Jammu, November 4
Raised prices of essential commodities made the Diwali dull this year as people celebrated the festival with less quantity of sweets and crackers in Jammu on Sunday. People also alleged overcharging by most of the shopkeepers who had set up temporary stalls.

The festival of lights lost its brightness this year because of the raised prices of the commodities. The markets of the city of temples, which used to witness heavy rush during all the festivals, had marginally lesser customers this Diwali.

More than 100 special stalls were installed at various grounds of the city, like Parade Ground, Dasehra Ground, Gandhi Nagar, Janipur etc.

“The prices of the crackers are touching the sky this year. A packet of ‘anar’, which was of Rs 200, was priced at Rs 350 this year. It is becoming impossible to celebrate Diwali for a common man,” said Anil Raina, a banker.

“The stall owners are selling it on the print price, but their margin is more than 50 per cent. Authorities should fix their rates on special occasions like Diwali,” he added.

Many people were also complaining about the overcharging of candles and sweets. But according to the Deputy Commissioner (DC), they had not received any complaint regarding over pricing.

Ajit Kumar Sahu, Jammu DC, said, “People should complain to us if any shopkeeper is indulging in over pricing. But we did not get any complaint regarding this.”

“Our teams were on job to check overpricing or other violations,” he added.

Y B Sharma, president, Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Jammu, said “I do not have the exact statistics of the business done this year on Diwali, but the overall market was down this year. Businessmen did not get business as expected.”

“Last year, business on Diwali was much higher than this year. The main reason is the high prices of the commodities, which decreased the purchasing power of the common man,” he added.

Poonch, November 4
The higher reaches of the Poonch district, including Pir Ki Gali, received the season's first snowfall on Saturday. Hundreds of tourists from across the state started visiting the Gali to have a close look at the scenic beauty of the area.

In winter, a blanket of snow spreads over the high-altitude areas in Poonch district.

The first snowfall of the season brings in tourists from India and across the world to Loran and Pir Ki Gali.

It is no different this year and thousands are thronging the snow-covered Pir Ki Gali.

Tourists expressed delight after witnessing fresh snowfall. “It was a superb experience. We came to Pir Ki Gali for the first time and it was just fabulous. We took a sledge ride on the slopes and the whole view was very nice,” said Shivani from Delhi.

Mohd Sadiq, a tea stall owner, said with the season’s first snowfall, the influx of tourists had given a boost to their business.

“Fresh snowfall provides us with work as many tourists visit the place. Thousands of tourists have come here. All the people engaged in small business and transport are earning well. With the influx of more tourists, employment opportunities will increase,” said Sadiq.

Leh, November 4
Former ambassador to Mongolia and Ladakhi political and social leader Khushok Bakula Rinpoche was remembered today on his 10th death anniversary in Leh town.

An elaborate cultural function was organised at the Polo Ground to mark the occasion. For the first time, a government-level large-scale event was held to observe his death anniversary.

Local Bodies and Urban Development Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora was the chief guest while the Chief Executive Councillor of LAHDC, Kargil, Haji Asgar Ali was present as the guest of honour on the occasion.

Mask dances by monks of the Spithuk monastery, a photo exhibition on Rinpoche’s career and life and a jhanki by school students were the main events that took place as part of the ceremony.

Friends and students from Mongolia, Singapore, USA, UK, Turkey and Hong Kong were also present to pay tributes to the leader.

He was awarded the Padma Bushan by the Government of India and Polar Star, the highest award of Mongolia, for his contribution to revive Buddhism in Mongolia.

Rinpoche is known as the architect of educational and social uplift of Ladakh in its modern history. He laid the foundation of education when there was zero literacy. Rinpoche used to travel extensively to every corner of Ladakh, riding a horse or a yak, to make people aware of the importance of education.

Jammu, November 4
The State of Environment Report (SoER) of Directorate of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing has stressed upon tapping of water resources to be done on scientific basis, claiming that the quantification and volume of water availability has not been done properly by the state authorities.

The report said the water system was not defined on designated best use concept, which had affected the management conservation, treatment and formulation of Action Plans for a particular stretch of water based on most polluted river stretch concept of National River Conservation Plan.

“A total of 1670.76 MW water generation capacity is under execution. Groundwater resource needs study and data creation. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has indicated that at present, ground water resources are not being fully utilised and there is sufficient scope for the development of these resources in J&K”, the report claimed.

“The water quality labs of the Public Health Engineering Department need scientific strengthening so that specific data and not general data is created. Further, soil nutrients are also depleting due to faulty farming practices like deforestation, overgrazing, land pollution, urban sprawl and query of stone”, SoER maintained.

