Omar for
health insurance to poorer sections
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR,
June 23: Flagging
crucial reforms in medicare delivery system
significantly important for its upgradation, the
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Wednesday called
for optimum utilization of modern health
practices to ensure better results.
Chairing the 2nd
meeting of the Task Force on Health Sector
Reforms here today, the Chief Minister underlined
telemedicine, management and operation of Health
institutions, comprehensive policy for PPP
projects, drug policy and medicines procurement
system as thrust areas for reforming.
Omar Abdullah said
that the ultimate objective of the Government is
to ensure cent percent coverage of people
especially living in far-flung and remote areas
under medicare schemes. "The Task Force is
to help the Government in making delivery system
more vibrant, purposeful and performing. The
reforms for the purpose are imperative, and
suggestions and recommendations of the Task Force
are valuable expert opinion in this regard",
he added.
The Chief Minister
said that there is a need for formulating a
comprehensive health insurance scheme for the
poorer sections of the State to help to ensure
their better healthcare coverage. "A
comprehensive and befitting insurance scheme for
this purpose is imperative for ensuring them
better medical facilities", he maintained.
The Chief Minister
sought concrete suggestions from the Task Force
for expanding the orbit of telemedicine network
in the State to cover far off areas like Doda,
Kupwara, Poonch, Kishtwar, Kargil, Leh, Zanskar,
Uri, Tangdhar, Keran, Wadwan, Machiel, Marwah,
Reasi, Ramban etc.
The Chief Minister
approved Rs. 78 lakh scheme for benchmarking 10
hospitals of the State including Srinagar and
Jammu Government Medical Colleges as accredited
under the norms and procedures of Quality Council
of India. The scheme will help in conducting gap
analysis in the delivery mechanism and
infrastructural requirements, so that measures
are taken to overcome the short comings and
filling the gaps. This will also ensure
upgradation in service delivery and health care
management.
The Chief
Minister, Omar Abdullah sanctioned Rs. 14.22 lakh
in favour of 121 critically ill patients of the
State under the J&K Medical Trust Scheme.
The Task Force
while taking stock of the action taken on the
decisions and recommendations made by this body
also discussed issues pertaining to public
private partnership policy, feasibility of State
University for Medical education, ban on private
practice, establishment of clinical research
centres etc.
The meeting was
attended by the Minister for Health, Sham Lal
Sharma, Minister for Medical Education, R.S.
Chib, Chief Secretary S.S. Kapur, Principal
Secretary Health and Medical Education, R.K.
Jerath, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister,
Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Commissioner/Secretary
Planning, B.B. Vyas, Principal Secretary Finance,
Sudhanshu Pandey, Convener of the Task Force, Dr.
Ajit K. Nagpal, president, Public Health
Foundation of India, Prof. K.S. Reddy, Head of
Hospital Administration, AIIMS, Prof. Shakti
Kumar Gupta, Advisor, Department of AYUSH,
Government of India, Dr. Dinesh Katoch, Chairman,
Task Force Apollo Educational and Research
Foundation, Prof. Ranjit Roy, Director SKIMS,
Prof. Abdul Hamid Zargar, former Principal
Medical College, Srinagar, Dr. G.Q. Allaqaband,
Directors of Health Departments, Kashmir and
Jammu, Principals of Government Medical Colleges
of Jammu and Srinagar, leading Public Health
Specialists from World Bank, Dr. Jerry Forgia and
Dr. Zainab besides other concerned senior
officers.
Farooq
for increased push to renewable energy financing
Excelsior Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, June 23: Union Minister for New and
Renewable Energy, Dr.Farooq Abdullah, has called
upon Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other
multilateral agencies to considerably step up
their support to renewable energy projects in
developing countries.
The Union Minister
was speaking at the Asia Clean Energy Forum
organized by the ADB at Manila. While delivering
the keynote address at the Forum, Dr. Abdullah
said that India stands among the top five
countries of the world in terms of renewable
energy capacity with an installed base of over 15
GW, which is around 9 per cent of India’s
total power generation capacity.
He highlighted the
role of the renewable energy in promoting
inclusive growth and explained the various
projects initiated by the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy in providing energy access to
remote and hill communities of Gurez in Jammu and
Kashmir and the forested regions of Madhya
Pradesh.
Dr. Abdullah also
spoke of India’s flagship programme. The
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and
called up the ADB to step up its engagement both
in the public and private spheres. He also
emphasized the need for easier transfer of
technology in the field of renewable energy and
welcomed the initiative of the ADB in setting up
a technology transfer exchange to examine the
issue.
Earlier, Union
Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq
Abdullah, called on president of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) Haruhiko Kuroda.
