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Maintain budget control religiously, officers told
Panthers Party leader joins Congress
PDP holds protest across the Valley
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Job schemes fail to attract youth
People come together to celebrate Chillai Kalan
Pak fires mortars on Indian posts in KG sector
Separatists must come
forward for talks with Centre, says Soz
It has been 4 years of anarchy, unfulfilled promises: Mehbooba
18 boys rescued in Leh, sent home to Jharkhand
With normalcy making a steady comeback, debate on AFSPA goes on
Kashmir’s first e-gaming championship from Jan 13
Ladakh to have a world-class convention centre by year-end
J-K to hire 80,000 educated youth
Girl commits suicide
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Maintain budget control religiously, officers told
Jammu, January 5 “Budget formation is exclusively the prerogative of the state legislature and if any TO is found indulging in excess payments, he will have to face stringent action, even termination of his job” Rather said while speaking at the 11th review meeting of the Accounts and Treasuries Organisation, Jammu division, held here today. He directed the TOs to conduct withdrawal verifications and reconciliation of accounts on regular basis besides refraining from incompletion in classification of accounts, which was imperative from obtaining accurate picture of the state accounts. While asking the functionaries to follow the Treasury code strictly, Rather urged for rendition of plus-minus statements on the 10th day of every month adding that the TOs should not allow arrears on account of Red Accounts to accumulate. He asked the TOs to strictly adhere to the prescribed performance indicators, taking recourse to good behaviour, politeness and honesty during their interaction with the public, adding that good work done always invites due appreciation and recognition from the higher monitoring bodies. Rather also urged for prompt response to the audit paras and others observations from the AG’s office on the accounts adding that the AG has a constitutional right to monitor the state accounts and identify/point out shortcomings, if any. He directed the National Informatics Centre (NIC), J&K unit, to complete Rs 34-crore computerisation project for Treasuries in the state by the end of March this fiscal positively as it was necessary to bring both qualitative and quantitative improvement in the service delivery system at the treasuries besides bringing accuracy in the states’ accounting system. He asked the TOs to be ready to switch over to Civil Accounting System from April 2013 as the state Cabinet has recently given its nod to abolish the cheque system. This will be a major reform in the working of works division in the state, he added. Rather assured the officers of the Accounts and Treasuries Department that all possible measures were being taken to improve their working conditions. He added that construction of new treasury buildings in different areas of the state had been taken up on war-footing. He said treasury buildings at Nowshehra, Vijaypur, Bhaderwah and Paddar in Jammu division and Shopian, Devsar, Sogam and Bandipora in Kashmir division would be ready by the end of current fiscal. |
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Panthers Party leader joins Congress
Jammu, January 5 Jamwal, who was the block president of the Young Panthers, levelled allegations of corruption, nepotism and arrogance on Ramnagar MLA. Interacting with mediapersons, Jamwal alleged that there was large-scale corruption, nepotism, misgovernance, lawlessness and absence of accountability and transparency in Ramnagar. Pathania sought a commission of inquiry to find out the exact reasons behind the “rags to riches” story of the Ramnagar MLA, his relatives and his companions. Ved Pal, sarpanch Mohan Lal, Makhan Lal, Swaran Singh and Yudhbir Singh Jamwal also demanded a commission of inquiry. |
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PDP holds protest across the Valley
Srinagar, January 5 Hundreds of party workers, led by the party’s president Mehbooba Mufti, took out a protest from the party headquarters here and raised slogans against the government. The protesters also included senior party leader Tariq Karra. The protesters were stopped by the police at Regal Chowk and not allowed to move further. They also burnt the effigy of the government. “The people in the state are suffering because of the anti-people policies adopted by the state government,” Mehbooba said, while addressing the party workers “These protests, which are being held at all district headquarters, are against the government for the shortage of electricity, gas and ration, besides price rise and victimisation of youth on false charges,” she said. She said the National Conference-led government had pushed the state into its worst crisis as a result of its “inefficiency and rampant corruption”. “While the rulers were living a luxurious life, the common man has to struggle for every day survival as basic amenities have been denied to him,” the PDP president said. Mehbooba said the National Conference has been highlighting its achievements of the past four year through the media. “Why has it failed to mention Haji Yousuf’s killing and the cricket scam as one of their big achievements?” she asked. Some protesters also raised “pro-freedom” slogans during the rally. A PDP spokesman said the protests were held at Kupwara, Kulgam, Baramulla, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam, Bandipora, Ganderbal and Kargil. In Ganderbal, the protesters blocked the Srinagar-Ganderbal road for half an hour. |
