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Private B.Ed colleges take rules for a ride
11,350 students appear for UGC-NET exam in Valley
Nishat contractor’s widow alleges threat, case moved to another court
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Valley shivers after fresh spell of snow and rain
Kendriya Vihar Bemina housing Central employees in a shambles
Valley's tourism sector keeps the momentum going but stakeholders want more
Residents forced to live a primitive life
BJP to strengthen party base from January 1
62 students felicitated for academic achievement
Soz assures help to quarry workers
JKLF to start ‘jail bharo’ movement against life terms to separatists
JKLF chairman Yasin Malik addresses a seminar in Srinagar on Sunday. A Tribune Photograph
Sandhu Club enter T20 semis
Dheeraj, Chandpreet clinch titles in TT championship
Dilawar fashions SWC win in T20 cricket
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Private B.Ed colleges take rules for a ride
Srinagar, December 30 These colleges have been flouting the rules set by the College Development Council of Kashmir University. The norms mandatory for government BEd colleges in the state are barely followed by these in their letter and spirit. Surprisingly enough, thousands of students who pass out of these private BEd colleges secure unusually high percentage in their examination, an unlikely case anywhere else in the country. The way degrees are awarded through easiest possible ways is attracting aspirants from many other states where rules for admissions in colleges are relatively stricter. One needs not to care about his/her class attendance or even their academic track record if they want to pursue in these so-called educational institutions. The authorities are not oblivious to this unregulated growth of BEd colleges. Prof Nalini Kohli, Director, Colleges, said, “After a series of complaints received against some private BEd colleges, the state government has banned further establishment of new such colleges in the Valley. Many irregularities have been found in the working of many of these colleges.” On an average, over 70 per cent of the student enrollment in these colleges is that of non-local candidates. The class attendances are usually not given weightage and around 300 marks are allotted to teaching practice, which is done at the end of the one-year-long course. Chancellor, Kashmir University, Governor NN Vohra had intervened into the matter and called for regular monitoring and a stricter rules for providing affiliation to these colleges. But that has hardly yielded much dividends either. Prof Mushtaq Kaw, Dean Colleges, Kashmir University, who heads the College Development Council (CDC) of the varsity, said, “A few colleges were being run in violation of the rules under the CDC.” He said a massive inspection drive was launched this year during which two BEd colleges- one in Srinagar and Bandipora- were de-recognised after they were found short of requisite infrastructure. “There is definitely a need to tighten the noose around these colleges. We need support from the top-rung officials of the administration in curbing the menace,” he said. Students allege that the colleges have rather turned into money minting machines putting academic degrees on sale. “As against the intake capacity of 60 per college, the colleges are admitting 100 students per year which is in brazen violation of the rules. If there are double the number of students studying there, the infrastructure present is only for a few. What kind of academic quality can we expect from these colleges?” asks Maroof Ali, an educationist at Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST),
Awantipora. Cakewalk degrees
* Thousands of students who pass out of these private BEd colleges secure unusually high percentage in their examination *
Class attendance is not given weightage and 300 marks allotted to teaching practice only *
These colleges are attracting students from other states where admissions rules are relatively stricter *
Over 70 per cent of the student enrollment in these colleges is that of non-local candidates Officialtake "A few colleges were being run in violation of the rules under the CDC. There is definitely a need to tighten the noose around these colleges. We need support from the top-rung officials of the administration in curbing the
menace" — |
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11,350 students appear for UGC-NET exam in Valley
Srinagar, December 30 “Barring a few incidents of students having reached the examination centres late, everything went on smoothly,” said Prof Raja Fayaz Ali,University Grants Commission-NET coordinator. Ali said the number of candidates taking the national-level competitive examination was beyond expected this year. It shows an increasing interest among students for pursuing career in research and training, “Last year, we had almost 9,000 candidates writing the National Eligiblity Test (NET) examination. But there is a significant increase this year,” Prof Ali said. Since the subjective question-answer format has been done away with this year by the UGC authorities, the results are expected earlier than scheduled. Each candidate is supposed to appear in three subjects comprising general studies and two optional papers. The first session of examination began at 9.30 am whereas the second examination session was of 2.5 hours.
