Srinagar, September 27
Talks between the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various employees' bodies, and the Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) ended in a deadlock today, following which the employee leaders decided to resume protests.

“Talks ended in a deadlock and we felt that the government is yet again following its old betrayal policy. The government sought three months' time to address our demands, which is unacceptable to us. We have decided to resume our agitation,” JCC leader Farooq Trali told the Kashmir Tribune after a meeting with the CSC here.

The CSC, which was constituted recently to end the government-JCC deadlock, headed by Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather, held talks with a JCC delegation led by employee leaders Abdul Qayoom Wani and Rouf Ahmad Bhat.

The JCC, which had been holding frequent protests and strikes, had deferred its stir following the talks offer by the government earlier this month.

As per the new protest programme, Trali said the JCC would stage a dharna outside the Civil Secretariat here on October 1 and court arrest. He said it would be followed by a candlelit protest the next day along with a march towards the Chief Minister’s residence. On October 3, the JCC would go for Secretariat gherao, followed by two-day lockout strike on October 4 and 5.

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. However, the JCC then resumed protests, saying the government had failed to fulfil the promises made to them.

The employees’ demands include release of arrears recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 years to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wage and casual workers working in various government departments. The other JCC demands are inclusion of five years of contractual service of Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers in the service book and regularisation of education volunteers after seven years of service.

Tthe Finance Minister reiterated that the government was keen to resolve employees' grievances with a positive frame of mind. He also said the government did not want any confrontation with employees.

Kupwara, September 27
Hundreds of poor patients in Kupwara district have benefited from free treatment under the National Programme for Control and Prevention of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardio-Vascular Diseases and Stroke.

A year back, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had set up a non-communicable diseases cell at the District Hospital in Handwara to screen and control various non-communicable diseases, including cancer. The patients are treated free of cost with chemotherapy at the hospital.

According to data available at the hospital, more than four lakh people have been screened for diabetes and hypertension in the district. “In addition, we have provided more than150 free chemotherapy doses to poor and needy patients in the district,” said Dr Aftab Masood, nodal officer.

Under the supervision of Dr Nazir Ahmad Dar, medical oncologist, the treatment schedule is followed strictly. “We have given chemotherapy doses to patients suffering from different types of cancer and treated the malignancies,” he said.

Poor patients say chemotherapy dose facility in the district has benefited them as they can hardly afford the costly treatment. “Chemotherapy doses costing thousands at private clinics are being given free of cost,” said Ab Aziz Wani, an attendant of a cancer patient.

“I am highly thankful to the authorities for making this facility available at our doorstep. It has also saved patients from hectic travel to institutes like the SKIMS and SMHS in Srinagar,” he added.

Shopian, September 27
Clashes erupted in Shopian town of south Kashmir after Friday congregational prayers today even as a complete shutdown was observed for the sixth consecutive day.

According to reports, protest rallies were taken out from the main mosques in the town soon after the Friday prayers concluded.

Some youths later clashed with police personnel outside the Deputy Commissioner's office. The police retaliated with teargas shells and aerial firing to disperse the protesters.

Clashes were also reported from Malik Mohalla, Aliyarpora, Bonna Bazar, Bhutto Chowk, Meemandar and Gagren areas of the town.

Clashes were going on till the time of filing of this report. No report of injuries to anybody was received so far.

According to reports, all shops, commercial establishments, colleges, schools and offices remained closed and public transport vehicles remained off the roads.

Demanding the complete removal of CRPF camp at Gagren, people in Shopian had been observing a complete shutdown since Sunday when curfew was relaxed after 15 days.

Curfew was imposed in the town after CRPF personnel of the 14th Battalion, housed at the Gagren camp in Shopian, opened fire in the vicinity of the camp and killed 4 people on September 7.

While three of the victims were identified as civilians, the police suspected that the fourth was a Lashkar operative. One more civilian was killed in the same area, allegedly by CRPF personnel of the same camp, on September 11.

A decision to replace the CRPF personnel with the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police was taken by the state Cabinet on September 12. Local residents rejected the change of guard and had been demanding a complete removal of the camp.

Repeated meeting between the Traders Federation, the Bar Association, civil society members and the district administration had failed to break the deadlock.

Srinagar, September 27
One person has been arrested and ammunition recovered from his possession in Bandipora district of north Kashmir, the police today said.

A police spokesman said the man was apprehended at a checkpoint at Wangipora village of Bandipora on the night of September 25.

The man was identified as Parviez Ahmad of Shuganpora village in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, the spokesman said.

The spokesman said two AK magazines, 10 rounds of AK ammunition and one RPG booster were recovered from his possession. 

Srinagar, September 27
Two moderate Hurriyat Conference leaders were today detained in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, the party said.

