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Panchayat empowerment
‘Entrepreneurs modern-day discoverers’
‘Peace a pre-requisite to prosperity’
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Post-Afghanistan drawdown, Pak may divert Taliban to Kashmir
Panchayat members’ protest reignites debate on ‘abuse’ of Article 370
Mid-day meal scheme
Non-bailable warrant against Radio Kashmir director
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After Rahul snub, Omar says all’s well
Rules out Cong-NC differences n Trashes talk of media gag Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service
Jammu, November 9 “Our relations both in the state as well as at the Centre have always been strong and cordial,” Omar told mediapersons when asked about further improvement in Congress-NC relations after Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to the state. In an obvious reference to the apparent differences between the parties on the issue of extending the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution to J&K, Omar said, “In a coalition, we sort out issues through dialogue.” Talking to mediapersons on the sideline of an official function, Omar said, “As a coalition, we are working as a team to serve the people and in future we will continue our efforts in this regard.” When asked about allegation levelled by BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi regarding gagging of the media in the state, Omar said the media had neither been gagged nor could it ever be gagged. “I have nothing to do with it or with what Narendra Modi says. You can pose this question to the Central Government. As far as my information goes, I don't think there is a ban on media. Nobody can impose a ban on media,” he said.
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‘Entrepreneurs modern-day discoverers’
Srinagar, November 9 Omar, who addressed unit holders who have entered into entrepreneurship through the Sher-i-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth, said his mission was to see the youth achieve new highs in entrepreneurship. “(It) is totally above political motives or vote bank politics,” the CM said while addressing young entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) in Pampore town. Omar said he was “not at all concerned” whether or not budding entrepreneurs and qualified youth support his political ideology and vote for them, but his “only dream” was to see them as successful entrepreneurs. He assured young entrepreneurs of government support and asked them to mail their experiences and difficulties directly to him. “If you are not in a position to see me personally, you can mail your difficulties to me through e-mail so that I can address your concerns with regard to launch of your units,” he said. The function was also addressed by Minister for Planning and Development Ajay Sadhotra.
— TNS |
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‘Peace a pre-requisite to prosperity’
Jammu, November 9 He said common masses were main contributors in this regard as such deserve all credit. “Despite attempts to derail peace and amity, the people of the state helped the government nip the evil in the bud and restore normalcy,” he said and mentioned the disturbances during militancy that had halted development and hit the economy. “Whenever there is a security and law and order challenge, the government’s attention gets shifted from development issues. This jolts the process of development,” he said and asked the people to be committed to peace and brotherhood so that prosperity ruled the roost in the State. Omar was addressing a public gathering at Kunjwani near here after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 50-crore Maternity Hospital at Gandhi Nagar. He also inaugurated the Rs 26-crore Shastri Nagar 33/11KV, 10 MVA Receiving Station and opened the Rs 19-crore Satwari-Kunjwani four-lane road project. — TNS |
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Post-Afghanistan drawdown, Pak may divert Taliban to Kashmir
The presence of 60,000 US troops in Afghanistan would be halved by February 2014 while England, Germany, Poland, Italy and Georgia would exit the war-ravaged country by the end of 2014. “I think the drawdown will definitely have an effect. As a professional Army, we are keeping a tab on it. We will, as the drawdown comes closer, be able to see the impact much more clearly, but I am sure it will have impact the militant situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Of course, we are prepared. We are taking into account all these inputs and, in fact, these are thought processes that are actually going into our thinking for the future, how we are going to plan and see how 2014 develops,” Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra had told a news channel on September 14. On July 25, US Army Chief General Raymond T Odierno, who had visited the Northern Command headquarters at Udhampur, had discussed the Af-Pak situation post-NATO forces pullout with Lt Gen Chachra, said a top Army source. The NATO forces have started pulling out and we definitely anticipate that focus would shift back on Kashmir, he said. The officer, however, said the current year would be a “build-up” year to 2014 when militants and their mentors shift their focus back on Kashmir. After the complete pullout of troops from Afghanistan next year, India has to remain “very watchful” in Kashmir for the next two to three years, he said. “There are hundreds of ultras in launch pads on the other side of the LoC. Fortytwo terror camps still remain intact in PoK. We can’t afford to lower our guard and squander away the gains made over the years,” he added. The Army guards the 744-km LoC while the BSF has operational responsibility of the 198-km international border. On April 13, a team of Union secretaries led by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth had reviewed the security scenario in the state discussing operational preparedness of security forces to maintain internal and external security in the backdrop of impending pull out of NATO forces from Afghanistan. According to a recent US military report, staggering 94 per cent fresh recruits of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) see Jammu and Kashmir as a "fighting front" and hail mostly from Pakistan's Punjab province. Another top Army source said the recent terror attacks in Bemina, BAT attacks of January 8 and August 6 on the LoC, Hiranagar and Samba terror strikes on September 26, Awantipora attack on November 7, besides flare-ups along the LoC and the IB were ample indications of things to come. “We are already on the job,” he said. Tough times ahead
