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 Students participating in MOCK CAT organised by the Leadership Foundation at GCET, Jammu on Thursday. -Excelsior/Ashok MOCK CAT held at REC Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Leadership Foundation....more Walnut
traders ask Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Jammu and Kashmir...more Daily
wagers warn to Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Daily wagers of different...more Major
Purushottam By M L Kotru |
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Excelsior Corespondent LEH, Nov 4: The Minister of State for Ladakh Affairs and Planning, Rinpochey Tokdan today visited the vallages of Matho and Chushot Gongma and assessed the people's problems. He was accompanied by Member Parliament Ladakh.....more Sagar
inaugurates PHE Excelsior Corespondent KUPWARA, Nov 4: The Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and ....more Army
builds bus stand Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: The Col M P Sinha on behalf of Krishna Ghati...more IMS joins
hands with Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Institute of Management Sciences(IMS)....more |
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MOCK CAT held at REC Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Leadership Foundation, an organisation working in the areas of Education Consultancy conducted a MOCK CAT at the Government College of Engineering and Technology today. The exercise was conducted to assist the student efforts in preparation of Common Admission Test (CAT)—the entrance procedure to the admission to Indian Institute of Management as well some other leading B-schools of the country. Mr Vivek Sharma- centrehead of the Leadership Foundation, Prof Jalali, Head of the Department of Electronics, GCET and Dr M R Sharma, ex-scientist Regional Research Laboratory and Chairman of the TEJPUNJ-an NGO working towards the causes of education and employment counselling spoke on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vivek Sharma informed the students about the various stages of CAT included aptitude test and personality test. He deliberated on the technical aspects of the aptitude test and went on to explain in detail the optimum attempt level and time usage patterns in the test. He disbursed important tips of suitable strategy for clearing the aptitude test. It may be recalled that the only admission to Indian Institute of Management last year from Jammu was from Leadership Foundation. Very few students attempt to get into IIMs from Jammu and the success rate is still lesser. Leadership Foundation in its one year operation in the City have assisted the students get into top B-school like IIM Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, XIM Bhubneshwar, IMT Ghaziabad, NMIMS Mumbai and Jamnalal Bajaj, Mumbai. The institute draws its expertise from Excel Management Foundation, Ahmedabad which was started by IIM Ahmedabad alumni and has been working in this field for 7 years now. According to Mr Vivek Sharma, the key to clearing CAT as well as other entrance test lies in studying the inherent strengths and weaknesses of students and making strategies accordingly. Speaking on the occasion, Dr M R Sharma, chairman, TEJPUNJ said that despite the youth of J&K being hardworking talented and intelligent, they are not featuring on the national scene. He promised to back all efforts at promoting students from J&K get into national level institutes as well as jobs. He extended an invitation to all the youth of J&K to come for free counselling at their office. A MOCK CAT was organised at the end of the counselling session. TEJPUNJ has announced covering the cost of training of five deserving students of the City for CAT at Leadership Foundation. |
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Walnut traders ask State Govt to stop recoveries of Toll Tax Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Jammu and Kashmir Walnuts Exporters Association has appealed to the State Government to stop recoveries of additional Toll Tax dues from walnut exporters. Addressing a press conference, Secretary of the Association, Mr Sujiv Jain has appealed Finance Minister, Mr Mohammed Shafi Uri for his personal intervention in the above matter to save the walnut export industry which stands severely jeopardised in view of the recovery proceedings initiated by the State Government. Mr Jain said that exporters have already started paying the Toll Tax on their present consignments amounting to Rs 10,000 per truck. He regretted that the concerned authorities have initiated seizure of the export consignments at Lakhanpur and Toll Post Railhead Jammu demanding payment of previous Toll Tax dues during the period of say by the High Court. "Halting the trade has compelled the exporters to stop their procurement operation which will result in serious crisis for us as well the growers who are depending on the export for their breed and butter", he said, adding, "at this particular moment the resources of the industry are invested in procurements and stocks and exporters are in no position to meet any recovery demand at such a short notice and at a critical time of the season". Mr Jain made it clear that exporters are fully aware of their liability arisen after full bench judgment of High Court and need time to meet this contingency. Mr Jain stated that the harsh action was protested by exporters as their trade came to halt and even the export promotion agencies intervened in the matter to dissuade the Government from proceeding in the matter unless the export units got the chance to seek relief from Apex Court against the judgment of High Court. Mr Jain disclosed that walnut exports from Jammu and Kashmir are around Rs 90 crores and above Rs 30 crores of goods are sold in the domestic market in India. He regretted that due to the decision of the State Government to initiate recovery, the total export trade of the walnuts has come to a standstill and both traders and growers are facing hardship. |
