The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Govt docs charge at their whim
Fleece patients by charging fee higher than the prescribed rate during their private practice
Arteev Sharma/TNS

Jammu, May 30
In contrast to the state government's efforts to streamline the healthcare system in the state, government doctors who have private practice continue to charge patients according to their whims and fancies. The reason is said to be lack of uniformity in consultation fees and the 'validation' period for the visit of patients.

Though the health department had fixed 'category-wise' consultant fees based on the qualification and grade of the doctor, yet the government rules are not being adhered to by the doctors.

According to the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Jammu, the assistant surgeons with MBBS or BDS degrees are allowed to charge Rs 50 per patient, while assistant surgeons with post graduation and lecturers with higher qualification can charge Rs 75 per patient.

Similarly, the B-Grade specialist or assistant professor can charge Rs 100 while the associate professors, professors, A-Grade specialist and special scale specialist may charge Rs 150 per patient. The consultation fees would be valid for two weeks with a total of three visits in a week.

A senior health department official said the notification was being observed in breach by the government doctors who were allowed to do private practice after duty hours.

“While some doctors charge consultation fees anything between Rs 200 and 250, others are charging exorbitant fees up to Rs 400,” the official said. However, the seriousness of the state administration to implement the norms could be gauged from the fact that a Jammu-based activist, who sought CM Omar Abdullah's intervention to ensure compliance of the rules by submitting a complaint at the Chief Minister grievance cell but have been waiting for a response for past seven months.

“There is a complete mismatch between Chief Minister's slogans and the working of his grievance cell. I made a complaint in the Grievance Cell on November 24 last year but the nodal officer didn't initiate any action for four months. After failing to get a response, I filed an application under the RTI Act with the Directorate of Health Services Jammu on April 15, just to know whether they received my complaint,” Balvinder Singh, convener Sangarsh-an RTI Movement, an organisation of RTI activists said. He said the next day the nodal officer forwarded his complaint to the Directorate Health Services, Jammu, to get a feedback from the department. “The Director Health Services replied to Secretary Health Department on April 17 but the department did not issue any directive to the field officers to implement notification despite 13 reminders,” he said. Shabir Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Health said he was not aware about the situation and he would ensure compliance of the notification.

throwing norms to the wind

The health department has fixed the consultation fees for asssistant surgeons at Rs 50 and Rs 75 per patient as per their qualifications but most charge up to Rs 400

No pension for Sports Council staff
Vikas Sharma/TNS

Jammu, May 30
The Finance Department has rejected a proposal to grant pension to employees of the Sports Council. The proposal to adopt the New Pension Scheme (NPS) for the employees of the J&K State Sports Council was put forth by the Commissioner/Secretary to the government for the Youth Services and Sports and Technical Education department.

Sources said the proposal had suggested social security be provided to the employees after retirement. Sources said the employees of Sports Council were demanding pension. Sources said during the recently convened general council meeting, the members had informed the Chief Minister about the concerns of the Sports Council employees.

The employees are a disappointed lot after the proposal to give them pension was rejected by the Finance Department. “The pension scheme for the J&K State Sports Council was agreed upon on the pattern of the Khadi, Village and Industries Board but the Finance Department has not adopted it as yet despite the fact that there will be no financial liability on the government up to 2026," sources said.

Sources said in view of the NPS adopted by the government in 2010, the Finance Department had refused to grant pensionary benefits to Departmental Societies and wanted that the J&K State Sports Council could join NPS Tier-II. There is no social security scheme in existence with the state government as per the earlier decision of the Sports Council.

“There is nothing one can do once the decision has been taken by the authorities. In fact, it was a long pending demand of the employees of the State Sports Council to provide them pensionary benefits like other departments as per the new NPS but it actually it did not happen," an official said.

Sources said the members of the autonomous sports body in the crucial meeting had also expressed resentment over the slow pace of development of sports infrastructure in the state. They said the government should uplift the overall sports scenario to create opportunity for the budding sportspersons to prove their worth.

JU to host Science Congress in Feb
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
Jammu University will host 101st Indian Science Congress, the biggest event in the history of the varsity, from February 3 to 7 next year. The conference is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The event will be attended by more than 12,000 science experts from India and abroad.

In this connection, Professor Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, Vice-Chancellor of the university appointed the local secretaries, sectional secretaries of each individual technical session and conveners of four parallel events.

The Vice-Chancellor announced the appointment of secretaries during a meeting, which was held in his office chamber today. Threadbare discussions were held regarding the preparations needed for the smooth conduct of the event.