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Apple industry suffers Rs 500-cr loss
Srinagar, November 9 Experts blame the poor apple quality for the huge losses suffered by the growers this year. “Rainfall and hail destroyed some of the apple crop in various parts of the Valley. Besides weather, diseases such as alternaria and scab also affected the quality of apple. It affected the colouring of the fruit. With the result, we produced only 15 per cent of the A-grade apple this year,” Director, Horticulture, Sonam Narboo told The Tribune. “Our estimates were that we should have had a turnover of Rs 5,500 crore, but it is Rs 5,000 crore. So, the industry has suffered a loss of Rs 500 crore this fiscal,” the Director, Horticulture, said. Growers, however, claim that the losses were more than the figures given by the state government. “We produce around 6 crore apple boxes which are supplied to other parts of the country. At an average, we have suffered a loss of Rs 300 on each apple box and this shows the losses are worth Rs 1800 crore,” said president of the New Kashmir Fruit Association Parimpora Bashir Ahmad. “Besides weather and diseases, spurious pesticides that have flooded the markets and were sprayed by the growers have been responsible for the poor apple quality,” he said. The figures with the Horticulture Department reveal that the apple production was 3 lakh tonnes more than the last year. “The production of apple this year is 16.60 lakh metric tonnes while the last year the figures was 13.50 lakh metric tonnes,” said another official. |
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Direct train to Katra misses yet another deadline
Jammu, November 9 No new deadline has been fixed for its opening. Officials of the Northern Railways are tight-lipped over the reasons behind the delay. The Railways had set a deadline for the completion of the track in 2012 but due to varied reasons, the Northern Railway had to delay the project. Another deadline was later set for October 2013. RN Meena, Divisional Traffic Manager, said, “Only the Construction Department can give the exact reason and the next deadline to start the Udhampur-Katra rail link.” “We are eagerly waiting for its (Construction Department) clearance so that we can start trains on the track,” Meena said. MB Azad, Executive Engineer, Construction Department, said, “I don’t have the actual status of the track. However, the lighting was being done in the tunnels between Udhampur and Katra.” “I cannot comment on the next deadline. Only the Commissioner of Railways Safety (CRS) can comment on this.” The Northern Railway still awaits the final clearance from the CRS, which will conduct an inspection after the trial run on the section before throwing it open to the passenger trains. There would be three stations viz Udhampur and Chak Rakhwal in Udhampur district and Shri Vaishno Devi Katra on the Udhampur-Katra rail link. The Chak Rakhwal station has been set up 9.3 km from the Udhampur station. The Northern Railway was contemplating to extend Jammu Mail and Sampark Kranti, both Jammu-New Delhi trains, to Katra from Udhampur, Delhi-Pathankot Express from Pathankot to Katra and introduce new trains, including Katra-Kalka (Chandigarh) Express (bi-weekly), Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Udhampur Express and Ahmedabad-Udhampur Express, initially to Katra when the track becomes operational. |
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Panchayat members’ protest reignites debate on ‘abuse’ of Article 370
Jammu, November 9 “It is very unfortunate that the ruling elite of J&K are raking up the issue of special status to deprive constitutional rights to elected panchayat members,” said Vimla Devi, who was adjudged Best Sarpanch two years back. Vimla Devi was among those panchayat members who created uproar during the Panchayat Conference addressed by All India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi at Jammu on November 6. Most sarpanches who had protested there had accused the ruling party of taking the excuse of Article 370 to debar them from their constitutional rights. “Article 370 has become an instrument to undermine democratic institutions in J&K. Successive state governments have brazenly abused this Article to deprive the people of their constitutional rights,” said BJP state president Jugal Kishore Sharma. He dared supporters of Article 370 to a public debate on the benefit of this special status. “Except protecting the interests of the ruling class, Article 370 is of no use to the masses,” he said and added that this Article had rather become an obstacle in overall socio-economic growth. The state unit of the BSP has already started a campaign against “abuse” of Article 370. “It is result of the abuse of Article 370 that West Pakistani refugees are denied constitutional rights and other backward classes (OBCs) are deprived of their reservation rights in J&K,” pointed out Tulsi Dass Langeh, the party’s state president. Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh has already generated a debate on special status to the state. |
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Mid-day meal scheme
