Jammu May 18
The National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) urged upon Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to release 10 per cent DA due from January and the 4th instalment of the 6th pay commission arrears for state government employees and pensioners in cash.

Subash Shastri, NMC president, while addressing a rally of NMC workers here on Sunday said: “The DA and fourth instalment of the 6th Pay Commission arrears is part of the salary and routine financial matter. As such there should be no hitch in releasing it.”

He said the CM should take the decision in this regard in the Cabinet meeting to be held on May 21 this month.

He said the salaried class and pensioners were facing a lot of economic hardships due to high inflation and price hike.

The release of due DA instalment and 4th instalment of the 6th pay commission arrears would be a genuine measure to provide some financial relief to them, he added.

Shastri said the delay would not only put financial burden on the state government exchequer to liquidate the arrears, but also increase the difficulties of employees and pensioners.

“The prices of essential commodities are shooting up and there is no justification on the part of the government to withheld these two instalments for its employees and pensioners, as the funds have already been earmarked in this year's state Budget,” he said, adding that the model code of conduct was also over.

Others who spoke on the occasion, include Rajan Babu Khajuria, Sunil Kochhar, Surinder Kumar, Bhupinder Singh, Com. Barkat Ram, Dalip Bhagat, Vijay Bhagat, Sawarn Bhagat, Girdhari Lal Bhagat, Pawan Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Bachno Devi, Sudesh Bhagat, Parmjit and Madan Lal Bhagat among others.

Jammu, May 18
The National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) has swung into action and has macadamised the road after The Tribune highlighted the pathetic condition of the circular road in Jammu city in its report published recently.

The road was blacktopped by NBCC almost a year after it was dug to lay the sewerage pipes.

The poor condition of roads had caused great inconvenience to people living in the area.

The dust entered their homes and the vehicles parked on the roadside also got covered in dust.

"We suffered a lot, but the macadamisation of the road has come as a great relief to us and the people are happy now," said Ashok Kumar, an area resident.

Not only residents, but commuters too had to suffer, as it took more than 20 minutes for them to reach their destination, which otherwise took five minutes.

General Manager, National Buildings Construction Corporation, Muhammad Rafiq had assured that they will be macadamising the road as they have got the approval and funds from New Delhi.

"The tenders were floated and after getting approval from New Delhi, we will start the work," Rafiq had said on April 20.

Srinagar, May 18
Working president of the ruling National Conference Omar Abdullah today hinted that he would continue to function as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir despite a complete rout of his party and the alliance partner from the state in the parliamentary elections.

“I want to learn, I need to learn. I would like to try and make amends. I will give it my best shot and I would rather fail trying than not try at all,” Omar wrote on Twitter, hinting that he would continue as the chief minister for the rest of the tenure which would end later this year.

The chief minister’s party suffered an unprecedented rout and a humiliating defeat as its candidates lost in all three parliamentary constituencies in the Kashmir valley and its alliance partner Congress was swept away by a BJP wave in Jammu and Ladakh regions.

Omar said he had begun the “process of introspection” and also appealed for feedback from the public to know the reasons for the “enormous setback” in the latest election. “I have started the process of introspection and am listening to voices within the party but I need to hear from people other than colleagues,” he said.

The Chief Minister published his email address on Twitter while seeking the feedback. “I would like to hear from you the reasons for the enormous setback the NC has faced in these elections,” he said.

Omar had appeared shocked on Friday evening, when parliamentary results were announced, as he owned up the responsibility for the defeat of his party and termed it a “rude awakening” for those who dismissed the Modi factor.

Sources within the party said several senior members of the NC were “unhappy” with Omar’s style of functioning, including his rampant use of force against people during the past five years.

Nasir Aslam Wani, NC’s Kashmir zone president and a close aide of Omar, had yesterday blamed the alliance partner Congress for the defeat in the state. Wani told a local news agency that the party’s pre-poll alliance with the Congress had proved “disastrous”.