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Daily wagers warn to take extreme steps Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Daily wagers of different Government depart-ments today warned to take extreme steps in case authorities failed to fulfill their long pending demands including regularisation of daily wagers who have completed seven years of service and hike in the wages. Addressing a rally of the daily wagers, Mr Rajinder Kumar has flayed the State Government for adopting indifferent and apathetic attitude towards the genuine demands of daily wagers. He regretted that despite repeated assurances, authorities have not taken any step to regularise those daily wagers who have completed seven years in service. He said that about 30,000 daily wagers of almost all the Government Departments, bearing maximum brunt of the apathy of the State Government, have decided to form Daily Wagers Employees Union to force the Government to accept their demands. He warned that daily wagers, who are at the brink of starvation, have decided to take extreme steps in this regard. In his address, Mr Mohan Singh, said that despite repeated assurance authorities have not taken any step to fulfill ‘legal’ demands of the daily wagers. He said that under State Government Order, a daily wager is entitled to be regularised after completing seven years of service but State Government is brazenly violating its own order. He lamented that democratic government, instead of giving relief to the poor masses, have sucking blood from the poor employees. Various speakers highlighted woes of the daily wagers and said that most of the daily wagers are facing starvation due to non-release of their salaries. Speakers also demanded enhance of wages from Rs 45 per day to Rs 100 per day. Messrs. Harbajan Singh, Arvind Singh, Parveen Kumar, Ravi Kumar and others also addressed the rally. Earlier daily wagers of Jammu Development Authority, Power Development Department, Flor-iculture Department, Agriculture Department and Animal Husb-andry Department have decided to form a joint front to intensify their struggle. |
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Major Purushottam was a zealous PRO By M L Kotru Major P Purushottum, the Army PRO, was killed in his office at the Srinagar Corps Headquarters on Wednesday evening was an enthusiastic soldier, (Bihar Regiment) who brought to his job a sense of zest and commitment.His enthusiasm for his job and his service was writ large over the man, as I happily discovered, the only time I met him in the very office in which he was killed by militants one early September day this year. He had returned after a short leave following the hectic days of Kargil. That he knew the local Press corps very well and at personal level too was evident the short time I spent with him before meeting the Corps Comma-nder. In the 20 minutes I was with him he received atleast six calls from local reporters who had erroneously been told by someone about a press conference to be taken by the Corps Commander about the same time I was scheduled to meet him. Obviously someone, somewhere must have come to know about my meeting with the Corps Commander. I didn't care, even as the thought occurred to me and if Maj Purushottam saw through the coincidence he didn't share it with me. As anyone who has operated in Kashmir, even occasionally as I have, during the past decade of terrorism, the local press has to unavoidably, I would say, maintain links with some of the militant outfits. How else does one explain the regular flow of handouts between the militant organisations and the Srinagar Press Corps. The local press in particular has to out of sheer necessity not only maintain these links but indeed to nurture these. Anyone who tries to fall out of step must face dire conseque-nces as some indeed have. The militants of Kashmiri origin, there are many of them still around, are the conduits between the various outfits and the media. It has been happening for years, even a lay observer of the Srinagar scene will tell you. It's quite likely to in the circumstances that the militants already knew that fell day about the Corps Commander's Press Confer-ence, held before the attack on Maj Purushottam, at which the Comma-nder enumerated the successes recently scored by the Army over the militants and of which a display of arms and ammunition captured from the terrorists was a part. It is also most likely that some of the journalists stepped into the Major's room for a post-press conference banter. His office is quite some distance away from the Corps headquarters and perilously close to the busy main highway running parallel to the Badamibagh Cantonment. The security at this point is nominal, a single drop-bar manned by a couple of soldiers and the PRO's office within a couple of hundred yards of it. I am not being wise after the vent but even on my first and only visit to the PRO's office I was struck by the oddity of its location. And given the easy accessibility of the place and the Major's warm personality I am sure that local journalists must always have near-unchecked access to this room, part of an ordinary-looking old barrack. To break through this minimal security cordon at about the same time as the press conference by the Corps Commander should not have posed a serious problem to the terrorists who I assume had foreknow-ledge about the timing the Press conference and general mood of relaxation that attends