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Nutrition centre for weak children GB Pant Hospital courted controversy following deaths of infants. The file picture shows a protest by civil society members. A Tribune photograph
Army foils infiltration bid at LoC in Poonch
First Kashmiri ‘heritage’ ramp walk showcases ‘pheran’
Geelani rejects Musharraf’s formula
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Curfew continues in Pulwama areas for third day
Rampant encroachments, land grabbing cut green wealth to half
Getting LPG cylinder an uphill task for common man
Minister kick-starts work on Nele-Hayatpora Road
Moderate earthquake jolts Kashmir valley
Opportunistic agenda led to fall of Opposition, says Slathia
Double murder case: Two Nepali labourers get life term
Panthers Party chief takes a dig at CM’s adviser
Mirwaiz, Army warn of ‘turbulence’ post US troop withdrawal
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Nutrition centre for weak children
Srinagar, December 30 The hospital will set up a 10-bedded Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), where undernourished and acutely malnutritioned children will be treated and rehabilitated. Besides, in the new centre being established within the hospital premises, mothers of such undernourished children will also be educated and counselled about feeding habits and preventing severe malnutrition of their wards. “This Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre is being established within the premises of the hospital. For this purpose, we have already refurbished a ward in the hospital”, Mohammad Saleem Khan, Deputy Medical Superintendent of GB Pant Hospital, told The Tribune. Stating that funds for establishing the NRC were being provided under a specific initiative of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Khan said the project has three components. Under the first and second component, the hospital administration has already been provided Rs 9.8 lakh for establishing a 10-bedded ward and running it. The hospital is yet to receive funds for adding manpower for running the NRC. “The staff requirement for the NRC was finalised by the administration at a meeting held yesterday. We will soon issue advertisements in the local media regarding this”, Khan said. The staff and the manpower required for making the NRC functional includes one medical officer, one nutrition counsellor, four nurses, two attendants-cum-cooks. Besides, the NRC would also have a separate kitchen facility, which shall cater to the specially recommended food requirements of undernourished children. Once functional, it is expected that the children admitted to the NRC with “grade one malnutrition” may take a week or
10 days for rehabilitation to less severe “grade two malnutrition.” At the NRC, the mothers of such wards will also receive tips/counselling for preventing further malnutrition of their children in the future. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which is hearing a PIL related to GB Pant Hospital, had on December 24 directed the health authorities to file a detailed report about the types of malnutrition prevalent among pregnant women and newborns in Kashmir. The court has further asked if there are any schemes being run to address the problem of malnutrition among children and expecting mothers. Earlier in November, the Medical Superintendent of GB Pant Hospital, Dr Muneer Masoodi, had submitted to the court that infection in mothers’ womb and their malnutrition were the prime factors responsible for neo-natal deaths at the hospital. Infants’ death |
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Army foils infiltration bid at LoC in Poonch
Poonch, December 30 Sources said the Army troops witnessed a suspicious movement of a group of militants near Roshni post around 5.00 am this morning. “There was a dense fog near the LoC and the exact number of militants could not be established. The Army personnel deployed at the Roshni post challenged the infiltrators and opened fire at them. The infiltrators were successfully pushed back after the firing that lasted till 6.15 pm. No firing was reported from the other side,” the sources said, adding that there was no loss of life or damage to property in the firing. Unconfirmed reports SN Acharya, officiating PRO (Defence), Jammu, was not available for comments despite repeated phone calls. There were 47 ceasefire violations this year followed by 51 cases in 2011. As many as 44 ceasefire violations were registered along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010 and 28 in 2009. |
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First Kashmiri ‘heritage’ ramp walk showcases ‘pheran’
Srinagar, December 30
The event “Saen Meeras” or “Our Tradition”, defined by the organisers, as a “journey of culture, music and attire” was held today afternoon at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), located on the banks of the Dal Lake on the edge of Zabarwan mountains. The event was organised by ‘Arachnid Studio’ and ‘Wilson and Royals’. Thirty models, all Kashmiri boys, walked the ramp wearing the traditional and “innovative” versions of pherans. Pheran, a monotonous knee-length cloak, has been Kashmir’s classic winter wear which have outlived the onslaught on modernity and protected generation after generation from the freezing cold of the region. The thirty different versions of pheran, showcased at “Saen Meeras”, were designed by fashion designer Samil Ali, who has returned to to the Valley after postgraduating in fashion designing from New Delhi, where he also worked for sometime. “I love Kashmiri tradition and everything that comes with it. I shifted back to Kashmir to work here. I intend to bring glamour to the tradition,” Ali, 24, told The Tribune. The event was rare for Kashmir as there has been little interest among most residents, weary by decades of conflict, to alter with the winter wear. Ali said the innovations he introduced to the ‘Pheran’ included different necklines, coat-styles and alteration with pockets. “Pherans have largely been seen as something that can only be worn at home, but what I tried was to make it something that can be worn anywhere, anytime. Pherans can be a party-wear that is what I aimed for,” he said. The fashion show also had ‘khravs’ — wooden sandals which were used for centuries in Kashmir as a footwear but went missing over the past few decades, and ‘pulhors’ - straw sandals which faced the same fate as ‘khravs’.
