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Pakistan again targets Poonch
Ministry of Minority Affairs reviews flood relief measures
Include West Pak refugees in rehab package, state BJP urges
Centre
Keep separate stock of soiled medicines, say state doctors
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PDP submits rebuilding, rehab plan to Prime Minister
Relief mismanaged: City residents
Overloading of passenger vehicles goes
unchecked
‘We survived floods, but it is impossible to bear the chill’
Need additional forces to conduct fair polls: DGP
JKCA starts selection camp for under-14 cricketers
Jitendra Singh felicitates Asian Games medallist
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind delegation calls on Guv
Two masked youths wave ISIS flag in Srinagar
Licences of 7 medical shops suspended
Train service restored fully in Kashmir valley
Bank pays Rs 128-cr dividend to CM
Central team assesses
flood losses in Kashmir
Patwar association demands Revenue Dept’s revamp
Andrabi University of Kashmir VC
Indecisive Cabinet upsets casual workers
Jhelum House win athletic meet 6 injured ITBP men rescued in Ladakh
Govt forms panel to monitor MGNREGA Puja holidays in schools from October 21-25 DGP visits Zewan police complex Science congress inaugurated
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Pakistan again targets Poonch
Jammu, October 17 “Yesterday around 9 pm, Pakistani troops of the 651 Mujahid Regiment opened automatic weapons and small arms fire on Indian positions in the Balakote sector. Consequently, Indian troops guarding the positions retaliated and the gun duel lasted till 11 pm,” said an Army source. This morning, the Pakistani troops again opened fire around 9.55 am and once again the Indian troops gave an effective response. Both sides traded fire till 12 noon, he added. The Pakistani troops had opened fire from their Topa Giddarian and Mehal Dorian posts on MS Tekri, Panjini Nullah and Kunical Bunker. However, in both acts of targeted fire there were no injuries to Indian troops. “This time around they (Pak) didn’t target civilian areas,” the source said. On October 15, seven-year-old boy Riaz Ahmed of Kaiyan Shahpur received shrapnel injuries when he was returning home from school. Meanwhile, 50-year-old Om Prakash of Arnia, who had sustained serious splinter injuries on October 6 in Pakistani shelling, died today at a hospital here. Prakash, who was undergoing treatment at Government Medical College and Hospital here since October 6, succumbed to his injuries at 7.10 am today. Since October 1 at least nine civilians have been killed while over 93 persons, including 13 security personnel, have been injured in Pakistani shelling. However, much to the respite of border residents, the 198-km-long international border in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts remained calm. The shelling has displaced over 35,000 villagers, who have taken shelter in various relief camps. RS Pura targeted too
Pakistan violated ceasefire on the international border in the RS Pura sector in Jammu district around 4.35 pm on Friday. Pakistan fired 24 rounds in the Allah Mai De Kothe and Niki Tawi areas. The BSF also retaliated. Lashkar militant held in Pulwama
The police claimed on Friday that they had arrested a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant from the Pulwama district in south Kashmir. An aide of Abu Maaz and Abu Qasim, foreign militants active in the Valley, he was reportedly involved in militancy related incidents in south Kashmir. SSP Tejinder Singh said it was a big achievement. He said the CRPF set up a naka on the Rajpora road after a tip-off. “During a search, the team arrested Lashkar militant Abid Magray, alias Suju, of Nowpora Payeen near Sheikhaad in Pulwama,” he said. |
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Ministry of Minority Affairs reviews flood relief measures
New Delhi, October 17 Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla reviewed the outcome of the visit on Thursday and advised officials to remain in constant touch with the state government for implementation of the decisions in a time-bound manner. The team comprised Joint Secretary, Director in the Ministry and Managing Director, National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) to Jammu and Kashmir to chalk out plan of action in consultation with State Government. After discussion with the Chief Secretary; Principal Secretary (Planning) and Secretary (Social Welfare Department) and other officials concerned, the team advised the government to extend the date of submission of application forms under the pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships up to December 15. The Ministry informed the state that it might consider all eligible applications under scholarship schemes for flood-affected districts entailing an additional expenditure of Rs 30 crore in this regard. The State Government has also been requested to forward applications of minority girls for scholarships under the scheme of Maulana Azad Education Foundation by October 31. In order to increase the flow of required concessional credit under the schemes of NMDFC, the Ministry asked the state and Managing Directors of the Jammu and Kashmir State Women Development Corporation, Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute