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Modi a dictator, says Farooq
NaMo plays fast &
loose with truth: Omar
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‘Modified’ slogans at rally
MBBS scam: 14 declared proclaimed offenders
News
analysis
Protests in Tral against police, Army
‘high-handedness’
ABVP activists, students continue protest at Jammu University
Ex-IGP Khan joins BJP
Governor reviews Amarnath yatra arrangements
Scouting course concludes
Students’ conference on linguistics ends
Azad: Defeat divisive
forces to strengthen secularism
Stationery shortage affects issuance of licences in Jammu
Science cong: Jammu varsity fails to
clear hoteliers' bills
Old secretariat turns into breeding ground for dogs
Protests erupt in Srinagar after youth’s arrest
Four-day industrial visit organised for students
DPS holds annual function
Seminar on Vivekananda held
Backward Classes’ union organises convention
Shortage of ration sparks protest in Kupwara
SMC to start drive against ads painted on walls
First Lady lauds efforts of Viraj Kala Kendra
4 state climbers to attend Belayers’ Course at Delhi
Dysfunctional streetlights causing losses, rue traders
Burglars loot goods worth Rs 4 lakh in Rajouri
Militant hideout busted
Governor prorogues both Houses
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Modi a dictator, says Farooq
Srinagar, March 26 Farooq, who is the NC candidate for the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, attended a workers' meeting in Budgam district. Senior leaders of the National Conference, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, were
present. Budgam, Srinagar and Ganderbal districts form the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, which Farooq had represented in the 15th Lok Sabha elections. “This election is unlike all elections in the past as we are face-to-face with a figure who aims at polarising the people of the country on communal lines, an evil design that needs to be thwarted without any compromise,” Farooq said as he launched the election campaign. “People understand that Modi is a dictator and India cannot be managed by a dictator. The way he has sidelined his senior party colleagues, he will destroy communal harmony in the country,” the Union Minister said. He said there would be “no impact” of Modi in Jammu and Kashmir. “I have to say it with sadness that India will become a dictatorial country (if Modi becomes the Prime Minister) and God knows who will survive and who will not,” he
said. Farooq said it was up to Omar to decide if he wanted to go to New Delhi, if UPA-3 came to power. “There is every possibility that there will be a government which may be a combination of the Third Front and the
UPA,” he said. The Chief Minister also addressed the meeting and said the state had witnessed “unprecedented governance” in the last five years of the NC-Congress coalition government. “This (election) is a semi-final. We are only warming ourselves up in this inning. I am sure that my team here will have all equipment to win the final in November,” Omar said. Jammu and Kashmir is likely to go the Assembly polls around November this year. Omar said the vote which would not be cast for the National Conference “will go to Narendra
Modi”. “Initially, they were holding secret talks, but now it is all in the open. Now, they are saying we will work with Narendra Modi and he will solve the Kashmir issue,” Omar said, taking a dig at the new-found bonhomie between the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and the BJP. Omar said the PDP has fielded contestants for the two parliamentary seats of the Jammu region to bifurcate the vote there “so it helps the
BJP”.
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NaMo plays fast &
loose with truth: Omar
Srinagar, March 26 “NaMo certainly plays fast and loose with the truth. He quotes me and can't even get that right. Modi Sb (sahib) please quote me but do it right,” Omar wrote on Twitter while Modi was still giving his speech. Modi today said that Omar had used a helicopter to check out his Lalkar rally last year and was "honest enough to say this on Twitter that he was surprised to see BJP's huge rally".