Wani also ruled out that Omar would step down as the chief minister, saying that he wanted to see the “commitment made with the public fulfilled during his tenure”.

Srinagar, May 18
Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani today reached out to BJP Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi urging him to do “justice” with Kashmir.

Geelani, in a statement, said: “If Modi was truthful in his claim to deliver justice, he should in first step at least accept all injustices done with Kashmiris. And then, he should try to address them.”

Last month, Geelani had claimed that two emissaries of the BJP prime ministerial candidate had met him in New Delhi and sought his willingness to work on resolving the Kashmir issue.

“Narendra Modi has said in his statement that the new Indian Government will take decisions according to wishes and aspirations of the people. However, in coming days it will be known whether it is a mere political statement or he is serious about it,” Geelani said.

The separatist leader said people in Kashmir were not “enemies” of India, but want “justice” to be done with them.

“If future Prime Minister of India is sincere about his promise of doing justice, then he should undertake to fulfil the broken promises and Kashmiris should be given a chance to choose their future by holding plebiscite in this state,” Geelani said. 

Srinagar, May 18
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today praised Narendra Modi and hoped that the new central government would address the Kashmir issue.

“Narendra Modi has got the political and electoral legitimacy to head the new government as the prime minister. We must all respect this legitimacy that has been accorded to him by the people of the country,” Mufti said in a statement issued to thank people days after the PDP swept all three seats from the Valley.

“We congratulate Modi and his party on their outstanding victory. We hope his developmental agenda is intensive and his political agenda is inclusive. That is what is needed and expected of him in his new role,” he added.

Mufti hoped that the new Central government, under the leadership of Modi, would take tangible measures to address the causes of “alienation and trust deficit in Kashmir and work towards finding long-lasting solution of the problem plaguing the region for the past more than six decades”.

He also appreciated the role of the Election Commission “for ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections in Jammu & Kashmir with the endorsement of the Central Government led by Manmohan Singh”.

Batting for friendship and a cooperative relationship between India and Pakistan as envisioned in the PDP’s self-rule document, Mufti said: “The state can’t remain aloof from the massive economic progress taking place in the country. I assure my people that the PDP will work towards accomplishing its unfinished agenda of securing dignified peace, lasting stability and inclusive prosperity for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Stating that he was humbled by the overwhelming endorsement of the PDP’s political and economic agenda by the state’s young population, he said the time had come for the youth to fully assert themselves to become active partners in the political decision-making processes.

He said the results of the Lok Sabha polls had made it amply clear that the people of the state were coming together with their powerful voice and expressed their will in the unambiguous verdict.

Asserting that J&K was on the threshold of a momentous transformation and it needed a caring government, Mufti reiterated the party’s resolve to work hand in hand with the progressive and democratic forces in the country and the region to facilitate a dignified resolution of the Kashmir issue and the issues confronting the state.

“I visualise a space of dignity, opportunity and prosperity for my people in the paradigm of friendship and cooperative relationship between India and Pakistan as envisioned in PDP’s self-rule document,” Mufti added.

Srinagar, May 18
The BJP might have got just 1.36 per cent of the total votes polled in the three parliamentary constituencies of Kashmir but the party is still claiming a victory of sorts in the region.

Having failed to win any Assembly or parliamentary seat in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir so far, the local leaders of the party are saying that making inroads in almost every segment of the Valley this time around was an achievement in itself.

And with the BJP set to form the government at the Centre, the party’s Kashmir unit is confident of putting up a good show during the forthcoming Assembly polls.

“We connected with people on ground and secured votes from almost all the segments. We are confident of a better show in the Assembly polls and are even hoping of winning some segments,” said Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, who unsuccessfully contested from the Srinagar constituency.

While Bhat got 4,467 votes, BJP’s Mushtaq Ahmad Malik secured 4,720 votes from the Anantnag constituency.

Party candidate from the Baramulla constituency Ghulam Mohammad Mir surprised everyone with 6,558 votes.

