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NC minister Sakina’s video invoking religion goes viral
Heavy rush at Katra on the eve of Navratras |
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Heavy vehicles violate high court orders in city
If voted to power, will raise power projects issue: AAP
Displaced Pandits see no thrill in elections
Mehbooba hits out at National Conference for ‘recycling’ autonomy ahead of polls
LS polls battle for survival, says BJP
Ahead of elections, BJP softens stand on contentious issues
Cong announces support to NC
BJP never played any role in development of J&K: Azad
Gujjar Front extends support to Azad
Wani urges people to vote for NC
No govt can revoke Art 370: Saroori
Politicians enter areas where militants thrived
Stone-thrower injures 2 cops
Arms seized from militant hideout in Baramulla
2,000 Doda villagers without potable water for 10 days
Drain water poses threat to Doda schoolchildren
Pulwama villagers live under threat of landslides
Kashmir valley witnesses wettest, coldest March
Election helpline, complaint cell formed
5,000 securitymen to be moved to Jammu from Valley
Two-day campaign to save Trikuta mountains begins
Staff crunch affects services at Baramulla hospital
Villagers protest against power dept in Kulgam
Machine-made pashmina hits poor artisans in Valley
Health directorate organises seminar on sleep disorders
Advanced surgeries at rural health centres
College observes Earth Hour
MIET organises students’ fest
Students body protests cancellation of Class XII chemistry paper
School holds prize distribution function
CRPF organises ‘Tarana’ for children
Workshop on Juvenile Justice Act held at KU
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NC minister Sakina’s video invoking religion goes viral
Srinagar, March 30 The clip shows Itoo pleading before her late father Wani Mohammad’s friend to take an oath on a holy book for giving her unconditional support in the Lok Sabha elections. Sakina’s late father, a senior NC leader, was also the Speaker of the J&K’s State Legislative Assembly and the Itoo family has a strong support base in Noorabad Assembly constituency of south Kashmir district from where Sakina is the sitting MLA. Itoo is seen making an earnest appeal to an elderly man, supposedly an acquaintance of her father, in the video to start campaigning for her as soon as possible. “You have to support me like you supported my father. Say it right now that you will start campaigning for me and my party right away. Say this in the name of God and his Prophet that you will support me,” the video shows Sakina telling the elderly man in Kashmiri. The man replies saying that he had good terms with Sakina’s father and he would work for her too. “I had sworn by the holy book when I was working with your father,” the elderly man says to which the NC woman leader asked him why did he change his stance later. The NC party workers present ask the man to forego his differences with the Itoo family and join the party as an active member. “Read the first tenet (Kalima) of Koran and then promise us that you will start supporting us,” the party workers say in one voice. Meanwhile, Itoo defended her statements in the video by saying that the video was shot when the model code of conduct was not in place. “This was way before campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls. I haven’t violated any code of conduct. Let the Election Commission take action if it finds I am violating the code. This is merely PDP’s frustration since they have got the idea that they won’t be winning in this election,” Itoo said. PDP spokesperson Naeem Akhter, meanwhile, said the party would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission since the video was an evidence of gross violation of the model code of conduct. “One cannot even think of a democracy if such tactics are used to grab votes. Invoking religion to secure votes is deeply violating the ethics of democracy. We will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission in this regard,” Akhter said. Omar tweets Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday tweeted, “NC spokesperson Junaid Mattu has addressed the issue of Sakina video. The NC will follow the directives the EC issues in this regard.” |
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Heavy rush at Katra on the eve of Navratras
Katra, March 30 The paramilitary and police personnel are patrolling and frisking people at important points in Katra, which is thronged by thousands of devotees every year during the Navratras. "There is much fanfare in Katra during the Navratras and the inflow of tourists also increases manifold during these days. We have made proper security arrangements and have also taken the help of the CRPF," said Vivak Gupta, Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi. Devotees making their way to the shrine were also put through rigorous checking, considering the sensitive nature of the occasion and keeping recent threats in mind. Navratras, which literally means nine nights, is observed twice a year. The festival lasts for nine days in the honour of nine manifestations of Durga, the goddess of power, and fall in the months of April-May and September-October. It is believed that during the Navratras, Goddess Durga descends on earth to rid it of demons.
Jammu wears a festive look
Jammu: The state is preparing for the Navratras, with temples across Jammu being decorated with flowers and lights to mark the festivities.
With thousands expected to visit the historic Bawe Wali Mata temple, special arrangements have been made by the administration to ensure proper facilities at the site. In view of the Dayalachak terror attack, the police have deployed a Special Operation Group (SoG) unit at the temple to thwart evil designs of terrorists. Apart from the Bawe shrine, special prayers will be held in the temples dedicated to goddess Durga across the region with number of social and religious organisations putting up various food stalls. Meanwhile, members of civil defence have been activated to provide necessary help to devotees and maintain order during the festivities. The civil administration had made proper arrangements for the welfare of the people who would visit the shrine in the next nine days “These nine days are very auspicious for the Hindus. Let us pray for the peace and prosperity of our state and the country,” said Avinash Gupta, a devotee. Municipal official said special stalls had been arranged to provide drinking water and medical help to visitors and additional safai karamcharis had also been placed at the shrine. Restaurants across the city also do brisk business during the festival as “Navratri thalis” are quite popular among food lovers. — TNS
Omar greets people on Navratras
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today felicitated the people on Navratras, wishing them happiness and well-being.