On December 1 last year, Omar had shared an aerial picture of the stadium where Modi had addressed the Lalkar rally in Jammu, with a footnote that “estimates range from 25,000 to 45,000”, which was a much lower figure than what was being circulated at that time. “The ease with which NaMo lied today about me flying over his rally in Jammu makes me wonder what else the man lies about in his speeches,” the Chief Minister said. Omar quickly added that he was not watching Modi’s speech on TV but was asked for a reply. “For those of you gloating that I'm watching the rally on TV, sorry to disappoint you. Only know what he said because I was asked for reply,” he said. The Chief Minister said he was “blissfully ignoring” Modi’s speech while sitting in Srinagar. “Ignoring all, but the lies,” he added. The Chief Minister said “some are still upset with the aerial photograph of earlier NaMo rally, hate the fact that their lies and exaggerations were exposed.” “I bet NaMo didn't repeat his ‘let's discuss Art 370’ dialogue here because we all know what happened to the earlier discussion offer,” Omar wrote, referring to the debate about the Article which was triggered by Modi’s comment during the Lalkar rally. Omar also dared Modi to “make exactly the same speech” against dynastic politics in Punjab or in Maharashtra. “I dare NaMo to make exactly the same speech against dynastic politics in Punjab or in Maharashtra. Come on, put your money where your mouth is,” he said. Speaking to reporters at central Kashmir's Budgam district, where the National Conference launched the poll campaign for the Srinagar constituency, Omar lashed out at Modi saying that “his words and deeds do not match” and accused him of “twisting facts”. “I would like to ask him what he did in his own state with the Lokayukta. In spite of court strictures, he did not place a Lokayukta in Gujarat for a decade,” Omar said. Reacting to Modi's comment on development in the state, Omar said the BJP prime ministerial candidate should step out of the helicopter and “dare to drive in a car” to see the development. “He (Modi) is completely unaware about the ground reality,” Omar said.
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‘Modified’ slogans at rally
Hiranagar, March 26 The occasion was Modi’s first “Bharat Vijay” rally at Hockey Stadium in Hiranagar, a town in Kathua district close to the international border. On Modi’s arrival at the venue, the entire stadium reverberated with modified slogans and chants such as ‘Jan Jan Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’, ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Narendra Modi Superstar’ and ‘Yuva Ke Liye Rozgar, Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar’. Recently, Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth Swaroopanand Saraswati had objected to the ‘Har Har Modi’ slogan, which Modi's supporters often used in his praise. He had also registered a protest with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Political parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, too, had protested against the BJP’s slogan, saying it was “disrespectful” to Lord Shiva. Following the controversy, Modi had requested his supporters to refrain from using the slogan. Modi, who will address 185 rallies covering 295 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country, started the second part of his campaign from Hiranagar town after offering prayers at the Vaishno Devi cave shrine this morning.
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MBBS scam: 14 declared proclaimed offenders
Srinagar, March 26 These directions were issued by Special Judge, Anti-Corruption (Kashmir), ML Manhas after the crime branch of the J&K Police, which is investigating the scam, had approached the court with a motion to declare the 14 accused persons proclaimed offenders. The MBBS exam scam involves the sale of CET-2012 question papers by former Board of Professional Entrance Examinations chairman and prime accused Mushtaq Peer in lieu of Rs 60 lakh through his brokers. “The court has reason to believe that the accused (persons) against whom a general warrant of arrest under Section 512 of the CrPC was issued have absconded or concealed themselves, so the warrants against them cannot be executed,” the Anti-Corruption Court observed in its orders passed today. “Therefore, a written proclamation is issued/published regarding the absconding persons, directing them to appear before the court by or before April 24, 2014,” the court said. In its status report filed before the High Court earlier this month, the crime branch had submitted that the total number of accused persons against whom the chargesheet had been submitted before the competent courts in the MBBS scam was 43. Out of them, 14 accused persons had been evading arrest, the crime branch had stated in its report. If the accused fail to appear before the court by or before April 24, prosecutors says the court may issue orders for attaching their properties. In another but related development, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached property worth over 60 lakhs of prime accused Mushtaq Peer. The ED had registered a money laundering case against him. The case file
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News
analysis
Jammu, March 26 Is Farooq testing the waters in the state or has he inadvertently given a handle to political opponents ahead of the Lok Sabha and subsequently the Assembly elections? Or is it a plan to hand over the chief ministership to someone else from the party or to the coalition partner Congress? These questions have cropped up. No easy answers are available at this point of time. As far as Omar is concerned, he is firm that he will stay in the state, where he has invested past six years as Chief Minister and seen many ups and downs. In his interview to The Tribune last week, Omar had stated categorically that he “doesn’t have any intention of shifting to the
Centre”, implying that he would stay put in the state. He is already campaigning for a second term for himself and his party, the National Conference, much before the Assembly elections. He is using the Lok Sabha poll campaign as a pedestal for this objective. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had stated in an interview in New Delhi on Tuesday that “Omar will be very ready to join that government under the leadership of Rahul
Gandhi.” “It could be. If that situation arises and he (Rahul) feels that he needs Omar for his work, I am sure Omar will not hide away,” Farooq said when asked if his son Omar would come to Delhi and be part of the government under Rahul in case the
UPA-III came to power. Omar, who served as a minister (1999-2002) in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, said: “I am in a minority and hence cannot hope to have higher ambitions.” That was last week. “Jammu and Kashmir contributes only six Lok Sabha seats, had the state had 40-45
(Lok Sabha) seats, I could have given a thought (to the idea of bigger ambitions),” he had stated, implying that he had his own political reasons to be in the state. “I am a realist,” he had told The Tribune. It is a well known fact that Omar and Rahul are very good friends. The pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the National Conference for the parliamentary elections would not have been there but for their friendship which often translates into a political bond between the two and their respective
parties. Farooq’s statement at this point of time must have been music to Rahul’s ears, who is seen as a prospective Prime Minister if the UPA III comes to power, but it has sent mixed signals to the political circles in
the state. It has give rise to a question. What next?