such occasions. Of course, the gunning down of the Army PRO within the precincts of the Corps headquarters can be a great morale booster for the terrorists, particularly when spin master are already telling us of the attackers being from the so-called newly formed death squads. The message, regardless, stands out loud and clear. The Pakistanis are not planning any let up on their depredations in the State. If anything, they will embark on the series of even more daring and desperate missions. And, then, where is the need for the Army of the BSF to hold Press conference almost on a daily basis to record the "success" of their various anti-terrorists measures. Only the other day, we had the BSF chief telling us that some 2000 to 2500 terrorists have infiltrated into the Valley during the Kashmir operations. The Army Commander on Wednesday put the figure at 1500. Whatever the figure, this is not the kind of information that needs to disseminated every other day. These are inputs which the Army of the BSF or the joint command structure, if one exists, need to address. (ADNI) |
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Army builds bus stand shelter for villagers Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: The Col M P Sinha on behalf of Krishna Ghati garrison handed over the bus stand shelter constructed by the local army unit of 4 Grenadiers to the village Pardaha, Mr Nama Singh. The local populace lauded the efforts of the Army in mitigating the problems of the villagers by extending helping hand. The Army has also build a similar shelter at Kunniyan, besides a number of solar street lights and play equipments for children at different places which including Basketball court. Speaking on the occasion, Col exhorted the people to stand united to fight nefarious designs of Pakistan aided militants. He added that peace in the area is a must for any development and also for the future of the next generation. Peace cannot be attained without people’s co-operation, he continued. People gathered on the spot observed two minutes silence to pay tributes to the departed heros of OP VIJAY. The first bus stand at Mangnar was named after the name of war hero Abdul Hamid Gul, while second one at village Kunniyan after the name of Jugal Kishore, a martyr of Operation Vijay at Kargil. |
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IMS joins hands with JU in producing MBA professionals Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 4: Institute of Management Sciences(IMS) has finally joined hands with the University of Jammu in producing Master of Business Administration (MBA) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Tawi Educational Trust conceived the idea of establishing an Institute for imparting quality management education in this state way back in 1995. It was only in the year 1997, the State Government and All India Council for Technical Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India finally granted the requisite approvals for establishing of the Institute at Jammu. This was told by Mr Vidhi S. Singh, chairman of the Institute while informing the EXCELSIOR. He further said that soon after the grant of approval by the concerned agencies, the University of Jammu, under whose supervision and guidance the Institute will function, granted affiliation. With this, the University has also initiated the process for selection of candidates for admission to the MBA course in the Institute for the session 1999-2000 and the same is still in progress. To provide quality education, the Institute has selected candidates, who have qualified National Eligibility Test or State Level Eligibility Test for appointment of Lecturers, that too through a selection committee as per the University statues. These teachers are being given the UGC revised scales, added Mr Singh. In order to help the students through their two-year course, Institute has also identified experts of repute who will form its guest faculty and is maintaining a liaison with National level agencies for ‘on the job training’ of its students. They will also continue assisting its successful candidates for their placement in reputed organisations within and outside the state. The chairman said, " therefore, the students enrolled with the Institute are likely to get the same facilities as are available to their counter parts in the cosmopolitan cities. The Institute intends to maintain academic standards to achieve excellence in imparting management education and put the newly established Institute on the national map in the coming time". |
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Excelsior Corespondent SRINAGAR, Nov 4: Works Minister, Mr Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Shah, who is officiating as Chief Minister, accompanied by the Minister for Medical Education, Dr Mustafa Kamal today called-on the GOC, 15 Corps Lt General Krishanpal to express condolences over the death of Defence Public Relations Officer, Maj P Purshotam and other army personnel killed in the militant attack, last evening. Mr Shah landed the role of Late Maj Parshotam for saving the life of three pressmen who were present in the PRO office at the time of attack, by militants in the PRO office at the time of attack, by militants. He said, it was desperate attempt of militants to enter through public park into the civil wing of Army Contonment. The Divisional Comissioner, Kashmir, Mr Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, IGP, Mr Gopal Sharma and Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Ms Tanveer Jahan were also present on the occasion. |