The Chief Minister prayed that the day be a harbinger of peace and prosperity in the state and the country. Omar said Jammu and Kashmir had a rich tradition of celebrating such festivals in harmony, amenity and togetherness. — TNS Governor greets people on Navratras Governor NN Vohra has greeted the people on Navratras and Navreh and prayed for their well-being and prosperity. The Governor observed that Navratras had a special significance for the devotees who visit the Vaishno Devi cave shrine during this period. The Governor also extended warm greetings to the Kashmiri Pandits who celebrate the day as Navreh, the beginning of New Year and the onset of the spring. The Governor prayed that the festival be a harbinger of harmony, brotherhood, amity, peace, progress and prosperity in the state. — TNS
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Heavy vehicles violate high court orders in city
Srinagar, March 30 The traffic officials, however, said whenever they find the violation they take a serious note of it. In many parts of the city - Pantha Chowk, Nowgam, Tengpora, KP Bagh and Bagimehtab - people alleged that the movement of tippers on narrow roads created traffic chaos. They blamed the authorities concerned for failing to act against violators. “We have narrow roads here and the movement of tippers creates problems of congestion. Many a time, there are unnecessary traffic jams for long hours,” said Rayees Ahmad, a resident of Nowgam. Another resident of Lasjan said the movement of tippers was also damaging the roads. “There is so much pressure of heavy vehicles from our area. It also causes heavy damages on macadamized roads. The authorities have failed to check the violations,” said Nissar Ahmed. The Traffic Department officials while admitting the violation said even though they maintain a tight vigil on them, the tipper drivers created problems in unmanned areas. “To ensure that no tipper or truck moves on Srinagar roads during the day, the Engineering and Reconstruction Agency (ERA) had placed barricades and stoppers at many places in Srinagar, but the drivers have removed them all mostly at unmanned places such as Tengpora,” said SP, traffic, Srinagar, Haseeb-ur-Rehman. He added, “Whenever the traffic cops find heavy vehicles in the city they seize them, which are later only released as per court orders. We need people to cooperate in this. Those constructing houses in the city, they let them enter the residential areas. People also have to cooperate,” the official said. The High Court has banned the movement of heavy vehicles, including tippers and heavy buses, in the city during day hours. As per the High Court guidelines, heavy buses can’t ply in Srinagar during day hours as it could lead to disruption of traffic movement. As there are also major traffic problems in Srinagar currently due to narrow roads and also flyover construction, the movement of tippers is adding to the miseries of commuters. The movement of heavy vehicles is turning the situation from bad to worse and aggravating the traffic problems. |
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If voted to power, will raise power projects issue: AAP
Srinagar, March 30 The rally was attended by hundreds of AAP volunteers, including its leader, Raja Muzaffar Bhat, who is the party candidate from the Srinagar parliamentary constituency. Speaking at the public gathering, Bhat said the National Conference (NC) had sold power projects to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) which had rendered Jammu and Kashmir as a slave state. He said J&K gets just 12 per cent of the share from the NHPC as royalty which was an injustice to the people of the state. “If I am sent to the Lok Sabha by the people of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal, I will take up the NHPC issue with full force at various forums as the Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, has given his full support to me on the issue. I will ensure J&K gets 70 to 80 per cent as royalty from the NHPC so that our state not only becomes self-sufficient with regard to power but also exports the hydel power to other neighbouring states,” said the AAP leader. He said the NC had failed to fulfil 95 per cent of the promises made to the people of the state in its 2008 election manifesto. He criticised the government for failing to addresses the basic issues such as power and water. On the occasion, social and political activist Malik Asif Noor joined the AAP along with many volunteers. Later, the AAP volunteers went door to door to seek votes from people in the Mehjoor Nagar, Jawahar Nagar and Rajbagh areas in Srinagar. |
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Displaced Pandits see no thrill in elections
Jammu, March 30 Thousands of community members are “missing from the electoral list” as they have been forced to go through a complex registration system post-exodus in 1990. The displaced community members have to fill special ‘M-Form’ in the office of the Relief Commissioner, Jammu, to get themselves registered in the voter list. Besides, they have little expectations from the candidates in the fray from the Valley. The electoral strength of the community is 1 lakh. However, the community representatives allege that the numbers are far below the population ratio as Pandits shy away from registration because of the hurdles created by the government. “I feel our votes are insignificant as we don’t have numbers. We are not a vote bank for any candidate so all of them take us for granted. A majority of Pandit population is living in camps at Jammu and other parts of the country, so they are indifferent towards the whole exercise,” said Sanjay Tikku, president Kashmir Sangharsh Samiti (KSS). In the past two decades number of voters from the community has dropped considerably. During the 1996 parliamentary elections, 1.47 lakh Pandit voters were registered, which dipped to 1.17 lakh in 2002. However in the 2008 Assembly polls, their number was 71,000. “The government has made registration process a complex issue for the community living away from their homes. Thousands of people are willing to register themselves as voters but government is not interested in registering them, leaving a large population of Pandits without voter cards,” said Veer Saraf, a social worker. Relief Commissioner (Migrants), RK Pandita was not available for comment. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act 1957, there is already a special provision under the Section 36-A, which provides that people can vote in polling stations outside the territorial limits of their constituency. This has been implemented for the community, wherein special polling booths are established during the Assembly and parliamentary elections, but few people come forward to cast their franchise because of the complex procedure. “I feel that even one vote can make the differences. Pandits should not remain aloof from the electoral process. If they are facing problems in registration process that can be sorted out,” said NC leader and MLC Vijay
