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Mercury dips in city as Valley gets fresh snowfall
Kashmir incomplete without Pandits: Omar
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Coalition completes 5 yrs, but no one is celebrating
PDP, BJP term Omar a failure
on the frontline
Boy’s death: Accused driver still on the run
Tractor-trailers a risk to commuters’ lives
Six die of cold in Udhampur district
Powergrid restores power supply to Kashmir valley
Anti-adulteration drive to go on, says municipal corporation
ASI working on Buddhist site at Ambaran
Rural areas have witnessed visible change: Minister
With two elections, 2014 may turn out to be turbulent
Skiing institute to organise ‘Snow Day’ at Gulmarg
Don’t mislead government employees: Committee
PDP ex-councillor joins NC
Dental body constitutes executive body for Jammu province
IGNOU plans to start Master’s degree in mass communication
Doctor-patient ratio dismal: Child specialist
Toppers of JKCET felicitated
NSS unit organises valedictory function
Traders express concern over power cuts
Play ‘Ba Chus Shaehid’ to be staged today
RinGside view
After erratic power supply, LPG scarcity hits south Kashmir
PDP flays government for highway mess
Gujjar body extends support to Jats
Voter turnout in 2008 poll puzzled outside world, says Yasin Malik
Rajouri residents cry for basic amenities
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Mercury dips in city as Valley gets fresh snowfall
Srinagar, January 5 Light snow fell across the region, including the city, and continued till late evening. The fresh snowfall comes days after a heavy snow spell resulted in a shutdown of the entire region leaving roads and a critical highway blocked and electricity supply was snapped to wide areas. The minimum temperature in Srinagar city was recorded at -4.2°C leaving residents struggling with frozen taps and a shivering morning, an official of the state Meteorological Department said. The day temperature in the city rose to a maximum of paltry 2.0°C, which is one of the lowest day temperatures of the season. In south Kashmir's Pahalgam resort, the mercury overnight plummeted to -12.4° C, making it the coldest place in the Kashmir valley. In north Kashmir's Gulmarg resort, a skiing destination during winter months, the minimum temperature was recorded at -9.8 °C, the official said. In Qazigund town, located on the southern most edge of Kashmir, mercury fell to a lowest of -8.0°C, while the minimum temperature in north Kashmir's frontier Kupwara town settled at -2.8°C. The minimum temperature in south Kashmir’s Kokernag area was recorded at -10.6°C, the official said. In Leh town, the minimum temperature was recorded at -8.6°C, while the mercury fell to -16.1°C in its neighbouring Kargil town, making it the coldest place in the entire Kashmir division.
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Kashmir incomplete without Pandits: Omar
Jammu, January 5 Kashmir without Kashmiri Pandits is incomplete beyond any doubt, but their return to the Valley will not be under any compulsion or force, he said, adding that Pandits will have to take a call on the issue themselves. The Chief Minister stated this while addressing the Convention of Kashmiri Pandits at Patta-Bohri here. He said he would intensify his efforts to seek better and more socio-economic packages for rehabilitation from the Centre for the safe and secure return of Kashmiri Pandits. “I will do whatever is possible to upgrade the status of the basic amenities being provided to the Kashmiri Pandits at various migrant camps in Jammu.” The Chief Minister said Kashmiri Pandits left their native land as they had lost their sense of security in the Valley during militancy. “We have to work to make them regain this security and create a safe and secure atmosphere for them to return willingly,” he said, maintaining that till then the amenities at the migrant camps could not be ignored and his government would take all measures to better them. Omar said Kashmiri Pandits had undergone a difficult and challenging phase during the 25 years of migration, both emotionally and financially. He said the genuine leaders of Kashmiri Pandits are those who lived with them as migrants and fought for their justice, and not those who have not experienced the sting and mental trauma the community has undergone but have come from outside the state to give them sermons. The Chief Minister said a step towards the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley had been taken by earmarking government jobs for their educated youth in Kashmir. As many as 1,500 youth of this community had taken up jobs and were residing safely with their Muslim brethren. But the initiative would be significant when the community would decide holistically to return willingly and be the part of society they were prior to the migration. Omar said that he would continue to bat for getting a better employment package for Kashmiri Pandits from the Centre. The enhancement of the rehabilitation package and other perks to the community were being taken up with Centre by his government. The Chief Minister, who completed five years in office today, expressed his gratitude to Kashmiri Pandits for exhibiting their love and affection for him. “I assure you of my efforts to seek holistic welfare for you and for your youth in the coming years,” he said. Earlier, the Chief Minister was presented a traditional turban of Kashmiri Pandits and mementoes. |