The report of the department stated that the solid/liquid waste management was not satisfactory in the state. It claimed that in the year 2011, 397 MT waste collection per day was reported from Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) area of Srinagar in which 220 MT was disposed off at Achen Syed Pora.

It added that most of the slaughtering was done within the premises of the butchers because the state had not provided any common facility to this sector.

The report said environmental planning emanating from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) needed to be incorporated in the planning process of all developmental plans.

“The environmental indices like environmental audit, green building concept, energy audit, quantification of solid and liquid waste ,quantification of water resources, quantification and mapping of natural resources, land use planning, urban sprawl issue, vehicular pollution data, air quality monitoring, industrial zoning, identification of eco sensitive zones, lake and water management strategy, scientific planning of agrarian sector and all tourist spots require action so that food security is ensured to the people of the state”, SoER observed.

Jammu, November 4
In its weekly theatre series, Natrang staged a new Hindi play ‘Deemak’. The play was written by Vasant Ramekar and directed by Neeraj Kant and was a political satire.

‘Deemak’ play started in the ambience of college elections, where some student leaders were putting in their best efforts to become the college president. On asserting which student leader had more influence on the students, one of the main-stream politicians came forward to patronise him, on the condition that the student leader would facilitate his victory on becoming the college president. The proposal was readily accepted by ambitious leader (Daddu).

The minister’s plan succeeded and he started playing his puppet to fulfil his interests. Daddu also disturbed the peace of the common people on the directions of the minister but faced resentment from the students. He the approached the minister, who turned his face away and cut all support to Daddu.

Daddu then decided to expose the politician in media and public. Fearing rebellion from his own creation, the minister planned Daddu's murder and cleared all the expected dangers and evidences against him.

In the end, Daddu’s father, who had lost his only son, pleaded before the audience to be more watchful towards the actions of their children so that they did not fall prey to the wolves of the society.

Natrang’s actors who took part in the play included Syed Mudassar Ali Shah, Mahikshit Singh, Arun Sharma, Ashok Kumar, Nitin Kumar, Ravi Chowdhary, Masood Qadir, Rishiv Prabhakar, Sachin Bamba and Rohit Sharma. Lights were operated by Ashwani Bali. Mohdammad Yaseen looked after the Hall Management while Sajra Qadir presented the show before the audience. The show was coordinated by Sumeet Sharma.

Jammu, November 4
The Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), J&K and other trade unions staged a protest in front of the office of Divisional Commisioner, Jammu, against the police lathicharge on striking workers and termination of workers by M/s Leighton Private Limited, which is constructing the Chenani-Nashri tunnel.

Sham Parsad Kesar, CITU leader and Om Parkash, general secretary, said the workers were terminated illegally and were forced to work for 12 hours without any compensation for working for extra hours. He added that the company had ignored the recruitment of locals and did not recognise the union for negotiation. They added that the state government, instead of intervening to sort out the matter, was favouring the company. Others who spoke on the occasion included Shiv Kumar Sharma, N K Dogra, Harbans Choudhary, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Hari Singh, Ram Kumar Sharma and Anil Vaid.

Jammu, November 4
Asif Wani (18), a resident of Handwara village in Kupwara district, got a new lease of life at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali, after being diagnosed with complex heart defects.

Partially deaf by birth, Asif was brought to the hospital with complaints of breathlessness and palpitation. He was diagnosed with complex heart defects, multiple conditions of Atrial septal defect and severe Pulmonary Stenosis (Congenital disorder), comprising of a hole in the upper chambers of the heart.

Max India Foundation took up the case and Asif was successfully operated upon by Dr Virendar Sarwal, Principal Consultant and Chief of Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali. The five-hour surgery involved one week of post-operative care under expert supervision of the critical care experts.

Jammu, November 4
Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad inspected the police headquarters and other moving police establishments which resumed functioning in the winter capital Jammu here this morning following the annual Durbar Move.

Prasad was received at the headquarter lawns by senior police officers and was presented a guard of honour by a contingent of armed police.

Accompanied by Additional Director Generals of Police P L Gupta, S P Vaid and S M Sahai, the DGP visited various sections of the headquarters and enquired from the officials about the working of their branches.

Prasad also chaired a high-level meeting of police officers and discussed various issues related to the organisation. He enquired about the progress achieved on different fronts of policing in the state. He instructed the officers to maintain a close rapport at all levels to keep the law and order maintained.

