Jammu, August 4
The unholy nexus between hundreds of commercial vehicle owners and the traffic police in the form of “entry fee” continues to create hurdles in the smooth conduct of traffic across the Jammu region.

With those at the helm of affairs burying their heads under the sand, the traffic policemen on roads could be seen busy collecting the “entry fee” instead of streamlining the traffic.

The Traffic Police Department’s claim of placing “effective corrective” measures to weed out corruption from roads is belied as the policemen allegedly resort to malpractices and force minibus and bus operators to “pay for overlooking” visible violations.

The Traffic Police Department had abolished all static traffic checkpoints on the national highway from Lakhanpur to the Jawahar Tunnel to stop this kind of malpractices following the complaints of truckers and bus operators in 2012, but it still exists in the Jammu region, including the city.

A minibus owner said, “I have seven mini-buses plying on different routes in Jammu and I am paying Rs 100 per checkpoint per month per matador, which costs me around Rs 12,000 per month.” “If we refuse to pay this entry fee, they unnecessarily stop the vehicles, harass the drivers and conductors and start fining for little offences at all the checkpoints,” he added.

The phenomena has reached the extent that the traffic policemen only focus on collecting the entry fee from the commercial vehicles, ignoring the traffic chaos on the roads.

“Traffic policemen suddenly come in the middle of the road to stop commercial vehicles, but at the time of a traffic jam, they are found nowhere,” said Balwinder Singh, a commuter.

“They do not bother about the traffic jams created by matadors or other vehicles. Their only duty is to collect entry fee from the commercial vehicle,” he added.

According to sources, the entry fee of Rs 100 per checkpoint allows the vehicle to overload, speed, exemption from wearing a seatbelt and uniform and no stopping of the vehicle at any point. The policemen maintain a separate register for the account of the entry fee collected from the vehicles.

According to the statistics of the Transport Department of Jammu and Kashmir, there are around 6,037 buses, 8,604 minibuses, 25,762 trucks/tankers, 7,015 taxies and 17,069 three-wheelers in the Jammu region.

Munir Khan, Inspector-General of Police (IG), Traffic, while refuting the allegations, said the drivers should come to him or call him directly if anything like this happened on roads.

“If something like this is happening on the roads, they should come to me and I assure you that we will take serious action against the policemen for charging money from them,” the IG said.

Jammu, August 4
Various stakeholders in tourism and pilgrimage-related trades in Jammu, under the aegis of the Jammu Paryattan Vikas Mandal (JPVM), an umbrella organisation of 22 tourism and pilgrimage-related trade organisations, have given a call for “Challo Kailash yatra, Bhaderwah.” The Kailsh yatra is being held from August 14 to 24 this year.

In a meeting of the stakeholders of tourism and pilgrimage-related trades, headed by Ravi Mahajan, chairman of the JPVM, it was resolved to popularise, promote and bring the Kailash Kund yatra, Bhaderwah, on the tourism map of the country.

Ravi Mahajan said the organisation, with the active support and participation of all the stakeholders in tourism and pilgrimage-related trades in Jammu, had in the past brought the Shiv Khori cave shrine on the pilgrimage tourism map of the country, which is now visited by tens of lakhs of people every year. Now they would devote the next few years to bring the Kailash Kund yatra, Bhaderwah, on the pilgrimage tourism map.

A joint appeal was issued by all the participants to the stakeholders in Jammu and Katra to take effective steps to motivate the Vaishno Devi pilgrims and other visitors to Jammu as well as to the local people to undertake the Kailash Kund yatra in Bhaderwah. The hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators, taxi and transport operators and other voluntary organisations would provide all the facilities and offer discounts to the pilgrims to encourage them to undertake the yatra.

Those who participated in the meeting included Inderjeet Khajuria, president, AJHLA, and general secretary, JPVM, Davinder Chaudhary, president, Jammu Province Tourist Taxi Federation, Ashiq Hussain Khan, president, United Hotels and Restaurants Association, Talab Khatikia, Jammu, and Baldev Khullar, president, RBBA, Jammu.

Small things have the potential to upset long-term peace plans. Such things and events leave a hurt that lasts longer than imagined. Jammu and Kashmir is particularly vulnerable to threats that have come from extremists and reached a point where they threaten to gobble up all what this state has stood for —- its tradition of hospitality and mutual co-existence.