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Coalition completes 5 yrs, but no one is celebrating
Jammu, January 5 The usual festivities remained missing, barring advertisements in few newspapers highlighting the achievements of the government. With the National Conference-Congress coalition stepping into the sixth year of governance, it was the last opportunity for the government to exhibit their success and revel in it. However, the Chief Minister’s office chose to give the celebrations a miss. We were expecting some celebrations, but there was no communication from the Chief Minister’s office. The reason may be best known to them, a couple of Ministers
from the Congress told The Tribune. It has been a roller coaster ride for the Omar Abdullah, who assumed the office as the youngest Chief Minister of the state on January 5, 2009, a year that followed the Amarnath land row agitation. After a somewhat quiet 2009, the government was subjected to a stern test following the summer unrest of 2010, which featured the killing of 120 youth in the Valley. Omar’s stance on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) did not earn him any supporters either as the Army vehemently objected to the revocation of the Act. The couple of years that followed 2010 brought some cheer to the government as the state witnessed an increase in the tourist footfall. With the number of tourists going up, Omar tried to market Kashmir at the national and international level, emphasising that his government had been successful in bringing Jammu and Kashmir back to normalcy. However, as the government was cherishing its achievements, 2013 pushed the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to the wall again. First, the protests that followed the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, gave sleepless nights to the government and then the Gool killings kept the state on its toes. If that was not enough, the state also witnessed the communal clashes at Kishtwar that engulfed the entire state and resulted in the loss of property worth crores of rupees. The year also saw an increase in infiltration attempts and militancy related activities, besides record ceasefire violations by the Pakistani forces along the Line of Control and international border. To sum it up in Omar’s words “it was the best of times, it was the worst times”. The statement was made by the Chief Minister after the completion of three years in office. |
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PDP, BJP term Omar a failure
Jammu, December 5 While the PDP rated the Omar government as a “big zero”, the BJP termed the five years performance of the government as “dismal and disappointing”. BJP state president Jugal Kishore Sharma said today that the Congress in particular would have to pay a “heavy price” in the state in general and the Jammu and Ladakh provinces in particular as it had “badly let down” the people of
the two provinces to please its “pro-autonomy and communal masters” in the Valley. “It is because of the support of the people of the Jammu province and the Ladakh region that the Congress has been sharing power in the state since November 5, 2002. But instead of fulfilling the promises it held out in 2002 and 2008, the party acted as the B-team of the pro-self rule PDP and then the pro-autonomy NC,” he said. He added that Congress ministers became party to all the “anti-Jammu and anti-Ladakh decisions” during all these five years of the NC-led government rule to keep “their masters in Kashmir in good humour”. Terming the five years performance of the Omar Abdullah government as a “big zero”, the PDP said Omar’s tenure could be rightly described as the five years of “total anarchy, failure and rampant corruption”. Addressing a series of public meetings at Bakshi Nagar, Sarwal, Bhagwati Nagar and Bahu Fort areas, PDP candidate for the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat Yash Pal Sharma, an MLC, said the Omar government had proved to be a “non-performing liability on the people of Jammu and Kashmir”. He termed the five-year tenure of the regime as a “total failure wherein governance deficit was increasing with each passing day”. “I don’t think there is even a single achievement of this regime during the last five years,” he said. |
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on the frontline
In Jammu and Kashmir, a sterile debate is on on who has done what for whom. This debate is going on between the ruling National Conference and its alliance partner Congress. The two parties and their leaders are not leaving any chance to hit out at each other. Divided they stand together, is what characterises the relationship between the two parties at the fifth anniversary of their rule in the state.