Even as the total BJP count came up to only 15,745 votes out of around 11.5 lakh polled, the silver lining for the party was that it was able to hold its campaign related events out in the open with a decent participation of people, something that was unimaginable earlier.

In March, the BJP held a rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir Park, close to the city centre Lal Chowk, while former party president Nitin Gadkari was seen in the Valley earlier this month.

The local leaders were also seen campaigning freely and even celebrated the party’s win with loud celebrations at the Lal Chowk yesterday.

With the BJP coming to power at the Centre, local leaders are claiming that a large number of people in the Valley would be joining the party.

“Scores of people are approaching us and we can expect much better performance in the Assembly polls,” said BJP’s Srinagar-based spokesman Altaf Thakur.

As Gadkari had earlier said issues pertaining to J&K would be among its top priorities, Bhat said: “The party high command has something concrete in store for Kashmir that will go a long way in strengthening the party base here.” 

Jammu, May 18
After their worst ever showing in the Lok Sabha elections, the blame game has started between coalition partners the National Conference and the Congress over the crushing defeat of their respective party candidates.

Senior National Conference leader and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s close aide Nasir Aslam Wani opined that pre-poll alliance with the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections proved disastrous for the party.

“Had the National Conference contested elections independently, results would have been different,” Wani told The Tribune.

“The Congress leadership failed to transfer its votes to the coalition partner. I am not saying that it was a deliberate attempt on part of the Congress leadership, but it is a reality that Congress votes were transferred to the opposition instead of coalition candidates,” Wani argued.

“Had the Congress fielded its candidates in the Valley, results would have been in favour of the National Conference,” he added.

Wani said there was a need to ascertain reasons why the Congress’ votes could not be transferred to coalition candidates in Kashmir.

Congress spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, however, reacted strongly to the “utterances” made by Wani and pointed out that the governance deficit was main cause of the worst ever defeat of coalition candidates in the Valley.

The Congress leader said there was no Modi Wave in the Valley despite that the National Conference could not retain even a single seat.

“Who forced the National Conference to go for an alliance? Rather it is well known in political circles who pressed hard for a pre-poll alliance in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections,” Sharma said.

In a statement issued here today Sharma said if the pre-poll alliance was not in the interests of our coalition partner, they (NC) could have opted for other course.

Sharma said the Congress leadership and the entire rank and file of the party in the state campaigned extensively for the success of NC candidates in Kashmir and the votes secured by NC candidates included a major chunk of Congress voters.

“If they say the NC did not secure lead in the Congress (dominated) constituencies, then question arises why it failed to secure lead in the constituencies of the NC ministers and legislators. It speaks volumes about the reasons for the defeat of NC candidates,” he said.

Pointing at the governance deficit in J&K, Sharma said there was a need to improve the governance “enormously”.

Wani, however, said: “It is a debatable question, who forced whom to enter into pre-poll alliance.”

Srinagar, May 18
Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today said tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir can bring a “lasting peace” in the subcontinent.

Tripartite dialogue between India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir can provide an alternative solution to solve Kashmir issue, the separatist leader said.

“The Hurriyat Conference believes that this alternative can provide the opportunity to bring lasting peace in the subcontinent,” Mirwaiz said.

Mirwaiz was speaking at a seminar to commemorate the death of his father Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq.

He said the “change in dispensation” would have no bearing on Kashmiri people till their policies and thinking shows a radical shift from the current standpoint.

“India should give up its policy of delaying in the context of addressing the Kashmir issue since Kashmiris are and will remain committed to the sacred cause,” he said.

Mirwaiz, however, said the Hurriyat Conference would lend full support to the peace process “if India bases its policy on reality and initiates a meaningful dialogue” by inviting Pakistani and Kashmiri resistance leadership.

“But if they continue their policy of suppression and military repression it will be resisted strongly at all levels,” he said. 