In the meeting
that took place on the sidelines of the Forum,
the two dignitaries discussed various issues
related to renewable energy. Dr. Abdullah urged
the president to support demonstration projects
under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
and requested him for creating a guarantee
facility for banks for stepping up lending to
grid connected solar power projects. He also
sought the support of ADB for setting up large
solar parks in the country under the national
solar mission.
President Kuroda
informed that India is an important destination
for investments. He also informed the Minister
that under the Tashkent initiative, which was
attended by the Indian Finance Minister, the ADB
would look at supporting a number of initiatives
in clean energy in India. He also informed the
Minister of the 'Energy-for-all' initiative of
the ADB which focuses on scaling up access to
reliable and modern energy services for the poor.
Some
parties trying to exploit human
tragedies for political
gains: Sagar
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR,
June 23: Minister
for Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary
Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar today said that
parties which are trying to gain political
mileage from various human tragedies and trying
to disturb the peace in the State are the real
enemies of the people of the State.
The Minister was
addressing a gathering at Chewdara-Budgam.
District Development Commissioner, Budgam,
Mohammad Rafiq, Director Rural Development,
Kashmir, Jehangir Mir and senior officers of
district administration were also present.
Lashing out at
parties exploiting various incidents, Mr. Sagar
said that they are the real enemies of peace and
have always held the interest of people hostage
to their political interests. He said that
history can testify the fact that National
Conference has always worked for the welfare of
the people without caring for political or
personal gains.
Referring to the
Government’s stand on zero tolerance on
Human Rights violations, the Minister said that
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has personally seen
to it that the people responsible for the same
are not spared whosoever mighty or powerful they
might be. He said that it was for the first time
in the history of the State that the people
responsible for Machail and Bren incidents were
identified and action initiated against them
within the shortest possible time.
While asking the
people to come forward and avail the benefits of
various schemes launched by Central and State
Government, the Minister said that an amount of
Rs. 561 crore has been earmarked by the Union
Government for MGNREGA and Rs. 3.14 crore has
been sanctioned to the Beerwah block. He said
that in order to arrest un-employment and provide
avenues to the youth of the State, Sher-i-Kashmir
Welfare Employment Package has been announced
under which besides giving stipend various
interest free and soft loans would also be
provided to the prospective entrepreneurs.
The Minister also
announced Rs. 10 lakh for constructing lanes and
drains in the area and said that an amount of Rs.
10 crore would also be spent under Central Road
Fund for up-gradation of Magam-Beerwah road.
Track
clearance work in progress
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR,
June 23: The
officials of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board
(SASB) and all the concerned agencies and
departments of the State Government are working
on war footing for clearance of both the tracks,
from Baltal and Pahalgam, to the holy cave shrine
of Shri Amarnathji besides putting in place all
the logistical and security arrangements and
other facilities at the base camps and various
camps enroute the holy cave for the ensuing
Yatra. The Yatra is scheduled to commence from
both Pahalgam and Baltal on July 1.
The Chief
Executive Officer of the SASB, Raj Kumar Goyal,
said here today that the Governor, N. N. Vohra,
who is the Chairman of the Shrine Board, is
personally monitoring all the arrangements every
day and is also scheduled to visit the base camps
at Nunwan and Baltal, and other camps enroute and
the holy cave area, in several visits in the next
6 days, for on-the-spot review of the
arrangements for ensuring a smooth and
comfortable pilgrimage.
Police
presents challan in sex racket case
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23:
Trikuta Nagar Police today presented challan
in the sex-racket, which was unearthed on June
18, 2010 with the arrest of three men and five
women from a house at Bilal Colony, Malik Market.
According to the
challan, on June 18, 2010, the Trikuta Nagar
Police received information from sources that a
brothel was being operated from a house of Mohd
Yousaf Bhat in Bilal Colony, which was rented out
to a woman namely Sudesh Kumari, a resident of
Hamirpur, Himachal Pardesh.
On this
information, the police raided the house and
arrested three men and five women, who were
allegedly indulging in immoral trafficking. A
case under Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act was
registered against all the eight persons.
Those arrested on
spot were identified as Vijay Kumar, employee of
PWD and a resident of Shiv Nagar Near AG Office,
Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Sunderbani, Sandeep
Mangotra, JE PWD Division No III, Sudesh Kumari,
Sonia, Renu, all the residents of Hamirpur
Himachal Pradesh, Yasmin of Kolkatta and Renu
Bala of Akhnoor.
The challan was
presented in the Court of Special Mobile
Magistrate Passanger Tax and Shops Act, YP
Kotwal, who after going through the challan,
decided the bail applications which were pending
before the Court.
