Srinagar, September 1
The state government is contemplating to increase the monthly pension of senior citizens under the state sponsored Integrated Social Security Scheme (ISSS).

As per official statistics, out of 4,22,500 senior citizens registered with the Social Welfare Department, only 1,46,804 are drawing financial benefits.

The Social Welfare Department in a written reply to a question during the just concluded session of the state legislature stated that the state was providing Rs 200 per head on a monthly basis to the senior citizens under both the Plan and non-Plan Budget under the ISSS.

The matter of an increase in the monthly pensions has been taken up by the Social Welfare Department with the State Planning and Development Department, it added.

The Union Government has enhanced the Central share of monthly pension of old age citizens from Rs 200 to Rs 500 in the age group of 80 years and above.

Senior citizens in the age group of 60 to 79 years are getting a monthly pension of Rs 300 from the Centre under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.

The department statistics reveal that the approved number of beneficiaries under Indira Gandhi pension scheme was 1,29,000.

An exponential rise in the number of old widows and destitute women during the last two decades of turmoil has particularly led to women being a majority of the beneficiaries under the above two schemes, the department stated.

However, over 1 lakh old age women and widows in state are awaiting the monthly financial benefits.

The government had constituted a committee on July 26, 2011 for the quick disposal of cases. But three years on, the committee has yet to submit its report to the government and the fate of the pending cases is still unknown.

Jammu, September 1
Security arrangements were beefed up and some traffic restrictions were done in the city today due to the two-day visit of President of India Panab Mukharji to J&K. Security forces had stopped all unauthorised movement in and around the University of Jammu, which the President visited for convocation, since morning.

Contingents of the CRPF and state police have been deployed in strength throughout Jammu and Kashmir and the authorities have also imposed traffic restrictions on many heavy-traffic roads as part of the security arrangements.

Vehicles entering the city from Akhnoor, Nagrota and other areas were checked by Army troops and local police. The staff at all the check posts have been alert for the last two days and vigilantly checking and frisking all the vehicles and suspected people in the city.

Tourists and devotees coming here for the Vaishno Devi Shrine pilgrimage, too, complained of hardships because of restrictions on movement in the city.

The road connecting Bikram Chowk to the police headquarters has been closed since morning and no private vehicle was allowed to enter the road. All the minibuses and other vehicles were diverted towards the Gandhi Nagar-Police Lines road.

Traffic in the rest of the city remained as usual.

Jammu, September 1
Governor NN Vohra today briefed President Pranab Mukherjee on important issues relating to the state. The President, who arrived here on a two day visit of the state, presided over the 14th convocation of the University of Jammu today afternoon.

President Pranab Mukherjee being briefed by Governor NN Vohra about issues relating to the state on Monday. A Tribune Photograph

The Governor particularly briefed the President about the obtaining and emerging internal and external security situation, status of various important socio-economic development schemes and programmes, issues of governance and the challenges facing the education and health sectors.

Vohra also informed the President about issues relating to higher education and functioning of the universities in the state.

Earlier, the President was received at the Technical Airport by the Governor, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand and Cabinet ministers, AR Rather and Sham Lal Sharma, besides Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, General Officer Commanding of the Northern Command Lt Gen, DS Hooda, Director General of Police K Rajendra, Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, were also present in the reception.

The President’s entourage comprised of higher officials, including Thomas Mathew, Additional Secretary to the President, Venu Raja Mony, Press Secretary to the President, Major General, Anil Khosla, Military Secretary to the President, among others.

Jammu, September 1
Governor NN Vohra hosted an ‘At Home’ for President Pranab Mukherjee at the Raj Bhawan, here today.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah; Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Mubarak Gul; Chairman of the Legislative Council Amrit Malhotra; Chief Justice of the J&K High Court MM Kumar; Ministers; Judges; legislators; senior officers of the civil and police administration; central police forces; Army; ex-servicemen; eminent representatives of the civil society; Vice Chancellors among others were present on the occasion.

Jammu, September 1
Underlining knowledge and its related themes —- human and intellectual capital —- as key ingredients of success, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said higher education institutions and young intellectuals were the vanguards of change towards the holistic development.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah speaks at the convocation.

Addressing a gathering of scholars, faculty, educationists, students among others at the 14th Convocation of Jammu University here this evening, Omar said human agency along with dynamic institutions evolve the permutation and combination that leads to creativity.

President Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest on the occasion. Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chancellor of Jammu University, was also in attendance.

Omar said universities were the hardware while the students and intellectuals were its software. “Both exist in a symbiotic relationship and find sustenance and nourishment from each other. No one is immune from the winds of change,” he said, adding that those who do not master this change would be “severely disadvantaged”.

