Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 19: Minister for Forests, Environment Ecology, Wildlife, Mian Altaf Ahmed visited Baltal, the base camp for Amarnathji Yatra, to take stock of the situation that has arisen due to unpleasant happening between service providers, the other day.
The Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma also accompanied the Minister.
Mian Altaf interacted with the local labourers, shopkeepers, tent owners and ponywallas and assured that adequate compensation would be provided to the sufferers, whose paraphernalia damaged during the incident.
Getting feedback about the incident, the Minister directed the Police and Civil Administration to keep close vigil on the situation to ensure smooth conduct of yatra and safety and security of yatris and service providers.
Interacting with yatris and langerwallas, Mian Altaf assured that necessary steps would be initiated for comfortable, peaceful and smooth conduct of yatra, adding that stern action would be taken against the wrong doers as per law.

Lalit Gupta

JAMMU, July 19: Organized by Aditya Bhanu and Nav Durga Kala Mandir in collaboration with J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages, Jammu Natya Utsav, the five-day short-play festival, concluded with performances of ‘Prem Chand Se Dosti’ by Natraj Naty Kunj’s and Raktdaan Mahadaan by Nirvana Academy, at the K L Saigal hall, here today.
Presenting total contrast between the two performances, Natraj Naty Kunj’s short-play emerged as a treat for the audience as the two actors, Aditya K Bharti and Akshay Razdan, in roles of two brothers caught up in the grind of studies, gave an engrossing performance. The fast pace of dialogues, brisk movements, use of mime, made the stage come alive with power of theatre as a tool of social comment as well as entertainment.
While Nirvana Academy’s play written and directed by Tarun Sharma, despite the noble theme urging people to recognize the importance of donating blood, came out to be no better effort than a school college level skit. Notwithstanding enthusiasm and sincerity of the cast of young boys and a girl, their lack of training in theater was galore in today’s performance.
Jammu Natya Festival in which seven drama groups participated did manage to bring forth battery of young theatre playwrights, actors and enthusiasts in the winter capital. But it is the lack of professional training courses at University level in the State which is thwarting proper grooming of local talent.  If truth be told, J&K Cultural Academy cannot wash its hand by simply giving K L Saigal free to theatre groups in name of ‘collaboration’. But it is high time that Academy fulfills its constitutional mandate by holding regular theater workshops and repertories for amateur theatre enthusiasts, was the opinion of senior theatre personalities present on the occasion.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 19: Natrang today presented the world classic ‘Rashomon’- based on stories by Akira Kurosawa under the direction of Aarushi Thakur a post graduate from University of Leicester, UK and a trained actor from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London.
Never in the annals of history had witnessed such sense of enthusiasm and rejoicing as were witnessed by the audience at Amar Mahal Museum in Jammu.
Theatre was seen in a never before manner where a palace was used as a set for the play Rashomon. Natrang has done a similar experiment with its play Richard III. The greenery of the garden and the blooded colours of the walls were complimenting the strategic plot of the play.
`Rashomom’ revolves around a story in 12th century Japan where a samurai and his wife are attacked by the notorious bandit Tajomaru, and the samurai ends up dead. Tajomaru is captured shortly afterward and is put on trial, but his story and the wife’s are so completely different that a psychic is brought in to allow the murdered man to give his own testimony. He tells yet another completely different story. Finally, a woodcutter who found the body reveals that he saw the whole thing, and his version is again completely different from the others.
A priest, a woodcutter and another man are taking refuge from a rainstorm in the shell of a former gatehouse called Rashômon. The priest and the woodcutter are recounting the story of a murdered samurai whose body the woodcutter discovered three days earlier in a forest grove. Both were summoned to testify at the murder trial, the priest who ran into the samurai and his wife traveling through the forest just before the murder occurred. Three other people who testified at the trial are supposedly the only direct witnesses: a notorious bandit named Tajômaru, who allegedly murdered the samurai and raped his wife; the white veil cloaked wife of the samurai; and the samurai himself who testifies through the use of a medium. The three tell a similarly structured story that Tajômaru kidnapped and bound the samurai so that he could rape the wife – but which ultimately contradict each other, the motivations and the actual killing being what differ.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 19: The female dental surgeons under the banner of Dental Surgeons Association (DSA) continued their chain hunger strike for the seventh consecutive day, whereas the dharna by the association entered 19th day here today.
The unemployed dental surgeons assembled at Ambphalla Chowk and raised slogans in favour of their demands.
Continuing the chain hunger strike, Dr Hemanee Rathore was sitting on fast to carry forward the movement of the association.
While speaking, Chairman of the Association Dr Pawan Singh Jasrotia informed the protestors that a deputation of association met Chief Minister. He stated that CM presented himself as a helpless figure and said that, the Government cannot provide jobs to unemployed dental surgeons.
He informed that when the CM was made aware of various national level dental health schemes like NRHM, School Dental Health Programme (SDHP), Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and Evening clinics, which are helping the dental graduates in various other States, he completely denied accepting any of these schemes.
He demanded complete absorption of unemployed dental youth, recruitment of dental surgeons on yearly basis and establishment of separate directorate for dental health in the State.
Dr Jasrotia said that till date more than 16 associations have extended their support and now the association is ready to intensify its agitation in coming days.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 19: Secretary Cooperative Department, R K Koul took a review meeting of JAKFED here today.
During the review meeting, threadbare discussions were held about the overall working of JAKFED. It was informed that the JAKFED has diversified its business activities with a result profitability of the Federation has considerably improved.
The Managing Director, JAKFED, J A Shah apprised the Secretary Cooperative that the turnover of JAKFED for the last financial year was Rs.66 crore and out of which Rs.6.56 crore was the profit and the projection for 2014-15 is estimated for Rs.84 crore.
During the course of review, the Secretary issued directions to create a grievance/redressal cell in all the distributor units of LPG being run by the JAKFED, in order to redress grievances of customers.
The Secretary was also apprised about the JAKFED office at Leh and the activities undertaken by the branch.
The directions were also issued to the Managing Director and General Manager, JAKFED to visit Leh in order to fetch more and more business for the institution.
The Additional Registrar, Joint Registrar (Cooperative), Dy Secretary (Cooperative) among others were also present in the meeting.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 19: J&K Government Employees Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) today stressed upon the Government to redress two major left out demands of the employees, which it had promised to settle within one month’s time.
In a meeting of JCC held here at Jammu under the presidium of senior members of JCC-  Amrik Singh, Ganesh Khajuria, Balwinder Singh and Darminder Singh, the leaders lambasted the Government for going back from its promise. They said the Government had made commitment to settle within one month’s time that two major demands of the agreement i.e to make regularization policy for casual labourers, contractual and need based workers and removal of pay disparity but the time is over and the demands are still not resolved. They appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to fulfill the commitment made with JCC. They also urged the Chief Minister to enhance the Medical allowance from Rs 300 to Rs 1000 and release 10% DA in favour of employees before Eid-ul-Fitr.