Urging the officers to work with greater zeal for achieving desired results in different areas of policing, Prasad said the major thrust should be given on public service and all matters related to the common people should be settled on priority. Safety and security of the people was the prime concern of the state police and efficient measures and deployment should be made to ensure it, he added.

During the meeting, the DGP asked the officers to initiate the exercise for the upcoming challenges and in this connection, all wings of the organisation needed to be mobilised. While dealing with the challenges, it should be ensured that common people do not face any inconvenience in the day-to-day working, he added.

Later, the DGP visited other moving offices of the organisation including Armed, Home Guard, Police Housing Corporation, CID, Security, Railways and Crime Headquarters.

Interacting with the staff, Prasad stressed upon them to render their duties with zeal, enthusiasm and discipline. During the inspection of various establishments, he discussed different matters with heads of those units and gave on-the-spot instructions for their better working. He asked the officers to ensure quick disposal of cases related to the welfare of jawans and officers to minimise their hardships.

The DGP, along with other senior police officers, visited the Police Martyrs Memorial at Railway Headquarters and laid a wreath at the memorial. He paid homage to the police martyrs who had laid down their lives for the safety of the people and security of the state. 

Jammu, November 4
Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture Raman Bhalla said technical workers were the main architects in redesigning the profile of the state. The Minister was addressing a gathering of technical workers on Vishwakarma Day function held at Marble Market in Trikuta Nagar here today.

Bhalla said the government was committed to develop every corner of the state on modern lines, adding that the state had ensured good governance for the effective implementation of various welfare programmes so that more and more people were benefited from them.

Raman Bhalla said the government was working under a comprehensive plan to develop modern infrastructure facilities across the state. “Instructions have been issued to the concerned departments to complete all the new projects being executed in their jurisdictions and make optimum use of the funds”, Bhalla maintained.

The minister assured the inhabitants that their remaining genuine demands would also be fulfilled on priority basis.

Listing new projects sanctioned for his home constituency, Bhalla informed that the Health Ministry had approved Rs 71 crore for construction of a six-storey Maternity Hospital within Gandhi Nagar Hospital premises. He added that the hospital would be constructed with all facilities at par with SMGS hospital.

He disclosed that in order to ease rush in the city and Gandhi Nagar hospitals, the state has also approved Rs 4.77 crore for construction of Primary Health Centres at Bhore Camp and Lower Gaddigarh, besides Urban Health Centre at Trikuta Nagar.

Jammu, November 4
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar said 100 more model villages had been approved for ensuring sustained development of the rural and far-flung areas of the state.

The Minister was addressing officers during a review meeting of the Rural Development Department today.

He said the government had completed the already taken up model villages and the need of the hour was to take up some more of them so that more areas could be developed and provided the required facilities.

Sagar further directed the officers to speed up the work on the left-over panchayat ghars so that they could be given to their respective panchayats. “Under the 13th Finance Commission, 1800 panchayat ghars are supposed to be completed. The need is to complete the remaining ones as soon as possible”, he added.

Officials should work in close coordination to ensure speedy completion of the remaining panchayat ghars. The requisite funds had already been placed at the disposal of the authorities concerned, he added.

“The bottlenecks, if any, should be removed by holding regular meetings so that the pace of work is expedited. There should be no deviation from the already approved plan”, Sagar maintained.

Directors Rural Development, Jammu, Kashmir, Shafiq Ahmad Raina and Mir Altaf Ahmad, Director Panchayati Raj Farooq Ahmad Khan, Director Finance, Special Secretary, Rural Development and Joint Director, Planning and Rural Development, besides other senior officials attended the meeting

Jammu, November 4
The Government College for Women (GCW), Parade, is organising the second three-day ‘J&K Women’s Science Congress’ on the theme “Empowering Women through Science and Technology” from November 5.

The Science Congress would be sponsored by the J&K State Council for Science and Technology, Department of Science and Technology, J&K and Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

The programme has been designed to spread the understanding of the need to empower women who constitute nearly 50 per cent of population, involve them effectively in nation-building activities and tapping their potential as innovators and implementers of innovations other than being beneficiaries of the innovations.

The participants of the congress comprise scientists, researchers and academicians from University of Jammu, University of Kashmir, Central Universities, SMVDU Katra, BGSBU Rajouri, SKUAST Jammu, Government Medical College, Jammu, ASCOMS Jammu, SKIMS Srinagar, Government College for Engineering and Technology (GCET), Jammu, IIIM Jammu and other leading institutions of the state.

The science congress would cover the subject areas including life sciences, environmental sciences, chemistry, physics, mathematics, earth sciences, biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, animal and veterinary sciences, applied and allied sciences.