The latest example is the way a small issue of prayers by Kashmiri Pandits at Kousar Nag in Kulgam, south Kashmir, was spun as if thousands were on their way to the sacred lake with the sole aim of ravaging the environment. Looking at the pictures of the devotees who were stopped, the number was less than 30. And the prayers were to last four days.

Of course, there are ecological concerns in Kashmir, where the forests have been looted during the period of militancy. Swathes of mountains are without trees. The water bodies have vanished. The growing construction on the agriculture and forest land has added to the pollution. Some of the lakes, particularly Dal and Wular, have their own tales of woes. The pollution level is of unimaginable proportion. And, no one will allow Kousar Nag to meet the same fate as the Dal and Wular have met.

The surprising fact is that Minister for Tourism Ghulam Ahmad Mir and CPM MLA from Kulgam M Y Tarigami had recently pleaded that the Kousar Nag should be designated as a tourist destination. The beauty of the lake can draw tourists from across the world. When tourists will come, so will local picnickers as well as vendors to set up tented accommodation in the Himalayan heights. How will it then be possible to keep the lake as pure as it is today?

The pilgrims were to offer prayers. And, prayers are offered at a clean and pure place. The fault of the pilgrims is that they publicised their pilgrimage and involved the government. The four-day pilgrimage was made to look as if it was for 40 days and thousands would climb the heights to reach the lake. The organisers in their quest for security approached the government, further strengthening the impression that this was the beginning of some major event in the future.

Now, when the government denies that it had given any permission for the yatra, there are a series of questions that come to the mind: is the state bureaucracy that had granted the permission working independent of the political leadership? If so then the political government has a reason to introspect as to why did it happen so. The short answer to this is: the government has a history of flip-flopping on issues. And that results in a crisis where there is none.

An agenda was set by the forces hostile to the small duration pilgrimage by a limited number of pilgrims. The pilgrims were profiled because of their religion because it was stated in clear terms that “no Hindu cultural onslaught would be tolerated because that would threaten the Muslim majority character of the Valley.”

Vinod Pandit, chairman of the All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee and the man who was leading this idea of the revival of the yatra that was going on till the 1980s before militancy broke its cycle, has a valid poser for the government and others: “how come we (Kashmiri Pandits) are not welcome even as temporary pilgrims when you are talking of embracing us and resettling us in your neighbourhoods?”

The alarming sign is that there is a clear attempt to incite passions to create a situation. If one side is behaving in this manner, the other side too is behaving equally, if not more, unreasonably. That an issue of the small and short-duration yatra has “hurt the sentiments of the 900 million Hindus across the country” doesn’t stand any ground either. The people across the country have many other issues to deal with.

Most Hindus in the country might not have even heard of Kousar Nag. The attempt to polarise the situation is not one-sided. Kashmir is watching Jammu, and Jammu is watching Kashmir. To put it bluntly, people are watching to see what would be the next step of the extremists in the two regions. As of now, the situation has stayed within control but it can snowball into a major crisis. 

Srinagar, August 4
A major fire broke out on the premises of Sainik School at Manasbal in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir on Sunday night. Two hostel buildings were gutted and property worth Rs 2.5 crore damaged.

The fire broke out on the second floor of one of the hostel buildings and later engulfed the entire residential complex. Schools and colleges in the Valley reopened on Monday after a 20-day summer break.

The school authorities said the students, who were in the hostel mess when the fire broke out, were rushed to the recreation hall of another building. There was no damage to life as students and the staff were safe. The school authorities were yet to ascertain the cause of the fire. Headmaster ZA Rather said no student or staff member suffered injury and they were rushed to a safe spot.

“We evacuated the residential complex quickly with the help of local villagers and security personnel. Luckily the students had gathered in the hostel mess. Had they been in their rooms, there could have been loss of lives,” Rather said. “Classes are being held as per schedule and the incident will not be a spoilsport. We have stepped up efforts to provide alternative accommodation to all students. We have unit tests and students have been directed to be present,” Rather added.

Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, visited the school this morning and asked the school authorities to provide secure temporary accommodation to students. He directed the school authorities to pay Rs 2,000 per student as compensation and provide sleeping bags, makeshift tents and mattresses to students. As many as 120 students were staying in the hostels along with the school staff. The school had 350 students on rolls at present.

