Jammu, September 26
The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has imposed a fine of Rs 29,400 on various defaulters of food norms and their involvement in adulteration. A team of Health Department officials today visited several areas of the city.

Besides this, 16 persons were booked under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (COTP) Act-2003 and a fine of Rs 2,300 was also realised on spot from defaulters for smoking in public places.

During the round, residents were advised not to smoke in public places as it is injurious to health. A fine of Rs 200 would be imposed on those not adhering to the norms.

Under the supervision of the Health Officer, Jammu Municipal Corporation, Dr Mohammad Saleem Khan, teams visited Bahu Fort, Gandhi Nagar, Narwal, Digiana, Gangyal, Kunjwani, railway station, BC Road, Raghunath Bazaar, Janipur, Bantalab and Akhnoor Road to check the quality of commonly used food items and inspected various food establishments, including restaurants, cooked food stalls, tea stalls, fruit juice corners and ice-cream corners.

About 52 kg of polythene was seized, while 30 kg of stale cooked food, 45 kg of sweetmeats, which were kept under unhygienic conditions and found not fit for human consumption, were destroyed on the spot.

Moreover, two samples of flour were also taken from Gangyal and Exchange Road in view of Navratras and sent to Food Analyst, Jammu, for ascertaining their standard of purity.

All the food establishment owners have been told to ensure supply of pure and fresh quality of food to the general public and also maintain standard of hygiene on their premises, failing which strict action will be taken against them under law.

Jammu, September 26
As floods have damaged infrastructure of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department in Jammu, the department is now depending on tankers to supply drinking water. Nearly 30 tankers have been pressed into service to deal with water crisis in several areas of the city.

A tanker of the PHE Department supplies drinking water to residents at flood-affected Phalian Mandal village in Jammu. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh

As per the data, the department was presently providing nearly 42 MGL of water per day to the population of over 13 lakh in Jammu city. The net requirement of potable water against this population is 45 MGL per day.

“Our locality gets water supply after two days since the floods hit Jammu. Several colonies are facing such problem,” said Krishan Chand, a retired government employee living in the Ganga Nagar area of Bantalab.

The worst floods that hit Jammu and Kashmir have severely damaged the lifting stations operated by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department along the Tawi and Chenab leaving many parts in the Jammu region without potable water supply.

Though the supply has been restored in several areas, it will take at least a month before the normal water supply resumes in the region. In the Kashmir valley, the supply system has been totally destroyed.

“We are making every effort to repair our machinery and the damaged lifting station, but a huge task is before us. Several teams, led by engineers, are working overtime to restore supply and fix the damages to the supply pipes,” said Sushil Aima, Chief Engineer, PHE Department.

Srinagar, September 26
The police have arrested four Hizbul Mujahideen militants who were operating in north Kashmir’s Sopore town. The militants were planning to carry out a major terror act,” the police said today.

A police spokesman said arms and ammunition were also recovered from the arrested militants. The militants were operating a module of the outfit in Sopore town, 55 km from here. The police have registered a case and launched an investigation. “During initial investigations it was revealed that the apprehended militants were operating a militant module of the Hizb outfit and were planning to carry out a major terror act,” the spokesman said. Two pistols, two pistol magazines, 14 pistol rounds and two hand grenades were recovered from them, the spokesman said.

“Acting on a tip-off, the police in a joint operation with 22 Rashtriya Rifles launched a search operation in the Batpora area of Sopore town,” the spokesman said. During the search operation, the four Hizb militants identified as Yawer Muzafar Bhat of Mumkak-Batpora village, Shoib-ul-Hamid of Batpora village, Ansar Bin Altaf of Batpora, and Riyaz Ahmad Dar of Naseer Abad were apprehended, the police said.

Jammu/Srinagar, Sept 26
Crisis in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to deepen further as the agriculture sector has borne the maximum brunt of the recent rain and floods.

Not only has the standing crop been washed away by the floods, but thousands of hectares of fertile land has turned barren as the overflowing rivers gushed through fields in many parts of the state.