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Geelani rejects Musharraf’s formula
Srinagar, December 30 The latest rejection of the formula from the hardline amalgam comes a day after their moderate counterparts led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Musharraf’s four points can be “one of the options on the table” before Pakistan and can be a “starting point” towards solving the issue. The Geelani-led group said the Musharraf formula can “in no way” be a possible solution to the Kashmir issue. “There is mention of the right to self determination (in Musharraf’s formula) and neither does it take into consideration the great and exemplary sacrifices offered by Kashmiris,” hardline faction spokesman Ayaz Akbar said. The spokesman said the four-point formula - which proposes a soft Line of Control (LoC), self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops and joint supervision of the region by India and Pakistan - was based on the “status-quo”.
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Curfew continues in Pulwama areas for third day
Srinagar, December 30 The restrictions on movement of civilians were put in place in the Pulwama town and adjoining areas on Friday when seven civilians were hit by bullets, triggering protests. The restrictions continued throughout the day yesterday and today and will also be in place for fourth day tomorrow, a senior official said. The official, requesting anonymity, said curfew will also be imposed on Monday to prevent protests which may erupt as the hardline separatist group led by Syed Ali Geelani has called for shutdown against the firing on civilians. There were also fresh clashes in the Pulwama town where protesters hurled stones at the police and paramilitary forces, who were deployed in strength to impose the restrictions. Hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel manned the streets and roads in and around Pulwama town to implement the restrictions, which were imposed to prevent protests over the firing on civilians. The circumstances in which the seven people were hit by bullets remained unclear as the police version, Army’s account and the injured civilians’ account clashed with each other. While the police claimed the seven were injured in a “retaliatory action” when a “mob” attacked an ambulance at Pulwama town carrying an injured Army Major for treatment, the Army said its personnel had not fired on civilians as its ambulance was being escorted by only a police vehicle and not the Army vehicle. The injured civilians, admitted at a hospital in Srinagar, had alleged they were fired “without provocation” from an Army vehicle. The state government has launched an investigation into the incident by appointing an Additional District Magistrate to conduct the probe. A senior doctor at the SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) told The Tribune that three patients admitted to the hospital were now stable. One of the wounded civilians, who was earlier critical after suffering a brain injury in the firing incident, had to undergo a brain surgery and is now “out of danger”, the doctor said. Two Laskhar-e-Toiba militants were killed on Friday morning and three security personnel, including two officers, were injured in the gunfight at a village in Pulwama.
