Jammu, July 14
The Transport Department has failed to meet the deadline of two years given by the Supreme Court to fix high security number plates (HSNP) in Jammu, as only 15 per cent of the total vehicles in the region have been fixed with the plates in the past 12 months.

The department has started fixing high-security number plates on the vehicles in Jammu from June 2012, with a target to cover all the registered vehicles within two years.

But as per the records, only 15.47 per cent of the total vehicles have got HSNPs in the past 12 months.

These plates, with advanced security features, are tamper-proof and cannot be replaced and will have an individual code number. All these features would help in curbing vehicle thefts or mistreatment by anti-social elements, claim the officials.

The task of fixing HSNPs was given to Real Mazon India Ltd, which has fixed only 71,561 plates till May, 2013 from June, 2012.

The total number of vehicles registered in the region is 4, 62,714. The company had to clear the backlog of 4.6 lakh vehicles in two years, but it managed to cover only 17,000 vehicles in a year.

An official of Real Mazon India said, “The government has to open a series for old vehicles. A total of four series have been opened in Jammu, but they got poor response from the public. I cannot go out and catch the people to fix the HSNP.”

“I think the processes are going in a smooth way, we are doing our job in a comfortable atmosphere and the government is also happy with our work,” he added.

The Kotwal, Regional Transport Officer, Jammu, said, “The company has speeded up the work and we are gradually starting the old series for fixing HSNPs. I think the target can be achieved in the next 12 months.”

Jammu Transport Commissioner Sanjeev Verma when contacted refused to talk on the issue.

Jammu, July 14
Minister for Housing Raman Bhalla today directed the civic authorities to take action against people who dump building material in nullahs and water channels in Jammu. The practice of dumping waste and building material in the water bodies has been blocking the flow of rain water, leading to flooding in several residential colonies during the heavy rainfall.

The minister asked the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) to carry out a sanitation drive in different areas of the urban pockets of the city, particularly flood-affected localities.

He asked the JMC officers, during his tour to Channi Himmat, Trikuta Nagar Extension and Gangyal areas, to remove debris from nullahs at Channi Himmat, Rahim Nagar, Rajiv Nagar, Gangyal, Digiana, Trikuta Nagar Extension and Bhour Camp so that residents of these areas do not face any inconvenience during the rainy season. He also asked them to channelise Trikuta Nagar, Nanak Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Digiana Ashram, Ambedkar Nagar, Channi Himmat, Dashmash Nagar, Gangyal and Rampura nullahs. The government has approved a plan of Rs 68 crore to clean the nullahs.

Responding to the demand of residents of the Trikuta Nagar Extension, Bhalla said the government had earmarked Rs 20 lakh for the construction of a 150-m retaining wall of a nullah near Sai Vihar.

For improving the power scenario, he informed the people that the Power Development Department (PDD) had already shifted the load of the Greater Kailash station to the Bari Brahamna station so that residents of Babliana, Bandhu Rakh, Gangyal, Trikuta Nagar, Channi Himmat, Greater Kailash, and Sainik Colony would get uninterrupted power supply.

He said the government was committed to provide regular power supply in the metered areas of the state. He called upon the people to use drinking water and power judiciously and avoid power theft and help the PDD in identifying those who misuse power.

Batote, July 14
As many as 5,000 local residents have sought a tehsil as well as block status for Batote by participating in a signature campaign here yesterday. The campaign, started by the District Youth Congress, Ramban, under its president Rashid Malik, has evoked a good response by one and all.

“Batote Niabat was established about 60 years ago and it is having more than 40,000 population in nine panchayats. It is a confluence of three districts--Ramban, Doda and Udhampur. Besides having Patnitop and Sanasar as the most famous tourist resorts of the Jammu province, many state, provincial, district and state level offices are located in the district,” said Malik.

“With the location of offices and guest houses or residences of the private construction companies constructing India’s longest Chenani-Nashri road tunnel, military, para-military forces, Beacon (GREF) and private educational or other commercial institutes here, it has assumed a significance,” he added.

“Ramban MLA Ashok Kumar had raised the demand for incorporating Bibrota, Bhartund, Chaka-Kundi and Chuchattar panchayats of Doda into Ramban district at the District Development Board Meeting on June 22,” he said.

Through the campaign, residents of Batote have yet again urged the Commission for the creation of the new administrative units to accede to their demand.

Jammu, July 14
The Government of India and state governments together spend only 2 paise per capita per day on sports. This was revealed at the recently-concluded conference of Ministers of States of Union Territories (UTs) in charge of the Youth Affairs and Sports held in New Delhi.

The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh. The authorities admitted that there was a major shortfall of investment in the sports sector.

