Jammu, April 2
Junior doctors at the Government Medical College (GMC) and associated hospitals suspended their strike for 72-hours today after assurance by the government to strengthen security in the hospital. Patients heaved a sigh of relief, as they faced lot of problems due to the strike two days back. Attendants of a patient had ransacked the emergency block alleging negligence in his death.

Minister for Medical, Technical Education, Taj-Mohi-Ud-Din, visited the agitating doctors and assured them that more police personnel will be deployed in different wings and inquiry will be ordered against the police personnel.

Meanwhile, the police has constituted a committee to look into the allegations that personnel deployed in the GMC failed to control the situation and fled the spot when the hospital was being ransacked. “We have resumed our duty on the condition that in the next 72 hours, Officer In charge, GMC police post, be removed for not taking action against the people who went berserk and thrashed doctors for no fault of theirs,” said a doctor.

Normal work resumed in the hospital as due to the strike patients had to suffer a lot, as they did not receive medial attention. There was a lot of resentment against the administration for not doing enough to end the stalemate, due to which patients were made to suffer a lot.

Doctors suspended work protesting against thrashing of medical staff and ransacking of the emergency block on Sunday night by family members of the patient who died in the hospital. Only senior doctors were available in wards.

Jammu, April 2
Prevailing chaos and mess in the Government Medical College (GMC) echoed in the Legislative Assembly today as members, cutting across party lines, sought intervention of the government to streamline the functioning of the premier health institute.

With allegations of deaths due to negligence of doctors go on unabated, members of the Assembly today termed the GMC as “slaughter house” and took the government to task for taking the whole issue casually.

During Zero Hour, Chaman Lal Gupta, MLA from Jammu West, raised the issue of prevailing chaotic condition in the medical college. “The GMC has virtually turned into a slaughter house due to failure of the administration to streamline functioning of this institute,” Gupta said. He expressed surprise that all heads of departments have opposed some decision of the Principal GMC but the principal was adamant. He said despite boycott by the HoDs, the Principal was conducting interviews and his action had compounded the already worst condition of the GMC.

National Conference member Bimla Luthra said functioning of this institute-which caters to the needs of Jammu province, had virtually collapsed. She alleged that patients failed to receive proper treatment at the hospital. “Poor patients coming from far-flung areas are bearing the brunt of the prevailing anarchy in the hospital and there is need to take some emergent step,” she said. “Government must take steps to ensure proper treatment for patients at the hospital.”

Ridiculing the decision of the government to provide security to the doctors, Gupta said it was a very serious issue that the government had to provide security to the doctors to protect them from the wrath of patients and their attendants.

Working of the hospital was paralyzed due to mismanagement and chaos, said MLA Bharat Bhushan. “The premises of the GMC has turned into a fighting ring between attendants and doctors every day such incidents do occur,” Bhushan said. “On one hand, the government claims to open super specialty hospital in Jammu but the existing hospital has virtually become defunct,” Gupta said.

Jammu, April 2
Giving another chance to the CAPD department to streamline home delivery of LPG refills, the government has set June 30 deadline to achieve proper delivery system.

It has also asked the distributors to adhere to the new deadline and ensure refills were supplied to consumers by home delivery.

Replying to the questions raised by members in the Legislative Assembly, Minister for CAPD and Transport, Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, said all major towns of the state would be provided home delivery facility for LPG cylinders from June and this facility would be extended to the rural areas as well.

The minister said home delivery of LPG cylinders in capital cities had proved successful and at present 95 per cent consumers of Srinagar city and 92 per cent consumers of Jammu were availing the facility.

Minister said LPG agencies will be set up in all blocks of the state.

He said the government was going to setup 172 new gas agencies in the state and due consideration would be given to each area especially the remote areas in this regard. He said the demand to enhance the LPG cap from 9 to 12 had been already taken up with the Centre.

He said the department enforcement agency had been asked to keep a close eye and check the smooth delivery and distribution of LPG cylinders at all sales outlets.

Under the Regulation and Supplies Violators Rule, the powers have been also vested with the Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners to check the same in their districts.

Replying to the main question, the Minister said general public has been informed through print and electronic media to avail the facility of home delivery by booking their request either personally or telephonically at Srinagar and Jammu.

