Jammu, May 28
Sanitary conditions have worsened on the Jammu University campus here as Safai Karamcharis joined the ongoing strike by the Non-Gazetted and Casual Workers Association here today.

The five-hour-long token strike entered the 15th day today.

In the absence of sanitation measures, the teachers, officers and visitors to the campus faced several problems. Waste material and garbage was scattered on the floors of various buildings as sweepers abstained from work.

“The strike by non-gazetted employees has severely affected the normal functioning on the campus. There is no one to clear the waste material and garbage from our office which presents a dirty look. The varsity should hold a dialogue with the striking employees so that the sanitary conditions on the campus are restored,” a university officer said. He said the strike had affected normal functioning of the varsity. “There is no one to even offer a glass of water in the office in view of ongoing strike.

The students are also at the receiving end and there is need to take corrective measures to end the stalemate,” he said.

Over 700 non-gazetted employees comprising Class IV and casual workers had been protesting in support of their demands which include removal of pay anomalies, regularisation of causal workers and reduction in the period to conduct test for promotion of Class IV employees from five to three years. Yesterday, the varsity sweepers had extended their support and joined the agitation of non-gazetted employees.

Meanwhile, the striking employees continued their demonstration outside administrative block for the 15th consecutive day and raised slogans against the university authorities.

The protestors also burnt an effigy of Jai Kumar Kumar, Special Secretary to the Vice-Chancellor. They accused him of being the “biggest impediment” in the fulfillment of their “genuine” demands. They also demanded his removal.

Krishan Chand, president, Jammu University Non-Gazetted and Casual Workers Association, said resentment was brewing among employees against the varsity administration as they (authorities) had backtracked from their commitment vis-à-vis fulfillment of their long pending demands.

On May 25, a high-level committee of the Jammu University had appealed to the striking employees to call off their strike and had also assured them that their genuine demands would be resolved soon.

The panel had also urged the employees to wait for the procedural requirements which would be done in the due course of time. 

Talks inconclusive

A meeting between the striking employees and the university authorities remained inconclusive today. The representatives of the employees met Registrar Manoj K Dhar, Controller examination, Keshav Sharma, former Registrar Naresh Padha and others. “The meeting was inconclusive. JU authorities sought more time to resolve the long pending issues of the employees, which was outrightly rejected by the representatives of the striking employees,” said an employee leader. 

Jammu, May 28
The Shiromani Gurmat Granthi Ragi Sabha (SGGRS) today demanded enhancement in wages for the employees of District Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (DPGC), Jammu.

Members of the Shiromani Gurmat Granthi Rahi Sabha during a protest in the front of Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Nanak Nagar in Jammu on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Inderjeet Singh

President of the sabha Bhai Kulbir Singh and general secretary Rashpal Singh, while briefing the media, said the employees of Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee were getting a meagre salary of Rs 3,000 to 5,000 per month. They also demanded a hike in wages to Rs 8,000 and 10,000, respectively.

The sabha further claimed that no insurance cover was provided. Meanwhile, the ongoing protest launched by the sabha in front of Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Sri Guru Nanak Nagar had entered into the 12th day today. Activists of the sabha raised slogans against the DGPC, Jammu.

The sabha said it was very difficult for the employees to earn a decent livelihood with the present meagre salary and stressed upon the DGPC, Jammu, to fulfil the genuine demands.

The sabha also appealed to the District Magistrate, Jammu, Labour Commissioner and Commissioner Secretary, Law, General Administration Department to intervene into the matter.

Jammu, May 28
Days after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah inaugurated the fourth bridge on the Tawi, people have started using the bridge to avoid any rush on the Gandhi Nagar-Jewel chowk-Canal road stretch, travelling on which was a harrowing experience for the drivers.

The new bridge on either side of the Tawi (towards Nehru Market side and Bhagwati Nagar side) will play a key role to ensure that chaos, which is a daily routine on the roads now, will ease the traffic a bit.

