Srinagar, February 27
Dilapidated roads and lanes of Srinagar city are proving to be a nuisance for local residents, especially when snowfall and rain has become a common feature. Following overnight spell of snow and rain on Tuesday, once again the vital roads in the city were immersed in water and many residences in the old city (downtown Srinagar) remained flooded with drain water pouring in from leakages in the drainage system.

Many shops, bus stops and transport yards in the city were inundated with rainwater on Wednesday morning that irked the local residents who had to wade through the accumulated water.

Traffic was disrupted at a number of places in the city giving a tough time to policemen as well as commuters.

The city does not have conventional rainwater sewers. However, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has put into usage 72 pump stations and 28 de-watering mobile pumps since last week which are proving to be insufficient in addressing the waterlogging problems.

The local residents blamed the Roads and Buildings Department (R&B) equally for the waterlogging problems due to little repair of damaged roads in the city.

“As the road construction or repair works go on during summers only, the R&B department has not been effectively doing its work which leads to problems in winters with usual occurrence of snowfall and rain,” said Pervez Ahmad, a Srinagar-based shopkeeper, adding that the taxes being paid by them were not channelised in up gradation of infrastructure for public convenience.

“Every year, we hear about crores of rupees being funded under various Central-sponsored schemes for road repair work but nothing has been achieved so far,” he added.

During rainfall or snow, problems become worse for downtown Srinagar residents where the sewerage system in a majority of areas is still open which enters houses.

“We have time and again urged the district administration to replace the existing sewer system with that of closed sewer lines, but nothing has happened so far. Imagine, if this is the plight of city residents, what would be the condition in villages?” asks Mubeen Bhat, a resident of Bohri Kadal area in Srinagar.

According to the statistics with the State Housing and Urban Development Department, a sewage treatment plant of 60 MD capacity is being constructed with 60 per cent of the work already having been completed. The project also includes laying of trunk, lateral and raider sewer lines across a major residential and commercial areas of the city as well as providing house connections.

Srinagar, February 27
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed the Selection Board (SSB) to complete the selection process in non-gazetted services in the Health and Medical Education Departments on fast-track basis.

The court also asked the Secretary, SSB, to file a compliance report in this regard within four weeks.

These directions were issued by a Division Bench of the high court on Tuesday, which is hearing a public interest litigation filed in the wake of infants death at the GB Pant Children Hospital.

In December last, the court had directed the SSB to complete the selection process of paramedical staff in non-gazetted category for the GB Pant Hospital by January 31, 2013.

“At request, four weeks further time is granted to the Secretary, J&K SSB, to complete the selection process in respect of the non-gazetted staff of Health Services Department and Medical Education Department on fast track basis”, the bench comprising Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Justice Hasnain Massodi said in its six-page detailed orders.

The Bench further directed the Secretary to file a compliance report in this regard within four weeks.

Besides, the bench had also directed the Medical Superintendent (MS) of GB Pant Children’s Hospital, Srinagar, to file a report about strengthening of the infrastructure at the hospital.

“Dr Muneer Masoodi, MS, GB Pant Hospital, is directed to file a fresh status report about further steps taken to strengthen the infrastructure in the hospital and also about providing the manpower. The compliance report be filed within four weeks”, the bench said.

In the wake of high infant mortality in the hospital, the high court is monitoring day-to-day working and other developments of the hospital, the only tertiary care children hospital in Kashmir.

Srinagar, February 27
If you want to know about the ancient Sharada script or get an account of the making of popular Kashmiri film of the yesteryears - Habba Khatoon, then “E-Ladi Shah” is the answer. “Ladi Shah” - Valley’s travelling minstrels may have become history but now Kashmir’s oral history is getting digitised in a different form in tune with the present times.

Brainchild of Dr Khurshid A. Guru, who is based in the US, the “Ladi Shah Project” was conceived in 2009. After starting recording accounts of a cross section of people in the summer of 2011, a website www.ladishahproject.org was launched the next year with an effort to preserve Kashmir’s oral history and culture.

