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No let-up in suicide cases
Lal Ded Hospital gets ICU facility
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2,442 students awarded degrees
Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Shailender Kumar awards a degree on the 26th convocation of IGNOU Regional Centre in Srinagar on Friday. Photo: Yawar Kabli
Dilapidated roads
Erroneous land records leave Handwara farmers high and dry
Amnesty demands release of two youths held under PSA
PDP hits out at CM’s political secretary Sadiq
DGP lays foundation of Crime Branch complex
Mahindra First Choice Wheels opens dealership in Anantnag
Work on multi-level parking begins
Bar team visits Kishtwar Dist Jail
Educational institute holds dental camp
A dentist examines schoolchildren during the dental check-up camp in Srinagar on Friday. A Tribune
photograph
3 injured in road accidents
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No let-up in suicide cases
Srinagar, April 12 A teenaged girl, resident of Haril village of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, committed suicide by consuming poison at her home, a police spokesman said today. The 17-year-old girl, whose name has not been disclosed, was shifted to the District Hospital, Handwara, where she died. The police has registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC and initiated inquest proceedings to determine the cause and circumstances of the death. She is the fifth teenager to commit suicide this month so far and also the third teenager to end her life in this week alone. In another incident, a 26-year-old woman consumed poison at her home in Kralpora area of Kupwara district. The woman, whose name has also not been disclosed, was shifted to Sub-District Hospital Kralpora where doctors declared her brought dead, the police spokesman said. The third suicide attempt was made by a special police officer (SPO) identified as Mohammad Maqbool, a resident of Salamabad of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the spokesman said. Maqbool consumed poison and was shifted to Sub-District Hospital at Uri from where he has been referred to SKIMS hospital in the city here. The sudden spurt in suicides in recent days has been alarming as most of those ending there lives are turning up to be teenagers. While a 15-year-old boy Imran Ahmad Khan of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district committed suicide by hanging himself on April 1, an 18-year-old girl of Gund Ibrahim village near Pattan town of Baramulla town hanged herself on April 4. A 16-year-old girl also attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison at her house in Gundpora village of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on April 4 but she was immediately rushed to a hospital where she was saved by the doctors. Earlier this week on April 8, a 14-year-old boy, identified as Mudassar Ahmad Shah of Chandseer village of Baramulla district, became the third teenager to commit suicide when he hanged himself at his home. On April 10, a 17-year-old girl committed suicide at her home in Baramulla district. The suicidal tendencies are not limited to a particular age group in the region. It was evident on April 6 when a 70-year-old woman committed suicide by hanging herself at her house in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Suicides in Kashmir have picked up drastically in recent years, which psychiatrists attribute to a range of issues, including relationship stress, marital discord, family strain and unavailability of employment options. A sociologist, who has studied the suicidal trends of the region, said nearly 60 per cent of those who end their lives are women and most are in the age group of 15-35. Disturbing trends
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Lal Ded Hospital gets ICU facility
Srinagar, April 12 “The Lal Ded Hospital has been equipped with an ICU facility for the betterment of patient care,” the spokesman said. Local legislator Nasir Aslam Wani, principal of GMC, Srinagar, Dr Rafiq Pampori, Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah, SMC Commissioner Dr GN Qasba and Medical Superintendent of Lal Ded Hospital Dr Mushtaq Ahmad were also present at the function. The spokesman said the Health Minister had been “pushing for improvement and upgrade of tertiary care hospitals” in the state ever since he took over. Lal Ded Hospital is the oldest maternity facility in the Kashmir valley while six other maternity hospitals of the Valley, located in Ganderbal district and two others in the city, here have been constructed in recent years. The health sector of the region witnessed a grim phase last year when several hundred infants died at a children hospital in the city. An official inquiry later blamed administrative mismanagement and poor infrastructure at the hospital for the high number of infant deaths. Since then, the state government has taken a few measures to upgrade the infrastructure at the hospitals. The Health Minister also inaugurated an extended ward of the labour room, the spokesman said. The extended ward will add a “bunch of newly furbished 16 beds to the labour room of the hospital”, the spokesman said adding the minister also reviewed the progress of the work of 200-bedded extended block of the hospital. “He (Mohiuddin) asked the engineers to work round- -the-clock to complete the project so that the patients get much-needed relief. He also advised them to complete all engineering works at the block before it is handed over to the hospital administration,” the spokesman said. New Facilities
