Trewa/Arnia , October 7
Heavy shelling and firing by Pakistan has once again brought school education to a grinding halt in border areas of the R S Pura sector.

The local populace has deserted their houses and has taken shelter in government buildings, including schools, located in safe zones. As a result, studies of school-going children have been adversely affected.

“It has become a routine for us to run for safety whenever there is shelling from across the border. Our children are not able to attend normal class, thereby severely affecting their studies. How can the government expect our children to compete with children from cities?” said Shiv Ram, 66, a resident of Arnia town.

“The requisite percentage for admissions in colleges and for jobs should be relaxed for our children, who live in constant fear of getting caught in the crossfire,” he added.

Shiv Ram said a shell from across the border fell on the premises of a private school in Arnia town late last night. “Pakistan is pounding schools and residential complexes in our area. In the prevailing situation, how can we send our children to schools? Our children are living in constant fear, which is only spoiling their future,” he said.

Parshotam Lal, 43, a resident of Trewa Morh in Arnia, said: “I have decided to shift my family to a safe place where we can live peacefully and without fear. I never saw such a heavy shelling and firing from the other side of the border in the past three decades. Pakistan is targeting civilians and their property. We want to keep our children away from enemy bullets and shells.”

A government teacher at Salehar in Jammu district, who did not wish to be identified, said: “The people who migrated from areas close to the international border have been shifted to our school and their condition is miserable. How can children continue their studies when shells and bullets are haunting them? People are worried about the education of their children and they can’t risk the life of their wards in the prevailing hostile conditions”.

Director, School Education, Jammu, HR Pakhroo said he had directed the Chief Education Officer (CEO) to make alternative arrangements of schooling for shelling-affected children in border areas.

“It is not advisable to run classes in border areas which are being shelled. I have asked the CEO to run evening classes in relief camps for children so that their studies are not affected. I will visit the border areas and will personally monitor the process of making alternative schooling arrangements for border children,” he said.

Pakistan’s incessant firing on the border areas in J&K will ultimately result in more harm to it than any good as public anger is rising against its actions on this side of the border and its prime objective of internationalising the Kashmir problem is falling flat on its face.

Deeply disturbed by the fact that India was refusing to give it any concessions for setting up a dialogue table for talks after it sought to embarrass India by holding talks with Kashmiri separatists in New Delhi ahead of the Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks that were scheduled for August 25 this year, Pakistan has employed two strategies to internationalise the issue in a bid to force the talks.

Both the strategies are well known to the world. In the first place, it always rakes up the Kashmir issue at international forums. This time Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif did it at the United Nations General Assembly by seeking plebiscite, forgetting that even the UN has termed its resolutions of 1948 and 49 to this effect as obsolete.

Since the 1980s, it has resorted to firing on borders to gain international attention. In the 1990s, it also tried its hand at fomenting militancy in J&K, and in 1999 it mounted an incursion on the Himalayan heights in Kargil.

Pakistan’s these strategies have failed time and again. Now a small part about the history. It was Pakistan that had requested ceasefire on borders in 2003, the result of which was the November 26, 2003, ceasefire agreement.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has a great insight into the mind of Pakistani establishment because of his deep knowledge of international relations, rightly analysed Pakistan’s attitude. He said: “Pakistan after having failed to grab international attention on Kashmir was resorting to such gruesome acts of killing civilians on borders.”

This is not the way Pakistan can force a dialogue on India. And if Pakistan has any idea of the political making of India of today, its misadventure on the borders — killing and injuring civilians — in no way is a situation that will force New Delhi to offer talks.

All its huffing and puffing on Kashmir in the international forums and escalation of tension on borders will yield nothing. A look at the situation on the ground reveals that the farmers on borders have suffered damage to their crops, first because of the absence of the rains and then due to excess of rain. Now whatever is left of their crops, they want to harvest. Pakistan’s attitude is baffling. If this is the way of inviting international attention on Kashmir, it’s futile. History has proven it time and again.