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Job schemes fail to attract youth
Jammu, January 5 Be it the coalition’s Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY) launched by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his Wazarat Road residence on December 5, 2009, on the 105th birth anniversary of his grandfather Sheik Mohammed Abdullah or the Union Home Ministry’s ‘Udaan’-a partnership between the corporate houses, the National Skill Development Corporation and the youth of J&K and the Union Rural Development Ministry’s ‘Himayat’-a training-cum-placement programme for the unemployed, the results remain dismal so far. Omar’s brainchild, SKEWPY, failed to live up to the expectations of the unemployed youth. “Omar failed to keep his word. He had promised jobs for two lakh youths, BPOs for IT professionals and GOI scholarships, which remain a non-starter,” said a Jammu University professor. |
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People come together to celebrate Chillai Kalan
Srinagar, January 5 The audience, which comprised of mostly school students, couldn’t remain glued to their seats, as various comedy dramas, stand-up comedy, fashion shows and skits were featured today. Children got to meet the snowman. Children often make snowman at home when snow covers the Valley. Actors dressed up as snowmen danced to Bollywood and Kashmiri songs while children and their parents cheered them. Even Chillai Kalan was brought to life on the stage, with an actor (representing Chillai Kalan), dressed as a robot, telling people that technology had taken over almost everything, including Chillai Kalan, which was fought with traditional means. “I am no more the good old Chillai Kalan. People have turned me into a robot. Although I wanted to stick to good old methods, I was forced to assume this form,” the character playing Chillai Kalan reminded the audiences. Winter woes were also brought to the fore during the festival in the form of a satirical play, “Bijli Choor”, enacted by a popular stage actor, Rayees Mohiuddin, and others. The play advised the people to abide by the rules so as not to face power cuts during the harsh winter. A character playing Thomas Elva Edison was shown cursing his invention as people resort to power theft. “Earlier, people would steal vegetables, eggs and chicken. Now it is power theft, which is catching up in Kashmir,” a line by an actor made the audience burst into laughter. A fashion show of kids, which highlighted conventional practices among men and women of Kashmir, was also part of the festival which was essentially a reminder to the generation next. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and National Conference MLA Mustafa Kamal were present in the audience. |
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Pak fires mortars on Indian posts in KG sector
Jammu, January 5 Three mortar shells were fired on the Indian forward posts in Nangi Tekri area along the LoC in Poonch late last night, officiating Defence PRO SN Acharya said. The firing continued for a brief period between 10.45 pm and 11 pm, he said, adding there was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing. He said the Indian troops exercised restraint and didn’t retaliate to unprovoked and unwarranted act of the Pakistani troops. The state witnessed 71 incidents of cross-border firing and ceasefire violations along the Line of Control last year, in which seven persons were killed and 15 others injured. |
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Separatists must come
forward for talks with Centre, says Soz
Srinagar,
January 5 In an interview with The Tribune, Soz said the separatists needed to come forward for talks with the Centre in an effort to find a resolution to the Kashmir issue. He said this when asked if New Delhi should extend a formal invitation as the JKPCC chief besides Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had recently advocated a New Delhi-Hurriyat dialogue. Soz said a formal invitation to the separatists was not feasible as efforts towards making successful Track-II diplomacy had failed in the past. While
Soz had recently urged the moderate Hurriyat faction to restart the
dialogue process with the Centre, Omar had stated that a “lop-sided”
approach would not bear fruit. The comments were made after a moderate
Hurriyat delegation led by Mirwaz Umar Farooq had visited Pakistan last
month to talk to a cross-section of leaders there in an effort to seek a
solution to the Kashmir issue. When asked why the state unit of the Congress had not taken a clear stand on the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) as its coalition partner National Conference had been strongly pressing for its revocation, Soz said the issue was the prerogative of the Centre. Even as he reserved comments over the performance of the coalition government that has completed four years in office, the JKPCC president said the Congress would continue to endeavour for the empowerment of panchayats. Stating
that he was confident that deliberations with the National Conference
over amendments to the Panchayati Raj Act of the state would bear fruit
in the next coalition coordination committee meeting, he said his main
role as the Congress chief of the state was to be “in the service of