JE is
vigilance net
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR,
June 23:
State Vigilance Organization today arrested
Junior Engineer of Rural Development Office,
Budgam Ishpal Singh son of Shameer Singh of
Beerwah, at present Alochabagh while demanding
and accepting bribe money of Rs 1000.
An official
spokesman said that on receipt of a written
complaint lodged by one Mohammad Yousuf Wani son
of Talib Wani of Village Piamus tehsil and
district Budgam alleging therein that the said
Junior Engineer in Rural Development Office
Budgam was demanding bribe of Rs 1000 for
finalizing the bill on account of work executed
in construction of (Siakokber Kol) under NREGS.
A trap was
organized and the accused Junior Engineer was
caught red handed while demanding and accepting
the phenolphthalein dusted bribe money of Rs 1000
from the complainant in presence of witness.
Further investigation of the case has been taken
up.
Harshdev
demands more ration depots
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23:
Harshdev Singh MLA and former Minister has
alleged shortage of ration and kerosene oil in
district Udhampur. He said that shortage of
ration was felt for both BPL as well as APL
categories. He called for increase in the ration
quota for the district as also the revision of
norms and scales of distribution.
Mr. Singh urged
upon the Minister concerned to allow additional
depots of ration and kerosene oil for remote and
far flung areas in view of difficulties
encountered by the people inhabiting these areas
in procuring ration. He said that applications of
several candidates who had applied for ration
depots and kerosene oil depots were also pending
disposal in the Secretariat. He said that
procedure of issuance of ration and kerosene oil
depots was also so complicated that ordinary
village candidates found it extremely difficult
to get their cases cleared. He urged for
simplification of procedures.
He further called
for decentralization of licensing powers in
favour of district heads or the concerned Deputy
Commissioners so that the complications,
inconvenience and difficulties caused in the
process could be lessened. He said this was
necessary as several villages were suffering due
to non availability of depots in their respective
villages or in their vicinity.
Mr. Singh further
urged for holding regular inspections at various
filling stations of kerosene, petrol, diesel and
LPG gas.
Omar
stresses on upgrading Harwan garden
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR,
June 23: Chief
Minister, Omar Abdullah on Wednesday called for a
comprehensive project for the upgradation and
beautification of Harwan garden in periphery of
Srinagar city.
"There is a
need to rejuvenate the Harwan lake (Sarband) and
add to the grandeur of Harwan garden", he
said stressing on conservation and protection of
chinars and other rare trees, shrubs and herbal
varieties present there.
The Chief Minister
was speaking at a meeting chaired by him here to
discuss the matters pertaining to the
beautification of Harwan garden.
Mr Omar asked the
concerned departments to prepare a Draft Project
Report (DPR) for the purpose taking care of all
aspects of conservation and protection of plant
wealth and water body. "The generation of
economic activities and avenues of earning
livelihood should form the necessary part of the
project", he stressed adding that the scheme
should make the garden more attractive and
beautiful.
The Minister for
Floriculture, Sham Lal Sharma, Political Advisor
to Chief Minister, Devender Singh Rana, Principal
Secretary to Chief Minister, Khurshid Ahmad
Ganai, Commissioner/Secretary Planning, B.B. Vyas
and other senior officers were present in the
meeting.
A power point
presentation pertaining to the improvement,
upgradation and beautification of Harwan garden
was made on the occasion.
Consumer
court for Kathua shortly: Akhoon
Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA,
june 23:Saying
that a consumer court will start functioning in
district Kathua shortly to redress the grievances
of the people of the area, Minister for CAPD and
Transport, Qamar Ali Akhoon asserted that
mitigating the sufferings of masses and
fulfilling the commitments form priority of
present regime.
Addressing meeting
of senior officers at DDC office complex here
today, Mr Akhoon said that Government is
committed to bring transparency in the public
distribution system for which people should
themselves monitor the development works
District
Development Commissioner Kathua, Sanjeev Verma,
Assistant Commissioner (R) Kathua, Director CAPD,
CPO Kathua among various district officers were
present in the meeting.
On the occasion
representatives of various political parties
highlighted problems and grievances which mainly
included reverification of BPL lists and proper
distribution of ration to BPL families.
They demanded
opening of more ration shops as the existing ones
are over crowded thereby creating great
inconvenience to the poor consumers. Ex-MLA Dhain
Chand said that at present nearly 40,000 people
from outside the State are putting up in Kathua
and as such ration quota including LPG and K.oil
ought to be enhanced. They urged implementation
of Rehbar-e-Khuraak Scheme for the betterment of
Ration Distribution system. They also demanded
renovation of three bus stands in the Kathua town
as they are in dilapidated condition and plying
of additional SRTC buses in the district.
