|
|
|
|
|
Govt fails to place on record details of fee-fixation panel
9,000 kg polythene seized in Lower Munda area
SMC to launch second phase of anti-encroachment drive soon
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Officials told to stop construction of tube wells
Power cuts trip computer education in north Kashmir
T20 tourney begins at KU
National Conference
to observe May Day
TCS launches recruitment drive
10 hurt in accidents
|
|
Govt fails to place on record details of fee-fixation panel
Srinagar, April 30 On April 15, the high court had directed the government to place appointment orders of the chairman of high-powered fee-fixation panel and names of other committee members on record within two weeks. These directions were issued by a Division Bench of the high court comprising Justice Mansoor A Mir and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Parents Coordination Committee, which is seeking regulation and fixation of fee structure in private schools in the state. Director, School Education, Kashmir, Mohammad Shafi Rather, in his compliance report filed before the court during a previous hearing had disclosed the names of two retired high court judges in the panel recommended by the government to Chief Justice of the J&K High Court MM Kumar for his final approval. The Director, School Education, had further submitted that the state government in compliance with the high court directions of October 3, 2012, had forwarded the panel to the high court on April 5, 2013, through the Registrar-General, who had been requested to place the matter before the Chief Justice for approving the name of the chairman of the high-powered committee mandated to fix the fee structure for private educational institutions in the state. As revealed in the documents placed before the court by the authorities, the J&K Government, in its panel, had proposed the names of Justice Bilal Ahmad Nazki (retd) and Justice Rattan Chand Gandhi (retd), former acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, for approval by the J&K High Court Chief Justice as the chairman of the said committee. In its subsequent directions issued on April 15, the Bench had asked the official respondents to place on record the appointment orders of the panel head and the names of the other committee members within two weeks and had directed the Commissioner Secretary, Education department, to file his objections to the PIL. However, as the matter came up before the Bench today, it was revealed that neither the appointment orders have been issued so far nor the Commissioner Secretary, Education, has filed his objections. Following this, the court issued directions asking the Commissioner Secretary, Education, to appear in person on next hearing. During the hearing today, one of the counsels also submitted to the Bench that through press reports it has been revealed by the government that former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Justice Bilal A Nazki (retd) is to head the high-powered committee. However, formal orders of his appointment have not been issued as yet. |
||
|
9,000 kg polythene seized in Lower Munda area
Anantnag, April 30 According to reports, a Srinagar-bound truck, bearing registration number JK13 A-2081, was intercepted by the CTD officials for a routine check at at a checkpost at the Lower Munda toll post. “The officials found that the truck was carrying around 90 quintals of banned polythene bags,” the reports said. The truck was coming from Delhi and had already passed the checkpost at Lakhanpur on the J&K-Punjab border. “The vehicle was cleared at the Lakhanpur post as it was carrying vegetables,” said GM Bhat, Commercial Taxes Officer at Lakhanpur. He said the polythene bags have been seized and the truck was impounded. The driver of the truck has also been arrested. “The driver was carrying a fake bill addressed to a non-existent firm in Srinagar,” Bhat said. “We are investigating the matter,” he said. He said the seized material would be handed over to Pollution Control Board. “This is the second time in less than 5 months that we have managed to seize a sizeable quantity of the banned material,” Bhat said. “Earlier this year, we seized 5,000 kg of polythene bags,” he said. There is a high court ban in place, making the manufacture, import and use of non-biodegradable polythene bags as unlawful. However, the district administrations, Pollution Control Board and the Urban Local Bodies have been accused of being callous with the implementation of the ban. Officials at the departments concerned maintain that their jurisdiction ends at the implementation of ban within markets and the manufacturing part. “We can’t put a check on what is being imported from other parts of the country to our state,” said a senior official at the Urban Local Bodies Department, wishing not to be named. He said various agencies with their checkposts at different places across the state should make sure that the material is not imported to Kashmir.
|
||
|
SMC to launch second phase of anti-encroachment drive soon
Srinagar, April 30 While the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the Traffic Police managed to get rid of illegal roadside vendors at busy Lal Chowk, Residency Road and Hari Singh High Street areas after starting an anti-encroachment drive on Friday last, the authorities will soon launch the drive in north-western areas that include Batamaloo, Qamarwari and adjoining areas. “In the first phase, the enforcement team has managed to remove roadside encroachments from Lal Chowk, Badshah Chowk, KMD, Maulana Azad road, Tourist Centre, Dalgate, Sonwar, Shaheed Gunj, Jahangir Chowk and Hari Singh High Street areas. The drive will be taken up in the north-west areas of the city soon after clearing the remaining encroached footpaths and roadside spaces from south and east areas,” an SMC official said. The official said the encroachments were removed despite ‘resentment’ from encroachers. The drive is being conducted by the SMC enforcement team along with traffic police officials for effective implementation. A police squad also accompanies the team to deal with any untoward situation. Meanwhile, local residents have welcomed the anti-encroachment drive while urging the authorities to make it a ‘permanent one’. “While the drive is welcome as pedestrians are able to walk freely now, similar drives have been launched in the city earlier as well. But, it has been noticed that roadside vendors gradually make a comeback. The authorities concerned need to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” said Abdul Rashid, who owns a shop near Hari Singh High Street. However, SP Traffic, Srinagar, Haseeb-ur-Rehman promised that the same would not happen again. “This time we will ensure that the same does not happen again as the high court too has taken notice of the matter. The roadside encroachments will be cleared permanently as they hinder movement of vehicular traffic that leads to jams,” the SP (Traffic) told The Tribune. A public interest litigation (PIL) was admitted in the high court yesterday regarding the removal of street hawkers and vendors from Srinagar roads for hassle-free traffic movement. The court had then issued notices to the government through the Chief Secretary, Traffic Police authorities and other official respondents, directing them to file their objections to the PIL within two weeks.