Jammu, April 2
The All Jammu and Kashmir Paramedical Students Association (AJKPSA) has alleged that it takes four to five years to complete paramedical training, which is of two-year duration. The members have accused the State Medical faculty for the same.

State president of the association, Daksheesh Sharma told the media today that the paramedical students undergoing training in lab, dental, X-ray, opthalmic, pharmacy etc faced numerous problems. He alleged that their examinations were not conducted on time due to the alleged wrong policies of the State Health Medical Faculty.

Daksheesh said the diploma issued after the completion of training designates pass outs as Assistant instead of Junior Technician. He claimed that both Srinagar and Jammu State Medical Faculty had announced to provide scholarships to deserving candidates but nothing significant had been done so far. The association has appealed to the Health Minister to intervene into the matter. The members warned to intensify strikes at all districts headquarters if their demands were not fulfilled.

Jammu, April 2
Five years on, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s brainchild, the Flower Garden at Bhour Camp, has become a mere grazing ground for cattle.

The garden was raised at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore on March 31, 2008. The garden, which has no compound wall, has also not been connected with a proper blacktopped road. “Out of 563 kanal of land, seven varieties of flowers have been cultivated on 207 kanal. Tourists visit the garden in the evening but not on the scale of Kashmir’s Tulip Garden,” said an official of the Floriculture Department.

He admitted that though the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad wanted to see the garden being developed and maintained on the lines of Tulip Garden of Kashmir to promote tourism in Jammu, but after his tenure the Floriculture Department also ran out of steam. “We are maintaining it within the available resources and funds but certainly a lot more can be done,” he said.

The number of gardeners maintaining it has also gone down to 60 from 110 over the years. “We have been engaged on a temporary basis. In the beginning 110 gardeners were engaged but over the years the number has come down to 60,” one of the gardeners said. He said in the absence of a compound wall and security guards, the garden had become a “safe haven” for stray cattle. People from nearby areas leave their cattle inside the garden and we can’t do much to stop them, he said. 

Jammu, April 2
The Department of Public Health Engineering is facing a shortfall of 45,220 casual workers in both divisions of the state which has affected its functioning. The department has 7,390 casual workers for water supply system and maintenance work. Minister for PHE and Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma, told the Legislative Assembly that these causal workers were being given Rs 125 per day.

Replying to a question by Yashpual Kundal, the Minister said to meet the shortfall of staff in the department, 640 vacancies, including vacancies of Ramnagar and Samba constituencies, had been referred to the recruiting agencies concerned for selection.

The minister said 42 schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 65.55 crore were under execution in Ramnagar constituency against which Rs 21.77 crore had been released till date. He said seven Irrigation and Flood Control Schemes at a cost of Rs 13.61 crore were also being executed in the area against which Rs 2.86 crore had been released so far. He said 70 schemes at a cost of Rs 79.74 crore were under construction in Samba constituency for which Rs 30.37 crore had been released. He said work was on for three flood control projects at a cost of Rs 36.19 crore in the area for which Rs 17.94 crore had been released so far.

Jammu, April 2
SM Sahai assumed the charge of Additional DGP Armed here today.

He was given a rousing welcome on his arrival at the Armed Police headquarters here. He was presented with the guard of honour by a contingent of the J&K Armed Police. Immediately after taking over as ADGP Armed, Sahai held a meeting of Jammu based Commandants of AP/IR units.

Sahai was briefed about the functioning of armed police in the winter capital.

Earlier, he inspected various sections of the headquarters and enquired about the functioning and welfare of the personnel.

He exhorted upon the section heads to work with zeal and rejuvenate themselves for the overall development of the J&K Armed Police.

Before assuming the charge of ADGP Armed, Sahai worked on various important assignments notably as the IGP Kashmir Zone, IGP Crime, DIG Rajouri-Poonch range, SSP Jammu and SSP Baramulla.

Jammu, April 2
With Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) failing to curb the influx of adulterated milk in the city, youth wing of the Congress today held a demonstration against corporation and submitted a memorandum demanding action against dairy owners and suppliers of low quality milk to the masses.

Led by state secretary Rajveer Singh, Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) met the Municipal Commissioner and submitted a memorandum against milk adulteration. A large number of youth Congress activists expressed concern over the dumping of adulterated milk and its products in the markets and its harmful affects on the health of people.