Jammu, May 18
The national-level monitoring (NLM) team of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) claims that irregularities/biased approach is rampant in J&K in the selection of beneficiaries under Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), which is a centrally sponsored scheme.

The team covered 12 districts, 34 blocks and 113 villages in Phase-1 to prepare its survey report, which maintained that the beneficiaries were not selected on the basis of a permanent Indira Awaas Yojana waiting list in 20 per cent villages visited.

During national-level monitoring team’s visit to the villages, it monitored the implementation of Indira Awaas Yojana, verified some of the Indira Awaas Yojana houses constructed during the past five years and interviewed the beneficiaries.

Physical inspection was also carried out to assess the completion status, facilities, quality of construction and occupancy of the house.

In 113 villages, visited by the teams, a total of 390 houses were verified. Out of them, 82 were found incomplete or under construction.

During the verification, it was found that only 33 per cent of the completed Indira Awaas Yojana houses were having smokeless chullahs. Further, out of all completed houses, sanitary toilets were provided in only 39 per cent houses.

Sources said Indira Awaas Yojana logo was found in only 6 per cent completed houses. They added that the state authorities were directed by the central ministry that on completion of an IAY dwelling unit it was to be ensured that each house has a display board, indicating the government of India rural housing logo, year of construction, name of the beneficiary etc.

The report said regarding the quality of construction of Indira Awaas Yojana houses, less than 1 per cent verified houses have been rated ‘excellent’, 60 per cent ‘good’, 39 per cent ‘average’ and less than 1 per cent verified houses were rated as ‘poor’.

Sources said the ministry has directed the state to prepare Indira Awaas Yojana waiting lists based on the below poverty line (BPL) list of 2002 to improve efficiency in the delivery system and bring transparency in the selection process under IAY.

The objective of Indira Awaas Yojana

The objective of Indira Awaas Yojana is to provide grant for construction of houses to members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, freed bonded labourers and also to non-SC/ST rural poor living BPL.

The assistance under Indira Awaas Yojana per dwelling unit is Rs 70,000 for new construction in plain areas and Rs 75,000 for construction in hilly/difficult areas.

Jammu, May 18
After the biggest-ever poll debacle in the state where the Congress could not manage to get even a single seat, MLAs from the Jammu region have started preparing for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Aijaz Khan, MLA from the Gool-Arnas Assembly segment in Reasi district, and Shabir Khan, MLA from the Rajouri Assembly segment of Rajouri district, thanked people for voting for Congress candidates despite “polarisation”.

Both the Congress candidates from the Jammu-Poonch and Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha segment lost the elections by a huge margin, still they are thanking people so that they could prepare grounds for the Assembly elections.

The state is going to the Assembly elections later this year as the Omar-led National Conference-Congress coalition government will complete its six years in the office. Sources told The Tribune that there was a fear among Congress leaders, especially sitting MLAs of the Jammu region, that if such a situation arises again during the Assembly elections and people get polarised, they might lose their seats.

These leaders are trying to get people on their side by thanking them that whatever happened in Parliamentary elections is a thing of the past and they will have to start new innings. Aijaz Khan and Shabir Khan have given advertisements in local Urdu newspapers thanking people of the Jammu region, especially their respective constituencies for their support.

However, these votes were not enough for both the Congress candidates to emerge as winners.

Poonch, May 18
Zonal education Officer (ZEO), Mandi, Nazir Ahmed Danish today alleged that he was being harassed by the tehsildar and Station House officer (SHO) of the area and threatened to go on a protest leave if action was not initiated against the duo.

Danish alleged that the two were encouraging public to held protests against the Education Department.

Sources said the controversy erupted on Saturday, when some students of Government Middle School, Purian, along with their parents blocked the Mandi-Saujian road in protest against the Education Department.

The protesters alleged that the school has been running without required number of teachers and the ZEO had failed to provide the required staff to the school.

