Srinagar, August 7
Despite Eid-specific guidelines on alternate traffic diversions, the traffic police has failed to streamline traffic scenario in the city due to Eid rush. The traffic diversion plan, which focuses on making Lal Chowk, a commercial centre of the city, a no-public transport zone from August 6 till Eid, has increased vehicular movement on alternate routes, thus leading to traffic snarls.

On August 1, the Srinagar traffic police had issued a traffic plan to ensure smooth movement of traffic and discourage gridlocks on the Residency and MA Roads during the festival.

No passenger vehicle is being allowed to ply on the Residency Road from Radio Kashmir up to Hari Singh High Street on one side and on Moulana Azad Road from the SRTC Crossing to Jehangir Chowk on the other side except emergency and on-duty vehicles from August 6 till Eid-ul-Fitr prayers.

The vehicles, therefore, are taking the Batmaloo, MA Road, Old Secretariat, Tankipora, Habba Kadal, Barbar Shah, Baba Dharam Das and at Maisuma interior routes where the traffic jams occurred for hours together.

Due to traffic diversions, the vehicular movement was affected on the HazratBal, Soura, Nishat Shalimar and Dalgate routes.

Due to staff shortage, the traffic police could not deploy enough personnel on these routes.

“Although declaring Lal Chowk as a no-public transport zone is a good plan, the traffic police should have made adequate arrangements before diverting traffic to alternate routes. This led to a chaos today and the same is expected tomorrow,” Jameel Ahmad, a city planning expert said.

Meanwhile, the traffic police has sought cooperation from commuters to bear with them. The people have been urged to pool in their cars to avoid traffic jams.

Srinagar, August 7
To review arrangements made for Eid, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar today conducted a tour of the city.

The minister, accompanied by Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner GN Qasba and other senior officers of various departments, inspected the arrangements made for Eid prayers at Polo Ground, Hazratbal Shrine, Khankah-i-Moulla and other places.

The minister directed the SMC Commissioner to make elaborate arrangements for ensuring cleanliness and other things for the convenience of the devotees. He also directed the police authorities to put in place a fool proof security mechanism for the smooth conduct of the Eid prayers. He further asked the traffic police authorities to ensure smooth plying of public and private transport and ensure that the traffic is regulated in a proper manner without any congestion.

Meanwhile, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan today claimed that adequate buffer stock of food grains and essential commodities, including cooking gas and kerosene oil, was available in the state. Chairing a meeting here, he said efforts were being put in place to provide hassle-free ration to the people during the holy month of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.

The minister said the complaints received from various districts in respect of supply and distribution of LPG would be redressed before Eid on priority basis. He stressed for intensifying market checking in the view of Eid-ul-Fitr and tighten noose around black marketers and profiteers to prevent the consumers from being cheated ahead of Eid.

He said the mobile checking squads comprising senior officers of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Department and Crime Branch and Legal Metrology Department would keep close vigil on the markets round the clock.

Srinagar, August 7
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said entrepreneurship development is the right answer to unemployment crisis.

The CM said this while addressing a high-level meeting organised to take stock of the Sher-i-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY) and its various initiatives implemented in the state to help comprehensive employment generation and welfare of the youth, besides enhancing their skill and capacity building to get absorbed in the modern job market within and outside the state.

“The CM highlighted the handholding of youth in their pursuit to generate self-employment and be a part of the entrepreneurship development programme in the state,” an official spokesman said.

Omar Abdullah impressed upon the departments concerned to redouble their efforts in realising the goal of generating employment for five lakh youth in five years.

Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Planning and Development Ajay Sadhotra, Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Economic Advisor to Government Jalil Ahmad Khan, Principal Secretary Finance BB Vyas, Commissioner Secretaries, Surav Bhagat, BA Runiyal, and other senior officers were present at the meeting.

Srinagar, August 7
The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various government employees' bodies, today said it will resume its agitation in support of its demands after the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.

As per the new protest programme announced here, the amalgam will hold state-wide protests on August 22 followed by a lockout strike next day.

“Protest here on August 22 will be held at Sher-e-Kashmir Park that will be followed by a march towards the Chief Minister’s residence. In Jammu, the employees will gherao the Civil Secretariat,” said JCC leader Abdul Qayoom Wani.

Another JCC leader, Farooq Trali, said the protest in Srinagar would be led by Wani, while in Jammu it would be led by senior leader of the organisation Gafoor Dar.

“Employees would hold a state-wide lockout strike next day on August 23 to press for the meeting of their long pending demands,” Trali said.

The employees’ committee has been demanding release of arrears recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers working in various government departments.

They have also been asking for inclusion of five years of contractual service of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers in their service books and regularisation of education volunteers after seven years of service.

After a series of protests and strikes by the employees last year, the government had reached an agreement with the JCC wherein the employees were assured that a decision on their demands would be announced by September 30.

The Joint Consultative Committee, however, resumed protests saying the government had failed to fulfil the promises made to them.

This year too, the government had urged the employee leaders to resolve their issues through talks, but the same had been rejected by the JCC.

Srinagar, August 7
Jammu and Kashmir Bank today presented dividend cheques worth Rs 128.88 crore to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Accepting the cheques from J&K Bank chairman Mushtaq A Lone here, the CM appreciated the bank for its performance despite adverse business environment, an official statement said.

