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400 labourers rendered jobless
Shopkeepers seek relocation, threaten suicide
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Staff shortage hits Kupwara labour office
‘Ensure quality of higher education’
As ‘chillai kalaan’ nears end, chill refuses to ebb
Rail traffic halted as residents seek railway station
Hoteliers meet MoS Tourism, want infrastructure upgraded
Army constructs 200 m footpath in remote Kupwara village
Teachers seek release of pending salaries, threaten agitation
Medical Education Minister visits hospitals, directs computerisation
Impartial investigation into Pathribal encounter sought
JKFA selects team for nationals
Army jawan commits suicide
Autonomy only viable solution to K-issue, says NC
Rs 4 crore released for JLNM Hospital
Jammu, Kashmir divisions script win in handball
HC asks Geelani to submit details of tour in four weeks
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400 labourers rendered jobless
Anantnag, January 29 Sources say hundreds of labourers and other need-based employees have been rendered jobless in the wake of BEACON abandoning maintenance work on this particular stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. “I have been working for more than 30 years with BEACON now. I started off as a labourer. Some days ago, they just told us not to come to work anymore,” said Abdul Hameed Parray, a works supervisor with the BEACON. He said some two months back, more than 400 labourers were laid off and other employees like him were told to work at consolidated payments or not to work at all. “The authorities told us that the stretch of road had been handed over to the NHAI for widening and they will provide us employment henceforth; however, the NHAI people say they don’t have any inputs about us as of now and it will be decided after March whether they will engage us or not,” said Abdul Rashid Ahangar, a labourer. Sources said that more than 400 labourers from Lowermunda, Khannabal, Banihal, Qazigund and Awantipora beats along the National Highway have been rendered jobless. Chief Engineer of the BEACON, KPS Rawat, when contacted, said the Qazigund-Banihal stretch had been handed over to the NHAI for widening and all the labourers will now be engaged by them. “Ours was simply maintenance work. They will get good money with the NHAI and I believe most of them have already been engaged,” said Rawat. NHAI director Vijendar Singh maintained that their organisation is yet to take up widening on this particular stretch. “No, it has not been handed over to us as of now. We have taken up work on the Qazigund-Srinagar stretch and work is going on,” said Singh.
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Shopkeepers seek relocation, threaten suicide
Srinagar, January 29 Even as work on the much touted Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover is yet to begin after the project was announced with much fanfare by the government in 2009, the shopkeepers of Magarmal Bagh and Hari Singh High Street area whose shops would be demolished are alleging that they are not being suitably relocated. "We have been repeatedly knocking at the doors of the authorities, but our pleas are falling on deaf ears. Our only demand is that we be relocated to an open market area, but we have been offered shops at a shopping complex near Exhibition Ground, which does not suit us," Traders Federation Exhibition Road Magarmal Crossing (TFERMC) general secretary Abdul Rauf said. "We are a group of 100 shopkeepers including egg-sellers, butchers, photostat-wallas, cloth sellers etc and our livelihood depends on walk-in customers. If we are not properly relocated, we, along with our families, will commit suicide," he added. Rauf said they had also conducted a meeting with an ADB official here wherein he had promised them they would be relocated according to their wishes. "After a series of e-mails from our side, an ADB official held a meeting with us recently wherein the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) officials too were present. Despite being assured that our concerns will be looked into, we are not being offered relocation at an open market area." Khalid Muzaffar, Director (Central), Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA), which is executing the Jehangir Chowk-Ram Bagh flyover project, said if the affected shopkeepers did not want to be relocated at the shopping complex near Exhibition Ground, they had the option of cash compensation. He said the shopkeepers will be compensated as per the ADB policy and that ERA too was “concerned” over their relocation. Rauf claimed they were not being offered cash compensation as per the “market value” of their shops. Pertinently, the beginning of the construction of the flyover had missed several deadlines amid concerns of the shopkeepers over proper relocation besides an online petition to the ADB. Khalid Muzaffar said work on the flyover would now start by March-April this year.