No amount of posters, with pictures of Congress and NC leaders side by side counting the achievements of the government so far, can hide the fact that the alliance is surviving only because of the Congress High Command and the top leadership of the National Conference, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. On the ground, the parties are virtually at daggers drawn. Omar in Cabinet meetings has told Congress ministers too often that he had accommodated the Congress at every step and when it comes to reciprocating, Congress leaders develop cold feet. But, what he has done for the Congress is not known. The truth is that Omar relies more on his friendship with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and keeps the state leadership of the party at bay. Ghosts of past experience of the National Conference with the Congress have come to haunt Omar as well. The Congress had brought down the National Conference governments in 1977 and 1984. In 1990, the Congress had forced Farooq Abdullah to step down. Omar, who was 20 or so when his father had to quit the government in January 1990, is also facing some of the hard times inflicted on him by the Congress. While he blames the Congress for not fully supporting him in the hour of crisis, the
Congress has a different story to tell. A well-known fact is that when the streets of Kashmir were getting bloodied by protests and counter action by the police, local leaders of the Congress were manoeuvring to dislodge the Omar government. The local leadership of the party had also launched a campaign for rotational chief ministership ahead of Omar’s completion of three years in office. Now, the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir has raised the pitch for “no-pre-poll alliance with NC”, stating that its “misdeeds and governance deficit has become a liability” and the Congress would go alone in the polls. Even senior minister in the Centre and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the “party workers were against having a pre-poll alliance with the National Conference and we have to respect the sentiments of the party workers.” In less than 48 hours, the Chief Minister’s confidant and NC provincial president (Jammu) declared: “We (NC) cannot compromise on our premier role. We have our options.” This was a message that the NC’s repeated call for a pre-poll alliance should not be taken for granted. The Congress has come to realise, though some of the ministers are opposed to the idea of losing their position that has come to them only by the virtue of the fact that the government is led by a Kashmiri and Kashmir-centric party, that its bowing down to the NC would be an electoral disaster. The party is clear that if it contests elections in alliance with the NC, it would lose; and if it contests on its own, it may win even four of the six Lok Sabha seats and a significant number of seats in the Assembly polls to emerge as the single largest party in the state touching the figures between 20 and 30. In such a situation, it is impossible to think that the two parties would focus on governance. Otherwise too, there is nothing worth mentioning on the governance front. |
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Boy’s death: Accused driver still on the run
Jammu, January 5 The residents demanded immediate arrest of the accused, compensation to the family of the deceased and a check on the plying of tractors in and around the city. Hundreds of people gathered at Jagti Township and raised slogan against the state administration. Shadi Lal Pandita, a resident of Jagti Tenement said, “Over 24 hours have passed, but the accused driver has not been arrested so far. It is the total failure of the police.” “We are demanding immediate arrest of the accused driver and a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of the deceased,” he added. Station House Officer (SHO) of the Nagrota police station Parvez
Sajjad was not available for comment. However, the munshi at the police station said
the investigation officer was trying to arrest the accused. The boy was crushed to death when a tractor trailer allegedly hit him at the Jagti tenement area in the outskirts of Jammu. The driver, however, managed to flee from the spot. The incident had sparked a massive outrage with the locals setting the tractor ablaze. The police had registered a case under Section 302 of the Ranbir Penal Code in this regard. Their demands
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Tractor-trailers a risk to commuters’ lives
Jammu, January 5 Unregistered tractor-trailers, a serious threat to commuters, have led to the rise in the number of accidents on the city roads. These vehicles not only flout the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, but also pose a serious threat to the lives of the public. There is no check on their plying on the city roads and at times traffic police look the other way when it comes to take action against them. Nearly 3,000 persons have lost their lives in the past three years in Jammu and Kashmir, with capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar leading the list. “It is unfortunate that a child died because of rashly driven tractor. Even experienced drivers are afraid of these tractors. Strict action should be taken against the drivers of these trolleys, who violate the rules,” said Kehsav Sharma, a businessman. On an average, the traffic police had challaned 31,000 vehicles a month in J&K for violation of traffic rules, which includes not wearing seat belts, driving without helmets, negligent driving, no proper number plates and drunken driving. Jammu SSP Atul Goel said action would be taken against the violators. “No one will be allowed to violate the norms and directions have already being passed to check the misuse of these trolleys,” Goel added. “The traffic police needs to deal sternly with underage riders. Increased penalties, seizing vehicles of violators and traffic awareness workshops for students are some of the ways by which this menace can be controlled,” said Radha Krishan, a local. Fatal mishaps Nearly 3,000 persons have lost their lives in the past three years in Jammu and Kashmir, with capital cities of
Jammu and Srinagar topping the list |
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Six die of cold in Udhampur district Jammu, January 5 The belt has been cut off from the rest of the state due to heavy snowfall. Reports said five children and an elderly man died in the Pandi Gali area of the Panchari block of Udhampur district. Although the authorities are yet to confirm the report, sources said the local administration had received information regarding the death of the six persons. Unconfirmed reports said seven persons had died and a team of senior officers had been rushed to the spot. Despite repeated attempts, neither the Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, nor any senior official picked up the phone.