Omar said in the present world order we must “shine within” to “radiate outward”. “We must allow wide space and scope for human agency and unleash the creative potential to attain new highs,” he said.

The Chief Minister said an institutional matrix complemented by a dynamic policy design and process, especially in the domain of education, was the prelude to the required transformation.

He said Jammu and Kashmir had great institutions of learning and development and people were proud inheritors and legates of the glorious intellectual tradition that goes back to a millennia.

“It is these fine traditions and legacies that we need to build upon and use as catalysts for a more vigorous transformation,” Omar said, elaborating that this could happen once the intellectuals and others hold hands together and master the change.

“In this scheme the young generation and young intellectuals have a significant role to play, which is full of responsibilities and calls for co-evolution of institutions, student community and intellectual fraternity,” he said.

The Chief Minister said students equipped with knowledge and understandings have to take on the world with confidence and determination.

Wishing the passing out students success, Omar advised them to face all challenges and difficulties bravely and confidently.

“The degrees, which you will get, are the result of hard work, dedication and scholarly endeavours that validate your intellectual capacities, capabilities and academic credentials and integrity,” he said.

“This, however, is just the beginning. The more significant challenges lie ahead. Armed with knowledge, new skill sets and the ability to think critically and clearly you will now find yourselves at the centre stage of a transformed world.”

“The challenges are immense and profound. I have no doubt in my mind that all of you will take these on with gusto, make us proud and create an even better tomorrow for yourselves and the world at large,” Omar said.

Jammu, September 1
The 14th convocation of the University of Jammu, the country’s first ISO-certified institute of postgraduate studies and higher learning, witnessed great enthusiasm among students and faculty members, especially degree and medal recipients and their parents.

Governor NN Vohra presents a medal to a student.

In the convocation, held after a gap of seven years, 68 candidates who completed their Ph.D in 2013 from the faculty of science, life sciences, arts, business studies, social sciences, mathematical sciences and education were awarded the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The candidates were awarded the University Gold Medals, cash rewards and medals created out of the endowments for 2013.

The 12 students who were the faculty toppers were awarded the University Gold Medals by the President.

Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chancellor of the university, gave Ph.D degrees and 25 gold medals to the candidates while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Omar Abdullah, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the university, awarded 28 candidates with gold medals.

Felicitated: Rahul Kumar and Aakanskha Mahajan

General Zorawar Singh Auditorium, the venue of the event, reverberated with applause when two students, Aakanskha Mahajan from faculty of medical sciences and Rahul Kumar from the faculty of music and fine arts were awarded gold medals by the President.

Aakanskha Mahajan, a MBBS student, won seven gold medals, including the University Gold medal, while Rahul Kumar, a visually impaired student of Masters in Arts, got the University Gold medal.

“I want to pursue M.Phil and Ph.D courses in music and fine arts which are not available in Jammu and Kashmir. I am not in a position to go outside state for pursuing these courses and it is disappointing for me,” Kumar said after the end of the Jammu University convocation.

Students are all smiles after the convocation ceremony in Jammu on Monday; (left) Students pose with their degrees.

Jammu, September 1
In a writ petition filed by three non-selected candidates, who had applied for the posts of inspector in the Industries and Commerce Department, the High Court decided an issue of constitutional importance.

While repelling the contentions of the writ petitioners about the allocation of high marks in the interview process arbitrarily, the High Court observed that since the petitioners have participated in the process of selection with full knowledge as regards the criteria fixed by the board, they cannot be permitted to turn around and challenge the same, after their failure.

The judgement was passed by Justice DS Thakur after hearing advocate CM Koul for the petitioners and KM Bhatti and Anil Sethi for the board. The selected candidates observed that in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the non-selected candidates cannot challenge the criteria, once they have participated in the selection process.

While repelling the other pleas of the petitioners as regarding exaggerated marks having been given to the selected candidates, the court observed that the interview committee comprised of three members, who had distributed equal marks among themselves for the purpose of fixing the marks allotted to all the competing candidates.

Jammu, September 1
Only those eligible candidates whose names have been uploaded on the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) web portal by the state government would be considered for the award of scholarship by the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry under the Special Scholarship Scheme (SSS) for the students of J&K.

Sources said as per the revised guidelines issued by the Central ministry for the academic year 2014-15, those candidates who have taken centralised admission to institutes/colleges approved by the AICTE, University Grants Commission (UGC) or any other regulatory authority would be considered for the award of scholarship, as per the ceiling of number of scholarships specified, stream-wise, in the scheme.