Zafar Akbar Bhat and Javaid Ahmad Mir were detained near Newa in Pulwama, a moderate Hurriyat spokesman said.

The spokesman said Bhat and Mir were heading to Kulgam and Shopian districts in south Kashmir to meet the families of the four men who were killed in Shopian district in two separate firing incidents earlier this month. The spokesman condemned the detention.

Srinagar, September 27
Around 300 young cyclists from various Kashmir-based schools and members of the faculty of the National Institute of Technology here will take part in an international cycle rally here on September 29.

It will be organised by the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the National Institute of Technology and the University of Kashmir.

The rally will be flagged off simultaneously by National Institute of Technology Director Rajat Gupta and University of Kashmir Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad from the National Institute of Technology campus and the university campus.

The cyclists will pedal to the Foreshore Road in Hazratbal and the award-giving ceremony will be held at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar.

The rally is being observed along with other international cycling rallies being organised by UNICEF in collaboration with many other educational institutions.

"The biggest rally will be held at IIT-Bombay in which cyclists from all over the country will participate," said Sheikh Ghulam Muhammad, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, and event coordinator.

"All rallies will be taken out simultaneously at different venues, We are expecting a good response to this initiative in the Valley as many schools have registered participation," he said.

He added that the rallies would be focusing on raising awareness of the hazards of smoking and the cyclists would carry placards, posters and banners highlighting the hazards of smoking.

"It is an environment-friendly gesture aimed at helping surroundings go green by bringing down the use of vehicles which has brought ecological imbalance. The use of cycles by students on college and varsity campuses needs to be promoted," Sheikh said.

Srinagar, September 27
A number of politicians today termed as caowardly the militant attacks on police and Army installations in Jammu. CPM state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPI state secretary Abdul Rehman Tukru, PDF chairman Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Samajwadi Party state president Sheikh Abdul Rehman, JKNDF chairman Abdul Rashid Kabuli, ANC senior vice-president Muzaffar Shah, IDP president ID Khajuria and Lok Janshakti Party national youth president Sanjay Saraf issued a joint statement today, condemning the attacks.

“It seems that the terrorist attack was aimed at obstructing peace talks between the leaders of India and Pakistan. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We express our heartfelt sympathies to the families of all those who fell victim to the cowardly acts of violence in Jammu yesterday,” they said in the joint statement.

The leaders said it was imperative that these “senseless acts of violence” should not deter the two neighbouring countries from pursuing a path to a better future for their people. They urged the leaders of India and Pakistan that efforts made by the forces “inimical to peace” should not become an impediment in talking and finding solutions to the problems through dialogue. “The real strength lies in pursuing the process of dialogue and in no case should we oblige those who want to derail it,” they stated.

Srinagar, September 27
Umer Nabi of Team Khyber lifted the Khyber 12th Tour de Kashmir cycling expedition title for the third straight time by finishing overall leader at the end of fifth stage held here yesterday.

Being consistent in his performance throughout the tour, Umer kept his focus on average timing instead of finishing first. Despite not finishing first in the single stage, he bagged the trophy with best average timing.

Akber Khan of Team Magpie, who was adjudged best performer of the tour, had to be content with third place in the overall leaderboard position.

He could not recover the time he lost during the mountainous terrain of the third stage despite finishing first in four stages.The time lapse of more than two minutes cost him the title.

Saket Malhotra of Chandigarh finished the tour in second place due to the surprise third stage win, which helped him recover the time lapse in other stages.

The fifth and final stage of the tour, that started from Verinag in south Kashmir on September 22, was flagged off by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Shailender Kumar, from the SKICC.

Akber claimed his fourth tour stage victory with a timing of 34:28:843. Jagdish Kumar finished with a timing of 34:29:137 while Navneet finished third with a timing of 34:29:137.

The prize distribution was held at the SKICC lawns, where Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Shah, was the chief guest.

Director, New JK Roadways, Muhammad Maqbool Lone, and Director, Magpie Hydel, Mir Mudasir, were guests of honour. Travel Agents Association Kashmir representatives and sportspersons were present.

Farooq handed the winner's trophy, yellow jersey and cheque for Rs 40,000 sponsored by New JK Roadways to Umer. Saket was given a trophy and cheque for Rs 25,000. Akber was given the best performer trophy, third place trophy, green jersey and cheque for Rs 15,000.

Hailing the event as the best ever cycling event held in the state, Farooq said, “I have been associated with this event from the beginning and know the difficulties the organisers faced due the problems created by some unscrupulous elements who did not want our youth to compete at a grand stage. Despite the roadblocks, it is great to see the event turning out to be a grand success. The JKSDA deserves applause for that.”

