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Floods leave trail of debris in Dal Lake backwaters
NC leaders hijacking relief meant for flood victims, says Karra
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GB Pant Hospital starts partial operations, opens OPD
Doctors go for ‘op clean’ in medical college
Police assist hospital admn in cleaning
‘Team Jammu’ reaches out to Saddal village survivors
JKCA members resent BCCI decision of shifting matches to Mohali
Post floods, Indo-Pak meet on LoC to chalk out return of stranded nationals
BSNL fails to find reason for snag in mobile network
Hit by calamity twice, family thankful for no loss of life
JK High Court issues notices to insurance companies
Gadkari meets Guv, promises all help for J-K
German Embassy to hold charity concert
Omar inspects dewatering operations
Army veterans hold rally in Kishtwar
Installation of gamma ray telescope begins in Ladakh
Classical instrument contest organised at Jammu varsity
J&K Bank opens ATM in Kulgam
Governor lauds devotion of Raj Bhawan staff
State seeks liberal allocation of annual plan funds
Sectt staff donate a day’s salary to CM relief fund GDC-Ramnagar beat Bishnah college in volleyball match NPSU burns effigy of Billawal Bhutto Army officer found dead in Akhnoor
Students block road, demand bus service State portal launched Carmel Convent School celebrates Peace Day IKST to send relief for flood victims DC suspends three AEEs Haj pilgrims’ Sept 24 flight postponed
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Floods leave trail of debris in Dal Lake backwaters
Srinagar, September 22 “At Mir Behri, the houses were submerged up to the second storey. While nearly 30 per cent of houses have collapsed completely, the remaining 70 per cent have collapsed partially. The houses here are mostly made of clay and clay bricks which are 50 to 80 years old. The reason is that we live in a notified area where getting permissions for new constructions and repairing of houses is a tough job. If somebody repairs or renovates a house, he has to spend four times more money as compared to other areas because of our location,” said Ghulam Hassan Kanu, president of the Mir Behri Welfare Society (MWS). He said the floodwater had receded, but people who had left the place to seek temporary shelter elsewhere, would now have to spend days and nights in the open sky. Stating that there were chances of collapsing of partially damaged houses as well, Kanu said the government should address their concerns at the earliest in view of the approaching winter season. As most of the population of the area is completely dependent on the cultivation of vegetables and fishing, they now fear that their livelihood too may be hit hard. “Vegetable fields have been destroyed and there will be no takers for floodwater fish in the coming days. Some of us also earn through handicrafts, but the floods took everything away. Our first priority was to evacuate our children and elderly and had to leave behind the food stock and valuables,” said Showkat Ahmad Kachoo, another resident. He said the government had to come forward in a big way so that Mir Behri residents were suitably rehabilitated. In distress
We live in a notified area where getting permissions for new constructions and repairing houses is a tough job. If somebody repairs a house, he has to spend four times more money as compared to other areas because of our
location. — Ghulam Kanu, chief, mir behri welfare society |
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NC leaders hijacking relief meant for flood victims, says Karra
Srinagar, September 22 In a statement, he said complaints were pouring in from the flood-affected areas that after surfacing from hibernation, NC leaders had started hijacking the relief material from the storage points at the Srinagar Airport, EDI Building, Pampore, Nigeen Club and the district headquarters at Budgam, Pulwama and Anantnag and were routing the same to their relatives and party workers instead of the people affected by the floods. “There are reports that NC leaders are not only pillaging the relief material coming through official channels, but are also snatching the relief material donated by various NGOs and civil society groups,” he said. He urged the administration to prevent selective distribution of relief by NC cadres. The PDP leader said as per media reports the son of a senior minister was pirating the relief material in Budgam and a NC legislator from Srinagar had recently visited the relief distribution point at EDI Building, Pampore, and walked away with a major chunk of the relief material meant for the flood-hit. “There are reports that the bulk of the relief material has been dumped at the official residence of the Chief Minister at the Gupkar Road where from it is being transported to the homes of NC leaders during the night,” he said. He said in another instance of political highhandedness, a senior NC minister recently locked several relief distribution points in Pulwama which were being managed by the local civil society groups. “The minister tried to take away the relief material and handed it over to NC cadres. However, she was forced to retreat after the locals protested,” He said the government had not paid heed to the suggestions made by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti during the recently held all-party meeting. “Distribution through religious and social organisations with proper coordination and monitoring could have ensured speedy and judicious distribution of relief to the affected,” he said. |
