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As Cong looks within, many ministers face workers’ ire
Police highlight adverse effects of tobacco use among youth
Increase taxes on tobacco, its products, say varsity students
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Work on laying sewers hits traffic flow in city
Centre seeks details on sports competitions
BJP to form next state government, says Avinash Rai Khanna
MGNREGA workers demand wages
Entrepreneurs meet at annual business summit
Centre okays Rs 14.5-crore instalment for ‘krishi yojna’
on the
frontline
Travel agents accuse hoteliers of giving poor services to tourists
Baramulla-Srinagar
highway a bumpy ride
Youth forum urges parties to field local candidates
Workshop on ICT concludes at SKUAST
Govt wing being run with less than 10 per cent staff
Govt school misplaces qualification certificates of students
Pulwama roads cry for repairs
Jugal Kishore felicitated by Muslim Unity Front
Hailstorm, winds damage crops in north Kashmir
On 42nd Raising Day, White Knight Corps men praised for fighting militancy
Three PDP leaders join NC in Jammu
Yasin blames Muftis, Abdullahs for eroding Article 370
Teachers seek promotion benefits
Teachers without pay for 3 months
Traders hail J&K Bank for announcing sops
Man stoned to death
Jaw Hawks team defeat Rookies to lift CBL-2014
PDP MLA injured in road mishap
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As Cong looks within, many ministers face workers’ ire
Jammu, June 1 Soz chose the five districts where the Congress had suffered badly for introspection first. The five districts comprised 25 Assembly segments, of which the Congress got a lead only in three. The party was routed in Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts. Although some workers targeted the National Conference for not working sincerely, party ministers faced the ire of block presidents and low-rung leaders for allegedly legitimising corruption and nepotism in the government. Block presidents of Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts were present in the meeting today. Two of the four ministers belonging to the districts skipped the meeting to avoid criticism despite the debacle of the party in the General Election. Minister for Public Health Engineering, Flood Control and Irrigation Sham Lal Sharma and Minister for Housing and Horticulture Raman Bhalla were present in the meeting. Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Education Minister Tara Chand and Minister of State for Cooperatives (independent charge) Manohar Lal were absent. Both belong to Ghulam Nabi Azad camp. As soon as Soz asked party leaders to speak on reasons for the debacle, they minced no words in attacking ministers and senior leaders. Although Congress workers avoided singling out any particular minister, they alleged that there was was rampant corruption in the government and a transfer industry was flourishing in the state. “Some Congress ministers have made a rate list for transfers. They are running a transfer industry without hesitation,” alleged a block president. He said government employees bearing its brunt had played an important role in ensuring the defeat of the Congress. Pointing to the JKPCC, comprising 162 members, some block presidents claimed that non-serious persons had given important positions in the party. “Instead of accommodating dedicated workers in the party, some blue-eyed boys of senior leaders were inducted into the JKPCC,” said a worker from Samba. He cautioned that the party would face a similar result in the Assembly elections if ministers failed to mend their style of functioning. Looking in the mirror
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Police highlight adverse effects of tobacco use among youth
Srinagar, June 1 The programme was organised in Government Higher Secondary School, Kunzer. Director, Health Services, Kashmir, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman impressed upon the youth to join hands with the department and help make Kashmir a drug-free place. More than 1,000 students and teachers from different schools of Kunzer area attended the awareness camp. The staff of the Kunzer police station and the Public Health Centre, Kunzer, also attended the awareness camp. The speakers highlighted the ill-effects of the use of tobacco. The experts threw light on the addiction and remedies to the addiction of tobacco. A team of experts from the Police Drug De-addiction Centre, Srinagar, comprising Psychiatric Social Worker Haris Abrar Kashmiri and counselling psychologist Imran Khan delivered lectures on the occasion. Imran Khan elaborated upon the psychological effects of nicotine addiction and the role of psycho-therapy and counselling. Various studies in the Valley have shown that the cases of drug addiction have increased by almost 40 per cent during the past few years. Experts said the menace could be controlled only if concrete steps were taken at social, religious and legal levels on time. In 2012, 633 patients were registered at the de-addiction centre at the police control room, which has gone up to 1,978 in just first eight months a year ago. |
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Increase taxes on tobacco, its products, say varsity students
Srinagar, June 1 The students reiterated that there was an urgent need to make J&K a “tobacco-free state” and banning the sale as well as consumption of tobacco chewing products could be the foremost step taken in this direction. The students also expressed apprehension over poor implementation of ban on sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of school premises. “The ban has clearly not been implemented in letter and spirit as is evident by the rampant sale and consumption of tobacco products even near the school premises especially those of private schools. Not only the city administration, even the Directorate of the Education Department has to keep a check on the sale and use of harmful tobacco products and fine the offenders,” said Mysha, a student of the department of management studies. Students, however, lauded the steps taken by private healthcare organisations, especially the Voluntary Health Association, in reaching out to the masses as well as the authorities concerned for making J&K a “No Tobacco State.” “We have seen police officials cracking down on people smoking in public, but persistent efforts by the city administration as well as other departments are lacking,” said Imtiyaz, PhD scholar in environmental sciences.