With people migrating from their villages to safer places, anger against Pakistan is bound to grow. The anger of the people will force the government not to make any peace overtures to Pakistan. This is what Pakistan is not realising.

New Delhi, October 7
In a major relief to the civil services aspirants from J&K, the Centre has extended till next year-end the upper age limit relaxation for the residents of the state to take the examination.

According to the notified changes, people of the state can write the civil services examination till 37 years now.

The latest notification by the Union Public Service Commission, which conducts the test, states that the lower age limit is 21 years and the upper bar is 32 years (as on August 1, 2014) to appear in the civil services exams.

“The Central government has decided to extend the age relaxation to all persons who had ordinarily been domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1989, for a further period of two years beyond December 31, 2013,” the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order.

A notification in J&K (Relaxation of upper age limit for recruitment to Central Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1997, for relaxing the upper age limit till 2015 has been issued by the DoPT. — PTI

Jammu, October 7
Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi and other officers of the Election Commission of India (ECI) reached Jammu Tuesday evening to get feedback for conducting Assembly elections in the state.

Zutshi held a closed door meeting with Jammu Divisional Commissioner Shantmanu and Jammu zone Inspector General of Police Rajesh Kumar.

Sources said Zutshi got feedback from both officers regarding the situation in Jammu province. Both officers briefed Zutshi about the situation after the incessant rain and devastating floods, the sources said.

The Deputy Election Commissioner of India would Wednesday take feedback through video-conferencing from Deputy Commissioners, acting as district electoral officers (DEOs) in their respective districts.

The sources said video-conferencing with DEOs was important because the decision on timing of the Assembly elections would be taken only after the video-conferences.

The state Election Department had directed all DEOs to prepare a detailed report about the situation prevailing in their respective districts.

Most DEOs in all 10 districts of Jammu province had prepared their reports, which would be discussed with the visiting team through video-conferencing, the sources said.

Zutshi would Wednesday meet representatives of political parties to get their viewpoints on holding the Assembly elections.

“We have received an invitation to meet the visiting team at 11:15 am,” said Ravinder Sharma, spokesman of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee.

A BSP delegation led by its state unit president Tulsi Dass Langeh and general secretary Rakesh Wazir would meet the ECI team as well.

A BJP team comprising general secretaries Bali Bhagat and Kavinder Gupta would meet the Deputy Election Commissioner Wednesday morning to apprise him of the party stand.

BJP insiders said the state unit of the party was unanimous in holding elections on time. The delegation would tell the ECI team that there was no reason to delay the elections, the sources said.

The BSP and the Congress had announced that elections should be held on time. Before meeting the ECI team, leaders of the Panthers Party would meet to decide on the timing of Assembly elections.

After meeting the representatives of all political parties, the ECI team would leave for Srinagar, where a similar exercise would be conducted.

New Delhi, October 7
In order to provide relief to Jammu and Kashmir residents whose passports were either lost or damaged due to flood, the Government today announced one-time waiver of fees to enable the holders to secure a replacement.

The Ministry of External Affairs today approved the waiver to flood-affected passport holders in the state.

The wavier will be applicable to those whose earlier passports were issued from passport office either at Jammu or Srinagar.

The scheme would remain valid for six months from the date of the gazette notification in this regard and the replacement passports would be issued with the same particulars and remaining validity of previous passport, a release from the Ministry of External Affairs stated.

Srinagar, October 7
Former Sadr-e-Riyasat and Congress leader Karan Singh Tuesday expressed concern over firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border.

“The increasingly frequent incidents of firing in Jammu and Kashmir from across the international border as well as the LoC, to which our forces are surely giving an adequate response, are a matter of deep concern,” he said in a press note.

“A general atmosphere of tension and confrontation is growing. This must not be allowed to lead to a major flare-up. I urge Pakistan to cease violations so that the border remains peaceful and safe,” he said.

He expressed sympathy with victims and urged the state government and the Centre to rehabilitate them.

Jammu, October 7
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad Tuesday castigated the BJP government at the Centre for reported insensitivity to the plight of residents of border areas.