and Jammu and Kashmir SC, ST and BCs Development Corporation to furnish the list of loanees, who were affected by the floods by October 31. The Ministry would also intensify its skill development initiative —- Seekho aur Kamao —- in the flood-affected districts of Jammu and Kashmir. It would help 4,000 minority youths upgrade their skills to enable them avail gainful employment opportunities. Proposal for skill development of local youths have also been asked under “Jan Vikas Yojna (MsDP)”. In order to reconstruct basic amenities and infrastructure in flood-hit areas, the Ministry requested the state government to submit project proposals for construction of schools, classrooms, health centres, ITIs, etc… at Rajauri district covered under the Jan Vikas Yojana (MsDP) by October 31. Taking stock
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Include West Pak refugees in rehab package, state BJP urges
Centre
Jammu, October 17 The state BJP said the state Cabinet, while approving a package for displaced persons on Thursday, had ignored the “stateless” refugees from West Pakistan who have been living in the Jammu region since 1947. The party leaders have urged the Union Government to incorporate all refugees, including those from West Pakistan, in the package. “It is not only unfortunate but inhuman on the part of the state government to ignore the West Pakistani refugees, a majority of them Dalits, while approving a package for displaced persons,” said Rajya Sabha member and in charge of J&K BJP Avinash Rai Khanna. “We were hoping that while formulating a package for refugees, the state government would also taken into account the West Pakistan refugees but unfortunately these people are once again ignored by the present regime in J&K,” Khanna said, adding that the party leaders had already sounded the Centre about the inhuman approach being adopted by the J&K Government while solving the problems of refugees. Khanna disclosed that serious efforts were already being taken up to address problems of the West Pakistan refugees along with other displaced persons. “Unlike the Congress, our concern is not about votes but providing justice to all refugees,” he said. “West Pakistan refugees don’t have voting rights in Assembly elections so political parties were adopting an inhuman approach towards their problem,” he added. Meanwhile a meeting of the representatives of West Pakistan refugees was held with officers of the Union Home Ministry in New Delhi on Thursday to deliberate upon their problems. The meeting which was chaired by a senior officer of the Home Ministry assured the representatives that their problems would be addressed along with the other categories of displaced persons. The next meeting has been fixed for October 21 for further deliberations. Chairman of the West Pakistani Refugees Action Committee (WPRAC) Labha Ram Gandhi told The Tribune that Thursday’s meeting was very fruitful. “Despite the inhuman approach being adopted by the state government, we are hopeful that the Union Government would adopt a sympathetic attitude towards our problems,” he said. Dr Narinder Singh Raina, a refugee leader, regretted that the state government had put the ball in the Centre’s court but no step had been taken on the issues which were under the purview of the state. Plight of refugees
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Keep separate stock of soiled medicines, say state doctors
Srinagar, October 17 The doctors’ body has also demanded that standard operating procedures should be in place to ensure that all quarantined medicines were correctly accounted for and unavailable for sale. The statement by the DAK flows surprise raids and checks by officials from the Drug and Food Control Organisation (DFCO) across THE city on Tuesday and Thursday as complaints were received that flood-affected medicines had been put on sale by the chemists. “The sale of flood-hit medicines by some unscrupulous chemist shops in Srinagar city is an unforgivable commission of crime as it threatens precious human lives,” the Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) said in a statement here, adding it was painful that some drug stores were involved in illegal acts at a time when the entire Kashmir was mourning due to the recent devastating floods. During raids on Thursday , officials said eight medical shops namely Shah Pharmacy, Pure Pharmacy, Manzoor Medicate, AAY BEE Medicate, Batamallo; Srinagar, Life Care Medicate, Sonawar; Srinagar, Care and Cure Medicate, Sonawar; Rising Sun Pharmacy, Sonawar, and Ilham Medicate, Dalgate, were found indulging in ‘unethical trade practices by displaying flood-hit commodities for sale’. Earlier on Wednesday, the municipal authorities had raided and sealed the premises of Bindroo medicate for allegedly selling contaminated medicine. While explaining the affects of contaminated and flood-affected medicine, the DAK said for patients with chronic diseases like diabetes or heart disease, damaged dose of a crucial medicine like insulin or nitroglycerin could be life threatening. “Some damaged antibiotics due to floods can cause severe stomach and kidney damage. The damaged seizure medicines and anticoagulants will harm instead of doing good to patients,” the doctors’ body said, adding that the damaged test strips for blood sugar and pregnancy would give false readings. “Chemist shops selling soiled medicines are not only a threat to individuals, but also to the entire community. Their licences should be cancelled and they should be booked and prosecuted for this criminal activity,” it said, while urging the authorities to place this kind of medicine under quarantine until proper disposal, besides advocating SOPs to ensure that all quarantined medicines were correctly accounted for and were unavailable for sale. |