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3 doctors at Srinagar hospital used every trick to save lives of
infants
Srinagar, September 22 Managing the neonatal intensive care (NICU) unit at the hospital for three days from Saturday to Monday as the in charge paediatrician was her most harrowing and challenging experience, she says. Around 100 infants were admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital when it was inundated. “Iram and her two colleagues Sartaj and Tasleem are the unsung heroes who luckily were the best doctors to handle such disaster-like situations,” said Medical Superintendent of the hospital Muneer Masoodi. The most pressing moment came when the bulk oxygen supply to the NICU, which the hospital staff had salvaged from the ground floor, which was flooded, ran out and the infants began gasping for air. Floodwaters started entering the hospital premises around 3 am on Saturday night and within half an hour the ground floor was inundated, says Iram. Sensing the magnitude of the disaster, the hospital staff had managed to salvage eight oxygen cylinders from the flooded ground floor of the hospital and brought them to the NICU ward at the second floor. With the ground floor of the hospital almost filled with the floodwaters by Sunday morning, a chain of events and sequences began to unfold at the hospital. The first casualty was power supply, which snapped. Then the generators stopped functioning as they got submerged, Iram says. “The real crisis began when the oxygen supply in the hospital went off. The ventilators and the life-saving equipment at the NICU stopped working by Sunday morning, following which, we began giving oxygen from the bulk cylinder, which lasted for 15 hours,” says Iram, narrating the sequence of events which unfolded at the hospital from Saturday evening till Monday, when the first rescue boat was dispatched to the hospital by the Army. It was on Monday that the rescue efforts began at the hospital and patients from her ward were evacuated to Army Base Hospital at the nearby Badami Bagh Cantonment and Kashmir Nursing Home at the Gupkar road. Eight of the infants died at the Army hospital, bringing the death toll to 11. Three infants had died at the NICU till Monday morning. During the three days, Iram and her two colleagues, Tabassum Arif and Sartaj, used every trick in the book and wit to save the lives of the infants and newborns, admitted to the NICU. “The newborns need plenty of warmth. When the incubators went off, we handed over the infants to their parents to try the technique of kangaroo mother care where a mother keeps her newborn pressed to her body tightly for continuous warmth,” Iram said. As the drinking water supply and food items in the hospital had run short, with the canteen also getting inundated, the doctors and the attendants then drank dextrose saline water, which has 5 per cent dextrose and is used for treatment of dehydration. Asked about the most pressing moment when she was stuck at the hospital, Iram says, “The difficult moment came when the neonats who were on ventilators began gasping for breath as the bulk oxygen supply also went off.” When the ordeal at the hospital ended on Monday afternoon, Iram and her colleagues did not head home but followed their patients to Army Base Hospital. She was traced by her father at the Army hospital on September 10. |
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Doctors go for ‘op clean’ in medical college
Srinagar, September 22 The “Clean GMC” drive which kicked off today will continue till the entire ground floor of the main building is left sparkling clean. The doctors have taken the onus on themselves to clean the GMC and the associated hospital as a sense of duty towards their college, which has given the Valley some of its best doctors. In a fervent appeal to all current and former students of the college, head of the department of special preventive medicine Dr Muhammad Salim Khan said the college building badly needed immediate attention as almost the entire ground floor of the main college building had been submerged in water. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is unable to help out as it is currently short of manpower as well as machinery as its building had also been submerged. “We cannot wait for the administration to jump into action as we know everybody is facing a problem right now. The flood aftermath can be destructive if locals don’t jump into action, especially in the cleaning processes when the floodwaters leave the premises of the buildings,” Dr Khan