He claimed that the BJP government had turned the residents into cannon fodder for Pakistani guns as killing of civilians was going on unabated and nothing concrete was done to protect the hapless residents.

Accompanied by Congress ministers and other leaders, Azad visited various border areas in the Jammu region and interacted with people.

He visited Arnia village, where five persons had been killed in firing from across the border. He visited the houses which had been damaged in shelling by Pakistani soldiers.

Expressing grief over loss of lives, he said Pakistan was targeting civilians, which was condemnable.

Salehar/Trewa/Arnia, October 7
Against the backdrop of Pakistan’s shelling on towns and villages along the international border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district, a concept of erstwhile princely era — drum beaters making important official announcements — has come back in Jammu.

Before deafening sounds of blazing mortars envelope towns and villages in the Arnia area of the RS Pura sector, the drum beaters turn up at main rotaries and roads, making announcements and telling the people to leave forward towns and villages before the sunset and move into makeshift camps in schools at safer places.

It has been observed that Pakistan starts firing and shelling after the sunset, drawing India into the gun duel. The guns fall silent in the morning.

“Yes, we have roped in drum beaters, especially in Arnia, which is densely populated. We did it deliberately because we didn’t want to rely on the modes of mass media. Doing so could have posed a threat to the lives of people as Pakistan would have easily come to know about it,” said Jammu Deputy Commissioner AK Sahu.

Arnia town has a population of over 20,000 but wore a deserted look today.

Sahu said the administration was intentionally relying upon traditional modes such as drum beaters, sarpanches, panches and nambardars to tell the people to leave to safer places before the sunset in view of the shelling by Pakistan.

“There is an element of surprise in Pakistan shelling. Last evening, they opened mortar fire around 9 pm and it ended around 9 am today. We apprehend that they may fire one or two shells during the day. So, we are trying our best to create awareness among the people and in this context, traditional modes of communication are safe and effective,” the Deputy commissioner said.

Ashok Kumar of Arnia said he had seen drum beaters making official announcements in Arnia after a long time.

Rattan Singh (65), a resident of Trewa village, said around 6 pm yesterday, he saw drum beaters making announcements.

“They, on the top of their voices, were saying that the people should vacate Arnia and adjoining villages before the sunset and take shelter at Government Higher Secondary School at Salehar,” Rattan said.

Sunset blues The drum beaters turn up at main rotaries and roads in the Arnia area of the RS Pura sector, making announcements and telling the people to leave border towns and villages before the sunset and move into makeshift camps in schools at safer places. It has been observed that Pakistan starts firing and shelling after the sunset, drawing India into the gun duel. The guns fall silent in the morning.

Trewa/Arnia, October 7
Villages near the border have now become cursed for parents of marriageable youth due to recurrent shelling by Pakistan.

In the backdrop of repeated shelling and firing by Pakistan, villagers find it hard to get brides and bridegrooms for their marriageable children.

Pakistan started unprovoked firing and intense shelling on forward villages along the international border in July this year.

Intense shelling for the last 45 days had displaced at least 5,000 people from forward villages in Arnia and RS Pura.

“People living in villages located away from the border are reluctant to marry their children to persons in border villages,” said Yashpal, panch of Trewa village.

He said residents of villages in safe areas, especially parents of girls of marriageable age, stiffly oppose wedding of their daughters to youths in border villages.

“It has become a sort of taboo to be residents of villages close to the Zero Line for parents of such youths,” he added.

He further said shelling and firing had compelled villagers to make arrangements for wedding ceremonies at safe places where people from both sides could stay out of the firing range of Pakistan.

Echoing similar views, 62-year-old Rattan Chand of Trewa said, “Recently Prakash Chand and Harbans Lal of Trewa had to make arrangements for wedding ceremonies of their respective sons at Bari Brahmana.”

Prakash Chand’s son got married on October 1. Harbans Lal’s son wedded on October 2. Rattan Chand said residents of villages at a safe distance had reason to reject proposals from villages near the Zero Line.