|
||
|
Officials told to stop construction of tube wells
Srinagar, April 30 “Under the guidelines, digging of a tube well under MGNREGA is a negative activity and as such is not permissible,” Director Rural Development Kashmir said in an order issued recently. The Director had also issued directions to the officials in Budgam district to stop the construction of dug wells immediately. “Any deviation in this regard shall be personal responsibility of the officer concerned,” the order read. The directions were issued as many complaints had surfaced from Budgam saying the tube wells and hand pumps in the garb of dug well were being constructed in various blocks of Budgam district, particularly BK Pora block and Budgam. The cost of construction of a dug well is two times more than that of a tube well. The MGNREGA, which was introduced in three districts in the first phase in February 2006 and was later extended to all districts, aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in the rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage-employment. The scheme also helps rural economy grow by boosting rural connectivity, irrigation and agriculture productivity. |
||
|
Power cuts trip computer education in north Kashmir
Kupwara, April 30 What makes these centres useless is the fact that in violation of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) norms, a majority of the centres have been set up in schools which are not centrally located and are devoid of power facility. Students complained that they were deprived of the benefits of computer education due to poor implementation of such centres. “We hardly take one class through computers once a week due to erratic power supply. The CAL centre lacks a stabiliser and generator,” said Shabir Ahmad, a Class VIII student. In Baramulla, out of 34 CAL centres only 22 are partly functional. Rest of the centres lack generators or UPS and the machines are gathering dust, sources said. Locals said a CAL centre set up in remote Fatehgarh area near forests in Baramulla district was visited by bears and leopards rather than students. “What is the point in setting up such a centre so far from the town. It has earned a dubious distinction of being the centre visited by leopards and bears as it is located near the forests. The school in which the centre has been set up is without power,” said a teacher. Similarly, there are 36 such centres in Kupwara district but only 11 are functional. Rest of the centres are non-functional for want of generator sets and UPS. Under the flagship scheme of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), an expenditure of around Rs 3 lakh is incurred on a CAL centre. A centre has five computers, one generator, one transformer, a UPS and other necessary accessories besides furniture like tables, chairs etc. |
||
|
T20 tourney begins at KU
Srinagar, April 30 “The tournament is being organised by the Directorate of Physical Education and Sports, University of Kashmir. As many as 108 teams, representing districts of the Valley, are participating in the tournament this year,” KU spokesperson said. The VC said many teams across the Valley had participated in the tournament. “Kashmir has enough talent and I wish to see more players representing the state at national and international competitions,” he said. Director, Physical Education and Sports, Prof Bashir Ahmad Khan said “The University is keen on promoting the sports activities in and outside the campus. The Directorate is also organising an adventurous trip for students to Ladakh and Zanaskar this summer.”
|
||
|
National Conference
to observe May Day
Srinagar, April 30 “Some cabinet and state
ministers will address the gathering including workers, trade and labour
unions,” a party spokesperson said. May Day is observed worldwide on
May 1 every year to celebrate the labour movements. |
||
|
TCS launches recruitment drive
Srinagar, April 30 “A delegation of 15 members from TCS headed by Monimoy Das Gupta, associate vice president TCS, visited the university campus to offer training and employment opportunities to the youth. For it, a recruitment drive was launched, organised by the Centre for Career Planning and Counselling (CCPC),” KU spokesperson said. He said the company intended to train graduates for 90 days and based on their performance, the trained graduates would be considered for placement for various positions in TCS. The team from TCS is scheduled to visit 18 degree colleges across the state, including 11 Valley-based colleges, during the next 10 days. Monimoy Das Gupta said “TCS was always looking for bright and talented youth. The Kashmiri youth are second to none in terms of their competence and capabilities, but they need to be trained to face the challenges of the industry.”
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE |
| Punjab |
Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | |
The Commercial Taxes Department (CTD) today seized a truck carrying 9,000 kg of banned polythene bags at a checkpost in the Lower Munda area of Qazigund along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
