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Road Safety Week takes off
Be it seat belts or helmets, violations go full throttle
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Government will solve problems of refugees at one go, says minister
Cold wave intensifies its grip as icy winds blow
JKBOSE struggles to declare X, XII results
Streamline grains stock, says minister
State Forest Corporation targets to generate Rs
105 crore revenue
Ladakh students celebrate Losar
Govt revises minimum wages of labour
Project Sampark celebrates its
38th Raising Day
Time for promising young cricketers to reach out higher: JKCA
Judo meet gets underway
Winter Sports kick-start in Gulmarg
Semis line-up drawn in women’s hockey
Man consumes poison
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Road Safety Week takes off
Jammu, January 1 It also asked the officers to give due care to enforcing transparency in issuance of driving licences, fitness certificates and making provision for adequate services on all the routes of the state. Minister for Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon, who flagged off a rally from the Mini Stadium Parade Ground in connection with observance of “Road Safety Week-2013” starting from today, emphasised that officers should take strict measures to minimise the incidence of road accidents. He claimed due to installation of traffic lights in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, the regulation of traffic had been streamlined to a large extent. Being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Transport Department and Traffic Police in collaboration with other allied departments, the ‘Road Safety Week’ aims to raise mass awareness about road safety rules to make travelling on the state roads safe and secure. The slogan of this year’s Road Safety Week is “Stay alive, don’t drink and drive”. The minister said the department was making all-out efforts to make roads safe and ensure that fit vehicles driven by well-trained drivers ply on the roads. The minister said the state government was setting up two hi-tech driving institutes in the state for proper training of the drivers. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Transport Shabir Ahmed Khan asked the enforcing agencies to implement road safety rules effectively and deal with the violators strictly. He said huge loss of life in the road accidents calls for strict enforcement of the rules. He also called for regular road safety awareness camps across the state to make commuters and transport operators aware of road safety measures. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pardeep Gupta, Transport Commissioner Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo, Inspector General of Police (traffic) Munir Ahmed Khan and Deputy Inspector General of Police (traffic) Shakeel Ahmad Beigh threw light on observance of Road Safety Week. The awareness rally was flagged off by the minister. It featured contingents of traffic police, NCC cadets, school children, auto-rickshaws and bike riders. The rally culminated at MA Stadium. Traffic week begins in Rajouri too
Rajouri: To spread awareness among traffic offenders and common masses about traffic, a seven-day traffic awareness campaign is being organised by the district unit of traffic police under the supervision of Davinder Singh, DSP. A function was held at bus stand which was attended by large number of drivers, passengers, vehicle owners and representatives of ARTO office and members of various public transport unions. Addressing the gathering, the district SP advised drivers and others to avoid drinking and driving, overtaking, use of mobile phones etc during driving which are the main reasons behind maximum road accidents. He asked drivers not to hesitate to bring the problems being faced by them to his notice and assured them resolution of their problems. Among those present at the spot were Inspector Raj Kumar, Jugal Sharma, Inspector Rajouri-Poonch range ARTO office, Kamal Gupta, in-charge bus stand, Aishan Bhat, Tanveer Ahmad, Mushtaffa Dar, representatives of various unions. |
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Be it seat belts or helmets, violations go full throttle