Earlier, long jams were witnessed during the entire day and people were caught in the mess. Further, travelling on public transport from Talab Tillo towards Gandhi Nagar, Satwari and Bari-Brahmna was a tormenting experience for the commuters.

“This is a new experience as we can directly take a new route towards canal road, Bakshi nagar, Akhnoor and Talab Tillo. Earlier, hundreds of vehicles were seen moving at a snail’s pace to reach their respective destinations, which was irritating,” said Rabinder Sharma, a businessman.

The total road length of the city is 704.22 km and density of vehicles is 574 per km. The situation has been worsening with every passing day with the addition of cars, tractors, motor bikes, trucks, matadors and buses.

Traffic congestion, in the recent years, has emerged as the biggest problem as over 50,000 vehicles are being added every year to the already overcrowded roads of the city.

“The new link has connected with the Ware House from Satwari via Belli Charana and Bhagwati Nagar. We have also completed study for the construction of a four-lane bypass road from Bhagwati Nagar to Akhnoor Road near TV towers at Muthi having a length of 13 km,” said Abdul Majid Wani, R&B Minister.

The construction work on the fourth bridge started in December 2010 at an estimated cost of Rs 93 crore to ease pressure on the existing bridges on the river, which are facing tremendous stress of traffic due to thousands of vehicles plying on the roads every day.

Jammu, May 28
Criticising Omar Abdullah-led coalition regime for its failure to conduct the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections, state BJP president Jugal Kishore Sharma said the government was hesitating to face the people because it had failed on all fronts.

Addressing a function at the Nagrota assembly segment, Sharma said the Omar Abdullah-led coalition governmnet had been making repeated claims of taking the democracy to the grass-root level through panchayats and ULBs, but its decision to repeatedly postpone the elections to ULBs on one pretext or the other and non-implementation of the 73rd Amendment to empower the elected Panchayats had exposed its lack of faith in democracy and lust to remain in power.

Speaking about the developmental activities in the Nagrota Assembly segment, Sharma said a number of works had been undertaken during the current year in different panchayats. “Due attention has been paid towards the villages which houses the population of the weaker sections,” Sharma said, who represents this segment.

Sharma said the Nagrota Assembly constituency was spread over a large area. “Being one of the biggest constituency, it needs more funds and the government should grant additional amount keeping in view the demand of more development,” he said.

OBC cell block president Hem Raj, Panch Kuldeep Singh, Krishan Gopal, Sham Lal, Taro Devi, Neelam Kumari, Brij Mohan Sharma, Jyoti Devi, and others were present on the occasion. 

Jammu, May 28
Activists of Shiv Sena and Dogra Front today held a protest against unscheduled power cuts in the city and alleged that the state government was totally ignoring the problems of people living in Jammu region.

Shiv Sena state president Ashok Gupta lashed out at the government for the enforcement of seven-hour power cut in almost all parts of the city during the scorching heat, which had affected the normal life of the people, particularly old and infirm.

Protesters alleged that the government had collected a huge amount of money as revenue from the people, but power supply was still erratic which had led to power crisis in the state.

Gupta alleged that the PHE Department was blaming the Electricity Department for the water shortage, but PHE was also not utilising the time to lift water from deep tubewells. Protesters criticised the PHE officials for the failure to ensure regular drinking water. He alleged that the department had stopped supply of water through tankers, which had affected a large number of people. 

Activists of Shiv Sena and Dogra Front held a protest against unscheduled power cuts and alleged that the state government was totally ignoring the problems of people

Protesters lashed out at the government for the enforcement of seven-hour power cut in almost all parts of the city in the scorching heat, which had affected the normal life of the people, particularly old and infirm

Protesters alleged that the PHE Department was blaming the Electricity Department for the water shortage, but PHE Dept was also not utilising the time to lift water from deep tubewells

Jammu, May 28
With only 1,380 application forms received by the J&K State Board of School Education (JKBOSE) for the Elementary Teachers Training Course (ETT) course for the session 2012-14, the board has declared it a zero session. However, BOSE has made it clear that all 1,380 applicants filed for the course for the academic session 2012-14 after fulfilling the require formalities do not to apply again for the 2013-15 session.