Official data says the state’s total food grain production is about 18 lakh metric tonne against the annual requirement of 23 lakh metric tonne.

The state has been facing deficit in food grain production by more than 5 lakh metric tonne and the crisis is likely to deepen in the coming year as the production is likely to come down drastically due to the floods.

“The ‘rice bowls’ of the state which produce quality crop are the worst affected,” said Director, Agriculture, Jammu, SS Jamwal while pointing out that the low-line areas of Jammu and Samba districts were severely hit by the floods and the torrential rain.

Jamwal, who has conducted a survey of flood-affected areas of Jammu province, said the Chenab, Tawi, Manawar Tawi, Devak and Bastan changed their course at a number of places, causing damage to the fertilised land.

“Thousands of acres of fertile land has turned barren and uncultivable due to accumulation of sand-rich silt,” the Director said.

In the Chenab basin, also known as the Pargwal Island, a huge chunk of land has turned barren. The gushing waters of the river washed away the standing paddy crop and turned the land into a gorge. The mighty Chenab hit the area hard after it changed its course on September 6.

The story of the Tawi island belt, comprising over 45 densely populated villages, is no different. Huge chunks of land have either been washed away or have been covered with sand.

When asked about the total loss to agriculture, Jamwal said teams had been deputed in every nook and corner of Jammu province to assess the damage.

“The exact figure will emerge only after the assessment at the village level,” he said. He, however, said the damage was extensive in Jammu province.

In the Valley, over 3,800 hectares of fertile and cultivable land has turned barren due to floods.

“A huge chunk of fertile land has become uncultivable due to soil erosion or silt accumulation on the fields,” said Director, Agriculture, Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmed Shah.

“As per the initial damage report prepared by our department, floods have extensively damaged crops across the Valley,” Shah said.

He said out of the total 3 lakh hectare cropped area in the Kashmir division, around 1.35 lakh hectares had been damaged fully and the remaining 1.65 lakh hectares had been severely affected due to the incessant rain, drop in temperature and disease.

Besides traditional crops, the floods have also damaged cereals, vegetables and saffron, Shah said.

The total sown area in Kashmir and Jammu provinces is 728. 56 lakh hectares — 378.56 hectares in Jammu province and 350 hectares in Kashmir.

Paddy is the main crop of Kashmir, followed by maize, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, fodder and wheat.

In the Jammu region, wheat is the prominent crop followed by maize, paddy, pulses, oilseeds, fodder, vegetables and other crops.

The state is also rated among the few places of the world where quality saffron is produced. Pampore tehsil of Pulwama and Kishtwar district of Jammu province are known for high quality saffron.

Traditional basmati of RS Pura in Jammu and rajmah (kidney beans) from Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Bani and other temperate areas are famous. Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur districts in the Jammu region are the worst affected areas. Crop in the Gabban area of the Paddar belt, known for producing quality peas, has been completely damaged due to heavy downpour, Jamwal said.

Factories damaged

n Floods washed away or damaged willow and hit factories; quality of bats affected due to moisture. Shortage of bats likely, especially around World Cup in 2015

n Over 40,000 people associated with willow industry; 350 bat manufacturing units statewide, turnover around ~100 crore; material supplied to Jalandhar and Meerut

n Parvez Rasool’s hometown Bijbehara, hub of willow industry, was under 7 feet of water for over five days. Initial estimates put loss at over ~60 crorea.

Panchari (Udhampur), Sept 26
It has been an arduous wait for 84-year-old Dhani Devi who lost all the nine family members of her family, including the grandchildren, in the landslides that hit the Saddal village of Panjar panchayat area on the night of September 4.

The Army along with the locals has so far been able to retrieve 13 bodies from the debris, but 27 people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

The octogenarian, however, is still hopeful that one day she would be able to see the dead faces of her two sons, daughter-in-laws and five grandchildren.

The story of Tirath Ram is no different. He lost his parents, his wife, two daughters and brother in the catastrophe.