Further, it was also informed that a majority of probables dropout because of high risk, uncertainty and low rewards in the field of sports. Sources said the authorities expressed concern over the grim scenario and stressed on the need to bring changes with immediate effect especially in J&K and other states where sports is not the first choice as a career for youth.

At the meeting, it was decided to introduce a system to identify sports skills. The authorities were asked to strengthen the ongoing centrally-sponsored schemes such as Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA). It was agreed that competitions at the grassroots levels must be encouraged and organized regularly.

It may be mentioned here that the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) has been entrusted the task to cover 4,000 panchayats under the PYKKA before the expiry of the scheme in 2017. Instructions have already been issued to the officers concerned of different districts and educational institutions to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for achieving the targets.

The sources claimed that the ministers concerned were agreed that sportspersons of their respective states were way behind the rest of the world in terms of skills.

Jitendra Singh emphasised upon the need to improve the skills of sportspersons through better coaching, more dependence on sports medicine, better support services and enhanced participation in competitions of a higher standard both in India and overseas.

The sources said the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister suggested that the efforts to address the shortcomings would have to be sustained over a long time span. He added that unless the effort was made into a system for the future, the desired results were unlikely to be achieved.

Batote, July 14
The police recovered the body of Kajal Devi (11), a class V student, who was missing since June 3 from the Nalthi Nullah, in Bhaderwah town yesterday. Her father Rakesh Kumar Bhagat stated in a police compliant that Tirath Singh Bhagat, (29) allegedly kidnapped his daughter on June 4.

A case has been registered in this regard at the Bhaderwah police station. On getting some information from a local resident, the police led by SDPO Jameel Ahmed fished her body out of a nullah at Nalthi.

After autopsy and legal formalities, her body was handed over to her family members.

The police has not ruled out the possibility of rape of the girl before her murder. However, the accused is still at large.

Jammu, July 14
With the advent of a quicker means of communication in our lives, the 160-year-old telegram service, which has delivered happy and sad news to people across the country for many decades, will be discontinued from Sunday.

The Ministry of Telecommunications has decided to discontinue the telegram services from Sunday midnight.

The Chief General Manager Telecom (CGMT), Jammu and Kashmir, RK Koul, said, “The announcement of the government on putting an end to the service didn’t come as a surprise as the number of its users had fallen considerably.”

The service, which once employed over 400 people, was being operated by a single worker.

“There is no question of job cuts. The employees of the telegram services will be redeployed to the customer service departments or will be assigned different tasks,” said Koul.

Having been perceived as archaic and uneconomic in an age of smartphones and internet, it makes a wistful exit.

“The telegram costs an extra rupee for each additional word and may reach up to Rs 20 for 20 words. It is one of the priciest forms of communication, especially when compared to the 50 paisa SMS or the email, in which there is no word limit,” a BSNL official said.

It was due to the efforts of Maharaja Ranbir Singh that a telegram line between Jammu and Kashmir was set up in the 1877.

It might not affect those living in their virtual world, but for people who have worked with this medium can’t help but feel a twinge today.

Sanjay Pandita, 54, a government employee said, “The closure of the telegram service is like an end of a historical era. Till late 1990s, it was an important medium of communication.”

“Though in the recent years, it has almost been forgotten, it will be remembered by the people, who had used it,” he added.

Abhishek Mahajan, 19, said, “Though I don’t know how this worked but I have heard stories from my grandfather. There was a secret code of telegrams that only the trained persons know.”

“We live in a tech-savvy world and in the age of wireless communication. But it does sound wonderful and intelligent-sending and deciphering messages through simple dots and dashes,” he added.

Jammu, July 14
Members of the National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) today appealed to the Prime Minister to announce the release of the pending instalment of 10 per cent of dearness allowance (DA) due from July in favour of Central and state government employees and pensioners at the next Union Cabinet meeting.

Addressing a workers’ rally at the Brahman Sabha, NMC president Subash Shastri said the salaried class was facing lot of economic hardships due to inflation and the early release of the DA instalment would be a genuine measure to provide some relief to them.

Recalling the recommendations of the 4th Pay Commission which was implemented in January, 1986 by the then government, Shastri said it had also recommended that the new Pay Commission should be constituted as soon as the DA crosses 50 per cent of the basic pay or pension.

He claimed that the DA had already touched the 80 per cent mark and requested the authorities for early setting up of a pay panel.

The other demands of NMC included merger of 50 per cent DA with basic pay or pension, interim relief of 20 per cent of basic pay or pension be provided to Centre and state government employees and pensioners, release of salary of motivators, their regularisation, enhancement in wages of daily wagers, Amendment in SRO 64, an increase in medical allowance etc.

