Srinagar, May 17
Though the anti-encroachment drive of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) continues in various parts of the summer capital, the roadside vendors who were evicted earlier have made a comeback near the city centre Lal Chowk.

While the SMC along with the police had started a massive anti-encroachment drive last month, the roadside vendors outside Tyndale Biscoe School (TBS) near Lal Chowk can be seeing selling goods.

“In the past too, anti-encroachment drives against roadside vendors have proved futile as they always return gradually. After a long time pedestrians were able to walk freely on this busy road but the vendors are back again to affect the smooth flow of traffic,” said a shopkeeper at nearby Abi Guzar lane.

Even as a public-interest litigation (PIL) was admitted in the high court last month regarding the removal of street hawkers and vendors from Srinagar roads, the traffic police, which was a part of the drive against roadside vendors, too admitted that the hawkers were affecting free flow of traffic.

Srinagar SP (Traffic) Haseeb-ur-Rehman while admitting that roadside vendors near the TBS were back, said they didn’t have the authority to remove illegal vendors but could only point out the areas that needed to be cleared. Stating that the vendors were affecting the free flow of traffic, the SP said the anti-encroachment drive was currently going on in Karan Nagar area and would continue. The second phase of the anti-encroachment drive is currently being held in north-western areas of the city.

SMC Commissioner Dr GN Qasba said after a long time the authorities had got rid of roadside vendors at Amirakadal, near Lal Chowk, and it had been welcomed by the locals. On the return of vendors near TBS, he said the drive would continue at other places and against those who have returned.

Kupwara, May 17
Farmers in Kupwara district have expressed concern over the poor maintenance of major streams - the only source of irrigation to paddy crop under cultivation on thousands of kanals.

They said major streams, including Lal Kul, Chakwari, Daagam, Pohru, Mawar Nullah and Rajwar Nullah, have not been cleaned for the past two years and this has affected the flow of water in these streams.

They said it would affect the irrigation to their fields and hamper growth of paddy crop in the upcoming season.

Thousands of kanals of paddy fields depend on these streams for irrigation in Handwara and Kupwara towns. The sowing season of paddy seedlings has already begun and the paddy will be sown from mid-June.

“The summer season is round the corner and the condition of streams is bound to worsen. These streams, known as lifeline for paddy on thousands of kanals, have been ignored by the Irrigation Department. Cleaning of these water bodies is a must to ensure adequate supply of irrigation water to fields,” said Mohd Asdullah, a farmer from Handwara.

A delegation of farmers from Gulgam near Kupwara said the Chakwari stream has developed a lot of weeds, choking the flow of its water.

They said the stream, which was the only source of irrigation to thousands of kanals, had not been cleaned for weeds.

“There will be a shortage of irrigation water if the stream is not cleaned for weeds. At some places, the banks of stream need to be protected with fence to increase the flow of water. Paddy is main source of our sustenance and the Irrigation Department is not bothered to take care of streams,” said Ghulam Ahmad.

Residents of Drugmulla also demanded cleaning of a stream flowing through the Drugmulla and Kandi areas.

More than 90 per cent of people cultivate paddy crop as their mainstay in north Kashmir.

A senior irrigation officer said the cleaning of Daagam stream was underway and soon the de-weeding of other major streams would be carried out.

“We will soon start de-weeding of other major streams to increase the flow of water,” he said.

Srinagar, May 17
The police has fished out the bodies of two persons had drowned in separate incidents.

A police spokesman said the body of Sajjad Ahmad Khanna, 38, a resident of MR Gunj, Srinagar, was fished out from Tsunti Kohl near Gow kadal. He had drowned on Wednesday.

“The body was handed over to his relatives for the last rites,” the police said.

The police also fished out the body of 25-year-old Ishtiyaq Ahmad Najar, a resident of Reshi Colony, Bemina, Srinagar, who had drowned in the Dal Lake near Nehru Park while bathing.

The body was handed over to his relatives for the last rites, the police said.

Meanwhile, two boys - Dawood Sheikh and Sammer Sheikh - both residents of Sher Colony drowned in the Jhelum this afternoon. The police said they were bathing in the river.

Srinagar, May 17
Noted legal luminary, analyst and author AG Noorani called on Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here today.

Noorani presented the Governor with two volume set of his latest book, ‘The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012’ during the meeting, an official said.

“Thanking the author for giving him a copy of his book, the Governor observed that there was no event in the past decades or any document on India-Pak relations which was not known to Noorani,” the official added.

The Governor, who has been involved in negotiations with Pakistan on issues between the two countries for many years during his service and Noorani discussed several matters related to the future of Indo-Pak relations.

Kupwara, May 17
Poor BSNL service continues to nettle mobile phone subscribers in Kupwara district for the past two years. The subscribers said despite a sizeable increase in the number of mobile subscribers, no new tower has been installed in the district.

Many of the users threatened to surrender SIM cards if the service was not improved at the earliest. “The cellular company is testing our patience for the past two years. We will be forced to surrender the SIM cards if the company doesn’t improve its services in this border district,” said Mohd Ashraf, a mobile phone subscriber.