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Work on laying sewers hits traffic flow in city
Jammu, June 1 The traffic system is in a complete disarray in these areas and problems will increase during the Amarnath yatra, which is scheduled from June 28. The administration has arranged for an alternative way but the road is too narrow for even mini-buses, leading to traffic snarls. “It takes me 30 minutes to reach Jewel Chowk from Rehari because of traffic jams due to sewerage work,” said Shubham Sharma, a telecom engineer. “Roads at Jewal Chowk were already congested. The digging work has made the situation worse,” he said. Moreover, there is a heavy rush of Vaishno
Devi pilgrims and other tourists and this is the only way to go towards Katra and Srinagar through
the general bus stand. Abhinav Gupta, a shopkeeper at the bus stand, said, “How can they start the digging work this month when the Amarnath yatra is about to begin and this is the only
route for the yatra?” “The administration should ensure that the work is completed before the commencement of the yatra,” he added. Mohd Rafiq, general manager, NBCC, said, “Raghunath Bazaar will be blacktopped within three to four days and as far as Jewal Chowk is concerned, I have directed the team to complete the work before the yatra starts.” “We cannot work when the secretariat is here, when the Amarnath yatra is on or during the monsoon season. So, we get a very limited time to work on this project. We are trying our best to complete it as soon as possible,” he added. |
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Centre seeks details on sports competitions
Jammu, June 1 The information to be submitted to the Department of Sports, Mission Directorate, PYKKA, includes the number of participants and the names of the disciplines in which the competitions were conducted. Sources said the ministry had earlier sent an official communiqué to the authorities concerned to submit the report, but no initiative was taken in this regard. They said the ministry had taken a serious note of this “negligence” on the part of the authorities. “It is therefore requested again that the report on annual sports competitions (rural competitions, women competitions etc) conducted during 2013-14 may be forwarded immediately,” a statement of the ministry stated. “The Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) has conducted various activities under PYKKA in rural blocks of the state as per the guidelines of the ministry. However, the department is yet to go a long way in achieving the desired results,” a DYSS official said. “Financial constraint has been the major hurdle in the smooth conduct of activities and the ministry is yet to approve the 2013-14 plan,” he said. “It is really unfortunate that the activities have been adversely affected due to the lack of funds. It is imperative for the state authorities to evolve an effective mechanism to monitor the overall functioning of the Central scheme so that the rural youth could be benefitted,” another official said. Sources claimed that the state authorities had released their 10-per cent share of the total cost of the playfield in favour of DYSS but the remaining 90-per cent share is still awaited from the Government of India, which had affected activities to be undertaken under PYKKA. |
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BJP to form next state government, says Avinash Rai Khanna
Jammu, June 1 Underscoring the significance of the victory, Khanna said formation of a BJP government was a necessity as it could defeat regressive forces and promote mainstream politics, leading to complete constitutional and emotional integration of the state? with India. Member of Parliament and state BJP president Jugal Kishore Sharma said people wanted the state to be free of the National Conference and the Congress and their role had become important to fulfil this wish of the people. He said the defeat of National Conference and Congress candidates in the General Election was a clear indicator of the resolve of the people to repose their faith in the BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections. BJP national executive member Nirmal Singh said the party had succeeded in achieving the mission of winning over 272 seats in the General Election, which had raised the morale of party activists. He added that they should work with the same zeal to achieve the next target of forming the government in the state. State BJP general secretary Ashok Koul, Leader of Legislature Party Ashok Khajuria and former Mayor Kavinder Gupta were present.