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Protests in Tral against police, Army
‘high-handedness’
Pulwama, March 26 Dadsara residents alleged that men of the Special Operations Group of the police and Army personnel thrashed some locals during a search operation, conducted to nab the militants believed to be hiding in a house in the area. Reports said all commercial establishments, offices and schools remained closed in the area and traffic was off the roads today. People came out in large numbers and marched towards the local Army camp to lodge their protest. “They (security forces) were here to look for the militants. However, they entered houses, thrashed the inmates and damaged some property,” a local alleged. The agitated villagers alleged that even women and children of the village were not spared. The police, however, maintained that no one was harassed or thrashed by the police or the Army. “We had cordoned the village on a tip off about the presence of militants in a house,” said a senior officer from the operations wing of the police in the area. “We observed maximum restraint. No civilian was touched by our men or Army men accompanying us,” said the police officer, adding that the area is notorious for militant activities. The locals have maintained that they would continue their protest for the next three days.
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ABVP activists, students continue protest at Jammu University
Jammu, March 26 In an official handout, Prof Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu, while constituting the committee said no section of students or scholars should feel aggrieved or overburdened by the fee. The Vice Chancellor has also instructed the various functionaries of the university to maintain law and order on the campus. Earlier, ABVP activists, supported by students and scholars, continued their protest against the university administration for increasing the hostel fee up to 200 per cent. They boycotted all the departments and took out a protest rally on the campus. They also closed the main gates for two hours and raised slogans against the Vice Chancellor and university administration. Later, they marched towards the Business School, where the Vice Chancellor was attending a seminar, but the protesters were stopped by some members of the administration and security personnel. It led to a scuffle between the two sides and it later took an ugly turn when some protesters smashed the glass of the entrance gate. The protesters claimed that the Vice Chancellor left the department from the rear gate and they (students) approached him in his chamber, but his response was allegedly casual as he said he couldn't do anything. They said the university was earlier charging Rs 22,00 as annual hostel fee from the students. The revised annual hostel fee is now Rs 3,480. The room rent has been increased from Rs 300 to Rs 600, while electricity charges have been increased to Rs 720 from Rs 240. They demanded immediate rollback of the decision regarding hike in hostel fee up to 200 per cent and warned that they would intensify their agitation if the authorities didn't take a decision in favour of the students shortly.
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Ex-IGP Khan joins BJP
Hiranagar, March 26 Khan, a retired IPS officer, is the founder of the Special Task Force (counter-insurgency arm) of the state police. He had fought major battles against militancy during his career in the Police Department. He belongs to a reputed and nationalist family. His grandfather Colonel (retired) Peer Mohammad was the first state president of the Jammu and Kashmir Jan Sangh. The retired IPS officer is popular among all communities. Khan was instrumental in clearing the Hazratbal shrine of militants in March 1996. As many as 18 militants were killed and seven others arrested, a majority of them foreigners, in the operation. He had also played a key role in a major encounter between militants and security forces in 2003 when the militants had attacked the famous Raghunath temple in Jammu. During the encounter, he had entered the temple removing his shoes. The security forces had successfully cleared the Raghunath temple by killing all militants. For his meritorious services, Khan was awarded the President's medals for gallantry and bravery. The Army, civil administration and security agencies have also handed over commendation certificates to Khan for his gallant services. Senior BJP leaders say the party will utilise the services of Khan across the country during the current Lok Sabha elections. In his address, Modi welcomed Khan into the party fold and appreciated the distinguished service he had rendered to the Police Department. Meanwhile, Khalid Jahangir, a Kashmir-based journalist working for an international agency, and senior ABVP leader Suresh Ajay Magotra also joined the party in the presence of
Modi.