Further, students admitted to Centrally-funded institutes/universities on their own and by virtue of their own merit at the national-level would also be considered for the award of scholarship.

Sources added that the HRD Ministry has made it clear that students pursuing courses through open universities would not be eligible under the scheme. Further, students availing themselves of other scholarships schemes would not be eligible for availing themselves of this scholarship scheme.

“To avoid bunching up of students in any institute, it has been decided that for the year 2014-15 the students of J&K would be granted admission under the supernumerary quota in the AICTE and UGC approved institutes. Only those students admitted to such institutions would avail themselves of the benefit of the scheme. Thus, to avoid bunching up of students in any one particular institute and to have an even distribution of students in various institutes across the country, only two students in a particular institute/university would be awarded the scholarships under this scheme”, a source claimed.

The scholarship scheme envisages building capacities of the youth of J&K to enable them to compete in the normal course. Scholarships to meet the expenditure towards tuition fees, hostel fees, cost of books and other incidental charges would be provided to the students, who, after passing Class XII or equivalent examination, secure admission in government colleges/institutions and other select institutions outside the state.

The components of scholarship for every scholar under the scheme would be — tuition fees: up to Rs 30,000 per annum for general degree courses; up to Rs 1.25 lakh per annum for engineering courses and up to Rs 3 lakh per annum for medical studies.

Jammu, September 1
Jammu residents woke up to a pleasant morning today as an early morning showers drenched and cooled the city giving some respite to people from sweltering heat and humidity. The skies finally opened up after weeks and it poured in the temple city.

Though, the rainfall was scanty during the day, but hovering clouds brought down the temperature and people were overjoyed as for the past few weeks weather was quit sultry, while frequent power cuts have been making the life more miserable for the people in such hot conditions.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 35°C, while the minimum temperature was 24°C. Weatherman predicts that the weather will remain cloudy with occasional rains from September 2 to 7. The maximum temperature will remain between 30°C and 33°C, while minimum temperature will remain between 20°C and 22°C.

"It was a soothing experience as we had not seen rains for a long time now. Though there is only a little dip in temperature, but it was a good thing,” said Rahul Gupta, a marketing executive with a telecom company.

This year monsoon has not been strong and the season remained mostly dry, which has affected the farmers cultivating paddy. In most of the places in Jammu, people were waiting for rain as the hot weather was becoming quite unbearable.

“We hope that rains lash the city during the next few weeks so that we can spent our time without facing the heat. Its always pleasant when it rains in Jammu,” said Sakshi Mehra, a college student.

Jammu, September 1
The Jammu Joint Students Union (JJSU) today staged a protest alleging corruption and lobbying by managements in government colleges in Jammu.

Led by the union’s state vice-president Nitish Sharma, protesting students raised slogans against the Higher Education Department for its failure to take necessary steps and action against the people involved in corruption.

Speaking on the occasion, Sharma alleged that the college administrations have allowed some selected people to run canteen services in the colleges, who are serving poor quality food to the students. He alleged that even academic scene is quite shocking as most of the teachers skip their regular classes and force students to take tuitions.

Meanwhile, protesting leaders also alleged that Higher Education Minister Mohammad Akbar Lone is shielding “corrupt” principal of Government College for Women (GCW), Parade, by maintaining status quo, despite she being booked by the Vigilance Department in a corruption case. They demanded a stern action against the principal.

Rajouri , September 1
With an eye on the forthcoming Assembly elections, the district unit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) here organised a roadshow from Rajouri to Thanamandi on Sunday.

The roadshow was led by PDP district president Abdul Qayoom Dar and party’s candidate for the Rajouri Assembly segment advocate Qanwar Hussain Chowdhry.

At Thanamandi, the PDP leaders sought the support of people for achieving mission “50 plus”. “We are committed to highlighting peoples’ problems in the Assembly and want to get freedom from corruption and inflation which is at its peak in the Omar Abdullah-led government,” Dar said.

The party cautioned people against the evil designs of the Congress and the National Conference and alleged that both the parties were propagating “divide and rule policy” in the state.

“Like his father and grandfather, Omar is also adopting the policy of raking up emotive issues to divert peoples’ attentions from their failure and the only achievement of his government is legalisation of corruption,” said Qanwar Hussain.

“The so called young and honest Chief Minister has created a history by heading the worst ever corrupt government in the state,” he said.