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PDP submits rebuilding, rehab plan to Prime Minister
Srinagar, October 17 They urged the Centre to put on fast track the state’s partnership with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery for conducting a joint rapid damage needs assessment. “The core idea of reconstruction should be that the disaster provides an opportunity to better rebuild all destroyed assets and leapfrog into the 21st century,” the memorandum said. It was submitted by Mehbooba Mufti, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and Tariq Hameed Karra. “In addition to the technical assistance fund, resources should be availed from the callable fund, which provides speedy access to financial resources for disaster recovery. This can be leveraged for resources from donor countries and multilateral financial institutions for long-term reconstruction,” they noted. They said the purpose of the partnership should be a joint three-fold mission. “List short-term government intervention, arrive at financial requirements needed to achieve recovery, reconstruction and risk reduction and draw a roadmap for capacity building in risk management and post-disaster reconstruction,” they said. The PDP suggested that the focus of post-flood rehabilitation should be on restoration of livelihood and rebuilding the economy. The floods had not destroyed assets and
impaired income generation, they said. It would take nearly a decade to reach pre-flood income levels, they added. What the party suggested
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Relief mismanaged: City residents
Srinagar, October 17 People in Budshah
Chowk, Solina, Raj Bagh, Kursu, Mehjoor Nagar, Shivpoar, Sonwar and Padshahi Bagh alleged that the government and NGOs were not distributing relief fairly among the flood victims in their localities. “We have been worst hit by the floods, but we are being ignored. The government is distributing relief material without checking whether it reaches the needy or not. We have been let down by the government,” said Omar Ahmad, a resident of Mehjoor
Nagar. The residents said though some social activists and NGOs visited the area, there was “favouritism” in relief distribution and the needy were not getting any benefits. “All we hear is that tonnes of relief material has been sent to Kashmir through different organisations and is being distributed among the flood victims. We have not seen anyone here distributing any material,” said a local, Kursu Feroz Ahmad. The residents of Shutra Shahi and other adjoining mohallas also staged a sit-in near Budshah Chowk yesterday demanding relief and rehabilitation. Traffic came to a standstill as the protesters blocked the main road leading to the Lal Chowk for hours together. Later, the police intervened and dispersed the protesters. Similar protests were held in Solina and other parts of the city halting the traffic. Many residents said they were not getting ration as per government announcements. “We were told that as per the government announcements, flood-hit families will be entitled to 50 kg free rice from the local ration
ghats. But we were given only 35 kg rice,” said Khalid Khan, a resident of Abu Bakar Colony,
Bemina. For the past three days, scores of protests where held across the Valley with people demanding relief and rehabilitation. They blamed the government for “ignoring their plight”. |
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Overloading of passenger vehicles goes
unchecked
Nagrota, October 17 The traffic police, which are the law enforcement agency, seem to have become a mute spectator to the violations. A minibus driver said they have to indulge in overloading of vehicles, as it is about making profit at the end of the day. Minibus drivers also indulge in playing of high-pitch music and reckless driving. There is a total chaos in the city as far as traffic is concerned, but let alone managing it properly, even the basic rules are not been strictly implemented. The Jammu region in general and the city in particular have been witnessing countless road mishaps for the last two years. Rampant overloading in public transport vehicles conveys the apathetic attitude of the authorities concerned. Despite taking several stringent measures by the traffic police, the increasing number of vehicles on roads is leading to daily chaos leaving the present infrastructure almost crumbling. Rashly driven minibuses, two-wheeler riders without wearing helmets, illegally parked vehicles and overtaking have become the norms of the day, while modern technology is proving ineffective to streamline the movement of vehicles in the city of temples. No official of the Traffic Department could be contacted for comments, despite repeated attempts.