He doesn’t want live anymore, but everyday he joins the Army in their effort to retrieve the remaining bodies with the hope that someone from his family might miraculously come out alive from the debris.— OC

Batote (Ramban), Sept 26
Long and intermittent traffic jams on the Batote-Ramban stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH) 44, recurring for the past five days, have worsened since Thursday, increasing the agony of commuters and drivers in the Ramban sector.

Life remained affected in Ramban district for the second consecutive day Friday. Students and employees either could not reach schools, colleges and offices in Ramban and Batote or reached late.

The unprecedented traffic jams were attributed to the scheduled repairs (metalling) of recently damaged NH 44 stretches at 12 places between Udhampur and Ramsu.

“Our college bus ferrying about 45 students from Batote area could not reach the college at Ramban on Thursday and today due to the traffic jam,” said JL Bhagat, principal, Degree College, Ramban.

Movement of seasonal migratory nomads on NH 44, dumping of construction material and alleged mismanagement by the traffic police added to the chaos.

Kupwara, Sep 26
The incessant rain and floods in parts of Kupwara district in the recent past have damaged paddy and maize crops in the area. Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Itrat Hussain Rafique said 55 per cent damage was caused to crops due to the calamity.

“We have already assessed the loss caused due to floods and rain in some areas of Kupwara. Now the government will see whether the farmers should be provided free ration or money to compensate the loss,” the DC said.

The worst affected areas include Bakikar, Zachaldara, Langate, Lolab, Gushi, Pazipora and Doolipora.

“The incessant rain has flattened the paddy and maize fields. We will struggle to survive if the government does not compensate the loss,” said Abdula Rehman Sheikh, a farmer from Zachaldara in Handwara tehsil.

The incessant rain has also damaged crops in border towns of Tanghdar, Machil and Keran.

“At a time when some people had already started harvesting paddy and maize crops, the incessant rain caused heavy damage to the yield. Harvested paddy and maize could be seen sailing in flood waters,” said Liyaqat Ahmad Reshi, a Machil resident.

“The government has not given us any compensation although the assessment of loss has already been ascertained,” he added. 

Jammu, September 26
Lt Gen A Chakravarty, Director General (DG) of the NCC, flagged in an NCC girls’ mountaineering expedition team in Udhampur Friday. Mountaineering was one of the major adventure activities undertaken by the NCC every year, said a Defence spokesperson.

“This year, girl cadets of the NCC took part in a mountaineering expedition to Mt Rudugaira, located at a height of 19,091 feet in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand,” he said.

The spokesperson said the team underwent an extensive training in ice craft, snow craft and avalanche crevasse study before scaling the peak. The participants attempted the peak in two groups.

“The first group was led by Col OK Pawar, expedition leader, and had five cadets and four support staff. They scaled the peak on September 18. The second team was led by Lt Col A Thakur, deputy leader, along with seven cadets and support staff. The team scaled the peak on September 19,” said the Defence spokesperson.

“The cadets, interacting with the DG, recounted their maiden adventurous experience, which gave a boost to their confidence to face challenges in the future,” he added.

Rajouri, September 26
Most of the government schools in Rajouri district, particularly under the Khawas education zone lack adequate teaching staff, toilets, safe drinking water, electricity and other facilities.

According to the residents, most of the schools in the Khawas education zone are either running without the sanctioned strength of teaching staff or have not opened at all since the end of summer vacations earlier this year.

“The primary schools at Nandhola, Keri Daraman, Reet, etc have been closed for the last many days as teachers are not attending their duties. The matter was taken up with Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Sahab Din, but nothing has been done so far,” alleged Keisar Din, sarpanch of Phera village.

Sources said the high school at Gunda was running with only three teachers, including the headmaster.

Zaheer Wani, a college student from the area, said only three teachers Sat Pal, Shankutla Devi and Rehber-e-Taleem (ReT) Ekta Rani were running the middle school at Panjnara.

As per the Education Department rules, ReT teacher can’t be transferred/attached from his/her place of posting. “…but Ekta Rani has been attached with higher secondary school at Khawas in violation of the rules,” Zaheer alleged.