Bakaya. Number crunch
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Mehbooba hits out at National Conference for ‘recycling’ autonomy ahead of polls
Jammu, March 30 Earlier, during militancy it was not possible to hold campaigns during elections, but now politicians prefer to hit the road instead of holding conventional rallies. Road shows are the best way to establish a direct contact with people. And, this was proved by the Aam Aadmi Party during its campaign in the Delhi Assembly elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, road shows have emerged as a new means to establish a direct contact with the people. A senior police officer said there were threat perceptions but the politicians had shown courage to establish a direct contact with people through such road shows. “The police as well as the Intelligence agencies are aware of such threat perceptions and adequate measures have been put in place,” he said and added that such bold initiatives taken by the political stalwarts would help isolate those who want to de-establish democratic institutions in the state. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad today started campaigning from Udhampur. After covering peaceful belts of Udhampur and Reasi, Azad will hold road shows in the Dharmari, Arnas, Mahore, Gool and Sangaldan areas which were once famous for militant activities. Azad is contesting the elections from the Udhampur-Doda seat. During his road show, he would travel on the Mahore-Gool route where militants had established their “hideouts” earlier. Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has also decided to hit the campaign trail through road shows in twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. She will hold a road show in the first week of April to mobilise public opinion in favour of party candidate Yash Pal Sharma in the districts. She will pass through areas once considered militant strongholds. BJP candidate Jugal Kishore Sharma also conducted road shows last week in some areas of Poonch district, infamous for militancy. |
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LS polls battle for survival, says BJP
Jammu, March 30 Addressing a series of road shows at the Bararian, Thil Roun, Gharian, Pattan, Dhanas and Chenani areas along the Udhampur-Chenani highway, the BJP candidate for Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, Jitendra Singh, said this was not an “ordinary election” but a “battle for survival”. “It is a pity that the Congress accused the BJP of supporting the cause of Village Defence Committees and Special Police Officers who had offered their services when militancy was at its peak,” Singh said. He added that the development of roads, irrigation schemes and employment generation for youth through various Centre-sponsored schemes would be taken upon within one year of the elections of the BJP Member of Parliament from the area. “A vote for Narendra Modi will be a vote for India,” Singh said and urged everyone to press the button on “Kamal (lotus)”. Singh claimed that the entire nation was looking forward to Narendra Modi, BJP prime ministerial candidate, being sworn in as the Prime Minister of the country. |
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Ahead of elections, BJP softens stand on contentious issues
Srinagar, March 30 While introducing its candidates for the three Lok Sabha constituencies in the Valley, the party not only said it was willing to “accept” Article 370 if it benefited the people, the BJP also showered praises on the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and expressed willingness to engage with separatists towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue. The BJP further batted for persons gone missing during turmoil and said the people of the state should get benefits of the power projects run by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation
(NHPC). Both the issues are usually raised by the separatists and Valley-based political parties. “We want deliberations over Article 370 and will approach it with an open mind. If it comes to fore that Article 370 benefits people, we are ready to accept it. Everlasting solution to the Kashmir issue rests with the BJP only,” BJP state vice-president and in charge, Kashmir affairs, Ramesh Arora told mediapersons here today. Earlier in December last, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had sparked a war of words by calling for a debate over Article 370. When asked to explain the party’s “everlasting solution” and if it was willing to engage with the separatists, Arora said the
BJP, if voted to power, would follow former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s policy of dialogue with all. On using religion by parties to appeal voters, he said there was a need to follow Mahatma Gandhi, who was secular but at the same time followed his religion strictly. Arora said the people of the state should be the first beneficiaries of the
NHPC-run power projects, while blaming the state government for persons gone missing after the eruption of militancy in the state. Several quarters have already upped the ante for the return of the
NHPC-run projects to the state. The BJP also released its manifesto of sorts for Kashmir on the occasion where it said the party wanted solution for all issues, develop tourism, provide financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to the unemployed youth
(matric pass) and Rs 50,000 to females at the time of marriage. On its chances, Arora said, “The BJP is fighting for victory and therefore it has fielded candidates from all three constituencies.” He said they had received “unprecedented” response from the Valley so far as people were fed up with the dynastic politics.