— TNS |
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Soon, trains to chug till Katra
Reasi/Udhampur, June 1 After the Commissioner for Railway Safety pointed out some deficiencies in the 85-metre-high steel bridge over the Jhajjar river, the February 2 deadline was missed and rectification was carried out in two months. Snags pointed out had been removed and final touches were being given, said a senior construction engineer on the condition of anonymity. “Construction is complete, but the construction team has not formally handed over the 25-kilometre stretch to us. After that, the date of inauguration is a matter of time,” said Ferozpur Divisional Railway Manager Naresh Chander Goel. Local residents and pilgrims were excited and hopeful that passenger services would be started soon as the project had missed several deadlines in the past. |
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MGNREGA workers demand wages
Jammu, June 1 Scores of panchayat members and MGNREGA workers from various parts of the Jammu region assembled under the banner of the All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) near the Exhibition Ground here and held a dharna. Raising slogans against the state government, the protestors accused it of “being one of most corrupt regimes in the history of J&K”. “The state government has not cleared the dues of poor labourers, who feed their family on a meagre amount of just Rs 145 per day. The government has made a mockery of the Panchayati Raj as the daily wages of labourers are being cleared by the Rural Development Department (RDD),” AJKPC president Anil Sharma said while addressing the protesters. He said labourers were regularly approaching panchayat members over the non-payment of dues but the panches were unable to promise them anything in the prevailing circumstances. “The state government is violating the provisions of the MGNREGA, which calls for release of payment to workers within 15 days in their respective bank accounts,” Sharma said. He also accused the state government of being insensitive and alleged that it had failed to understand the sufferings and aspirations of the people. “The present government has failed on all fronts. Innocent panches and sarpanches are being killed by militants but neither Chief Minister Omar Abdullah nor his Panchayati Raj minister has interacted with the panchayat representatives to address their security and empowerment,” he alleged. The AJKPC leader said the Chief Minister was either trying to mislead the people or he himself was “ill-informed”. “It is high time the Chief Minister interacted with people to gain information about their grievances and sufferings,” he said. |
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Entrepreneurs meet at annual business summit
Srinagar, June 1 The chief guest was Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmed Shah who applauded the efforts of the organising team of “Rabita” 2014 for holding the event. The event was held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre. Leading business persons of the Valley urged the youth to take entrepreneurship as career. “In 1947, Kashmir had a balanced trade and it would not import anything except salt and exported many things, including silk handicrafts. Kashmir never imported chicken that time, but now the scenario has changed. We have potential and resources, but the need of the hour is how to utilise them. The young minds of Kashmir will have to come up with new ideas as some of you have been doing,” said one of the entrepreneurs. Rabita Business Summit is an annual summit of business leaders and entrepreneurs of Kashmir. The participants interacted with the aspiring entrepreneurs and shared with them their success stories. Mubeen Ahmad Shah, former President of KCCI, laid stress on the need to focus on indigenous business. He spoke about the importance of Kashmir as a business hub if it was given a free economic zone status. Shah said the district administration would also encourage entrepreneurship by awarding young businessmen under the age of 30. |
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Centre okays Rs 14.5-crore instalment for ‘krishi yojna’