people” by trying his best to resolve their problems by taking up the
same with the ministers concerned. Soz, who has already stated that the decision of forming another alliance with the National Conference for the 2014 Assembly elections will be taken by the Congress high command, also refused to comment over the party stand over a reshuffle in the state Cabinet. |
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It has been 4 years of anarchy, unfulfilled promises: Mehbooba
Jammu, January 5 Mehbooba termed the four-year tenure of this regime as “total failure wherein governance-deficit has been increasing with every passing day”. “I don’t think there is even a single achievement of this regime during the last four years,” she observed and listed a number of promises which Omar Abdullah had made to the people on a number of occasions - promises that remained only on paper during the last four years. Mehbooba said the four years of Omar Abdulllah’s regime have been about sheer survival, anarchy, misgovernance and political failures. “The worst impact of his miserable governance has been on the common masses who have been bearing brunt of misgovernance in the state during the last four years,” she said. As Omar Abdullah is projecting the panchayat elections as one of the biggest achievements of his government, Mehbooba chose to highlight failure of the government to strengthen Panchayat Raj system in the state to counter claims of the government. “The way government has cancelled elections of the Block Development Councils (BDCs) substantiates our allegations, that this regime is not interested in strengthening democracy at the grassroot level,” she maintained and added that those at the helm of affairs were not interested in decentralising powers. While listing the promises which the government has failed to keep during the last four years, Mehbooba mentioned the delay in conducting urban local bodies (ULB) elections. Mehbooba recalled that during the 2008 Assembly elections, National Conference had promised to lower the education qualification to under-matric for constables, but the promise was not fulfilled. Similarly, the promises of providing employment to 2 lakh youth in the government sector remained only on paper. Taking a dig at Omar Abdullah for his failure to withdraw false cases against youth, Mehbooba said alienating the youth has been a colossal failure of this regime. “This valuable segment of the society is frustrated and exposed to the cruelest face of a government. Scores were killed on the streets seeking justice, while thousands have been framed in false cases,” she said and observed that youth were the worst sufferers of the wrong policies of this government. She also reminded the Chief Minister of his repeated commitment towards revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA). |
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Army, IAF rescue a civilian
Jammu, January 5 Khushi Mohammad, a resident of Chaladh village of Reasi district, had gone to collect firewood when he slipped and fell into a deep gorge, resulting in serious injuries to his head yesterday, said officiating Defence PRO SN Acharya. Villagers shifted him to a nearby camp of Rashtriya Rifles Battalion at Sarh, where he was provided medical aid, the spokesman said. The Commanding Officer of the camp informed Reasi District Commissioner Nirmal Sharma about the incident, who sent a requisition to the authorities concerned for the timely evacuation of the injured by an IAF helicopter. “The injured was airlifted to GMCH and is stated to be out of danger,” said Acharya. “The individual was in an unconscious state and had no pulse when he was brought by the villagers to the camp of Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, where he was provided timely medical first aid,” he said. |
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18 boys rescued in Leh, sent home to Jharkhand
Leh, January 5 Leh Deputy Commissioner Tsering Angchuk said a request for search and identification of 20 boys was received by the administration from Ghridi district, Jharkhand. Based on the complaints of the parents of these boys in the last week of December, a search operation was immediately launched by the Labour office at Leh. Angchuk said out of the identified 20 boys, two had shown the willingness to stay and work as labourers in Leh. An official of the Labour office, Leh, said during an inquiry, many of these boys were found to be minors and school dropouts. The official said the boys were brought to Leh before the closure of the Leh-Srinagar National Highway in October and November by a Jharkhand-based private contractor on the promise of providing them jobs in Delhi. The boys were yesterday sent to Delhi in a flight from Leh, from where they will travel to Jharkhand. They were accompanied by an official escort from the Labour office of Ghridi district. Seventyfive per cent of their travelling cost, which amounts to Rs 63,000, has been incurred by the Leh district administration. The district administration, Leh, also provided them with new clothes, jackets and shoes. The official of the Leh Labour office said the matter was being taken up with the higher authorities of the BRO so that such things do not happen in the future. |
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With normalcy making a steady comeback, debate on AFSPA goes on