said. Muzaffar Ahmad, president of the GMC Students Union, said the union would extend its complete cooperation in helping clean the college premises, Meanwhile, some medical students and other volunteers also began cleaning the Bones and Joints Hospitals and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. |
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Police assist hospital admn in cleaning
Srinagar, September 22 Jawans from the Karan Nagar Police Station have been pressed into service to clean
OPD, emergency and ward blocks of the premises of the SMHS hospital to augment the manpower of the hospital for speedy cleaning. This drive will continue in other hospitals of Srinagar city also throughout the week. The Srinagar Police also launched a sanitation drive in Neelam
Chowk, Jehangir Chowk, Chotta Bazar, Suthra Shahi area and Karan Nagar
Chowk. A number of tippers along with 50 police personnel were deputed to undertake the cleanliness drive. Cleanliness drive
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GB Pant Hospital starts partial operations, opens OPD
Srinagar, September 22 The general laboratory, blood bank, emergency, X-ray unit, echocardiography machine, ultrasound machine, generator, oxygen plant and sewerage treatment plant on the ground floor were badly damaged in the floods. “It will take a few days before we resume emergency services. The in-patient departments will take nearly 10 days,” said Medical Superintendent Muneer Masoodi. He was trapped for over a week at his residence in Gogjibagh and had been camping at the hospital after that to ensure its resumption. The floods had severely hit almost all major hospitals in Srinagar. Most except the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences remained operational during the floods. Shri Maharaja Hari Singh, Lal Ded and Bone and Joint hospitals were inundated and shut for over 10 days. The OPD of the Bone and Joint Hospital had been made functional as well. Nearly a dozen infants died after water entered GB Pant Hospital. Over 200 patients, their attendants, doctors and other staff were trapped inside the hospital for days before they were rescued by Army personnel and local volunteers. While employees in GB Pant Hospital were busy cleaning wards that were not submerged, the devastation was visible even on Monday when the OPD was opened. There was slush at the main entrance, which was closed. Inundated ambulances were being repaired. The Medical Superintendent said nearly 80 per cent employees had reported back.
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Minister reviews pace of reopening of hospitals
Srinagar, September 22 Minister for Health and Medical Education Taj Mohiuddin, who is personally monitoring the resumption of health services in the city, reviewed the pace of reopening of these hospitals and immunisation process at a high-level meeting of the officers concerned late last night. The minister was briefed about the cleaning-up operation at these hospitals by the Commissioner Secretary, Health and Medical Education, who, during the day, had a detailed visit of all tertiary care hospitals of the city. Taj directed the officials concerned to work round the clock and operationalise these hospitals at the earliest. The minister was told that Kashmir Nursing Home at Sonwar and Bone & Joint Hospital were fully functional. Besides, a free-of-cost medical camp has been set up at the SMHS hospital, where people suffering from diabetes, hypertension and other chronic ailments are being treated. Meanwhile, the J&K State Health Society has advised people to consume boiled water and get all children in the age group of six months to 15 years vaccinated with anti-measles vaccines and supplement children between six months to five years with Vitamin A solution. People are also advised to report to nearest health centre in case of fever, diarrhoea, vomiting or yellowing of eyes. Free medical camp at SMHS hospital
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‘Team Jammu’ reaches out to Saddal village survivors
Panchari (Udhampur), September 22 Members of the “Team Jammu” reached Panjer village where survivors of Saddal village are putting up in tents and distributed relief material among them. In its humanitarian approach, the team members tried to share grievances of the flood-hit residents, who lost everything, including their family members, in the catastrophe. The whole Saddal village was washed out in the devastating landslides that occurred on September 5. A number of bodies are still buried under the debris. Interacting with the survivors of the village, members of the “Team Jammu” said they had come to give moral support to them as it was impossible to compensate the loss that they had suffered due to nature’s fury. Members of the team assured the residents that they would not take rest till all affected families were properly rehabilitated. They further assured the residents that they would try to arrange as much relief as they can to minimise their miseries. The team also assured to provide medical facilities to the affected families. Earlier, the team members visited Dugdugee Mohalla of Udhampur and distributed relief among flood-affected families. The team has started relief and rehabilitation operations in far-flung landslide-ravaged areas such as