The first Army school in the state, it was founded by Sheikh Abdullah. The school was being managed by the state government and the Union Ministry of Defence.

In another fire, at least half a dozen houses were gutted in the Rainawari locality of old Srinagar city. No loss of life was reported in the incident.

Jammu, August 4
The All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC) today alleged that the state government and separatist groups had deliberately created a controversy over the Kousar Nag yatra to derail the return and rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri Hindus and to incite people against the minority community.

The committee, which had organised the yatra, alleged that National Conference (NC) MLC Bashir Ahmad Veeri was behind whipping up public frenzy in Kulgam, which led to the recent large-scale protests and subsequent denial of permission to undertake the pilgrimage.

Addressing a press conference in Jammu, APMCC president Vinod Pandit said the APMCC had informed the district administration about a month ago that there would be around 40 pilgrims for the yatra and at no point of time had they claimed that 4,000 people would travel to the glacial lake, as claimed by separatists.— TNS

Srinagar, August 4
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said the forthcoming Assembly elections are a test for the wisdom and foresight of the people as they would be chalking out an entirely new course for the state’s political leadership.

“These elections will be historically transformational as they are being contested in a situation marked by extraordinary political permutations. The challenge lies in converting these polls into a momentous opportunity for not only bringing about inclusive socio-economic development across the state, but reviving the resolution and reconciliation process for the permanent settlement of the Kashmir issue,” Mufti said while interacting with people during his extensive tour of various areas of Anantnag today.

He also called upon the country’s political leadership, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to make a renewed beginning towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue by engaging with all the stakeholders both on internal and external fronts.

“We are at the crossroads of a historic moment for change and it’s for the emancipated people of the state to decide which party has the courage and the commitment to address their political and economic concerns resolutely,” he said.

Srinagar, August 4
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is likely to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from two seats in Srinagar and may drop out of Ganderbal constituency, his family’s erstwhile stronghold. The National Conference (NC) has nearly completed the search for safe seats for him.

Sources have said Omar is likely to contest from Hazratbal and Sonawar, from where his father Farooq Abdullah had won in 2008. “Omar will contest from Hazratbal and Sonawar. This is the decision so far,” highly placed NC sources said.

Mustafa Kamal, the additional general secretary of the party who won from Hazratbal constituency after Farooq vacated it in favour of Sonawar in 2009, is likely to be “rested” in the upcoming elections, the sources said.

Kamal said it was “conjecture and guesswork” that he might be asked to “take rest”. “I belong to the party and the decision of the party will be a well thought out decision. It will be in the interest of the party and the people,” Kamal said.

The NC has so far announced 46 candidates in the two lists released so far. It plans to contest from all 87 seats on its own after ruling out a pre-poll alliance with the Congress. Provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said the party would decide the third list of candidates this week and release it next week.

Jammu, August 4
Though the government is promoting pilgrim tourism in the state and is projecting the temple city as a pilgrim town, but the pilgrims and tourists coming out of the railway station in Jammu are greeted by filth and foul smell.

The entry point to the temple city has turned into huge garbage dump, with fruit sellers, shopkeepers and passengers dumping waste outside the station, while no effort has been made to clean and beautify the place, which daily hosts thousands of Vaishno Devi-bound pilgrims and other travellers.

Shopkeepers and fruit sellers are major contributors to the poor hygienic as they throw away their waste on the road. Even the drains are not covered, which gives an unpleasant look to the entire area.

Further, lack of coordination between the Jammu Development Authority (JDA), Railway authorities and Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has made the place safe haven for the stray dogs.

The Jammu Railway Station is one of the 40-model stations, catering to more than 50 lakh passengers every year, but lacks required facilities.

Jammu generates nearly 350 tonnes of garbage daily and tremendous increase in the solid waste generation is expected in the next decade. “As there is a shortage of manpower and lack of coordination between the JMC and JDA, it seems there will be no immediate respite from the menace of garbage in the area”, said a regular visitor to the area.

Jammu, August 4
The academic session 2014-15 for various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in agricultural sciences, veterinary sciences and biotechnology commenced at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)-Jammu today.

The entrants and faculty members were quite enthusiastic on their first day at the SKUAST-Jammu. The university campuses at Chatha and RS Pura wore a festive look as the entrants registered themselves for different courses.

