relief being provided by the government due to high inflation. The state government should vigorously take up this matter with the Central government and enhance our relief without any delay,” they said. They warned the government not to test their patient and they would intensify their agitation if their issues were not resolved at the earliest.

Katra, December 26
Subscribers of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are having a tough time since yesterday, as the telecom provider’s Internet service has been disrupted due to some damage to the optic fibre cable (OFC) on the Katra-Udhampur link due to a road-widening process.

The BSNL subscribers today faced fluctuating network on their mobile phones while the Internet remained off in Reasi and adjoining areas.

“The poor administration of the BSNL has kept many Internet subscribers wondering, as nobody from the BSNL provided us information about the gag,” said Ashok Sharma, a BSNL subscriber.

“From the morning, we are having a problem in connecting with other telecom users through our mobile phones,” said Rahul Suri, another BSNL subscriber.

A BSNL official said, “Due to some technical snag on the Katra-Udhampur OFC link, there are some disruptions in our mobile phone services.” He said the services would be resumed by tomorrow as the repair work had begun.

Rajouri, December 26
A workshop on death and birth registration was organised by the District Statistical and Evaluation Officer Rajouri in collaboration with Directorate of Economics and Statistics J&K in Rajouri today.

Director Economics and Statistics BR Lachotra being the chief guest, inaugurated the workshop. Additional District Commissioner, Rajouri Matloob Ahmed Khan, presided over the workshop. SSP Rajouri Mubassir Latifi was the special guest.

Shamun Ahmed, CPO Rajouri (acting DSEO too), presented the welcome address and gave a brief introduction regarding the workshop. Dr Zahoor Ahmed Shawl, CMO Rajouri, being the expert speaker, delivered an informative lecture on the subject. Bilal Rashid (AD Planning Health) conducted the proceedings of the programme and introduced the participants to various schemes initiated by the department in connection with birth and death registration.

A technical session was chaired by Rajni Charak, Regional Joint Director, Jammu, wherein various instructions were passed to all the chowkidars regarding filling of required forms.

SP Rajouri, Mubassir Latifi and Additional DC Maqbool Khan stressed on the importance of the workshop and assured the chowkidars that their problems would be redressed. All the chowkidars of the district welcomed the step taken by the DSEO Rajouri and Director E & S on inviting them and imparting awareness to them and said it was desirable for such informative programmes to be conducted in future too.

All EOs of municipal committees of Rajouri, officers of various police stations and nearly 150 chowkidars of the district participated in the workshop.

Reasi, December 26
Reasi Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Baldev Raj Sharma today convened a public darbar at Seela village in Reasi to address the grievances of people living in far-flung and remote areas of the district.

The district PDD Division executive engineer, PHE Division executive engineer, Chief Education Officer, Social Welfare Officer, ARTO and other officers and panchayat members attended the camp.

People raised demands such as concession in the electricity tariff for rural areas, improvement of the Reasi-Katra road, timely payment of the old age pension to the eligible people, augmentation of water supply schemes, supply of high quality seeds, implementation of horticulture, agriculture and allied sectors schemes in the area, issuance of ration cards to the divided families, upgrade of schools and clearance of pending panels in the Education Department.

The MLA asked the officers to make coordinated efforts for the development and uplift of the area. He also asked 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 people.

Jammu, December 26
Concerned over the fate of women football in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) is planning to approach the J&K Police to seek its support to revive the game.

Sources said a group of women footballers had recently met senior officials of the association and expressed resentment over the negligent attitude towards the women’s team. Sources said the officials assured the footballers that the association would do something in this regard.

They said during the Martyrs Football Tournament in Srinagar which concluded recently, the JKFA had announced that it would take several steps to uplift the standard of women’s football, especially in the Valley, but then the officials got busy with preparing a proposal to be submitted before the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to get its approval to host Federation Cup in the state. The AIFF has given a green signal to the JKFA in this regard.

Sources said the ongoing blame game between the J&K State Sports Council and the JKFA has been the major cause behind the deteriorating standard of women’s football in the state.

“Leave aside participating in competitions, we are not even getting to attend coaching camps because the association is more inclined towards the men in the game. They are just not bothered about redressing our grievances,” a woman football player said.

“We will not tolerate this step-motherly treatment and will fight tooth and nail to get justice for us. We have made this clear to the association during a recent meeting,” she said.

Zameer Ahmad Thakur, JKFA president, expressed concern over the grim scenario of women football in the state. “There is no doubt that the women football is in a dire state in the state but we are doing our level best to make the situation better. Let us hope that our talks with the JKP would yield a positive result,” he said.

“Though there is some improvement in women football in the Jammu region, the decline in the Kashmir valley is a major concern and we are going to devise a strategy to find a way out shortly,” Thakur maintained.