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gb pant hospital A woman carries the body of an infant who died at the GB Pant Hospital, Srinagar. A Tribune file photograph
Canadian couple offers $2,000 for hospital
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Fresh snow in Gulmarg, Pahalgam; day temperature drops drastically in region
A man with his face covered with a muffler in Srinagar on Thursday.
Tribune photo: Yawar Kabli
3,250 students dropped out in Kupwara in 10 yrs
Pulse polio workshop held
One killed, five hurt in road accidents
Construction of college building hangs fire
Missing boy found at friend’s house
Police organises quiz contest in Baramulla
Jammu & Kashmir Bank holds financial literary camps
Kashmir University VC inaugurates HDFC branch at Hazratbal
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Appoint staff by Jan 31, HC tells SSB
Director, Social Welfare Department, asked to file compliance report on ICDS Scheme Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service
Srinagar, December 27 Directing the SSB authorities to file a compliance report before the court by a specified date, the high court has also directed Director Social Welfare to file a compliance report about the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). These directions were issued today by a division Bench of the court, which is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the wake of infants deaths at the GB Pant Children Hospital early this year. Since then, the high court is monitoring day-to-day working and other developments of the GB Pant Hospital, the only tertiary care children’s hospital in Kashmir. “The high court has directed the SSB to complete the selection of all posts of paramedical staff for the GB Pant Children Hospital in the non-gazetted category by January 31. Besides, the court has asked the SSB authorities to file a compliance report in this regard by the same date,” M Ashraf Wani, who represents one of the litigants in the PIL, told The Tribune. Besides, the court has also arrayed Director Social Welfare Department as one of the respondents in the PIL and asked him to file a compliance report on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which is being run by his department for over a decade to address the malnutrition of pregnant women. During a hearing on December 24, lawyer M. Ashraf Wani had submitted that for addressing the malnutrition of pregnant women, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) was being run by the Social Welfare Department in rural areas of Kashmir for over a decade, which, he said, has “lost its purpose.” Besides, the Medical Superintendent of GB Pant Hospital, Dr Muneer Masoodi, had also expressed apprehensions over the implementation of ICDS scheme in the state. “I doubt the scheme is being implemented in letter and in spirit under the ICDS. This has become an industry now,” Dr Masoodi had told the court. Earlier in November, Dr Masoodi had also submitted that infection in mothers’ womb and their malnutrition were the factors responsible for neo-natal deaths at the hospital. Infants’ death
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Canadian couple offers $2,000 for hospital
Srinagar, December 27 Forty-five years later, Sorensen, now a grandmother of five, living on Prince Edward Island in Canada, has come to the help of GB Pant Hospital, which has been in the news for alarming number of infant deaths earlier this year. “During my stay in Kashmir, I developed deep and abiding care for the people of Kashmir. My husband and I are not wealthy people. But we wish to offer $2,000 to the neo-natal care in the GB Pant Hospital in Srinagar. Please accept our humble offer,” she wrote to the hospital. Sorensen had said she came to know about the high infant deaths when she was surfing the Net. “I was searching for Kashmir when we came to know about the infant deaths. So, as a family, we decided to donate for the hospital,” she wrote in the letter. A copy of the letter had been also sent by Sorensen to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Over 500 neo-natal and infant deaths were reported in the first five months of this year at the GB Pant Children’s Hospital. After a public outcry in May this year, the government asked the SKIMS director to hold an inquiry into the alarming deaths in the hospital. State Assembly Speaker Mohammad Akber Lone, too, constituted a house panel of the legislators to look into the infant deaths. The SKIMS director had indicted the former Medical Superintendent for his administrative lapses, who had "failed in delivering well on time."
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Academics improve, infrastructure goes down
Srinagar, December 27 Perhaps for the very first time, the state government came clean on its failure to provide adequate infrastructure to government schools of the state, particularly those in rural areas in an Economic Survey Report by the J&K government which was made public earlier this year, stating that approximately 64.2% schools in the state do not have drinking water facilities whereas 33.4% schools lack toilet facilities. Private schools were no better off as per the report blaming school education department for providing recognition to many private institutes which lack basic drinking water, building, toilet and playground facilities in clear violation of rules. The teacher-student ratio trends look opposites in government and private schools. The issue, as per the report, is the most complex and lingering issue challenging equitable development in education sector. Although a majority of the private schools in the state where more than 90 per cent of students study face staff shortage, government schools, on the other hand, where a trivial percentage of students studies, look overstaffed. The disparities in the salaries between government and school teachers were brought to light although strict action by authorities is still awaited. Nevertheless, the performance of the students from schools, colleges as well as universities has seen a marked improvement over that in previous years. The recently declared annual class X examinations proved that the pass percentage this year of 68.2% was a way forward, with the girls dominating the merit list of first 20 position holders, while boys fared better overall. The same was evident during the annual convocation of Kashmir University in 2012, when 214 gold and silver medals, 234 PhD, 399 MPhil, 21240 post-graduate, 1,19,799 undergraduate degrees and 93 diplomas were awarded. Women have particularly surged ahead in the academic arena, impressing everybody right from the President Pranab Mukherjee to Governor NN Vohra, who were all praise for the outstanding performance of girl students in every field of study. The year saw many stalwarts of Indian business fraternity like Tatas and Birlas coming together on a joint platform in Kashmir University with the young political scion Rahul Gandhi, who appealed to the young intellectual brains of the Valley to usher in an economic and educational revolution in the country. Although, jobs, internships and trainings were offered in multinational companies of India, the students are an unenthusiastic lot in the wake of many such promises in the past having proved futile. The end of the year threw many pleasant surprises, with the state government acting tough against non-performing school heads, suspending the principals/headmasters of 12 government schools with zero pass percentage and stopping incentives to the general line teachers.
