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Governor administers oath of office to Sajjad Kichloo
Chillai Kalaan begins with snowfall in several parts of Kashmir valley
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Baramulla students denied admission to commerce stream
Protests over Kichloo’s re-induction
Residents protest against erratic electricity supply
Make medicare a fundamental right, says Omar
CM rejects reports of him looking for ‘safer’ Assembly seat
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Governor administers oath of office to Sajjad Kichloo
Jammu, December 21 Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister, Amrit Malhotra, Chairman, Legislative Council, Mubarak Gul, Speaker, Legislative Assembly, AR Rather, Finance Minister, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Minister for Haj and Auquaf, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister for Forests, Taj Mohiuddin, Minister for Medical Education, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Urban Development, Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Minister for CAPD, Ajay Sadhotra, Minister for Planning, Raman Bhalla, Minister for Housing, Mir Saifullah, Minister for Law, Abdul Majid Wani, Minister for R&B, Qamar Ali Akhoon, Adviser to Chief Minister, Javed Ahmad Rana, Deputy Chairman, Legislative Council, Shabir Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Health, Feroz Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Science and Technology, Viqar Rasool Wani, Minister of State for Technical Education, Jalil Ahmad Khan, Economic Adviser to the J&K Government, Legislators, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Chief Secretary, Ashok Prasad, Director-General of Police, senior civil and police officials and political leaders were present on the occasion. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in pursuance of Rule 5 of the Jammu and Kashmir Government Business Rules, has assigned the charge of the Minister of State (independent charge) for Industries and Commerce to Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo. According to an order issued today, Kichloo will also hold the charge of Minister of State for Home, R&B and Mechanical Engineering, Housing & Urban Development, Tourism & Culture. Minister of State
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Chillai Kalaan begins with snowfall in several parts of Kashmir valley
Srinagar, December 21 Snow fell in several parts of the region, including in the higher mountainous areas, and is likely to continue with light intensity for several days ahead, according to a bulletin of the state Meteorological Department. Updates from north Kashmir’s Baramulla town and south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort said it snowed intermittently in these areas today. "Chillai Kalaan", which had a cold and overcast start, is the winter’s harshest phase in Kashmir which lasts for 40 days till the end of January and brings in snow and freezing weather to the region. Kashmir is already having a brush with extremely cold climatic conditions as mercury has been continuously settling below the zero degree mark. The winter cold has affected all walks of life as residents rush early to their homes leaving the city roads and markets deserted after dusk. The government offices in the region have already changed their work schedule to winter timing and schools have also been shut for winter vacation. The state Meteorological Department forecast said light rain and snow would occur at many places in the region during the next 24 hours. It said there would be an increase in precipitation during the subsequent two days. The temperature overnight in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state and Kashmir valley’s main city, fell to a low of -3.9°C, an official of the state Meteorological Department said. The minimum temperature was a departure of two degrees from the normal and a drop of nearly one notch from the low of previous night when mercury had settled at a minimum of -3°C. In north Kashmir’s Gulmarg resort, which is covered with a layer of snow, mercury fell to a low of -7°C, while the night temperature fell to -5.6°C at south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort, the official said. Qazigund, the southern gateway town to Kashmir valley, recorded a minimum of -3.2°C, while in the frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir the minimum temperature was recorded at -3.1°C. Leh town in remote Ladakh region recorded a low of -12.4°C overnight, while the minimum temperature in nearby Kargil town was recorded at -11.2°C. |
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Baramulla students denied admission to commerce stream
Baramulla, December 21 The aspiring students, who just cleared their Class X examination, alleged that instead of fulfilling their demand of introducing commerce stream in the school the management was asking them to opt for subjects like history and political science. “I was told to opt for education or history instead of commerce. I requested the management to allow me to take commerce as one of the subjects but they denied, stating that school does not have a subject expert,” Nayeem Ahmad, a Class XI student from Baramulla, said. “We appeal to the Director, School Education, Kashmir to personally intervene and address our just demand,” he added. The students, meanwhile, said the school management was putting their career at stake by denying them admission into the commerce stream. “Commerce has got good scope. The management cannot deny the admission into the stream by simply saying that the subject expert is not available at the school. A commerce lecturer should be posted in the school and our demand addressed,” Zareena Akther said. Parents endorsed the views of their wards. “If a student is interested in making his career in commerce what is the point in studying any other subject which he is not interested in? I appeal the Education Minister to personally intervene and introduce the subject at the school so that career of many students is saved,” Shamim Ahmad, a parent from khawajabagh Baramulla, said. Director, School Education, Kashmir, Tariq Ali Mir, however, said the students should make a representation to the Chief Education Officer of the area in this regard. |
