Rajouri, February 27
Parents of a seven-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped by a local youth of the same village Dada Sambala in border district Rajouri a few days back alleged that the police did not register an FIR against the kidnapper.

Speaking to the local media here today outside the SSP office, Rajouri, her father Mohammed Sadiq said her daughter was playing outside her residence when a local youth, identified as Tufail Husain, son of Mohammed Husain, kidnapped her on February 16.

She was recovered after four days from a Keri area, when local villagers informed her family about her presence in the area.

Her father alleged that when they reached the concerned police post in Chingus for lodging an FIR against the kidnapper, the cops refused to do so and abused him.

Today, the parents reached the SSP office, Rajouri, to meet the SSP, but since morning, they were kept waiting outside the office, for the SSP was busy with talent hunt competition “Chhoona Hai Aasman” season-3.

Talking to The Tribune, SSP Mubassir Latifi said, “We were busy with the function, but ask her to meet me tomorrow; her complaint will be registered.” — OC

Jammu, February 27
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for ETT Colleges, J&K, has said the Chairman, J&K State Board of School Education (JKBOSE), Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, was hellbent on wiping out a growing educational sector in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in Jammu, besides indulging in embezzlement by throwing all norms and regulations to the wind.

Briefing the media today, the office-bearers of JAC said the BOSE chairman had failed to regularise candidates of ETT for the session 2011-13 despite the government order and BOSE’s MoU with ETT colleges. They further claimed the students were admitted by the colleges on repeated assurances of the BOSE chairman on restarting counselling, but later, he was involved in a scandal which resulted in the resignation of the then Education Minister.

They said the examinations for the session 2011-13 have been postponed time and again to appease vested interests. The office-bearer added that the present BOSE chairman was on deputation from the Higher Education Department and had been in the board for 8-9 years. They further said he was found guilty of bypassing board statutes and regulations and was also under scanner wherein a former Education Minister’s son was involved and he had to resign from his post.

Deep Singh, one of the members of JAC, had also expressed concern over the recently issued BOSE notification, claiming it would deprive the Jammu-based youth of the opportunity to appear for Urdu as an additional subject in matriculation in view of eligibility for seeking government jobs.

He added that the BOSE notification was issued in a tricky manner. Deep Singh further said on one hand, universities all over the world were open for everybody at any stage to appear for any exam and on the other, the BOSE chairman was promoting a suspicious agenda without caring for the sanctity of a prestigious institution of the state.

The office-bearers of the committee demanded immediate removal of the BOSE chairman besides investigation by Vigilance Department. They also requested the authorities to start the exam process for the session 2011-13 besides issuing a calendar for the session 2012-14 to start the process of counselling.

Jammu, February 27
Jammu University (JU) Vice-chancellor Prof Mohan Paul Singh Ishar has called for stringent measures to combat violence against women. Speaking at an interactive seminar on “Sexual Violence against women” organised by the office of Dean Research Studies in collaboration with the Centre for Women Studies, Prof Ishar referred to the recent initiatives taken by the Central and state governments, saying these will go a long way in tackling such crimes urgently and effectively. The VC stressed on the need for change in societal mindset towards women and sought collective effort in instilling a sense of confidence and security among them.

Opening the discussion, Prof Rekha Choudhary, Dean Research Studies, JU said crime against women continues and the issue needs to be discussed in open forums.

She further said women were not only sexually exploited but also there were other times which made them vulnerable in the society. She said there will be change only when the voice of the masses gets louder and the mindset towards women changes.

Earlier, Prof Poonam Dhawan, Director, Centre for Women Studies, said the issue required more comprehensive approach and self-introspection. She said crime against women had affected millions of women worldwide.

She further said after a 23-year-old woman was raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi last year, the incident left everybody shocked but even more determined to continue the fight.

Other panelists who spoke on the occasion included Prof Kulwant Singh, Prof Lalit Magotra, Prof Abha Chouhan, Prof Satnam Kaur, Prof Yash Paul Sharma, Dr Manju Jamwal, Rajni Sehgal, SSP prisons, Central jail, Kot Bhalwal and Anita Sharma, additional SP crimes. Dr Minakshi Kilam from Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance, JU, Jai Kumar Sharma, Special Secretary to Vice-Chancellor, faculty members and students were also present on the occasion.

Jammu, February 27
The government today asked the Pollution Control Board (PCB) to come up with environment-friendly alternatives to address the problems of unit holders affected by the ban on polythene carry bags. Dozens of units were closed down after the ban on polythene bags.