“Moreover, the school has no desks or mats for the students and they are forced to sit on ground,” he said.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) Choudhary Lal Hussain said the department was facing shortage of teachers and Ekta was attached to the higher secondary school on temporary basis.

“Ekta is a qualified teacher with an MSc degree to her credit. Her services were required at Higher Secondary School, Khawas,” Hussain said.

“She has been attached on purely temporary basis and will be sent back to her original place of posting. The ZEO has been directed to send a teacher to Middle School, Panjnara,” the CEO said.

Sarpanch of Goonda Keri village Baji Abdul Wahid said most of the government schools in the Khawas zone were operating without adequate teaching staff.

He said at Government Primary School, Keri Darman, two teachers were appointed, but the school mostly remains closed. “The teachers come to the school for two or three days to fill the attendance register and to get their salaries,” he alleged.

“A single teacher is looking after the affairs of primary school at Reet in Kot Chalwal. But it always remains closed. All these schools are in far flung areas and officials concerned don’t bother to visit these areas,” Wahid said.

Abdul Aziz, the panch of Panjnara village, said most of the schools at Khawas, Gunda, Odhan, Motan, Lambi Bandi, Daruni, Lower Odhan were running without the sanctioned staff.

“The issue has been taken up several times with the authorities concerned, but it seems that they are not bothered about the future of children,” Aziz said.

Srinagar, September 26
Amid fears of epidemic outbreak in the aftermath of floods, confusion prevails among the masses over vaccines to be administered, especially to children.

While some officials claim there are “clear cut” directions, several locals have been getting themselves vaccinated on their own. Meanwhile, others are demanding that the government should educate the masses on a large scale.

When Tariq Ahmad started cleaning his house at Magarmal Bagh that had remained submerged in floodwater for many days, he said he was told by a local doctor to get tetanus toxoid and hepatitis-B injections. “The doctor told me that the shots were necessary for my safety as I would face a lot of filth while cleaning my house,” said Tariq, while adding he was unaware of other vaccines to be taken.

On the other hand, Afshan (name changed), a 34-year-old housewife living at Rawalpora was administered a different vaccine.

“I got a call from my cousin that a team of senior doctors were vaccinating children at a clinic located at Sanatnagar. When I went there, I found out they were administering typhoid vaccines. While the doctors told me that my seven-month-old son did not require vaccination, me and my husband were given typhoid vaccine shots free of cost,” she said.

“I was also told by a senior doctor that if my infant was being vaccinated as per schedule, there was no need to give him an additional vaccine. However, the next day, another doctor told me that I should give an additional measles vaccine to my baby,” she added.

An official of the Directorate of Health said there were “clear cut” directions of administering only measles vaccines, besides Vitamin A to children between six months and 15 years of age.

Residents say the government had not done much to educate the masses. “The government should make proper announcements over the immunisation schedule. It should issue repeated advertisements just like it does during polio eradication programme. The government should also tell the public about the location of camps, just like they do while administering polio vaccines,” said a doctor wishing anonymity.

He said around 12 lakh doses of measles vaccine were needed. To effectively implement the programme, lots of efforts from the government were required, he added.

Srinagar, September 26
In a major relief to flood-affected businessmen, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed the insurance companies to pay 50 per cent of the insured amount for policies above Rs 25 lakh and 95 per cent for policies below Rs 25 lakh as interim relief.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Elucidating the order, the Bench said, “Ninety-five per cent of the sum insured has to be disbursed in case of policy involving Rs 25 lakh or less. In case of policies in which the sum insured is up to Rs 25 lakh, the shopkeepers’ policy should be strictly followed as observed. In respect of the policies with sum insured above Rs 25 lakh, 50 per cent of the assured amount shall be released after receiving an undertaking from the insured and the filing of the undertaking by the concerned officer of the insurance company,” it said.

The court further directed that the policy decision of the General Insurers Public Sector Association should be strictly complied with.

“With respect to the policy where sum insured is above Rs 25 lakh, it has been stated that 50 per cent of the assessed and estimated loss will be released after receipt of preliminary survey report.