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Fresh snow in Gulmarg, Pahalgam; day temperature drops drastically in region
Srinagar, December 27 Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir, Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir and parts of the frontier Kupwara district received snowfall and rains through the day, an official of the state Meteorological Department said. The state weather department has also forecast moderate to heavy snowfall and rains in the mountains and plains in the next 48 hours. Snow and rainfall is likely to occur till the weekend, the official said. Meanwhile, residents across the region got a respite from the freezing nights as the mercury settled above the zero-degree mark for the first time this week. However, the day temperature dropped drastically. Minimum temperature around the Srinagar city, the main town in the region, settled at 2 degrees Celsius, a rise of nearly five degrees from last night when the mercury fell to minus 2.9 degrees Celsius. The maximum day-time temperature in the city was recorded at 6.3 degrees Celsius, a drop of around four degrees from the maximum of last day. The Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir recorded a cold night with mercury falling to a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius and at Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir, the night temperature fell to minus 0.6 degrees Celsius. Leh in remote Ladakh region also recorded a cold night with mercury falling to minus 8.0 degrees Celsius while the adjoining Kargil district recorded a low of minus 10.8 degrees Celsius, the official said. The minimum temperature in Ladakh region usually hovers many degrees below the freezing point in winter months, sometimes even falling to as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. The Ladakh region remains cut off from the rest of the state for most of the winter as heavy snow along the Srinagar-Leh road shuts access to the mountainous Ladakh. Qazigund, the southern gateway town to the Kashmir valley, recorded a minimum of 0.4 degrees Celsius while in the frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir, the minimum temperature was recorded at 0.1 degrees Celsius, the official said. In Kupwara, the maximum day temperature was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius.
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3,250 students dropped out in Kupwara in 10 yrs
Kupwara, December 27 As many as 3,250 students in Kupwara district have left their studies in the past 10 years due to various reasons, a survey tilted “Talaash” conducted under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) by the education department has revealed. “We have to make such students feel that they have their parents, friends and empathisers to turn to. They need motivation and encouragement to get back to schooling. Our teachers are working hard to motivate them to get enrolled in schools,” said Ghulam Rasool Lone, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Kupwara. The department of education has engaged at least 10,000 teachers to motivate such students to pursue education in schools once again. The results so far have been encouraging. At least 432 dropouts including those from bordering areas of Karnah and Keran have been covered and remedial classes for them would be started soon. “We will soon start classes for first batch of dropouts, who have been mentally prepared to pursue education in schools once again. It is heartening to know that teachers’ efforts are yielding positive results,” claimed the CEO. In addition to books and uniform free of cost and scholarship benefits, the teachers, wherever necessary, would make donations to help poor students pursue education in schools, said the CEO. According to survey, the socio-economic conditions, repeated failures of students in one class and orthodox nature of families (in case of girl students) are the major reasons contributing to increasing number of dropouts in the frontier district. “Shockingly, some so-called orthodox families do not prefer education of girl child. They need to be educated that the education of girl child is equally important and girls should not be deprived of their fundamental right,” he said. Through seminars at zonal levels, the speakers urge senior citizens, panches, sarpanches, parents, social workers and others to motivate dropouts to pursue education. One such seminar was organised at Dak Bungalow Kupwara
today. “It is everybody’s moral responsibility to contribute in this noble cause. Education is a must for everyone to become a learned human being. There should be 100 per cent literacy in our district as well so that the society advances like other modern societies in the world,” said Mohd Sultan, a teacher and a participant. There is a negligible difference between the number of dropouts from urban and rural areas, according to the survey. |
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Pulse polio workshop held
Srinagar, December 27 Chief Medical Officers, Deputy Chief Medical Officers, District Immunisation Officers, District Health Officers and Child Development Project Officers attended the meeting, a government spokesman said in a statement. The meeting was presided over by Director, Family Welfare J&K, Dr Kuldeep Kesar and SEPIO J&K, Dr Yangchan Dolma. Regional Co-ordinator North NPSP (WHO), Dr PK Roy made a presentation about the programme and sensitised the participants towards making the pulse polio programme a success
in the state, he said. State Surveillance Officer Dr VK Gupta, the spokesman added, sensitised the
participants to the strategies implemented — TNS
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One killed, five hurt in road accidents
Srinagar, December 27 The police said a vehicle hit a motorcycle bearing registration number JK01L/8535 at Kanelwan near Bijbehara checkpost, injuring motorcyclist Farooq Faiz Wani, son of Ghulam Rasool Wani, a resident of Kalnathpora, Srinagar. Farooq succumbed to his injuries while on way to the hospital. The body of the deceased was handed over to his family for the last rites. The Bijbehara police has registered a case in this regard. In another accident, a Tata Sumo bearing registration number JK08A/3641 met with an accident at the national highway near Ziyarat Mantiqui Sahab, Awantipora, injuring three passengers. The police said a Sumo bearing registration number JK08A/5070 hit and injured 40-year-old Bilal Ahmad Ahanger, son of Abdul Slam Ahanger, a resident of Khanmoh, Srinagar, near Tool Post, Qazigund. The injured was shifted to a hospital for treatment. Qazigund Police has registered a case in this regard. In another accident, a motorcycle hit and injured 28-year-old Shah Firdous, son of Ghulam Mohammad, a resident of Rappora, near Wathora, Budgam. The injured was shifted to a hospital for treatment. The spokesman said a Tata Sumo bearing registration number Jk05/6858, on way from Srinagar to Sopore, collided with an auto load carrier at the national highway Tapper in the jurisdiction of Pattan police station, injuring the driver of the load carrier.