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2,442 students awarded degrees
Srinagar, April 12 Three girl students Hina Khan, Sandeep Kaur and Taniya Kirmani were awarded gold medals for their meritorious academic performances whereas a PhD (Doctorate) degree was awarded to Damsaz Ali in the subject of history. The degrees, along with the medals, were given away by Shailendra Kumar, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, who was the chief guest on the occasion, Prof Tej Pratap, Vice-Chancellor of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (Kashmir) and Dr Nurul Hassan, Director, IGNOU Regional centre. Kumar, while congratulating the meritorious students, stressed on taking the distance mode of education, under IGNOU programmes, to every nook and corner of the Valley so that the literacy rate was improved. “We might not have colleges and Universities in many areas of the state. But that does not mean the people should remain uneducated. Distance learning courses are meant for such people and they should avail maximum benefits out of it,” Kumar said. He added that the courses being offered by IGNOU should extend to every discipline so that students could study the courses of their choice. He welcomed the initiative of IGNOU’s Regional Centre, Kashmir, of introducing language courses. Prof Pratap, who was the guest of honour, said over the last few decades, it was distance learning courses of IGNOU which had revolutionised the education sector of the country and had helped improve the literacy levels in rural areas. “IGNOU programmes have proved to be vital in fostering education in this country. Various South Asian countries and even European nations fully acknowledge the IGNOU courses, which also provides opportunities for students to seek employment in these countries,” he said. Dr Hassan, extended his gratitude to the guests on the occasion and highlighted the increasing enrolments of students at IGNOU, Regional Centre, Kashmir, from 11,129 in 2011 to nearly 15,000 in 2012. He said in 2013, enrolments were expected to be even higher as 5,000 students had already enrolled in the January session. |
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Kupwara residents demand repair work, re-carpeting
Amin Masoodi
Kupwara, April 12 “The road has remained unattended for the past many years and has become non-motorable. We are forced to cover the 3-km-distance till Goonipora village on the foot and from there we board vehicle for Kupwara,” said Rafiq Ahmad. Another resident Mawali Khan said, “The road is dotted with large potholes. In spite of the repeated pleas to the Beacon and the Roads and Buildings Department, the road has not been taken up for repairs for the past over ten years.” They said the Trumbnard stream, flowing through Batpora, had breached the road at several places and in the absence of drainage facility, the water was flowing over the road, damaging it further. “The stream water dumps small stones and mud, making the road slippery and accident-prone. We are forced to ferry patients to Gonipora health centre on stretches,” said Shabir Ahmad. The drivers of passenger vehicles said they were forced to suspend the services last year as their vehicles had suffered extensive damages due to the worn-out roads. "Our vehicles suffered heavy damage due to the poor condition of the road. We were left with no option but to suspend the service. Our business is running into losses but we are helpless and cannot do anything unless road is re-carpeted and made motorable,” said Mohd Sadiq, a driver. They locals said after failing to repair the road, the R&B Department had handed over the stretch to 109 Road construction company of Beacon but the company had also ignored the stretch. "After taking over the road from the R&B department, Beacon authorities conducted a fresh survey of the stretch via Balakoot to avoid the uphill distance. After few weeks of work on the road, Beacon never took up the work, leaving the locals high and dry" Imtiyaz Ahmad, a local said.
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Erroneous land records leave Handwara farmers high and dry
Handwara, April 12 The Revenue Department has made grave errors in the land records of these farmers leaving them high and dry. In one such instance, six kanals belonging to Sardar Khan, son of Buland Khan, is shown against the name of Sardar Khan, son of Inayat Khan, in the revenue records. The farmers said errors made in the land records had led to infighting between many families in the village. They said despite giving a written representation to the Chief Minister for seeking correction in erroneous land records, the settlement office Kashmir has failed to make necessary changes and set the records straight. “From Kupwara Deputy Commissioner to Chief Minister, we have made written representations for seeking necessary corrections in the land records but it has been more than three years that the records have not been corrected. The errors in records have led to infighting between many families and many are apprehensive of losing their land, which is the only source of livelihood for them,” said Maidan Chogal sarpanch Habibullah. “Except framing committees and making correspondence between tehsildar Settlement Handwara and land settlement officer Kashmir, nothing has been done to date,” he added. Vide letter no 302/SOK-ADM/1525-77 dated March 10, 2011, Kashmir settlement officer under the subject “verification of land records” wrote to Handwara assistant settlement officer to supervise the team personally and submit the report along with recommendations before March 18, 2011. The officer, however, failed to submit the report prolonging the verification of records, locals said. Few other officials who are part of the verification team said at least 680 khasra numbers (revenue numbers) have been wrongly entered and needed to be corrected. |