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Governor reviews Amarnath yatra arrangements
Jammu, March 26 Navin K Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SASB; Preet Pal Singh, Additional CEO; RK Pandita, General Manager (Works); and other senior officials attended the meeting at Raj Bhawan here. The Governor was briefed about the status of advance registration, which is being done by the designated branches of J&K Bank, Punjab National Bank and YES Bank all over the country. The CEO said for the convenience of the yatris, list of doctors/hospitals authorised to issue compulsory health certificates had been uploaded in respect of all the states/UTs except Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Sikkim. The Governor asked the CEO to issue immediate reminders to the health secretaries of the aforesaid states/UTs, and request them to publicise lists of the authorised doctors/medical institutes. The Governor was also briefed about to-date position with regard to heli services for the yatris, issuance of permissions for setting up of tents and shops and finalisation of various contracts relating to the maintenance of sanitation in the yatra area, provision of insurance covers to registered yatris, service providers, ponies, issuance of permission letters to langar organisation to set up free langars (community kitchens) in the yatra area and provision of telecom facility in the yatra area. The review meeting chaired by the Governor also discussed to-date status of all yatra-related arrangements which were to be made by the Divisional Administration, Kashmir; district administrations of Ganderbal and Anantnag districts; CEO, Pahalgam Development Authority; CEO, Sonamarg Development Authority; and various other departments concerned. Choudhary briefed the Governor about the to-date position of the action taken to implement directions passed by the Supreme Court. The Governor asked the CEO to take up all important pending matters with Chief Secretary Mohammed Iqbal Khandey and Home Secretary Suresh Kumar for ensuring timely implementation of the directions issued by the apex court.
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Scouting course concludes
Jammu, March 26 A total of 25 women teachers and masters and 23 men teachers and masters attended the course, which was held under the patronage of the DG, Sports, Navin Agarwal. He added that scouting apart from helping in building character and infusing discipline, helps the students to be physically fit and mentally healthy. Navin Agarwal directed the organisers to furnish the list of equipment needed to hold scouting/guiding camps in government schools and provide ample opportunity to the deserving children. The participants demonstrated many activities learnt during the camp. Earlier, the programme began with the lighting of the traditional lamp by the chief guest and the other dignitaries present on the occasion, followed by the cultural items, including Dogri folk songs and dances, Punjabi folk songs and dances presented by participating scouts and guides. Prominent among others who attended the concluding function were Ved Prakash, Deputy Director Youth Services and Sports, Jammu, ID Soni, State Commissioner, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and Wing Commander MM Joshi.
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Students’ conference on linguistics ends
Srinagar, March 26 On the concluding day of the conference, a valedictory function was held during which university Registrar Zaffar A Reshi distributed certificates among the participants. During the three-day conference, 96 papers were presented by the participants in various technical and plenary sessions. The participants were from various institutions of the country, including those from
JNU, Delhi University, Guwahati IIT, Delhi IIT, Dhanbad IIM, AMU, BHU, University of Hyderabad and Bengaluru NISH and from various foreign countries, including some from Sri Lanka, Iran, Yemen and Turkey. According to the organisers of the conference, the programme was conducted to provide a platform to students and research scholars of linguistics to share their research with the international audience. The SCONLI is a two-day international conference followed by a one-day workshop organised annually by the students of linguistics studying at various universities in India and abroad. The various themes and topics which were discussed during the conference included syntax semantics, phonetics and phonology morphology, discourse analysis semiotics, Indian grammatical theory historical linguistics, translation applied linguistics, sociolinguistics pragmatics, typology computational linguistics, general linguistics and language documentation. Deans of various faculties, heads of several teaching departments and scholars and students from various departments of KU were also present on the occasion.