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Staff shortage hits Kupwara labour office
Kupwara, January 29 Against four posts of operators sanctioned in the office, only one operator is working. The labour office witnesses great rush of clients, most of them labourers. “In absence of computer operators, we are forced to do clerical jobs. The computer sets are gathering dust due to non-availability of computer operators. The shortage of staff has severely hit the functioning of the office,” said a senior employee. To make matters worse, the labour office is headless. Assistant Labour Commissioner Kupwara Baramulla Ashiq Bukhari, who holds additional charge as Assistant Labour Commissioner Kupwara, attends the office on Mondays and Wednesdays. Following retirement of Assistant Labour Commissioner Kupwara in April 2011, Bukhari was given the additional charge. “We have acute shortage of staff, especially of the data entry operators. The record of the office, which has to be maintained electronically, is being maintained manually, due to lack of computer operators. Our labour officers double as clerks to maintain the record manually,” said Ashiq Bukhari, holding additional charge as Assistant Labour Commissioner Kupwara. The problems do not end here. The office is also devoid of water supply and electricity facilities. “Despite paying Rs 65000 to Power division Kupwara for providing the electricity facility, the office continues to remain without the facility to date. The toilets in the office building continue to remain unused for the past one year due to shortage of water,” said Bukhari. “Despite repeated pleas to departments, the facilities have not been provided,” he added. From May 2011 to January 26 this year, as many as 8,000 registrations of labourers have been completed by the office. After the Building and other Construction Workers Act (BOC) was brought under the labour department, the rush of clients to the office has nearly doubled, said a senior employee. |
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‘Ensure quality of higher education’
Srinagar, January 29 While speaking during the inaugural session, Lone urged the participants, mostly college principals and other academicians, to strictly adhere to the guidelines set by the University Grants Commission
(UGC), a university spokesman said here. The seminar-cum-workshop on ‘Management Development in Higher Education’ is being organised by the Academic Staff College of KU. "Providing quality education should be our priority. We need to identify the loop holes in the education sector as early as possible so that we can plug them and move ahead,”Lone said. The minister added that there was a need to introduce job-oriented courses in colleges and universities for enhancing employability of students in corporate and other sectors. Lone said all the stakeholders in the education sector needed to work in an integrated manner for the betterment of education. He
also called for the constitution of a strategic forum, having representatives from colleges and universities, to help the government in effective planning and framing of policies regarding expansion in higher education. Earlier, in his presidential address, KU Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad briefed the minister and other participants of the seminar about the functioning of the university and its performance over the last two years, particularly in higher education
sector. Talat gave a detailed description about the progress and the major events of the university. He also talked of the problems faced by the university. "Every year we have to face a lot of challenges in terms of enrolment. We receive nearly 40,000 applications from various aspirants for seeking admission in PG courses, whereas the total intake capacity is of only around 3,500 students,” said Prof
Talat, adding that every year around 2.5 lakh students appeared in different exams held by KU at graduate and PG level. The inaugural session of the seminar was attended by principals of 47 degree colleges of the Kashmir division. Besides several deans, heads of the departments of various faculties of KU, senior academic administrators of the university were also present on the occasion. |
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As ‘chillai kalaan’ nears end, chill refuses to ebb
Srinagar, January 29 Mercury, most of the nights this month, has fallen several degrees below the freezing point as the region passed through the harshest part of winter, locally called chillai kalaan. The chillai kalaan, which begins annually on December 21, is a
40-day-long phase of extreme cold when mercury plunges drastically, freezing surface portions of Dal Lake and shutting down water supply as water flowing through pipes freezes in the extreme weather. Chillai kalaan will end tonight, as this phase winds up. Even as it nears its end, the grip of chillai kalaan continues as the temperature overnight continues to fall drastically across the region. The overnight temperature in and around Srinagar, the region’s main city, fell to minus 1.6 degree Celsius, an official of
the state weather department said. Maximum temperature in the city rose to a maximum of 12 degree Celsius. On Tuesday night, the minimum temperature is likely to drop to a low of minus two degree Celsius while the day temperature on Wednesday is likely to rise to a maximum of 9 degrees Celsius, the official said. The official
said the weather will be mainly dry in the state for the next 24 hours; rain and snow “may occur” at higher reaches of the state over the subsequent two days - Thursday and Friday. “There will also be rise in minimum temperature and fall in maximum temperature on Thursday and Friday,” the official said. Minimum temperature across the region fell several degrees below the freezing point overnight while Pahalgam resort