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Nishat contractor’s widow alleges threat, case moved to another court
Srinagar, December 30 Ali Muhammad Mir, a resident of Nishat, was allegedly kidnapped and subsequently killed by a counter-insurgency group led by one Ghulam Muhammad Lone alias Papa Kishtawari. After registering an FIR in the case, Kishtawari was arrested by the police and is currently under judicial remand. He is also facing trial in the Principal District and Sessions Court Srinagar. The application before the Principal District and Sessions judge Srinagar was submitted by the deceased’s wife Hajira Begum, wherein she had alleged that she was getting “regular life threats” and no action had been taken in this regard till date. A letter from one of the accused Mohammad Maqbool Sheikh was received by the family of the deceased Ali Mohammad wherein he had threatened them to receive money in lieu of dropping the case or face consequences, Hajira had submitted in her application on December 29 wherein she said her “family is living under fear and faced life threat”. “The court after perusal of the case accepted the application moved by my mother and shifted the case First Additional District & Sessions Judge for necessary orders,” said Zahoor Ahmad Mir, the son of the slain contractor. The next date of hearing has been fixed on February 8 next year. Hajira in her application had also sought to mitigate the sufferings she and her family had been facing. “Earlier, the court had directed the police to provide us security and recover the weapons from the accused,” Zahoor said. the case *
The police started probe into the case in 2007 after the deceased’s son, Zahoor, filed a petition in the High Court pleading for police action *In the complaint lodged in 1996, the family accused Papa Kishtawari and his men behind the disappearance of the contractor *
The victim’s some had alleged that after picking up his father on October 29, 1996, Kishtawari killed him at Frestabal in Pampore *
The police investigation named Ghulam Muhammad Lone, alias Papa Kishtawari, and his three accomplices as accused *
They were subsequently booked for murder
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Valley shivers after fresh spell of snow and rain
Srinagar, December 30 The snowfall has also triggered a medium danger avalanche warning in the upper reaches of the Valley. The maximum temperature in Srinagar city was recorded at 5.9 degrees Celsius, nearly two degrees below normal at this time of the year. The maximum temperature was recorded at 3.1 degree Celsius, which was four degrees below the normal. The minimum night temperature in the city was recorded at 2 degree Celsius, a state Meteorological Department official said. Most parts of Kashmir valley received heavy snowfall over the weekend triggering avalanche warnings in north and central Kashmir. The Meteorological Department said there was a likelihood of light rain and snow at one or two places in the region in the next 24 hours. In Kokernag town of south Kashmir, the maximum day temperature was recorded at 2.8 degree Celsius, which was the lowest day temperature in the Valley, while the minimum temperature there fell to zero degree mark. In Gulmarg resort of north Kashmir, which recorded heavy snowfall over the weekend, the night temperature dipped to minus 7.3 degree Celsius. At Pahalgam resort of south Kashmir, night temperature fell to minus 4.0 degree Celsius while the day temperature there rose to 5.5 degree Celsius. Qazigund, the southern gateway town to Kashmir valley, recorded a maximum of 4.1 degree Celsius while the frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of 0.9 degree Celsius. Leh town in remote Ladakh region also recorded a cold day with mercury there rising only upto 0.1 degree Celsius while the adjoining Kargil district recorded a maximum day temperature of 1.0 degree Celsius, the official said. The minimum night temperature in Leh district went down to minus 7.8 degree Celsius while in Kargil it fell to minus 9.0 degree Celsius. The minimum temperature in Ladakh region usually hovers many degrees below the freezing point in winter months sometimes falling down to as low as minus 20 degree Celsius. The Ladakh region remains cut off from rest of the state for most of the winter as heavy snow along the Srinagar-Leh road shuts access to mountainous Ladakh. Reeling under cold * In Gulmarg, night temperature dipped to minus 7.3 degree Celsius * Night temperature fell to minus 4.0 degree Celsius at Pahalgam resort of south Kashmir * Snowfall triggered a medium danger avalanche warning in the upper reaches of the Valley * Minimum temperature in Leh district recorded minus 7.8 degree Celsius while it was minus 9.0 degree in Kargil |
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Kendriya Vihar Bemina housing Central employees in a shambles
Srinagar, December 30 They say the roads and bylanes in the residential colony are in a dilapidated condition. President of Welfare Association, Central Government General Pool, Kendriya Vihar Bemina, said the roads were inundated at most places during the rains which causes serious problems to residents, especially during the evening hours. The colony houses employees of various Central government departments, includes the Auditor General's (AG) Office, Central University of Kashmir among others. "It is hard to believe that residents of the colony need small boats to cross the roads if the Valley receives rainfall," he said. "Keeping in view the said problem, the association had requested the authorities for proper maintenance and macadamisation of approaching roads but no actions has been taken so far," he added. The president said the boundary wall of the colony adjacent to a nearby playground has been damaged which has become a thoroughfare for unwanted outsiders, mostly drug edicts. "Top floors of the quarters have developed cracks and water gets into rooms during the rainy and wet season," he said. He said they had made a written communication to Executive Engineer (Central Public Works Department (CPWD) but the officer concerned did not even bother to pay heed to their woes. Not only this, he said, there were other problems such as faulty drainage and sewerage system besides poor management of solid waste.