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Powergrid restores power supply to Kashmir valley
Jammu, January 5 Due to heavy snowfall on December 31 and January 1, the 400-KV Kishenpur-Wagoora transmission line developed a snag on both sides of the Pir Panjal ranges, which led to the disconnection of power supply to the Valley. The transmission line was damaged and power transmission in one of its circuits (Circuit-I) was affected since yesterday morning. The corporation authorities approached the state government and the IAF to help them in ferrying manpower to the site. A team of engineers headed by Arshad Khan, chief manager,
Batote, SM Dar, chief manager, Wagoora, and Muhammad Farooq, manager, OS, organised their teams at
Batote, Wagoora and Jammu, so that they were dropped by helicopter at the desired location. Officials from the Air Force played an important role in the operation by ferrying the engineers of the corporation despite hostile weather conditions prevailing in the area. The line was charged on Sunday at 1:27 pm and around 500 MW of electricity was made available to the Valley. General Manager (O&M) of the corporation KR Suri commanded the restoration work. |
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Anti-adulteration drive to go on, says municipal corporation
Srinagar, January 5 An SMC official said commissioner of the corporation GN Qasba had passed instructions to the health officer to intensify its anti-adulteration drive rigorously and ensure that no low quality food was sold anywhere within the municipal limits. Following reports of substandard food products sold by leading business groups, the High Court had last month directed three leading companies to deposit Rs 10 crore each. The court was hearing a PIL seeking to implement the Food Safety Standards Act in the state to check adulteration. The orders had been passed days after the health wing of the SMC had decided to initiate legal action against several leading business groups found selling substandard food items. The products were found substandard after the SMC for the first time had sent samples to referral laboratories outside the state for quality check. Meanwhile, a team led by SMC health officer Shafqat Khan had destroyed a large quantity of open spices, including turmeric and fennel powder, during a market check yesterday. Khan said the sale of open spices was banned under the Food Safety and Authority Act, 2006, and no colouring agent had to be present in these spices. He said action was taken after the SMC had received several complaints from the Athawajan and Batamaloo areas that some unscrupulous traders were selling open spices, which were not in conformity with rules and regulations. “These spices are substandard and are of low quality, which is harmful to health and nobody
will be allowed to sell this lot within the jurisdiction of municipal limits,” Khan added. |
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ASI working on Buddhist site at Ambaran
Jammu, January 5 “Out of four stupas, the preservation work on two has almost been completed and the ASI has plans to go for more excavation in the area to look out for remnants of the Buddhist monastery that was abandoned around seventh century AD and re-discovered in the year 2000 during the construction of a new bridge over Chenab river,” an ASI official said. “We have sought permission from the state government to do more excavation work in the area in search of remnants of the Buddhist monastery,”
he said. Last year the ASI had preserved six stupas. The site at Ambaran is known for its terracotta figures that include Buddha heads of various sizes and ornately dressed male and female statues with clearly seen influences of the Greco-Buddhist and Gandhara schools of art. The official, meanwhile, said the ASI found a casket from one of the main stupas, it was being preserved. A three-layered casket set of copper, silver and gold, containing bone relics and ornaments was unearthed from the site, he said. “We have done flooring of the main stupa to protect it from water,” the official said. The Buddhist site was visited by the Dalai Lama in November 2011 and since then pilgrims from across the country and abroad have been visiting the place. “During winters their (pilgrims) number increases,” the official said. He, meanwhile, said after the ASI finishes the preservation work on two stupas, it will take up the preservation work of two more stupas this year. Buddhist monasteries in the state date as far back as the Gupta period and can be easily traced from the copper coins of about 500 AD. |
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Rural areas have witnessed visible change: Minister
Jammu, January 5 This was disclosed by the Rural Development Department while presenting the report card of the National Conference-Congress coalition in the rural development sector after completing five years in office. “There has been a big leap in the execution and implementation of MGNREGA in the state which took off from Rs 65 crore in the first year (2008) to Rs 850 crore in the last financial year,” the department said during a booklet release today. The report card was presented by Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar who claimed that rural areas had witnessed a visible change in terms of participation of people in decision making, plan implementation together with massive infrastructural development and establishment of a functional and a vibrant panchayat system. “We are presenting to the people of the state our progress and what we have been able to achieve during the last five years of the Omar-led coalition government in the form of a booklet, detailing the financial and physical progress achieved in the rural development sector across the state,” Sagar said. Describing the holding of the panchayat elections in the state despite challenges a landmark achievement of the coalition government, the minister said the massive participation witnessed during the panchayat elections reflected that people wanted change in the rural areas of the state. Sagar said the coalition government was working towards further strengthening the grass-roots level democratic governance system by setting up a full-fledged three-tier system. He said powers and funds had been devolved to the panchayats and all officials had been directed to cooperate and provide assistance to the panchayats in their day-to-day working, monitoring and plan implementation. The Rural Development Minister said his endeavour had been to infuse transparency in the distribution of funds and other benefits across all constituencies, irrespective of whether they were represented by members of the ruling party or the opposition. Minister for Housing and Culture Raman Bhalla and Minister of State for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Viqar Rasool also spoke on the occasion. |
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With two elections, 2014 may turn out to be turbulent