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Amnesty demands release of two youths held under PSA
Srinagar, April 12 Asif Mujeed Shaksaz, aged 15 and Sajad Ahmad Mir, 16, both hailing from Srinagar, were arrested by the police for “stone-pelting” and “disruption of peace” on March 25 and March 8, respectively. However, they were subsequently detained and booked under the PSA, the Amnesty said in a statement while calling for their immediate release. “They have been detained under the PSA. The J&K police has not clarified whether they are held in regular prisons with adults or in designated juvenile homes in accordance with the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice Act (JKJJA),” the Amnesty International said. Earlier on April 1, the Amnesty had launched a worldwide online campaign asking Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to show zero tolerance towards human rights violation and end the abuse of the PSA by revoking it altogether from the state. “The J&K authorities must end the detention of these two children without charge. If they are charged for any offences, they must be tried in accordance with the rules of Juvenile Justice,” said Shashikumar Velath, director of programmes, Amnesty International India, in a statement. “Instead of repealing the PSA and ending the entire system of administrative detention, the Jammu and Kashmir authorities are continuing to detain even children without any charge. Recently, we have received three reports of children being held under the PSA,” Velath said. The Amnesty says, in these two cases, the authorities claim that the two boys are 19 years old, disregarding documentation and testimony from families that strongly indicates that they (boys) are younger than 18. ”Copies of the school records of Asif Mujeed Shaksaz in the Amnesty International’s possession show his date of birth as 30 April 1997, making him a few weeks short of 16 years,” the Amnesty said. While no records are available for Sajad Ahmad Mir - his birth was not registered and he has never been enrolled in a school - the Amnesty said, “according to his family he is only 16 years old”. “The Committee on the Rights of the Child - which is the authoritative body that interprets the UN Convention - has stated that where there is conflicting, inconclusive or uncertain evidence of the child’s age, he/she shall have the right to the rule of the benefit of the doubt,” the rights group added. Stating that these two cases are the “latest examples” of the police arresting and detaining children claiming they are adults, the rights group has called for investigation in these two cases by the J&K authorities. ”The J&K authorities must investigate the ongoing detention of the two boys as well as this broader practice to ensure that any unlawful detention of children is ended,” said Velath. HIGHLIGHTS
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PDP hits out at CM’s political secretary Sadiq
Srinagar, April 12 The PDP in a statement termed Sadiq a “contractual government employee”, saying he is being paid by Omar Abdullah only to “abuse” the Opposition. “PDP has taken a strong exception to a contractual government employee issuing statements on behalf of the Chief Minister against senior political leaders and the main opposition party,” the PDP said in a statement yesterday. Referring to the meaningless, impolite and indecent diatribe by Sadiq against senior leaders of the party, the PDP youth wing general secretary Nazir Yatoo today asked the government to explain as to how a contractual employee was allowed to issue political statements, the statement said. "Government must come out with an explanation as to how political tirades are carried out by a contractual employee who gets his salary from the state treasury," Yatoo quoted in the statement. Sadiq's only claim to political genius so far has been his election as a corporator in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation on the PDP’s ticket, the statement added. “Yatoo said it would always baffle even friends of the NC as to what political assistance he could provide to the Chief Minister of the J&K state but that would have been an issue only for the party to resolve if the political secretary was not receiving a fat monthly salary of Rs 80,000 apart from other perks like a fleet of cars and official residence,” the PDP statement said. “Given such 'high calibre' political assistance at such a heavy cost to the state exchequer, it is no wonder the Chief Minister has been functioning the way he is,” Yatoo further quoted in the statement. Yatoo said, “The National Conference has always been treating the state as a private estate but the brazen use of the office as in the case of Sadiq only exposes the party's depleting intellectual and political resources”. “He said appointment of people like Sadiq through the back door on huge salaries is an affront to the large number of unemployed youth in the state,” the statement added.