Panchari, Majalata and Dera Baba in Udhampur district by providing immediate relief material to the affected families. With the support of doctor members, the “Team Jammu” has also decided to organise medical camps in the flood-affected areas, apprehending outbreak of waterborne deceases. In its efforts to provide relief to the affected families, the “Team Jammu” has already approached all sections of society for all possible help. Humanitarian approach
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JKCA members resent BCCI decision of shifting matches to Mohali
Jammu, September 22 They assembled in front of the JKCA office at GGM Science College hostel ground and termed the decision of the BCCI to shift national-level matches to Mohali in Punjab as shocking. “It is shocking news for us. We are here to protest against the JKCA and BCCI decision that was taken without knowing the ground reality,” said one of the members. “It will send a wrong message about the potential of the state body for holding national-level matches, including that of the Ranji Trophy, which were earlier scheduled to be held in J&K,” he added. “Since the JKCA president is abroad for treatment, we appeal to Chief Minister Omar Abdhullah to kindly intervene so that the matches, which have been shifted to Punjab, may be restored with the state,” a press note from the JKCA said. “On one hand, the Chief Minister of state is making all-out efforts to bring the state back to normal, but a few vested interests are hurting his cause in general and cricket in particular by shifting the matches allotted to the J&K to Punjab,” it maintained. All the assembled persons were of the view that the decision has raised a question mark on the working of the apex body of the JKCA. They appealed that the matter should be taken up with the higher authorities of the BCCI. In 2013, the JKCA hosted nine national-level matches, which included four matches of the Ranji Trophy, three matches in the U-26 category and one each in U-19 and U-16 category. |
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Post floods, Indo-Pak meet on LoC to chalk out return of stranded nationals
Jammu, September 22 “These PoJK residents, nearly 60 in number, were left stranded in various places after floods hit the state,” said Regional Passport Officer in Srinagar Firdous Iqbal. Now, officials from India and Pakistan have agreed to hold a special meeting on September 24 to facilitate the return of their citizens to their homes, he added. Iqbal said that after the meeting between the two sides, residents of PoJK and the state will hopefully return to their respective homes on September 29. Every Monday, the trans-LoC bus, also called the ‘Caravan-e-Aman’, crosses two points on the LoC — Aman Setu near the Kaman post in Baramulla district of Kashmir and Chakan da Bagh in Poonch district. The trade and travel via Salamabad in Baramulla and Chakan da Bagh had come to a grinding halt during flashfloods. However, both facilities were resumed via Chakan da Bagh on September 15. “Though my office (Region Passport Office) in Srinagar is still in a bad shape and all the basic facilities such as phones and the internet are down, I somehow received instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs today for the residents of PoJK,” he said. The MEA has given permission to the PoJK residents who could not wait till September 29 to reach the Chakan da Bagh crossing point today to catch the trans-LoC bus from there, he added. “Some of the PoJK residents, who were able to contact me, told me that they wanted to board the peace bus from Chakan da Bagh. They might have left Srinagar for Poonch on their own,” he said. |
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BSNL fails to find reason for snag in mobile network
Jammu, September 22 Surprisingly, even after restoring the network, the BSNL does not know the reason of the network failure. “A router was held up, which was replaced, and now the network has been restored,” said AK Misra, General Manager (GM), Mobile, BSNL, Jammu. “We don’t know what was the reason for it. Ericson (the vendor company providing technical support to BSNL) is trying to find out the reason,” he added. The GM claimed that the network has been restored properly, but the subscribers complained that ‘though the calls are getting through, but the network is still erratic,” said Sunil Sharma, a BSNL subscriber. “Sometime it gets connected in one call and sometime it disconnects while talking and doesn’t get connected for hours,” he