“Tell me a parent who will like to wed his son or daughter to the resident of a border village where people frequently fall prey to bullets and shells from the Pakistani side,” he said.

New Delhi, October 7
Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar will launch the Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) in Leh tomorrow.

He will also lay the foundation stone of a plant at the Pashmina Dehairing Plant Complex, Skalzangling in Leh.

A government statement said under P-3, major provision had been made for establishment of imported pashmina dehairing plant at Leh with a total grant of Rs 19.35 crore, including other machines along with construction of building for their installation.

The existing dehairing plant has an obsolete Chinese machine and is not sufficient for dehairing 45 tonnes of pashmina wool produced here. With the present capacity, it can only dehair up to five tonnes of pashmina.

The capacity of the new proposed imported plant would be 10 kg of pashmina per hour with an approximate cost of Rs 11 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Leh on August 12, had announced the pashmina programme with an additional financial assistance of Rs 30 crore for improving the quality and quantity of pashmina wool and the living standard of the wool growers of the Ladakh region.

Under the programme, financial assistance will be provided under different components such as creation of the common pashmina facilitation centre for wool testing and a disease surveillance centre.

Jammu, October 7
In spite of repeated instructions by the Union Ministry of Rural Development to the state government to ensure maximum participation of women in Centrally sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, the state has recorded only 20 per cent participation.

The state was told by the Central ministry that priority would be given to women in a manner that at least one-third of the beneficiaries were women who had got themselves registered and requested for work.

Various other important issues pertaining to Central schemes were taken up during the recent performance review committee meeting.

Sources said it was observed that the electronic fund management system (eFMS) had not been started by the state yet.

The eFMS ensures online and real time transfer of funds directly into accounts of beneficiaries without any difficulty. Many states have introduced it.

This has made the entire fund flow system transparent, hassle-free and error-free, eliminating administrative and wage payment delays.

Despite attending the states convergence workshop, Jammu and Kashmir is yet to formulate the state convergence plan for the 2014-15 fiscal.

Finalising the labour budget of the state for 2014-15, the ministry had told the state for convergence of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with schemes such as Integrated Watershed Management Programme, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna, Command Area Development and Water Management and National Horticulture Mission to attain sustainable livelihood in the state.

The ministry had discussed agriculture-related work taken up by the state in 2013-14 and found that expenditure on agriculture and allied works was just 48 per cent.

The state government is yet to submit information education and communication (IEC) plan to the ministry. A separate IEC unit was set up by the ministry. It was earlierwas christened as publicity and media unit.

The Centre had spent a huge amount on IEC activities, mainly comprising dissemination of information and awareness generation regarding schemes and programmes operated by it.

The IEC helps generate awareness through dissemination of information, leading to adequate programme literacy regarding entitlement and processes for beneficiaries and those implementing the programmes.

Srinagar, October 7
Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Rohit Kansal called on Governor NN Vohra here today.

Kansal briefed the Governor about the estimated losses suffered by the people in the floods and the relief, rehabilitation, health and sanitation measures underway.

The Governor advised the Divisional Commissioner to urgently review the impact of the recent floods on the educational schedules, from the school to the university level, and announce the government’s decision on revised vacation and examination schedules without any delay.

The Governor also advised Kansal to direct the Deputy Commissioners and all concerned officials to speed up the rehabilitation work to ensure that all those who had been adversely affected by the floods were provided safe shelter before the winter set in.

Rajouri, October 7
Rajouri district suffered huge losses in terms of life and infrastructure during the landslides and floods following incessant rain in the state from September 4 to 10.

The official estimate of losses to infrastructure, including government buildings and houses, was about Rs 190 crore.

As many as 93 persons were killed in the natural catastrophe which had struck the state. Cheques worth Rs 1.5 lakh each had been distributed by the state government among the next of kin of the deceased.

The casualties included 66 members of a wedding party who were washed away in a seasonal rivulet in the Nowshera tehsil on September 4.