Srinagar, January 5 The year 2014, which had a sleepy snowy start in Kashmir, may turn out to be one of the most critical and noisy in Kashmir’s recent history. The two elections, one of which may change the corridors of power in the state or leave the status quo unchanged, will take place this year. The first election is likely to be held in April-May when votes would be cast to the six Lok Sabha seats in the state. In the last parliamentary election, the state’s ruling National Conference (NC) won all three seats it contested in the Kashmir region while the Congress won two seats in Jammu division and an Independent candidate won the Ladakh seat. In the 2009 election, the state’s lead opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ended as a runner up in the three constituencies which it lost to the NC candidates while the BJP ended up second in the two constituencies in the Jammu region. Kashmir watchers say the results of the parliamentary election will be critical for the region and will decide the “permutations and combinations” for the state elections to be held later in the year. “The parliamentary elections will be very important and the type of political combinations which emerge in New Delhi will decide the equations here in the state,” said Prof Gul Mohammad Wani, who teaches political science at the University of Kashmir. The withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from Afghanistan is also taking place this year — ending one of the longest wars of modern history — which threatens to send militants in search of new battlefields. Senior security forces officers, including Army commanders, and separatist leaders have warned that “ripple effects” of the US withdrawal would impact the region and battle-hardened militants may surge into Kashmir’s diminishing conflict. “The writing on the wall is clear. It is going to be a tough year,” a senior CRPF officer said. The official drew a parallel between the Soviet Union’s 1989 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the scheduled US withdrawal of 2014. “After the Soviet withdrawal, there were suddenly large groups of militants available, (many of whom) then came to the Valley. I won’t go the extent of saying that the entire Al-Qaida or the Taliban would come to Kashmir, but the reality is that the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Toiba may refocus their energies and resources on Kashmir,” the official said. The two-decade militancy in Kashmir, which had begun to show a gradual recession in the last one decade, made a belligerent comeback in 2013 as militants carried out a series of attacks across the region leaving dozens of security forces personnel dead. A security forces officer said by the end of 2013, the number of militants — local and foreigners — had swelled to the highest numbers in recent years. Wani said there was little possibility that the US withdrawal would impact Kashmir and dismissed any comparison between the Soviet and the US withdrawal. “The Government of India is calculating (the risk) in its own way that they won’t lower the guard in Kashmir,” he said. “Today the Indian state is deeply entrenched in terms of its power and presence (in Kashmir) and in terms of its sense of preparedness.” The US withdrawal’s “ripple effect” forecast, however, had recently been attested by the state police which cautioned the security forces to be “very very alert”. A police document also suggested that the existing security grid was required to be “refined further” to achieve control over the “emerging” situation. The second half of the year is also likely to witness an increased political activity across the region as the state would ready itself for the Assembly elections. The main actors in the elections will be the NC which had won 28 seats in the 2008 elections, PDP which had won 21, Congress which had won 17 the BJP had won 11 seats. |
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Skiing institute to organise ‘Snow Day’ at Gulmarg
Srinagar, January 5 Additional Director General of Tourism, Government of India, RK Bhatnagar said the institute would organise various skiing activities at
Gulmarg on the day to attract children. The official was speaking during a prize distribution ceremony at the IISM, Gulmarg, after the completion of its first snow skiing course of the season. JS Dhillon, IISM
Principal, said the institute managed to complete the course successfully despite “strange snowfall pattern” at Gulmarg this season. “This year the snowfall pattern is very strange. It snowed heavily in all the areas of the Pir Panjal and the Valley, but there has been (comparatively) very low snowfall in Gulmarg. Despite that, the IISM was able to finish its first snow skiing course,” he said. He added that 70 students from different parts of the country participated in the first ski course this season, out of which around 30 were sponsored by the Winter Games Association of Punjab. Dhillon further said the institute will conduct six snow skiing courses this winter season and will also train some local boys for the National Ski Championships. “Many prestigious educational institutes such as Lawrence School, Sanawar, CCA Gurgaon, Indus Valley Public School, Bangalore, and Delhi Public School, Srinagar, have already booked seats for their students at the IISM,” he said. Bhatnagar, meanwhile, said the IISM, Gulmarg, was playing a vital role to promote adventure tourism in the country. “The Ministry of Tourism was sensitive to the needs of the IISM and will help them to upgrade their chairlifts and ski lifts in the near future,” he added. |
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Don’t mislead government employees: Committee
Srinagar, January 5 In a statement, EJAC president Abdul Qayoom Wani said the employees’ association had made it clear to all those leaders who “just for show” issue statements, to stop “misleading” the employees. The statement was issued two days after the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various government employees' bodies, said it would restart its agitation for the meeting of their long-pending demands. Wani, who is also a member of the JCC, said they would start their struggle beginning with a sit-in protest in Jammu on January 8. While talks between the government and the JCC had ended in a deadlock in August last year, the employees have been staging frequent protests and strikes for over two years now. After a series of protests and strikes by the employees in 2012, 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, 2012. 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 6th Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers working in various government departments. The other JCC demands are inclusion of five years of contractual service of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers in the service book and regularisation of education volunteers after seven years of service. |
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Jammu, January 5 Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Poonch-Haveli constituency Aijaz Ahmad Jan welcomed the entrants into the party. Jahangir said he joined the NC because of the good work done by MLA Aijaz Jan in the area. He said all members had approached Jan and expressed their desire to join the NC. —
TNS |
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Dental body constitutes executive body for Jammu province
Jammu, January 5 Dr Ritesh Gupta took over as the president of the association, while Dr Gautam Sharma was unanimously elected general secretary for the current year. Dr Rajiv Mengi took over as treasurer of the association. In a statement issued here, Dr Sharma appealed to all dental surgeons of the Jammu province to join the association to strengthen it. He said the continuing dental education (CDE) programmes would now be held at regular intervals and talks were going on with the prominent speakers of the country for the purpose.