added. Sources in the telecom sector said BSNL is very poor in maintaining the technical infrastructure of its sites, which is developing snags in the network. A telecom engineer said, “BSNL is focusing of the quantity of towers and does not focus on the quality. The private operators install 3-4 BTS at one site to handle the call congestions, but almost all the sites of BSNL are having one BTS, which allows only 60 calls at one time.” Private operators, which do not have much infrastructure or technical staff, hire tower support provider companies (TSPC), but BSNL, being a semi-government operator, is handling the technical issues itself and the staff do not bother to check the problems in odd hours. Ericson India is providing back-up support to BSNL, but the poor infrastructure of BSNL creates technical snags at tower sites. “The technical staff do not even come to know about the technical snags in the towers installed on the outskirts of the city for days together and sometime they take a week to restore the working of the tower,” source informed. |
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Hit by calamity twice, family thankful for no loss of life
Srinagar, September 22 When the Kashmir valley received heavy snowfall in the winters, the warehouse crumbled under the pressure of the accumulated snow causing severe damage not only to the building, but to the goods stored there as well. "The snow destroyed the warehouse and damaged furnishing items, including carpets and rugs," Mudasir Ahmad Gadda said. Mudasir assists his father Zahoor Ahmad Gadda in running the business. The family then started afresh and slowly recovered from the loss they had suffered and were trying to forget the tragedy. However, fate had something else in store for them. When the floodwaters entered into Srinagar on September 5, the warehouse was submerged and goods destroyed, dealing a severe blow to the business. "The warehouse is a one-storey building and it was completely under water. Everything in it was damaged," Mudasir, a resident of Lal Bazaar area of the city, said. He said no one had expected the waters to rise that much and reach the area and so no one was ready to face the situation. "We had not expected the water to reach our warehouse. It was unprecedented and waters rose in no time," he said. Once the waters receded in Batamaloo, the family visited the area to check the store and found everything covered in mud. "There was around a feet of mud in the warehouse and it had engulfed everything," Mudasir said. The damage to the goods in the warehouse is huge and most of the items have been completely destroyed. "The non-woven items have been completely destroyed. Carpets and rugs have suffered damages," he said. Mudasir said though the carpets can be washed, they would not have the charm of the new ones and have to be sold at a much discounted price. "The carpets have suffered discolouration and even if they are washed,they will lose the charm. They will have to be sold at 60 to 70 per cent discount," he said. The family had not taken any relief from the government when the snow tragedy struck them and now have no insurance cover for the goods as well. "We had not applied for any relief from the government when the warehouse was damaged by the snow. And now we have no insurance cover," Mudasir said. The Gaddas' might have suffered a huge loss, but they are undeterred by the tragedy and hopeful of prospering once again. "We are thankful to the God that there was no loss of life. I am hopeful that we would start a fresh and once again stand on our feet," he said optimistically. — PTI Grim reminder
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JK High Court issues notices to insurance companies
Srinagar, September 22 In the
PIL, it has been prayed that HC direct the insurance companies to implement norms adopted in Uttarakhand to settle claims, which was also hit by the flash floods last year. The notices were issued today by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice AM
Magrey, wherein the respondent insurance companies have been asked to show-cause why the formula implemented in calamity-hit Uttarakhand should not be applied in the flood-affected J&K. The Jammu and Kashmir Government today submitted to the J&K High Court that more than two lakh structures had been damaged in the floods in the Valley, which also includes 20,000 houses totally destroyed, in the unprecedented floods in the history of Kashmir. “Approximately 2,34,516 structures have been damaged, which include nearly 20,000 completely-damaged houses, in the Valley excluding district Srinagar”, J&K Government told the High Court in response to a PIL by two advocates. They had alleged that the state government did not provide timely relief to the flood-affected people “The damages to other houses and structures will be known only when the submerged areas are fully dewatered,” the state government told the High Court. |
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Gadkari meets Guv, promises all help for J-K