As per a recent notification issued by the school education board, no application form was received from Kashmir Division for the session 2012-14. The board has declared that the total number of ETT institutes in the state was 585 and hence no counselling for the said course could be conducted due to less number of applicants.

The JKBOSE has also made it clear that the new admissions for the 2013-15 session, shall be done through counselling only, for which the dates will be notified separately. The Jammu Private Schools and ETT Institutes Association (Progressive) has, however, termed the decision revengeful towards the Jammu-based ETT institutes.

“Such moves are an outcome of a revengeful attitude towards the Jammu- based institutions by the Valley based officials sitting in the government and the BOSE administration,” said Deep Singh, president of the association.

Commenting on the recent notification of the Board, Deep Singh said, “It is for the second time that officials at the helm of affairs in BOSE have declared the ETT academic session 2012-14 as a zero session. The BOSE had also declared the 2010-12 session as a zero session.”

“Thousands of outside ETT students were deprived of admission in session 2010-12 damaging the image of the school education board. The Valley-based bosses have an unhealthy attitude towards the ETT institutions in Jammu region,” another office-bearer of the association claimed.

“Majority of outside ETT aspirant students always prefer to take admission in Jammu based ETT institutes. This decision of the BOSE to declare 2012-14 academic session as zero is unfortunate. The minister concerned who is in charge of school education has failed to protect the academic interests of Jammu-based ETT institutes,” Deep Singh alleged.

No applicants

As only 1,380 application forms were received by the J&K State Board of School Education for the ETT course for the session 2012-14, the board declared it a zero session for ETT course

Jammu, May 28
MV International School organised an investiture ceremony on the school premises here.

Out of 14 nominated candidates five were shotlisted as contestants for head boy and head girl.

They were Divya Manhas, Mohit Dubey, Shubam Singh, Sakshi Sambyal and Pratiksha Saini.

Divya Manhas and Mohit Dubey were elected as head girl and head boy through secret ballot.

In addition to these, 8 students out of 44 were chosen as House Prefects from Darwin, Edison, Einstein and Newton House.

Chairman of the MV International School, Heera Lal Abrol was the chief guest who gave sashes and portfolio plates to the student leaders.

In his address, the chairman congratulated all the elected and selected student leaders.

The oath and the pledge were administered to the student leaders by Harbans Singh, the Academic Advisor.

Principal B N Sarkar wished the students all success in performing their duties and congratulated them on assuming their new roles.

Jammu, May 28
Bhartiya Vidya Mandir High School, Ramnagar (Udhampur), today celebrated its annual day with gaiety and enthusiasm.

MLA Harsh Dev Singh was the chief guest on the occasion. The programme commenced with the traditional lighting of the lamp followed by colourful cultural items presented by students of the school that enthralled the audience.

Principal Vishal Gupta read out the annual report, thereby highlighting the achievements of students in academics, sports and co-curricular activities.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest lauded the efforts of the management of the school for imparting quality education to the students. He advised the students to work hard in order to achieve their goals.

Later, Harsh Dev Singh distributed stationery items among the students.

Vineet Gupta along with other staff members were also present on the occasion. 

Katra, May 28
As a part of National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) of World Wide Fund (WWF), a seminar on ‘Biodiversity Conservation’ was held on the premises of Government Middle Model School, Seela in Reasi.

Zonal Education and Planning Officer, Reasi, Kaka Ram Dogra was the chief guest while Prittam Singh Sarpanch of Seela village was the guest of honour on the occasion. As many as 20 students drawn from different classes participated in the seminar, wherein they underlined the current scenario of biodiversity and how its conservation at local, regional and international level could be made possible.