Jammu, June 1 The ministry has put forth the condition that the state government will utilise the funds in the current year for the implementation of projects approved by the state-level sanctioning committee. The ministry has written that the department or nodal agency will have to ensure that project-wise accounts are maintained by implementing agencies and are subject to the statutory audit. The nodal implementing agency will have to report on utilisation of funds released and submit physical and financial performance reports along with utilisation certificates at the end of the financial year. The ministry has written that agricultural technology management agency funds available with the state government should be utilised for training, awareness camps, demonstrations and publicity. It has noted that it is not be advisable to have unused agricultural technology management agency funds at the end of the year while RKVY funds have been used. It has added that there should not be any duplication or overlapping of activities or areas covered. The state has been advised to use the released amount in accordance with RKVY guidelines. Accounts of the state grantee institution will be open to inspection by the sanctioning authority and audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. An internal audit can be conducted by the Principal Accounts Office of the ministry or department whenever the state or the institution is called upon to do so. |
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To start with, state needs conciliation and
development
Arun Joshi Politically speaking, one of the immediate tasks before the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to get the maximum seats for his party, the BJP, in the coming J&K Assembly elections. The BJP, jubilant after its unprecedented victory in the Lok Sabha polls in the state, is now talking in terms of “Mission 44 plus” — the number that will give a simple majority in the House of 87. The BJP leadership in J&K is thinking that if the party can accomplish the mission of 272 plus in the national elections, getting 44 seats in the Assembly polls should not be an uphill task. A pertinent point is being missed by this club of overenthusiastic party workers that the General Election revolved around Modi, his personality and his Gujarat model, glimpses of which have come to the fore in his first week in office. Unsavoury row
In J&K, the air has been marred by an unseemly controversy triggered by Union Minister Jitendra Singh by invoking the narrative that “the process of repealing Article 370” had begun. Yet, there is sufficient room and time to tell the people of the state that this storyline would not be allowed to set confrontation between the two sides standing on the opposite sides of the fence. A search can be launched for the common ground, and that is the basic idea that Modi mooted when he had called for a debate on the issue. Debate is the essence of a democracy. Today, more important than winning or losing the benchmark of 44 plus in J&K is how a process of conciliation can be started here, where fears outweigh hopes. The current generation of youth is neither scared of bombs nor bullets. The regions and their people who have suffered a huge discrimination over the decades are in no mood to take unfair treatment any more. Needless to mention that there is a tremendous amount of anger among the youth in all three regions of the state — Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu. Now, realistically speaking, the state needs conciliation and development. Modi took the first step by inviting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and other heads of the SAARC nations to his swearing-in ceremony. His meeting with Sharif has raised the hopes in J&K. Barring some fringe voices, the move has been welcomed by one and all. Multi-dimensional
There are clearly two dimensions of the Kashmir problem. Firstly, talks with Pakistan are mandatory to resolve the problem once and for all without bringing in the questionable wisdom of challenging the finality of the accession of the state to India and its irrevocability. Secondly, the hopes of the people of this state have to be translated into reality. There has to be deliverance on the promises. There were numerous reminders in the past that the delivery system should be put into practice, but the advice went unheeded and the result is that the youth is frustrated and angry. Modi has emerged as a man full of confidence and is a quick decision-maker. He has got the golden opportunity to seize the moment. There are elected representatives of the state; their voice should be heard first. What Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others have to say about J&K should be noted with a highlighter. A fact about them is that these leaders, their parties and party workers had stuck their neck out against the rising explosions of bombs and bullets, and contested and campaigned for the polls. They did so in 1996. The PDP was not there on the scene that time but the Congress was. Mehbooba Mufti had contested on the Congress ticket and won. From 1999 onwards, when the PDP was born, it contested all elections as did the National Conference, the grand old party of Kashmir. Congress leaders also need to be taken into confidence on the blueprint for involving youth in rebuilding J&K. Inherent strength