“We feel that further categorisation is required to be kept in view while implementing the policy which involves a sum insured beyond Rs 25 lakh. This clause may not be applicable to shopkeepers who have stocks of eatables, food items, cloth, shoes, ready-made garments, hosiery, cosmetics, besides chemists and those having provision stores,” the Bench observed. —- PTI

Srinagar, September 26
Member of Parliament and senior PDP leader Tariq Hameed Karra today called for a “fair and transparent mechanism” for relief distribution among the flood-affected people.

Karra termed the existing system of relief distribution adopted by the state government as “lopsided”. He accused the government of not reaching out to victims expeditiously.

According to a party statement, Karra visited various relief and ration distribution hubs in and around the city here today where he “witnessed a messy situation perpetuated by complete lack of coordination among various official agencies responsible for the management of relief distribution”.

“The relief distribution at these hubs is not only selective but is unfortunately being done mostly on political considerations,” Karra said.

He accused the ruling National Conference leaders of resorting to “high-handedness” in relief distribution.

Karra said the officials manning the relief distribution hubs “should not succumb to any political pressure” and ensure that the relief reached the needy people.

“He also urged people not to resort to bullying officials manning these hubs and allow them to discharge their duties without any pressure,” the party statement said.

Srinagar, September 26
Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey today reviewed the relief and rehabilitation works underway in the flood-affected areas of the state.

Chief Secretary Khandey, while chairing a meeting of administrative secretaries here, was given department-wise damage assessment reports from the respective secretaries.

A detailed discussion was also held on the quantum and type of relief-rehabilitation package for people whose houses, business establishments, crops, livestock and other means of sustenance and livelihood were severely affected by the floods. The officers said efforts were on the facilitate compensation as sonn as possible.

Srinagar, September 26
Relief was evident on the faces of 57 Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) residents, who were trapped in Kashmir due to the floods, as they boarded the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus today.

However, an elderly man was reluctant to leave.

“I tried to seek an extension to my stay here but it was not granted due to the situation caused by floods,” 65-year-old Mohammad Yousuf Khan, a resident of Gojra in Muzaffarabad, said while boarding the bus to his native place.

Khan had come to visit his sister, who lives in the Ompora area of Budgam district, before the disaster struck the Valley.

As Ompora is located on a plateau, Khan did not have any first-hand experience of the sufferings caused by floods.

“I wanted to stay back and lend a helping hand in whatever way I could. People need help of all kind from everywhere to overcome a disaster of this magnitude,” Khan said.

Mushtaq Ahmad, who was staying with his relatives in the Jawahar Nagar area when the floods hit, not only appreciated the rescue and relief work done by local youth but also expressed his gratitude to the local authorities for arranging his documents in such a short time.

“When floodwater started rising in Jawahar Nagar, we fled to another relative’s place at Nishat. However, my travel documents and other belongings were lost,” Ahmad said.

He said officials at the Rajbagh Police Station, despite being marooned in water for several days, were helpful in getting fresh travel documents prepared for him.

“I am impressed by the courage shown by local youth who, not caring for personal safety, rescued hundreds of people from the Jawahar Nagar and adjoining areas. This shows that humanity is still alive,” he added.

Among the PoK residents who returned home today, there were 29 women, 24 men and four children.

They were stranded in Kashmir as the Karawan-e-Aman - the Srinagar Muzaffarabad bus service - was suspended for three weeks due to floods.

Two persons from Kashmir, who had valid permits to visit their relatives in PoK, had also came to the Salamabad Facilitation Centre in Uri but were turned back.

They were asked to report on Monday, when the normal weekly bus service will resume.

The authorities on Wednesday had announced a special bus service on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road to allow the stranded PoK residents to return home.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had on September 22 allowed residents of PoK, who were stranded in flood-hit Kashmir, to return to their homes via the Poonch-Rawalakote route in the Jammu region.

However, no one chose to return from that route.

The historic bus service was started on April 7, 2005, as a major confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan. —- PTI

Srinagar, September 26
Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan today said adequate stock of ration and essential commodities, including rice, flour, sugar, LPG, kerosene oil, was available in the Kashmir valley.