“The varsity is organising a three-day orientation programme beginning tomorrow. On the first day of the orientation programme, students will be introduced to the faculty and the ethos of the institution. Prof PK Sharma, Vice Chancellor, will also interact with the entrants on the last day of the orientation programme on August 7,” a university official said.

This year, two foreign scholars joined the university for pursuing masters in agricultural economics and plant breeding and genetics. These students have been sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Union Ministry of External Affairs.

Besides, under the NRI and the Indian Council of Agricultural (ICAR) quotas, many students from other states have also joined the university for undergraduate and postgraduate professional courses.

The official said the admission process for PhD programmes in different disciplines would start in November-December. The university offers PhD in 23 disciplines. The university has also decided to introduce skill imparting certificate courses in beekeeping, mushroom cultivation and plant nurseries from this year.

Srinagar, August 4
Rohit Kansal, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here on Monday.

An official statement said Kansal briefed the Governor about the prevailing law and order situation in Kashmir and the status of the important developmental projects going on in the Valley.

Srinagar, August, 4
Prof AM Shah, acting Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, called on Governor NN Vohra, Chancellor of the university, at the Raj Bhawan on Monday.

Shah briefed the Governor about various important matters concerning ongoing academic and co-curricular activities in the university and administrative issues, according to a press note.

The Governor urged Shah to work for the continuous upgrade of academic and co-curricular standards in the university and maintenance of discipline on all fronts.

Srinagar, August 4
Governor NN Vohra today laid the foundation stone of a development centre for people with disabilities, Zaiba Aapa Institute of Inclusive Education, at Semthan in Bijbehara, Anantnag.

The centre, according to an official press note, is a project being built under the aegis of the Humanity Welfare Organization Helpline with the objective of providing educational and rehabilitation services, vocational training, teacher training and professional services to facilitate the differently abled.

The Governor congratulated Javed Ahmad Tak, social activist and honorary chairman of the Humanity Welfare Organization Helpline, for the success of his endeavours to establish an institution for the rehabilitation of the differently abled. The Governor also complimented Sakina Itoo, Minister for Social Welfare, for securing the state Cabinet approval for providing 3 per cent reservation in jobs to differently abled people. In this context, he reiterated the collective responsibility of the government and the entire society for taking all necessary steps for securing the rehabilitation of challenged persons.

The Governor stressed the need for sustained focus for evolving policies and programmes which fully meet the requirements of differently abled persons. In this regard, he urged the Minister for Social Welfare to organise a district-wise census for generating category-wise data of differently abled people. Such information can be used to evolve relevant government programmes for upgrading the lot of the specially abled persons, he added.

The Governor appreciated the high quality of cultural and sports programmes presented by differently abled boys and girls of the institution. He informed Tak that the upcoming Institute would be provided with the necessary support.

Earlier, the Governor was briefed about the design of the upcoming institue by its architect, Irshad Majeed, and the facilities which would be provided for differently abled persons. Itoo thanked the Governor for his philanthropic support and resolve to work untiringly for the welfare of the disadvantaged sections of society. She also congratulated Tak for being persistent in helping differently abled people to enable them to live their life with dignity and respect.

Abdul Gaffar Sofi, MLA, Homshalibugh, appreciated efforts of Tak in working zealously for the welfare of differently abled people and assured his continuous support to the organisation.

Zakia Manzoor and Ifla Jan, students of the institution, presented the welcome address and vote of thanks, respectively.

Bashir Ahmad Veeri, MLC; Vijay Kumar, DIG, south Kashmir; Bashir Ahmad Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag; and Sheikh Junaid, SSP, Anantnag, were also present on the occasion.

Srinagar, August 4
As militancy in Kashmir completes 26 years, it hints at fewer signs of an immediate end and growing chances of a transition to modern pan-Islamism.

Kashmir’s militancy, which is currently running short of a fighting arsenal of manpower and material, is now reaching a critical evolutionary stage where it is moving away from its traditional supporter, Pakistan.

On July 31, 1988, two low-intensity bombs blasted through the silence of Srinagar city and triggered an era of insurgency and counter-insurgency.

Through these years, the region’’s militancy has depleted from a commandeering position it held in the early 1990s and underwent evolutions from being a by-the-book urban and guerrilla war involving hit-and-run attacks to a more advanced urban warfare involving fidayeen-version commando raids.

Militancy with its base camp in Pakistan has survived a series of hard security crackdowns and several bouts of infighting, which marred it since inception.