Arora called the National Conference’s autonomy demand and Peoples Democratic Party’s self-rule formula “political demands” and not the demand of people. He said the demand for “azadi” too was motivated. The BJP has fielded Mushtaq Ahmad Malik from Anantnag constituency, GM Mir from Baramulla and Arif Majeed Pampory from
Srinagar. |
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Cong announces support to NC
Srinagar, March 30 “The National Conference is helping us in Jammu and we too will extend wholehearted support while campaigning,” Soz said on the sidelines of a party convention held here. According to the agreement between the coalition partners, NC is contesting from three constituencies in Kashmir, while the Congress is contesting the remaining three from Jammu and
Ladakh. Earlier, several Congress leaders and workers had openly favoured contesting elections on their own. Soz had even thrown weight behind the demand of workers and raised the matter before the party high command in New Delhi. Union Minister GN Azad too had pointed out that the party workers were not in favour of any pre-poll tie-up. As the high command decision later irked the Congress workers, today’s convention as per sources witnessed heated exchange of words. Sources said the JKPCC members gave vent to their feelings in the wake of cold shouldering of their demand to contest polls on their own. However, Soz downplayed the issue even though he admitted that there was a difference of opinion. “Our (NC and Congress) views are democratic and secular….Running a coalition is not easy, but I am satisfied that the workers, overall, are with me. I explained them that I had accepted the decision and now you (workers) too have to wholeheartedly accept it,” he said.
Soz said the backbone of the JKPCC was present at the meeting and they would unitedly support the NC. “All ground workers who are our backbone in the Valley were present in today’s convention and we will campaign
unitedly. Personal differences will have no affect on the electoral process,” he said.
Soz said he was confident that the NC-Congress would win all six parliamentary seats in the state. |
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BJP never played any role in development of J&K: Azad
Reasi, March 30 “There is no Modi wave in the country. Modi is just a hype, which will pass. After every five years, the BJP comes up with a new face and claims a wave. In J&K there is a wave and that is of NC-Congress, which has served the people of the state in the past,” said Azad while addressing a rally here.
Azad then went on to laud the programmes and welfare schemes launched by the UPA government and said it had carried out developmental work on a scale never seen before in the country, but some sections of the media had largely ignored that. “Political parties joined by a section of the media are denouncing the work which the UPA has done,” he said. Stray incidents were blown out of proportion and given much publicity, while path-breaking decisions were not even mentioned, he claimed. “If you show an untruth on TV 10 times, people will believe it. Say a lie a 100 times in a public meeting and people think it is true,” he said. Also present on the occasion was Minister of State for Revenue Ajaz Ahmad Khan, MLA Surjit Singh Salathia and MLC Jugal Kishore Sharma, who said the work done by the government in the field of education was in many areas better than what the NDA had achieved when in power.
Azad started his Sunday campaign with a road show at Panthal, followed by a series of rallies at
Katra, Reasi, Arnas and Dharmari. |
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Gujjar Front extends support to Azad
Doda, March 30 Choudhary Mohammed Asaq, Abdul Latif, Choudhary Noor-Din Kalu and many other leaders from various parties today organised a meeting at Doda and decided that they will support
Udhampur- Doda parliamentary constituency candidate Ghulam Nabi Azad for his developmental approach towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “We are fortunate that we have candidates like Azad and we will extend our full support to him. — OC
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Wani urges people to vote for NC
Srinagar, March 30 Wani also told people to be wary of the PDP’s “evil plans to dilute the special status of J&K”. “If the PDP could stoop low enough to join hands with a communal figure like Narendra Modi, one can only imagine what havoc they could wreak on J&K to satiate their lust for power,” Wani, who is an elected representative from Amira Kadal constituency, said. Srinagar constituency, which also includes Ganderbal and Budgam districts, will vote on April 30. Wani termed the National Conference as the “custodian of the interests, identity and future” of the state and said: “Our leaders have spoken up for the people in Parliament unlike Mehbooba Mufti (PDP president), who found it too inconvenient to stand up in the Lok Sabha and forcefully speak for her people when she had a chance to do so as an MP.” |
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No govt can revoke Art 370: Saroori
Jammu, March 30 “The BJP talks about revoking the Article 370, but no government at the Centre can revoke it,” Saroori said while campaigning for the Congress nominee for the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat Ghulam Nabi
Azad. Saroori accused the BJP and the PDP of indulging in false propaganda. “They speak in different voices. In close door meetings they speak in one volume and when they come out their tone changes,” he said. The BJP has time and again emphasised its reservations against the Article 370, which provides special status to Jammu and Kashmir. |
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Politicians enter areas where militants thrived
Jammu, March 30 Earlier, during militancy it was not possible to hold campaigns during elections, but now politicians prefer to hit the road instead of holding conventional rallies. Road shows are the best way to establish a direct contact with people. And, this was proved by the Aam Aadmi Party during its campaign in the Delhi Assembly elections. In the Lok Sabha polls, road shows have emerged as a new means to establish a direct contact with the people. A senior police officer said there were threat perceptions but the politicians had shown courage to establish a direct contact with people through such road shows. “The police and the Intelligence agencies are aware of such threat perceptions and adequate measures have been put in place,” he said and added that such bold initiatives taken by the political stalwarts would help isolate those who want to de-establish democratic institutions in the state. Union Minister for Health Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad today started campaigning from Udhampur. After covering peaceful belts of Udhampur and Reasi, Azad will hold road shows in the Dharmari, Arnas, Mahore, Gool and Sangaldan areas which were once famous for militant activities. Azad is contesting the elections from the Udhampur-Doda seat. During his road show, he would travel on the Mahore-Gool route where militants had established their “hideouts” earlier. Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has also decided to hit the campaign trail through road shows in twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. She will hold a road show in the first week of April to mobilise public opinion in favour of party candidate Yash Pal Sharma in the districts. She will pass through areas once considered militant strongholds. BJP candidate Jugal Kishore Sharma also conducted road shows last week in some areas of Poonch district, infamous for militancy. — TNS |