The CM expressed hope that the bank would achieve new highs in the years to come.

“Your performance has been commendable despite adverse business environment and we expect more from you. We would like you to continue your improvement. You are a peoples’ bank and your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is stupendous,” Omar told Lone at a presentation ceremony here.

The CM said Jammu and Kashmir Bank had a great role in socio-economic and entrepreneurship development in the state and impressed upon the bank management to move an extra-mile in this direction, the statement added.

Earlier, J&K Bank chairman Mushtaq Ahmad Lone presented two cheques of Rs 128.88 crore to the Chief Minister on account of Platinum Jubilee Dividend to the state government for the financial year 2012-13, the statement said.

In its platinum jubilee year, the bank approved special dividend of 500 per cent to its shareholders that also includes the Jammu and Kashmir Government, which owns over 53 per cent of the organisation’s shares.

Lone, meanwhile, revealed that the state government has so far received Rs 584.31 crore as dividend since the inception of the bank. He said out of this amount, over Rs 282 crore had been received by the government during last three years, the statement said.

The chairman further said the business of the bank had increased from Rs 63,564 crore as on September 30, 2010 to Rs 1,04,143 crore as on March 31, 2013, registering a growth of 64 per cent.

“The annual profits have more than doubled to Rs 1,055 crore as against Rs 512 crore in March 2010,” Lone said.

Minister for Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather, Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Economic Advisor to the government, Jalil Ahmad Khan, Principal Secretary Finance, B B Vyas and President J&K Bank, Abdul Rauf Bhat were also present on the occasion. 

Srinagar, August 7
The holy mace of Lord Shiva or Chhari Mubarak led by Mahant Deependra Giri was taken to the ancient Sharika-Bhawani temple, Hari Parvat, for prayers on the occasion of ‘shravan shukla paksha pradipada’ as per the age-old customs, here today, said Swami Krishnanad Bharti, Publicity Secretary of The True Trust.

“Goddess Sharika-Bhawani, popularly known as ‘Tripursundari’ amongst the mystics, is believed to be an ‘Isht Devi’ (Presiding Deity) of the Srinagar city who manifested herself in a form of ‘Shila’ (a holy rock) at Hari Parvat. Sadhus who participated in the pujan prayed for peace in the state,” he said.

He said The True Trust founded by Mahant Deependra Giri would make arrangements for sadhus coming from across the country to join 'Chhari-Mubarak Swami Amarnath Yatra' later this month.

The traditional ‘Chhari-Pujan’ will be performed on ‘Nag-Panchami’ which falls on August 11 at the ShriAmareshwar Temple here.

Srinagar, July 7
Although Eid-ul-Fitr is couple of days away, people here are having a hard time buying bakery and confectionery items from their favourite shops. The reason being that a majority of the prominent bakery shops in the city have no stocks left as the sales reached the peak a few days ago.

Items like pastries, cakes, cookies, muffins, patties and Kashmir specific salt bakeries are hot favourites on every Eid in the Valley and the demand remains particularly high days before the festival.

This time around, however, people thronged the shops almost a week earlier, which resulted in the stocks being sold out.

“I was waiting outside Mughal Durbar bakery shop in Lal Chowk for at least two hours in the sun, finally when my turn came, I had to return empty-handed as all the stocks were sold out. The shopkeeper expressed his helplessness and said this time the rush was at its peak several days before Eid,” Muhammad Aamir, a local, said. 

Srinagar, August 7
Over 50,000 people have reaped the benefits of various social schemes in Anantnag district during the current fiscal so far, this was revealed during a review meeting today.

While 7,938 people have been benefited under National Social Assistance Programme, 21,612 people have received help under Integrated Social Security Scheme.

The meeting which was headed by the District Development Commissioner, Anantnag , Farooq Ahmad Lone, was also informed that a sum of Rs 88.68 lakhs and Rs 252.14 lakhs was spent on the respective schemes so far, an official spokesman said.

It was also given out that an amount of Rs 19.77 lakhs is being distributed among 650 beneficiaries on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr under Rehabilitation of Militancy Victim Scheme, while pre-matric minority scholarship, amounting to Rs 347.58 lakhs has been distributed among 23,718 students of the district and covered more than 1,500 educational institutions, he said.

Lone, meanwhile, stressed for early distribution of all the scholarships to the students especially to Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes category in the district.

He also stressed for maintaining transparency at every step during the implementation of these schemes.

Additional District Development Commissioner and Chief Planning Officer among other officials were also present on the occasion. 

Anantnag, August 7
The internet savvy youth of Kashmir have launched an online campaign for the release of hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has been kept under detention at his Kashmir residence in the aftermath of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s execution.

The ‘Free Geelani’ campaign was launched on the social networking site Twitter last evening and aims at the release of the octogenarian, said a blogger on the conditions of anonymity.

“The campaign is aimed at the release of prisoners, including Geelani. It will also help us highlight the plight of youth in Kashmir,” he said.

The 83-year-old Hurriyat leader was kept under detention at his New Delhi residence for more than 20 days after the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9.

On March 7 he was allowed to fly back to his home in Kashmir, but was arrested at Srinagar airport on his arrival and has been put under house arrest since then.