He said this while chairing a meeting of department officials that was convened to take stock of availability of the essential commodities in the Valley in the backdrop of the recent floods.

The Minister directed the officers concerned to monitor the status of supply and ensure that every area gets the ration quota, particularly flood-affected areas.

He asked them to coordinate with Mohalla Committees in the flood-affected areas so that ration reached every family on time.

Directions issued

n Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan directed the officers concerned to monitor the status of supply and ensure that every area gets the ration quota, particularly flood-affected areas.

n He asked them to coordinate with Mohalla Committees in the flood-affected areas so that ration reached every family on time

Jammu, September 26
Students of Cooperative Public High School, Ambphalla, today donated packed confectionery items for flood victims.

A group of students handed over a consignment of packed confectionary items to chairman, Red Cross Society, Suresh Sharma in the presence of Administrator, Cooperative Schools, Mukesh Thappa.

The relief items for flood-affected people were collected by all students of the school.

The chairman of the Red Cross Society appreciated the gesture of students in collecting relief items for flood victims.

Jammu, September 26
Model Academy, prestigious school of Model Institute of Education & Research (MIER), organised inter-house business and general knowledge quiz competitions.

The competitions were organised to test the sharpest of minds among students and encourage them to be aware of what is happening in the world.

The business quiz was organised for classes XI and XII, whereas the general knowledge (GK) quiz was organized for classes I and II. The quiz master for the business quiz was Narinder of the Faculty of Commerce and Samy Bajaal, teacher of the primary wing, was the quiz master for the GK quiz. Each round of the quiz was truly innovative and challenging.

All the participants were excited and showed a lot of enthusiasm and interest. The Darwin House team, comprising Vasu Aggarwal and Ashutosh Sharma, were the winners of the business quiz. Rahul Kumar and Kritika of the Edison House were the runners-up.

Amanat Bhat, Antrah Sharma, Jaskirit Singh and Krishna Mahajan of the Darwin House were adjudged the winners of the GK quiz.

Jammu, September 26
In a bid to promote language competence among its students, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), New Delhi, has issued instructions to its regional offices to establish language labs and take other initiatives to achieve the set target.

Sources said the matter was discussed during the recently-held Deputy Commissioners’ Conference, which was also attended by KVS officials from the Jammu region.

“Good listening is the first step in building up the competence in any language. The KVS is planning to create language labs in schools in a phased manner. The existing e-classrooms can effectively be used for this purpose,” a source claimed.

Good listening exercises can very easily be planned with the existing equipment in schools, using devices such as CD/DVD players, internet, etc... In fact the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had called for assessment of speaking and listening skills activities to be conducted for classes IX and XI, but it is now planning to organise such activities at all levels to improve listening and speaking skills among students, the Sangathan said in a statement.

All Kendriya Vidyalayas have been instructed to conduct spelling competitions in all the classes, especially in the primary classes as a part of the formative assessment, the statement said.

It maintained that such competitions should be held by all schools which would improve the vocabulary and spelling competency among the tiny tots.

The KVS also emphasised upon promoting book reading habit among students.

It not only aids language strengthening, but also opens up the imagination of the students, the Sangathan stated.

The school libraries have been entrusted with the task of getting good age books and make them available to the students.

Jammu, September 26
Students of Delhi Public School (DPS), Jammu, have brought laurels to the school by winning medals in the recently concluded Kumar Surendera Singh All-India Inter-School Shooting Championship held in New Delhi.

Sangram Singh bagged the bronze medal in the 177 air pistol event, besides securing fourth position in senior selection. The championship was organised by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

Another student, Ikjyot Singh, also qualified for the forthcoming Kerala National Games to be held in January, 2015.

Other students — Asad Khan, Karan Vir Singh, Kalhan Bhat, Anhay Gupta and Riga Bhatial — crossed the maximum qualifying score in the national championship and also qualified for the national event.

Dr D Joseph, Additional Director/Principal of the school, congratulated the shooters for their excellent performance in the national event.

These shooters were also felicitated in a special function held on the school premises yesterday.