Danish rushed to pacify the protesters, but when he reached the spot tehsildar Amir Rathar and SHO Dr Hilal were already present there and both of them shouted on him and took him to Mandi police station, sources said, adding the duo misbehaved with the ZEO.

“There was no matter of shortage of teachers in the school. I have already attached one teacher to the school, but I was surprised when both tehsildar and SHO, Mandi, started shouting on me and asked me to come to the police station with them where they misbehaved and harassed me,” Danish said.

“I feel insecure. The way the tehsil administration has provoked the public against me and asked them to raise slogans against the Education Department...I am not ready to continue here as ZEO,” the official said.

“I have written to my senior officers to take the matter with the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, or otherwise I will be compelled to go on protest leave or on premature retirement,” he said.

Meanwhile, Teachers Association of Mandi also held a protest against the tehsildar and the SHO and demanded inquiry and suspension of both the officers.

They gave three days ultimatum to the district administration for taking action against the duo.

Chief education Officer, Poonch, Abdul Hamid Fani when contacted said, “There is no shortage of teachers in the school. Two of the school teachers are on one year deputation as they are pursuing Diploma in Education at the DIET, Poonch, and to run the institution one teacher from the zone has already been attached to the school.”

Pulwama, May 18
Bad weather has reduced the vegetable and mustard production in Pulwama and Shopian districts of south Kashmir by about 30 per cent, even as experts remain optimistic of a good apple yield this year.

Chief Agricultural Officer, Pulwama, Ghulam Hassan Guroo said incessant rains and low temperature have adverse effects on vegetables at the sowing time and the losses can amount to about 20 per cent.

“The prolonged bad weather had put agricultural practises to a halt as a result the production decreased by 30 per cent,” Guroo said, adding that potato was the most affected crop.

He further said the plantation period of paddy in plains of Pulwama have been delayed by about 15 days and advised farmers to report any problem related to the paddy seed beds to the department.

On one hand agriculturalists are facing tough time due to inclement weather, but on the other the prospectus of a good crop for orchardists has increased.

Orchardists, however, are worried as they have not been able to spray pesticides and other nutritional sprays in their orchards.

“I was not able to spray the insecticides in my orchard because of bad weather although I waited for about ten days,” said Mohammad Asan Dar, an orchardist from Shopian.

Chief Horticulture Officer, Pulwama, Farooq Ahmad said during the initial days of April they were expecting heavy losses and adverse effects of bad weather on apple production but now they were optimistic due to appearance of delayed blossoms.

He advised orchardists to follow the revised spray schedule so that they can experience a bumper crop this year.

Meanwhile, orchardists and farmers have heaved a sigh of relief due to improvement in weather conditions.

Srinagar, May 18
Soaring airfares have come to haunt Kashmir's tourism sector yet again this season. As tourists have started pouring in, airfares on the other hand are touching the sky with tickets to the city from some domestic sectors getting costlier than international flights.

As per the rates provided by online travel companies, booking a one-way economy class ticket from New Delhi to here during the next week from tomorrow ranges from around Rs 9,000 to Rs 22,000. A duration of flight from New Delhi is around one hour from here and tickets to other parts of the country are obviously costlier.

Siraj Ahmad, chief spokesman for the Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), an amalgam of various traders and hoteliers' bodies, said the rise in airfares during the peak tourism season continued to play spoilsport for the stakeholders.

"It hits the tourism sector hard. One can even buy a ticket to Dubai for Rs 15,000 to 16,000," he said.

Even as the government has been taking several measures to boost the tourism sector that had taken a hit after the eruption of militancy, rising airfares during the peak season have been troubling the stakeholders for the past few years, just when the industry was on a revival path.

Though there was a dip in arrivals last year, the tourism industry had earlier revived in 2011 and 2012 after three consecutive years of unrest in the Valley. The sector had been hit hard by violent street protests owing to the Amarnath land row agitation, infamous Shopian incident and summer unrest in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively.