Rajouri Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jatender K Singh said the state government had released Rs 180 lakh as immediate help under the State Disaster Relief Fund through the Jammu Divisional Commissioner.

Of this, Rs 112.5 lakh had been distributed among next of kin of deceased and Rs 25 lakh given to the Power Development Department (PDD) for immediate restoration of power.

Power supply was restored in Rajouri after seven days. Electricity poles and transformers feeding the town had been washed away in the floods.

Official sources said about 9,500 houses had been damaged, of which 3,048 had been fully destroyed. As many as 480 heads of livestock had been killed.

A total of 11,363 kanals, including 5,334 kanals of cultivated land, had been either washed washed away in the floods or damaged in the landslides.

Jatender said the district administration had sought Rs 110 crore as immediate help for temporary restoration of PHE and PDD schemes, roads and irrigation.

“The district administration has received Rs 11.8 crore as relief from the state government. Of this, about Rs 6 crore has been distributed to the PHE, the PDD, the PWD (R&B), irrigation and flood control departments,” he said.

The rest would be distributed to those whose houses had been damaged, he added. The DC had constituted tehsil level committees to assess losses to houses.

In an effort to counter-check authenticity of reports prepared by committees, verify details, maintain transparency and ensure relief to victims, he had constituted another committee.

It was mandatory for tehsildars concerned to provide lists of house damaged to verifying officers and ensure completion of the verification process within seven days.

Srinagar, October 7
More than a week ago the Railways resumed its operation from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Banihal in the Jammu region, but it will take time before all trains services are restored.

Officials say they have been carrying out repair works of the railway track, mostly in south Kashmir, which had suffered damages due to the floods, and simultaneously operating the train services.

“The train service up to Banihal is operational but it will take some more time before the trains resume making normal 22 trips between Baramulla and Banihal,” said a Railways official.

“While trains are plying, we are simultaneously working on full restoration of the railway track so that trains chug on a normal speed of 100 km per hour which was reduced after the resumption of services,” he said.

The trains are only making 10 trips after the resumption of rail services up to Banihal on September 28.

The railway track between the Awantipora-Kakpora and Anantnag-Bijbehara stations in south Kashmir was damaged due to the floods and a large portion of the track was washed away. The officials have restored the major portions of the track.

The Kashmir train service was suspended on September 5 after the flash floods in the Valley. The partial services resumed between Nowgam (Srinagar) and Baramulla on September 15.

The commuters demand that the repair of the track be expedited so that trains resume normal services.

“We have been suffering and anxiously waiting for over a month for normal restoration of the train services which is a favourite mode of travel for many,” said Iftiqar Ahmed, a daily commuter.

Jammu, October 7
The recent floods, which wreaked havoc on the area along the Tawi in the city, have also cast shadow on the lake project. Officials said keeping in view the damage to the pillars for building storage facility, the work on the project has been stopped till further orders.

Officially no new deadline has been set for its completion to give city its first artificial lake aimed to boost tourism and divert water for irrigation purposes. The heavy rainfall between September 3 and 7 led to massive flooding along the banks of Tawi leading to further debate on the success of the project which was first planned in 1986.

“The work has already been left midway last year following failure of the government to divert the flow of 18 drains and connect them with the sewerage. Now the flooding has further questioned the wisdom of the authorities in creating an artificial lake,” said an official source in the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.

The Rs 69.70-crore Tawi Barrage project was to be completed in 2012 and till now an amount of Rs 37.32 crore has been incurred on it, but due to the failure of civic bodies to stop flow of sewerage from the drains, it has got delayed.

The design of the artificial lake's project on the Tawi was approved by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, to make the city more attractive for the visitors, while using the barrage water to augment the irrigation facilities in the paddy growing areas of the district.

Jammu, October 7
The All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC), the apex body of displaced Kashmiri Hindus, today demonstrated against the recently released film “Haider” saying that the song “Bismil” has portrayed the ancient Sun Temple (Martand Temple) of Kashmir in bad light, thus hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus all over the world.