Responding to the
various demands, Mr Akhoon assured that the
demand of re-evaluating the BPL list will be
considered on priority for which a committee
headed by DDC Kathua, Tehsildar, BDO, AD (food)
as its members will verify the BPL list. He
assured for early mitigation of other grievances.
He urged representatives of the various parties
to maintain constant vigil on distribution system
and in case of any irregularity stern action will
be taken against the defaulters.
National
Summit on Gandhian philosophy concludes
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR,
June 23: Minister
for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir has called
upon the youth to imbibe Gandhian philosophy as
it is based on the spirit of self-sacrifice,
truth, tolerance, and non –violence.
The Ministers was
addressing on the valedictory function of 4-day
National Summit on Gandhian philosophy, organized
by the Gandhi Global Family (GGF) in association
with J&K Scouts and Guides held at Srinagar.
The theme of the
Summit was "The role of Mahatma
Gandhi’s ideology in the present scenario of
the country".
Minister for
R&B, G. M. Saroori also took part in the
deliberations.
As many as, 61
delegates across the country participated during
the summit.
Mr. Mir said that
the Gandhian philosophy is value based and
emphasizes upon the youth to adopt the spirit of
self-sacrifice to strengthen the bonds of
communal harmony and mutual brotherhood.
Mr. Saroori lauded
the role of Gandhi Global Family for organizing
the summits and said the event would help in
promoting the values of tolerance and non
violence for peace.
Mr. Saroori said
that violence of any kind and manifestation is
always condemnable and asked the youth to adopt
the path of non-violence for seeking redressal of
their grievances.
Ministers also
presented mementos to the visiting delegates.
The Vice-Chairman
of GGF, S. P. Verma was the main organizer of the
function.
The Chief
Commissioner of J&K Scouts, Farooq Renzu also
delivered lecture on the occasion. Among others,
MLA, Peerzada Mansoor, renowned scholar Ram Mohan
Ray, General Secretary, Gandhian Working
Association, Showket Ashai and Er. Irfan also
took part in the deliberations during the summit.
Army
dedicates auditorium to Thanamandi people
Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI,
June 23:
Under 'Operation Sadbhavna' Army dedicated an
auditorium-cum-conference hall to the people at
Govt Degree College, Thanamandi, in district
Rajouri today.
This project was
conceived by Rashtriya Rifles Hqr and Counter
Insurgency Force (Romeo) after taking college
faculty and locals of the area into confidence.
This auditorium was inaugurated by Principal
Defence Accounts Northern Command, Gautam Sen and
Surgeon Commander Wahida Prizm, daughter of the
soil belonging to Thanamandi, who came all the
way from Mumbai for this event. Several senior
Military and Civil dignitaries were present on
the occasion.
Wahida Prizm is
the only women officer from J&K in the Indian
Navy. This hall has been provided with
ancillaries and captive power supply. The area,
once a hot bed of militancy is now fast returning
to normalcy. Due to lack of peace, the
development of the area had taken a back seat and
thus deprived the locals of the facilities. Army
has helped a lot in providing infrastructure in
Poonch and Rajouri districts.
Samooh
Theatre Group hones young talent
Three solo performances by young
actors staged
By Lalit Gupta
Jammu,
June 23:Samooh
Theatre’s presentation of three solo
performances by three young girl students here
today here at the K.L. Saigal Hall, was a logical
finale to its constant involvement with theatre
for children. Following the maxim, ‘catch
them young’, quite a few theater groups of
Jammu since few years have been specially holding
theatre workshops and training camps for children
so as to hone as well as inculcate talent in
budding artistes. What distinguished today’s
solo performances was the fact that all the
scripts have been selected from school textbooks.
When a short story or an essay from the school
textbook comes alive as an enactment on stage, it
transcends its literary and abstract form and
acquires concrete realm that is three-dimensional
and comparatively tangible. Such an exercise not
only makes the otherwise academic studies
interesting for students but also more relevant.
The first solo
performance titled ‘Ek Kahani Yeh Bhi’
and enacted by Sunidhi Sharma was based on Manu
Bhandari’s short story that is a
biographical account of the childhood of the
writer and how her so-called progressive father
is unable to accept her own daughter taking up a
more modern and liberal stance that came as a
natural corollary to the all encompassing spirit
that marked nation’s independence struggle.