Subscribers said mobile towers disappear from the screens of cellphones for hours and ‘network busy’ message flashes whenever they attempt to make a call. “In the absence of proper network, the service has been reduced to a mere farce in the town. The mobile towers often disappear for hours together, leaving the subscribers high and dry,” said Shabir Ahmad, another mobile user.

They complained that if after repeated dialing they are able to make a call, cross-connection often embarrasses them. “The mobile towers disappear when electricity supply gets snapped. Despite having generator for each mobile tower, the signal is not restored immediately,” alleged Mohd Hayat, a readymade garment seller.

The subscribers said the service was so poor that they had to make repeated attempts to make or receive calls under the same roof. They demanded that more towers should be set up in different parts of the district to improve the service.

Another subscriber said, “Despite giving representations to the officials concerned, the cellular company has not bothered to take any action. We will be forced to take to streets if the services are not improved.”

Anantnag, May 17
Residents of several neighbourhoods of Pampore town in Pulwama district rue that uncovered tippers, carrying soil for the highway widening, have become a health hazard for schoolchildren and people living in the area.

As per reports, more than 300 tippers ply from the Chandhara area, on the outskirts of Pampore town, via Letrabal and Kadlabal localities in the town to the highway-widening sites in the Shaliun and Tengan areas.

“Each tipper makes at least two round trips a day,” said Muzaffar Ahmad, a local shopkeeper. “The tippers have become a nightmare for the locality,” he said. Local school administrations are aghast over the apathy of the higher-ups, saying that schoolchildren are the worst affected by this menace.

“More than half a dozen schools are located along the route used by these tippers,” said Abdul Rehman, who runs a private school in the vicinity. “Health of thousands of schoolchildren in the area is getting affected daily,” he said. Moreover, the tipper drivers drive at an alarming speed, posing a threat to the lives of pedestrians, particularly children.

Residents of the Kadlabal and Letrabal area say they have raised their concerns to the district administration time and again but nothing has been done in this regard.

“We had appealed to the administration that the tippers should ply after 6 pm only and the soil they carry should be covered with tarpaulin to prevent pollution,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a member of the local Traders Federation.

He said after repeated requests by local residents, in May 2012, the then Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir had directed the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, to make sure that the tippers should ply between 6 pm and 9 am.

“Besides, he had directed the district administration to arrange water tankers so that water is sprinkled along the road two to three times a day,” said Ahmad. “However, the order was implemented for a couple of days and the tippers resumed their routine afterwards.” The irate residents threaten that they would block the national highway if the district administration failed to take notice of the menace. Pulwama Additional Deputy Commissioner Muneer-ul-Islam said he has taken cognisance of the issue and stopped the movement of tippers for a week till they suggest an alternate route.

“Since the past two days, no tippers are plying on the route. I have given them a week to identify an alternate route,” said the ADC. “Hopefully, we can come up with a solution,” he said.

Srinagar, May 17
A modernised post office was inaugurated at Chadoora, in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, under 'Project Arrow' scheme of the Department of Posts (DoP).

“The post office was dedicated to the public by Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister of Finance and Ladakh Affairs, in the presence of John Samuel, Chief Post Master General, Jammu and Kashmir,” a DoP official said.

Speaking on the occasion, Rather expressed happiness over the modernisation of the post office. He lauded Samuel’s efforts towards uplifting postal services in the state. Ghulam Mohammad, Chairman of Masjid Committee, Chadoora, thanked Samuel for providing the people of Chadoora with all the latest postal facilities.

Samuel said the DoP was taking several steps for the welfare of the people of the state. He said the department was modernising the post offices all over the Valley. “After modernising all major post offices in the area, the department is now focussing on modernising post offices in sub-urban areas,” he added.

A DoP official said, “Chadoora has lots of business establishments and residential areas. To facilitate the people of the area, the post office will function from 9 am to 5 pm and shall provide all postal facilities like letter post, saving accounts and insurance facilities. A post shop has also been provided to facilitate packaging and stationery needs of customers. The post office will also sell high quality Saffron.”

Srinagar, May 17
Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services and Sports Taj Mohi-ud-din today said Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had promised a package of Rs 700 crore over a period of five years to give a boost to sports in J&K.

He said during his recent meeting with the Prime Minister, the latter had given directions to the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in this regard, with the assurance that more funds would be made available if the need arose.

Inaugurating the Kashmir Football Festival-2013 here today, Taj said under the package, every town with a population of more than 50,000 would be provided with an indoor stadium and wherever land was available, football and hockey grounds would be raised.

“The government has prepared a comprehensive plan of strengthening sports infrastructure in the state under which indoor stadia would be constructed in every region of Srinagar and Jammu cities,” Taj added.

He said the TRC grounds in Srinagar would be provided with an all-weather football turf so that it remained functional throughout the year.

In all, 150 football teams in all categories are participating in the festival which includes ace football teams like the J&K Police and the JK Bank.

Srinagar, May 17
Governor NN Vohra visited the Mata Khir Bhawani Shrine at Tulmulla in Ganderbal district today.