The activists of the organisation condemned producer/director of the film Vishal Bhardwaj for the “conspiracy” to denigrate the 1,700-year-old Hindu temple. They sought unconditional apology from the producer/director as well as Censor Board of India and Archaeological Survey of India for clearing the film.

Leaders of the APMCC said their organisation had organised a grand “hawan” on the temple premises on October 2, 2009, after many years. Allowing shooting of a film inside the temple and depicting it as a den of the devil is intolerable. They demanded immediate deletion of the song from the film or shooting the entire sequence again.

The activists threatened to launch a nationwide agitation against the filmmaker and sought the intervention of I&B Minister Prakash Javedkar in the episode.

The APMCC leaders asked all the Hindu organisations of the world to rise to the occasion and stop the cultural and religious aggression of filmmakers, adding that they won’t tolerate incursion into religious affairs under the garb of artistic freedom.

The leaders said they would issue a legal notice to the producer of the film as well as the CBFC and ASI seeking legal action and damages for defaming ancient Hindu temple and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The leaders said the temple build in 370 AD has a huge historic and religious significance as it was one of the two Sun Temples that exist in India with the other one in Konark.

Srinagar, October 7
Eid-ul-Zuha is usually celebrated with fervour for three days in the Valley, but celebrations continued to remain subdued in the aftermath of floods.

The areas which were submerged during the floods continued to present a gloomy picture, while most of the people in areas like Sanat Nagar, Rawalpora, Hyderpora, Habak and Soura that had escaped the catastrophe celebrated the festival in an austere manner.

As per official estimates, 12.5 lakh families had been affected by the floods with 83,044 pucca houses being fully damaged and 96,089 partially.

Over 21,162 kuchha houses were fully damaged and 54,264 of them were partially damaged in the floods.

Though the trend of bursting firecrackers had picked up for the past few years, no loud celebrations were witnessed this time around.

The buzz around the commercial centre, Lal Chowk, was also missing as majority of the shops in the vicinity continued to remain shut following the damages caused by the floods.

People usually sacrifice cattle to honour Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son before the Allah.

Even as the sales of sacrificial animals had dipped by around 50 per cent this Eid, some people were seen distributing meat among their kith and kin even today.

The annual Haj pilgrimage too culminates with Eid-ul-Azha and the devotees from the state are scheduled to arrive at the Srinagar International Airport from October 11 onwards.

Srinagar, October 7
A Delhi-based group of artists and activists, Sahmat, is collaborating with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Kashmir Chapter, to preserve the centuries old history of Kashmir which was affected by the recent floods.

The group will work towards conserving the damaged manuscripts and artefacts which were lying at the SPS Museum and Institute of Fine Arts and Music situated in the Raj Bagh area of Srinagar.

The project will also help the artists and craftsmen, whose works at the museum and fine arts institute have been lost or damaged in the recent deluge.

The Sahmat spokesperson told The Tribune over phone that the group would hold a joint press conference along with conservationists, architects and artists on Wednesday at the Press Club, Delhi, to announce a mechanism of building resources for the artists and providing financial aid to those who have lost their precious work in the floods.

“We will highlight the urgency in rapid and professional requirements needed to save this cultural heritage during the course of our project,” the spokesperson said.

Former director of the INTACH, Kashmir Chapter, and a member of the National Monument Authority of India Salim Beg, who has agreed to be a part of the initiative, said the manuscripts which provide an evidence of Kashmir’s connection with the Central Asia as well as rich literary works in Sanskrit, Korean, Japanese and Tibetan languages have been damaged or lost during the floods.

Beg had recently inspected the SPS Museum and took stock of the losses.

He said the paintings, textiles, paper mache, wood carvings, besides handwritten copies of sacred texts might have also been damaged in the floods.

Apart from Beg, renowned actor and theater director MK Raina, who hails from Kashmir, would also be a part of this initiative.