In less than a year after launching the website, the project team digitally documented around 450 voices that give a glimpse of the fascinating facets of the Kashmir's rich culture and history.

Oral historian Iliyas Rizvi, a member of the team, said the project was like an “E-Ladi Shah”.

“In the folk tradition of Kashmir, Ladi Shah was the travelling minstrel who used satire and songs to address social and political views of their time. They used to travel around and Ladi Shah used to be a major source of entertainment and also tell stories related to history, culture and the social scene. Now that Ladi Shah cannot be found, we have created an E-Ladi Shah of sorts as our website tells diverse stories covering varied aspects of Kashmir,” he said.

He said the project team concentrated on the oral history of Kashmir and had tried to document facts that were not usually available in books.

Going through the interviews conducted in Kashmiri language, one can come across a bundle of interesting and perhaps forgotten aspects of the history and culture of the Valley. For example, Prof Triloki Nath Ganjoo, a scholar of the ancient Sharada script used in both Kashmiri and Sanskrit writings, dwells upon the origins and decline of the 2,200-year-old script, noting its use in such seminal texts as the Rajatarangini (Chronicle of Kings), an account of Kashmir's early monarchs written by 12th century historian and poet Kalhana. Prof Ganjoo had also spoken of how Valley had developed into a prominent centre of theology, with various religious traditions becoming part and parcel of Kashmiri culture.

Similarly, the website also has an account of the making of black and white film Habba Khatoon in mid 1970s. Recalling the difficulties faced by the crew at that time, director/producer of the film Bashir Budgami narrated: “We had just one camera and a jeep for the entire crew….others would travel on their own by bus. We used a wooden stick instead of a boom rod. We lacked facilities and the budget was just Rs 22,000.”

Among others, the website has also documented fascinating accounts of people like Haji Abdul Sattar Gagroo, one of the oldest milkmen in the city, and Kulsama Kanihama, the manager of a workshop where ‘Kani’ shawls are made. Kanihama has spoken about her efforts to revive this dying art of shawl-making.

Poet and satirist Zarief Ahmad Zarief also dwells upon the importance of “Ladi Shah” in the yesteryears and how they spoke about various incidents of the past including how locals reacted when they first saw an aeroplane.

Meanwhile, Rizvi said a team of three persons was documenting oral history across the Valley while the website was managed by other members of the project in the US.

Srinagar, February 27
As schools are gearing up to reopen after more than two months long winter break, parents and children are a worried lot due to poor quality of heating arrangements in a majority of government and private schools in the Valley.

In the wake of winter chill returning to the Valley, parents are apprehensive about inadequate heating arrangements in the schools which might make children prone to various health risks.

However, the state government today ordered the schools in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions to reopen on March 12, earlier the schools were to be opened on March 4.

Parents said due to extreme winter conditions in the Valley, the authorities should either delay the re-opening of schools or provide necessary facilities to the children.

Official statistics with the School Education Department paints a grim picture too as far as the basic facilities in the schools are concerned.

As per the data, 77 per cent schools in the state lack toilets and 64 per cent lack drinking water facilities.

“At a time when the school infrastructure in the state is at a low, expecting quality heating arrangements from the government would be asking for too much,” said Qurat-ul-Ain, an academician.

However, the private schools which charge reasonably higher fees for both tuition and infrastructure facilities have also failed to provide the heating facilities to the children.

In a majority of the Valley’s private schools, some temporary arrangements (coal heaters) are usually in place for kindergarten sections and the teaching faculty.

For the rest of the students, no heating arrangements are provided.

Problems for students in government schools are even worse, some schools are housed in “kuccha” buildings in rural areas and do not have any heating arrangements at all.

“Even windows and doors of our school buildings are broken. So, there is no question of the heating arrangements being provided when the basic classroom facility isn't there,” said a teacher of Government High School, Wathura Budgam.

Kulgam, February 27
Kulgam district on Wednesday became the first district in South Kashmir to have introduced the new Pentavalent vaccine.

The Deputy Commissioner (DC), Kulgam, Mir Jahangir launched the new comprehensive vaccine at the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) office.