The second solo
presentation was by Himani Jamwal who enacted
Akshay Kumar Jain’s ‘Akhbar ki
Kahani’, a satire on all those people who
are unhesitant in borrowing newspapers paper from
the co-passengers in trains and other modes of
transport. The third performance by Mandakini
based on Gopal Sharma’s humorous piece
titled ‘Agar Naak na Hoti’ painted the
human nose in all its shades and social
connotations.Along with admiring the talent of
young girls to carry on single handedly with more
than 20 minutes of constant dialogues delivery
with all its emotional shades, the credit must
also be given to the young director Ravinder
Sharma for admirable approach in training the
actors.
PK
discusses present political situation in J&K
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23:
Panun Kashmir (PK) in a meeting of its
Executive Council here today chaired by its
president Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo discussed the
current political situation of the State and the
developments taking place in Kashmir valley.
Mr Chrungoo said
it was unfortunate that on the eve of the Indian
Home Minister’s visit to Pakistan, a large
scale border firing and attempted incursions have
been resorted to and the conditions created
inside Kashmir are becoming explosive day by day.
The recent martyrdom of Colonel of the Indian
Army and the firing on the Abdullian Post in R S
Pura Sector do not auger well for the forthcoming
talks, he added.
He said despite
the grave provocations the Government of India
seems to be buckling under pressure to hold talks
with Pakistan. The nation wants to know the
agenda of the talks in context of the statements
issued from time to time that terrorism and talks
can’t go together, he added.
GOC CIF
flags-in educational tour
Excelsior Correspondent
REASI,
June 23: The
General Officer Commanding (GOC), Counter
Insurgency Force (CIF), flagged in the group of
23 students from border areas of Rajouri and
Reasi districts here today, who returned after
completing their 15-days educational tour across
the country.
The tour had been
organized by Rashtriya Rifles/ Counter Insurgency
Force with an aim to foster closer relationship
with locals. The programme also developed a deep
sense of belonging to the nation amongst these
children of remote areas.
The tour was
flagged off from Budhal by Commander, Rashtriya
Rifles on June 7, 2010. During the tour, the
children visited various famous places and
defence establishments at Delhi, Hyderabad,
Chennai and Bangalore.
The students,
accompanied by their two teachers, also met
Karnatka Governor. He urged them to spread the
message of importance of Education and also
strive to become good citizens.The touring
children were also felicitated by various Army
formations en route to instill a feeling of
belongingness.
NSSO
organizing 3-day Regional Training camp on NSS
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23:
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Jammu
in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation, Government of India
is organizing three-day Regional Training camp on
NSS 67th round in collaboration with Directorate
of Economics and Statistics, J&K, Jammu from
today.
The NSS 67th Round
is earmarked for the survey on
"unincorporated non agricultural enterprises
covering manufacturing, trade and service
sector’. The last surveys of the enterprises
on trade, unorganized manufacturing and service
sectors were conducted during 53rd Round, 62nd
Round and 63rd Round of NSS.
This round will
cover whole of the country except the interior
villages of Nagaland situated beyond five kms of
the bus route and villages in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands which remain inaccessible throughout the
year. For the State of Jammu and Kashmir, all the
districts will be under the coverage except Leh
and Kargil districts where State Samples will
also be treated as Central Samples.
Director, NSSO
(FOD), Jammu, Kishore Kumar in his welcome
address intimated that the NSSO has been
conducting nation wide survey on various
Socio-Economic (SE) aspects since 1050. These
surveys are conducted in the form of rounds
extending normally over a period of one year
though for certain NSS rounds the survey period
is kept six months. The NSSO has already
completed 65th rounds and the field work
pertaining to 66th round of survey is going to be
completed by the end of June, 2010. The 67th
round of socio-economic survey is going to start
from July 1, 2010 and the field work would
continue till June. 30, 2011. The field work will
spread equally through the four quarters of the
year. The total number of sample villages would
be covered by the field officials of NSSO,
Government of India and the remaining 560 by the
field officials of the Directorate of Economics
and Statistics, Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
Joint Director,
DES addressed the participants and emphasized
upon the need for better coordination of State
and Central Statistical agencies.
In his inaugural
address, Deputy Director General from NSSO (FOD),
Government of India, Regional Office, Jammu, Sher
Singh highlighted the role of NSSO in developing
a sound statistical data base.
Glowing
tributes paid to Dr Mookerjee
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23 :
Glowing tributes were paid to founding
president of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), Dr
Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, on his 57th martyrdom at
a function organized by district BJP here today.
BJP state general
secretary Sat Sharma was the chief guest on the
occasion. A blood donation camp was also
organized by the district unit of the Party under
the chairmanship of its president Rajesh Gupta.
Speaking on the
occasion Sat Sharma said Dr Mookerjee had the
distinction of being second best Parliamentarian
of Commonwealth. He also highlighted his
contribution as the Industry Minister of India
during the interim Government led by Pt. Jawahar
Lal Nehru.