More importantly, those who have always stood by India and faced huge criticism for being a consistent pro-India voice should not be ignored as they too got elected in the Assembly elections and contributed their bit. Those attached with the separatist tag are also a class in themselves. They should be heard. They are also state subjects and carry the Indian passport. Once they are heard, it will be discovered that there are many commonalities on issues raised by them and the elected representatives. There are many commonalities — the basic needs of the masses have been ignored so far to a very large extent. Those need to be addressed first, the rest will follow. The Prime Minister will realise that this exercise is more fruitful than the “44 plus” in the Assembly. |
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Travel agents accuse hoteliers of giving poor services to tourists
Srinagar, June 1 It all started with a statement of the Travel Agents Society of Kashmir (TASK) in which it accused some of the leading hoteliers of the Valley of overbooking their hotels that resulted in bouncing of confirmed bookings and causing distress and inconvenience to the intending tourists. TASK had not named any particular hotelier in its statement. While the government has been making efforts to woo tourists, the travel agents society pointed towards the poor quality of rooms and bathrooms, besides meals served to tourists. However, the observations of the travel body have not gone down well with the hoteliers who are demanding an apology from it. The hoteliers are also claiming that such statements will hit the tourism sector hard. “Hoteliers are providing best services to make the stay of the tourists and guests comfortable and memorable. We want to promote tourism in Kashmir with the best practices. However, there are some people who don’t want tourism in Kashmir to flourish. They are making baseless allegations against hoteliers, taxi drivers and handicraft sellers only to discourage tourists to visit Kashmir,” said chairman of the Kashmir Hotels and Restaurant Owners Federation GM Dug. TASK had also appealed to the shikarawallas, ponywallas and taxi drivers to stop overcharging tourists. President of the Kashmir Hotels and Restaurant Association Showkat Chowdhary warned of taking legal action in case TASK did not tender an apology as it had ‘maligned the Kashmiris in the eyes of world’. Meanwhile, other stakeholders have called for avoiding confrontation with each other in the public. “If the stakeholders start washing their dirty linen in public, it will harm the entire tourism sector and issues facing them should be resolved mutually. Also, there needs to be some introspection over fleecing of tourists which is a serious issue. Joint efforts should be made to counter the same,” said a hotelier, wishing not to be named.
— TNS |
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Baramulla-Srinagar
highway a bumpy ride
Baramulla, June 1 The highway is dotted with potholes and is in a bad condition, including at
Pattan, Singhpora, Hanjivera and Shalteng. “It is dangerous to travel on the highway due to countless potholes that may prove fatal for the commuters. The vehicle can overturn while being driven on the potholed road,” said Irshad Ahmad, a passenger. The poor condition of the road has made it prone to accidents. Several deaths have been reported on the highway since last year. The travel on the road takes more time. Those living along the highway have to suffer because of the dust that rises from the road and mud from the potholes. “The pedestrians have to cover their face to protect themselves from dust during the summer. In the winter, the pedestrians have to be careful while walking as fast-moving vehicles usually splatter mud all around,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a local from Pattan. Further, traffic jams have become frequent
on the road due to its bad condition. From Pattan to Shalteng, traffic jams have become the order of the day. Not only do students and government employees suffer because of the road condition, but the public, including patients, also have to face hardships. “We fail to understand why the government is not black-topping the road from the past couple of years. Every day we have to spend half to one hour in traffic jam,” said Mudasir Ahmad, a government employee. Farooq Ahmad Lone, Deputy Commissioner,
Baramulla, recently convened a meeting with the authorities of the Project Beacon, who assured him of the upgrade of the highway from Narbal to Baramulla once the weather conditions in the Valley get
stabilised. During the meeting, Lone impressed upon all departments, including Beacon and the Roads and Buildings, to work in sync for the betterment of the road which is a lifeline for the people of north Kashmir. The Baramulla deputy commissioner has directed the Revenue Department to immediately take up and settle cases connected with the improvement and widening of the road.
