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140 persons evacuated from avalanche-prone village
Night patrolling increased for
security of sarpanches
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CM lauds Centre’s approach to de-escalate tension on LoC
Snowfall damages power supply lines in Rajouri
Hundreds of PG medical aspirants to miss entrance examination
Finance Minister begins pre-budget consultations with stakeholders
Minister takes stock of situation post snowfall
Two snow control rooms set up
Expedite artificial lake project on Tawi: Hotels’ body
Youth must help usher in change: NC
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140 persons evacuated from avalanche-prone village
Srinagar, January 19 Meanwhile, two avalanches were reported from the Jawahar Tunnel area on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. “The avalanches were reported from near the Jawahar Tunnel and the Titanic point, located at a few hundred metres from the tunnel,” reports said. The police said the rescue operation was launched last evening in Waltengu Nard in Qazigund tehsil, which “is prone to snow-related casualties and property losses”. The operation was suspended last night and was launched this morning again under the supervision of Kulgam Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shafi, the spokesman said. Those evacuated included 50 children, 45 men and 45 women. They have been brought to Waltengu village. The precautionary measures were taken after a police party comprising 30 jawans stayed in the Waltengoo Nar area overnight to ensure the safety of the villagers. “We had a police team deployed in the village overnight in case of an emergency. However, a decision to evacuate the residents was taken today and they were shifted to Waltengoo village,” Muhammad Shafi said. He said all those evacuated were temporarily shifted to the houses of their relatives in the Waltengoo village. “There are two colonies that belong to the relatives of the residents of Waltengoo Nar in Waltengoo village and that is where the evacuated people have been kept for now”, the Superintendent of Police said. As per reports, 30 men have stayed back in the village to feed their livestock. “They will join their families in the evening after they are finished with feeding their work. The livestock will not be evacuated from the village,” a resident from the area said. The area is prone to avalanches. It was in Waltengoo Nard hamlet on the slopes close to Waltengoo village that a snow storm hit it on February 18, 2005. At least 175 villagers lost their lives while 128 families were rendered homeless in the storm. With inputs from Suhail A Shah in Anantnag |
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Night patrolling increased for
security of sarpanches
Srinagar, January 19 “We have been advised by the police not to venture out during night hours in sensitive areas,” chairman of the J&K Panchayat Conference (JKPC) Shafiq Mir said. “The panchayat members have also been advised to move in groups in case they have to offer prayers at a mosque,” he said. The state government has made it clear that it was impossible for it to provide security to over 33,000 panches and sarpanches who are frightened after the recent attacks on the panchayat members in Sopore, north Kashmir. “The police has told us that any panchayat member who is affiliated with a political party and is facing a threat can write to it for security through their respective political parties,” said Mir. While the police has issued dos and don’ts to the panchayat members in many parts of the Valley, the panaches and sarpanches claim that the government was taking much time for deciding on their security. “We had applied for the security in November, but we are yet to hear anything about it,” said an executive member of the JKPC. “The government only wakes up when there are attacks or killings,” he said. A police spokesman in Srinagar said various measures were being taken by the police and security forces for the security of panchayat members. “We are taking measures to ensure their safety,” he said A senior police officer said they were analysing the threat perception to the panchayat members keeping in view the sensitiveness of the area. “The exercise will, however, take some time,” he said. “Night patrolling has been intensified in sensitive areas to ensure the safety of the panchayat members.” On January 11, sarpanch Habibullah Mir of Gooripora village was shot dead when he was on his way to a construction site in the village. A day later, militants shot at a woman panch, Zoona, in Hardshiva village of Sopore. Zoona is being treated at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar and continues to be critical. After the twin attacks, nearly 100 panchayat members from various villages of Sopore have resigned through newspaper advertisements. Officials maintain that only one panchayat member has resigned officially after the attacks. Two sarpanches quit
Two panchayat members submitted their resignations in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district today. Sources said panch Fatima Lone and Nissar Ahmed of Gulgam, Kupwara, submitted their resignations to the Kupwara Deputy Commissioner. |
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Time to reverse durbar move: Omar