Militancy in the recent years has also gone through a generational shift as most of the cadres who are now leading the fight are young men.

In 2014, the 26th year of Kashmir’’s militant movement, there are emerging signs of a new evolution as new players are hinting at making entry into this shrinking theatre of war and old players have made a welcome call. The sign of a developing undercurrent is that Pakistan’’s green and white flag is increasingly vanishing from the protest scenes in Kashmir region while Al-Qaida’’s black flag has started making appearances.

Syed Salahuddin, one of the oldest surviving militant commander and chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, recently made an unprecedented statement saying that the militants in Kashmir would welcome the “helping hand” of the Al-Qaida and Taliban. The statement assumed significance as it was issued at a time when the Pakistani army is battling Al-Qaida-linked Taliban militants in its tribal belt.

Salahuddin, who is also the chairman of the United Jehad Council – the militant version of a unified command headquarter - is the first Kashmiri militant chief to welcome the Al-Qaida and Taliban, whose goal is a transnational militancy aimed at creating an overarching Islamic state.

The Al-Qaida and its affiliate groups have also expressed desire to enter Kashmir issuing a series of Kashmir-centric statements since last year. The most elaborate statement from the Al-Qaida was issued last month when Al-Qaida’s Maulana Asim Umar warned that the global militant group would “continue the fight” in Kashmir.

Al-Qaida’s statement and Salahuddin’s subsequent welcome is a low point in strained relations between Pakistani state supporters and Kashmiri militants, who had faced a crackdown when military dictator Pervez Musharraf decided to take an overnight U-turn of the country’s policies after 9/11.

After 26 years, as Kashmir’’s militancy is running short of men with the number of active militants having sharply come down to a figure of under-100, any new entry of battle-hardened militants from the Af-Pak, as warned by security experts, may give it a boost and change its dynamics.

Tosa Maidan (Budgam), August 4
Amid controversy over extension of lease to the biggest firing range in the vast meadows here, what is going unnoticed is that the vast forests in the area have been allegedly cut down by timber smugglers over the years.

In the forest range leading to Tosa Maidan, also known as the king of meadows, around 40 per cent of the forest has been devastated, according to scientists of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST).

In the dense forests of the Pir Panjal range, one can see that most of the trees have been cut with half of their portion intact or have burnt stumps.

The modus operandi of the timber smugglers is simple. The trees are made to dry by removing the bark at the base which leads to the death of the tree.

“The vast meadows and its surroundings exhibit a gloomy, grim and unattractive picture as almost 40 per cent of the forest has been severely devastated by illicit timber smuggling and illegal extraction of firewood,” said Farooq Ahmed Lone, who led a group of scientists working at the Centre for Climate Change and Mountain Agriculture, SKUAST, Kashmir, to Tosa Maidan.

They conducted a study under a project on resource mapping of Budgam district in November last year. “If the situation goes unabated, the entire forest range will turn barren within the next 10 years,” he added.

He said a large chunk of the forest in the area had gone treeless, affecting the ecology of the area.

“A little rainfall or snowfall is enough to trigger a big landslide on steep slopes,” Lone added.

Ghulam Rasool, chairman of the Tosa Maidan Bachao Front (Save Tosa Maidan Front), who has been pressing for the shifting of the over five-decade-old firing range to some other place, said many compartments in the area had been damaged over a period of time.

“Last year, we launched an awareness campaign among locals who were involved in timber smuggling, following which it has been controlled to a large extent,” Rasool said. He alleged that politicians had been patronising these smugglers.

Range Officer, Suknag, Mohammad Ashraf Parrey said the damage to the forest was caused after the eruption of militancy.

“But now we have controlled it to a large extent. Last year, we booked nearly 10 people under the Public Safety Act who were involved in timber smuggling. This has conveyed a message and we have been able to bring down smuggling to a large extent,” Parrey added.

A Forest Department official said they had fenced 48,000 feet of the forest area to curb smuggling. “Besides, 95,050 trees have been planted in the forest area,” he added.

Baramulla, August 4
The Roads and Buildings Department, which owns poplar trees on either side of the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway, is yet to complete the process of removing decayed trees.

Rows of slim and tall poplar trees on either side of the 60-km Baramulla-Srinagar highway have adorned the road, adding to its natural splendour.

