Sham exhorts PRIs to monitor services, schemes

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent

Minister for PHE, Sham Lal Sharma addressing one-day training-cum-awareness camp at Kathua on Wednesday.

KATHUA, Jan 22: Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma today said that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have greater responsibilities to monitor and maintain services, for which the Government has already identified their role and jurisdictions.
The real sense of democracy can only be prevailed at the ground level when the Panchayat functionaries give their hundred per cent and full-fill the mandate enshrined in the Panchayati Raj Act, he added.
The Minister was speaking at a one-day training-cum-awareness camp on the water sanitation, which was jointly organized by National Development Foundation an NGO and Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU), here today.
Maintaining that water sanitation and conservation is a matter of prime concern, the Minister said that a joint effort is required to address this issue. Only Government effort cannot bring fruit, but entire society should contribute for this noble cause. The Government’s prime duty is to create facilities, but society should coordinate to maintain these facilities in a systematic and scientific way. He said Government has been making its effort to involve all stakeholders, especially, the PRIs who are mandated to create awareness amongst the rural masses about the water sanitation and its judicious use.
The Government has constituted Village Sanitation Committees (VSCs) to ensure safe drinking water after necessary water testing through the water testing kits being provided by the Government. Necessary funds for undertaking tests and executing minor repairs of Hand Pumps and awareness activities have already deposited in the accounts of VSCs, which are headed by the concerned Sarpanchs, Junior Engineer, ASHA worker, Anganwari Worker, Science Teacher of local school, health worker of nearby health centre etc.
The VSCs have been empowered to conduct frequent tests of water available in their areas, in case the water is unsafe, the Committees can approach the functionaries of District Level Water Sanitation Mission headed by the Deputy Commissioners, said the Minister.
On the point of conservation and judicious use of water, the Minister said that Government has formulated a proposal to upgrade and restore the traditional water sources like ponds, springs, nallahs under sustainability programme. By doing so, pressure on the drinking water will come down and people will be able to use the water of these sources for other purposes. Besides, the Government has also decided to develop 10 check dams in every PHE Division, which will help conservation of rain water and raising the ground water table, said the Minister.

Man killed, 3 injured in road mishaps

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 22: A man who was injured in a road accident in Kulgam district two days ago has succumbed, while three others were injured in another accident in Baramulla last evening.
A police spokesman said Fayaz Ahmed succumbed to his injuries at SKIMS Soura.
Three men, Ishfaq Ahmad Dar son of Ghulam Mohammad, Irshad Ahmed Lone son of Ghulam Mohammad and Ghulam Hassan Bhat son of a Sabdar Bhat of Kanispora, Baramulla, were injured when a Maruti car, JK05A/3504, hit them .
The spokesman said they were shifted to a hospital for treatment.

We will have to change a few things: Dhoni

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January 23, 2014

Hamilton, Jan 22: India will have to make a few changes ahead of the third one-dayer against New Zealand to bring their campaign back on track in the five-match ODI series, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said today.

India were today dethroned as the number one ODI team after they suffered an agonising 15-run defeat in the rain-hit second ODI against New Zealand, who have now taken a 2-0 lead.

“Of course, we will have to change a few things and see how we are going to play our cricket. That is something that will be crucial. There have been a few things that have not gone our way but it is very important that if you get a chance you win the game,” Dhoni said.

Talking about the morale of the side, Dhoni said his boys are mentally tough and they always keep a positive dressing room environment.

“As far as the morale is concerned, it is a fantastic lively dressing room. What we always emphasise on is cricket is not something that should have a lot of effect on the dressing room atmosphere,” the 32-year-old skipper said.

“Yes, they are linked but it should not be like when you are performing well, you have a different dressing room and when you are not, the entire scenario changes. We have been able to keep a good dressing room atmosphere, does not matter if we are winning or losing,” he said.

After their second consecutive loss against New Zealand, Dhoni, however, asked his batsmen, especially openers, to pull up their socks and convert the starts into big scores.

“We got off to a good start in terms of not losing wickets. But if you are supposed to score 290-odd when you are chasing, and in the first ten we are 38-odd runs and two wickets down, it becomes quite difficult for the middle order especially on a wicket which became slightly two-paced with the drizzle,” Dhoni said.

“Once we got off to a start, the openers should have carried on for a bit longer so that they could have played a few more shots, scored a few more runs and taken a bit of pressure off from the middle order.

“The batsmen are getting some kind of a start but we are not able to convert those starts into 50s or 75s or big partnerships. I feel it is very crucial that once you get off to a good start it is important you make a big partnership,” he said after India lost by 19 runs via D/L method. (PTI)

Youth attempts suicide

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: A youth allegedly tried to end his life by consuming some poisonous substance at his residence in Purana Pind area, falling under the jurisdiction of RS Pura police station.
As per reports, 19-year-old Ankush Mehra, son of Subash Chander of Purana Pind, RS Pura allegedly consumed some poisonous substance at his residence.
Finding him unconscious, family members shifted him to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where his condition was stated to be out of danger, when last reports came in.
A case has been registered at RS Pura police station and investigation started to ascertain the reason behind such extreme step.