The directions were given by Forests minister Mian Altaf. The minister was reviewing the measures taken by the enforcement agencies to check the use and illegal import of polythene in the state at an officers’ meeting here today.

The minister said the ban on polythene was in the best interest of the society, adding that people had a direct role to play in curbing this menace. Seeking cooperation of the general public in this regard, the minister said people should be made to use conventional cloth bags while fetching eatables or other domestic items rather than rely on use of banned polythene.

The minister asked officers of PCB to coordinate with other departments including Jammu Municipal Corporation and the district administration to ensure effective implementation of the ban imposed on use of polythene in the state.

Altaf instructed officers to come up with alternatives so that the affected traders could be rehabilitated early.

President, Chamber of Commerce and Industries YV Sharma, while highlighting the problems of the affected unit holders, pleaded for amicable resolution of the issue. He said 58 unit holders had been affected by the ban in Jammu alone and pleaded for priority to these unit holders in any kind of replacement to be proposed by the government. On this, the minister asked the PCB secretary to convene a meeting with the affected unit holders to find out a solution to the problem.

Katra, February 27
The communication and capacity development unit, in association with WEMTEP, organised a day-long workshop on free water testing at the Deputy Commissioner office complex, Reasi, here today. The aim of the programme was to make people aware of the contamination of drinking water and its ill-effects on health.

In all, 250 different samples from different locations including tap water were tested for the quality analysis, in which, 99% of the samples were found fit for drinking purpose, says Dr Zulfiqar Andrabi of communication and capacity development unit.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Reasi Nirmal Sharma inaugurated the workshop on Wednesday morning.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural function, she said water pollution prevention and control measures are critical to water quality improvement.

Sharma further said such workshops play an important role in educating people about water pollution and its control, as drinking of contaminated water causes several water-borne diseases. She highlighted the need to keep water bodies neat and clean and take steps to conserve them for the future generations. She said water is one of nature’s most important gifts to mankind.

Earlier, Dr Zulfiqar Andrabi and Suhail Rehman (project co-ordinator) presented a resume of activities of the organisation and also highlight the need for conservation and prevention of water. It was stated that such workshops are organised every year in the state to provide information to people about the use of safe drinking water.

Sarpanches and panches as also officials from health, PHE and social welfare departments participated in the programme.

Jammu, February 27
A delegation of the J&K Sikh Societies Amalgamate today called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and demanded formation of the minority commission in Jammu and Kashmir, by amending the National Minority Commission Act, 1992.

The members of the delegation, led by Gurdeep Singh Sasan, chairman of the Amalgamate, also apprised Omar of various issues concerning the Sikh community and submitted a memorandum of their demands. The delegation also demanded enactment of the Anand Karaj Act to give an opportunity to Sikhs to register their marriages under the Act. Besides, Sasan also demanded the constitution of the J&K Welfare and Development Board for the POK refugees and displaced persons.

“The government should issue notification for the formation of the J&K Welfare and Development Board for the PoK refugees, which will function as a liaison between government and the refugees and would pave the way for permanent settlement of PoK refugees’ problems,” he said.

He also demanded the formation of minority financial corporation that would help in generating avenues for deserving youth, declaration of transport as an industry on the pattern of hotel and tourism industry, regularisation of refugees’ camps, giving sufficient representation to Sikhs in PSC, SSRB, Judiciary and other statutory bodies, special scholarship to poor students of the community, reservation in professional colleges and special recruitment drives.

The Chief Minister listened to the delegation and assured sympathetic consideration of their demands

The members comprised PP Singh, Nain Singh, Hardev Singh, Surjeet Kour, Surinder Singh, Swaran Singh, Rajinder Singh and Baldev Singh.

Jammu, February 27
With Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) laying special emphasis on compulsory health certificate besides giving wide publicity to the advisory of do’s and don’ts for the forthcoming Amarnath pilgrimage this year, yet again the CRPF would dominate the multi-tier security grid for pilgrims right from Lakhanpur to twin tracks of Baltal and Pahalgam, up to the cave shrine.

“Our deployment, by and large, would remain the same as it was last year, which could be anything between 65 companies to 70 companies,” said a senior CRPF officer.

He, however, said the exact deployment would depend upon the security scenario in the state.

One company of the CRPF usually comprises 75 personnel.

“If the situation demands, the quantum of deployment can be increased,” he said.