The long rows of trees not only add to the environmental richness, but also generate revenue. Besides providing wood, the poplar trees planted decades ago impart strength to this road.

The swerving road to north Kashmir attracted Bollywood in the 1960s and the 1970s, which showcased the locales in various feature films.

The scene along the highway, which forms part of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, presents a grim scenario with some of the trees decaying.

In the early 1980s, the state government had planted Australian and Russian poplar trees in place of then decaying trees. These trees are now posing a risk to people travelling on the highway.

During high-speed winds, various decayed poplar trees fell, posing a serious threat to life and property. The decayed trees hindered traffic movement whenever these fell on the highway.

Following high-speed winds last month, Baramulla Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Lone had said the district administration passed directions to departments concerned to look into the matter on priority.

“I have taken up the issue with various departments. They will identify dead trees. I have told the Roads and Buildings Department to look into the issue seriously,” Lone had said.

Despite clear directions from the district administration, the Roads and Buildings Department is yet to complete the process of removing decayed trees from the highway.

Nissar Hussain, Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings Department, said a survey of decayed trees was underway and the department would auction the trees as soon as the process was completed.

“The field staff headed by the Assistant Executive Engineer is conducting a survey of decayed trees and the process is still on. The survey could not be completed due to Ramadan,” he said.

“It will take around 15 more days to complete the survey. As soon the survey is completed, we will auction the decayed trees,” he said.

Srinagar, August 4
The J&K government has ordered a minor reshuffle in the administration. The transfers have made after a nod from the Election Commission of India.

Hassan Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Leh, has been transferred and posted as Project Director, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Leh; Nasir Ahmad Naqash, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, has been transferred and posted as Special Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department.

Ravinder Kumar Bhat, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, has been transferred and posted as Additional District Development Commissioner, Baramulla.

Rajinder Singh Tara, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, has been transferred and posted as Regional Director, Survey and Land Records (ex-officio Settlement Officer), Jammu, vice Rajesh Kumar Shavan.

Munir-ul-Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, holding additional charge of the post of Additional District Development Commissioner, Pulwama, has been posted as Additional District Development Commissioner, Pulwama, on full-time basis.

Mohammad Harun Malik, awaiting orders of adjustment in the General Administration Department, has been transferred and posted as Regional Director, Survey and Land Records (ex-officio Settlement Officer), Srinagar, vice Mohammad Shafiq Chak.

Reyaz Ahmad Wani, awaiting orders of adjustment in the General Administration Department, has been transferred and posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, vice Nasir Ahmad Naqash.

Shahbaz Ahmad Mirza, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, has been transferred and posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal,in place of Ravinder Kumar Bhat.

Rajesh Kumar Shavan, Regional Director, Survey and Land Records (ex-officio Settlement Officer), Jammu, has been transferred and posted as Deputy Labour Commissioner (Central), against an available vacancy.

Mohammad Shafiq Chak, Regional Director, Survey and Land Records (ex-officio Settlement Officer), Srinagar, has been transferred and posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama.

Katra, August 4
The Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi district, emerging as the second major shrine after Vaishno Devi, is witnessing a heavy rush of devotees from various parts of the country.

Over 3,43,703 pilgrims visited the shrine from January 1 to August 3. This was stated by Rajinder Singh Tara, Reasi Additional District Development Commissioner and Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board vice-chairman.

He added that over 80,000 devotees paid obeisance during the month of ‘sawan’ (July-August). Over 7,000 devotees visited the shrine today, which was the last Monday of ‘sawan’.

As many as 3,000 pilgrims were going to Shiv Khori and the flow was expected to increase during Budha Amarnath yatra. A record number of pilgrims visited the shrine during the three-day Maha Shiv Khori Mela.

Tara said a large number of development activities were going on in the area. The projects included accommodation for employees, rain sheds en route, a pony stand at Shiv Khori, a bus and taxi stand and a master town plan for Ransoo.

He said another holy cave had been discovered at Salal Khad, which had been named as Shri Shiv Prayag Shrine Salal Khad. He said the administration was making efforts to make people aware of this cave and ensuring development.

Srinagar, August 4
The last session of the Assembly is likely to begin in the summer capital here on August 25, as the next Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in November-December this year.