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DGP lays foundation of Crime Branch complex
Srinagar, April 12 The DGP was speaking at a function organised by the Police Housing Corporation, in connection with the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the
seven-storey building complex for JK Crime Branch Headquarters at Sheikhpora, in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, on Thursday. Parsad said the works had been executed by
the corporation under the modernisation and alternate accommodation programme of the Police organisation. “Under the programme, various construction works have been taken up in each district of the state, with special focus on meeting the requirements of jawans and officers working in different areas of the state,” the police chief said. He stressed upon the officers and executing agencies, who were present on the occasion, to ensure utilisation of quality material in the construction works. He appreciated the efforts of the Housing Corporation and engineers of the Police Construction Division for completing the works in record period of time. The Managing Director of the Police Housing Corporation, Dilbagh Singh, Inspector General (IG), Crime, SJM Geelani and Executive Engineer Nisar Ahmed Bhat explained the drawing plan of the building to the DGP. He was informed that the building was spread over four kanals and the estimated cost of construction was Rs 10.50 crore. IGP Kashmir AG Mir, DIG ND Wani, DIG Afadul Mujtaba, DIG Sheikh Abdul Hamid, SSP Syed Ashiq Hussian Bukhari, SSP Uttam Chand and SSP Syed Kifyat Hyder Razvi were also present on the occasion. |
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Mahindra First Choice Wheels opens dealership in Anantnag
Anantnag, April 12 The dealership is located on the National Highway, Harnag, Anantnag, and will offer the entire range of services for customers, including purchase and sale of certified used cars, car finance and insurance, car accessories and assistance with paperwork and documentation. He said the company was well positioned to tap the potential of the certified used car market in this region. “The used car industry often focuses only on the car transaction and not on the total experience of car-ownership. With this new store, we hope to change this perception and create a unique experience for the certified used-car consumer, right from the point of entry till the final exit from our showrooms,” Chadha said. “Since its inception in 2008, Mahindra First Choice Wheels has maintained a reputation as a trustworthy and credible player in the Indian certified used-car market and I am sure the customers in Anantnag will benefit from the expertise,” said Shoaib Sumji, Dealer Principal, South Sales and Service. |
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Work on multi-level parking begins
Srinagar, April 12 An area of 3,472 sq mt has been taken over from the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) where the car parking facility will be built. It will also include a three-storeyed commercial complex comprising office space, public toilets and shops for rehabilitation of the offices and shopkeepers which were present at the proposed parking site. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the first week of April between the Srinagar Development Authority and J&K ERA after which the construction work took off. On completion, this facility is expected to provide hassle-free parking for cars and prevent frequent clogging of traffic in the city hub which also leads to fuel wastage besides increasing levels of air
pollution. Besides smooth movement of vehicles, the traffic management in the city is also expected to improve. The frequent roadside parking, which leads to recurrent traffic jams in Srinagar, is also supposed to end once the parking facility is ready to use. The contract for this project has been bagged by M/s Simplex Projects Limited, a national level construction company. |
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Bar team visits Kishtwar Dist Jail
Srinagar, April 12 “In view of the permission sought by the Bar Association from the high court, a team of the Bar Association was constituted to visit different jails in Jammu. In this regard, a team of six lawyers visited the District Jail, Kishtwar, today,” the Bar spokesman said. The team assured the inmates that legal assistance would be provided to them by the Bar. This was the first ever visit of the association to the said jail, the spokesman added. “The team will arrive in Srinagar on Saturday and subsequently the association would release a detailed report regarding the condition of the detainees and the undertrials lodged in these jails,
including the District Jail, Kishtwar,” he said. The six-member team which visited Kishtawar jail included Bar vice-president Aijaz Bedar, joint secretary Shabir Ahmad Butt, treasurer Bilal Ahmad Wani, Bar member Rafiq Ahmad Joo, executive members Arshid Andrabi and Mohammad Syed. Earlier in January, a five-member Bar team had visited many jails in the region to see the condition of various political prisoners detained in these jails. The team had subsequently released a comprehensive report about its visits. |
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Educational institute holds dental camp
Srinagar, April 12 Organised under the aegis of the Valley’s renowned dental surgeon Dr Mushtaq A Khan, the camp evoked warm response and a large number of people and school students attended the camp. “It is a significant service to mankind, I visited the camp for the consultation and found it satisfactory,” said Abdul Rashid, a local resident. He further added that such camps should be organised in the future also. On the occasion, free medicines, tooth pastes, mouth washes, tooth brushes and many dental implants and dentures were provided to the people. The step was lauded by the people and the authorities were urged to organise more such camps. “The main motive of the camp was to provide free services to the people and to children of varied age groups,” said Dr Mushtaq A Khan. He added that such camps were regularly organised for the benefit of the needy people. |
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3 injured in road accidents
Srinagar, April 12 In south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, a tractor rammed into a tree
at Dhamhal-Khushipora injuring tractor driver Arif Ahmad Chopan and Amin Fayaz. Both have been hospitalised, a police spokesman said. |
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At the auditorium of the Government College of Education, MA Road, Srinagar, the 26th Annual Convocation of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Regional Centre, Kashmir, was held today in which 2,442 students of various disciplines were awarded degrees. The function was held at 66 regional centres of IGNOU all across the country today.
Srinagar, April 12