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‘We survived floods, but it is impossible to bear the chill’
Srinagar, October 17 In Lal Mandi along the Jhelum view park, 12 tents have been erected temporarily for 24 families whose houses have collapsed. In each tents, two families live.
Sumaiya Mehraj, 30, who shares a temporary tent on the banks of the Jhelum with another woman near Raj
Bagh, told about the loss they had suffered due to the wrath of the floods in the city. “We were rescued by local boys and no government official has come to our help so far,” they said. As winters have come, women and children said it has become difficult for them to withstand the biting cold on the banks of the
Jhelum. “We survived the floods, but it is impossible for us to bear this cold on the road. The government didn’t do anything for us, but we want them to shift us to a safer place. We just want a roof on our head,” said Shaheena
Hafeez, who lives in a makeshift shelter with her two children and mother-in-law. Two days ago, the families had to shift to a nearby mosque during night as rainwater entered their tents. “We have already lost everything and with the rain now, our condition is becoming even worse,” said 28-year-old Daisy
Showkat, whose husband is an auto driver. The families said they had not even received the interim amount of Rs 75,000 announced by the government for rebuilding their houses. “We didn’t receive anything yet. Just some local students and volunteers came with medicines and baby food,” said Daisy. “Our children are left with nothing, no clothes or books. Even if they go to schools, we are not in a position to pay their fee. We are all poor people,” women living in the tents said. |
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Need additional forces to conduct fair polls: DGP
Pulwama, October 17 Rajendra said he has directed all his men to ensure “impartial, free and fair” elections and has already shifted many of the officials against whom complaints were filed. “The elections should be transparent and for this many transfers have been made in the department,” the DGP said while reviewing the security in this south Kashmir town. He also told his men that if any of the officials’ conduct was not good it should be brought to his notice. Rajendra further instructed the police personnel to ferry the criminals to the court without making commoners to suffer. The DGP said many infiltration attempts had been foiled by security forces and several infiltrators were killed on the borders. He also said the number of infiltration cases have decreased over the years. While stating that around 200 militants were present in the state, Rajendra said the “exact figure” cannot be assessed. |
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JKCA starts selection camp for under-14 cricketers
Jammu, October 17 About 75 budding cricketers of the Jammu region will be exhibiting their talent in the camp, which was inaugurated by JKCA chairman Arvinder Singh Micky. The camp is being held under the overall supervision of Ravi Kant Raina. After the inauguration ceremony, Micky assured all the participants that the selection will be done in the most transparent/impartial manner so that talented and meritorious boys get their due and makes it to the state team. He assured that the J&K Cricket Association will provide all the facilities to the budding cricketers of the sate and do the best to upgrade the standard of cricket in J&K. He conveyed the best wishes sent by JKCA president Dr Farooq Abdullah to the budding cricketers of the state. Micky said the shortlisted boys from Kashmir will join the camp shortly and the final team of U-14 will be ready by the end of this month. Those present on the occasion included Romesh Mahajan, Ranjit Kalra (member, BCCI), Dr Vinod Bakshi, Ankush Abrol, Rajesh Dhar, Randhir Singh Jamwal, Kavaljeet Singh, Surjeet Singh, Ashwani Gupta, Harsh Nayyar, Ajit Singh and Ashok Kumar.