During the last three years, the stakeholders have been consistently crying foul over the rise in airfares during the peak season. However, whenever asked, the state government has always expressed its inability to do anything in this regard. The state has also raised the matter several times with the Centre, but without any success.

Director, Tourism, Kashmir, Talat Parvez has recently regretted that despite several pleas, the Centre had not done enough to tackle the issue. He said all stakeholders should jointly plead the case more vociferously so that the Centre took adequate measures to control exorbitant airfares to Kashmir as it was denting the tourism sector. 

Srinagar, May 18
With the onset of summer, pollens shedding from Russian poplar trees are back causing several skin diseases and breathing problems in the Valley.

Though the city administration has already banned any new plantation of Russian poplars in the city, the trees that are already present have affected the health of locals.

Cotton-type pollen produced by Russian poplar trees has worried people, with experts having only to offer precautionary measures.

Children and elderly are the worst affected. Many parents complained that the presence of poplar trees in some city schools was a cause of concern for the health of schoolchildren.

“Due to the presence of poplar trees, every year my son suffers from skin allergy and doctors have advised him to take proper precautions. I think the school administration and the government should come up with some solution such as cutting of these trees near schools and plant some other trees. This has become a serious health issue,” said a parent whose son studies in a private school in the city centre.

The shopkeepers from business hub Lal Chowk also complained of the same problem and skin infections.

The doctors associated with chest diseases in one of the city hospitals advised that people should take proper precautions rather than preferring medicines.

Although the mission of pollen is to fertilise parts of other plants, but a majority may never reach their targets. Instead, they enter human body through nose and mouth, triggering a type of seasonal allergic rhinitis called pollen allergy, which many people know as allergic rhinitis as well.

“Scientists think that people inherit a tendency to be allergic, although not to any specific allergen. Children of allergic parents are much more likely to develop allergies than other children,” said a physician.

“People in general should prevent unnecessary exposure to pollens and use masks to minimise its effects. Asthma patients, elderly people and newborns should take proper care. Its common symptoms are sneezing, itchy eyes, fever and cold,” he said.

Another expert said if pollens enter the body of a person through nose or mouth, it could cause nasal drip, eye irritation or breathing problems, which could be avoided by wearing masks. Many areas of the city like Rajbagh, Barzulla, Lal Chowk, Dalgate, Dargah and Abi Guzar have been hit by the problem.

Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah has already banned the sale, purchase and plantation of poplar trees from this year. 

Precautions

* Clean bed linen daily

* Take shower and wash hair before going to bed

* Stay indoors on high pollen-count days, if possible

* Dry clothes indoors

* Wear masks on two-wheelers

* Keep home and car windows closed

Symptoms

* Frequent sneezing

* Running nose

* Itchy nose, eye and throat infection

* Inflammation along eyelids, causing redness

* Temporary loss of smell

* Postnasal drip with coughing

Srinagar, May 18
Former minister and Congress leader Abdul Gani Vakil today blamed misgovernance for the debacle of the coalition candidates in the recently concluded parliamentary elections in the state.

In a statement issued here today, he further said the anger of common people against the system had led to the loss of the National Conference (NC) and the Congress candidates.

"Today's voter is aware of every happening and analyses performance of the government on day-to-day basis and votes accordingly. If the coalition government would have taken cognisance of irregularities in various departments, including PHE, agriculture and education where 80% SSA school buildings are non-existent or punished people who embezzled NREGA funds or involved in different scams, the situation would have been altogether different today," he said.

Terming the surrendering of parliamentary seats by both the coalition partners a 'political suicide', he said: "I had informed the party high command of the repercussions and consequences of not contesting from the Kashmir valley. Surrendering all seats from the Valley brewed up anger and discontent among party workers at grass-roots level."

Stating that introspection was the need of the hour, Vakil said the issue of development, corruption and employment generation would be crucial and decisive factors in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

He advised the coalition government to utilise the remaining months achieving the developmental targets and put on track the governance system so that the forthcoming Assembly elections could be contested by showcasing decent performance of the government.