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Construction of college building hangs fire
Anantnag, December 27 The Rs 11-crore project, being funded by the Central assistance and the University Grants Commission (UGC), was handed over to the J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) for construction and was scheduled to be completed by July 2010. “Later, the deadline for completion of the building was extended up to April 2012,” sources said. The sources said six months after missing the second deadline, the building is yet to be completed. “There are 2,400 students in the college as of now and the rented building comprising 10 to 12 rooms doesn’t suffice them,” the sources added. Students of the college rue that their studies are being affected in the absence of sufficient infrastructure. “The rented space remains overcrowded with students. We have to take turns to attend classes,” the students said. Teachers as well as non-teaching staff at the college too face a lot of inconvenience. “In the limited available space, we have to hold classes as well as arrange space for the office sections,” said a teacher in the college wishing not to be named. The JKPCC officials maintain the building is ready and the same has been conveyed to the government. “The college is ready for inauguration and we have written to the government in this regard. It is up to the government authorities now to decide when to inaugurate it and shift the college there,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Shagoo, DGM-5th Anantnag for the JKPCC. |
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Missing boy found at friend’s house
Handwara, December 27 Family members of Ibrahim said he had gone to a friend’s house in Magam village without informing them and stayed there. The family finally located him after extensive search in many villages of Handwara tehsil. “He was staying with a friend in neighbouring Magam village. We traced him today,” said Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, his father. Ibrahim had gone missing from a playing field near his house on Thursday last after seeing off his friends. Failing to locate him for two consecutive days, the family members had lodged a missing person report at Magam police station. The police had launched a hunt to trace the missing boy. The family members today withdrew the missing person report from the police station.
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Police organises quiz contest in Baramulla
Srinagar, December 27 Around 100 students of different educational institutions participated in the competition, the spokesman said. In the essay competition, Danish Ayoub of Saint Joseph School and Muzamil Ahad of BHSS Dawan Bagh secured the first and second position, respectively. In the quiz competitions, Boys High School Dewan Bagh, Public School Baramulla and Noor-ul-Islam Baramulla bagged the first, second and third position, respectively, the spokesman said. Cash prizes along with certificates were given to the winning candidates, the spokesman said.
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Jammu & Kashmir Bank holds financial literary camps
Srinagar, December 27 The camps were conducted at Saidpora, Poshhama and Pinjoora villages in South Kashmir’s Shopian district in which large number of local residents participated, the official said. During these camps, facilitator FLCC Shopian MA Jan told the participants about the programme of financial inclusion, saying these programmes were aimed at educating the people about basic financial planning and the role banks are playing for improving the basic economic condition of people living in rural areas. Lead District Manager Shopian M Saleem Wani gave a detailed overview of the various schemes available in the bank for rural areas. He discussed Kisan Credit Card scheme and asked the people to adopt the scheme for the overall growth of horticulture and agricultural products. In North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, awareness camps were conducted at Soderkote Bala, Shahgund, Malangam, Pazalpora and Hajin. The camps were attended by large number of local villagers including students, teachers, panches and sarpanches, the official said. Financial literacy camp was also organised at Government High School Gingle in Uri town of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, which was attended by a gathering from villages Gingle and Dhani-sayda.
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Kashmir University VC inaugurates HDFC branch at Hazratbal
Srinagar, December 27 The branch was inaugurated and thrown open to the public by Prof Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, a statement from the bank said. The Hazratbal branch, the statement added, is the 53rd branch of HDFC Bank in Jammu and Kashmir. — TNS
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The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the Services Selection Board (SSB) to complete the selection process for the recruitment of paramedical staff in non-gazetted category for the GB Pant Hospital by January 31, 2013.
The twin resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam received a fresh snowfall today as day temperature across the Kashmir region fell drastically and the night temperature showed considerable increase, settling above the freezing point.