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Rampant encroachments, land grabbing cut green wealth to half
Srinagar, December 30 The single largest reason responsible for the depletion of green cover has been attributed to illegal human encroachments, which have consumed approximately 13,360 sq km of forest land as per official statistics. In the wake of mounting public pressure on the state Forest Department for its failure to curb the forest encroachments, the department made some significant disclosures in November regarding involvement of a senior state cabinet minister in the illegal forest land grab case in Sedow village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district, which has proved embarrassing for the state coalition government. The State Accountability Commission even slapped a notice on the minister accusing him of making false claims of the Commission having absolved him of charges. In the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region, the village heads (sarpanches) came out making scathing attacks on the state government for failing to catch hold of “land mafia” (forest land grabbers) and accused the department of shielding them. Villagers said human intervention in the state’s ecologically sensitive zones for either constructing residential/commercial properties, plundering the premium wood species or its use for agricultural purposes has gone unabated over the past few years, gradually depleting the forest cover. Despite the state government introducing its maiden State Forest Policy in 2010 to regulate the human pressures on the forest cover of the state, increasing cases of illegal encroachments by locals and even senior cabinet ministers surfaced in the year 2012, prompting the State Legislative Assembly to appoint a Departmental Standing Committee of State Legislative Council investigating into such cases. In order to ascertain loopholes in various afforestation programmes undertaken by the state government over the past two decades, the state government even roped in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which has been entrusted with the responsibility of “satellite mapping” of the green cover in the state. The first-of-its-kind ISRO Survey in the state will also enable the state to assess the density of crops, types and availability of non-timber forest produce and medicinal plants in different areas of the state besides training the Forest Department officials to prevent forest fires that cause sizeable destruction to forests during summers. The Forest Department officials said the removal of encroached forests, illegal structures and afforestation drives were carried out in full swing with 217 acres of forest land in Jammu division alone having been cleared of encroachments and 3.97 lakh plants were planted in over 500 hectares of degraded forest land in Billawar, Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur and Ramanagar forest regions of Jammu. Not only did humans intervene into the natural habitat of wild animals, even the wild animals did the same. Rising cases of man-animal conflict in the Valley, particularly with leopards, and bears caused death of nearly 50 people and injured over 300, especially children and old people. Experts have urged the state government to constitute a man-animal conflict policy that provides measures for keeping the wild animals away from the human populated areas. Even the State Legislative Assembly stepped in to impress upon the authorities in preserving the natural habitat of wild animals so that they do not attack humans. Man-animal conflict in Kashmir, as per Chief Wildlife Warden, AK Singh, has become a political issue leading to law and order problems in the state.
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Getting LPG cylinder an uphill task for common man
Jammu, December 30 The department is skirting its responsibilities of streamlining supply of essential commodities in the region. The approach being adopted by the department, especially when many parts of the state are cut off due to the snowfall, can be gauged from the fact that toll-free numbers established by the CAPD to register grievances regarding supply of ration and LPG are virtually non-functional. The CAPD Department claimed to be having established toll-free numbers 2502609 (for ration etc.) and 1800288855 (for LPG problems) to register public grievances but these numbers are not operating properly. There was no response from the first number while the code number of the second toll-free number did not exist. On December 24 while addressing a function to mark National Consumer Day, officers of the CAPD department claimed that they had already established toll-free numbers to register the grievances of the people. The officers also claimed that the CAPD Department was leaving no stone unturned to provide better services to the people at their doorsteps. The department has claimed to address grievances of the customers but the people don’t know where they have to contact the officers concerned because the toll-free number for LPG grievance is not working. Opposition parties on the other stepped up an attack on the government for its failure to ensure supply of ration in rural areas. “There is a total breakdown of ration supply in the hilly areas of Rajouri district. Most parts of this district are facing shortage of ration,” alleged PDP MLA from Darhal Choudhary Zulfikar. He said ration was not available in the outlets set up by the CAPD Department and the poor people were forced to purchase the ration from the open market. Choudhary Zulfikar, who conducted an extensive tour of Darhal assembly segment, said the BPL card holders are main sufferers as they could not purchase ration from the open market. Even Congress leaders alleging that people were not getting ration in the remotest areas. Youth Congress general secretary RS Pathania alleged that residents of Majalata area of Udhampur district, especially those belong to the BPL category, were not subsidised ration from the CAPD depots. |
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Minister kick-starts work on Nele-Hayatpora Road