Srinagar, January 5 The announcement came in October 2011 on the Police Commemoration Day in the wake of the relatively peaceful summer that year. The state had suffered a huge setback on the law and order situation and economy front for a couple of years. Notwithstanding the Chief Minister’s assurance to achieve significant results regarding this within “few days”, the year 2012 passed amid the din of debates between the mainstream parties and the governments both at the state and Centre. Security agencies also pitched into the scene discussing whether or not to revoke the AFSPA. While the government has been according priority to development works in the last four years, much has been left to be said on its “failure” on the revocation of the AFSPA from parts of the state. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, however, has been maintaining silence over the issue for some time now. The government holds that maintenance of peace was achieved successfully that resulted in the arrival of a record 13 lakh tourists to the Valley, over 6 lakh pilgrims to the Amarnath cave shrine and over 101 lakh devotees to Vaishno Devi. Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad says the police has made every effort to maintain public order and peace to the satisfaction of the people of the state. When Omar made the announcement to remove the AFSPA, it was regarded as a calculated move to get a feedback on the overall situation in the state. Following the announcement, the Army, other security agencies and the Central government came out with their reservations over taking any such move. Omar had proposed to revoke the AFSPA from some areas- Srinagar and Budgam districts in Kashmir and Jammu-Samba sector in the Jammu region. The CM had made the assertion keeping in view an improved security situation over the years. The Army, however, showed reluctance, or hesitation, in what the Chief Minister had announced. It pointed at the possible negative fallout of the situation in Afghanistan and elections in neighbouring Pakistan in 2014 thus opposing the Chief Minister’s views. It also held that any such move would not be advisable for selected areas as every area in the trouble-torn state was “equally important”. The prevalent situation seems to have prompted the Chief Minister to set the ball rolling in support of his claim that the situation had improved to the level of satisfaction to revoke any special powers to the security forces. A rather nonchalant response from the opposition PDP and the separatists to the AFSPA revocation hardly vindicated the Chief Minister’s stand on the issue. Dilemma over revocation When Omar made the announcement to remove AFSPA, it was regarded as a calculated move to get a feedback on the overall situation in the state Soon after the announcement, the Army, other security agencies and the Centre came out with their reservations over taking any such move The Army pointed at the possible negative fallout from the situation in Afghanistan and elections in neighbouring Pakistan in 2014 n The army held that any such move would not be advisable for selected areas as every area in the trouble-torn state was equally important |
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Kashmir’s first e-gaming championship from Jan 13
Srinagar, January 5 The ‘Kashmir Cyber Games Championship 2013’ is scheduled to be held next week in the city where gamers would fight in two categories. Digital gaming or e-gaming, which had swept the imagination of new-age Kashmiris over the last one decade when computers increasingly became a household stuff, were encroaching at a fast pace as young boys preferred to stay indoor in the region. Many parents have, often, discouraged their children to go outside their homes to play in the fields fearing the situation may turn violent which in turn helped computer and other e-games gain precedence. For the championship 2013, two games had been included in the two-day competition which would be held on January 13-14. The tactical first-person shooter game ‘Counter Strike’ would be played between five-member teams and the fighting game ‘Tekken’ would be played on individual basis, the organisers said. “Counter Strike will be played on the basis of which the team first reaches the 20-round win margin and the Tekken will be played on three-round knock-out basis,” said Ishan Fazili, the public relations coordinator and co-founder of Loudbeetle group, who is organising the gaming contest. He said an expected 120 gamers from Kashmir falling in the age-group of 14-20 years would participate in the competition, which was the first-of-its-kind in the region. Fazili and the founder of the Loudbeetle Ahmer Khan, who had devised the idea of Kashmir’s first gaming contest, are both students of journalism. Another member of the organising group said the aim of the contest was to churn out a gamers’ team which could represent Kashmir at the national and international gaming competitions. “We want to promote gaming in the Valley and create our own Kashmiri team which can go and participate in major national and international events,” he said. How e-games became popular? Digital gaming or e-gaming, which has swept the imagination of new-age Kashmiris over the last one decade when computers increasingly became a household stuff, were being increasingly used as young boys preferred to stay indoor in the region Many parents, often, discourage their children to play outside in the fields fearing the situation may turn violent which in turn helped computer and other e-games gain precedence.