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Youth forum urges parties to field local candidates
Jammu, June 1 Talking to mediapersons here, Naveen Kumar Sharma, convenor, Nagrota Assembly segment, appealed to the BJP, Congress, BSP, SP, National Conference, PDP and Panthers Party, to give tickets to only local candidates from the segment. “Given the vastness and remoteness of the segment, only local candidates can understand the problems of the people there. Non-local candidates appear in the constituency only during elections and so, the poor voters of
the Assembly constituency have to travel a long way to meet their representative,” Sharma said. He said the political parties should also not accommodate and field any candidate who has repeatedly been rejected by the voters. “Political parties must respect the wish of the voters and must restrain from promoting nepotism while nominating candidates,” the JKPYF leader said. He alleged some political parties "sold" tickets to non-local candidates, who didn’t have any political or social understanding of the constituency, and ignored young and deserving workers of their parties. |
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Workshop on ICT concludes at SKUAST
Jammu, June 1 Dr VP Sharma, Director, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad, was the master trainer for imparting skills of ICTs in agriculture. The trainees were trained on the use of mobile short message service, farmer call centres, kissan portal and other available ICT options for farmers. The trainees were also given knowledge on different ICT applications, Participatory Rural Appraisals for developing strategic research and extension plan. The chief guest at valedictory function was Dr KS Risam, Director Extension Education, SKUAST, Jammu. Dr Rakesh Nanda, Head, Division of Agricultural Extension Education, and course director of the programme, highlighted the need of ICT usage in the transfer of technology from research to field for
reducing time lag between technology developed and its dissemination. |
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Govt wing being run with less than 10 per cent staff
Poonch, June 1 They rued that farmers had failed to prepare paddy nurseries and were not able to sow paddy this year due to the non-availability of water in the
canal. Digwar sarpanch Abdul Hamid said, “Farmers have to run from pillar to post every year at the time of sowing paddy for the release of water in the canal.” He added, “The Irrigation Department has never performed its duty of releasing water on time. We are already late this year, but the department has not released the water despite repeated requests.” Farmers Pishori Lal Sharma, Parvinder Singh, Mohd
Aslam, Maqbool Hussain, Mohd Rashid, Noor Din, Nazir Hussain and Mohd Rafiq said the canal could provide water for more than 1,600 acres, which produced over six tonnes of wheat every year. They demanded that the water should be released at the earliest, failing which farmers would start an agitation against the Irrigation Department. They claimed that no official of the department or the district administration had visited the village to know the problems being faced by farmers. They demanded that the Poonch Deputy Commissioner should intervene for early redress of the problem. When contacted, Flood and Irrigation Department Assistant Executive Engineer Muneer Hussain asserted that the water would be released within a week. He said the department had limited staff strength in the Poonch division, which was the main reason why work on the Sola village canal was pending. He said the department had only one junior engineer on contract compared to 24 posts and just one work supervisor compared to 20 posts, which was impeding work. |
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Govt school misplaces qualification certificates of students
Baramulla, June 1 The students alleged that the school authorities have deliberately misplaced their certificates. "We need these certificates to apply for jobs. The school authorities have put our career at stake. They have played with our future," said Peerzada Arif, an affected student. The school had received the certificates of higher secondary Part-II annual 2007 examinations from the office of the district branch, Baramulla. "The school authorities are not bothered to address the problem of students. We want our certificates issued immediately, otherwise we will not hesitate to lodge an FIR against the school authorities," said another student Firdous Ahmad. Vice-principal of the school and lecturer Jaleel Ahmad confirmed that the qualification certificates of some students were misplaced by the school administration due to their negligence. "I admit that the students are facing problems, but I don’t know much about it as I joined the school in 2009. The officials, who had received the certificates, have now been transferred to other places," Ahmad said, admitting that the certificates have got misplaced due to the negligence of the staff in 2009. He assured that the students would be provided all possible help in availing fresh certificates to continue their academic and working process.