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Excelsior Corespondent SRINAGAR, Nov 4: Works Minister, Mr Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Shah, who is officiating as Chief Minister, alongwith the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Mr Khurshid Ahmad Ganai and other senior officers today visited Hazratbal Shrine and adjoining areas to review the arrangements being made in connection with Mehraj-un-Nabi (SAW). The Minister was informed that Srinagar Municipality had geared up to ensure proper sanitation in and around the Hazratbal Shrine while Public Health Engineering had installed temporary taps. Special transport arrangements have been made while street lights were being repaired. The Minister also reviewed the arrangements, made by the Muslim Auqaf Trust (MAT) for convenience of devotees, with the vice chairman, (MAT), Mr Ghulam Nabi Kochak. |
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Purushottam - a perfect PR man in uniform SRINAGAR, Nov 4: Maj Pramod Purushottam in his three and half year tenure at the 15 corps headquarters here had lived up to his name - Purushottam - the finest person. On Hind sight, he had to die at the gunweilding hands of cruel militants as he would have disarmed death with his smile and soft talk, two essential qualities for a Public Relation Officer which he had tuned to perfection. The militants killed him and his staff yesterday in a suicidal attack on the PRO office at Badamibagh Cantonment, one of the most secure places in the Valley. But no journalist who ever came in contact with him would ever forget the time spent with him. During the Kargil conflict, the 39-year-old Major, a Malayali hailing from Jabalpur, was the Army’s official version closest to the line of action for every journalist who intended to make it to the battle zone from Srinagar. One could feel the excitement in his voice and the body language, which was different from that of a professional pro, at the mention of every inch of progress made by Indian forces on those barren yet steep hills after silencing of enemy guns. Purushottam arranged for every journalist’s journey to Kargil and other places at the front but very few knew that he himself was itching to go to the front. Purushottam longed to be where the action was, not as a PRO but as part of the 7 Bihar Regiment, to which he belonged since 1990. He was commissioned into the Army in June 1982 and joined 4 Bihar where he remained till 1988. Purushottam was married to Maj Vatsa V K, who is serving in the Army nursing service at Military Hospital, Meerut, as Deputy Principal Matron, and has left behind eight-year-old daughter Pallavi. He had done the winter warfare course at High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) at Gulmarg in 1985 and was recommended for advanced course besides being trained at infantry schools in Belgaun and Mhow. He joined the PR wing of the Army in June 1996 and had been holding charge at the Srinagar office where he was destined to die. Public relation might have been a quality he had developed and honed right from childhood, but as a soldier he was no less than others. Within a year of wearing the uniform, he became the adjutant of his unit. (PTI) |
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400 mercenaries operating South of Pir Panjal range JAMMU, Nov 4: Nearly 400 foreign mercenaries, mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, are operating in areas South of Pir Panjal mountain range in Jammu and Kashmir, defence sources said today. The mercenaries, constituting almost 70 per cent of terrorists operating in the area, are active in Doda, Udhampur, Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region, they told PTI quoting intelligence reports. These areas have witnessed a steep escalation in organised attacks by terrorists and also fierce encounters with security forces during the last one month, they said. The induction of foreign mercenaries has added a new and dangerous dimension to the terrorist movement in the state. They are battle-hardened men, well trained for any encounter. That is why, we have to pay a heavy price sometimes, said a senior Army official in charge of the operation wing. During the past one month, 13 Army personnel, including a Lt Colonel, two Majors and a Captain, lost their lives and 22 others were injured in fierce gunbattles in Poonch-Udhampur belt, while 43 ultras, 31 of them foreign mercenaries, were killed and 86 injured in these encounters. While the mercenaries operating in Poonch belong to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jehad-i-Islami (HUJI), those active in Rajouri are from Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), let and Al-Badr. Militants belonging to HM, LET and Markez-ul-Dawaza (MUD) are active in the Udhampur-Banihal belt, the sources said. Afghan mercenaries are running at least 13 makeshift terrorist training camps in the high forest belt between Gool Gulabgarh and Bharamgala areas of Udhampur, they said, adding new recruits are sent to 42 terrorist camps in Pakistan, Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and Afghanistan. Defence sources said the mercenaries mainly comprise criminals sent to the state on contract for a year or two and are paid about Rs two lakh per head. Some of those facing jail terms for various offences in Pakistan are promised amnesty if they go on a two year stint to Jammu and Kashmir, they said quoting interrogation reports gathered from different ultras. Most of them are either killed or captured during their return to Pakistan, generally on tip-offs, as they commit various crimes including forcible marriages, rapes and extortions, the sources said. It is now no longer home-grown insurgency but insurgency by more organised and well trained men, they added. (PTI) |