Jammu, July 14
Blood bank authorities of Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Memorial Hospital in Jammu are not providing refreshment to the blood donors, despite having a procedure for the same.

After the blood donation, hospital authorities are supposed to provide the refreshment in the form of a bottle of juice to donors in all government hospitals, but in SMGS hospital this practice is not in place.

The SMGS is the associated hospital of Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, and have to follow the rules and regulations of the Medical Education Department in all respects, including providing refreshment to the blood donors.

“I donated one point of blood on Wednesday, but no refreshment was given by the hospital authorities. I waited for around 10 minutes, but no one came forward,” said Harpreet Singh, a resident of RS Pura, who had come to SMGS for donating blood for one of his relative.

The GMC authorities said they were not aware of this, but it was the right of every blood donor to get refreshment.

“I am not aware of it. I hope every blood donor gets refreshment straight after donation. This serves two purposes, one is the immediate feeding of the donors and the other that he rests for sometime, which is important after donating blood,” said Dr Vijay Sahni, in charge, GMC blood bank.

Sahni said providing a bottle of juice would not serve the purpose of proper food, but it is a token of respect to the donor that he has donated blood, which is precious for saving a life.

“I will make sure that the refreshment is given to the donors in SMGS and other associated hospitals of GMC,” Dr Sahni added.

Meanwhile, in J&K, the hospitals only get Rs 10 for providing refreshment to blood donors whereas 
hospitals outside the state get Rs 25.

“We are still sticking on Rs 10 whereas hospitals across the country outside Jammu and Kashmir get Rs 25 for providing refreshment to blood donors,” Dr Sahni said, adding that, one can’t buy even a small bottle of juice in Rs 10.

“During this time when inflation is all time high, Rs 10 is not able to serve the purpose and providing refreshment to donors is not possible in this much amount,” he added. 

Reasi, July 14
The 165th birth anniversary of Maharaja Partap Singh, who was the king of J&K from 1885 to 1925, before Amar Singh's son Hari Singh succeeded his uncle as the Maharaja in 1925, was celebrated by the Zorawar Singh Memorial Committee, Reasi, here today.

Speaking on the occasion, Baldev Singh, president of the committee, said, “Maharaja Partap Singh was a revolution into himself and he showed the roads of democracy to the entire country.”

The committee in its resolution accused the Central leadership for discriminating with the great, national gist and secular leadership of J&K. He accused the Central leadership for injuring the sentiments of voice of nationalism.

The committee also felicitated Balwant Thakur, who hails from Reasi, on being conferred with the Padma Shri Award 2013 for his valuable contributions in the cultural arenas.

The occasion was also graced by DC Reasi Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, members of the Bar Association, Reasi, besides locals.

Jammu, July 14
Accolades continue to pour in for cricketer Shubam Khajuria who had recently created history after being selected in the U-19 Indian team for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka.

After the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) today felicitated the Jammu lad for his stupendous achievement. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Naveen Aggarwal, who is the Director General of the Sports Department, honoured the budding cricketer in a simple but impressive function held on the premises of the DYSS office at Gandhi Nagar here.

The DG DYSS interacted with Shubam Khajuria and his father Pardeep Khajuria and enquired about his education and cricket career.

He congratulated Shubam Khajuria for bringing laurels to the state and hoped that his selection in the Indian team would motivate other young cricketers of the state to work hard in order to get selected in the national team. A memento was presented to Shubam Khajuria by ADGP Naveen Aggarwal.

“It is a proud moment not only for the parents of Shubam Khajuria, but for the entire state that a young lad has secured a berth in the Indian team. Infact, the department is trying its level best to devise a comprehensive strategy to tap the hidden potential in the youth in different disciplines,” Naveen Aggarwal said.

Jammu, July14
Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar, today organised a free women cancer screening and consultation camp at its super-specialty OPD clinic in Gandhi Nagar. More than 50 patients were benefitted from the camp, wherein 35 women with different cancers like breast, cervical and ovarian were examined by Dr Rajinder Kaur Saggu.

The hospital on Saturday had hosted the "Festival of Hope- Women Cancer Survivors Festival" to spread awareness about the killer disease and to celebrate the spirit and courage of women cancer survivors.

Dr Saggu said, "Cancers arise due to accumulation of damage of genes involved in controlling cell growth and DNA repair. As we know that early cancer screening and mammography saves lives, so it is crucial to reach out to those who have not been screened or who are left behind in screening."

Dr Sandeep Kaur, Assistant Professor, Radio Oncology, Government Medical College said, "200 women die of cervical cancer every day and every 13 minutes, a woman dies of breast cancer in the country."