in south Kashmir and Gulmarg resort in the north recorded the coldest nights. |
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Rail traffic halted as residents seek railway station
Srinagar, January 29 “The villagers assembled in the morning on the railway track at Naidgam and the Baramulla-Qazigund train had to be halted at Mazhom for three hours, causing serious inconvenience to commuters,” said a railway official. In fact, the local villagers had informed the railway authorities about the proposed protest on Sunday. “When the girl from the village was run over by the train last month, we were assured by the officials at that time that a railway station would be allotted to the village, but so far, there has been no progress and we were left with no option but to stage a protest,” a local villager Ghulam Mohammad said over the phone. Senior civil, police and railway officials reached the spot and assured the protesters that their demands were being seriously looked into. Rail traffic was restored later in the day on the Qazigund-Baramulla railway line. A railway official said they had received a request for the railway station at the village from the Budgam district administration. “But we need land for the station which is to be given by the state government,” said a railway official. |
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Hoteliers meet MoS Tourism, want infrastructure upgraded
Srinagar, January 29 “Government should increase the sitting capacity besides developing separate roads for arrival and departure, so that visitors feel at ease at the airport,” said KHAROF joint general secretary Abdul Wahid Malik. The delegation was led by KHARA president Showkat Ahmad Chowdhary. The hoteliers also demanded ‘hassle-free permission’ for carrying out repair and renovation works. “Tourism Ministry should allow hoteliers to go for repair works of their infrastructure at Pahalgam and on Boulevard,” Chowdhary added. “We asked the minister for a new tourist infrastructure for the Kashmir valley for which the ministry should first devise a comprehensive tourism master plan. The new infrastructure development should be in sync with the suggestion of the local tourism players. We want the infrastructure to come up with a proper strategy which will make our tourism sustainable and should blend with the nature,” Chowdhary said. He said the minister assured them that their demands would be looked into.
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Army constructs 200 m footpath in remote Kupwara village
Srinagar, January 29 “Under BAPD, a 200-metre footpath was constructed by the Army channel at village Bampora, Lawoosa, in district Kupwara, which falls under the jurisdiction of headquarters “Tut Maari Gali” brigade,” the spokesman said. The footpath, he said, was constructed within a short span of three months under the administration of the Mashkoh Warriors, which is being hailed as a boon for the local villagers. “The Herculean task involved excavation of the stony track and levelling it to perfection under the harsh winter conditions,” the spokesman said, claiming that the construction of the footpath through a difficult terrain is being hailed by the villagers. “The project was a successful venture undertaken by the Army for basic infrastructural development in the remote areas of the Mawar valley in Kupwara,” he said.
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Teachers seek release of pending salaries, threaten agitation
Srinagar, January 29 After a JKTF meeting here, chairman of the forum Abdul Qayoom Wani appealed to Tara Chand, who is also the Minister for School Education, to personally intervene in the matter. He claimed that the salary of SSA teachers had not been released for six months. Flaying the government for “failing” to resolve the pending demands of Rehbar-e-Taleems (ReTs) and Education Volunteers (EVs), Wani threatened to go for a mass strike and hold statewide protests if their issues continued to remain unresolved. He also threatened to boycott forthcoming training programmes for teachers in case their demands were not met. JKTF press secretary Pir Nisar Ahmad said the forum will wait for 15 days before going for protests, especially if the salaries of SSA teachers were not released by then. The JKTF also extended full support to the call of Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgamation of various employees’ bodies, for a strike from February 19 to 23. |
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Medical Education Minister visits hospitals, directs computerisation
Srinagar, January 29 This was his first visit to these hospitals after he got the portfolio in the recent cabinet reshuffle. The Minister directed computerisation of all departments and linkage of all Heads of Departments (HoDs) with the drug store to relieve patients of inconveniences. Mohiuddin said he had already passed similar directions on his first visit to Government Medical College and associated hospitals in the Jammu region where work had already begun. “He also directed the authorities to give a face-lift to wards, theatres, toilets and main corridors to ensure cleanliness at the hospital,” an official spokesman said. Later, Mohiuddin held a meeting with HoDs, faculty and medical superintendents of these hospitals and asked them to work with zeal and dedication, the spokesman added.Commissioner Secretary of Health and Medical Education MK Dwivedi, Principal of GMC Srinagar and medical superintendents of hospitals accompanied the minister during the visit.