Backward areas find no place in State Eligibility Test
RBA aspirants decide to move court against KU notification
Our Correspondent

Rajouri, May 30
Expressing anguish over the non-consideration of residents of backward areas (RBA) category in State-Level Eligibility Test (SET), for recruitment of lecturers and assistant professors, aspirants belonging to the backward areas of J&K have decided to move court against the SET notification, issued by the University of Kashmir (KU), if amendment is not made in the notification in a week’s time. They have also demanded reduction in fee for applying for the same.

A meeting of aspirants, under the chairmanship of Zakir Malik, was held in Rajouri. It was decided in the meeting to file a writ petition in the J&K High Court against the notification if the authorities failed to make amendment in a week’s time.

Malik said the examination was at the state level and those who qualified it were eligible for the post of lecturers and assistant professors in colleges and universities of J&K only. Even though it was applicable to the state, the authorities had shown discrimination against the aspirants belonging to the backward areas of the state while ST, SC, OBC and handicapped categories have been considered for the examination, he said.

The RBA aspirants also expressed anguish over the huge fees fixed for applying for this examination and said no concession had been given to the RBA candidates.

The meeting was attended by a number of aspirants, including Rayaz Ahmed, Jawaid Iqbal, Fareed Ahmed, Aabid Hussain, belonging to the backward areas of the state.

Prior to 2002, the candidates who qualified SET was considered eligible for the posts of lecturers and assistant professors outside the state also.

Oriental Academy students leave for Manali
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
A group of 50 students, including 24 girls, of Oriental Academy Higher Secondary School, today left for Manali to participate in the Himalayan Trekking Programme being organised by Tawi Trekkers, J&K.

The group is being led by Sonam Sidharth and Akshay Sadotra. Four representatives of Oriental Academy, including vice-principal Shruti Chauhan and three teachers, Bhumesh, Arvinder Kaur and Nishu Dubey, also accompanied the group.

During the four-day programme at Manali, the trekkers would trek around Manali to Jogini Water Fall, View Point, Vashisht Hot Water, Sulphur Springs and Hadimba Temple. The group would also visit Chamunda, Macleodganj, Baijnath and Nagini Devi, en route their journey.

Earlier, the group was flagged off by Ved Chauhan, principal of the school. Prominent among others present on the occasion were Ram Khajuria, secretary, Tawi Trekkers J&K, Vivek Chauhan, manager of Oriental Academy and office bearers of Tawi Trekkers.

PDP starts signature drive for preserving monuments
Our Correspondent

Rajouri, May 30
To safeguard 100-years-old historical monuments and mughal sarais of twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, a signature campaign was launched by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Shahzad Khan today.

Khan demanded that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should take concrete measures to safeguard and preserve the monument which connected the rich history and traditions to the present day.

He said the heritage monuments were in a dilapidated state due to the apathetic attitude of government agencies and most of the monuments had been encroached upon by people. Not only this, many of the monuments had been occupied by securityforces and no heed had been paid to preserve these structures.

Shahzad said the tourism department was neglecting the border districts, despite these places being bestowed with a large number of scenic and historical monuments.

He said the time had come for the government to wake up from deep slumber and preserve the monuments.

Others present on the occasion were Maqsood Khan, Zubair Shah, Zahoor Bhatti, Murtaza Qureshi, Fareed Manhas, Abdul Ghani, Shabir Hussain, Javid Khan, Naushad and Muzaffar Hussain.

Residents help cops nab culprits in Kishtwar
Amir Karim Tantray
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
Collective efforts of the police and residents of Kishtwar are bearing fruits as the police has nabbed anti-social elements on the basis of the information provided by common people.

With the help of public darbars, advertisements through local news channels and other mediums, the police is reaching out to the people with the message that consuming alcohol, cannabis and gambling are not good for the society.

“We asked common people to inform us about such anti-social elements so that we can put a check on them. In return the people responded positively and the results were beyond our expectations. We are conducting regular raids and things are improving,” said Kulbir Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, who is presently working as in-charge SP Kishtwar.

A few days ago, people of Pochal area, in the outskirts of Kishtwar town helped the police to get hold of few such anti-social elements. They were released by the police after giving warning.

The police is covering all areas of Kishtwar district to put an end to the menace of alcoholism and gambling.

“We are trying to reach every nook and corner of the district and the people are actively participating,” Singh added.

This is the first of its kind of steps taken by the police where common people have been involved to put check on anti-social elements after getting information from public.

Besides, putting gag on anti-social elements, the police has stated a drive against vehicles being run without having Passenger Service Vehicle (PSV) license.

“So far we have detained 60 such drivers who were driving vehicles without having PSV license. It is an important step which has reduced the percentage of accidents in the area,” he said.

RTI training workshop ends
NCM Chairman releases guide on how to use RTI Act
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
A two-day state-level RTI training workshop concluded here today. The programme was organised by the Sangarsh RTI Movement in collaboration with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi.