"This project ensures that women have the opportunity to have same day Papanicolaou (PAP) test after the education session as well as the opportunity to book a future PAP or mammography appointment," said Dr Manish Manocha, Group Head, Jammu and Kashmir from Amandeep Hospital.

The programme was attended by more than 200 prominent citizens from across the state which include Rani Blowria, MLC,Jammu and Kashmir assembly, Deputy Controller Drugs and Food Organisation, Jasmmu and Kashmir, Planning Secretary and others.

Jammu, July 14
A Hindi play 'Zameen Ka Sawal' was featured at Natrang Studio Theatre in its weekly theatre series. The play has been written by Partap Sehgal and directed by Neeraj Kant.

The play unfolded story of a single person, yet reflects the overall pathetic scenario of the country where nepotism has surpassed the real talent. The play opens in a trial room where a high-level committee is enquiring about a very grim incident where five people at different locations were killed by sending letter-bombs. 'Ranganathan' a very senior scientist is accused of the crime as all evidence were against him.

Initially, he does not admit to the crime, but when given a false news that his only son is also killed in the same manner, he breaks and with a deep agony in the heart, he accepts his crime which he had committed to take revenge from all those who were responsible for hurdles in his growth and promotion.

Despite being the most talented and deserving scientist, he was denied a due promotion as it was granted to someone else who was close to the minister. This renders a harsh frustration in his mind, he asserts that only hard work and ability will take you nowhere in this system, where corruption and favoritism are deep-rooted.

Natrang's young artists who performed brilliantly in the play included Uplaksh Singh Kotwal, Ashwani Bali, Sushil Raina, Sachin Saini, Shekhar Sharma and Pankaj Verma. Lights were designed and operated by Mohit Sharma and the music was operated by Mohd. Yaseen, Sajra Qadir did the presentations and the show was coordinated by Sumeet Sharma.

Jammu, July 14
The All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association (AJHLA) has expressed strong resentment over the in ordinate delay in completing the artificial lake project in the Tawi.

It has regretted that the project has been stuck up due to the paucity of funds provided to the Irrigation Department, which is implementing the project.

A meeting of the All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association was held under the chairmanship of its president Indeerjeet Khajuria here yesterday. Members expressed concern over the reports that the prestigious project of the lake in the Tawi had been put in limbo due to want of funds with the Irrigation Department for diverting 17 sewages, which are presently flowing into the Tawi.

Indeerjeet Khajuria observed that the dream project of stakeholders in making the city and its surroundings as independent tourist destination was scheduled to be completed by March-April last year. But the deadline was extended to July 2013 and then to December this year. There are reports that for the want of adequate funds, required for diverting the sewage lines, flowing into the Tawi, the project may not meet the new deadline.

The All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association further observed that on their consistent demands, the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had approved the project, which was strongly supported by then Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla.

Similarly, MP from Jammu Madan Lal Sharma, and present Minister for Irrigation and PHE Sham Lal Sharma had repeatedly assured them of the project becoming reality before the monsoon this year.

But despite their keen interest in the project, the same is in doll drums, due to want of more funds required to divert the sewage lines, so that their flowing into the Tawi does not ultimately make the lake as a pool of filthy and dirty water containing night soil of the city and become a breeding ground for all ailments.

Jammu, July 14
Formidable J&K Police XI got the better of Singh Challengers Club (SCC), Akhnoor, by a convincing margin of 32 runs in the summit clash to clinch the title trophy of the 5th Pawan Memorial T20 Cricket Tournament organised by Singh Cricket Club, Akhnoor, at Government Higher Secondary School grounds, Akhnoor.

Earlier, after winning the toss and batting first, JKP XI accumulated 164 runs for the loss of six wickets in the stipulated quota of 20 overs. Naresh Kumar, Pankaj Ladda and Ashwani Kotwal contributed 45, 40 and 22 runs, respectively. For SCC, Pankaj Kumar and Gimmy Mani snared two wickets each while Vikram Singh claimed one wicket.

In reply, SCC was bundled out for 133 runs in 18.3 overs and thus lost the match by 32 runs. Pankaj Sharma was the top scorer with 42 runs while Vinod and Abitash Sharma contributed 20 runs each.

For JKP XI, Anshuman, Rajesh Gill and Naresh scalped two wickets each. RK Bhat, Majid and Ashwani chipped in with one wicket each.

Naresh Kumar was adjudged the man of the match while Ashwani Kotwal was declared the man of the series. The winner team was presented a cash prize of Rs 10,000 along with a trophy and individual prizes given by chief guest Thakur Suram Singh, PDP district president (rural). The runner-up team pocketed a cash prize of Rs 5,000 and a trophy.