Sources said the session would be held for 10 days and continue up to September 5. The last budget session of the Assembly concluded in Jammu on March 4. It is mandatory that the next session is held within a period of six months. — TNS

Srinagar, August 4
Chairperson, Commission for Women, Shamim Firdous today conducted an extensive tour of the Habakadal constituency and took stock of the pace of developmental activities being carried out there.

During the tour, the chairperson visited Ganpatyar, Habakadal, Kharyar, Mallayaar, Badhyarbala, Kaka Road, Nai Sharak, Bashambar Nagar, Bilal Colony and Khayam Road.

Taking stock of the pace of work on the Primary Health Centre, Habakadal, she directed the executing agency to accelerate the pace of work ensuring its timely completion. She asked the PHE and PDD authorities to lay water pipes, remove worn-out poles and repair LT lines of the area.

Shamim Firdous announced Rs 20 lakh, out of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), for the construction and repair of lanes and drains in the area. Various individuals and deputations also met Shamim Firdous during the tour and apprised her of their needs.

Among others, officials of the Public Health and Engineering Department, Power Department, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Roads and Buildings Department and Housing Department accompanied the chairperson.

Rajouri, August 4
Residents of Ward No 2 today staged a protest alleging that the Power Development Department (PDD) and the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Departments have failed to provide power for 16 hours as per their schedule.

Rajouri city has been facing power cuts almost during the entire day. This has affected the supply of drinking water in the city.

The residents of the ward gathered at the main Abdullha bridge and blocked the traffic on the Jammu-Poonch highway. They said despite several promises of improving the supply system, the officials concerned failed to keep up their promises and people were facing acute shortage of power and water in the summer.

They alleged that unregistered Air Conditioning connections in nexus with linemen had disturbed the power supply in the city as the department had been supplying power according to the registered load.

According to an official information, the present consumption of power in Rajouri district is between 75-78 MW, while the department is receiving power between 40-42 MW, which is overburdening the transformers resulting in auto tripping.

“The supply of power is half than the consumption, which is causing many problems for us in Rajouri. We are in touch with the higher authorities to come out with some solution,” said a senior PDD officer.

The Station House Officer and the tehsildar rushed to the Abdullha bridge and pacified the protesters assuring them that the matter would be taken up with the officials concerned and soon their problems would be solved.

Inderjeet Singh, Sectional Engineer, said the department had been facing high increase in the consumption of electricity than the registered load, forcing the department to snap power supply in some areas.

Srinagar, August 4
The government is contemplating to install Global Positioning System (GPS) in all types of commercial vehicles in the state to check violations such as overloading, over-speeding, and plying against route permits.

This was disclosed in a review meeting of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution and Transport Departments chaired by Minister for CA&PD and Transport Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan here today.

The minister said the initiative aimed to ensure security and safety of passengers and was being introduced in the state shortly for which all commercial vehicles would have to install GPS in their vehicles. He said in this connection a control unit was being set up in capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu which would be monitored regularly to get the desired results.

Meanwhile, the meeting was informed that the Motor Vehicles Department had realised an amount of Rs 54.72 crore as registration fee, fine and challan during 2013-14, an official statement said.

The meeting was further informed that the government was contemplating to provide smart cards instead of present paper licence to the drivers.

The smart card would be fixed with a chip which will contain all necessary records pertaining to both the vehicle and the driver.

Taking review of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department, the minister laid emphasis on the need to further improve the system of stock and supply of foodgrains in the state.

For streamlining the system, Ramzan said 2,062 new ration sale centres were being set up in the state out of which 1,763 locations had been identified.

He said the sale centres would be made functional shortly. He said the aim and objective of opening new sale centres was to facilitate the consumers.

The minister said following complaints, a special task force was being constituted which would make surprise visits and checks to see the whether the deserving people were getting ration.

Srinagar, August 4
Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra Kumar said the police would provide active support to the traffic wing in view of shortage of manpower and also continue to provide the services of Special Police Officers (SPOs).

“The traffic wing has limited manpower and resources. Services of SPOs are being utilised to overcome the shortage of manpower. The SPOs are being imparted basic training in traffic management to cater to the requirements arising day by day. The services of SPOs will continue with the traffic wing,” Rajendra said while addressing a meeting of traffic police officers here today.

The meeting was convened to review the traffic management and improvement in traffic regulation in the state.