Srinagar, September 22 The Governor also raised with Gadkari the importance of speeding-up the completion of ongoing four-laning of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway project, the need for establishing an alternate route to the existing Batote-Doda road, and the measures required to be taken to reduce the continuously-growing number of fatal casualties on account of recurring road accidents in certain areas of the state. Gadkari assured all necessary help to restore the road network in the state, after the recent floods, and provide support for all the issues about which the Governor had written to him. The Governor requested Dr Jitendra Singh’s help in the early installation of a Doppler radar in the Valley for prompt and accurate weather forecasts. The radar would also be of immense help in enhancing the day-to-day management of Amarnath Yatra as the movements would be permitted on the basis of highly accurate weather forecasts. Assistance offered
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German Embassy to hold charity concert
New Delhi, September 22 The German Embassy is working with aid organisations in Kashmir. “We know Kashmir needs more. What we can do from our side is a small gesture and it is coming from the heart,” Steiner said. “It is heartbreaking to see the suffering of brave Kashmiris. We want to show our solidarity and join efforts to support those in need. I have set a target of Rs 1 crore for Kashmiris who suffered the nightmare,” the Ambassador said. He arrived from Germany last night. “One of the main reasons of going to Germany was to raise funds to help flood victims of the state,” he said. He would announce projects aimed at meeting some of the most urgent needs of the population. Details of donation would be uploaded on the website and utilised to benefit the victims. “It was a spontaneous idea from Bhajan and Abhay Sopori that we should organise something visual to support Kashmir when we wanted to make our contribution. We respect the aid being provided by non-government organisations, volunteers and the government for Kashmiris who have coped this difficult time,” he said. The embassy announced its first German aid project for Kashmir two weeks ago with a local hospital in the disaster-struck region. The embassy made available Rs 25 lakh for basic healthcare in cooperation with the NGO German Doctors. “This cannot replace the main efforts being put in by the authorities. What we do is a supplementary effort,” he said. Announcing additional efforts, Steiner said a special Kashmir account had been opened to assist in making donations. |
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Army veterans hold rally in Kishtwar
Doda, September 22 The Delta Force has been able to rescue 54,630 civilians from the flood-
affected areas, provided medical assistance to 8,581 civilians and meals to 45,718 civilians. The GoC also appreciated the helping hand provided by the veterans of Chenab Valley in all the rescue and relief operations undertaken by the Rashtriya Rifles units. In this rally two ‘veer
naris’ were felicitated with cheques for Rs one lakh each and additional monetary assistance to 23 ‘veer
naris’ and veterans were also provided. A modified scooter was presented to a battle-casualty ex-soldier. The GoC emphasised on the Army’s resolve to ensure that the veterans were looked after well as they were a part of the extended family even after they had hung their boots. He highlighted various schemes for veterans and “veer
naris’ initiated by the Army, Central and state governments. Javed Khan,
DDC, Kishtwar, also addressed the rally and highlighted the role of veterans rendering in building up social fabric in the Chenab Valley. The rally was attended by 1,200 veterans and ‘veer
naris’ of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban districts. Apart from resolving pension-related problems and resettlement issues, a medical camp was also organised. |
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Installation of gamma ray telescope begins in Ladakh
Jammu, September 22 “Installation work started on September 15 and MACE telescope will take shape in the next couple of months,” said Ramesh Koul, head of the astro-physical sciences division in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai. Koul added that equipment and material to set up the telescope were being taken to Hanle via Manali in Himachal Pradesh. “Eight truckloads of equipment and material have already been taken to Hanle. Two truckloads are in transit and 40 will be taken there in all. Work will continue till the end of October and may go beyond October, depending on weather conditions,” he said. The first truckload was dispatched from Hyderabad on June 28, he said. “The remainder of the process of installing the telescope will begin in the middle of May next year and continue till October. We hope to conduct trials by November next year,” he added. The 180-tonne gamma ray telescope would help Indian scientists unravel mysteries of the universe. “We hope to make the telescope fully operational by July 2016,” he added. The MACE telescope is the largest in the northern hemisphere and second biggest worldwide. It is 21 metres in diameter, has a 27 metre track diameter. An amount of Rs 50 crore has been spent on it. Successful trial runs had been conducted in Hyderabad. It has been designed by the ECIL in Hyderabad with technological support from the BARC. India’s eye to universe