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Azad: Defeat divisive
forces to strengthen secularism
Udhampur, March 26 After filing his nomination papers from the Udhampur-Doda parliamentary seat, Azad along with Congress-National Conference leaders kick-started the election campaign by addressing a public rally at the Mini Stadium, Udhampur, today. While addressing the rally, Azad urged people to defeat divisive forces. “The foundation of the country has been laid on secular ideals and we should not allow it to weaken at any cost,” he said. He urged people to reject such kind of forces, who were posing a threat to the secular fabric of the nation. Azad urged people to reject communal forces and strengthen secular and progressive forces to strengthen the unity and integrity of the nation and the state. He also referred to the numerous achievements of the coalition government in the state by the liberal funding of the UPA Government and urged people to vote in favour of coalition candidates in the state. The Union Minister said the country had witnessed tremendous development in all spheres of life under the UPA regime in the last 10 years. “Negative campaign against the UPA is only to divert the attention of the people from the achievements of the government in every sphere of life, including road network, hospitals, education and other pro-poor schemes, which have benefited society,” the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare added. Other prominent leaders who addressed the
rally included Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Saifuddin
Soz, Minister for Planning Ajay Sadotra and National Conference provincial president Davinder
Singh Rana.
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Stationery shortage affects issuance of licences in Jammu
Jammu, March 26 Ashish Bakshi, a licence-seeker, said, “I gave trial for the licence about 20 days ago but due to non-availability of stationery, I didn’t get my
licence.” “I have come for the third time but they told me to come next week,” he said. Like
Bakshi, hundreds of applicants are visiting the RTO, Jammu, to check the status of their
licence. Sources said the department faced this kind of problem at least once or twice a year for more than a month. Even the registration of the vehicles is being delayed by the department. The sources told The Tribune that at present the running series at the
RTO, Jammu, was JK02BF but the registration had not been done after JK02BE-8800. Same is the condition at the Assistant Regional Transport Office,
Udhampur. The authorities have stopped issuing licences. People who apply for renewal or fresh licence are being told to pay the fees, deposit the document and check it after 15 days.
Arvind Kotwal, RTO, Jammu, said: “It is true that we are facing shortage of licence cards and cartridges. It is procured by the Transport Commissioner’s office and we have given the requirement. I hope we will get the material within 2 or 3 days.” However, Saurabh
Bhagat, Transport Commissioner, Jammu, refused there was shortage of material. He said: “We have thousands of cards here and there is no shortage of other material. The work is being done in all RTOs smoothly.” “We have got additional funds of Rs 25 lakh from the Planning Department for procurement of material. There must be some mishandling by the RTOs or their subordinates that is why the licences are not being issued,” he said. |
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Science cong: Jammu varsity fails to
clear hoteliers' bills
Jammu, March 26 Manpreet Singh Jimmy, a hotelier leading the delegation of 20 hoteliers, said about 90 hotels were booked by the university during the science congress from February 2 to February 8. “At the time of the bookings, the officials assured us that they will clear the payment before checkout of guests. Now due to their delay tactics, the hoteliers are facing huge losses as about Rs 1 crore is pending with the university,” he added. The delegation also met the Vice Chancellor, but the Vice Chancellor asked them to meet the officials concerned. The All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association (AJHLA) has warned that if the university failed to pay the outstanding of hoteliers, the association would take the matter to the Vice Chancellor and if required, would launch a stir. Injderjit Khajuria, president, AJHLA, said, “The hoteliers are dealing with the university and have given them time till Friday. If they do not pay the outstandings by Friday, the association will deal with them”.? MPS Ishar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, said, “We have given advance money to hoteliers and tent owners, but there is a process of releasing the final payment, which takes some time”. “The department is working on it and after receiving proper bills and completing other formalities, all the payments will be made,” he added.
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Old secretariat turns into breeding ground for dogs
Srinagar, March 26 The lawns of the old secretariat in Srinagar are dotted with heaps of garbage, emanating stinking smell that has created problems for visitors. The ground has become a menace for the people who rued that stray dogs who feed on the garbage have wreaked havoc inside the old secretariat. According to the people and researchers who visit the archives department inside the secretariat, dogs on the prowl have created nuisance on the premises on the secretariat. Despite SMC’s huge claims of checking dog population in the city, a visit to the old secretariat exposes the ugly face of waste disposal affairs in the city. “There is so much water inside, leaving no space to walk. Besides, there are so many dogs roaming there,” said one of the locals who had visited the archives department. The SMC campaign to check dog population in the city, be it the sterilisation or canal homes, seems to have no impact on canine population in and around the city. Dogs can be seen roaming on streets, grounds, markets and residential colonies and has been the cause of inconvenience to locals. Many cases of dog bite have been witnessed in the past, but the SMC fails to check even the seat of governance. Chief Sanitation Officer of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation Manzoor Ahmad said, “Nobody brought this to my notice. I will surely check it tomorrow,” the official said.