He said enough time was left for the state government to complete the probes ordered in different departments so that its credibility was restored.

Srinagar, May 18
Deputy Inspector General of Police for central Kashmir range (DIG-CKR) Aafad-ul-Mujtaba distributed study material among differently abled children at a function here today.

The function was organised under the civic action programme of the J&K Police Department and held on the premises of Society of Human Welfare and Education at a school for differently abled children at Solina here, a police spokesman said.

The DIG, CKR, distributed Braille books along with full set of uniforms, stationary items and bedding among the students of the school, the spokesman said. Ration, first-aid items and medicines were also provided to the school authorities.

Mujtaba termed it as a "humble attempt" to help the school. "Since it is a challenge to run this school, we have got some requests from the administration and we will look into these requests," the DIG CKR said.

"Policemen are friends of society. While discharging their duties or enforcing the law, it has to get tough and it is this tough image which gets covered and presented before the people. The soft approach and skills of the policemen remain unnoticed," the senior official said.

Qazi Mohammad Amin, chairman of the society, extended his thanks to the state police department for conducting such programmes in the school, the spokesman said.

Srinagar SSP Amit Kumar, Sadder SDPO Feroz Qadri, Shaheed Gunj SDPO Imran Farooq, Deputy SP, headquarters, Abdul Aziz Qadri, Deputy SP, DAR, Riyaz Ahmad Wani, Srinagar CPO Ejaz Ahmad and SHOs of south city were present at the function.

Admission test

* Students appeared in the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET-2014) for admission to various postgraduate and research programmes offered by the Central University of Kashmir and other fellow Central universities across India

* The entrance test was conducted on May 17 and 18 in six sessions

Srinagar, May 18
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today condemned the brutal killing of a youth at Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

“By splashing the blood of innocents on the ground nothing can be achieved. Such killings only result into tragedies,” the PDP said in statement.

Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family, the party demanded a thorough probe into the killing.

Srinagar, May 18
J&K Bank has posted net profit of Rs 1,182.47 crore for 2013-14 against Rs 1,055.10 crore for the previous year, registering year-on-year (YoY) growth of 12.07 per cent.

The audited financial results for the fourth quarter ending March 2014 were announced yesterday following the approval of bank's board of directors in their meeting held at corporate headquarters in Srinagar.

For Q4 that ended March 2014, the bank posted net profit of Rs 250.60 crore.

The bank's board of directors has again recommended dividend of 500 per cent to shareholders subject to the approval at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) that has been scheduled for August 2.

The bank earned an interest income of Rs 2,684.48 crore, which is up by 15.9 per cent from Rs 2,316.04 crore recorded during the last fiscal.

Chairman and CEO Mushtaq Ahmad said: “Our focus has been to maintain quality of assets besides overall growth. So the results are well within our expectations.”

“While expanding our operations gradually across the country, our commitment towards the state economy shall deepen further in agriculture, handicrafts and infrastructure. Entrepreneurs shall continue to find finance for viable units without any hassles,” he added.

Jammu, May 18
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day was celebrated at Institutional Complex, Channi Himmat, here today.

The Institution of Engineers (India), Jammu Local Centre organised a seminar on “Broadband for Sustainable Development”, which was attended by a large number of engineers from various departments and organisations.

The seminar was chaired by Atul Sharma, General Manager, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Jammu, and presided over by Rajinder Singh, Chairman of the Institution of Engineers (India), Jammu Local Centre.

Five papers were presented by Er SC Thukral, FIE, Er BL Rawal, Er Anil Verma, Er Vijay Kumar Sharma and Er Supinder Jeet Singh on the topic.

The speakers suggested development of broadband backbone infrastructure by promoting Public Private Partnership (PPP) models in rural areas so that broadband was available to every common citizen of the country.

They also advocated for identifying the missing linkages and bottlenecks to connect the “unconnected” through the development of interactive optical fibres and microwave systems.