Abdul Rashid Shawl, Master Prem Nath Sharma, Master Iqbal Shah, Haji Jamsheed, Zubair Shah, Ashok Sharma, Tahir Lone, Anum Mirza, Qazi Khursheed, Nazar Mir, Rashid Thakkar, Iqbal Raina, Ch Maneer, Ch Riaz, Hanief Jatt, Majid Malik and Tazeem Dar were part of the event.

Handwara, September 1
Eighteen families of Ringpath village in Kupwara district are having sleepless nights as the land around their houses is developing cracks for the last two weeks.

The locals said cracks were widening constantly posing a serious threat to their life and property. They demanded that a team of experts from the Geology and Mining Department should visit the village and the government should take necessary measures to rehabilitate them at some other place.

“We met the Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, with a request to take some measures and rehabilitate the affected families, but nothing has been done so far. We are having sleepless nights as the land is caving in, posing serious threat to our houses and lives,” said Abdul Aziz, a local.

Itrat Hussian Rafique, Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, said, “Samples of soil have been taken from the affected spot and the result is awaited. People need not panic as a team of experts had already visited the village and ruled out any eventuality.”

Some families said they were staying with their relatives in the adjoining village for the past two weeks to avoid any eventuality. “The cracks are constantly widening and in such a situation it will be immensely disastrous to stay in houses, especially during nights. A team of expert should visit the village to ascertain causes behind such development. We urge the authorities to take immediate measures to do away with such precarious situation,” said Mohammad Ramzan, a local resident.

Around 240 families live in Ringpath village, 16 km from Handwara town. “The cracks were noticed a few days after incessant rains lashed the village and other parts of Kupwara district three weeks ago. Since then the cracks are widening,” said Abdul Hamid.

Srinagar, September 1
A ‘Live 3D Road Trip’ was kick-started here today to introduce arts tourism in the country. The 47-day trip will end in Kerala after traversing 19 cities where it will showcase 3D art.

The event was inaugurated at Zabarwan Park on the banks of the Dal Lake after a group of artists painted a 3D sketch. The three dimensional effects were more apparent after viewed through a 3D sheet.

Director, Tourism, Talat Parvez said this form of art tourism was very popular abroad, especially in European countries. He said events of this kind would also keep Kashmir tourists engaged in other activities besides sightseeing.

Commissioner Secretary, Tourism, Shailendra Kumar, who inaugurated the event, said the road trip besides popularising this form of art, which was still in infancy, would also publicise Srinagar from the tourism point of view as the trip was scheduled to pass through 19 cities.

Guinness World Record holder Limnesh Augustine, who was present at the inaugural event, said the art form was new but was getting more popular with every passing day.

Amit Wanchoo, CEO of Space Communications that hosted the event along with the Tourism Department, said they had made a beginning and in the long run would also open new vistas for the tourism fraternity of the Valley.

He said the schoolchildren who attended the event showed keen interest. He said they would try to hold programmes of this kind in the future as well.

Rajouri, September 1
Students of Government Degree College, Budhal, today held a protest against the state government and the Higher Education Department officials, demanding completion of the college building at the earliest.

After several agitations by the people of the Budhal and Kotranka areas, the state government had established a degree college at Budhal in 2009.

It was started in the building of Government Higher Secondary School, Budhal. The government and the Higher Education Department had promised to provide infrastructure to the college within two years.

Students said the government had failed to provide infrastructure to the college as a result of which the students were suffering.

They said the college administration was finding it difficult to run the classes in the school building.

The protesting students today met the Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri to apprise him of the situation.

They alleged that for the first two years the government had failed to select land for the college building.

They said the construction work, started after identifying the land about three years ago, was in its initial stage.

“As the construction work is going on at a slow pace, it will take another three years to complete it, which will badly affect the studies of the students whose strength has been increasing every year. We have warned the authorities of a large protest if the construction work was not expedited,” said a student.

Prof Shakeel Raina, Principal of the college, said they had only five rooms for 277 students which had been creating inconvenience in running the classes smoothly.

“The matter has been taken up with the Roads and Buildings authorities as well as with the Director, Higher Education. The construction work is going on at a snail’s pace which is a matter of concern,” said Raina.

He added that due to shortage of accommodation, the science classes could not be started from this session.

Srinagar, September 1
More than 45 days since the National Conference (NC) released its first list of candidates for the Assembly elections, the ruling party is yet to decide the seats from where its working president and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will contest.

The NC issued its first list of 32 candidates on July 15. It released the second list of 14 candidates on July 23 and the third list of 15 candidates on August 16.

However, Omar’s name has not figured in any of the three lists so far as the party continues to search for a safe seat for the scion of the Abdullah family.

The ruling party, which faced a rout in the parliamentary elections in May, is considering “all factors” in at least three Assembly seats as Omar may contest from two of them.