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Valley's tourism sector keeps the momentum going but stakeholders want more
Srinagar, December 30 The violent street protests due to the Amarnath land row, Shopian incident and the summer unrest in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively had a negative bearing on the overall tourism scenario. But not anymore. The year was normal barring only a few hiccups. The diktat of politico-religious outfit Jamaat-e-Islami in July earlier this year urging the tourists to follow a proper dress code and then the advisory of Grand Mufti Bashiruddin to the US citizens in September to avoid travelling to Kashmir failed to affect the tourist flow. Even as the situation witnessed comparative improvement, it had appeared initially that a few incidents might hit the tourism sector yet again. Tension prevailed in Kashmir after a revered Sufi shrine of Peer Dastageer Sahib was gutted in a fire incident in June that was followed a brief spurt in militant attacks. Widespread protests were witnessed in September over an anti-Islam film that was shot in the US and also after violence at the Gaza strip in November. As these incidents were followed by sectarian clashes at parts of the old city, the Valley on the other hand witnessed an unprecedented rush of tourists even during the usually lean months of September, October and November. These months, which are considered off-season for tourism in Kashmir, saw a tourist arrival of 70,000, 60,000 and 65,000 respectively. Moreover, a record number of 1.4 lakh visitors thronged the Tulip Garden in April. Besides a heavy inflow of visitors, there was good news for the tourism sector at other fronts as well. The modification of travel advisories to Kashmir by countries like Japan, Germany and Britain was welcomed by all thus prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to assert that the government now wanted to showcase Valley's beauty in a “new style to woo more tourists”. The CM said Kashmir would be promoted as the best destination for adventure tourism. The government has also decided to promote Kashmir as a destination for heritage and pilgrim tourism. The government created infrastructure for a host of adventure sports-related activities at the Gulmarg ski resort this winter season.The stakeholders in the sector have underscored the need for upgrading medical facilities during adventure sports besides putting in place proper rescue operations. They want the government to start helicopter service for rescue operations besides to and fro movement of tourists between airport and Gulmarg. Hoteliers in Gulmarg have also demanding uninterrupted power and water supply besides prompt clearance of roads during snowfall so that tourists do not face any problems. A state-of-the-art hotel was thrown open in Gulmarg by the Khyber Group earlier this month that would go a long way in catering to high-end tourists visiting the ski resort. The stakeholders say the initiatives be taken to the next level. First and foremost, they want permission to set up more hotels as construction and repair works in the greenbelt areas are no easy task. The houseboat owners too have been demanding easy clearance for renovation works. They have even warned that the hotel industry needed serious upgradation, failing which it would be difficult to compete with other states. They have also been demanding direct flights from the Srinagar Airport to foreign countries. They also want better rail service to Jammu during the peak tourist season so that tourists from other states do not face any problem. They also want a say in decision making to make Kashmir an international tourist destination.
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Residents forced to live a primitive life
Kupwara, December 30 Tribal people, including Paharis and Gujjars, inhabiting the village said they were forced to live a primitive life due to lack of basic facilities. They said the authorities had forgotten the village on developmental front forcing them to rename it as ‘Boola-Bisra Gawoon’, meaning ‘a forgotten village’. In absence of the road to the village, they were forced to carry ration and other commodities as head load for about 4 km from Manigah to Hajinaka. “The last stop for vehicles is Manigah and from there onwards, we are forced to carry even heavy items as head load to our village due to non-availability of road. The village also lacks power and health centre,” said Sarpanch Bhugoo Malik of Hajinakah. In absence of power, the inhabitants are forced to illuminate their houses with old means of lighting, the kerosene chimneys. “Solar lights provided to us in 2005 are defunct since 2009 as their life span ended the same year. Since then, we are using primitive means of lighting to illuminate our houses in evening hours,” said a local resident. After repeated representations, the Roads and Buildings (R and B) Department started construction of a road to the village but it was left incomplete after a few weeks of the start, residents rue. “An amount of Rs 8 crore was sanctioned for construction of road but only Rs 12 lakh were spent by the department and the construction work was left incomplete. We are facing serious problems, especially during the winters,” said the sarpanch of the village. Tribal people said the rearing of cattle was their main occupation and source of livelihood but their occupation was badly affected due to non-availability of the Animal Husbandry Department in the village. “Many of our cattle have died due to lack of treatment. In case of illness to the cattle, we are forced to take then to the Kupwara animal husbandry office,” said Mohd Shafi Khan, a local resident. The woes of tribal people do not end. In absence of water supply to the village, women are forced to collect contaminated water from nullah. “The fear of outbreak of water-borne disease looms large due to consumption of contaminated water from nullah, especially during the rainy season,” said Ghulam Nabi Poswal. The villagers said in absence of a health centre they were forced to avail even the first-aid treatment from Batpora health centre, 8 kms from the village.