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2 peddlers held with drugs
Jammu, September 22 Giving details, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, Uttam Chand, said the STF is being headed by SP Sheikh Zulfiqar, who with his team is working hard to put an end to the drug menace. “A police team, led by Sub-inspector Verinder Sharma, intercepted a Tata Indica vehicle, bearing registration number JK02AF-4381, driven by Hazrat Ali, alias Raju, of Janipur, and seized a huge quantity of drugs from the vehicle,” the SSP said. He said the seized drugs included 1,440 Spas Proxyvan capsules, 6400 Parvan Spas capsules, 600 Nitravet-10 tablets and 75 bottles of Corex. The drugs were recovered from the possession of Hazrat Ali and his accomplice Sandeep Kumar of Udaywalla. The SSP said both were booked under the NDPS Act at the Kanachak police station and the Janipur police station. The SSP said the consignment was brought from a medical shop in Delhi. Chand said the drug menace has become a social problem and parents should keep an eye on their wards at home and teachers should also check the behaviour of their students, so that they are kept away from drugs. He informed that drug peddlers are targeting schools and colleges and many young boys have got involved in the menace. |
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Classical instrument contest organised at Jammu varsity
Jammu, September 22 The third prize was shared by Havneet Kour and Manisha Paudwal, both from Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, for their performance on sitar. ON Raina, Dr Usha Bagati, Balbir Singh, Samuel Masih and Ashwani Kumar Sharma were the judges for the today’s events. Dr VVV Nagendra Rao was the teacher in charge for both the events. The programme was compeered by Kaveri Duggal of the Department of Lifelong Learning, whereas Yash Pal acted as a timekeeper. Prof Parmeshwari Sharma, chairperson, Campus Cultural Committee, distributed certificates among the participants. Among others, Prof Pankaj Srivastava, Dean Students Welfare, Dr Abdul Rashid Manhas, Assistant Dean (SW), Ifra Kak, Cultural Officer, Sumeet Sharma, drama instructor, teacher in charge, Rahul Sharma, secretary, Students Cultural Council, Aenny Mattoo, joint secretary, SCC, Sangeeta, Jasneet Kaur, scholars and students were present. |
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J&K Bank opens ATM in Kulgam
Srinagar, September 22 Meanwhile, the bank has restored functioning of 371 business units (branches) and 267 ATMs across the Valley. Over Rs 96 crore was withdrawn by the customers through these delivery points across the Valley. Over 33,000 transactions were conducted through the functional ATMs of the bank in the affected region. Some major business units (branches) at Residency Road, Srinagar, Air Cargo, SSI Lal Chowk, Lasjan and Badami Bagh had suffered extensive infrastructural damage. Among these branches, functioning of Residency Road, Srinagar branch, was restored a few days ago. Other branches are currently functioning from other locations of the bank. The customers of these units have been conducting transactions and availing other services from these temporary locations. The restoration of other affected branches and ATMs is in full swing and within week’s time cent per cent delivery points will be made fully operational. Commenting on the efforts of the bank to restore its banking operations in the flood-affected areas of the Valley, the president of the bank, who is looking after technology and information systems division, RK Shah, said, “Modern-day banking is wholly dependent on internet connectivity. So, one of the biggest post-flood challenges in restoring banking operations in the affected areas was connectivity. Functioning of major telecom players such as BSNL and Airtel collapsed immediately after the floods causing extensive devastation across the Valley and resultantly our connectivity got snapped.” Shah further said, “I salute my young technology team who despite being themselves affected by the flood fury left their homes and carved out a solution to bring our branches and ATMs back on active mode. However, I must commend Aircel service provider which extended their connectivity support at this crucial juncture and we were able to make maximum branches and ATMs functional across the flood-affected areas in the Valley. |
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Governor lauds devotion of Raj Bhawan staff