As the founding
president of BJS, the Party gained popularity
among the masses in the shortest time under his
leadership, he added.
Rajesh Gupta
termed Dr Mookerjee a great patriot who fought
for the total integration of J&K with India
and raised his voice against the permit system.
Tributes to Dr
Mookerjee were also paid by former Mayor JMC
Kavinder Gupta, State general secretary Mrs Usha
Choudhary, Suresh Jamwal, Mamta Singh, Purnima
Sharma, Munish Sharma, Shiv Kumar Gupta, Vikram
Randhwa, Jaideep Sharma, Sakina Bano, Gulshan
Mahajan and others.
A large number of
activists donated blood on the occasion.
HoD Blood Bank,
GMC, Dr T R Raina and Regional Red Cross Society,
Anil Padha, said that every healthy human being
should donate blood once in three months to save
the lives of the people.
SOS
Children's Village Jammu celebrates SOS day
Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu,
June 23: SOS
Children's Village Jammu today celebrated SOS day
as a tribute to their founder father, late Dr.
Hermann Gmeiner. The celebration marked the 91st
birth anniversary of Dr. Gmeiner who was
instrumental in laying the foundation of SOS
Children's Villages in the world. The celebration
witnessed pleasing performance by the children of
SOS Children's Village that left an indelible
mark in the hearts of the guests. They paid
tribute to Dr. Gmeiner and praised the
commendable movement of the organisation towards
child care.
SOS Children gave
a traditional welcome to the guests, followed by
garlanding of the statue of Dr. Hermann Gmeiner
and lighting a lamp. The whole atmosphere was
filled with emotions and nostalgia as the Village
Director, mothers and children unfolded the life
and selfless deeds of Dr. Gmeiner. To make the
day special and memorable a cultural programme
was organised which saw enthusiastic
participation from the children. Later, guests
visited families in the Children's Village where
mothers and children shared their experiences of
love and care that binds them together.
In his message on
this occasion Rakesh Jinsi, National Director -
SOS Children's Villages of India said, "SOS
Family is honoured by the gracious presence of
the honourable guests on the 91st birth
anniversary of our guiding force Dr. Hermann
Gmeiner. The seed sown by Dr. Gmeiner, our
founder, 61 years ago is today spread across 132
countries with 500 SOS Children's Villages. We
are overwhelmed by the continuous trust and
support that we receive from our well wishers to
make our children responsible citizens of our
country. SOS Day serves as a reminder to
strengthen our resolve to provide long term
family based care to our special children. We
promise to take the dream and efforts of our
founder to higher levels by providing devoted
family based care to our children.", he
added.
JURSEA
opposes proposed fee hike in PG courses
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: Jammu
University Research Scholars Executive
Association (JURSEA) has strongly opposed the
reported hike of 15 percent in the fee in the PG
courses from upcoming session by the authorities.
Addressing a press
conference, Rakesh Chib (president) mentioned
that fee hike was not justified at all as the
facilities for which the fees was being charged
were allegedly elusive to the students.
Chib threatened to
launch indefinite protest in the campus if the
University authorities implemented the decision
of fee hike arbitrarily and stated that the same
would not be tolerated.
Further, he
condemned the authorities for calling the meet of
Departmental Representatives (DRs) and Class
Representatives (CRs), the other day, at a short
notice aiming to get the proposal of fee hike
passed without the desired level of
consideration.
The JURSEA,
however, appealed the Chancellor and the
Pro-Chancellor to consider the issue at their own
level.
NSF
concerned over decline in UG final year result
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: The
National Secular Forum (NSF) has expressed
concern over considerable decline in the pass
percentage of B.A/B.Sc/B.Com final year result,
which was declared by the University of Jammu
recently.
Addressing media
persons here today, NSF president Vikas Sharma
smelt rat in the early declaration of final year
result by the University as he mentioned that
University had stated in reply to a RTI filed by
him that "no results shall be declared not
later than sixth week of the respective dates of
termination of an examination."
He commented that
RTI reply was contradicting to the declaration of
final year result by University in a record time
especially when the last paper was conducted on
June 12.
He claimed that JU
was playing with the career of candidates by
doing experiments as a result of which the pass
percentage was down by 13 percent over the
previous year.
"If the
University has adopted new system to shorten the
evaluation period, then the same must be applied
to first and second besides PG courses," he
asked.
Advance
party leaves for Gangbal
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: Focusing
on its mission to preserve the centuries old
moorings of cultural heritage of Kashmiri
Pandits, All Parties Migrants Co-ordination
Committee (APMCC) has started annual Harmukat
Ganga Yatra with full enthusiasm and devotion for
second time.