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Protests erupt in Srinagar after youth’s arrest
Srinagar, March 26 Shops and other business establishments remained closed in the area. The situation was tense, but so far peaceful, official sources said, adding additional security forces have been rushed to the area. Sources said on Tuesday evening the police arrested a 23-year-old youth and father of another youth, who was allegedly involved in stone-throwing incident. "The police arrested the father of the youth, as they could not find the alleged stone thrower," sources said. They said the police had been detaining youth for their alleged involvement in stone-throwing incidents from all over the Kashmir valley keeping in view the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of the polls. On warpath
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Four-day industrial visit organised for students
Jammu, March 26 Chief Education Officer (CEO) Tarseem Lal appreciated the efforts of the organisers for organising such an informative programme for students and encouraged them to keep organising such programmes for the welfare of the students. Prof Ashiq
Hussain, GDC, Kishtwar, while addressing the audience, said, “The primary focus is on providing practical knowledge and discussing science beyond classrooms and theory.” Students from
Reasi, Kishtwar and nearby districts participated with enthusiasm and zeal in the
programme. Rubiya Bashir, a student from Kishtwar district, said, “It is indeed an opportunity for us to polish our skills and increase our knowledge. I will make sure that I benefit a lot from the
programme.”
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DPS holds annual function
Jammu, March 26 MLC Ajat Shatru Singh, SS Sodhi, Director, DPS, and Dr D Joseph, Principal, besides other dignitaries were also present. The function began with the lighting of the traditional lamp by the dignitaries, followed by presentation of various colourful cultural items by tiny tots of the Pre-Primary Block of DPS. The performance of students in the programme was appreciated by their parents as well as the dignitaries. Chief guest Kuldeep Khoda appreciated the efforts of the school management for providing quality education to students. Earlier, Principal Dr D Joseph delivered the welcome address. Preeti Abrol, coordinator of the school, presented the annual report highlighting the achievements of school students in academics co-curricular activities and sports.
— TNS
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Seminar on Vivekananda held
Jammu, March 26 A detailed paper on the book was also presented by Yash Pual Nirmal, Reader in the Cultural Academy. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ghai threw light on the life and works of Swami Vivekananda and appreciated the role of the academy in organising the event, especially on Swami Vivekananda. Dr Rattan Lal Shant also spoke on the occasion. The second session was marked by the presentation of three papers on the subject by three noted literary personalities --- Dr Om Goswami, Sonam Wangchug from Ladakh and Naveen Chopra. All these papers were appreciated by all present in the hall. A galaxy of writers and artists attended the seminar. Prominent among them were Prof Rita Jitendra and ND Sharma. The proceedings of the programme were conducted by Azra Choudary, Editor, Hindi, whereas vote of thanks was delivered by Popinder Singh, Editor, Punjabi.
— TNS
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Backward Classes’ union organises convention
Jammu, March 26 The speakers and participants lambasted the political parties who have played a fraudulent role in the state for the past so many years. All the participants termed the political parties as deceitful as they never respected the Indian Constitution and apex court’s judgment and misused Article 370. The participants also criticised the government’s new recruitment policy. Keeping in view the act of the state rulers, the union has decided to go against all the political parties. All the speakers and participants appealed to the state OBCs to cast their votes in the form of referendum by using the button of “NOTA” in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The All India Backward Classes Union has also appealed to the Sikh, SC and ST voters not to boycott the election and use “NOTA” button to show their resentment. Those who spoke on the occasion included Abdul Majid Malik, Puran Chand, Master Bua Ditta, Sadhu Ram, Gian Chand, Gopal Krishan, Choudhary Mehmood, Prof Kali Dass, Sandokh Chand, Raj Kumar, Darshan Kumar and Puran Chadgotra.