Srinagar, October 7
As the government is yet to conduct a survey of the damaged properties in Srinagar due to the September 7 deluge, the minority Sikh community here has come out with its own figures about the losses suffered by its members.

As per the survey carried out by the Sanat Nagar Gurdwara Parbandhak Community, 88 houses belonging to community have been completely destroyed in the flood.

“The survey carried out by our volunteers has revealed that 88 houses belonging to Sikhs have collapsed during the floods in different localities of Srinagar,” said Gurjeet Singh, president of the Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Budgam, the organisation which is overseeing the relief and rehabilitation centre setup by the community at Sanat Nagar Gurdwara.

Hundreds of flood-hit families, including Muslims, had taken refuge in the Sanat Nagar Gurdwara during the initial days of the deluge.

Sikh hoses in Jawahar Nagar, Tulsibagh, Aalochi Bagh, Nursing Garh and Suthra Shahi were completely damaged, Gurjeet Singh said.

The government is yet to provide any financial assistance to the flood-affected people who have lost their houses in the recent catastrophe.

Gurjeet Singh, however, said the executive committee of the Gurdwara Parbandak Committee would meet soon to decide how to help the Sikh families whose houses have been washed away by floods.

Currently, 500 members of nearly 125 displaced families are being served the daily langar at the Sanat Nagar Gurdwara, the committee members said.

They also said during the crisis, two truckloads of relief material was dispatched by the Sikh community to the relief centre set up by Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Hyderpora. Besides, a truckload of relief material was provided to Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik for distribution among the needy.

Srinagar, October 7
It was an Eid away from home for Hassan Babur, a 29-year-old lawyer from Doda, and Kishtwar-based Syed Imran and Rashid Nadeem.

Babur made his first visit to the flood-hit Srinagar city on September 10 and spent six days in the worst affected localities, contributing to the relief work.

“I was anxious at home as there was no communication with the people here so I decided to come and help the people,” Babur said. “I don’t know how to swim so I only took part in the relief work.”

For the six days, Babur spent in Bemina, Qamarwari and Batamaloo — some of the worst hit localities where thousands of residents were trapped inside their houses — he worked as a helping hand to the local volunteers arranging medicines and food.

During his stay in the ravaged city, about 250 km away from his home and two-month old son, Babur also spent a night in a truck.

He later went back home only to return with a truck load of essential supplies.

“I returned on September 30 with 25 quintals of rice, two quintals of cooking oil, a quintal salt and spices and 40 sets of bedding,” Babur said.

This time Babur was accompanied by Imran, an engineer, and Nadeem, a teacher.

The essentials were distributed among the affected families in south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Pulwama districts.

The trio spent the Eid in Kashmir and distributed five quintals of sacrificial meat among the affected families.

“We are in love with the people of Kashmir. Even at this critical juncture they are hospitable. None can match their hospitality,” said Babur.

Srinagar, October 7
Executive Director, Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR), Sushhoba Barve met Governor NN Vohra here today.

Barve apprised the Governor about the relief work being carried out by the CDR in the aftermath of the floods in the state and about CDR’s continuing initiatives to foster communal harmony within the state and better understanding across the Line of Control.

The Governor lauded the CDR for helping the flood-affected people.

Jammu, October 7
Protests continued in the city against the heavy firing from Pakistan on the civilian population in Arnia and other parts of Jammu.

Protesters demanded effective response by the BSF against Pakistan rangers.

They also burnt the effigy of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif amid anti-Pakistan slogans. “The BSF should be directed to give a strong reply to Pakistani rangers as they are directly firing on our civilians resulting in the death of many,” said state president of the Kranti Dal Pritam Sharma.

He lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led NDA government for following weak policy towards the Pakistan aggression on the border, which is disrupting the life of a common man. He appealed to the Army to retaliate strongly to the frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan. “When Pakistan is not willing to listen and mend its ways, India should give it a strong reply in the same language which it understands. Time has come to teach them a lesson and our leadership should devise a strategy to deal with them firmly,” Pritam said.