A speaker highlighted the factors plaguing the present day society due to the use of broadband and suggested various remedies to all regulators in telecommunication sector so that the ill effects of broadband could be minimised and subsequently eroded from the society.

Chief guest, Atul Sharma, said information society was moving at a rapid pace due to broadband use, adding that no technology was good or bad.

Earlier, secretary Er Mohinder Singh delivered the welcome address. He also presented the vote of thanks.

Jammu, May 18
First woman IPS officer of India, Kiran Bedi, will inaugurate Aryans JK Scholarship Mela in the state on May 26 and 27.

The event is being organised by the Aryans Group of Colleges, Chandigarh. Bedi would distribute scholarship letters to the selected students on the occasion.

Aryans has launched a special toll-free helpline 1800-30000-388 for the needy and deserving students of the state who are interested in getting scholarship.

Prof AP Jain, Director, Aryans Group, while briefing the media said Aryans JK Scholarship Mela is for the deserving students who are financially weak.

He said under the scheme, scholarships would be given purely on merit-cum-means basis and it would be partially funded by the bank, partially by the student and partially by the college.

“Students selected under the scholarship will study in different courses such as B Tech, M Tech, MBA, BBA, BCA, BA, B Com, B Ed, Nursing, Polytechnic, +1(Non Medical) etc. Four years ago, Dr Bedi selected some needy students at Aryans campus who at that time were not able to pay for their study expenses. Now after completing their course, those students have got placed with reputed companies,” Jain said.

Jammu, May 18
After repeated complaints by people, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has started a month-long campaign against smoking in public and food adulteration.

A team of health and sanitation wing of the Municipal Corporation under the supervision of Health Officer Muhammad Saleem Khan inspected various food establishments such as hotels, restaurants, provisional stores, food stalls and vegetable vendors, at Canal Road, Akhnoor Road, Nanak Nagar, in this regard.

The team also seized nearly 8-kg polythene bags.

A fine of Rs 4,600 was imposed on defaulters. Citizens were also advised not to smoke in public places as it was injurious to health.

The Health Officer further appealed to all food business operators not to sell any unhygienic food item not conforming to prescribed quality and standards, which could put public health to danger. — TNS

Jammu, May 18
State president, Jammu and Kashmir Gujjar Bakarwal Desh Youth Body, Nazakt Khatana, has condemned the state government for ignoring evicted Gujjar families in Gole Gujral camp and has demanded compensation for them.

Terming the act dictatorial, he threatened to start a hunger strike in case their demands were not met.

Continuing with their protest, which entered its eighth day on Sunday, the affected families held a protest at the Press Club amid anti-government slogans.

Khatana said: “We are protesting for the immediate rehabilitation of 35 families. Their houses were damaged and there is no shelter for them.”

He alleged that the government has failed to take any step for their rehabilitation so far. Khatana requested all NGOs and associations to join them to provide justice to the affected Gujjar families.

Jammu, May 18
Acharya Academy of Dance and Aerobics organised a dance competition at Police Auditorium here today. A total of 160 participants took part in the competition which was held in junior and sub-junior categories.

State Minister Raman Bhalla’s wife Indira Bhalla was the chief guest, while Congress leader, Surinder Singh Shingari was the guest of honour.

The chief guest lauded the efforts of the organisation for conducting the event. She said it would help in exploring the hidden dancing talent among children.

She appealed to the youth to participate in such programmes so that their talent could be exhibited at the national level as well.

Jammu, May 18
Tarun Sharma, a young model/actor from Jammu city has featured in Punjabi music video “Sajna Main Vaari Jaan”, which is being telecast on the PTC Chak De channel.

The promising Jammu lad, son of Dinesh Sharma, a government employee, has acted in more than 150 plays. Tarun Sharma is a second Dan black belt in karate and had also bagged a gold medal in the International Karate Championship in 2013. Besides being associated with various cultural groups, Tarun is the president and founder of the Nat Manch. — TNS