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BJP to strengthen party base from January 1
Srinagar, December 30 Generally secretary of BJPs Kashmir unit Mohammad Altaf Thakur said the party had formed a six-member team that would travel across the districts of the Valley from January 1 to 30. He said the team would endeavour to strengthen party base and make the BJP more active in Kashmir. Thakur said the team was formed during a party meet held at the BJP headquarters at Raj Bagh area that was presided by state vice-president Sofi Yusuf. He said the team would also meet a cross-section of people and then take up their issues with the authorities concerned . Besides Thakur and Sofi, other local BJP leaders Ali Mohammad Mir, Mohammad Maqbool War, Haleemaji and Mohammad Ashraf Azad were nominated as the members of the team. Thakur also congratulated MLA Jugal Kishore for being elected the head of BJPs state unit recently.
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62 students felicitated for academic achievement
Srinagar, December 30 For this purpose, cash prizes of around 2 lakh were distributed among the students during a function organised by the Board of School Education (BOSE) in Srinagar on Saturday. “The students, who have excelled in the Secondary and Higher Secondary examinations, conducted by the Board of School Education (BOSE) were felicitated at a colourful function organised at SP Higher Secondary School auditorium here,” a government spokesman said here today. The cash prizes among the students were distributed by the Director of School Education distributed, he said. “About Rs 2 lakh was distributed among 62 students, including 28 students of Class X, and 34 students of Class XII for their performance in their examinations,” the spokesman said. Director of School Education, Kashmir, highlighted the importance of education and stressed for quality education to be provided to the students through the educational institutions, besides job-oriented courses. The director said education could improve the socio-economic conditions of the people. While lauding the performance of students during the regular exams of secondary and higher secondary levels, the director exhorted upon the students to acquaint themselves with modern education. “The student should work hard and show dedication to compete at the national as well as international levels,” the director said.
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Soz assures help to quarry workers
Srinagar, December 30 A delegation of quarry workers of Khanpora met Soz and explained their difficulties regarding the Forests Department’s objection of quarrying at Veerwon, the JKPCC spokesman said. He said Soz later explained the problem to the officers of the Forest and Revenue Departments and assured them that besides conserving forest land, the livelihood of 300 families of quarry workers would also be ensured. The JKPCC chief assured the quarry workers of Khanpora Kashmir that an amicable solution to their problem would be worked out as early as possible.
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JKLF to start ‘jail bharo’ movement against life terms to separatists
Srinagar, December 30 The group-led by Yasin Malik announced that they would start a ten-day campaign of courting arrests from Friday. “JKLF will launch a ten-day programme to court arrests from Friday,” Malik said addressing a seminar in the city here. “We cannot sit idle and watch our prisoners being subjected to state terrorism,” he said. Malik said the state had started terrorising us by a new judicial torture policy. “The cases are being opened after 23 years and people are being sentenced to life. Kashmir is a political issue and these court cases and judgements are political too. We need to work hard on individual as well as collective level against this new policy of rulers,” he said. Two JKLF members had recently been sentenced life terms in cases, which were pending for more than two decades. The JKLF on Sunday had organised a day-long seminar title "Prisoners of Kashmir and our responsibilities”. Others, who spoke at the seminar, included Dukhtaran-e-Millat leader Syeda Asiya Andrabi, whose husband Ashiq Hussain Faktoo has been sentenced to life, JKLF faction chairman Javaid Ahmad Mir, Muslim Conference faction chairman Shabir Ahmad Dar, Tehreek-e-Mazahmat chairman Bilal Ahmed Siddiqui and Islamic Political Party chairman Mohammad Yousuf Naqash.