Sources said the Ganderbal, Sonawar and Hazratbal Assembly seats continued to remain under serious consideration and Omar may be fielded from two of the three constituencies.

“At one stage, Sonawar and Hazratbal seats were clear, but it is again a chioce between the three constituencies,” a party insider said.

The party’s old guard, the sources said, wanted Omar to contest from the Abdullah family’s traditional stronghold of Ganderbal.

“Omar may be feeling an outsider in Ganderbal that is why he is showing reluctance and instead wants to contest from more urban Sonawar and Hazratbal constituencies,” the source said.

Sources said the parliamentary board of the party was likely to meet this week where the pending seats, including for Omar, would be decided.

“It is possible the meeting will be held as early as tomorrow evening,” the source said.

Omar had contested the 2008 Assembly elections from the Ganderbal constituency which is no longer considered a safe seat for him after the parliamentary elections result threw a rude shocker and highlighted the deep inroads made by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

The constituency has been a stronghold of the Abdullah family but threw a rare upset in 2002 when Omar lost his first Assembly election from Ganderbal.

The NC has so far announced the candidates for 61 of the 87 seats as it plans to contest the elections on its own. It has ruled out a pre-poll alliance with the coalition partner Congress.

Jammu, September 1
As the J&K Government is making new administrative units functional, no decision has been taken to create new units in left-out areas for which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had given assurance on the floor of the House.

After the state Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) to create 659 new administrative units, people of different areas raised voice and demanded creation of new administrative units in their areas as well.

People of different areas of both the regions had demanded creation of new administrative units in their areas that included Jandrah in Jammu district and Wavoora area of Lolab in Kupwara district, who demanded tehsil and sub-division status for their areas.

Reacting to these demands, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had announced setting up of expert committee to look into the demands of left-out areas. On June 3, the government had set up a five-member Expert Committee with the Finance Commissioner, Industries and Commerce Department, as its chairman, while Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir and Directors of the Rural Development Departments of both the regions were made its members.

The Commissioner-Secretary Revenue Department was made member-secretary of the Expert Committee.

Over two months have passed and the expert committee is yet to come out with any kind of report.

“We have done our background work and the report is being finalised. We are trying our best to submit this report to the government as soon as possible,” said Khurshid Ganai, chairman of expert committee.

On being asked whether the report will be submitted before the elections, he said, “Yes, we are hopeful to submit it as soon as possible, but the decision to create new units lies with the state government.”

Jammu and Kashmir will be going to the polls in the next few months and there is fear among people that once the code of conduct is enforced this issue will die and these areas will not get new administrative units.

“It is highly unfortunate that the state government is yet to fulfil its promise vis-à-vis granting sub-division status to Jandrah. Many other deserving areas in the Nagrota Assembly segment were ignored while announcing new administrative units and it was assured by the Chief Minister that all left-out areas will be given due consideration, but nothing has happened so far,” said Anil Sharma, Jandrah sarpanch.

“Our people have been cheated by the government as they had suspended their agitation after the assurance from the government,” he said.

Banihal, September 1
The Adbee Markaz Kamraz (AMK), a conglomerate of 26 literary organisations of Jammu and Kashmir, has demanded inclusion of Kashmiri language as a compulsory subject in the school curriculum in all the Kashmiri speaking areas of Jammu province to promote and preserve the language.

In a resolution passed on the concluding day of the 35th Annual Conference on Kashmiri at Banihal yesterday, the Markaz also called for declaration of Kashmiri as a classical language.

It also sought setting up of the National Council for Promotion of Kashmiri language on the pattern of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu. The participants further asked the political parties of the state to define a policy vis-a-vis preservation of Kashmiri language and culture in their respective manifestos for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

During the two-day event a coordination committee was also framed for future activities to promote Kashmiri.

On the occasion, noted poet and writer Bashir Baderwahi was conferred this year’s “Sharaf-e-Kamraz” award for his contribution towards Kashmiri literature.

“Sharaf-e-Kamraz” award in the category of literary organisations went to “Jo-e Adab Kaij Nag Handwara” for its efforts to reach out to poets and writers of Kashmiri language in Handwara and Langate areas of Kupwara district.

This year’s “Khilat-e-Hanfi Sopori” was bagged by noted singer Waheed Jeelani for his contribution in promoting Kashmiri language and literature through music.

The award in the administration category went to Dr Farooq Ahmad Lone, Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, for his contribution towards promotion of Kashmiri language as an administrator.