Jammu, November 9 “So far, no such publicity or awareness programme regarding the scheme has been started through the electronic media in the state. However, in the recent state-level review meeting of the education sector, held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, it was decided that the Panchayat Raj Institutions shall be actively involved in the supervision of the scheme at the school-level and launching of awareness campaigns at the village and zonal levels to make the public aware of the scheme,” a statement from the Ministry said. After deaths due to a contaminated mid-day meal in Bihar in July this year, instructions were issued, making it obligatory on the part of the head of the institution to nominate a teacher/master responsible for tasting the food before it is served to the children. Further, the heads of the institutions have been advised to maintain a proper record in the matter. Sources said during the inspection of the schools, the inspecting authority had issued directions to the educational institutions for ensuring safe and hygienic meals to the children. It was also advised that the cook-cum-helper would work under the vigil and supervision of a qualified teacher in charge of the scheme in the school. “Most of the schools are in rented buildings and there is no space for construction of kitchen-cum-stores. A proposal is awaited for 1,191 kitchen-cum-stores sanctioned in 2012-13 and replacement sanctioned for 780 in 2013-14,” the HRD Ministry said. Sources claimed that the Ministry had also suggested to the state authorities to prepare a contingency plan in consultation with the Health and Medical Education Department to be discussed at a meeting for consideration/approval before submitting it to the HRD Ministry. The MDMS was launched in J&K on September 1, 2004. To ensure its proper implementation and transparency, the Director, School Education, Chief Education Officer, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Zonal Education Officer, Zonal Education Planning Officer and the in charge of the scheme at schools were asked to hold interactive sessions and do inspection of schools at regular intervals. |
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Valley’s largest varsity suffers from brain drain
Srinagar, November 9 He said this in an interview with The Tribune. Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, of the largest educational institution of the Valley admitted that the retirement age issue of the professors was leading to the brain drain from the university. “Yes, the CUK has an edge when it comes to the service tenure of the faculty members. This especially leads our teachers, who have reached superannuation, to move to the CUK because of the extended years of service. It is a very natural choice,” the Vice Chancellor said. The University of Kashmir (KU) is yet to abide by the University Grants Commission guidelines of 2010 which allow the state universities to raise the retirement age of the teachers from 60 to 62. Recently, Muhammad Afzal Zargar who was holding key positions in the varsity, including head of the department of chemistry and biochemistry and chief proctor, shifted to the CUK and was appointed the registrar there. The issue of preference of the CUK over the Kashmir varsity may not be limited to just the retirement age factor, if official sources are to be believed. The salaries professors draw at the CUK are much higher than the KU. The Central University of Kashmir pays Rs 48,000 to an assistant professor monthly while the University of Kashmir pays between Rs 32,000 and 35,000 per month to the same grade. “There are huge bucks involved. The Central varsity will obviously pay more than a state university. Overall, the benefits of service in the CUK are more than in the KU,” a top KU official told The Tribune. The KU campus was filled with an air of disappointment when one of the senior faculty members decided to switch. Sources say for the past several years, especially since the inception of the CUK in 2008, it has become a trend at the varsity that some of the brightest teachers are making the transition. Official sources revealed that at least seven professors at the University of Kashmir, including from linguistics, law, education, economics, biochemistry and library departments had switched to the CUK. “A majority of these professors were almost on the verge of retirement. They took up prominent positions at the Central varsity. There is five years of extended service term for these teachers. Only senior faculty member Sheikh Showkat Hussain, who used to teach law and human rights, joined in as an assistant professor at the Law Department of the CUK. Other KU teachers are holding prominent positions at the CUK, including the positions of deans, registrars and heads of department,” a source said. Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad, however, defended the decision of faculty members, saying it may be their preference of holding administrative positions over teaching. Talat Ahmad said for the students, the KU continued to be topmost choice for pursuing their postgraduate and doctorate studies. “Our reputation has not declined. We are still the number one university. These small issues can be resolved so that the quality of education in the Valley improves overall,” he told The Tribune. |
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Non-bailable warrant against Radio Kashmir director
Srinagar, November 9 CJM, Srinagar, Rajeev Gupta issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Malik after he did not attend the proceedings of the case in the court, he said. The warrants have been issued under Section 500 and 506 of the RPC, Khawar said. According to the complaint, Malik had allegedly levelled serious allegations against the news anchor and had issued a death threat to him, Khawar said. The matter is listed again on November 29.
— TNS |
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Jammu, November 9