Jammu, January 1 Other offences, including non-use of crash helmets and no proper number plates on vehicles also went unchecked as traffic policemen remained conspicuous by their absence from all vital points. According to official statistics, the traffic police had challaned about 330 drivers of commercial vehicles plying without uniform and name plates here till reports last came in today. However, other violations, including youth riding speeding motorbikes without crash helmets and using mobile phones remained unchecked despite the fact that the city had witnessed the death of two youths after collision of two motorbikes at a flyover near SRML Higher Secondary School on Sunday. The statistics suggested that even as police force faced shortage of manpower, about 2.31 lakh violators were challaned for flouting road safety norms, which made for Rs 4.80 crore fine from them in 10 districts of Jammu region in 11 months last year. “They had put colourful banners on every roundabout of the city and seemed to be on a challaning spree, but little is being done to make people aware about road safety rules. There was no big difference between an ordinary day and the first day of Road Safety Week as traffic violations were going on unabated. Traffic policemen could be spotted intercepting outstation vehicles. They seldom bother to penalise real violators,” Sachin Sharma, a GGM Science College student, said. A single visit to busy roads of the city was enough to assess the ground reality. Youngsters were riding speeding motorbikes without helmets and were also using mobile phones, besides bus drivers taking wrong turn with impunity and wrong parking of vehicles alongside roadsides posing a threat to other commuters being some noticeable violations. On December 15, traffic police had announced that it would launch a massive crackdown from January 1 onwards against drivers of commercial vehicles plying without uniform, name plates and seatbelt. It had given drivers 15 days time to arrange their uniform and they were warned to wear prescribed uniform while driving commercial vehicles. Besides, mini bus and bus drivers had especially been warned not to stop their vehicles in the middle of the road for picking passengers. “Maximum number of road deaths had taken place in two-wheeler accidents. Instead of tightening the noose around youngsters who are playing with their lives while riding speeding motorbikes without crash helmets and using mobile phones, thrust is being given on uniform and name plates. Also, the drive to educate people about traffic norms should be pursued vigorously throughout the year to infuse a sense of responsibility among road users,” Sunil Sharma, a Jammu University scholar, opined. DIG traffic range Jammu, Shakeel Ahmed Beig, said they had started a drive against drivers of commercial vehicles violating uniform code. “On the first day, nearly 70 per cent mini-bus drivers were seen complying with the direction on uniform code while the enforcement was 100 per cent in case of taxi operators and 60 to 70 per cent in case of auto-rickshaw drivers,” he said. He assured that traffic awareness programme would be a regular feature throughout the year and the department was also contemplating enhance the fine so that violators follow road safety norms.
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Government will solve problems of refugees at one go, says minister
Jammu, January 1 The minister said that Central and state governments were fully aware of the hardships faced by the refugees and were keen to resolve all their issues at one go. He said that for this purpose, a delegation of the J&K ministers met Prime Minister, UPA chairperson and Home Minister and submitted a proposal demanding Rs 1,775 crore for one-time settlement of the refugees. Bhalla said the Central Government had already released Rs 49 crore for distribution of land deficiency compensation among the refugees, adding that the relief amounting to Rs 1.50 lakh to each family had been distributed by arranging public grievances camp across the state. He said about 30 crore out of 49 crore had been disbursed among the affected families till date. Bhalla called upon the left-out families to approach the revenue officers and fulfil required formalities to avail the relief. The minister said most of the refugee colonies were being regularised under Section 254-C of Revenue Act, adding that these areas would be developed on modern lines by providing all basic amenities on a par with urban pockets. He said the government was committed to making available all basic amenities in every corner of the state, adding that liberal funding was being provided to the departments to meet development-related demands of the people. Bhalla said the coalition government was working under a comprehensive plan to develop modern-line infrastructure facilities across the state. The minister said unprecedented development had been witnessed across the state during the four-year tenure of the present government, adding that many new projects were in the pipeline towards upgradation of living standard of the people. Bhalla said instructions have been issued to departments concerned to complete all the new projects being executed in their jurisdictions and make optimum use of funds. He urged the people to personally monitor development works being executed in their respective areas.