Kashmir News Service (KNS) was conferred the “Khilat-e-Hanfi Sopori” award in the media category. The agency got the recognition for providing generous space for literary and cultural activities in Kashmir, which help in promotion and preservation of Kashmiri language and literature.

The “Mohi-u-din Hajni Gold Medal”, which is given to a student who tops the MA Kashmiri examination of Kashmir University, in collaboration with Kashmiri daily “Sangarmal” was given to Bilal Ahmad Shiekh.

Three more books — Soofi Shayri Te Rind Shamas (a monograph) by Zahir Banihali, Boyne Shejar and Dard Jigar both written by Zahir Banihali — were also released on the concluding day.

What the Bill seeks

The Bill seeks enhancement of pension from ~23,000 to ~28,000 and medical allowance from ~1,000 to ~5,000

Kupwara, September 1
Residents of several villages in frontier Kupwara district are facing problems due to the poor condition of roads.

The link roads which need metalling include those connecting Goonipora with Batpora, Shatpora-Manigah, Halmatpora-Dad Chak, Khurhama-Warnow, Kralpora-Meelyal, Kralpora-Guzriyal, Kralpora-Warsun and Dardpora with Zonarishi.

“It takes us about an hour to cover 8 km from Khurhama to Warnow. The road is full of potholes as it has not been repaired or metalled for the past over a decade,” said Mohammad Akbar Shah, a Warnow resident.

Similarly, the roads leading to Hafrada, Vilgam, Punzwa, Rajpora and Behnipora villages in Handwara tehsil of the district are in a bad shape.

Locals said the roads should be metalled at the earliest.

“It is backbreaking to travel on the road leading to Villgam from Handwara town. The road has become non-motorable. Despite repeated pleas to repair the road, the authorities choose to ignore our problems,” said Nasir Ahmad, a resident of Punzwa village.

Drivers said they had to repair their vehicles often as they get damaged due to the bad condition of the roads.

“Due to the dilapidated condition of the roads, we are forced to repair our vehicles at least once a week. Most of the link roads in Kupwara have become non-motorable but the department concerned is doing nothing to address the problem,” said Mehraj Ahmad Naik, a driver.

Residents complained that dust from the roads was causing chest complications among people.

Srinagar, September 1
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has recounted certain hard facts in the path of progress and development during his maiden tenure of six years, which will conclude with the next Assembly elections.

“We accept the fact with great difficulty… the fact that this is the last day of the last session of the 11th Assembly,” Omar said in his concluding speech in the House on Saturday. He said his government in the past nearly six years had done “many good things”, but still many good things remained undone. With the baggage of the “good and bad things” during his tenure, he held that the people would be deciding in the coming elections.

Though there were heated arguments in the House, the focus remained on the people’s verdict in next elections based on the performance of the NC-Congress coalition government since it took over on January 5, 2009.

“You have gone. Your days are numbered,” said Abdul Rehman Veeri, PDP leader, during a heated debate in the House. This was in obvious reference to the performance of the ruling parties in the last Lok Sabha elections. However, senior NC leader Nasir Aslam Wani quickly replied that it was “up to the people to decide”.

The Chief Minister mainly focused on improvement in the dismal power sector, fight against corruption and discernible improvement on the militancy and security situation fronts. “We entered this House to do for the people as much as possible...then we will go to the people whether we have done or undone…,” Omar said and referred to the achievements in different sectors. On militancy front, he said there was 80 per cent decline in militancy and despite difficulties the government continued its efforts to improve the situation.

On power sector, he said when he took over, there were power projects generating only 750 MW. Foundation for power projects to generate 1,500 MW was laid during the past six years, Omar said.

On the menace of corruption, Omar said it continued to be there though various measures were taken like RTI, PSGA, Vigilance Commission and other similar institutions were established to get rid of corruption to some extent. Enumerating his achievements, Omar said development had taken place in all areas of the state. 

Srinagar, September 1
Bhausaheb Bhawar (42), a resident of Maharashtra, has been cycling across the length and breadth of the country since 1993 with a mission to stop dowry and female foeticide.

In 1993, Bhawar sister’s marriage was broken because they could not arrange for her dowry. “The incident moved me. I belong to a poor family and due to the demand of dowry at the last moment, my sister couldn’t marry. We were all shattered,” said Bhawar, who reached Kashmir yesterday.

Bhawar thought of starting a social campaign with his cycle. “I have done social campaign tour of the country three times since 1993. Dowry and female foeticide is still practiced in India, particularly in villages where having a female child is considered a burden,” he said.

He said he would continue the campaign world-wide till he is alive. “At least if I meet only 100 people on my way and create awareness, that means a lot to me,” he said. He also gets help from the general public for his campaign.

