Jammu, August 20
Skeletons are tumbling out of the Bahu Fort wall collapse incident on Saturday here. The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) has done only "minor repair and patch work" at the centuries-old fort in the past eight years, notwithstanding that it exhausted more than 68 per cent of the funds out of the total budget.

Major cracks have developed in the entire structure, except the famous Kali Mata Temple, which is being maintained and looked after by priests.

The JDA was given the task of repair and maintenance of the fort by the state Archaeological Department in 2005 with the total budget allocation of Rs 69.5 lakh, out of which the department has spent more than Rs 47 lakh. However, so far, nothing much is visible on ground.

JDA officials claim that they have completed more than 80 per cent of the renovation work. However, neither did they touch the wall which collapsed nor have they done anything “extraordinary” to renovate Rani Mahal, which is situated on the rear side of the fort.

Official apathy can be gauged from the fact that wild grass has grown inside the palace and major cracks have appeared on all the walls of the fort. The stairs inside the fort are also in a dilapidated condition. Only the front portion of the fort looks sturdy.

Every year, lakhs of pilgrims visit Kali Mata Temple which is situated at the centre of Bahu Fort. Although the temple and the surrounding area is safe, it is not being maintained by the JDA and the Archaeology Department.

Violation of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act can be witnessed at first sight. The wall, which collapsed due to heavy rains, had been repaired with stones and cement in utter violation of the norms as the Archeology Department does not allow use of such material during the repair of any historical monument.

JDA Vice-Chairman Satish Nehru said, “The concrete was used in 1990s, when it was not repaired by the PWD. We only used the material prescribed by the Archeology Department.”

Locals residing in the area said the JDA had started the work in 2006 for three-four months but only filling work on the wall was done. They said after that, no work had been done in the fort by any agency.

Bahu Fort Market Union president Vivek Patihal said, “The Archaeology Department and the JDA are responsible for the collapse of the fort wall. They have done nothing more than some filling work on the walls and that too in the front only."

Bahu Fort is one of the most ancient structures in the state and is said to have been originally built by Raja Jambu Lochan about 3,000 years ago. Records say Raja decided to build the fort when he witnessed a "curious scene of a tiger and a goat drinking water side by side in the Tawi river".

It was refurbished by the erstwhile Dogra rulers in the 19th Century, during the reign of Maharaja Gulab Singh after the fall of the Sikh empire in 1840.

‘Set up panel to look into damages despite renovation’

The Dogra Heritage Development Society today demanded immediate short and long term measures to restore Bahu Fort to its original glory.

The members of the Dogra Heritage Development society, under the Chairmanship of Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, as well as civil society members expressed their concern over the recent damage caused to the main wall of the fort, besides cracks in various portions of the fort due to heavy rains.

The society has urged the state government to constitute a committee of experts to look into the reasons of damage caused in the fort complex despite spending of crores of rupees on repair work. It has asked the government to organise a national level workshop of experts in the fields of geological, structural and environmental (natural heritage) conservation. 

Jammu, August 20
The Joint Review Mission team of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Teacher Education (CSSTE) has claimed that due to two distinct academic calendars - one for the mountainous and colder regions and another for the plains in the state - educational institutions have different academic sessions and different timings for examinations.

It said the logistics of this unusual exercise has put an undue pressure on human and other resources of the educational structure in the state.

The Joint Review Mission was conducted recently wherein the team visited Jammu and Kashmir and took up its observations in a meeting with state officials in Delhi.

The team claimed that literacy rates had increased by about 14 per cent between 2001 and 2011. However, it pointed out that the female literacy rate was still abysmally low at 58.1 per cent. The team said the gross enrolment ratios had increased and stood at 97.3 per cent at the primary level and 96.3 per cent at the upper-primary level.

Team members said their interactions with teachers and administrators had revealed that gender issues needed more attention in terms of staffing and resources. They stressed the need to create gender sensitivity, given the manner in which conflict had affected the lives of girls and women. They said that there was little awareness of the gendered dimensions of prolonged conflict which deeply impacted education.

“Two Government Colleges of Education and the apex bodies of teacher education do not have dedicated faculty. Teachers are recruited from degree colleges with no specifications of specialisation. They are required to have a B.Ed degree but not necessarily any prior exposure, orientation, training, research output or an expressed interest in education. They are unfamiliar with issues of curriculum and pedagogy at the school level.

"The average tenure in the teacher education college is two to three years on an average before they are transferred back to the degree colleges and their engagement with school education is severed,” the team said.