It may be recalled that last year 109 pilgrims had died during the pilgrimage, largely owing to medical reasons and road accidents.

Pre-dominantly, the CRPF along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, would be regulating the annual pilgrimage but BSF and Army would also chip in with their bits in the multi-tier security grid, he said.

The Army would dominate higher reaches on the twin tracks of Baltal and Chandanwari while BSF would be there on the two tracks leading to the cave shrine, he added.

“From Lakhanpur, the gateway to the state, twin tracks of Pahalgam and Baltal to cave shrine, base camps in Jammu and Kashmir regions, the CRPF along with JKP would be providing security to the pilgrims,” he said.

This year, the annual pilgrimage is scheduled to begin from June 28.

“The state government would be projecting its requirement to the Union Home Ministry in due course of time and we hope to meet the requirement from within the state,” he said, adding that a couple of companies of women constables may also be brought from outside the state.

The officer said the CRPF would also deploy its quick reaction teams of commandos, equipped with sophisticated weapons, in the cave shrine area.

Jammu, February 27
Students of MV International School, Samba, participated in the International Informatics Olympiad 2012, organised by Computer Literacy Foundation (CLF), New Delhi. A total of 28 students of the school participated in the olympiad by winning three gold, silver and bronze medals each.

Chahat Slathia, Khurishi Jamwal and Rohan Slathia of class seventh bagged the 15th, 17th and 18th state rank respectively. Venkat Sarkar, Kanav Verma and Sahil Kapoor of class ninth got the fifth, sixth and the seventh state rank and the 165th, 285th and 290th olympiad rank.

Aman Kundal, Himanshu Rana and Radhika Sharma of class tenth secured the third, fourth and the seventh state rank and the 503rd, 654th and 914th olympiad rank. The students participated under the guidance of Amandeep Singh, School Coordinator.

Director of the school, Gourav Abrol and Principal BN Sarkar appreciated the students for their hard work and exhorted them to move forward with the same spirit to scale further heights.

Jammu, February 27
Already being deprived of drawing and disbursing powers, the Zonal Physical Education Officers (ZPEOs) have claimed that they are also not being entitled to the due grade of Rs 8,275-13,500 at par with the Zonal education Officers/Lecturers in School Education Department.

Further, the officers are also demanding promotions as district officers, claiming they have better administrative skills and executive training.

Sources said the ZPEOs expressed resentment over the decision of promoting lecturers as district officers, adding that they lacked administrative skills and experience to run the affairs.

“The way things are going at the moment, it can definitely lead to stagnation in this category of posts if the vertical elevation chances are not provided. We served the department as PETs, PEMs and after such hard toil, we get this first gazetted promotion at the fag end of our service”, one of the aggrieved ZPEOs said.

“50 per cent promotional quota amongst the in-service teachers is in place while the remaining 50 per cent have yet to be referred to Public Service commission (PSC) for selection on direct quota basis. Lecturers can be posted in DIETs, which are equivalent to DYSS so that it would pave way for our timely promotion. We are not going to sit idle and will continue our efforts till success is achieved”, he added.

Sources added that the ZPEOs said they deserved 100 per cent share in promotions as district officers because they were academically and technically trained.

The ZPEOs had also suggested some solutions to break the deadlock, which included keeping the seniority of ZPEOs and lecturers separately to avoid chaos and confusion, but that did not materialise due to some unknown reasons.

When contacted, a senior DYSS official said “we do not have the authority to decide on policies regarding the promotion of ZPEOs as district officers and other such issues. There is no denying the fact that the officers are doing a commendable job while serving the department”, he said.

Jammu, February 27
The Minister for Urban Development Nawang Rigzin Jora today reviewed the proposed multi-storeyed parking and upgradation project for General Bus stand, besides two other parking slots proposed to be constructed at City Chowk and Panjthirthi.

The consultant company, Abacus Legal Group, gave a power point presentation for the proposed projects. It was said that the remodelling of General Bus Stand would cost Rs 100 crore, while the construction of parking slots at City Chowk and Panjthirthi would cost Rs 30 crore each.

The project for the General Bus Stand envisages construction of multi-storeyed parking slot and commercial centre with all the latest facilities.

Principal Secretary, Planning, BR Sharma, Commissioner Secretary Housing and Urban Development, Jeet Lal Gupta, divisional commissioner Jammu, Pardeep Gupta, vice-chairperson, Jammu Development Authority, Sirta Chavan and other senior officers were present on the occasion.