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IGNOU plans to start Master’s degree in mass communication
Jammu, January 5 KK Bhat, regional director, IGNOU, while talking to The Tribune, informed that the decision was taken during the recently held meeting by the IGNOU authorities wherein the School of Journalism and New Media Studies (SOJNMS) had proposed to launch the ambitious programme. “Yes, the decision to launch MJMC was taken recently during a meeting. In fact, I also attended that meeting, wherein officials from SOJNMS were also present and a proposal was mooted to launch a Masters degree in mass communication,” Bhat said. “We are yet to receive an official communiqué from the IGNOU authorities to start the programme, but I am hopeful that we will be able to run the programme from July 2014,” he added. On being asked whether the programme has been started by any other regional centre in the country, Bhat said, “The Masters degree in JMC will be launched simultaneously at all regional centres across the country.” Sources said an all-India needs assessment study was being conducted by the IGNOU authorities in Delhi and responses were also being sought from two categories i.e. experts in the field/prospective employers and potential learners. The regional director, however, expressed satisfaction over the ongoing programme in Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication (PGDJMC). “As far as PGDJMC is concerned, we have received an overwhelming response as a lot of aspirants have enrolled for the course,” Bhat claimed. IGNOU serves educational aspirations of over 4 million students in India and 36 other countries through 21 schools of studies and a network of 67 regional centres. It has around 3,000 learner support centres and 67 overseas centres. The university offers about 490 certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes with strength of nearly 420 faculty members and academic staff at the headquarters and regional centres and about 36,000 academic
counsellors. |
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Doctor-patient ratio dismal: Child specialist
Jammu, January 5 During the interaction, Dr Digra briefed budding journalists of the institution about the prevailing health scenario of the state. He added that health sector in J&K was far better than other states but still there was need to take some urgent steps to further strengthen the health institutions. He said the doctor-patient ratio was dismal owing to which staff in health institutions was over-burdened. Dr Digra advised the students to help the decision makers by highlighting the deficiencies in the health sector so that appropriate steps could be initiated to address the issues. Students also raised several queries with the invited person. They asked about the reason for rude behaviour of doctors with the patients and also the unethical practices being followed by them. Dr Digra explained that such cases were exceptional and there was strong need to inculcate ethical values among the doctors as well as people in general. He also supported introduction of the aptitude test before admitting students for MBBS course. Earlier, Director of the institute Jyoti Sangral welcomed Dr
Digra. |
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Toppers of JKCET felicitated
Jammu, January 5 The first three state toppers of the Jammu and Kashmir Combined Entrance Test (JKCET 2013) - AK Vian, Shomik Raina, Akhil Pandita, and Pranav Mahajan - were presented with gift cheques of Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively. The students of the institute while interacting with the awardees got a firsthand account of the effort needed to make it to the desired level. The management through a power point presentation outlined the motive, essence and the spirit behind the establishment of AK Vidyamandir. —
TNS
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NSS unit organises valedictory function
Jammu, January 5 Dr NK Resutra, Nodal Principal, Jammu Division, colleges, was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr Rajinder Singh, NSS Programme Officer of the colleges and under whose supervision the camp was organised, gave details of the camp. He said besides holding a cleanliness drive in the college and Ved Mandir Bal Ashram, the volunteers celebrated the New Year eve with inmates of the ashram. The college principal addressed the NSS volunteers. He lauded the efforts of the NSS units of the college and advised them to work against the social evils present in society.