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Pulwama roads cry for repairs
Pulwama, June 1 “It is unfortunate that the main road connecting the centre is a shambles and the authorities have been apathetic to the people’s woes,” said Showkat Ahmad, owner of a cotton-processing unit at the centre. The 10-kilometre Pulwama-Awantipora stretch is full of potholes, which turn into puddles during the rain. The 8-kilometre Kakapora-Padgampora stretch is in a similar condition. Drivers and passengers using the roads have repeatedly complained to the authorities, but no action has been taken by them in this regard. “We have repeatedly sent delegations to the Roads and Buildings Department, demanding repairs, but action is yet to be taken,” said Mohammad Maqbool, a Sumo driver often using the Pulwama-Sangam road. Residents of villages affected alleged that despite repeated requests and applications, the authorities had not mitigated their suffering. Members of the District Development Forum vowed to get the roads repaired at the earliest. Pulwama Executive Engineer Mohammad Ayoub said roads in the district had been severely damaged due to incessant rainthis year and repair work had been halted due to enforcement of the model code of conduct, adding that work would be begun in three or four days.
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Jugal Kishore felicitated by Muslim Unity Front
Jammu, June 1 Speaking on the occasion, senior MUF leaders congratulated the newly elected MPs for winning the elections and hoped that they would solve pending issues of the Jammu region, particularly confronting the Muslim community. Addressing a gathering, MUF president Choudhary Noor Alam urged the newly elected MPs to take up the issue of providing benefits of schemes, launched for the minority community, to the deserving people. “We have always supported the political parties which have worked for the welfare of the community and ensured that proper representation is given to them in employment, education and other sectors. The BJP government will ensure that pro-people schemes are implemented,” said
Alam. BJP leader Farooq Khan and senior journalist Sohail Kazmi also spoke on the occasion. Senior vice-president of the MUF Kamran Khan
Afridi, vice-president Choudhary Hafiz Ullha, chief organiser Choudhary
Putto, chairman of the Narwal panchayat and secretary Zakhir Hussain were present.
— TNS |
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Hailstorm, winds damage crops in north Kashmir
Baramulla/Kupwara, June 1 In Baramulla district, heavy winds wreaked havoc in Pattan, uprooting poplar trees along the Baramulla-Srinagar national highway. A house and a shopping complex were damaged as poplar trees fell upon them. Poplar trees fell upon a house in Dargam, Tilgam Pattan. A two-storey shopping complex was damaged in the main town of Pattan. The Baramulla-Srinagar highway was blocked for hours due to the felling of seven poplar trees at Zangam and Hajiveera. Senior officials of of the R&B Department reached the spot and removed the trees from the road. The residents urged the officials to cut down decaying trees along the national highway to prevent any loss to the public. In Handwara, a hailstorm hit several villages, damaging paddy and fruit seedlings. The storm that lasted for 40 minutes damaged vegetable crops. The worst-hit areas were Kachiewara, Machipora, Bhedhera, Kahipora, Magam, Kanispora Nagranad and Bakhiaker in Handwara. “We were expecting a good yield, but the hailstorm shattered our hopes. Unseasonal rain has affected crops,” said Abrar Ahmad of
Bakhiaker.
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On 42nd Raising Day, White Knight Corps men praised for fighting militancy
Jammu, June 1 He exhorted troops to persist with same zeal and enthusiasm towards their profession and achieve new milestones. The GOC was confident that in the future the White Knight fraternity would continue to scale heights of success as never before in the service of the nation. The White Knight Corps was raised on June 1, 1972, on the banks of the Tawi at Nagrota, 13 km from here. In the last four decades, the White Knight Corps has progressed in leaps and bounds to become the largest and the most operationally active force of the Army. Its area of responsibility ranges from snow-capped mountains to hills and riverine to developed terrain. The 16 Corps is operationally committed to guarding the international border, maintaining the sanctity of the Line of Control and combating militancy, all of which have resulted in restoring normalcy in the region. It is also actively involved in various development programmes, aimed at improving the habitat of the populace. The Corps has to its credit a large number of gallantry awards won after the 1971 war.