The mission observed that the issues of delay in releasing funds and transfers was an important concern and it came up at various levels during the review. The team said the funds for 2012-2013 were released in February 2013 and received by the end of March.

The review stated that the issues of distribution of funds and pre-determined nature of allocations were raised during interactions with stakeholders and needed to be sorted out at the earliest. It stated that the process had to be made transparent so that it did not hamper the functioning of the education system, which had other more complex challenges to be resolved.

Jammu, August 20
In the aftermath of Kishtwar violence that took place on August 9, panchayats in the state have come forward to restore peace, calm and normalcy in the wake of tension across the region.

Sarpanches and panches say being local governing bodies and grass-roots representatives of people, they could play a major role in promoting communal harmony.

"In such a crisis, when mistrust and hatred has developed between neighbours, panchayats, being local governing bodies, have a major role to play," said Shafiq Mir, chairman, All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), a frontline organisation of elected sarpanches and panches in the state.

"Without looking at the state and Central governments, it is the direct responsibility of panchayats to work for peace in their respective areas and to bridge the gap created by people with vested interests among different communities," Mir said.

Meanwhile, the curfew continued in Kishtwar town for the 12th consecutive day today. Normalcy is yet to return in this hilly district despite the fact that the government sent a group of ministers and an all-parties delegation to hold deliberations with members of two communities. Three people had lost their lives while around 100 shops had been looted and set on fire in Kishtwar on August 9.

"Panchayats can play an important role in their respective areas in maintaining peace and brotherhood. They must play their role without involving people with vested interests as it is a social issue," he said.

He urged the police to coordinate with the panchayats in their jurisdiction and for maintaining peace.

Mir blamed the Omar Abdullah-led government for the "mess" in the state and said since it came to power in 2009, the state had been "witnessing only killings and curfews". Making an appeal to people of the state, particularly those belonging to Jammu division, Mir said responsible members of the civil society must "not be mute spectators" to the situation.

He said it was a well-planned conspiracy. He appealed to both the communities to shun the rigidity on their respective demands as the present dispensation could not do anything and it would only prolong their miseries. 

Jammu, August 20
Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma today visited the flood-affected areas of Akhnoor.

The minister, accompanied by a team of officers, visited Bakore, Citral, Chack Sikander, Chack Kirpal Pur (Dalput), Chanwan Mara and Sagrampur villages and other low-lying areas on the bank of the Chenab where large tracks of cultivated land of the farmers and other infrastructure was washed away.

During his visit to the flood-affected areas, the minister directed the administration to provide essential services to the people. At Bakore, the minister was informed that some portion of Government Middle School and a temple was washed away due to flash floods. The minister directed the flood control authorities to take restoration work on war footing. Sham assured of all possible help to the residents. He also issued on-the-spot directions to the Flood Control Department to take immediate steps to lay more crates along the flood-prone banks of the Chenab and make a comprehensive plan for the construction of protection bunds.

The minister asked the local administration as well as panchayat members to visit the flood-affected areas of Akhnoor tehsil to assess the losses, including damage to residential houses and loss of cattle heads. He said report would be forwarded to the government for release of relief in the favour of the affected families.

He said directions had been issued to the district administration to conduct survey to assess the damages and submit a report to the state government.

Jammu, August 20
The Shri Ram Sena, J&K, has demanded an immediate release of persons who were arrested during the recent Jammu bandh without registering any criminal cases against them.

Rajiv Mahajan, state president, Shri Ram Sena, said the separatists were creating a lot of tension and fear in the state. The sena demanded further strengthening of the VDCs with sophisticated weapons and communication system to maintain peace and people's confidence in the remote areas.

Rajiv Mahajan blamed some Jammu-based political parties as touts of the state government. He alleged that some political parties had called for Jammu bandh, but did not take serious initiatives for the same.

Mahajan added some political parties called the bandh just to gain media highlight. He also demanded full compensation to every affected person of the Kishtwar violence irrespective of their caste, creed and political affiliation.

Mahajan reminded the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Jammu, that it was their responsibility to ensure compensation to the victims of Kishtwar violence within a time period of one month as per the negotiation reached between them and the state government.

Other office bearers namely Ajay Gupta, Bal Krishan Arora, Pawan Choudhary, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Vijay Gupta, Vijayant Pathania, Pawan Verma, Yogesh Mangotra, SC Singh, Naveen Raina and Deepak Salathia were also present on the occasion.