While discussing the economic viability of the proposed projects, the meeting laid thrust on having spacious parking slots to cater to the increasing traffic rush in the city.

The meeting observed that owing to fast expansion of the city due to influx of people from other parts of the state, there was a need for futuristic and perspective planning.

Jammu, February 27
Stressing upon the need to preserve the oldest treasure of Gojri language by documenting its folk and modern literature on priority, the participants on the concluding day of the two-day state-level Gojri Literary and Cultural Meet called for speedy development of the language.

Organised by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, the meet was held here at KL Saigal Hall, in which 200 writers, poets, intellectuals, critics and artists from all over the state participated.

Dr Javaid Rahi, chief editor of the State Academy said the suggestions received from the participants for the promotion of Gojri language would be forwarded to relevant quarters for implementations.

The paper-reading session was presided over by Dr Ayaz Rasool Nazki, Regional Director of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, while prominent writer Dr Sabir Mirza, Secretary Academy, Khalid Bashir and Chief Editor Dr Javaid Rahi were in the presidium.

Those who presented their papers on the various aspects of Gujjar Identities included Karam Din Chopra, Fazal Mushtaq and Naseem Poonchi.

Jammu, February 27
A day after The Tribune carried a report about the poor distribution network leading to foodgrain scarcity, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Minister Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan today ordered an inquiry into variation in supply and stocks. The minister suspended storekeeper of Nehru Market godown for not maintaining records.

Meanwhile, the minister also directed the attachment of supervisor, storekeeper and dispatch clerk of Chatta Food Godown.

He also directed the director to take action against the officer and official who accept sub-standard quality of wheat from Food Corporation of India (FCI). He directed that in future, the FCI consignment should be checked before unloading and any officer found allowing sub-standard ration shall face strict action as per law.

The minister conducted surprise inspection of main godowns of the city to check stock position and quality of the foodgrains. He was accompanied by Director Consumer Affairs, Parvize Malik. During the inspection of Nehru Market, the minister took strong note of its dilapidated condition and unhygienic premises. He told the Director CA&PD, Jammu, to immediately start renovation of the premises in coordination with JDA.

While inspecting Chatta Food Godowns, the minister also stressed on facelift of these stores and directed construction of a shed for weigh bridge at the earliest for safety of ration during rainy days. He also inspected the godowns and checked the stock and quality of wheat and rice stocked there.

Taking serious note of the variation in the delivery and dispatch of stocks lifted from FCI Godown for CA&PD godowns and mills, the minister constituted an inquiry committee under the supervision of Deputy Secretary CA&PD to inquire into the discrepancies. The inquiry committee would submits its report within a week time so that action is taken against the erring officials.

Jammu, February 27
Ashwani Kumar clinched the gold in below-55 kg category while Omkar Singh and Ajay Bharti won the silver and bronze respectively, in Jammu District Wrestling Championship, which concluded at Indoor Sports Complex, MA Stadium.

In below-60 kg, the gold, silver and bronze went to Bhushan Mehra, Irif Khan and Rustam Choudhary while in below-66 kg, Lobekesh Singh fetched the gold. Sahil Singh clinched the silver and Hussain Kumar won the bronze in this category.

In below-74 kg, the gold went to Younis Khan while silver and bronze were bagged by Dilbir Singh and Reyzak Ahmed.

Bhadur Khan bagged the gold medal in the below-84 kg category while silver and bronze medals were claimed by Ranbir Singh and Raj Kumar in this category.

In below-96 kg, Javed Khan and Mohammad Akram bagged the gold and silver while in above-96 kg, Ishaq Ahmed bagged the gold while Vijay Kumar claimed the silver medal. — TNS

Jammu, February 27
Wonder World School, Trikuta Nagar, today organised an Intra-School Karate Competition on the school premises here. About 100 students participated in the event, which was held under the supervision of technical director, Manoj Mehra. He was assisted by Amit Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Mandeep Singh and Deepa Sharma.

The karatekas who bagged the gold medals included Jaideep, Tejas, Pehu, Mahi, Jasleen, Nitigya, Divyansh, Hezal, Udita, Sparsh and Anish, while the silver medals went to Aditya, Gurtej, Shivangi, Sanir, Shreya, Prateesh, Vardhan, Sahira, Sargun, Ilarita and Aparmeya. The bronze medals went to Gurseerat, Lakshya, Aarav, Ritvik, Khushboo, Suhani Verma, Harshit, Salvi, Ashmit, Dakash and Akshit.