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Protests over Kichloo’s re-induction
Jammu, December 21 The BJP has trashed the recommendations of the Justice Gandhi Commission as biased and alleged that the interim report was “manipulated” to protect Kichloo, former Minister of State for Home, for his dubious role in the Kishtwar riots on August 9. The Bar Association Jammu has also rejected the recommendations of Justice Gandhi in toto and announced to suspend work on Monday against the “biased” report. The Jammu Province Peoples Forum has rejected the interim report and supported the BJP’s bandh call. Protests erupted in various parts of the Jammu province against the report submitted by the inquiry commission. Activists of the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, held a protest in front of Justice Gandhi’s house here. The BJP launched an offensive against the Congress for being a part of the communal and anti-minority government in Jammu and Kashmir. “The script to save Sajjad Kichloo was written in Delhi because Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saifuddin Soz along with Kichloo reached Jammu this morning from Delhi,” alleged Bali Bhagat, BJP state general secretary. He said the BJP and other nationalist forces would oppose, tooth and nail, any move to dislodge the minorities from Kishtwar. When the oath ceremony of Kichloo was going on, a large number of BJP workers gathered outside the venue and raised slogans against the state government. They tried to enter the venue but were not allowed. BJP state president Jugal Kishore Sharma condemned the decision of the state government to rehabilitate Kichloo on the basis of the interim report. He said the party would not take this act lightly and reach out to people to mobilise opinion against the state government. BJP leaders Nirmal Singh and Ashok Khajuria said giving Kichloo a clean chit would boost the morale of the communal elements and give rise to a sense of insecurity among the minority community, which may lead to mass migration. Opposition parties boycotted Kichloo's oath |
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Residents protest against erratic electricity supply
Srinagar, December 21 The protesters alleged that the department was not following the revised schedule and they were forced to spend their evenings without electricity. Braving the winter chill scores of protesters took to the streets disrupting vehicular movement. Traffic on vital Srinagar-Budgam road remained suspended for over two hours this morning following the protest at Ompora, about 15 km from here. Agitated residents alleged that unscheduled power cuts has become a routine affair and demanded adequate supply of electricity in the area. “Unscheduled power cuts have become a norm. In spite of repeated pleas to maintain the supplies as per the schedule, no steps are being taken to redress our grievances,” said a protester. The traffic was, however, restored after power department officials from Budgam district assured the residents f taking necessary measures in this regard. Meanwhile, protests were also witnessed in Bemina and Maisuma areas of Srinagar. “We are just asking the power department to follow the given power schedule. We will continue to protest till the supply is not restored,” Shabir Ahmed, a resident of Bemina, said. The PDD last month, in the wake of impending winters, had revised the power schedule for metered and non-metered areas. The residents, however, alleged that the schedule was not being followed in any of the two areas. From the past few weeks, people across the Valley have been expressing their anguish at the erratic power supply. “The situation is worse during evening hours. We are forced to take our dinner in the candle light,” Ghulam Muhammad, a resident from south Kashmir, said. The PDD officials, however, said it was not possible for them maintain the schedule due to overloading. “We are trying our best to follow the curtailment schedule, but people are not cooperating. They misuse electricity, due to which we are forced to cut the supplies beyond the schedule. However, we try our best to maintain the power supply during evening hours,” Chief Engineer, PDD, Bashir Ahmed said. |
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Make medicare a fundamental right, says Omar
Jammu, December 21 “We cannot claim comprehensive and holistic development without ensuring full health coverage to the citizens,” Omar said after jointly inaugurating the Arogya Mela-2013 along with the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad at the Parade Ground here. “The right to medicare should be recognised as a fundamental right of the people in the country so that they are legally empowered to seek the best available medical treatment free of cost in government health centres and hospitals all over the country,” he insisted. Omar wished that the Congress-led UPA would return to power in the forthcoming general elections and hoped that the alliance in its third term would enact a legislation in this regard. |
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CM rejects reports of him looking for ‘safer’ Assembly seat Srinagar, December 21 There were reports that leaders of the ruling National Conference were not in favour of the Chief Minister contesting from Ganderbal, a traditional Assembly constituency of the Abdullah family, citing a strong anti-incumbency. A section of the local media claimed Omar's uncle and the party's honorary general secretary Mustafa Kamal had "confirmed" that Omar would not contest from Ganderbal. The Chief Minister, however, trashed the reports, saying he was an elected representative of the constituency and that his uncle cannot speak for him. "Mustafa Kamal can talk for Hazratbal. He cannot talk for Ganderbal. I am the elected representative of Ganderbal. There is a year still for the elections and the rest we can talk then," Omar told reporters here. Ganderbal in central Kashmir has been represented by three generations of the Abdullah family. The constituency was first represented by Omar's grandfather and NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1974. — PTI
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Jammu, December 21
Jammu, December 21