He added, “Jammu and Kashmir has been a trendsetter in various sports activities. Due to lack of support, other states have overtaken us. In that perspective, I do not want this event to go that way and will like it to be an annual affair with more national and international participation.”

The former Director Tourism said tourism and adventure sports were a part and parcel of each other and should be not be deemed as separate things. “This was an adventure event and every adventure activity is a part and parcel of tourism. They should not be taken separately for better promotion of tourism,” he said. University of Kashmir coach Sheikh Adil hailed Umer, a student of the university, for his win.

Srinagar, September 27
Minister of State for Science & Technology and Information Technology Feroz Ahmad Khan today inaugurated a 7.5-KW solar power plant (SPP) developed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. The plant will ensure round the clock power supply to the Community Information Centre (CIC) and the Block Development Office (BDO).

The minister said the government had planned to install solar power plants in all health and educational institutions of the state in order to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of power. He said the department had introduced water heaters for the Valley populace in the view of diminishing power generation during winter and asked the people to avail this facility.

Ganderbal Deputy Commissioner Sarmad Hafiz; Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Science and Technology, Muzaffer Malik and senior officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Entreprenur Development Association (JKEDA), science technology, rural and revenue departments were present on the occasion.

At the CIC Centre, the minister was informed that the centre had imparted training to 315 students so far in different computer courses and with the installation of the solar plant, the centre would be able to complete the courses on time thereby accommodating more students for training.

Feroz Khan asked the people to come forward and take benefit of the schemes being run by the Science and Technology Department. He said the department had introduced a scheme for exploring hidden talent of the students under which scholarships were being provided to the students who want to go for higher studies and research in the field of science and technology.

He said the Chief Minister was keen to extend the benefit of the scheme to the students living in hilly and far-flung areas and asked the public representatives to play their role in this regard.

Earlier, while giving the details of the programme launched by the department, the Chief Executive Officer said the solar plant was proposed to be installed in current year to give power to the infrastructures created by the Sonamarg Development Authority at Sonamarg. As many as 834 solar lanterns had been distributed among the people of the constituency.

Srinagar, September 27
Members of the Centaur Hotel Employees’ Union (CHEU) today staged a protest seeking intervention of other unions of the state to address their issues.

The CHEU gathered at the Press Enclave area to protest over the “attitude” of the Hotel Corporation of India (HCI). CHEU president Javed A Pandit alleged that the HCI was treating the employees of the Centaur Hotel, Srinagar, with a discriminatory tool as compared to other units of the corporation at Delhi or Mumbai.

Pandit said they had been demanding deputation of a professional management and realisation of dearest wage revision pending since January 2007etc.

Stating that they would continue to stage protests, Pandit appealed to both state and Central employee unions to come forward in resolving their demands.

Kupwara, September 27
The police today claimed to have recovered the rare forest herb stolen from the forest depot in Kamraj division of Kupwara district on August 13.

The stolen herb locally called “tripatri” worth lakhs was recovered from Srinagar, the police said. The police had registered a case against forest guard Putshai Lolab Ghulam Mohd Dar, daily wage worker Zahoor Ahmad and driver Aijaz Ahmad, who transported the seized herb to Srinagar for sale.

“The police recovered the seized herb from Srinagar on the revelations of the accused employees under detention. Further investigations are on,” said SP Kupwara Abdul Jabbar.

In the first of its kind incident, on August 13, seized medicinal herb worth lakhs was stolen from a forest depot at Zangli in Kupwara.

Conservator of Forests, Kashmir, North circle, Main Javid, said six employees, including the in charge of the depot, were immediately placed under suspension and a criminal case registered against the erring employees at the Kupwara police station.

The police seized “tripatri” worth lakhs from the Machil area today. There were no reports of arrests. Reports said medicinal herb worth lakhs were being collected and smuggled from forests in different parts of the district.

Residents of some villages, including Doben, Kalaroos, Himli, KK Gali in Hayhama, Machil, Bduhnumbal, Jummagund, Bungus, Mawar and Nowgam, said in the absence of effective monitoring of forests, smuggling of medicinal herbs and seeds of coniferous deodar and pine thrived.

The police in Kupwara district had registered about a dozen cases and arrested several persons in the last five months. A large quantity of the rare medicinal herb and seeds had been seized from the accused. 

Srinagar, September 27
Union Minister for Textiles KS Rao has said that special assistance will be provided for the marketing of handloom and handicraft items besides design and product development. He assured the Centre’s full support to the handloom and handicraft sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Interacting with the artisans, handloom weavers and traders at the SKICC here today, the minister said the two sectors were important for the state economy.