He did three cross-country tours between 1993 and 2006 and set out on his fourth on January 1, 2007, from Mumbai.

Having no mobile or any other gadget, Bhawar has no contacts with his family. “I know they are happy with me. I am spending my life for a good cause. I wish nobody’s sister or daughter suffers in India due to these prevailing evils,” he said.

Bhawar, who reached the Valley yesterday, has been meeting people to spread message against these social evils. “I travel more than 50 km a day and meet 150 people on an average creating awareness among them against dowry and female foeticide. I depend on locals for help or sleep in temples or wherever I get a place,” he said.

Bhawar, who has spent 22 years of his life cycling, also plans to write a book on his travels at the end of his mission. “I will write about my journey at the end. I don’t need money or anything. I just need support from the common man to end these evils,” he said.

Srinagar, September 1
The proposed master plan of the historic Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar is on the backburner and is suffering due to paucity of funds. This was revealed by the Haj and Auqaf Ministry during the autumn session of the state Legislative Council.

The plan proposes to provide an additional capacity of 6, 500 persons to pray in the shrine. The Hazratbal Shrine usually remains overcrowded due to a huge rush of devotees on special festival occasions and prayer timings.

The official report by the Haj and Auqaf Ministry stated that the proposed plan of the famous shrine where the holy relic of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was believed to be stationed had already been drawn up by the chief architect and it had got the consent of all major stakeholders.

“That plan is awaiting implementation due to fund shortage,” the Haj and Auqaf Ministry stated this in a written reply to a question by Mustafa Kamal, MLA, Hazratbal.

The proposed master plan aims at adding area over the Sheeshkhana of the shrine with a capacity of 1,500 persons.

The design is also focused on the construction of a semi-basement and ground floor behind the southern archway. This will provide an additional capacity of 375 persons and special zone for women.

The plain includes construction of staircase from terrace floor slabs to open air prayer space. There is a suggestion of removal of Sheeshkhana stairs in the shrine to get additional space for prayers.

Srinagar, September 1
The Kashmir unit of the BJP today flayed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for questioning Centre’s decision to call off the talks with Pakistan.

A party statement issued here said: “Omar is playing to the galleries ahead of the Assembly elections. He knows his report card on the performance front is zero. He is indulging in rhetoric to gain sympathy.”

Stating that Omar should focus on local issues rather than “poking his nose” in the foreign policy of the country, the statement said: “Omar is raising non-issues to divert the attention of people from his dismal performance as the Chief Minister.” The statement also alleged that Omar was trying to appease the separatists ahead of polls to get political mileage. — TNS

Srinagar, September 1
The Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Kashmir, is organising a 21-day training programme on geospatial technologies from September 2 to 22.

The programme is sponsored by the Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS) Division of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

According to the organisers of the workshop, this type of specialised course in geospatial technologies of such duration is being organised for the first time at the University of Kashmir.

Head of the Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Kashmir, Ishtiyaq A Mayer, said, “Our department has established a state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS lab with special assistance from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Governemnt of India, under the DST-FIST programme and we are striving to establish it as a centre for excellence in application of geospatial technologies i.e. remote sensing, GIS and GPS in studies related to regional planning and development, geomorphology, climate change studies, disaster management, health, tourism and other socio-economic studies.”

Giving details about the event, Mayer added that about 30 faculty members, research scholars from the universities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi, besides others from SKUAST, NIT, University of Kashmir and affiliated degree colleges of the Valley were attending the 21-day training programme.

Eminent resource persons from the IIT-Mumbai, Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia, BITS, Aligarh Muslim University, and MD University, Rohtak, would be delivering lectures during the three-week programme.

Srinagar, September 1
The much-awaited Shri Pratap Singh (SPS) Museum building is awaiting inauguration for the past many years. The museum building has missed all deadlines and has not been inaugurated till date. As a result, priceless Kashmir's ancient treasure is gathering dust in the old building.

The construction of the new museum, estimated to cost Rs 28 crore, was started seven years ago when the then Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, laid its foundation stone at Lal Mandi, Srinagar, where the old SPS Museum building is located. The SPS complex is a five-storeyed building, which houses the museum and a library.

The new museum will incorporate advanced facilities such as central heating, landscaping andplush interior designs.However, to date only the exterior structure of the building has been completed and the layout work is still pending, awaiting approval from the higher authorities.

The Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, along with the Police Housing Corporation, have been entrusted with the responsibility of the construction of the museum, but nothing concrete has been achieved so far. The interior designing and layout work was assigned to a Mumbai-based consultancy firm, Matrika Design Collaborative, in 2008 and the executing agency for the project is the J&K Police Housing Corporation (JKPHC).

An official source while agreeing to the delay owed it to administrative failure. "This delay in the completion of work is causing many difficulties to us also. Priceless artifacts are gathering dust and due to insufficient space people don't have access to all artifacts," said a source.

According to officials, there are a total of 1,800 objects in the museum, including precious coins, paintings, arms and armoury, etc. The total area under the current museum building is around 11,000 sq m and the area under the new building is around 20,000 sq m.

As per the Chief Minister's monitoring cell, the physical verification report of the SPS Museum was conducted in April 2011 and the revised date of completion was set on May 2011. However, even after a gap of three years, the museum has missed many deadlines.

Expressing grief over the condition of priceless artifacts at the museum, visitors said the mess at the museum was annoying and they fear that Kashmir would lose its important historical assets to "administrative apathy."

"The artifacts at the museum are precious, but unfortunately the authorities have failed to take care of it," a visitor said. Researchers also expressed displeasure over its condition. "There are 10 separate galleries in the museum, including archaeology, painting, natural history, manuscript, anthropology, textile, decorative art and an open air archaeology gallery," said one of the visitor.

"Unfortunately, the condition of artifacts in the museum is in a bad shape. These precious treasures are losing charm due to the dilapidated conditions and lack of concern and proper maintenance by the government," said one of the visitors. However, the Director, Department Archives, Kashmir, was not available for comments. 

Srinagar, September 1
Furqan Qamar, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), on Saturday underscored the need and importance to focus on excellence in the higher education sector in order to serve the purpose of creating a good and humane society.

“Providing quality education to those aspiring to pursue higher studies or professional courses should be the prime objective of universities and colleges as students passing out from different educational institutions across the country now have the option to choose among the best institutions,” Qamar said while delivering his inaugural address during the 2nd post-ESE workshop on “Examinations & Evaluation Reforms” organised by the Examinations and Evaluation Wing of the Central University of Kashmir (CUK).

He said there were students who were craving for admission to colleges and other institutions, after completing schooling, but they don’t get it.

Those who spoke on the occasion included CUK Officiating Vice-Chancellor Mehraj-ud-Din, registrar M Afzal Zargar and controller of examinations Nazir Ahmad Gilkar.

Mehraj-ud-Din in his presidential address hailed the contribution of Qamar’s family in the development of education system in the Valley. He said the Government of India had expressed concern as none of the Indian universities figured in the top 200 universities functioning across the world. “All the Vice-Chancellors have been asked to strive hard for excellence in order to compete with the universities across the globe,” Mehraj said.

He urged Qamar to make the teachers of Central University of Kashmir part of the faculty exchange programmes in near future.

Srinagar, September 1
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Mubarak Gul today distributed certificates among the participants of Kashmir Gold Cup Taekwondo-2013. The function was held in the lawns of the Legislative Assembly in the city here.

Gul congratulated the players for bringing laurels to the state and for winning gold medals at various national and international championships. The Speaker hoped that the players of the state would continue to excel on national and international level, an official spokesman said.

Jammu, September 1
SOS Hermann Gmeiner School organised “Samvad” — a conversation with parents and students. The topic of the programme was how the child gets organised and disciplined. Principal of the school RK Dhar gave a brief speech on the topic.

Geeta Bhan, academic coordinator, highlighted the objectives of organising the programme. It was followed by a brainstorming session with parents. A question-answer session with students was also conducted. Rajinder Kumar Koul presented the vote of thanks. — TNS

Jammu, September 1
A two-day-long Pravesh Camp for Scouts and Guides started at MV International School today. In this opening address, ID Soni, state commissioner, J&K Bharat Scouts and Guides, motivated the students for scouting.

He said by joining this movement, the students will be able to develop emotionally, socially, mentally, physically and spiritually.

Sehaj Singh, state training commissioner, discussed the sequence of events and motivated the students for active participation in scouting.

Madmohan Sharma, zonal commissioner, laid stress on discipline and its importance in the life of every individual.

KL Sharma, headquarter commissioner, Kanchan Sharma, Guide trainer, and SS Slathia, trained Scout master, carried out the “pravesh training” for induction of 32 Scouts, 32 Guides and two teachers in the first batch of the movement from the school.

Earlier, Principal, KL Dogra expressed gratitude to Scouts and Guides officials for induction of the movement in the school. Gourav Abrol assured the state commissioner and his team of whole-hearted participation in all events organised for the cause of scouting and guiding.