Singh demanded a special team for different areas with directions to take on the spot action to stop selling of adulterated milk and start an awareness campaign among the people.

“The prosecuting cell of the JMC should be directed to take an immediate action whenever any complaint is made about the selling of adulterated milk and factories and other establishments should be ordered to check immediately if adulterated milk is found,” memorandum says.

The services of PYC volunteers may also be availed along with field staff of the JMC and police to prevent the adulteration of milk.

The Municipal Commissioner has invited youth Congress activist’s to hold a meeting on Wednesday with municipal officers and administrator, including health officers, food inspectors to discuss the issue. 

Jammu, April 2
The Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI), Jammu, has hailed Finance Minister AR Rather for meeting the deputation of Chamber as a part of the post-budget exercise.

Reacting to the meeting, YV Sharma, president, Chamber said the meeting should have been called earlier before the provisions of the budget were implemented. However, he conveyed his feelings that the Finance Minister was receptive and sympathetic to the suggestions of the CCI.

He said the tax proposals were an ongoing process and could be rescinded, modified and changed as a result of discussions, meetings, critical examinations and interactions.

“The chamber also appreciates the attitude of the Finance Minister that all out efforts would be made to make the Department of Tax business and people friendly and that all the officials of the Commercial Tax Department have been instructed to deal with businessmen very leniently, politely and respectfully,” he said.

The chamber also welcomes announcement of the Finance Minister that efforts would be made not to detain the goods at Lakhanpur and Tax Department would be fully computerised in due course of time. Chamber also welcomes the announcement of the Finance Minister that officers of great honesty and integrity would be employed to address the grievances of the people. 

Jammu, April 2
Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir today informed the House that there are three sub-divisional offices in Kathua district, which are located in Billawar, Basohli and Dayala Chak. At present the Dayala Chak sub-divisional office caters to Kathua tehsil and there was no separate sub-divisional office at Kathua.

He said the Dayala Chak sub-divisional office, about 25 km from the district headquarters, was 10-15 km away from from rest of the villages falling in Kathua tehsil.

The average distance covered by a farmer to reach the existing sub-divisional office was about 30-37 km, but places like Keerain Gandial, which had 100 per cent irrigated agriculture land and more than 90 per cent population engaged in the agriculture sector, was located at more than 60 km away from existing sub-divisional headquarters which makes it quite inconvenient for the farmers to access agriculture extension services, said the minister. — TNS

Jammu, April 2
Panun Kashmir (PK), a frontal organisation of displaced Kashmiri Hindus, today demanded disbanding of rehabilitation policy for terrorists, who are living in Pakistan and want to return back to the Kashmir valley.

They have termed the policy as flawed, saying that militants would revive militancy in the state.

The political affairs committee of the organisation held a meeting to deliberate upon its responses to the emerging political scenario in the state. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prof ML Raina, chairman, Political Affairs Committee.

Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, president, PK, said the policy of the state government for the rehabilitation of the terrorists, who have gone across the border to Pakistan for the arms training, was highly flawed and fraught with dangerous consequences.

“There seem to be no checks and balances and no coordination between various security agencies dealing with the situation. Moreover, the policy involves the governments of three countries viz, India, Pakistan and Nepal,” Chrungoo said.

He alleged that militants, who have taken benefits under the policy, had again gone underground and there was every likelihood that they might have gone back to Pakistan for recycling and advanced training.

Chrungoo said recent killing of panches and sarpanches and attacks on the security forces could be a direct result of the skewed policy. The silence of the Government of India on the issue was intriguing and tantamount to its policy failure and reminds one of the release of 77 dreaded terrorists in Kashmir in 1989 that was followed by a steep rise in terrorism, and an explosive situation ensued thereafter.

Raina said the issue of rehabilitation policy should be viewed in the larger context of the Kashmir situation. The Kashmiri Pandits as victims of terrorism were languishing for more than two decades. 

Jammu, April 2
Governor NN Vohra inaugurated a painting exhibition by Dr RK Sharma, a physician and local artiste of Jammu, at Kala Kendra, here this evening.

Governor and his wife Usha Vohra went around the exhibition and evinced keen interest in the artistic creations.

The Governor observed that Dr Sharma, being a busy physician, deserves congratulations for finding time to do creative work and be an artiste. They complimented Dr Sharma for his creative talents and wished him many years of creative artistic work ahead.