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Three PDP leaders join NC in Jammu
Jammu, June 1 Farooq and Omar welcomed the entrants into the party and hoped they would further strengthen the National Conference (NC) at the grass-roots level in the area. Senior NC leader and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council Javed Rana described their joining in the party as a “major jolt” to the main opposition party. He hoped that the NC would strengthen its base at the grass-roots level. Rana said the PDP had failed in playing a responsible role as the main opposition during the past five and a half years. “This is the reason that people have no option but to desert the PDP because of its wrong policies and join the National Conference,” he said. Referring to the BJP’s sinister move of abrogating Article 370, Rana said the National Conference would never allow this. “This party has always sacrificed for this state and we are always ready for more sacrifices if needed in the future for the betterment of our state,” he said, adding that it is a conspiracy hatched by the BJP and the PDP to abrogate Article 370. He maintained that “any attempt to repeal this would be on our dead bodies”.
— TNS |
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Yasin blames Muftis, Abdullahs for eroding Article 370
Srinagar, June 1 He also blamed the Mufti and Abdullah families of Kashmir for plundering the resources of J&K and erosion of Article 370 over the years. “Article 370 for which Mufti Sayeed and Omar Abdullah are out on the streets to wage a jihad has actually been eroded by none other than the Mufti and Sheikh families, which are acting like the employees of New Delhi,” Yasin said during a press conference here. The JKLF chief quoted several instances and events to highlight the erosion of the state’s autonomous status and character and blamed
the Sheikh family and Muftis for it. “Over the years, not a single amendment to the laws governing J&K has been affected by the
Centre. Rather, it were the Kashmir rulers who by acting as the employees of New Delhi eroded Article 370,” he said. |
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Teachers seek promotion benefits
Jammu, June 1 The demands include inclusion of five years of service for promotion benefits, provision of transfer policy for regularised women RETs, provision of old pension scheme in favour of the RETs who were appointed before January 1, 2010. Bhupinder Singh, senior vice-chairman of the forum, while briefing the media, said more than 4,000 converted RETs had been regularised but till date their salaries had not been released by the authorities. The forum said if the government failed to concede to their demands, it would launch a statewide agitation. |
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Teachers without pay for 3 months
Kupwara, June 1 “I have to feed a family of 10, including five minors. I am the only source of income and my family is facing starvation due to non-payment of salary,” said Riyaz Ahmad Shah, a teacher. Teachers said they were facing problems in the Sogam zone from time to time. “Our salaries have been withheld in the past as well. In January last year, our salaries were released after four months,” said Altaf Ahmad, another teacher. Teachers appealed to the Director for School Education to intervene and get released their salaries at the earliest. “If the authorities fail to release our salaries, we will protest against the department. We are facing hardships due to the non-payment of salaries,” said Shamim Ahmad, a teacher. |
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Traders hail J&K Bank for announcing sops
Srinagar, June 1 He was referring to the recent sops announced by the bank that included reduction in interest rates for loans taken by the businessmen ranging between 0.5 and 1 per cent. “The KEA appreciates the chairman’s honouring his commitment which one does not see happening often in such sectors and where political and commercial considerations are given more importance than development and survival of common people and small businesses,” he added. The KEA had earlier vociferously campaigned for charging of fair lending rates by the J&K Bank. |
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Jammu is posing inconvenience for commuters, especially Vaishno Devi pilgrims and other tourists. Traffic jams have become a daily affair here.
Ahead of the Amarnath yatra and during the peak season of the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage, the National Buildings Construction Corporation
(NBCC) Ltd has once again started digging work at two of the busiest spots in Jammu, Jewal Chowk and Raghunath
Bazar.
The Department of Flood and Irrigation in Poonch district is being run with less than 10 per cent staff strength. It has failed to release water in most canals of the district, leaving farmers at the mercy of nature.
Farmers in the border area of Digwar and Sola alleged that the department had failed to release water in the Sola Digwar canal this year despite the availability of a large amount.
The Jammu and Kashmir Rehbar-e-Taleem Teachers Forum (JKRTTF) today appealed to the state government to consider their five years of service for giving them promotion benefits.
The forum claimed that its delegation had met the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister to take up its long-pending demands but nothing significant had been done so far.
was inaugurated by Shailendra Mishra, SP (west) on Friday last. Another basketball tournament organised by the group will start from June 5 celebrating the environment week. The CBL-2013 was played between six teams while more than 50 basketball players had taken part in the event.
TNS