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Stone-thrower injures 2 cops
Srinagar, March 30 A police party was deputed to arrest a "notorious stone thrower", Nadeem Ahmad, resident of old town, Baramulla, from Sabzimandi, Baramulla. When the police party went to arrest the stone thrower, he attacked them with an iron weight injuring two constables. — TNS
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Arms seized from militant hideout in Baramulla
Srinagar, March 30 The arms and ammunition were recovered during a joint operation launched by the Army and the police in the Tangmulla forest near the Baramulla’s Rafiabad area. The Defence spokesman said: “A huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered along with other war-like stores during the operation, which was based on a specific intelligence input.” The security forces recovered two AK series assault rifles, one disposable rocket launcher, two rockets, three grenades and seven detonators. Four magazines, 90 rounds of ammunition and one mobile phone was also recovered, the spokesman said. The security forces have increased the intensity of operations against militants as part of an offensive, launched much earlier this year than in recent years. Earlier this week, security forces busted two militant hideouts in Baramulla and Bandipora districts. A huge cache of weapons and ammunition, including assault rifles, were recovered from the hideouts. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED), weighing 10 kg and fitted inside a pressure cooker, was detected yesterday morning on the outskirts of Srinagar. The IED was later defused. — TNS |
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2,000 Doda villagers without potable water for 10 days
Jammu, March 30 Locals of Ghat village have alleged that one Bitta Baig, a contractor and close aide of Roads and Buildings Minister Abdul Majid Wani, a resident of Doda, had damaged a water pipeline after getting the contract from the Roads and Buildings Department to construct a road from Sikwan village to Shai village. People said he had used earth-moving machinery for the purpose, which extracted boulders and threw them into Bhabore Nullah from where the water pipeline passes. “Due to this, the water pipeline for Ghat village was damaged and for the past 10 days, we are without water. We have to walk 3 or 4 km to get drinking water,” said a villager, wishing anonymity for fear of backlash from the minister’s aide. The villagers said they had brought the issue to the notice of the Roads and Buildings Minister, the Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings, and the Public Health and Engineering (PHE) Department but nobody paid heed. Today morning, people of the village reached the road construction site and stopped the work. They told PHE Department employees to restore water supply. “We had no option but to stop the work. When the minister and his aide are on one side and the administration is under their control, the common people will show their anger like this,” alleged another villager. People have also threatened to boycott the polls, which they think will have an impact on other voters of that belt as well. The minister said: “The road construction work cannot be stopped but I will try to restore the water supply.” He, however, didn’t say why the water supply had not been restored for the past 10 days. The PHE workers said as stones were continuously falling from the mountain where the construction work was going on, it was not possible to restore the water supply till the work was over. |
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Drain water poses threat to Doda schoolchildren
Doda, March 30 The sewage water from the nullah was diverted and made its way into the school compound where more than hundreds students are enrolled. The stagnant water emanates foul smell and has become a breeding ground for
mosquitoes. Mamta, a student, said: “Our morning assembly, regular classes and other school activities are affected due to the stagnant water of the
nullah. We want the authorities to take immediate action and drain the water from the school compound.” Headmaster of the school Parveen has written to the Chief Education Officer,
Doda, to take up the matter with the authorities immediately so that the problem is solved. “There is a person who lives near to the school. He has started some construction work, though in his own jurisdiction, but kept debris in such a way that the whole sewage water is diverted towards the school premises, creating unhygienic conditions, besides creating problems for the staff and students,” the headmaster wrote. “We have approached the higher ups for the problem but nothing has been done,” Parveen said. Chief Medical Officer Ashraf Rathar said, “We are aware of the problem and it is very grave. We have approached the municipality to provide us proper drainage system. If they do not allow us to construct the drainage system, we will be left with no option but to register an FIR against the concerned. |
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Pulwama villagers live under threat of landslides
Pulwama, March 30 Villagers said even though they had sent many representations to Pulwama Deputy Commissioner Manzoor Ahmad lone but all were ignored. They alleged he was acting as a spectator. “Despite repeated pleadings and representations to the Deputy Commissioner,
Pulwama, no action has been taken to remove a stretch of Karewa land that is prone to landslides and can prove fatal,” said Bashir Ahmad Shah, a resident of
Sunirigund, whose house comes in the landslide area. Residents said they would not have built their houses under
Karewa, if they had managed land elsewhere. “We are among the unfortunate lot as we are having the airport in the