Srinagar, January 19 More than a century-old monarchical practice of shifting the governing council along with bureaucracy and other elements of government was first started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872. For nearly 14 decades, the seat of the government made bi-annual journeys along the treacherous Srinagar-Jammu road to escape the harsh weather of Kashmir in winter and Jammu during summer. Entire secretariat, the headquarters of the state government, along with thousands of men, machinery and voluminous records would shuttle between the two capitals spending crores of rupees from the state exchequer. Now, Omar, the young Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has suggested a reversal of the move saying it is the time to end “escapism”. “Since the durbar move can be done away with, perhaps the time has come to seriously consider reversing the move,” Omar said on micro-blogging site Twitter. The Chief Minister, who completed four years as head of the state this month, suggested the present system was akin to “running away at most problematic times”. “Stop this escapism of running away at most problematic times - stay in Srinagar during winter and Jammu in the summer to address problems,” he said. Omar's referral to "problematic times" is regarding Kashmir region's harsh winter when mercury plummets to freezing levels and Jammu's summer which is equally hot and harsh. There have been consistent demands to end the practice of shifting government offices with change in weather at a cost of large amount of money but the fear of allegations of regional discrimination, from both the regions, has so far prevented successive regimes from considering the option. “Durbar” is currently based in Jammu and as is the annual practice, it will move back to Srinagar when winter ends and a pleasant summer begins here in April and a harsh summer will scorch Jammu region. The governments, in the past, have taken measures to meet the demands of people by keeping a winter secretariat functional in Srinagar when the government is away in Jammu and summer secretariat in Jammu when the government’s seat is in Srinagar, the state’s winter capital. |
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CM lauds Centre’s approach to de-escalate tension on LoC
Jammu, January 19 “The state has witnessed a saga of 22 years of militancy and it has not ended fully yet. The LoC is more than fragile and escalation of tension on it makes peace initiatives vulnerable”, he said emphasising the need for restraint to help cultivate tranquility for addressing issues. An official handout issued here said the Chief Minister was replying questions in an interactive session, after addressing the 3rd Annual Young Change-makers Conclave 2013 of the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC) at New Delhi today. The Chief Minister said the approach and response by the Central leadership to deal with the LoC escalation issue was matured and praiseworthy. Omar said the graph of violence during the past some years had shown gradual decrease and measures were on to maintain peaceful situation and strike fine balance between the availability of security forces and demand of the situation. He said the incidents of violence had been less than five per cent now as against their numbers in 2002. However, he said, militancy had not totally ended in the Valley. Replying a question on human rights, Omar said he had been advocating constitution of Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “It is for the reason of finding answers to so many questions relating to various aspects of human rights that I am time and again advocating constitution of Truth and Reconciliation Commission”, he said. On return of Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley, Omar said his government was keen in this regard and creating conducive atmosphere, both economically and in terms of security, to remove threat perception from their minds and help them return. He said Kashmiri Pandits were integral part of Kashmiriyat that represents Jammu and Kashmir’s pluralistic cultural ethos. He said without Kashmiri Pandits Kashmir was incomplete. “However, we cannot force them to return but create a peaceful and amicable situation so that they return willingly”, he said. Omar Abdullah said participation of youth was imperative to make difference on socio-economic spectrum of the country. |
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Snowfall damages power supply lines in Rajouri
Rajouri, January 19 Sources said 400 electricity poles, 55 transformers and seven electricity towers were damaged in Thana Mandi, Bafliyaz, Chanaimad, Dugra Pashna, Rajdhani, Ajmatabad, Pangai, Shahdara Sharief, Kotranak and other adjoining areas. Normal life was also thrown out of gear due to the heavy snowfall and incessant rains in the last three days, which also blocked many roads and cut off telephone supply. Rajouri-Budhal, Kotranka, Khawas, Sar Bagga still have no power supply. PDD employees have started work to restore the power supply to these areas, but it will take some time, a local said. The main Rajouri city has also been facing unscheduled power cuts daily for 15 to 18 hours which has irked the business community. Sham, owner of an electronic goods shop, said, “Since the past one month, unscheduled power cuts, unavailability of mobile and internet services have put caused losses to our business.” There was no response from the PDD officials despite several attempts to contact them. |
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Hundreds of PG medical aspirants to miss entrance examination