— TNS |
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Jitendra Singh felicitates Asian Games medallist
Jammu, October 17 Presenting a memento (shield) and bouquet to the young shooter, Jitendra Singh said it gives him three-fold joy and pride in felicitating Chain Singh. First, he explained, Chain Singh has done pride to the Indian nation. Second, he has brought laurels to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and third, he hails from one of the remotest areas of Bhalessa in Doda district, which falls in the Lok Sabha constituency represented by
him. Jitendra Singh said it is an extraordinary achievement as without receiving any formal training or coaching and without any patronage from higher quarters, Chain Singh has emerged a world-class shooter by receiving a gold medal in the Asian shooting competition earlier and now a bronze medal in 2014 Asian Games. It is such talented youngsters, he said, who deserve special attention and encouragement, particularly in a state like J&K, where a large number of youth are going astray due to unemployment and
militancy. Jitendra Singh assured Chain Singh that he will offer all possible help from his side to groom his talent and also to bring up a shooting practice zone at his native village in
Bhalessa. |
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Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind delegation calls on Guv
Srinagar, October 17 The delegation further requested the Governor to intervene and help in waiver of interest on loans sanctioned to the flood-affected. The Jamiat also urged that the recent floods in the Valley should be declared as national calamity. The group requested the Governor to see that the school and college examinations for the current academic session in the Valley were not deferred. They also brought to the Governor’s notice the severe hardships being faced by the non-state subjects as they were not being provided any compensation package for their rehabilitation even when many of them have been living and working in the Valley for the past many years. The Governor assured the delegation that the Chief Minister would be informed of their demands.
— TNS
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Two masked youths wave ISIS flag in Srinagar
Srinagar, October 17 The incident occurred after Friday prayers at the Jamia
Masjid. The masked men raised slogans in favour of the ISIS and the al
Qaeda. Eyewitnesses said the two youths later took out a black flag and waved it outside one of the gates of the mosque. “The policemen, some of them in civvies, chased them, but they escaped,” an eyewitness said. The youths waved the black flag despite elaborate security measures outside the mosque premises. Armoured vehicles were stationed at key junctions and outside gates. Police personnel in uniform and civvies were deployed. A senior
police officer was present on the scene supervising the deployment. A black flag with an Islamic statement of faith and a seal of Prophet Muhammad has been adopted by the ISIS and the al
Qaeda. |
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Licences of 7 medical shops suspended
Srinagar, October 17 During the drive, 39 establishments (Retail/wholesale) were checked. Licences of seven shops namely M/s Biatullah Medical Store, Qamarwari, New Feroz Medicare, New MS Medicate, Lutfan Medicate and Aksa Medicate of Karan Nagar, M/S Sajad Medicate Sanat Nagar and M/s Fore Way Medicate, HMT were suspended. Medicines worth Rs 20,000, which were contaminated by the floodwaters, were confiscated on the spot, an official spokesman said. The exercise has been necessitated at the behest of inputs that certain vendors are indulging in sale of flood-hit medicines to the end users which in all likelihood is bound to pose serious health risks to consumers. The stakeholders in general and consumer in particular have been impressed upon to share their inputs about such incidents to the regularity authorities concerned at district head quarters. |
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Train service restored fully in Kashmir valley
Srinagar, October 17 “The complete train service has been resumed first time
after September 5, when flash floods forced complete suspension of the
train services. Though we had been running services between Banihal and
Baramulla, only less than half of services were operational,” said a
senior Railway official. The floods had damaged the rail track in south
Kashmir and it took a lot of time to repair it. The track had also got
weaken due to the flood waters, the official said. The commuters
welcomed the resumption of complete train service. “We are happy that
the all the trains have resumed operation. We had suffered a lot during
past one month due to partial train services,” said a commuter from
north Kashmir. |
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Bank pays Rs 128-cr dividend to CM
Srinagar, October 17 Presenting the
cheques, the bank chairman said Rs 713.19 crore had been paid to the government as dividend income since 1938, of which Rs 411 crore had been paid in the last four years. The bank chairman gave Rs 5 crore for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund as relief for the flood affected. He said the bank intended to pay another instalment of Rs 5 crore. Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather, Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal
Khandey, Principal Secretary for Finance BB Vyas and senior bank officers were present. The bank chairman said a special package for affected industrialists, businessmen and traders was rolled out Friday.