Five children were administered the vaccine to mark its beginning, reports said.

The latest pentavalent vaccine replaces the DPT and Hepatitis-B with additional HIB vaccine that immunises children against five virulent ailments, including influenza.

The newly introduced vaccine is not only baby-friendly but would also de-burden the pockets of the general people for being free of cost and readily available at the government health centres.

In the first phase, the vaccine has been kept available at district hospitals and all the 19 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the Kulgam district.

Speaking on the occasion, the DC encouraged the medicos to ensure that the vaccine is fanned out to all the health sub-centres within a month.

“From now on, all children must be administered Pentavalent at their nearest health institute,” he DC.

Jahangir said every effort needed to be initiated to ensure that the children were immunised as per the government policy with focus on cut-off areas.

Among others, Chief Medical Officer Dr Ashiq Hussain Mir, Additional Superintendant of Police, BMOs and prominent citizens were present at the function.

Srinagar, February 27
The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL), Kargil, today organised a multilingual composite Mushaira at Academy Hall, Baroo, in Kargil.

Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Ali Tak, Cultural officer, Kargil, said the mushaira was organised as a part of the academy’s initiative to give impetus to the art of poetry in vernacular languages. He said the objective of the poetic sitting was also to attract the budding poets to share platform with their seniors so that they got an opportunity to polish their talents under their guidance.

On the occasion, 22 poets from different parts of the Kargil district delivered their poetic renderings in Balti, Purgi, Shina and Urdu languages. The mushaira was presided over by noted local Balti poet and writer Haji Sadiq Ali Sadiq.

Sadiq, on behalf of the poets and writers of Kargil, congratulated the academy for organising the poetic sitting.

Besides Sadiq, the poets who recited their verses included Haji Muhammad Baqir, Ghulam Ahmed Khan Jawan, Bashir Ahmed Wafa, Akhone Asgar Ali Basharat, Muhammad Ibrahim Rahee, Muhammad Ali Khumar and Muhammad Abbass Zameer among others.

Srinagar, February 27
The Army came to the rescue of a distressed family by saving the life of an ailing woman, with timely blood donation at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Sogam area of Kupwara district of north Kashmir.

A defence spokesman said Abdul Rashid Rather of Gund Mancher, Lolab, was running from pillar to post for AB+ blood for his 27-year-old daughter Adafan Jaan. She was struggling for her life and urgently needed blood.

He had approached all his relatives and villagers for help but could not find donor for the blood type. When he was at the verge of losing hope and his daughter, he remembered the local Army unit and called for help.

The Commanding Officer of the local Army unit immediately tasked his unit doctor (RMO) and nursing staff to find donors of the AB+ blood group to assist the individual. RMO, 28 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, along with five blood donors, rushed to Sogam hospital to save the life of the girl.

The precious life was saved by the timely action of the Army personnel, strengthening the bond between the Army and the people of the Valley.

Srinagar, February 27
The Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K,) bagged the third position in the All-India Entrance Examination for Admission (AIEEA) to Post Graduate (PG) and award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

University’s 27 scholars qualified the examinations for admission to PG courses and research fellowships.

The GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (32) and University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (28) bagged the first and the second place respectively. All-India Entrance Examination for Admission to PG and award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) is conducted every year by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research across the country. The number of JRFs produced in the examinations is taken as the yardstick to assess the performance and brand value of the universities.

Every year, three universities with highest JRF qualifications are felicitated by ICAR.

In recognition to this achievement, Tej Partap, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-K received a memento from Sharad Pawar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Food Processing, at New Delhi during the recently concluded Conference of Vice-Chancellors of Agricultural Universities of the country.

Anantnag, February 27
The police has seized two bags of poppy from a residential house here in Munghal village of the district.

According to police reports, the residential house of one Sajad Ahmad Malik, son of Khursheed Ahmad, a resident of the Munghal village in Anantnag, was raided by a police party today.

“We managed to seize two bags of poppy from the house,” a police press note read.

A case bearing number 45/2013 under Section 8/20 of the NDPS Act, was registered in this regard.

The police said further investigation was going on in the matter.