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Shortage of ration sparks protest in Kupwara
Kupwara, March 26 "The ration depot is lying empty for the past two weeks. We are forced to purchase ration from the open market," said Mohd Shafi, a protester. The locals alleged that for the past two weeks store keeper Ghulam Mohidin had been misleading them by saying ration would be made available in a few days. "He stays away from his duties, making people suffer. We requested him many a time to make the ration available, but he did not pay any heed," said Sarpanch Mohammad Shafi. The protesters, including women and children, sat on the road near Bumhama and did not allow any traffic movement. "Most of the families living in the village fall under Below Poverty Line and cannot afford to buy ration at higher rates from the open market. What is the point in having a government-run depot in the village, when the ration is not available," said Shafiqa Begum, a villager. A police party rushed to the spot and assured the protesters that they would take up the matter with the authorities concerned. Following assurance, the villagers called off the protest. Despite repeated attempts, assistant director, food, Kupwara, Irfan Bahadur could not be contacted for comment.
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SMC to start drive against ads painted on walls
Srinagar, March 26 “All illegally displayed hoardings, banners and kiosks will be removed from the city,” he said after chairing a meeting. He said directions had also been passed for whitewashing of wall paintings and advertisements of various telecom and other private companies that were giving the city a “shabby look”. Qasba said the SMC would take strict action against the companies and advertising agencies found violating rules in this regard. Regarding repeated complaints of people that vendors were encroaching upon the city streets that caused traffic snarls, he said all vendors had been directed to desist from setting up shops or hand-driven carts from Jehangir Chowk to Dalgate. The SMC Health Officer, Dr Shafqat Khan, had also directed the officials to monitor the anti-encroachment drives in the Boulevard area on the banks of Dal Lake and carry out night inspections.
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First Lady lauds efforts of Viraj Kala Kendra
Jammu, March 26 She was speaking at a function organised by the VKK at the Youth Hostel,
Khanpur, in Nagrota. The First Lady appreciated the exuberance and spirit of women and children who presented a cultural show and varied sports events. The First Lady gave away prizes and mementoes to the participants and winners of the sports and cultural
programmes. The welcome address was presented by Sarla Kohli, vice-president, Viraj Kala Kendra, and Raj
Bharti, president of the kendra, presented the report of the Viraj Kala Kendra. Earlier, the First Lady visited Bal Bhawan School in
Nagrota. She showed interest in clay models and craft work done by students and items prepared by them out of waste
materials. Seema Aggarwal was the guest of honour and Roma Wani was the special guest on the occasion.
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4 state climbers to attend Belayers’ Course at Delhi
Jammu, March 26 The course is being conducted by the IMF, North Zone Committee, from March 31 to April 2. The aim of the course is to produce trained belayers, who can maximise the safety of the climbers during sport climbing training and competitions. During the course, the trainees will be imparted knowledge about harnesses and their proper use besides familiarity with the belaying devices. They would also learn how to stop all kinds of falls of climbers during a climb in a safe and dynamic manner. Instructions and rules about checking the equipment before the climb and other safety measures are also to be taught to the trainees.
— TNS
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Dysfunctional streetlights causing losses, rue traders
Srinagar, March 26 “The streetlights on the road stretch from Karan Nagar Chowk to Soura are not functioning in spite of the fact that these roads lead towards major hospitals of the Valley, including Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital and Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences,” spokesman for the Kashmir Traders Federation Aijaz Shahdhar said in a statement. “Due to non-functioning of these streetlights, the business community is suffering as they are forced to close their shops early due to darkness,” he added. The traders’ spokesman asked the government to immediately take measures to restore the streetlights on the crucial road stretch.
— TNS
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Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today launched a campaign for the parliamentary elections from Budgam district.
Minister Omar Abdullah was busy tweeting instant reactions to the speech, accusing Narendra Modi of playing “fast and loose” with the truth.
The University of Jammu (JU) today constituted a committee comprising senior professors of the varsity to examine in detail the various aspects of enhancement of the hostel fee after the activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad
(ABVP) and students damaged the building of the Business School on the campus here.
Hiranagar, March 26
Udhampur, March 26
Srinagar, March 26
A four-day industrial visit, "Recognition to science and technology", is being organised for students of Jammu.
The inaugural function took place today at Government Higher Secondary School for Boys, Gandhi
Nagar, in which over 100 students participated. During the programme, students will visit various industrial units to enhance their practical skills.
First Lady Usha Vohra lauded the role being played by the Viraj Kala Kendra
(VKK), Gandhi Nagar, here for promoting emancipation of rural women, preservation of rural arts and crafts and for providing educational opportunities to children belonging to underprivileged sections of society.