“Marketing is essential for the survival of artisans. The Central Government will organise an international trade fair in order to provide an opportunity to artisans and traders of the state to sell their products in national and international markets,” he said.

The minister assured the artisans and traders that 10 per cent subsidy on Pashmina yarn would be provided to them.

He said a raw material bank would be established in the state so that the artisans could get raw material round the year.

He said special stalls would be provided to the artisans of the state at Varanasi, Noida and Delhi Hatt where mega buyer-seller events were organised. They would also be provided stalls in trade fairs organised by the Textile Ministry across the country.

The minister said handloom and silk sectors would be given focused attention for their promotion besides promoting traditional handicrafts of the state.

Srinagar, September 27
Stakeholders took out a shikara rally on the occasion of World Tourism Day today to create awareness over the environment issues.

The shikara rally was organised by the Domestic Tour Operators, Kashmir, (DTOK), an amalgam of various organisations related to the tourism sector.

DTOK member Haji Hamid Wangnoo said the rally was taken out on the Dal Lake and was attended by various stakeholders of the tourism sector.

"We wanted to create awareness over the preservation of water bodies and create awareness over the need to protect the environment," he added.

Wangnoo said they wanted to create awareness among the general public and remind the government of its duties towards the environment and developing tourism infrastructure in the Valley.

He said they wanted the government to take adequate steps towards boosting domestic tourism, which was the backbone of the state's economy. 

Srinagar, September 27
Dolphin International School, Pulwama, won the Pulwama district baseball championship by defeating Saadi Memorial Educational Institute by 14-9 at Sports Stadium, Pulwama.

Munaan, Arslaan, Rahil and Faizan scored three home runs each while as Jahanzaib and Musaib scored a home run each from Dolphin International School in the boys’ section.

In the girls’ category, Dolphin School defeated IMI, Ratnipora, by 11-8 home runs. Aneesa and Afeefa played excellently and scored three home runs each from Dolphin School.

During the three-day championship, teams of 16 members (boys and girls) were selected for the upcoming VIII state-level baseball championship, which is scheduled for October this year at Srinagar.

Prof Sheikh Abdul Hamid, Government Degree College for Women, Pulwama, distributed prizes and certificates among winners.

The championship was organised by the Pulwama District Baseball Association and was sponsored by the J&K State Sports Council under the aegis of the J&K Baseball Association.

J&K Baseball Association general secretary Fida Hassain Fidvi said it was a great thing that the championship was organised successfully in Pulwama

“I congratulate the participants for showing their interest in the game and hope that in future there will be many more such tournaments,” he said.

Srinagar, September 27
The University of Kashmir (KU) is all set to confer the degree of Doctor of Science on Goverdhan Mehta, National Research Professor and Bhartia-Jubilant Chair at the University of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh during a special convocation ceremony to be held on October 2 at KU.

Governor NN Vohra who is also the Chancellor of the University and will be the chief guest on the occasion. He shall confer the degree of Science on Mehta during a special convocation for which elaborate arrangements have been made by the
 university administration.

Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Talat Ahmad, said KU is honouring Mehta who is an internationally-acclaimed researcher in organic chemistry and an influential educator and mentor in recognition of his noteworthy contributions to the field of chemistry.

Born in Jodhpur, professor Mehta’s contributions have been widely-recognised. He has been exceptionally prolific in his scientific contributions and has published nearly 500 original research papers in journals of high repute. He has presented over 250 lectures at major conferences and various institutions in different parts of the world. He has held over a dozen visiting professorships in different countries and served on the editorial boards of a number of leading international journals in chemical sciences/organic chemistry. He has mentored over a hundred doctoral and post-doctoral students and scientists.

Over the years, the total synthesis of over 60 diverse natural products has been accomplished by Mehta’s group employing conceptually simple and diversity-oriented approaches. Among many notable attainments in this arena, which are marked by brevity and originality, his synthesis of triquinane system stands out as a seminal example of ‘Green Synthesis’.

Mehta has been awarded with fifty awards and medals, which include the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Chemical Sciences (1978); Centenary Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK; Humboldt Research Prize of Germany; Medals from the Third World Academy of Sciences, Trieste; Science Academies and other organisations in India, Mehta has left an indelible impact on the academic world.

He has been conferred upon with numerous Doctor of Science (honoris causa) degrees in India and abroad. He has received the civilian honors of ‘Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur’ and‘Padma Shri’ from the Presidents of France and India, respectively.

Mehta is also a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) of London, Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences besides many other science academies. He has been a president of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA, 1999-2001) and had the unique distinction of heading world’s two premier scientific organisations, the Paris-based International Council for Science (ICSU) as president (2005-2008) and Inter Academy Council (IAC) as co-Chair (2000-2005).