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Sandhu Club enter T20 semis
Jammu, December 30 Earlier, batting first, after winning the toss, Sandhu Club sets a target of 115 runs for the loss of five wickets, which, in reply, Gurdapur XI could manage 91 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted quota Bhalla and Ravi were the top scorers from Sandhu Club with 35 and 34 runs, respectively. Gourav Gambhir contributed 24 runs. From Gurdapur XI, Mattoo, Parampal and Vikram took one wicket each. For Gurdaspur XI, Harman and Tinu were the main contributors with 24 and 18 runs, respectively. Varun and Mac Gill took two wickets each while Gourav and Gurpreet shared one each. Gourav was declared man of the match. He was presented a cash prize of Rs 1,500 and a trophy. Coaching Centre log win Coaching Centre, Jammu, got the better of Army Public School (APS), Miran Sahib, in a keen contest by 2-1 today in the ongoing Jammu District Hockey Tournament being organised by Hockey J&K in collaboration with the J&K State Sports Council under the aegis of Hockey India at KK Hakhu Stadium here. Both the teams were defensive in their strategy and could not get goal scoring opportunities. Gargi Chaurasia of Coaching Centre opened the account for his team in the 35th minute to give his team an decisive early lead. Simran of APS Akhnoor had other ideas and scored an equaliser in the 45th minute to make it 1-1. Neetu of Coaching Centre managed to score another goal in the 55th minute to make it 2-1 which remained till the end. In another match, APS Rukh Mutti got walkover SAI XI. The first match was officiated by JS Reen, Amarjeet Singh and Jagjit Singh. The tournament is being held under the overall supervision of Rumal Singh, general secretary, Hockey J&K and organising secretary GS Bakshi.
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Dheeraj, Chandpreet clinch titles in TT championship
Jammu, December 30 Earlier, in women's semifinals, Chandpreet got the better of Jhanvi by 11-04, 11-03, 11-0 while Shazar had the last laugh against Amrita Singh by 6-11, 11-05, 11-06, 11-06. In the junior girls’ semifinal, Jhanvi toppled Surbhi Charak by 11-07, 11-05, 13-11 while Shreya thrashed Apoorva by 09-11, 11-05, 11-07, 11-09. Earlier, in the quarterfinals, Chandpreet defeated Shreya by 3-0, Jhanvi prevailed over Mohita by 3-0, Amrita Singh outplayed Surbhi by 3-0 and Shzar beat Apoorva by an identical margin. In the junior girls’ quarterfinals, Jhanvi outclassed Ritul Charak by 3-0, Surbhi Charak defeated Shelonika by 3-0, Apoorva beat Sahar by 3-0 and Shreya defeated Archita in the straight sets. Meanwhile, the semifinals lineup has also been drawn in the youth boys event. Jayesh, Harpreet, Gurvinder and Shaurya have made it into the last four stage. In the quarterfinals, Jayesh trounced Sudhanshu by 11-04, 11-02, 11-01, Harpreet outplayed Sumeet by 07-11, 13-11, 11-09, 14-12, Gurvinder defeated Sunpreet by 11-09, 09-11, 11-09, 11-08 and Shaurya beat Divyam by 11-09, 09-11, 11-07, 11-09. In the pre-quarterfinals, Jayesh defeated Tarun, Sudhanshu scripted a narrow win over Dhruvin, Sumeet toppled Rohit Paul, Harpreet trounced Minham, Gurvinder prevailed over Ritvik Gupta, Sunpreet outclassed Harshdev, Shorya scripted a resounding win over Asad and Divyam got the better of Abhishek Gupta. The matches were officiated by Satish Gupta, Narinder Singh, Meenu and Manmeet Kour. Sudhanshu Pandey, Commissioner Secretary, Finance was the chief guest on the occasion while Dilbagh Singh, IGP, Jammu Zone was the guest of honour. The tournament was organised by the J&K Table Tennis Association.
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Dilawar fashions SWC win in T20 cricket
Jammu, December 30 Earlier, winning the toss and batting first, SWC accumulated 176 runs in the stipulated 20 overs losing seven wickets in the process. Dilawar Singh played a fine knock of 56 runs studded with 9 fours and a six. JB Singh also contributed valuable 36 runs and Raju chipped in with 15 runs as well. For SCCC, Rahul Langer was the pick of the bowlers with a four-wicket haul while Abitash bagged two wickets. Pankaj and Sunil also took one wicket apiece. In reply, SCCC could manage 140 runs in 19.2 overs. Gourav Kumar (39) and Vinod Kumar (26) were the notable contributors. For SWC, Ubey was the chief destroyer with three wickets while Roshan and Aman snared two wickets each. Deepak claimed one wicket. Dilawar Singh was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant knock. The match was officiated by Vikas Bali and Sunny Kumar as umpires while Rajesh Sharma was the scorer. Meanwhile, Minister for Health, Horticulture and Floriculture, Sham Lal Sharma also visited the venue during the match.
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Skaters honoured
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The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has announced that it would court arrests under a “jail bharo” movement from Friday to protests against the life terms sentenced to several Kashmiri separatists leaders and activists.