Chief Guest, Kaka Ram appreciated the talent of the participants. Prizes were also distributed among the participating students followed by the vote of thanks.—OC

Ramban, May 27
Yet again a building besides the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) on the outskirts of Ramban town proved to be a scourge for the stranded passengers, following its 28-hour-long blockade due to the landslides triggered by the incessant downpour on Sunday and Monday.

The four-storey hotel-cum-shopping complex comprising six shops, two restaurants and 40 rooms may be a boon for its owner and his tenants, but it has been a big bane for the passengers during a heavy and long downpour which triggers the landslide on the road from the hill.

“Not only the flow of the landslide slush slipping down the hill gets obstructed because of this building, but also becomes a big hurdle for our JCBs,” said a GREF official requesting anonymity.

“There are many such buildings on the highway which were constructed in contravention of the Ribbon Act and are not being demolished by the authorities concerned, despite paying them their compensations,” he added. It was the ninth time so far when a huge sliding slush and rocks from the hill had pierced through the shutters and glazed frames of the shops and restaurants of the building, thus damaging their furniture and the commodities inside.

“This building has come under the highway widening project undertaken by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and its owner has been paid a compensation of more than one crore. Despite our repeated warnings, the owner has been renting the building to the shopkeepers and dhabawalas at his own risk,” said BA Bhat, additional Deputy Commissioner, Ramban.

“Since the tenders are yet to be allotted for the widening of the highway between Nashri and Banihal by the NHAI, its demolition has been delayed,” he added. 

Katra, May 28
Already lagging behind its target, work on the Katra-Quazikund railway project has once again halted as the Konkan Railways has terminated the contract of Apex Encon Projects Pvt. Ltd (AEPPL) due to the slow pace of work on the project.

Employees working on this prestigious project, including engineers have been on strike for past two months as the company Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL), working on Katra-Bakkel section of the project, has failed to pay wages to its employees since December 2012.

The staff of Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd staged a protest at Konkan Railway officer Reasi today demanding immediate payment of the wages and other allowances from contractor as a principal employer.

Karan Dev Singh, an employee of AEPPL, working on Katra-Bakkel section of the project, said the company had failed to pay salaries to its employees since December 2012, even after several rounds of discussions and repeated protests, now the worst has happened as the Konkan Railway has terminated its contract with AEPPL.

The employees working on the project are already on an indefinite strike since April 23.

Karan alleged that for the past over a year, the AEPPL had been giving false assurances of paying dues to the working employees, but nothing had been done. “We demand immediate payment of our dues. Otherwise, we will continue to fight for our rights,” he said.

GB Nagendra, Chief Engineer, Konkan Railway, Reasi said, “Konkan Railways has terminated the contract of its contractor Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL) due to the slow pace of work, and we are discussing liabilities issue with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd. We hope that the matter will be sorted out at the earliest.”

Jammu, May 28
Panun Kashmir (PK) a frontal organisation of displaced Kashmiri Hindus today alleged that Omar Abdullah led government’s policy of rehabilitating terrorists coming from Pakistan will become a security challenge for the country.

PK president Ashwani Chrungoo told mediapersons that security and intelligence agencies have questioned the entire rehabilitation policy for former-militants and the entire plan was suspicious in nature as it had allowed highly trained and indoctrinated people to settle in the state. He said the government needs to clarify what status would a large number of wives and children of Pakistani origin would have in India.

Chrungoo said in a state where refugees from West Pakistan and occupied Kashmir are yet to be granted the citizenship rights even after 63 years of independence, the special privileges and safe passage to Pak-trained terrorists, amounts to rubbing salt in the wounds of nationalist population.

“In the light of the above assessment, the compulsions of the state government in allowing these Pak trained militants to come to the state as welcome guests is difficult to understand,” he said.

He alleged that the state government had been vehemently pressurising the Centre recognise the illegal immigration from the Nepal route as a genuine passage for the terrorists who raised gun against the Indian Union and killed several innocent people.