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Ladakh to have a world-class convention centre by year-end
Srinagar, January 5 The region would have a world-class Convention Centre by the end of this year, which is coming up near the Hill Toe, 4 km from Leh town. “Ladakh is a prime tourist destination for foreigners and domestic tourists and once the Convention Centre is set up, we will be able to pull the national and international corporate sector to hold conferences and other events,” said Talat Parvez, Director, Tourism, Kashmir. “The centre would boost tourism industry in the cold desert,” he added. Officials said the decision to establish the Convention Centre was taken by the government to explore the rich cultural and traditional heritage of Ladakh region and boost the tourism sector. “Ladakh is the travel and trade home to the nature-loving population across the world and a need was felt by the government few years ago to construct a Convention Centre there,” said an official. The Convention Centre would be the first-of-its-kind in the region that would help Ladakh to host events, conferences of state, national and international level pertaining to any subject. The Centre would also cater to the multi-activity requirements of tourists and adventurists like event management, mountaineering, snow sliding and conferences. “The centre will provide facilities to the people involved in the tourism activity under a single roof,” the official added. The centre is coming up at a cost of Rs 14.97 crore and once completed, it would have a capacity of accommodating 260 persons in the main auditorium with additional 100 persons in the balcony. At present, Srinagar has one Convention Centre - Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre. |
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J-K to hire 80,000 educated youth Srinagar, January 5 The Chief Minister said the recruitment of 80,000 educated youth in government service would be carried out through service selection agencies within the next few months. “We have set in motion a mechanism to fill vacancies in government departments at the earliest,” he said. Government jobs are crucial for the youth of the region, where the two-decade-long conflict had pushed the private sector away. In the recent years, private companies have made a steady but cautious return to the state with incidents of violence falling drastically. High rate of unemployment in the state has emerged as a major concern for the youth who after completing higher studies are unable to find jobs. Omar said generating employment in both public and private sectors had been flagged as the top priority of his government, which has completed four years in power and is gearing up for elections slated next year. While addressing a gathering of panchayat members here, he also indicated that his government was planning to make provisions in the next year’s budget to provide stipend and insurance cover for sarpanches and panches “irrespective of any financial support from the Centre”. “We have taken up this issue with the Centre for funds,” he said. “This is likely to involve Rs 100 crore annually,” Omar said adding that his government was committed to establishing a “powerful and effective” Panchayat system in the state and every effort would be made to “realise this goal”. “Jammu and Kashmir cannot be governed from the secretariat. It has to be governed by the grass-roots level democratic institutions representing the aspirations of its people. As such, we have moved forward with a commitment to creating a powerful panchayat system in the state,” he said. The government’s “report card” is for the people to see, he said. “They will judge us by our performance… we will ask the people to go through our performance and give their verdict in the 2014 elections.” |
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The Peoples Democratic Party today staged protests against the ruling National Conference-led coalition government across the Valley for failing to provide basic facilities to the people.
Chillai Kalan, the harshest 40 days of the winter in Kashmir, cannot restrict people to their homes. More snow means more fun. A group of stand-up comedians in collaboration with Radio Kashmir, some private companies and the Power Development Department organised a one-day festival, Funtoosh Jashn-e-Chillai Kalan, on the University of Kashmir campus today, welcoming Kashmir’s most dreaded period of cold.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today announced “fast track” recruitment of educated youth against 80,000 posts in the government sector. The state has more than six lakh registered unemployed youth.