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Traders express concern over power cuts
Srinagar, January 5 Addressing the meeting, the KTF president said the people of the Valley were “made to suffer” even as it was rich in water resources for generating more power. He also urged the Chief Minister to direct the Power Department to provide quality power supply to consumers. — TNS
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Play ‘Ba Chus Shaehid’ to be staged today
Srinagar, January 5 Written by Kashmiri theatre playwright and director Aarshad Mushtaq, the play is scheduled for its maiden theatrical presentation at the SP College Auditorium. The play will be shown all over the world live to global audience through the Internet. The play comes from a group of local artistes that has been active over the years with series of plays that include “Su Yee”, an adaptation of Waiting for Godot, “Aalaw”, an adaptation of an Irish play Riders to the Sea, and “Wattepaed” (Footprints), which were staged at different national and international theatre festivals over the years. One of the plays of Ba Chus Shaehid was recently presented by two boys to an audience of hundreds at the Sheri-Kashmir Park here at the Zubin Mehta parallel concert, Haqeeqat-e-Kashmir (Reality of Kashmir). With the play to go for theatrical run for the first time tomorrow, it marks the beginning of theatre activities in Kashmir for the New Year. The Theatre for Kashmir (TFK), along with other cultural and literary organisation, is planning to organise different theatre and literary activities throughout the year. In the play, a local actor, Yousuf Shahnaz, plays the central character supported by a Kashmiri model and débutante actor Malik Qaiser Mushtaq in a significant role. Other artistes include Riyaz Mir, Ubaid Wani, Mian
Mushtaq, Shahid Gulfam, Shahida Alvi, MU Hassan. The music is by Raja Bilal and song by Shahi
Mumtaz. |
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RinGside view
As heavy snowfall covered the Valley recently, walking on the roads and the bylanes has become difficult these days. Due to layers of snow on the rooftops of houses, people are seen moving cautiously in the bylanes. Snow, which has turned rock solid now, often falls all of a sudden from the rooftops and can cause serious injuries if it hits a person.
While receiving injuries after getting hit by snow is common in the winter, the bylanes have also turned slippery. People slipping on the frozen streets and getting injured is also a common sight in the
winter. Even though snow is required for smooth power supply in the spring and summer, besides being favourable for crops, it unfortunately also leads to several problems for the people. Efforts on to woo rich Arabs The government is making all-out efforts to woo rich Saudi Arabian tourists to the Kashmir valley. Like the previous year, several promotional activities have been planned in the desert kingdom. However, it could be a real challenge to draw Arabs towards the Valley as Middle East travellers are not like westerners who swarm to Kashmir and Ladakh for adventure. They want comfort and luxury. This is one reason why Arabs don’t travel to Jammu and Kashmir. But the effort has been to showcase the modern face of the state, especially the Valley. Several programmes have been planned in the ancient city of Jeddah, Dammam and Riyad, capital of Saudi Arabia in 2014. Officials said Arabs prefer Europe and America. They said except for the conflict news, they were unaware of this part of the world. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah last week admitted, though in a lighter vein, that if politicians were asked to make a speech in any public gathering, they left no opportunity to vent their feelings and it didn’t matter whether they had anything to say. Omar said politicians, in one way or the other, could easily manage things and didn’t leave the mic until they made a “good” speech. The Chief Minister said this when he was about to start his speech during a function organised by Canara Bank at Zorawar Singh Auditorium, University of Jammu, on December 31, where he handed over training-cum-placement letters to 300 youth of the state selected under the Udaan scheme. “I have nothing to say after the speech of the Chairman of Canara Bank who has already extended full support to the youth of J&K,” Omar said at the very outset. Soon after his remarks, the Chairman of the bank said they just wanted his (Omar) blessings so that they tread the path of progress and achieve new heights. Omar responded: “Don’t worry. Hum politicians tab tak mic nahi chodte jab tak hum kuch keh na le. Main bhi kuch na kuch keh hi dunga….(We politicians don’t leave the mic until we say something. I will also say something).” He left the audience in splits. (M Aamir Khan, Sumit Hakhoo and Arteev Sharma)
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After erratic power supply, LPG scarcity hits south Kashmir
Anantnag, January 5 According to reports, many places in Kulgam and Anantnag districts of the region have been left high and dry without the LPG supply. The residents have alleged that the administration seems to have turned a blind eye towards the problem. “The LPG supply was already irregular and now with the closure of the national highway, they have got a reason to make us wait further,” said Muneeb Ahmad, a resident of Anantnag town. Residents of some parts have been without the LPG supply for the past more than two months. “We were supplied cooking gas yesterday after two months and the queue was so long that most of the people did not get their share of gas
cylinder,” said Arif Hussain, a resident of Bijbehara town. Residents said cooking gas was the only remedy available to them due to erratic power supply and shortage of firewood. “We are suffering immensely due to shortage of cooking gas. In rural areas the scenario is even worse,” said a local. People say the scarcity of cooking gas has added to their woes while
they are already reeling under unprecedented power cuts. “Scarcity of gas is a nightmare for us. We have to light our houses with candles these days,” said a resident of Kulgam. Besides, residents allege that the failure of the administration to
streamline the distribution of cooking gas has led to a chaos. The home delivery
system of the LPG cylinders is in limbo for the past over a year. The system was to be implemented in a phased manner in Anantnag district starting February last. However, even after a year later nothing has been done in this regard. |
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PDP flays government for highway mess
Srinagar, January 5 The PDP general secretary, Mohammad Dilawar Mir, alleged that the government was not making serious efforts to mitigate the problems of the people in view of the recent snowfall in the Valley, particularly in south Kashmir. He said the people were being subjected to a lot of inconvenience due to the prevailing sad state of affairs on the national highway, which was opened to one-way traffic only. “The condition on the highway has worsened due to the recent snowfall and the authorities seem to be sleeping over the mess which has resulted in inconvenience to the travellers. The highway mismanagement has given rise to chaos and the long traffic jams have become usual now as there is no one to check and streamline the things,” he said.