Srinagar, January 19 Students, who have done their MBBS and BDS courses from colleges outside the country, have more problems in store as it would take them six months to get the MCI registration certificate after completion of one-year internship at any college in the country. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), which was conducted from November 23 to December 6, had, however, no such requirements. Since the state government has opted out of the NEET examinations citing Article 370 (under which it can devise its own laws), the norm has made students ineligible to appear for the entrance test. “I don’t understand why we have such stringent laws which have been even done away with at the national level. This makes aspirants suffer. They have to make the rounds of the MCI office for a year to obtain the provisional certificate and then the permanent MCI
certificate. This is a waste of our time and impacts our careers,” said a Srinagar-based MBBS passout, who has done his degree from a medical college in Malaysia. Although all medical PG seat aspirants, who are currently doing their internships at various colleges of the country possess a provisional MCI registration certificate, the same stands invalidated by BOPEE. “In the rest of the country, both at the national and state level, MBBS doctors who are doing their internships or working in hospitals can apply for this exam, which is not the case in our state. It is true that the students suffer due to these norms,” said a senior doctor serving at a government hospital, who wished anonymity. For seeking admission to state medical colleges in various PG courses, BOPEE states the students need to be registered with the MCI and the State Medical Council and have completed one-year internship. It further mentions that candidates, who are sure of having their MCI registration/ internship certificates to be ready on their allotted counselling dates, can be considered for the admission. In case a candidate submits the certificates on any other day of the counselling session, he or she shall have to accept the discipline, institution allotted as per the seats available. BOPEE chairman RD Sharma said the clause of submission of a original MCI registration certificate is a must for appearing in the examinations and attending the counselling sessions. “Since the state is conducting its PG entrance examinations under the state laws this year, so the norms remain the same. We have told candidates to ensure that they have their certificates ready by next year. Any changes can only be considered next year.” the BOPEE chairman said. |
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Finance Minister begins pre-budget consultations with stakeholders
Jammu, January 19 Rather today interacted with members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Chamber of Indian Industry (CII) and Traders and Retailers Federation during a marathon pre-budget discussion. He said despite limited resources, the government had tried its best to extend maximum possible relief in the shape of tax concessions to various sectors of economy. He said almost the entire agriculture sector had been made tax free to give a big boost to agriculture production. Rather said the government would consider more relief to boost trade and industry, if it was felt that there was still some scope left for further concessions. Economic adviser to the government Jalil Ahmed Khan; Financial Commissioner, Finance, Iqbal Khandey; Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Kifayat Hussain Rizvi; Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Jammu, PI Khateeb; Special Secretary, Finance, Zubair Ahmed and Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (HQ), Showkat Aijaz were present in the meeting. Rather told the members of trade and industry to take the full benefit of the Permanent Grievance Redressal Committee (PGRC), headed by the Financial Commissioner, Finance, to exclusively address the day-to-day problems and grievances of the business community through regular interactions. “The PRGC is an appropriate forum constituted by the government for the convenience of different sectors of trade and economy to provide them round the year opportunity for redress of their grievances in a time-bound manner, in addition to the platform of pre-budget discussions,” Rather said. He told the business community to take up their demand of tax reforms in the committee for a threadbare discussion. He said the full computerisation of the Commercial Taxes Department would be started from April 2013 which will go a long way in providing online dealing facilities to traders and dealers. He said the commissioning of Rs 43 crore new toll plaza at Lakhanpur would remove the hardships of the business community in a big way. Rather said the upgrade of Jammu Airport for international flights on the pattern of Srinagar Airport would be started immediately to give a boost to the tourism and trade activities in the Jammu province. He said all genuine views and reasonable suggestions expressed by members during the discussions would be incorporated in the next year’s budget proposals, adding the basic objective of the pre-budget discussion was to involve the people and other stakeholders in the process of budget formulation. |
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Minister takes stock of situation post snowfall