Jammu, October 7
A cultural organisation, Nat Manch, staged a Hindi street play, "Swachchhata hamare jeevan ka ang bane" at Brig Rajinder Singh Park, Canal Road.

With the presentation of today’s play, the Nat Manch also completed its 131st show in the city. The play was written and directed by manch director Tarun Sharma. The main motive of the play was cleanliness in our society.

The actors who performed in the play included Tarun Sharma, Neharika Magotra, Naveenpal, Arshiya, Vikas Jasrotia, Nikhil Sharma, Sourav Sharma, Amit Sharma, Sourav Mehra, Rahul Verma ,Rishav Salgotra, Rohit Sharma, Atul and Rakesh Sharma. — TNS

Jammu, October 7
A record 88 teams, including 41 women groups, from different universities across the country have confirmed their participation in the upcoming North Zone Intervarsity Badminton Championship to be held at the University of Jammu from October 27 to 31.

While confirming the development Prof Dhian S Bhau, director, Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, Jammu University said: “Yes, we have received entries of record 88 teams for the championship and we are really upbeat about it.”

Fort the first time in its history, Jammu University is scheduled to host as many as three national level competitions this season.

The North Zone Intervarsity Badminton Championship would be followed by the North Zone Intervarsity Handball competition to be held from November 7 to 13.

And finally, the university is scheduled to host the All India Intervarsity Handball Championship from November 16 to 19.

In the handball discipline alone, a total of 90 teams, including 43 women teams, have confirmed their entries.

Earlier, there were speculations that after the devastating floods in the state, the championships might be postponed by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). Prof Bhau, however, negated any such reports.

“There is no question of postponement of championships as almost all the necessary arrangements have been put in place. Though there are some issues which I hope would be taken up and resolved before the commencement of the national events,” he said.

“Preparations are in the final phase for the upcoming competitions and we are aware of the importance of hosting them successfully. This is for the first time in the history of the University of Jammu that three national competitions are being hosted,” Prof Bahu said.

“Hosting of any national level competition at varsity level is a big advantage not only for the host university but also for the state as a whole. Firstly, the varsity players will get an opportunity to meet their counterparts and secondly, they would be able to judge themselves where their game stands as compared to players of other varsities,” the director said.

Jammu, October 7
The KC Sports Club (KCSC) notched up a comfortable win over the Shanker Cricket Club (SCC) in the ongoing T20 cricket tournament being played at the KC Sports Club ground.

In the first match, the KC Sports Club won the toss and chose to bat first. The team accumulated 173 runs in the allotted 20 overs with Suryansh scoring maximum, 43 in 30 balls.

For SCC, Happy took the maximum wickets (two). The SCC could score only 109 runs and lost the match by a big margin of 65 runs.

For the KCSC, Vivek and Bakshi took two wickets each. Suryansh of the KCSC, who scored brilliant 43 runs, was adjudged “man of the match”.

The second match was won by the CCC by four wickets. The team achieved the target set by the FCC in 19 overs. Earlier, after winning the toss, the FCC decided to bat first and set a target of 140 runs for the CCC.

Vineet Raina was the top scorer from the FCC, who garnered 66 runs off just 40 balls. His knock contained six delectable hits to the fence and five mighty heaves for the maximum.

For the CCC, Sahil and Aditya took two wickets each, while for the FCC Pankaj and Mendis also scalped two wickets each.

Sanjay and Rahul were umpires of the matches, while Puran was the scorer.

Jammu, October 7
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) eves defeated Puducherry by 42-33 points in a league match in the 31st Youth National Basketball Championship being played at Indoor Stadium, Sector-42, Chandigarh, today.

At half time, the match was evenly poised with Puducherry having a slight lead with 22-21 points. For J&K, Pearl Sharma was the top scorer with 15 points, while Sarabjit Kour scored 13 points. Aashima Tandon and Alisha Uppal fetched 10 and four points, respectively.

In the boys’ section, J&K suffered defeat against West Bengal with 60-71 points. For J&K, Abhisar scored 19 points. — TNS