Some Pandit
devotees from Jammu and various parts of country
including few from Valley today reached Srinagar
to take part in the holy pilgrimage for Harmukat
Ganga, popularly known as Gangbal lake where a
Vedic Havan will be performed on June 25 amidst
the chanting of Vedic mantras. Shrad Tarpan will
also be performed of deceased. According to APMCC
chief, Vinod Pandit, an advance party of devotees
including party team members carrying essential
commodities for the yatries had left for pious
Gangbal yatra today on June 23. The main Yatra
will commence on June 24 from Naran Nag, base
camp of yatra. On June 25 hawan and Puja Archna
will be performed to pay obeisance to the
departed souls. On June 26 devotees will reach to
Srinagar and then by 27 June they will reach
Jammu.
Veteran
leader pleading cause of state pensioners
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: J
K Padha, who has remained president of J&K
Pensioners Association, was felicitated by a
large number of pensioners and union leaders at
his 95tth birthday today. He is chief patron of
the Association and looking after interest of the
pensioners.
Those attending
the function recalled the service rendered by him
for the cause of pensioners for long years and
getting them a fair deal.
Speaking on the
occasion, Mr Padha said " the cause of
pensioners is closest to his heart" and
demanded the Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather
to expeditiously implement the 6th Pay Commission
recommendation and redress grievances of the
pensioners.
He stressed that
the Government should release the outstanding
pension arrears without further delay now. He
also pleaded for adopting in State the Budha
Pension scheme of enhancing pension as per
advancing age allowed to Central pensioners .
His good health at
this stage is due to his simplicity, regulated
dietary habits and dedication to serve the cause
of pensioners.
Bone
Mass Density camp held at Gandhinagar Hospital
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: A
two-day Bone Mass Density ( BMD) free camp was
organized by Orthopaedic Department , Government
Hospital, Gandhinagar, here today.
About 150 persons
were screened by the BMD machine and further
advised by the senior Orthopaedicans, Dr
Kanwaljeet Singh and Dr Rakesh Sharma of
Gandhinagar hospital, Jammu. The test costs Rs
250 in Delhi and is not available in J&K and
it was done free in the camp.
Dr Subash Bhagat,
Medical Superintendent, Dr Arun Sharma, Dy
Medical Superintendent and other doctors were
present on the occasion.
The camp will
continue tomorrow as well from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
after registration in the Orthopaedic OPD of this
hospital.
The computerized
machine has been brought from Delhi, on which
whole detail will be generated of the person who
puts his/ her foot on the machine.
SLGI
conducts awareness activity for students
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: The
marketing team of Shree Luxmi Global Institute
(SLGI), an institute of medical and engineering
entrance examinations, today conducted an
activity for awareness of the aspirants of
medical and engineering at Kachi Chawni here
today.
The activity was
conducted under the guidance of marketing head Ms
Supreet Johar. The team apprised the students
that they need not to go to Delhi, Chandigarh or
any where else for the preparation of entrance
examinations after 12th class, as all is
available with SGLI.
Candidates who
wish to register with SLGI will get scholarship
as per norms of Institute, the team informed.
NSUI
protests against faulty education system
Excelsior Correspondent
DODA,
June 23: The
activists of National Students Union of India
(NSUI) reportedly blocked the Doda-Assar road
this morning decrying the prevailing education
system in the erstwhile Doda.
Students of
Government High School (GHS) Assar led by NSUI
state general secretary, Fairoz Khan sat on
dharna at Doda-Assar road and blocked the
vehicular movement for quite some time. They also
shouted slogans against the Education
authorities.
Khan flayed the
authorities for not providing the sufficient
staff in the High School hence making the
students to suffer. He added that there was
shortage of staff in most of the schools of the
erstwhile Doda (Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar).
He further said
that the protest would be intensified if the
demand of agitating students were not met at the
earliest.
15-yrs
minor among two killed, 3 attempt suicide
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: A
15-years-old minor girl among two died in
separate mishaps while three persons allegedly
attempted to commit suicide by consuming some
poisonous substance at respective residence
today.
A police spokesman
said that Pooja Devi, daughter of Ram Dayal,
resident of Haryana, presently at Bari-Brahmana
was crushed to death, when hit by speedy mini-bus
bearing registration No JK02T-7384 at Satwari
Chowk. After getting information, police party
from Gandhi Nagar Police Station rushed to the
spot and shifted the victim to Government Medical
College and Hospital in a pool of blood, where
she failed to respond to the treatment and
succumbed to her injuries after some time.
Police has seized
the vehicle whereas accused driver managed to
escape after the mishap.