The participants from different districts of the state, including college professors, senior citizens, activists, ex-army officers, legal experts and students, were provided ‘section-wise and rule-wise’ information about all the aspects of the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act (RTI) 2009.

In a press statement issued here, the organisers said the objective of conducting the workshop was to prepare more trainers and experts on the RTI so that they could educate others about the same.

On the valedictory function, Wajahat Habibullah, Chairman of the National Commission for Minority (NCM), unveiled a book titled ‘Your Guide to Using the JK RTI Act’ authored by Venkatesh Nayak and Nandita Sinha from CHRI.

Rehana Batool, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Nandita Sinha, Amikar Parwar of CHRI, Feroz Ahmad, retired IAS officer, Balvinder Singh, Convener Sangarsh RTI Movement, RTI activist Raman Sharma, Darvinder Singh, Deepak Sharma, Rahil Gupta and Dr Shiekh Ghulam Rasool, convener JK RTI Movement from Kashmir were also present.

Lawyers condemn distorted version about fellow lawyer
Legal Correspondent

Jammu, May 29
Young Lawyers Association, Jammu, in the meeting of its office-bearers strongly condemned some news items appearing in a section of the print media about a young lawyer, Gurveer Singh.

As per the press release, the office-bearers have verified the facts of the case from Gurveer, in which his name has been mentioned. According to Gurveer, there is nothing adverse against him or any of his family members and neither he nor any of his family members is involved in any such case as is being alleged. All inquiries and investigations in the said case are being conducted by the independent investigating agency and authorities concerned of the state.

The association has taken serious note of certain statements issued by some persons, in order to gain publicity in the case.

Residential mobilisation programme held
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
To increase enrolment of students in government educational institutions, a three-day residential mobilisation training programme was held under the supervision of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Chairperson and Zonal Education Officer (ZEO), Padma Dolkar.

Different zones were divided into three centres, namely High School, Meen Sarkar, High School, Rajinderpura and High School, Purmandal. Kameshwar Dubey was the coordinator of High School, Meen Sarkar while Ghulam Abhas and Mamta Mahajan were the coordinators of High School, Rajinderpura and High School, Purmandal.

The programme was attended by members of Village Education Committee (VEC), parents teachers association (PTA), local bodies, panches and sarpanches. Many issues regarding quality and quantity of education in government schools were discussed during the programme wherein the members expressed their views to uplift these institutions in every sphere.

School holds investiture ceremony

Jammu, May 30
Stephens International Public School (SIPS), Miran Sahib, RS Pura, today organised an investiture ceremony to elect the new Head Boy and Head Girl.

Kunal Saini was elected as the Head Boy while Aakriti as the Head Girl. Sports Captain, Divyansh, Cultural Captain, Jagandeep Kour and Discipline Captain, Rohit Kumar were also elected among the nominated candidates.

In addition, House Captains, Vice-Captains and House Prefects were also elected for all four houses, namely Peace House, Courage House, Wisdom House and Joy House.

Principal of the school, Satvinder Saini presented sashes and badges to the elected council members. She urged the students to be honest and loyal while delivering their duties.

Later, an oath-taking ceremony was also conducted in which the newly elected cabinet took the pledge to deliver their duties with pure mind and conscience. —TNS

SCC reach T20 tourney semis
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
Mushtaq Wani took three wickets while Hinan played a knock of 30 runs to help Shahid Cricket Club (SCC), Ghat, advance into the semifinal of the ongoing 9th Gufran Memorial T20 Cricket Championship, being played at Sports Stadium, Doda.

SCC got the better of Andhra Pradesh Cricket Club (APCC) by eight wickets. Batting first after winning the toss, APCC set a target of 74 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Shiva was the top scorer with 30 runs while Pramod contributed 13 runs. For SCC, Mushtaq Wani took three wickets while Zahid chipped in with two wickets.

In reply, SCC did the needful in the 12th over for the loss of two wickets. Hinan was the highest scorer with 30 runs while Waqar contributed 24 runs. For APCC, Mahesh and Subramanyam shared a wicket apiece.

Mushtaq Wani of SCC was declared the man of the match. The match was officiated by BCCI Ranji trophy umpires Sanjay Singh and Dharmesh Bhardwaj while Rinku Badoria was the scorer.

The tournament is being organised by Young Star Cricket Club (YSCC), Doda and is sponsored by Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd and Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, Doda.

SOS School judokas shine in inter-school competitions
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 30
The judokas of SOS School fetched the maximum medals in under-17 age group in the inter-school indoor competitions of Jammu district, organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) at Indoor Sports Complex, MA Stadium.

Out of the seven weight categories, SOS boys claimed five gold and two silver medals. In under-14 category, SOS boys had to be satisfied with two gold medals and a silver medal respectively.