Rajouri, December 30 The project has been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 4.3 crore under PMGSY. The construction work of the road would be completed within 12 months. Once completed, it would provide better connectivity facility to over 4,000 population of the area. Addressing a public meeting on the occasion, the minister said better road connectivity plays a vital role for socio-economic upliftment of the society. He said the government has initiated a massive road development programme with the assistance of the Central government across the state, with special focus on upgradation of roads in remote and hilly areas. He said the government was abreast of the people of the people and development needs. In the past four years of the tenure, the government had taken several people-friendly steps to improve basic facilities in the state. The minister said a huge investment was made on upgradation of the core sectors in Rajouri district, adding that alone Rs 79 crore is being expended on the construction and upgradation of power infrastructure in the area, especially with the special thrust given to remote and
border villages. Shabir assured the people that all their genuine day-to-day problems and development needs would be fulfilled in due course of time. He also visited border areas of Mithidhara and Basali villages of the Panthal Panchayat Block to look into people’s problems and needs. |
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Moderate earthquake jolts Kashmir valley
Srinagar, December 30 An official of the Met Department said the earthquake hit at a depth of 95 km at 23:20:50 hours last night. The epicentre of the quake was in the Hindukush region of Afghanistan with latitude of 35.7 degree North and longitude of 70.6 degree East. Several locals felt the impact of the earthquake but no damages have been reported so far. People shared their experiences on the social networking sites as well. Kashmir is in an earthquake-prone zone and it has experienced frequent jolts in the past. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale had caused massive damage to life and property across the Line of Control (LoC) in October 2005. |
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Opportunistic agenda led to fall of Opposition, says Slathia
Jammu, December 30 SS Slathia today said people of the state have in un-ambiguous terms, which have demonstrated their will in favour of secular and democratic parties. Addressing a public gathering at Rarian in Vijaypur area of Samba district Slathia said the people have rejected the opposition for their myopic vision and opportunistic politics, which is based on the divide and rule policy. “After repeated defeats they should learn a lesson that people of the state are wise enough to differentiate between their friends and foes. They cannot be swayed by hollow slogans, which are false propaganda,” Slathia asserted. Without naming BJP, PDP and Panthers Party, Slathia said instead of resorting to lies and character assassination of the NC-leadership, they should try their luck in the 2014 Assembly Election, after the present dispensation completes its tenure. “Why the opposition is getting impatient to grab the power on the basis of deceit and lie, when they know that the people have given a clear verdict in favour of the NC-Congress coalition,” Slathia questioned. Slathia directed the authorities concerned to expedite work of fencing and conversion of a ground into a beautiful park, renovation or completion of a panchayat ghar and to supply a transformer for uninterrupted power supply. District Development Commissioner, Samba, Mubarak Singh and other district officers were also present on the occasion.
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Double murder case: Two Nepali labourers get life term
Leh, December 30 Principal District and Sessions Judge, Leh, Sanjay Parihar found the two accused namely Gajinder Kumar Khatri and Parmod Budka Thoki guilty of murder of two Buddhist monks Nawang Tsultim and Stanzin Gelek in 2007. The judgment was announced yesterday. In the judgment, the accused were also sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each for their offence of robbery from the victims. The two Buddhist monks were found brutally murdered on August 4, 2007, at Sum Tseg Restaurant located near the Alchi Monastery. The accused were working as lobourers at the construction site of the restaurant. Chief Prosecuting Officer, Leh, Tsering Phuntsog said the accused also decamped with Rs 62,000, mobile phones and ATM card from the victims. The District police had arrested the accused within the 24 hours of the crime from Spang near Himachal Pradesh border. He said the case was deposed of after nearly five years of trial at the Court of District and Session |
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Panthers Party chief takes a dig at CM’s adviser
Jammu, December 30 In a statement issued here today, Singh termed Rana as product of backdoor politics who, according to Singh, required self introspection to analyse who is an opportunist and
power hungry. He said the National Conference (NC) must give a peep into its own dirty laundry before casting aspersions on others. Reminding Rana of the double standards of NC, Singh said NC has consistently been following the policy of running with the hare and hunting with the hound with a sole objective of remaining in power. The party had been joining hands with the BJP and the Congress on different occasions to suit its political ambitions. He said it was the same NC which forged an alliance with NDA and joined the BJP-led government at the Centre. He said Omar Abdullah who does not miss any opportunity of praising the UPA and the Gandhis had adorned the BJP parlours for years as a favourite bedfellow and show boy. Harsh Dev Singh said the NC-Congress alliance was a heterogeneous combination of diametrically opposed parties having divergent perceptions on different issues. He said one party was talking of autonomy while other categorically opposed it. Likewise, NC talked of withdrawal of AFSPA but the Congress insisted on its continuance and strengthening and still the alliance was intact. He said it was NC that had been changing colours like chameleon and assuming the role of ‘B’ team of BJP and Congress respectively on different occasions to suit its own political interests. He said NC, once again in 2011 and 2012, had joined hands with BJP in MLC elections for petty political gains.