The
deceased’s body was handed over to legal
heirs after autopsy and other legal formalities.
Police has
registered a case and initiated proceedings to
nab the absconding driver.
In another
incident, 45-years-old Dharam Paul, son of Mikhi
Ram, resident of Chackroi, R S Pura died under
mysterious circumstances at Jiwan Nagar at rented
house. He was rushed to GMC where doctors
declared him as brought dead.
His body was
handed over to family members after post-mortem
and other legal formalities for last rites.
Meanwhile, police
has registered a case under section 174 CrPC to
ascertain the cause of death at Satwari Police
Station.
The spokesman
added that three persons allegedly attempted to
end their lives by consuming some poisonous
substance at respective residences. They were
reportedly responding to the treatment when the
last reports came in.
They have been
identified as Ashwani Kumar (21), son of Shallu
Ram, resident of Suhajana, Phallian Mandal; Ajay
Kumar (35), son of Suraj Parkash, resident of
Chack Murar, Bishnah and Raj Kumari, wife of
Subash Singh of Samba.
Demonstration
on mechanized
paddy transplantation at
SKUAST-J
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: The
Farming System Research Centre, Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology (SKUAST), Jammu, today organized a day
long field visit of farmers for demonstrating
practices of mechanized paddy transplantation.
The centre has
been continuously conducting trials for the last
six years in rice-wheat cropping system. The
results revealed that use of rice establishment
method either through hand transplanter or
through power paddy transplanter is effective not
only in labour saving but also helps in boosting
the productivity besides reducing cost of
production.
Vice Chancellor Dr
B Mishra was also present on the occasion and
urged the farmers to adopt mechanized farming. He
emphasized that small farmers must pool their
resources and work in a group and purchase
machinery which are being tested by the
University scientists. Dr R M Bhagat, Director
Research, also addressed the farmers.
Dr Kachroo
informed the farmers about the practice of
mechanized paddy transplantation. The farmers
were also trained for collecting soil sampling
and brief about importance of soil testing by Dr
N P Thakur, senior scientist. Dr Vijay Khajuria
and technical assistants of the centre were also
present on the occasion.
PDD
daily wagers protest in support of their demands
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: The
daily waged employees of Power Development
Department (PDD) today took out a protest rally
and staged demonstration outside the office of
Divisional Commissioner here, demanding their
regularization.
Earlier, the daily
wagers assembled at PDD office, Parade from where
they took out protest rally towards Divisional
Commissioner's office in support of their
demands.
They alleged that
Government had failed to meet its commitment and
was adopting delaying tactics towards their
demands. They said Chief Minister had assured of
their regularization and in this connection the
Department prepared a list of daily wagers but
the same was lying in the office of Development
Commissioner Power and pending for clearance and
causing delay.
They also
mentioned that Rs 45 lakh of money that was the
salary of need base employees also lying with the
department and not been released in their favour.
"The
Government every year assures us to settle down
our long pending demands but nothing has come as
yet", protesting PDD daily wagers said,
adding, "last year, the daily wagers were
told that they would be regularized but it was
merely eyewash and Government was adopting same
tactics this year too".
‘Not only
regularization of employees but for the past
three years, we have not been paid our salary,
which is unfortunate’, the protesting daily
wagers added.
Later, the
employees submitted memorandum in Divisional
Commissioner's Office and talked to Div Com
Dr Pawan Kotwal, who assured the employees to
take up their matter with the concerning
quarters.
Later, they served
10-days ultimatum to Govt to concede their
demands otherwise they would go on "Kaam
Chhor Hartal".
Court
grants bail to accused arrested under Arms Act
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU,
June 23: Court
of Sub-Judge, Special Railway Magistrate Jammu
has granted bail to one Ramit Jaral, a resident
of Krishna Nagar Jammu, who was arrested under
4/25 Arms Act.
Ramit Jaral was
arrested by Nowabad Police along with a sharp
edged weapon from Jewel Chowk and he was booked
under 4/25 Arms Act and after completion of
investigation, police filed challan in the court.
Counsel for the
accused, Advocate Rajat Gupta, while demanding
release of the accused, submitted that applicant
was an innocent person and has not commited any
offence further submitted that Police has
registered a false and frivolous case against the
applicant.
After hearing
Advocate Rajat Gupta appearing for the accused
and Senior Prosecuting Officer on the bail
application of the accused, the Court observed,
"no doubt the offence committed by the
accused is non-bailable in nature but the perusal
of police report reveals that the investigation
is almost complete, recovery has been affected
and nothing more is required to be recovered from
the accused".
With these
observations, the Court granted bail to the
applicant on furnishing bail and personal bonds
to the tune of Rs 20,000 each.
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