west, rakh (agricultural land owned by the government) and farmland in the south and flood plains on the east,” said Farooq Ahmad Shah, adding that if the stretch of Karewa land is not removed, the government should rehabilitate them with compensation. The residents said the administration had given orders to excavate the Karewa land at various places which were posing a threat to nearby villages. An 800-feet-stretch, which was earlier cleared by the administration to provide earth filling for a railway track during its construction, was levelled for residential purposes. The villagers said they had protested against the excavations. The Deputy Commissioner was not available for comment. Meanwhile, Assistant Commisioner Revenue, Sajad Qadiri said he would visit the place and take necessary action so that the people come out of the fear psychosis. |
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Kashmir valley witnesses wettest, coldest March
Srinagar, March 30 “This year in the month of March, Srinagar has recorded a total of 212 mm rainfall so far. The last highest rainfall in the month of March was recorded in 2007, which was 210 mm,” Director, Meteorological Department, Sonam Lotus told The Tribune. It is only the sixth occasion in three decades when the downpour has crossed the 200 mm mark in the region. The highest ever rainfall in the month of March in Srinagar was witnesses in 1983, when 365 mm of rainfall was recorded. Sonam, however, said “dry weather conditions” are going to prevail in the Kashmir valley over next three days. He added that after this dry spell a period of “light rainfall” is expected all over Kashmir as the western disturbances approach the region. The heavy downpour accompanied with near freezing temperatures has damaged agriculture and horticulture crops in the Valley. “The inclement weather has damaged the rabi crops like oil seeds, wheat, oats (fodder) and vegetables as the flowering has got damaged by the incessant rains,” said Director, Agriculture, Kashmir, Peerzada Mushtaq Ahmad. He said that the inclement weather has also damaged the potato crop in the region and added that the sowing season, which otherwise gets underway in early to mid March, has also got delayed. The official, however, said the pea crop has not got damaged to that extent as the flowering period has not yet commenced. He though said if the weather does not improve seeds may get damaged. Agriculture experts, meanwhile, predicted that the prevailing weather conditions might benefit the kharif crop in
the region as the heavy downpour means an improved and recharged water table. The inclement weather has also hit the horticulture sector, damaging
almond bloom. Wet weather conditions have also delayed the spraying of oil in the apple orchards. Advisory for farmers
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Election helpline, complaint cell formed
Srinagar, March 30 The helpline and the cell, headed by a designated nodal officer, would help to ensure smooth, free and fair elections for the 16th Lok Sabha in Srinagar district, the spokesman said. The cell is fully equipped with toll-free telephone number, 1800 180 7051, and e-mail complaint.dcsgr@gmail.com to facilitate people in general and political parties in particular to register their complaints, the spokesman said. The notification for the election in Srinagar constituency, which is going to poll on April 30, will be issued on April 2. The National Conference has fielded its president Farooq Abdullah, while the main opposition PDP has fielded Tariq Hameed Karra from the Srinagar constituency. The AAP has fielded RTI-activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.
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5,000 securitymen to be moved to Jammu from Valley
Srinagar, March 30 The
Jammu-Poonch constituency is scheduled to go to polls on April 10, while the elections to the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha segment would be held on April 17. “In the coming days, 50 companies of the CRPF and the SSB would be shifted from the Valley to the Jammu region for poll security,” a senior CRPF officer here said. “The CRPF men have been withdrawn from the 48 existing battalions of the force, which are deployed in Kashmir for handling law and order and counter insurgency operations,” he said. The officer, however, said the CRPF personnel have been withdrawn from various battalions after considering all aspects of the internal security in the Valley. “The CRPF men have been withdrawn in such a way that the over all security is not compromised in Kashmir,” the officer said, adding that once the elections in the Jammu region are over the forces would return to the Valley. |
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Two-day campaign to save Trikuta mountains begins
Jammu, March 30 The motive behind organising the campaign is to create awareness among tourists, shopkeepers and the locals about their responsibilities towards environment. A rally comprising students, staff members of the university, IVF representatives and volunteers spread awareness regarding regular use of dustbins, proper disposal of polythene bags/coats and told people to avoid throwing plastic bottles in mountain gorges. Slogans like “Less Pollution is the Best Solution”, “Save Trikuta Save Tomorrow”, “Keep Trikuta Hills Clean and Green”, “Vaishno Devi is a Holy Place not Picnic Spot”, etc, were also raised during the rally. The students distributed pamphlets among tourists and shopkeepers and stressed on banning polythene and plastic products to keep the natural beauty of the Trikuta mountains. Earlier, the campaign commenced at Matrika Auditorium of the SMVDU. Roma Wani, general secretary, Indian Red Cross Society, J&K, was the chief guest on the occasion. Kiran Kumar Sharma, a social worker and IVF chairperson, international, spoke on the importance of awareness campaign and suggested the Shrine Board to promote sanitation programmes. A short movie and mime was presented by the SMVDU students on the theme of the campaign. |
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Staff crunch affects services at Baramulla hospital