— TNS |
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Central team assesses
flood losses in Kashmir
Srinagar, October 17 DDC Sajad Ahmad Khan gave a detailed presentation in Pulwama about the damage and relief and rehabilitation process in the district. Officers provided the details of damage their departments had suffered during the floods. The DDC said the R&B Department had made 41 bridges functional again. He said 161 PHE schemes were damaged in the floods, of which 159 were restored. He said 157 school buildings were damaged, of which 12 were fully affected. He said crops on 3.21 lakh hectares were damaged and 81 hectares washed away by the floods. He said 84 Irrigation Department schemes were damaged, of which 22 were restored. The district administration led by ADDC Hashmatullah informed the visiting team in Anantnag that 174 of the 394 villages in the district were inundated and 220 partially affected. — TNS
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Patwar association demands Revenue Dept’s revamp
Jammu, October 17 Members of the association also demanded the release of final order of the Department Promotion Committee (DPC) and removal of pay anomalies and recruitment of more revenue officials. “We are aware of the problems faced by the general public, but the government has forced us to go on a strike by not responding to our demands,” an AJKPA spokesman said. Association members also staged similar protests at the district headquarters across the state. Protesters expressed resentment over non-fulfillment of commitment made by Raman Bhalla, former Revenue and Relief Minster on April 5, 2012, in which he had agreed to accept all the demands made by the association. |
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Andrabi University of Kashmir VC
Srinagar, October 17 Andrabi is a researcher in bio-informatics. He obtained MSc degree in biochemistry from the University of Kashmir. He did PhD from the PGIMER in Chandigarh. He had worked as post-doctoral fellow at Tuft’s and Harvard medical schools in the US. His papers have been published in national and international journals. The Governor expressed the
hope that a strong push would be given to research and academic activities in the university under Andrabi. |
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Indecisive Cabinet upsets casual workers
Jammu, October 17 The employees are feeling “ditched” by the state government as despite assurances, nothing has been done for their regularisation by the Cabinet on Thursday. Different employees’ organisations condemned the “casual approach” of the state government towards the
employees. Gafoor Dar, president, Jammu Kashmir National Trade Union Front
(JKNTUF), said, “It is unfortunate that despite repeated assurances and agreements, the state government has once again ditched daily wagers, who are engaged in different departments of the state for more than 10 years.” |
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The three MPs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submitted a memorandum suggesting ways for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the flood-hit state. They stated that the floods had provided an opportunity to better rebuild destroyed assets.
Despite witnessing several tragic road accidents involving overloaded passenger vehicles, the authorities seems to have turned a blind eye towards the violation of traffic rules, particularly on the national highway.
Teams of traffic police personnel have been deployed in the city and on its outskirts, but there is no check on overloading of vehicles.
Srinagar, October 17
Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra Kumar today said there was need of additional deployment in the state to ensure smooth conduct of the Assembly elections.
“Although we have made arrangement for the upcoming Assembly elections, additional troops are required for smooth conduct of the process,” the DGP said.
A delegation of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, led by its secretary Maulana Hakimuddin
Qasmi, called on Governor NN Vohra here today.
The delegation apprised the Governor of the ongoing rehabilitation work for the flood victims in the Valley.
Two masked youths Friday appeared outside the Jamia Masjid and waved an Islamist black flag, used by the ISIS and the al
Qaeda, despite stringent security. The youths emerged from a sloganeering crowd which briefly threw stones at state police units stationed outside the mosque premises.
Srinagar, October 17
Jammu, October 17
Srinagar, October 17
ITBP personnel was on border patrol when it met with an accident and fell into a ravine,” said Col SD Goswami, defence spokesperson.
“The site is close to the border and has no helipad. The six injured were evacuated to Leh, where they were provided treatment,” he said.
Bad weather hampered the rescue operation, but the Air Force helicopters were safely flown to evacuate the injured, he
added. TNS