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Gujjar body extends support to Jats
Jammu, January 5 In a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde the organisation supported the demand of Jats from Jammu and Kashmir and urged that the community be inducted into the OBC
category. “The organisation has sent a communiqué to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister of India supporting Jat struggle for grant of OBC status,” Javaid Rahi, secretary Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, said in a statement here. He, meanwhile, urged the Jat community living in other parts of the country to support the ongoing movement of Gujjars for grant of tribal status, especially in Rajasthan where the community was striving hard for the grant of ST status. Rahi also asked leaders from both the communities to revive the ‘J&K Gujjar-Jat Conference’ founded in 1931. The organisation provided a united platform to the Gujjars and Jats of the state and remained a leading organisation till
partition. “Gujjars and Jats share many similarities. The need of the hour is that they should support each other in their struggle. The Gujjars and Jats together can do wonders,” he said. |
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Voter turnout in 2008 poll puzzled outside world, says Yasin Malik
Anantnag, January 5 Insisting that the voter turnout in 2008 Assembly polls did not reflect the situation on ground, Malik said: “These (mainstream) politicians made people in Kashmir to think on the lines that who was less atrocious and motivated them to vote in 2008.” He said the message that Kashmiris participated in 2008 polls in huge
numbers puzzled the outside world. The separatist leader, meanwhile, flayed both the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party for their role in the implementation of the acts like Armed Forces
Special Powers Act and the formation of the Special Task Force. |
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Rajouri residents cry for basic amenities
Rajouri, January 5 As the elections for Parliament and the state Assembly are approaching fast, all political leaders, including ministers, frequently tour the district and hold meetings to woo the voters. However, nobody is paying heed towards the problems being faced by these people, therefore, Inhabitants of various areas have been organising protests against the officials of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) and the Power Development Department (PDD) for the past many days, demanding adequate supply of essential commodities. Inhabitants of Chowkian village, while holding a protest on Friday said, “Official and unofficial power cuts ranging between 14-18 hours a day have badly affected the normal life of residents, especially students and patients in hospitals.” “The government must mitigate the problems of the people by appointing honest and dedicated officials in these departments or we will be forced to come out on the roads,” said Mohd Kabir, a local resident. On the other hand, inhabitants of Noushera, Manjakot, Thanamandi and Darhal tehsils have also been going through the same problems. They said low voltage ranging between 50-60 volts had damaged their electronic appliances and gadgets. “Besides official curtailment for eight hours a day due to overloading, to save our equipment we have been advised by the higher authorities to impose forced cuts, which range between one and two hours a day. Local faults caused due to fuses and damage to supply lines also force the department to snap the power supply,” said Syed Jameel, SE, PDD. Inhabitants of Dassal village and other adjoining villages falling in the vicinity of Rajouri city also staged protest against the PDD officials and demanded to stop the long power curtailments, which have hampered the studies of the children. |
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A shivering Kashmir region received fresh snowfall on this afternoon as mercury overnight plummeted drastically several degrees below the freezing point.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has reiterated his resolve to ensure a sense of security among Kashmiri Pandits and create an environment for their dignified and honourable return to their native land.
Residents of Jagti Tenement continued the protest today as the police failed to arrest the driver of tractor trailer, which had run over a four-year-old boy yesterday.
The residents demanded immediate arrest of the accused, compensation to the family of the deceased and a check on the plying of tractors in and around the city.
The tragic incident in which a four-year-old boy was run over by a rashly driven tractor-trailers at Jagti township yesterday has once again put a question mark on the plying of tractor-trolleys in the city.
Unregistered tractor-trailers, a serious threat to commuters, have led to the rise in the number of accidents on the city roads.
To lift the profile of skiing and attract more children to the sport, the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM) will be organising ‘Snow Day’ at the ski resort of Gulmarg on January 19.
Additional Director General of Tourism, Government of India, RK Bhatnagar said the institute would organise various skiing activities at
Gulmarg on the day to attract children.