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Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov. 4: The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jammu-Kathua Range, Mr S P Vaid gave away cash reward of Rs. 15000/- to two persons of Hiranagar tehsil at a function organised at Kathua the other day. On the basis of vital information provided by the awardees, a widow and a man, about the dumping of arms and ammunition, Hiranagar police was able to recover a huge cache of arms and ammunition which otherwise would have caused great damage and destruction. The DIG gave away a cash reward of Rs. 10,000/- to Mrs Bholi Devi a widow R/o Jatwal and Rs. 5000/- to Mr Bishan Dass S/o Beli Ram R/o Village Dunga, Teh. Hiranagar. Giving details a police spokesman said that on January 20 this year, a police patrolling party had been given the task to cover a known route of infiltration near Jatwal Hiranagar (Distt. Kathua). Because of the presence and movement of police party, militants, who had apparently crossed the border to supply or carry out acts of sabotage and subversion on the occasion of forthcoming Republic Day, in all probability dropped their consignment in the field in haste and fled away. At this point of time, the spokesman said, one Bholi Devi widow of Amir Chand of Jatwal village detected some abnormal and unusual footprints and other marks left by the enemy agents. These unusual marks prompted Bholi Devi to approach and inform the police without wasting any time. The spokesman said police acted swiftly and went to the field as indicated by Bholi Devi. This vital clue led to the recovery of a huge quantity of arms and ammunition that included 3 AK-56 rifles with 274 rounds and seven magazines, three pistol magazines, 2 Chinese pistols, 122 pistol rounds, 40 half-kilo slabs of RDX 1½ Kgs of loose RDX, two remote control devices, ten detonators, one wireless set, 8 PTDs, 8 nine volte batteries, eight dry cells, one AK-56 cleaning kit, two bundles of fuse wire and one pack of BK powder. About the other recovery, the spokesman said that on 20-12-1998, a villager Bishan Dass of Dunga village informed the Border Police Post Hiranagar about the presence of some arms and ammunition in the haystack in his field. As a result of this police was able to seize two AK-56 rifles and sixty live grenades from the haystack. The rewards, the spokesman said, were a recognition of the bravery, foresight and patriotism of the two villagers, Mrs Bholi Devi and Mr Bishan Dass. Mr Vaid at the function at Kathua appealed to the general public to come forward and secretly help the local police. He lauded the role of two civilians for providing timely information to police resulting in the seizure of arms and ammunition dumped by the militants. The function was attended by a large number of local citizens besides police officers and jawans. |
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IPO for implementing revised power schedule Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov. 4: The J&K Institute of Public Opinion has demanded that the decision taken by the State Cabinet regarding the revised schedule of power shedding for Jammu region and Kashmir valley may be expeditiously implemented. At an emergency meeting of the executive committee of IPO today serious note was taken of the failure of the power development department in implementing the decisions of the cabinet. It is surprising that while peoples representatives, the Ministers are sensitive to the needs and requirements of the public the bureaucrats seem to be putting hurdles and creating more resentment among the public against the Government. This has resulted in agitation of the students community which is already six days old. The people in business and industry are also about to demonstrate and agitate. The resentment of general public especially common citizens, particularly housewives had expressed their resentment in this regard by collective beating of "Thalies'' at a particular time for many nights in different parts of the city in Jammu. At many other places dharnas were staged by general public while at other places dharnas were staged by general public while at other places "Rasta Roko Agitations'' were witnessed. Looking to these forms of protests the cabinet took a decision to reduce the shut-down period of power. The IPO is utterly surprised that instead of implementing the decisions of the cabinet the PDD instead has revised the shut-down schedule and increased the period of shut-down by many hours. The IPO said it was concerned knowing the mood of the people that if no satisfactory decision is implemented almost immediately the situation might taken an ugly turn at the time of reopening of the Civil Secretariat in Jammu. Obviously, the responsibility for what might follow will be of the administration. |
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Prohibitory orders clamped in City Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov. 4: The Additional District Magistrate, Jammu, Mr Rohit Kansal in exercise of the powers vested in him under Section 144 CrPC has ordered that no processions shall be taken out by any individual of group of individuals and no provocative slogans shall be raised by any one in some areas of Jammu city with effect from November 8. According to the order, the areas in which restrictions have been imposed includes Bajaj Tower to Amar Filling Station, on fly-over from Police Control Room to District Institute of Education and Training behind New Secretariat, Jammu, on fly-over from Subash Chowk (Maheshpura Chowk) to DIET and Rotary behind New Secretariat. However, this shall not apply to marriage and funeral processions and remain in force for a period of two months or till rescinded whichever is earlier. |
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