Stating that during the recent past, the flow of surface traffic has been on the rise that had doubled the responsibilities of the traffic police, Rajendra said: “Traffic management has become a daunting task all over the country, especially in the cities, and improvement with adoption of latest equipment and gadgets has become imperative.”

The meeting as per an official statement discussed various issues related to the improvement in traffic regulations in the state.

Earlier, IGP, Traffic, Muneer Ahmed Khan gave a detailed Power point presentation on the functioning of the traffic police. The IGP said coordination among different agencies and departments could help in avoiding road accidents. He said good road geometry, adherence to traffic rules and removal of road blockades could make the roads safer. He said various measures had been taken by the traffic police to regulate the surface traffic efficiently.

The working of the wing had been divided into different units, including rural, urban and national highway, he said, adding that the highway had been divided in sectors to ensure effective and quick response in the times of traffic jams and accidents.

Srinagar, August 4
The National Conference today said state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had a comprehensive and progressive vision for the development of Srinagar as a modern and growing city.

Party spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu, who was speaking to various delegations of college students and youth activists at the National Conference headquarters here, said the Chief Minister had also planned “simultaneous development” of rural areas in fields of education, healthcare, public infrastructure, roads and buildings.

“Unlike the PDP, the NC believes in the holistic development of the state and does not favour urban areas against rural areas or vice-versa,” the party spokesman said.

Mattu also accused the PDP leaders of plotting to “rob Srinagar of its political, cultural and economic centrality” by attempting to shift the state’s capital from Srinagar.

“Look around Srinagar and other towns across the state and see how many new shopping centres, retail outlets and hotels have come up, generating hundreds and thousands of new jobs. The youth today cannot be misguided by hollow rhetoric and brainwashing,” he said. 

Srinagar, August 4
The General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, on Monday said the four militants killed in the Keran sector of Kupwara district last week were trying to sneak into the Valley from across the border.

“The four militants killed in the Keran sector last week were infiltrators,” Lieutenant General Saha said at Manasbal in Ganderbal district. “This was an infiltration attempt which was foiled. We recovered eight AK-47 rifles, navigation equipment and rations from them,” he said.

After the operation was launched on Thursday, the Army were not sure initially whether it was an infiltration attempt or an exfiltration attempt. The four militants, whose identity was yet to be established, were the first group killed on the Line of Control in Kashmir this year.

The militants were killed in the Keran sector, 130 kilometres north-east of Srinagar, when they tried to sneak into the Valley. The operation, which was launched on Thursday, concluded on Sunday morning. Militants had made at least eight attempts to infiltrate into the Valley in the recent past, all of which were foiled by troops in various sectors of north Kashmir.

Referring to the recent attacks on policemen, Lieutenant General Saha said such incidents had been taking in the past as well. “Such incidents have been occurring in the past as well. We will always try to foil these and our aim is provide security to the people,” he said.

Rajouri, August 4
A rivalry between two brothers over some domestic problem took an ugly turn this afternoon when the younger brother attacked his elder brother with a sharp-edged knife at Kha village under the jurisdiction of the Rajouri police station.

Police sources said on Sunday a verbal duet between Sanjay and his elder brother Vikram turned violent and Sanjay attacked his brother with a knife resulting in critical injuries to Vikram. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital from where doctors referred him to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu.

Srinagar, August 4
The Controller, Drugs and Food Control Organisation, Srinagar, today issued a notice ordering discontinuation of sale and usage of Neomin Plus Bolus drug.

According to a government spokesman, the organisation has asked the public in general and the stakeholders to discontinue usage and stop sale of Neomin plus Bolus drug samples manufactured by Minil Laboratories Pvt Ltd.

The drug was not found of the standard quality by the government analysts, the spokesman said. “The dealers who are in possession of any stock of the said drug should inform the local drug authorities along with procurement details to help the department for effecting product recall,” he said. 

Srinagar, August 4
Schools and colleges across Kashmir opened today after a 20-day-long summer vacation. The authorities earlier had extended the vacations following rise in temperature in the Valley.

Before the announcement of summer break, the Valley schools and colleges witnessed huge protests over Gaza killings which spread to other institutions and colleges. Separatists alleged that the government extended the vacation as it didn’t want protests to spread that could have led to violence.

However, officials denied the allegations by separatists saying that unfavourable weather conditions were the sole reason behind extension. The summer vacation in the Valley was announced from July 15 to July 31, which was later extended till August 2. — OC