Jammu, August 20
Office-bearers of Jammu Province and divisional presidents of the Water Works (PHE) Employees Association, Jammu Province, today organised a meeting under the chairmanship of state president Shiv Kumar Sharma.

The meeting was attended by the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) wherein the long-pending demands were discussed. Later, the provincial deputation met with Chief Engineer, PHE Department, Jammu, and submitted a charter of demands.

Their demands included release of wages of daily/casual workers who have not been paid since long, introduction of recruitment policy instead of district recruitment, transfer back all the field staff to their previous place of postings, maintenance of seniority list of field staff/ministerial staff, departmental promotion committee (DPC) meeting etc. The association warned that if the authorities would not take any action, they would resort to agitation. 

Jammu, August 20
The National Service Scheme (NSS) units of Government College for Women (GCW), Parade, inaugurated the Sadbhavana fortnight on the college premises here today.

Principal of the college Dr Hemla Aggarwal was the chief guest of the occasion. The function commenced with the lighting of the lamp followed by Sadbhavana pledge which was undertaken by the principal, staff, NSS programme officers and the NSS volunteers.

NSS song was sung by the students to mark the occasion. In her address, Dr Hemla Aggarwal highlighted the importance of the NSS in the life of students and society at large.

NSS programme officer Dr PP Singh highlighted the series of programmes and activities to be conducted by the NSS units in the fortnight to be celebrated. NSS programme officers Dr SDS Jamwal, Dr Richpal Singh and Prof Shivali Gupta were also present.

Jammu, August 20
Rich Harvest School celebrated Raksha Bandhan festival with fervour and gaiety. Ruchi Charak, trustee, Rich Harvest School, and other staff members along with students were present on the occasion.

The school organised a special event to educate students about the significance of this festival. Students wore colourful traditional Indian wear. Rakhi-making activity was also organised on the school premises and the children were told about the sacred bond between a brother and sister.

Bhadarwah, August 20
Four persons have been booked for their involvement in the killing of a black bear in Bhaderwah a few days ago.

The case has been registered under Sections 8, 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Act and the 6G/35 Forest Act.

Those who have been booked are Surveet Singh, Sundru, Joginder Singh and Santosh Kumar of Banjala village. They are still at large. Yesterday, a police party and officials of the forest department recovered body parts of the bear from a hideout in the Banjala forest area. The officials said that initial investigation had revealed that the bear was killed by some smugglers with an aim to sell its body parts. — TNS

Jammu, August 20
The tussle between the J&K Olympic Association (JKOA) and the J&K State Sports Council continues with the former claiming that no advance grant-in-aid for participation has been sanctioned for a long time.

The JKOA further claimed that the financial assistance to the affiliated sports bodies was not given on the basis of merit but on the "will" of the Secretary, State Sports Council, and the Chief Sports Officer.

“The recent nomination of council members and setting up of the standing committee, nomination of Secretary, a non-member, joint secretaries and treasurer without elections is a violation of rule 5 (IV) of the Constitution. This has brought forth the real face of the council and its high handedness,” the statement released by the JKOA read.

It said, “First members are nominated in the council and the standing committee and then they are asked to show cause as to why recognition granted to the association, of which they are office-bearers, should not be suspended.”

It claimed that these nominated members were sometimes labelled ineligible for reasons best known to the council. The JKOA further said all such activities of the State Sports Council had shaken the faith of public, sportsmen and parents in the organisation. “Another development in the council hierarchy is that the Sports Council has bifurcated into the administrative wing, under the complete control of the Chief Sports Officer, and the engineering wing, under the complete control of the Secretary, State Sports Council,” the JKOA said.

The Sports Council had recently issued a circular wherein it had claimed that after examining election proceedings of some of the affiliated associations and confidential reports from observers of the Sports Council, it had been revealed that the office-bearers of these associations were holding offices for more than eight years and had again been re-elected on similar coveted posts in violation of the Sports Council guidelines and the Sports Code adopted by the Government of India.

Jammu, August 20
JK Public School (JKPS), Delhi Public School (DPS) and SRML Higher Secondary School have secured a berth in the quarterfinals of the Inter-School U-19 Boys Basketball competitions of Jammu District being organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) at the Mini Stadium, Parade.

In the first round of pre-quarterfinals, JKPS got the better of Banyan Tree School by 18-4 in a one-sided contest while DPS overcame the challenge of Heritage School by 16-6.