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Afghanistan spillover
Srinagar, December 30 A similar alarm has been sounded by the top Army commanders, who have warned of “turbulence” emerging from post-2014 Afghanistan. Mirwaiz, Kashmir region’s chief Muslim preacher, joined separatist politics when his father Mohammad Farooq, who held the traditional post of “Mirwaiz”, before his son became one, was assassinated in 1990. The assassination is believed to have been carried by a group of militants led by Abdullah Bangroo, who w as trained in camps along Af-Pak border and was a veteran of Afghan-Soviet war before joining the “armed movement” in Kashmir. The militancy in Kashmir has gone into a downward spiral in the last one decade, the time-frame coinciding with the US war in Afghanistan. Kashmir’s armed “movement”, which erupted in mid-1988, is largely believed to have been influenced by the then events in Afghanistan when Soviet Union was packing its bags after unsuccessfully fighting there for a decade. On Friday last, on his return from Islamabad where he met top Pakistan leadership, including President Asif Zardari, Mirwaiz addressed a gathering at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar’s old city where he delivers his weekly sermon. Mirwaiz linked the Kashmir solution with peace in Afghanistan. A day later, Mirwaiz elaborated the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is scheduled to happen in 2014. Mirwaiz, who led a seven-member delegation to Pakistan earlier this month, said they observed there that “political parties, think tanks and institutions” are not seeing the Kashmir issue in “isolation” and it is no longer being viewed as an issue limited within the “ambit of India and Pakistan” only. “Except Kabul, entire Afghanistan is under Taliban control. In 2014, when the US withdraws from Afghanistan, it is being observed that it will have a ‘spillover’ effect not only on Pakistan but also on India,” Mirwaiz told reporters yesterday. “It is not going to be easy for any player to manage the situation once the American troops pull out from Afghanistan.” The stern warning from comparatively dovish-toned separatist has also been issued several times by the Army’s top commanders in the past two years. At least on three occasions since the beginning of 2011, the Indian Army generals have warned that post-2014 Afghanistan will have a “ripple effect” on the region. In March 2011, the Army commander in charge of troops in the Kashmir region, General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, warned that “if peace does not exist in Afghanistan and there is turbulence in Pakistan, obviously there will be turbulence around us”. "The problem is always that of turbulence. An area that is turbulent will always send waves of turbulence into the other areas," the former GOC said. In July this year, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Indian Army’s Northern Command Lt Gen K T Parnaik warned it was “quite likely” that militants operating in the Af-Pak region could be "diverted” to Kashmir. “We cannot rule out this possibility," the General had warned while asking for "caution" so the Army is not caught "unaware" from the fallout of the Afghan situation. The signs of the US troops pullout from Afghanistan, which is largely being seen as a “defeat of a super power”, on Kashmir have already begun to emerge as militant groups strongly entrenched along the Af-Pak border have increasingly begun to mention Kashmir in their policy statements. In November this year, Al-Qaida called for an alliance for “liberation” of Kashmir and other places. The statement signed by Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri documented the global Islamist militant group’s policy framework for the coming years. This month also, Al-Qaida’s powerful affiliate group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reportedly issued a threat that they will “liberate” Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. The statement was issued by TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud and his deputy Wali-ur-Rehman, who said the Taliban will go to Kashmir and “will liberate the Kashmiris” hinting at what might shape the coming times. |
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The GB Pant Children’s Hospital, which is the only hospital catering to children of the Kashmir valley, is setting up a special facility for the undernourished children of the region.