Baramulla, March 30 At least 14 posts of assistant surgeons and 10 posts of consultants are lying vacant in the hospital for the past many years. “District hospital here has got latest equipment, but due to shortage of medical staff, including senior technicians, we are unable to use the machinery to the best of its potential,” said Dr Farooq Ahmad, a radiologist. “Authorities should fulfil vacant posts at the earliest so that every facility can be provided to the patients,” he said. The laboratory equipped with latest tools is barely used by the existing staff as they lack the technical know how. “Five technicians are working round the clock to complete about 300 tests a day. One technician has been tasked with the night duty,” said Dr Nuzhat, a pathologist. “There is need for at least seven more technicians in the laboratory,” she said. According to a hospital official, working in the registration section, around1,300 patients visit the out patient department everyday. Some of the patients complained that medical tests completed in the hospital usually take more time than anticipated. “At times it takes hours to obtain a medical test from the hospital laboratory. More technicians should be posted in the laboratory so that patients do not suffer,” said Mohammad Sultan, a local. The hospital management said it has apprised higher authorities of the prevailing situation but nothing has been done to fill the vacancies to date. “Despite shortage of medical staff we are sparing no efforts to cater to the medical needs of patients in the district. At present, there are only six surgeons working round the clock to treat the patients,” said Medical Superintendent Dr Bashir
Chalkoo. |
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Villagers protest against power dept in Kulgam
Kulgam, March 30 Protesters blocked the Anantnag-Kulgam road for more than two hours
and raised slogans against the PDD. The locals alleged that the transformer at the Bader Pora area of Khodweni developed a snag more than 10 days ago and despite repeated reminders to the authorities, the transformer had not been taken for repairs. “We have been forced to launch an agitation and block the road,” said one of the protesters. Meanwhile, the disruption caused severe inconvenience to the passengers, particularly the patients as many
ambulances moving towards Anantnag were left stranded. Executive Engineer, PDD, Kulgam circle, Manzoor Ahmad Dar, however, remained defiant and refuted the claims made by the villagers. “We may be late by a day or two late, nevertheless, we have sent a vehicle to get the transformer lifted from the spot,”
said Dar. The locals though negated the claims made by the official. |
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Machine-made pashmina hits poor artisans in Valley
Srinagar, March 30 Pashmina work, a traditional art sustaining lakhs of people in the rural and urban Kashmir, is fast losing its artisan base because of official neglect and onslaught of fake and machine-made products sold in the name of Kashmir craft. The artisans said they had spent their entire life in the art, which they could not leave. “Our seven generations have been associated with the trade, but with the onslaught of machines and handlooms, we have faced huge losses. Now, people also prefer fake machine-made shawls,”?Iqbal Hussain Baba, a pashmina trader from Narwari, Eidgah, said. Iqbal said their business was going good a few years ago, but now machine-made products had left no place for the expensive hand art. He said hundreds of labourers left work because there was nothing left for them now. Artisans said despite a government ban, many traders continued using machines and powerlooms for spinning and weaving of pashmina. “Hundreds of women spinners and traditional loom weavers have no other work to do. They have learnt this skill since their childhood. This is the only source of income for many widows and orphans, but unfortunately machine-made products are sold to people and passed of as hand-made products,” another artisan from central Kashmir said. Machine-made pashminas have badly affected labourers as they said they had no other source of income to support their families. The artisans have been protesting under the banner of the Pashmina Karigari Union and have also submitted a memorandum to the government for a complete ban on machine-made pashminas in Kashmir. Craftsmen said this year had been the toughest for them as they had lost their market. “We are sitting without work for six months now because there is no demand for handmade shawls or stoles now. The fakes and machine-made products, apart from cheating customers, are also snatching our livelihood,” said 32-year-old Shabir Hussain, an artisan from the old Srinagar City. He said if the government failed to intervene in the issue, the art of making pashmina shawls would die a slow death with the original pashmina shawls becoming extinct. |
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Health directorate organises seminar on sleep disorders
Srinagar, March 30 A DHSK official today said a Continuous Medical Education (CME) programme titled “Recognise and befriend sleep related disorders” was organised at the Regional Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Dhobiwan. “Eight papers were presented by the speakers on the occasion. The aim of the CME was to create awareness of sleep disorders among young doctors so that they acquaint themselves to sleep medicine and limit psychotropic drug use in context to sleep judiciously so that patients at large get benefited. Moreover, psychiatric interface was discussed and important topic of obstructive sleep apnea was also deliberated on the occasion,” the official said. Doctors of the Health Department and subject experts, including Mohammad Yusuf, GM Malik, Mushtaq Margoob, Shagufta Qazi, Parvez Shah, Rauf Ahmad, Mohammad Maqbool, Arshad Hussain, Javaid Malik, Mohammad Hayat, Abdul Majid, Kanwal Jeet and Zulfiqar Ali attended the seminar. Director Health Services, Kashmir, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman presided over
the event. |
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Advanced surgeries at rural health centres
Srinagar, March 30 An official of the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir (DHSK) said it was a landmark surgery as it was performed in a rural area and at a CHC that was 31 km away from the Shopian district hospital. He said the Centre had a fully functional operation theatre where Caesarean Sections were regularly performed. “More than 50 operations have been performed in the past three months in an effort to provide the best healthcare facilities,” he added. He said another advanced surgery was performed on a woman at Sub-District Hospital, Kokernag. Director Health Services, Kashmir, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman praised the administrators and the operative team and assured support in term of logistics.
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College observes Earth Hour
Jammu, March 30 A pledge was administered to the students and staff in presence of the principal of the college, Dr Kaushal Samotra. Students also displayed various posters stressing the importance of conservation of energy. The event was organised by Dr Jyoti Parihar and assistant professor Harmanmeet Kaur of the Environmental Club of the college.