Final Result:

U-17 (below 40-kg): Pardeep Singh of SOS Ist and Sumedh Singh of Oriental Public School 2nd.

Below 45-kg: Sumit Kumar of SOS Ist and Nikhil Singh of Dewan Devi 2nd.

Below 50-kg: Munesh Sharma of SOS Ist and Akrit Sharma of KC International 2nd.

Below 55-kg: Shubham Singh of SOS Ist and Shashant Baru of MHAC Nagbani 2nd.

Below 60-kg: Jaspreet Singh of SOS Ist and Hitesh Langer of KC International 2nd.

Below 65-kg: Rambabu Singh of BSF Ist and Amarpreet of SOS 2nd.

Below 70-kg: Sagar of BSF Ist and Mohit Koul of SOS 2nd.

U-14 (below 25-kg): Bupesh Singh of BSF School Ist and Vinamra Kant of KC International 2nd.

Below 30-kg: Kanav Sharma of New Era Ist and Raman Sharma of BSF Paloura 2nd.

Below 35-kg: Shivam Sharma of SOS Ist and Shreesh of Sangrilla Public 2nd.

Below 40-kg: Mridul Kerni of KCIS Ist and Vikram Sharma of BSF School 2nd.

Below 45-kg: Bilal Abdul Wani of SOS Ist and Syed Sibtrin Mohammad of KCIS 2nd.

Below 50-kg: Azad Chander of St Xavier Ist and Udher Gupta of KCIS 2nd.

Above 50-kg: Naman Choudhary of KCIS Ist and Pawan Deep Singh of SOS 2nd.

U-14 taekwondo (below 23-kg): Ragav Mehra of Janta MS Ist and Sushand Verma of APS Domana 2nd.

Below 25-kg: Mohit of APS Domana Ist and Tushar of RRL School 2nd.

Below 27-kg: Aryan Gupta of Sangrilla Ist and Dinesh of APS Domana 2nd.

Below 29-kg: Vishvajeet of APS Domana Ist and Gourav of Adarsh Niketan 2nd.

Below 32-kg: Akarshit of APS Nagrota Ist and Rohit Kumar of Adarsh Niketan 2nd.

Below 35-kg: Aman of Adarsh Niketan Ist and Bhanu of APS Domana 2nd.

Below 38-kg: Pawan of Adarsh Niketan Ist and Naman Jamwal of Jodhamal 2nd.

Below 41-kg: Ajay Kumar of Adarsh Niketan Ist and Nikhil Pandey of APS Domana 2nd.

Above 41-kg: Arun Mehra of Janta Model HS Ist and Surinder Slathia of May Fair HSS 2nd.

Yoga (U-17): Nitesh Jamwal of DBN Ist, Alash Sharma of MHAC Nagbani 2nd and Sadam Hussain, DBN, 3rd.

U-14: Aditya Singh of SOS Ist, Alash Sharma of MHAC Nagbani 2nd and Satyam Sharma of MHAC Nagbani 3rd.

U-17 Squay Martial Art (below 40-kg): Mohammad Shahrukh of MIER Ist and Anmol Pangotra of MIER 2nd.

Below 56-kg: Saurav Gupta of SM Jain School Ist and Manu Saksham of BSF School 2nd.

Below 60-kg: Sagar Singh of BSF School Ist and Pranav Chander of MIER 2nd.

Woman commits suicide

Jammu, May 30
Rita Devi of Bakshi Nagar who had committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance yesterday died at the Government Medical College, Jammu, today.

She had consumed some pills at Rani Park area of Jammu city. She was immediately admitted to the hospital. The police said, the deceased wrote in her suicide note that she was facing medical problems.—TNS

Constable manhandled

Jammu, May 30
A constable Mushtaq Ahmed Wagay was allegedly manhandled by three prisoners at district jail Amphalla here today. The police said Wagay had an argument with prisoners Jaspreet Singh, Amandeep Singh and Dharam Veer Singh in the jail, which led to a quarrel.

The inmates manhandled Wagay. Other policemen saved the constable.

A case was registered at Pacca Danga police station in this regard.—TNS

Cheaters’ gang busted in Rajouri

Rajouri, May 30
The police today busted a cheaters’ gang by arresting two persons from Dharal area of the district. Reports said Rupesh Kumar Shah and Manish Kumar Shah, residents of Bihar, were arrested for cheating people in the name of cleaning gold ornaments. The police said the cheaters targeted rich people.

They used a unique kind of acid in which they dipped gold jewellery for brightness and collected the upper layer of the gold. Today when they were cleaning gold ornaments of a woman, identified as Nazima wife of Imtyaz Malik of Chocki in Dharal area, the woman got suspicious of their activities and informed the police. —OC