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Cold wave intensifies its grip as icy winds blow
Jammu, January 1 If weathermen are to be believed, there is no immediate relief to Jammu residents from shivering conditions in the offing and the mercury may plummet further. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature in Jammu was 11.1 degree Celsius, which was eight degrees below normal. The minimum temperature in the district was 7.3 degree Celsius. In Katra town — the base camp of holy Vaishno Devi cave shrine, the maximum temperature was 15.8 degree Celsius while the minimum temperature was 5.7 degree Celsius. “Jammu is in tight grip of cold wave and icy winds have compounded the problems of the people. There is no immediate respite to the people However, dense fog badly affected the movement of trains, with almost all trains running late. “Pooja Express was running 10 hours late, while Tata Muri Express and Malwa Express were moving nearly six hours behind schedule. Other trains like Jammu Mail, Jhelum Express and Jammu-Varanasi Express were running late by one to three hours,” railway officials said. |
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JKBOSE struggles to declare X, XII results
Jammu, January 1 Sources said the biannual examinations were earlier conducted by the school education board in September-October every year, but this time, the authorities were busy dealing with the Elementary Teachers Training (ETT) issues and were unable to focus their attention on the matter. Sources added that there were approximately 20,000 students appearing in the higher secondary exams while more than 25,000 aspirants were taking the matriculation examination. Sources claimed that BOSE had earlier declared that the exams would be held as per schedule, but the delay in declaring the result of private candidates had held up the entire process. “There is utter chaos prevailing in the department and if things continue to be like that, the possibility of delay in the upcoming annual examination of Jammu division cannot be ruled out,” sources in JKBOSE said. “Another series of examinations is scheduled to start in a few days and after that, there are some more to follow. Even if we utilise all our resources to declare the results at the earliest, they are likely to be declared in February,” sources added. “Last year, the school education board was involved in sorting out the issues of ETT institutions which are very complex in nature. Resumption of examination of 2008-10 special batch is one of the major successes of the department, but there are many other issues which are yet to be addressed,” sources said. Joint Secretary, Examination, JKBOSE, VR Sharma, told The Tribune, “Yes, we are running out of time to complete the process of various examinations.” “Although it will take some time, we are trying our level best to ensure timely conduct of annual examination of Classes X and XII so that the results are declared within the stipulated period,” he added. |
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Streamline grains stock, says minister
Jammu, January 1 Minister of State for CAPD and Transport Shabir Ahmad Khan, CAPD secretary Mohammad Abass Dar, Jammu CAPD director Parvez Ahmad Malik and Kashmir CAPD director Mir Mushtaq Ahmad were among the others present on the occasion. The meeting was informed that, at present, 1,10,086 metric tonnes (MT) of essentials, which included 54,251 MT of rice, 39,000 MT of wheat and 7,935 MT of sugar were available in the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) across the state while transpiration to the CAPD godowns were going on smoothly. Akhoon asked the FCI authorities to deploy more trucks so that food grains were stocked as per the schedule fixed earlier. The minister assured that efforts were on to increase the deployment of trucks, as per the schedule. Underlining the need for close coordination, Akhoon asked the officers to ensure adequate stocking of food grains, particularly in those areas, which got affected by weather conditions and road blockage. Suggesting for equal distribution of wheat to the flour mills operating in the state, he said it would go a long way in ensuring adequate supply of flour to the dealers associated with this business. He asked the FCI officers to explore possibility of dumping the stock in the FCI godowns at Jammu and subsequent supply to the godowns of the CAPD Departments. Grain stock
At present, 1,10,086 metric tonnes (MT) of essentials, which included 54,251 MT of rice, 39,000 MT of wheat and 7,935 MT of sugar were available in the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) across the state while transpiration to the CAPD godowns were going on smoothly.
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State Forest Corporation targets to generate Rs
105 crore revenue
Jammu, January 1 Minister for Forests and Environment Mian Altaf Ahmed informed this at a review meeting today. The meeting was informed that the SFC has set a target of extracting about 30 lakh Cu.ft. timber, which shall be achieved in full. The corporation has set a target to generate revenue of around Rs 105 crore upto March by selling 20 lakh Cu.ft. timber. Addressing the meeting, the minister underscored the need to ensure distribution of timber in time and asked the Forest Department to allot requisite quantity of timber to the SFC in April every year so that its extraction was completed as early as possible. Mian Altaf said the foremost duty of the SFC was to meet the timber demand of the local consumers, adding that it must be ensured that only genuine people were given timber as per set norms and procedures. He asked the senior officers of the corporation to gear up its men and machinery and work in close coordination to make it more profitable. He also called for taking regular review of the achievement of targets at various levels to improve the profitability of the corporation.