Srinagar, January 19 He also instructed the Deputy Commissioners to visit their respective jurisdictions and ensure that the people do not face any inconvenience during the winter season. The minister said free ration had already been provided to stranded passengers across the national highway, besides other amenities. On the occasion, various public deputations also met the minister and apprised him of their problems. Meanwhile, Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah chaired a meeting at Joint Control Room, Qazigund, to review the latest situation in the district and on the national highway resulting out of the recent snowfall. An official spokesman said Kulgam Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Mir undertook tour of remote and far-off areas to inspect restoration works undertaken by various departments following heavy snowfall. At Waltengo, the Deputy Commissioner himself supervised the shifting operation of 36 families from Waltengo Nard with the assistance of police. These families have been shifted to newly constructed colony at Wasaknag and all the basic amenities, including ration, power, water and beddings, were made available to them. Although there was no imminent danger of avalanches in Waltengo Nard, the shifting measure was undertaken in view of the vulnerability of the area to snowstorms and avalanches. |
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Endangered Kashmir stag to
get a fresh lease of life
Jammu, January 19 “Though the dates have not yet been finalised, the meeting will take place next month, probably in Jammu,” said MA Tak, Regional Wildlife Warden of Kashmir. It has almost been unanimously agreed upon to revisit the Hangul Action Plan. Once set into motion, it will run for years in the state, he said. Tak said things were moving on a positive note and the HAP was being taken up in right earnest by the state and the Centre. Though the HAP had earlier been approved by the Union Government, its slow pace and erratic funding were hampering the implementation of the ambitious project in the state. Now, the Central government has decided to give the plan a much-needed impetus, said Tak. The Centre had approved Rs 22 crore in 2008 under the Species Recovery Project to give an impetus to the breeding programme of Kashmir stag in Dachigam National Park of Kashmir - the last refuge of the animal. In Asia, the sub-species of red deer, also called hangul in local parlance, is found only in Kashmir’s Dachigam Park. It is
also found in some parts of Europe and the United States. The state Wildlife Department has also identified potential areas such as Wangad, Gurez, Bandipora in the Kashmir region and Warwan in the Jammu region where this rare species has been found. The two decades of
insurgency, unabated poaching and rapid reduction in green gold, besides other human factors have alarmingly shrunk the hangul population. In 1980, there were 500 hanguls, which had risen to 818 in 1988. After militancy, the count constantly declined and in 1994 their number was just 200, which further went down to 170. The state government with the Centre’s support embarked upon the conservation project in 2008. During the peak of militancy, it is believed that around 500 hanguls were killed by insurgents and poachers for meat, skin
and antlers. |
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Two snow control rooms set up
Jammu, January 19 "The control room for Jammu is at Engineering Institute Gandhinagar, while at Kashmir it has been set up at Chief Engineer, MED office at Shaltaing," he said. Alerted by the weather forecast, the Roads and Buildings and Mechanical Engineering Department has started its preparations to tackle the situation. Best possible efforts were being made to ensure that snow was removed from roads and it did not disrupt the flow of traffic, especially on major routes, the minister said. He said the Chief Engineers concerned of both Kashmir and Jammu divisions have been asked to supervise the control rooms, while Chief Engineers of R&B and MED Jammu have been instructed to pass on reports on an hour-to-hour basis. He said the Kashmir valley has been divided into three zones in which 91 heavy to medium size snow-clearance machines have been pressed into service to clear the roads. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Industries and Commerce Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo said the opening of Jammu-Srinagar highway for traffic is among the top priorities for the government.
— PTI |
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Expedite artificial lake project on Tawi: Hotels’ body
Jammu, January 19 "To boost the tourism sector in Jammu, we have appealed to Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Sham Lal Sharma to ensure the project was completed at the earliest," president All Jammu Hotels and Lodges and Association (AJHLA) Inderjeet Khajuria said in a meeting of the organisation. The construction of the artificial lake on the Tawi was being carried out on an extremely slow pace, he said adding, the project needs to be expedited at the earliest. The artificial lake along with other tourism projects initiated by the state government will encourage tourists to visit Jammu, Khajuria said.
— PTI |
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Youth must help usher in change: NC
Srinagar, January 19 “They have to galvanise themselves in the face of political challenges,” Sadiq said. The spokesman asked them to join politics to change the system and fight corruption for a prosperous future. “Our leadership is in a continuous process of empowering the youth to shape their own destiny. The only way to change the political system is to bring youth to politics,” he said. |
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