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MIET organises students’ fest
Jammu, March 30 Prof Desh Bandhu, Director, Colleges Development Council, University of Jammu, was the chief guest, who inaugurated the festival. The function was presided over by Dr Arun K Gupta, chairman, Model Institute of Education and Research (MIER) Group of Institutions. Dr Arun K Gupta in his address placed on record the support from the University of Jammu to the MIET and assured the chief guest that the MIET would continue to push the boundaries and meet the high expectations of the university and the people of the Jammu region. Prof Desh Bandhu in his address expressed his delight at visiting the MIET and experiencing first-hand rapid strides that the MIET had made in academic and extracurricular domains. Those who were present on the occasion included Dr Renu Gupta, director, MIER Group, Dr Adit Gupta, joint director, MIER, Prof GS Sambyal, former registrar, University of Jammu, Sachin Mahajan, cluster head, HDFC Bank, and ML Mir, deputy general manager, PNB. The inaugural ceremony got underway by a performance by the MIET music club and MIET Rock Band. Anmol Jaswal, runner up at Indian Idol Junior, 2013, was the star performer at the show. Prof SK Sharma, Principal, MIET presented the vote of thanks. Later, more than 2,500 students participated in varied technical, literary and management-related events throughout the day. Workshops on remote controlled plane designing and flying (AeroTrix), web-development, mobile application development and electronics systems design and modelling (IETE) workshops for over 500 students were conducted. |
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Students body protests cancellation of Class XII chemistry paper
Jammu, March 30 The protesting activists of the NPSU, who assembled at the Jammu-Pathankote national highway in Kathua, alleged that the JKBOSE was harassing the students and spoiling their future by issuing arbitrary notification of cancellation of chemistry paper of only five centres. They questioned the JKBOSE decision of cancelling chemistry paper of only five centres. They were also joined by the Member of Parliament Lal Singh. They also met the Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, who assured them to take up the matter with the authorities concerned. The JKBOSE cancelled the examination in five centres following complaints of paper leak. |
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School holds prize distribution function
Jammu, March 30 Former Principal of GGM Science College Sarla Kohli was the chief guest on the occasion, who lighted the traditional lamp and inaugurated the programme. Adviser Dr RK Dubey, managing trustee Rajender Kumar and director, academic, Suresh Sharma also attended the function. Dr Dubey in his address impressed upon students to take active part in celebrations of festivals saying that they have to play an important role during their career. Kohli presented medals to meritorious students. — TNS
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CRPF organises ‘Tarana’ for children
Srinagar, March 30 In a statement issued here today, the CRPF spokesman said the programme was arranged for the less privileged children of the “Markaz Flhai Ithifalh” and the “Al Habi” foundation of Srinagar. Songs and musical events encompassing the culture and heritage of Kashmir was showcased during the occasion, he added. PK Singh, IGP, CRPF, was the chief guest during the function attended by other senior officers of the CRPF and Radio Kashmir. |
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Workshop on Juvenile Justice Act held at KU
Srinagar, March 30 The workshop was attended by legal experts, scholars, academics, members from social welfare department, civil society members, heads and deans of various departments of University of Kashmir and faculty members of Legal Studies of Central University of Kashmir and students
of law. Maharukh Adenwala, senior advocate, Mumbai High Court, provided a detailed application of the Juvenile Justice Law in India and suggested that invocation of juvenile justice law in J&K would make a positive difference at the grass-roots level. Justice BA Kirmani (retd), currently President of the State Consumer Commission, made a critical appreciation of the Juvenile Justice Act calling for suitable adjustment of legal and socio-economic aspects of the new law and stressed on the sincere efforts on the part of the state to implement the new law in a more holistic way. Kirmani said that time has come when we as members of society have to ask certain questions to ourselves about the fate of those thousands of orphans in the valley who if left unattended and uncared may follow a wrong path thereby posing a serious challenge for the future of our nation. |
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Srinagar, March 30
The Vaishno Devi shrine today witnessed a heavy rush of devotees ahead of the Navratras starting tomorrow.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today organised a public rally at Mehjoor Nagar in the Amira Kadal Assembly segment here.
The rally was attended by hundreds of AAP volunteers, including its leader, Raja Muzaffar
Bhat, who is the party candidate from the Srinagar parliamentary constituency.
It is result of the prevailing peace in Jammu and Kashmir that political stalwarts are campaigning in areas once considered hot beds of militancy.
Earlier, during militancy it was not possible to hold campaigns during elections, but now politicians prefer to hit the road instead of holding conventional rallies.
As parliamentary elections are drawing near, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has apparently softened its stand over several contentious issues facing Kashmir.
While introducing its candidates for the three Lok Sabha constituencies in the Valley, the party not only said it was willing to “accept” Article 370 if it benefited the people, the BJP also showered praises on the Father of the
Nation.
Srinagar, March 30
Claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) never played any role in development and prosperity of J&K, Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today lashed out at BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra
Modi.
The Army and the police today seized rockets, assault rifles and ammunition from a militant hideout in a forest in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, a Defence spokesman here said.
The arms and ammunition were recovered during a joint operation launched by the Army and the police in the Tangmulla forest near the Baramulla’s Rafiabad area.
The Defence spokesman said: “A huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered along with other war-like stores during the operation, which was based on a specific intelligence input.”
A two-day-long “Save Trikuta Mountains” awareness campaign being organised by the International Volunteer Foundation (IFV), Jammu, and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, commenced today.
Despite a ban on machine-made pashmina products in Kashmir, illegal replacement of the handmade product has rendered hundreds of artisans in Kashmir jobless. They said either the government should come up with some earning source for them or make sure that no fake pashmina were sold in markets.