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Ladakh students celebrate Losar
Jammu, January 1 Addressing a function that coincided with the Losar celebrations, Akhoon highlighted the rich traditions of amity and brotherhood of Ladakh region and said co-existence of various faiths and cultures in the region symbolised high values of humanism. “We have to uphold values of communal harmony and strive to conserve our rich cultural heritage under all circumstances,” Akhoon said. Calling upon people to be tolerant towards other religions, the minister said, “Religion helps in creating a disciplined society whereas love and spirituality triumphs help individuals to overcome intolerant and prejudicial tendencies towards their fellow beings.” Urging upon students to take keen interest in studies, the minister said the state government had expanded opportunities for higher and professional education across the state. He advised students to take full benefit of congenial academic atmosphere in their streams of interest. He said, “Youth are the future builders of a nation and they have to prepare themselves fully to face the challenges.” On the occasion, the girl students of Ladakh presented a colourful cultural programme, depicting the rich cultural ethics of the region. The presentation mesmerised the audience and won applause from everyone.
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Govt revises minimum wages of labour
Jammu, January 1 The minister, while addressing a high-level officers meeting here, conveyed revision of the minimum wages of the labour class. The meeting decided upon enhancement of present wages of unskilled labour from Rs 110 to Rs 150, semi-skilled labour from Rs 150 to 175 and skilled labour from Rs 200 to Rs 225. Wages of Ministerial supervisory account staff will now be Rs 200 against Rs 175 being paid earlier. The meeting also discussed the matter related to variable dearness allowance. It was decided that the matter will be given consideration in the next Advisory Board meeting. In his address, the minister said the government was committed to safeguarding the interests of the labour class and several steps had been initiated for the uplift of poor and downtrodden sections of the society.
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Project Sampark celebrates its
38th Raising Day
Jammu, January 1 During the week-long celebrations, various functions like inter-unit sports tournaments, Pagal Gymkhana, entertainment programme, followed by Barakhana for troops with family, were organised. The Raising Day started with religious gathering at the Project Mandir, which was followed by a special GREF Sammelan, chaired by chief engineer UC Mehta. Addressing all ranks of the project, Mehta conveyed his best wishes and congratulated all ranks on the hard work put in by them for successfully achieving the targets for 2012-13. The celebrations culminated with a social function at officers’ mess and the grand evening concluded with the tunes of ceremonial band. The project started with the maintenance of 500 km of road network in the border districts of Jammu, Kathua, Doda, Udhampur, Rajouri, Reasi and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir which was now maintaining approximately 3,200 km of road network falling in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. |
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Time for promising young cricketers to reach out higher: JKCA
Jammu, January 1 Sources in JKCA said today’s emphatic victory of the under-19 team against Railways in the ongoing Cooch Behar trophy at Rajkot has further strengthened the resolve of selectors to include the budding cricketers who have shown tremendous potential both at home and out of state. Sources added that chief coach of the state cricket body and legendary spinner Bishen Singh Bedi is also in favour of inclusion of youngsters simply because of their agility and zeal to perform at the higher level. Sources claimed that Bedi had recently shown displeasure over the fitness of senior cricketers during the recently held Ranji Trophy camp. Manzoor Wazir, JKCA treasurer, while confirming the development, told The Tribune, “The U-19 team has performed exceptionally well and the boys really deserve a chance in the senior team.” “The impressive wins against Haryana, Gujarat and Assam have really helped the team to top their pool and all the credit goes to the team for the way it played against all their opponents with grit and determination,” Manzoor said. “Apart from Shubam Khajuria’s scintillating performance which eventually proved a match-winner against Railways, other cricketers have also lived up to the expectations of the state cricket body. Paras Sharma, Amir Bandey, Umar Nazir, Hisham Saleem and Rohit Sharma have really impressed with their outstanding performance,” JKCA treasurer added. “In fact, selectors have suggested us to include some of these cricketers in the Ranji Trophy team but we thought if they are picked up in the squad, it might disturb the balance of the whole team and there was also possibility of struggle for the team to win matches,” Manzoor Wazir maintained. “But one thing is for sure - that the association, from now on, would try to give as much chance as possible to the young cricketers to showcase their mettle and I hope that the new year brings more achievements for JKCA through these cricketers,” the JKCA treasurer opined.