“This policy will open floodgates allowing Pakistani citizens to settle in the state who could become a major security challenge in future. This policy is against the national interests,” Chrungoo said.

PK has also taken a serious view of the disinformation campaign that has been unleashed by a section of the politico-administrative set up in the state.

The organisation has said separate homeland for minority community in the Valley was the only solution to the Kashmir imbroglio.

Jammu, May 28
General Manager of Northern Railway VK Gupta today snubbed the Divisional Traffic Manager (DTM) for terming the recent fire in two trains at the Jammu railways station a militant activity. He said if he knew it at the beginning then where was the need for police investigation. “Unfortunately some people do talk casually,” GM told media at the railway station.

The railway authorities and the railway police were at loggerheads on the fire incident as the DTM had termed the incident a militant activity and the police rejected the version. After the GM’s statement, things are expected to become normal again.

After reaching here in the morning, Gupta, along special investigation team (SIT) head DSP Param Vir Singh, inspected the railway station and directed the authorities to go for regular surveillance. “To avoid such incidents in the future, joint patrolling will be conducted after train reaches here so that no one from outside is allowed to get closer to these trains,” Gupta said.

On Sunday, two trains Shalimar Express and Ahmedabad Express had caught fire while parked on the central platform of the railway station. Two bogies of the trains were gutted in the fire whereas four other coaches were partially burnt. The railway police, along the Railway Protection Force, got hold of a suspect from the spot when he was sitting inside Ahmadabad Express at the time of  incident.

Gupta said, “We have caught a suspect and he has been taken into remand. It is premature to say whether the fire was a militancy related incident.” 

Jammu, May 28
The Socialist Democratic Party (SDP) today organised a function in which some activists from different political and social organisations joined the party. The function was chaired by the SDP general secretary Ajay Kumar. Party provincial president Deepu Ranotra had organised the function.

Ranotra said the SDP’s door-to-door mobilisation mission was yielding very encouraging results for the party in Jammu division. “We have started our preparations for next year’s Assembly elections in the Jammu division and the response of the youth to our party’s people friendly programmes is immense,” he claimed.

SDP leaders Kamaljeet Singh and Balvinder Singh Charak were also present. Activists who joined the SDP include Sachin Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Manjeet Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Purshottam Singh, Sunil Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Gagan Deep Singh, Dev Raj, Devender Kumar, Bunti, Purshottam Sharma, Banarsi Lal, Girdhari Lal, Bansi Lal and Tarseem.

Jammu, May 28
The inter-ministerial central team, headed by Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Bhagwan Shankar visited Kishtwar district to assess the damages and to review the post- earthquake measures, taken by the state government in the region.

The team also convened a meeting of officers and conducted aerial and ground survey to assess the damages in the district.

DDC Kishtwar Saleem Muhammad apprised the team about the measures taken by the district administration aftermath 5.8 magnitude quake that struck the Chenab valley on May 1, with the epicenter at Bhaderwah.

The team conducted an extensive tour of the quake-affected areas in the Kishtwar town and peripheral areas and later conducted aerial survey of Padder, Chatroo, Warvan and other far-flung areas of the district.—TNS

Jammu, May 28
The aftershocks of the recent earthquake in Bhaderwah in Doda today damaged a three-storey building at Saddar Bazaar.

On the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, a fresh tremor was felt in Bhaderwah which led to the collapse of a house which had developed cracks due to the earthquake on May 1.

The house belonged to Jhangir Chowdhary. Though there was no loss of life but the house was destroyed.

SDM, Bhaderwah, Ravi Bharti, said the building had already been declared unsafe by the administration as it had developed major cracks. He advised people not to use any unsafe building as aftershocks were still being felt in the region.

Jammu, May 28
Twenty persons were injured when a passenger bus met with an accident at Kotha in Kathua on Tuesday.

The police said the bus, which was on its way from Kathua to Basholi, had a head-on collision with a truck at Kotha leaving 20 persons injured. A rescue team shifted the injured to the hospital where their condition is stated to be stable.