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Impartial investigation into Pathribal encounter sought
Srinagar, January 29 The group asked the families of the five people, killed in Pathribal in May 2000 and passed as militants, to stress for an impartial investigation and disassociate from the court martial proceedings. Five civilians were abducted in May 2000 from their houses, days after 36 Sikhs were killed by unknown gunmen dressed up as Army in Chattisinghpora area of south Kashmir. Following the killings, the Army had claimed to have gunned down five Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in an encounter at Pathribal. The Army had said the slain militants were responsible for the killing at Chattisinghpora. Relatives, who had seen their men being abducted, however, grew suspicious and later identified the bodies as those of the abducted men.
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JKFA selects team for nationals
Jammu, January 29 The J&K team will open its campaign on February 2 against Rajasthan followed by match against Assam and Andaman and Nicobar islands on February 4 and 6. Zahoor Ahmad Teli will accompany as manager while Satpal Singh of the J&K State Sports Council as coach and Karan Nayyar as physio. The team: Vikramjit Singh (captain), Aman Thapa, Wasim Feroz, Rohit, Khalid Qayoom, Shahnaz Iqbal, Zubair, Aiman, Rizwan Sheikh, Nusrat Kamal, Umer Jan and Jamsheed Ahmad (all players from J&K Bank XI), Asif Majid, Ajay Kumar and Yaseen (J&K Police XI), Faisal Ahmad and Altaf Ahmad (food-supplies), Amir Farooq (PDC), Javed Hussain (Maharaja sports) and Dhananjay Sharma (Vijay Club, Jammu).
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Srinagar, January 29 The deceased has been identified as Tula Shankar of Maharashtra. The postmortem was later conducted at an Uri hospital. Four injured in road accident
Four persons were injured in a road accident on
the city’s outskirts last evening, police said today. A passenger bus and a truck collided near Tatoo Ground at Bemina in the city here, resulting in injuries to four passengers, a police spokesman said. All the injured have been admitted in a
hospital for treatment and a case has been registered at a local police station.
— TNS |
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Autonomy only viable solution to K-issue, says NC
Srinagar, January 29 NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq stated this during a meeting with youth workers at the party headquarters here. “Autonomy, as accepted on June 26, 2000, is a constitutionally guaranteed document stamped and passed by the two-third majority of the state legislature, making it the government’s one and only viable solution to the vexed issue and not a mere slogan,” he added. He said there had been instances where people in Delhi had offered ‘anything short of Azadi’ to the separatists but when Omar Abdullah, with a democratically elected government talked about the same, it got bogged down in red tape by vested interests. Claiming that AFSPA was the creation of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said “PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed brings AFSPA and now sheds crocodile tears to befool people. PDP and its leaders lost because of their track record, because they always worked against the interest of the people of Kashmir,” Tanvir added.
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Rs 4 crore released for JLNM Hospital
Srinagar, January 29 An official said the directions were passed during Khan’s visit to the hospital. The minister also paid surprise visits to District Hospital, Budgam and Primary Health Centre, Ompora. “The health minister showed displeasure over mismanagement and indiscipline in these institutions. He told the medical superintendents concerned and block medical officer that no patient should be
made to put up with inconvenience while getting treatment,” the official
said. — TNS |
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Jammu, Kashmir divisions script win in handball
Jammu, January 29 In the boys’ section, Kashmir defeated Jammu by 11-8 in a close contest. Waseem Parray was the top scorer from Kashmir with six goals while Fayaz Ahmed Mali scored three and Imran Ali scored two goals. For Jammu division, Aayush and Akshit netted three goals each. In the girls’ section, Jammu beat Kashmir by 4-1. Simran Sharma and Nadhika Sharma scored two goals each for Jammu while Ruksana was the solitary goal scorer from
Kashmir. — TNS |
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HC asks Geelani to submit details of tour in four weeks
Srinagar, January 29 The High Court is hearing a contempt petition filed by Geelani against police authorities for allegedly violating the court’s orders while restricting his movement outside his Hyderpora residence. |
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