He participated in the three-day Maha Chandi Yajna being organised by Pt Prem Nath Shastri, chairman of the Sanskratik Shodh Sansthan, an official said. Vohra prayed for peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state.

Shastri briefed the Governor about the activities of the sansthan, particularly on the status of publication of the second part of the primer of Sharda language and also thanked him for providing support for this purpose.

The Governor lauded the work being done by the sansthan in different spheres, particularly for the revival and promotion of the Sharda language and assured all possible support for the promotion of various languages and literature in the state.

Locals presented a memorandum containing their demands to the Governor, which included development of a tourist village and upgrade of a school in the area. The Governor discussed these demands with Ajaz Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Revenue, who was also present on the occasion, and told the Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, to resolve the difficulties faced by local residents.

Earlier, the Governor and Khan were honoured by the sansthan by presenting mementos to them.

Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor, Vinod Koul, Secretary, Revenue, Sarmad Hafiz, Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, and members of the Pandit community were also present on the occasion.

Srinagar, May 17
In the ongoing anti-smoking drive at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), 150 people have been fined for smoking on the hospital premises in the past one month.

SKIMS senior security officer JB Singh said “The drive is showing positive results and SKIMS will continue the sustained campaign, as directed by the Director, SKIMS,” he said.

Experts at SKIMS said people were at a significant risk of premature death and smoking-related illnesses such as heart and lung disease, cancers and vascular diseases, among many other conditions.

“But there is a strong scientific evidence that anti-smoking programmes make a big difference in encouraging people to quit and a larger number of people do quit in the long-term because of such initiatives,” the experts hold.

Director, SKIMS, Dr Showkat Zargar made a fervent appeal to the people visiting SKIMS to keep it smoke-free and join hands in this campaign to make it successful. “The objective of the initiative is to send a strong message across and strict measures will be taken against those found guilty”, he added.

Srinagar, May 17
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Political Secretary Tanvir Sadiq on Thursday visited Chotay Taray Foundation, a special school-cum-rehabilitation centre for specially challenged children at Kursoo, Rajbagh.

Sadiq went around the physiotherapy, rehabilitation psychology, speech therapy sections, vocational education centre and the educational classes for the severe, mild and moderate categories of affected children.

He was briefed by Arjumand Makhdoomi, president, Chotay Taray Foundation, about the facilities being provided by to the children.

"Sadiq appreciated the way the NGO has ensured that the children are able to learn to take care of their toilet needs, can eat properly and can sit silently in a bus or van," a spokesman of the ruling National Conference said in a statement.

Sadiq also met the children and spent time with them.

Srinagar, May 17
Stressing upon the need to speed up the beautification project of the old city, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar said it would go a long way in boosting economic and tourism related activities.

Interacting with officers during his tour of the city today, Sagar directed the officers to ensure that the structures being acquired in the beautification project of the Zainakadal area were being compensated properly and the shopkeepers whose shops were being acquired were rehabilitated within the catchment area so that their business was not affected.

“Asking the officers of different executing agencies to work in close coordination, he directed them to ensure a synergised effort to speed up the beautification of the Zainakadal area and its catchment areas for which the funds have already been earmarked,” an official spokesman said.

“The area holds a special place in the history of the state and we should work to restore its old glory,” Sagar said.

He was accompanied by District Development Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah, Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, GN Qasba, Managing Director, JKPCC and other senior officers of different departments and executing agencies.

Srinagar, May 17
After surpassing a target of Rs 1 lakh crore business and Rs 1,000 crore net profit, the J&K Bank has set a goal of setting up 1,000 branches by 2015.

This was stated by the bank chairman and CEO Mushtaq Ahmad during an interactive session with customers and eminent citizens of the Tangmarg area of Baramulla district today. Talking about the bank’s plan to cover all unbanked and far-flung areas of the state, he said the J&K Bank also had ‘massive’ ATM network expansion plans.

Referring to services offered to senior citizens, especially government pensioners, he said, “We have sensitised all staff members to extend personalised services to the pensioners. Any laxity in rendering services to the customers and pensioners cannot be tolerated.”

He highlighted the bank’s support to unemployed youth under the Sher-i-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY) programme.

The chairman told the customers to come up with feedback to remove bottlenecks.

Srinagar, May 17
Chairman of the hardliner Hurriyat faction Syed Ali Geelani today wrote a letter to Nawaz Sharif, who is all set to be Pakistan’s Prime Minister.

As per the Hurriyat spokesman, Geelani wrote that negotiations with India “should be in no way against the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.

“Geelani, in unambiguous words, declared that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will not accept the four-point Musharraf formula, self-rule, autonomy or soft border proposals,” the spokesman added.

Terming all these options “vague”, Geelani said these measures were “cosmetic in nature” and aimed to “dilute” the Kashmir issue. “While in chair as Prime Minister of Sovereign Pakistan, you have the authority to come to terms with the parties. But while dealing with India, the negotiations should be result-oriented and not at the cost of the aspirations of the people of the state. Your stand with respect to the Kashmir dispute must be unambiguous and should convey a clear message that 18 resolutions, guaranteeing the right of self-determination to the people of the state, are final and no other midway or substitute solutions are accepted at any cost.” Geelani added.