Jammu, November 4
An educational-cum-motivational tour ‘Deedar-e-Watan - Kashmir se Kanyakumari’, for college-going girl students, hailing from remote and far flung areas of Poonch District, was flagged off from Palma, Rajouri district, today by Harshita Rajeshwar, president, Family Welfare Organisation (FWO), Counter Insurgency Force (Romeo).

The tour, organised by the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion under the aegis of Counter Insurgency Force (Romeo), comprised 23 girl students and two teachers of Poonch and Surankote Degree Colleges.

During the 15-day tour, the students would visit New Delhi, Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum, wherein they will learn about the varied culture and heritage of the country.

The students will also get an opportunity to interact with Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Governor of Kerala, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Salman Khurshid, Chief Minister of Karnataka and former cricketers Mohammad Azharuddin and Rahul Dravid.

Rajouri, November 4
Representatives of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) today demanded a separate sub-plan for the community and called for reservation in jobs and admissions at par with others states of the country.

As per a statement, a OBC district body meeting was held here at Dak Banglow, Rajouri, under the chairmanship of Abdul Majeed Qureshi, which was attended by a large number of OBC community people. On the occasion, district president of the body Abdul Majeed Qureshi demanded sanction of an extensive sub-plan for their overall development.

Qureshi also demanded reservation in both the houses of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative council for the OBC community. “There is no representation from OBC in either of the houses in the state legislature, although they constitute more than one-fourth of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir”, he said. 

Jammu, November 4
Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) XI got the better of Delhi Cricket Club by 19 runs in a thrilling final to clinch the Eid-Diwali Milan Twenty20 Cricket Cup, played at M A Stadium here today.

JKP XI won the toss and elected to bat first. The team accumulated 158 runs for the loss of five wickets. Jatin top scored with unbeaten 80 runs while Pankaj (32) and Farooq (18) were other main contributors.

Anuj was the pick of bowlers for Delhi Cricket Club with a three-wicket haul while Abhishek Choudhary and Abhishek Sharma shared a wicket apiece.

In reply, Delhi XI was bowled out for 139 runs. Abhishek Choudhary hit 50 runs followed by Amir Malik (18) and Nishant Rana (17). For JKP XI, Sakib and Ashwani took three wickets each while skipper Rajesh Gill bagged two wickets. Aman and Shamsher chipped in with a wicket each.

Jatin was adjudged the man of the match for his unbeaten knock of 80 runs while Sameer Khajuria of Simula was declared the best bowler. Jatin was also adjudged the best batman of the tournament. Skipper Rajesh Gill of JKP XI was declared the man of the series. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu, Rajesh Kumar was the chief guest who gave away the winners and runners-up trophies.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jammu-Kathua Range, Shakeel Ahmed Beig was the guest of honour. IGP Rajesh Kumar presented a cash prize of Rs 25,000 to the winning team while the runner-up was awarded with Rs 15,000.

IGR Kumar offered all possible assistance to the J&K Police in maintaining and developing the turf and outfield of MA Stadium.

The tournament was organised jointly by Simula, J and K Police and Atman Educational Society and was sponsored by Simula Group and Atman College. The matches were officiated by the technical penal, including Sudhir Singh, Sadiq Hussain, Saleem Ul Rehman, JD Singh, Sandeep Manchanda, Yogesh Sharma, Amit, Farooq, Naresh and Sanjay Bhatti.— TNS

Jammu, November 4
The semifinals line-up has been drawn in the ongoing Baba Fateh Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament, being organised by Hockey J&K at K K Hakhu Astro Turf Stadium. In the last two quarterfinals, Young Star Club notched up a 6-1 win against 157 Territorial Army.

Maninder Singh was the star striker from the victorious team who scored as many as four goals in the 10th, 27th, 47th and 59th minutes, respectively. Jaspreet also played well to slam two goals in the 25th and 36th minutes, respectively. From TA, Sukhvinder Singh scored the only goal in the 40th minute. In another match, Bagh-Bein Club overcame the challenge of Singh Club by 8-1 margin in a one-sided contest. Maninder was the main striker with four goals scored in the 14th, 36th, 45th and 50th minutes, respectively. S S Reen (13th and 14th minute) and Surinder Singh (22nd and 50th minute) were the other contributors. From Singh Club, Devidner Pal Singh scored the only goal in the 56th minute. The matches were officiated by the technical penal, including S P Singh, Iqbal Singh, Charanjit Singh and G S Bakshi.— TNS