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Judo meet gets underway
Jammu, January 1 Jai Pal Singh, director, Youth Services and Sports, who was the chief guest on the occasion, declared the tournament open which was being organised under the overall supervision of Ashok Kumar, deputy director, Youth Services and Sports. All the bouts were officiated by Varinder Sharma, Raman Sharma, Komal Singh, Shafina Shafi, Chamki Pandita, Mohammad Imail, Kuldeep Singh and Pankaj Sapolia. Results: U-19 boys, 40kg: Atul Sharma (1st), 45kg: Manish Sharma (1st), 50kg: Sahil Dogra (1st), 55kg: Sahil Sharma (1st), 60kg: Abhishek (1st), 65kg: Sourav (1st), 71kg: Subash (1st), Above 71kg: Varun (1st). U-17 boys, 40kg: Marij (1st), 45kg: Anmol Abrol (1st), 50kg: Kunal Sharma (1st), 55kg: Saqib (1st), 60kg: Muzaffar (1st), 65kg: Karandeep Singh (1st), 71kg: Farhat Gulzar (1st), Above 71kg: Dheeraj Kumar (1st). U-14 boys, 25kg: Panku Kumar (1st), 30kg: Sumedh Singh (1st), 35kg: Farid Ali (1st), 40kg: Nikhil Singh (1st), 45kg: Humayun Lone (1st), 50kg: Parvinder Kumar (1st), Above 50kg: Babu Din (1st). U-19 girls, 36kg: Simriti Bedi (1st), 40kg: Sumati Singh (1st), 44kg: Mehvish (1st), 48kg: Yashika (1st), 52kg: Wani Zarka (1st), 56kg: Payal Gupta (1st), 61kg: Poonam Sharma (1st), Above 61kg: Supriya Pandita (1st). U-17 girls, 40kg: Arpita Puri (1st), 44kg: Aliza Fayaz (1st), 48kg: Himanshi (1st), 52kg: Shikha Bhau (1st), 56kg: Shairya (1st), 61kg: Mehak Pandita (1st), Above 61kg: Sabiya (1st). U-14 girls, 23kg: Diya Jamwal (1st), 27kg: Tanvi (1st), 31kg: Komal Mahajan (1st), 36kg: Sakshi Sharma (1st), 40kg: Adhiti Sharma (1st), 44kg: Vishali Choudhary (1st), Above 44kg: Kabra (1st).
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Winter Sports kick-start in Gulmarg
Srinagar, January 1 As many as 10 sports activities were held during the day. Tourism Director Talat Parvez flagged off various sports activities, including sledge race, snow cycling, snow marathon, snow rugby, free-style skiing and zorbing demonstration. An official spokesman said the most attractive event of the snow festival was held in the evening. “As many as 30 students representing various districts of the Valley participated in ice skating. The event was followed by night skiing and cracker show. These events were witnessed by large number of locals and tourists and various stakeholders camping in snow-capped hill resort, braving chilly breeze of the sub-zero temperature,” he said. |
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Semis line-up drawn in women’s hockey
Jammu, January 1 In the first semifinal, Army Public School, Rakh Muti would take on GCW Parade while Coaching Centre to lock horns against SOS Gole Gujral. Earlier, in the last league match played, GCW Parade drew with Coaching Centre to a goalless draw. The matches were officiated by GS Bakshi and Jagjit Singh, while present on the occasion were Jagjit Kour, Desh Bandhu and Gurmeet Kour. The final of the tournament would be played on January 3 while sub-junior boys hockey tournament would begin from January 7 at the same venue. |
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Man consumes poison
Rajouri, January 1 Police said Tarlochan Singh, 40, son of Chait Singh of Nanyal, consumed a poisonous substance at his home after entering into a verbal duel with his wife over his liquor consumption. Sources said he was immediately taken to local hospital for treatment. Doctors declared him brought dead. Tarlochan Singh was a driver by profession. Police handed over his body to his family for last rites after completion of legal formalities. |
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of ‘Road Safety Week-2013’ today as pedestrians weaving their way around speeding vehicles, use of mobile phone while driving and mini-buses picking up passengers from middle of the road were common sights.
Cold wave intensified its grip on Jammu city and its peripheries with icy winds bringing day temperature eight notches below normal here today. Dense fog and haze continued to affect rail and air traffic, with several trains running two to 10 hours behind schedule.
The 38th Raising Day of Project Sampark was celebrated here today with great fervour and enthusiasm. The project was raised on January 1, 1975 to develop and maintain the operational road infrastructure for Armed Forces in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