About 26 attractive paintings are on display at the exhibition which will remain open for public viewing for the next three days.

Among those present on the occasion were Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor, Savita Bakshi, Additional Secretary, J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, artists, writers, academicians, art lovers and prominent citizens. 

Katra, April 2
In its continued efforts to uplift unemployed youth of the region, the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, located at Sarh under the aegis of Rashtriya Rifles Sector, started a two-week long cadre on vehicle repair and welding for the youth belonging to Mahore sub-division of Reasi district.

The cadre commenced at Sarh today, which was inaugurated by the Commander of Mahore Garrison.

As many as 10 youth from the remote villages will undergo this cadre. All the selected youth are school dropouts and belong to poor families. They will be taught repair techniques and nuances of mechanics of a vehicle. They will be also be taught to carry out gas welding.

Addressing the youth, the Commander of Mahore Garrison complimented the youth for availing the opportunity and asked them to make full use of the same.

The Commanding Officer assured that the best possible training would be imparted to them. He asked them to make optimum use of the same and earn a living for themselves.

Jammu, April 2
The Department of Law got the better of the Department of Geology by 3-2 in the summit clash to clinch the inter-department volleyball tournament at the University of Jammu grounds here.

The set score read 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 23-25 and 17-15. For the Department of Law, Ashwani, Mohit Sharma, Anshu Mahajan and Aman Bhagat played outstandingly while Neeraj Kumar and Sanjeev Sharma were the star spikers from the Department of Geology. The match was officiated by Mulkh Raj Sharma, Imtiaz Ahmad and Stanzin.

In chess, the MCA Department had the last laugh against the Law Department in the finals to bag the top honours.

In cricket, the Environmental Science Department toppled the Buddhist Department by a whopping margin of 80 runs. Batting first after winning the toss, the Environmental Science Department accumulated 208 runs in the allotted quota of 20 overs.

Sajad was the top scorer with 72 runs while Ranjan and Arvind contributed 53 and 27 runs, respectively. For the Buddhist Department, Varender and Vikram grabbed three and two wickets, respectively.

In reply, the Buddhist Department could manage only 128 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Varender played a gutsy knock of 54 runs while Surinder and Stanzin made 13 and 15 runs, respectively. For the Environmental Science Department, Sumit and Pankaj shared two wickets apiece while Sajad, Arvind and Ranjan scalped a wicket each.

In another match, the Physics and Electronics Department overcame the challenge of the Maths Department by eight wickets. Batting first, Maths Department garnered 99 runs in 16.1 overs. Amit Jasrotia was the highest scorer with 41 runs. For the Physics and Electronics Department, Narotam and Ashok Singh were the chief destroyers with three wickets apiece while Nitin took two wickets.

In reply, the Physics and Electronics Department overhauled the target in 13.3 overs losing just two wickets in the process. Rakesh Prashar made 33 runs while Mukesh and Deepak scored 19 and 14 runs, respectively.

For the Maths Department, Minkal and Romesh snared a wicket each.

Jammu, April 2
Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather launched e-post and fax post services in the state for transmission and delivery of greetings and messages.

The new services were launched at a function held at Gandhi Nagar Head Post here today. The minister also released the J&K Postal Circle’s Calendar for 2013-2014 depicting the rich diversity and beauty of the state.

Rather lauded the steps taken by the Department of Posts (DoP), especially John Samuel, Chief Postmaster General, J&K, for improving the postal services in the state.

“Since Samuel has taken the command of the postal establishment in the state, things in the department have changed rapidly. He has infused a new sense of enthusiasm among the postal employees which is quite evident from visible change in their working,” the minister said.

Rather launched the e-Post service by sending message to all postmasters of the state, adding that such services would prove a boon for the rural areas. The minister added that the post offices had wider reach than the banks.

Chief Postmaster General John Samuel said the Department of Posts, J&K Circle, was keen in development work of the state and making an extra effort for bringing the post offices closer to the people.

Briefing about the new services e-post/fax post, Samuel said through e-post, customers could send their greetings and messages to any address in the state and country. He said, earlier, there were telegrams to send instant messages when modes of communication were limited but now e-post had replaced them.

He informed that it was for the first time in the state that the e-post greetings had been introduced.