Srinagar, September 22 A Raj Bhawan spokesman told here today, barring five employees who could not be rescued till September 12, all others have been regularly attending duty, even on the holidays, and providing maximum possible help to the flood-stricken in the vicinity of Raj Bhawan, particularly tourists and outsiders, who had to be heli-evacuated to the airport. From September 8 onwards, all the senior officers of Raj Bhawan Secretariat have been working till late hours every night, being involved in mobilising food, water and other help for those, who had been squatting on the drive-way to Raj Bhawan, waiting to be heli-evacuated. These people in distress included infants, women and aged persons. The Governor has conveyed his personal appreciation, particularly to four Jammu region- based officers, who refused to go home, even after they had been evacuated from their flooded lodgings in the city and taken to the airport for being airlifted to Jammu. Over twelve Valley-based employees who were living in the nearby towns and villages also reported for duty even though their homes had been inundated and their families had faced severe losses. Except one gardener, whose nearby village is still under water, there was complete attendance at Raj Bhawan today. To express his appreciation to the devotion and commitment of all Raj Bhawan employees of all ranks, from the attendants up to the Principal Secretary, the Governor has decided to host a thanks-giving get-together before the Darbar moves at
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State seeks liberal allocation of annual plan funds
Jammu, September 22 Sources said no annual plan meeting would be held with the Planning Commission this fiscal as the Centre was yet to reconstitute the body. In the last few years, Jammu and Kashmir had received less allocation following its failure to achieve specific targets, which hit completion of developmental projects. It had received less allocation for two consecutive financial years. In 2013-14, the commission had approved Rs 7,300 crore annual plan, rejecting the state’s proposal of Rs 8,050 crore. In 2012-13, the state had been allocated Rs 7,300 crore plan, but given Rs 5,800 crore. In its Budget for 2014-15, the state government had projected plan size of Rs 11,900 crore, consisting of Rs 7,300 crore main plan, Rs 4,000 crore assistance under Centrally sponsored schemes and Rs 600 crore assistance under Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan. “As there is no Planning Commission meeting this fiscal, the state will get allocation of Rs 7,300 crore. Any further allocation is up to the Planning Commission. The state will present its demand keeping in view the devastation,” said Jalil Ahmed Khan, Economic Adviser to the state government. |
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With almost every family here having a sad tale to narrate after the devastating floods, residents of Mir Behri living in the Dal Lake backwaters are all the more worried.
GB Pant Hospital, the only children’s hospital in the Valley, has started partial operations by opening the out-patient department (OPD). It will take at least another fortnight before it can be made fully functional.
The hospital remained inundated for over a week and shut for two weeks. The water damaged hospital infrastructure, machines and equipment.
Members of the working committee of the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA), former cricketers, coaches, parents/players have expressed resentment over the decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) to shift the national-level matches scheduled to be held in J&K to Mohali in Punjab.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited fails to find out the reason for the technical snag, which had interrupted the mobile services in Jammu for more than 10 hours on Sunday.
Due to poor maintenance of the technical infrastructure of the BSNL, the mobile services of the BSNL remained hit for more than 10 hours on Sunday, which was later restored at around 9 pm, but subscribers still complained of bad connectivity in the network today.
further intensify the efforts so that normal functioning of these institutions takes place soon.
The Chief Minister along with various ministers and senior officers reviewed the process of relief and rehabilitation work in a meeting, he chaired in the civil secretariat. He directed the officials concerned to gear up the men and the machinery at all levels to reach out to the affected people in all flood-hit areas.
He said more attention should be paid for dewatering of waterlogged areas, particularly Srinagar city.
TNS
A veterans rally was organised at ALG Complex in
Kishtwar, today under the Delta Force. The General Officer Commanding, Delta Force, speaking on the occasion, expressed his solidarity for flood victims of the state and reiterated that the Indian Army is always the first responder and had launched “Operation Megh
Rahat” for providing relief to the needy.