Prof Madhosh delivers lecture at MIER

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Daily Excelsior

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: An extension lecture was organized by the Center for Educational Research of MIER College of Education in which Prof A G Madhosh, former Head and Dean, University of Kashmir, Srinagar was the resource person.
The lecture was attended by HoD’s of various wings of MIER alongwith their faculty members and students of M Ed Department. The topic of the lecture was ‘How to Prepare a Research Proposal/Synopsis’.
Dr H R Shan, Head CER presented welcome address.
While addressing the students, Prof Madhosh oriented them regarding the different steps involved in developing a research proposal.
He suggested that the students should first and foremost understand the context in which they are conducting the research and then select the problem nearest to their interest and aptitude.
Prof Madhosh also enquired about the specific areas of interest of students and discussed each area at length.
Later-on, the queries of the participants were answered by the resource person.
Dr BL Raina, HoD M. Ed Department formally thanked the resource person for interacting on a very pertinent topic.
Dr Nishta Rana, Assistant Professor M Ed conducted proceedings of the the programme.

Saina, Kashyap, Sindhu reach prequarterfinals of Syed Modi GPG

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January 23, 2014

Lucknow, Jan 22: Two-time winner Saina Nehwal and defending champion Parupalli Kashyap made a positive start to their campaign at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament, reaching the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s and men’s singles competition respectively, here today.

London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina reached the second round with a 21-7 21-9 thrashing of Matilda Petersen of Sweden in just 28 minutes to set up a clash with Russian Natalia Perminova at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium here.

Saina was in complete control throughout the match and won seven points on the trot in both games to force her Swedish opponent into submission.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Kashyap, on the other hand, first notched up a 21-14 21-16 victory over compatriot Anup Sridhar and then registered a 21-10 21-12 win over Malaysia’s Yee Han Chong in his second match of the day to reach the third round, where he will face 12th seed Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia.

Second seed and last edition’s runners-up, PV Sindhu, however, had to toil before getting across Malaysia’s Li Lian Yang 21-19 24-22 to set up a clash with Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland tomorrow.

Former national champion Sayali Gokhale, National Games champion Arundhati Pantawane, Tanvi Lad, Saili Rane and Dhanya Nair also reached the prequarterfinals today.

Among others in men’s singles, second seed Ajay Jayaram, third seed RMV Gurusaidutt, fourth seed Anand Pawar, sixth seed K Srikanth, seventh seed H S Prannoy, eighth seed Sourabh Verma, 11th seed Sai Praneeth B, 14th seed Arvind Bhat, 16th seed Subhankar Dey and young Aditya Prakash — all reached the pre-quarters. 13th seed Malaysian Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin also reached the third round.

In the men’s singles, Jayaram streamrolled Vinay Kumar Reddy P 21-12 21-12 and then eked out a hard-fough 27-25 21-15 win over Malaysia’s Teck Zhi Soo in the next match. He will take on Subhankar, who beat Abhimanyu Singh 18-21 21-12 21-19 and then notched up a difficult 21-14 9-21 21-9 win over Kaushal Dharmamer.

Guru had a good day in the court as he first defeated Velavan Vasudevan 21-10 21-10 and then sent packing Vipul Saini 21-11 21-11 in another match. (PTI)

Rather for professional, financial restructuring of Corporation

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent

Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs, Abdul Rahim Rather chairing AGM of J&K SFC at Jammu on Wednesday.

JAMMU, Jan 22: Saying that commercial banks have an onerous responsibility to redouble their lending support to MSME and other sectors of economy as these sectors hold great promise for unfolding large employment potential for the youth of the State, the Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs, Abdul Rahim Rather today expressed optimism that revival of J&K State Financial Corporation (J&K SFC) would go a long way to improve the existing lending scene in the State.
He said after remaining in red for about 15 years, the Corporation has once again started generating net profits, besides sanctioning and disbursement of term loans, adding that during the last financial year, loans amounting to about Rs. 18.80 crore have been sanctioned and Rs. 15.23 crore disbursed to the beneficiaries.
Speaking at the 53rd Annual General Meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir State Financial Corporation (J&KSFC) in Sehkari Bhawan, Jammu today, Mr. Rather, who is also Chairman of the Corporation, said that SFC is the first public sector undertaking, which after a gap of 9 years, has now updated Audited Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss Accounts, adding that it has now cleared a 7 years backlog of audited accounts.
He said again it was heartening to note that the Corporation has been able to turn its negative net worth of Rs. 104.58 crore in 2009 into a positive net worth of Rs. 3.67 crore as on ending March 2013, hoping that the positive network of the Corporation will increase to over Rs. 25 crore by the end of current financial year. He said after continuously suffering huge losses during last 15 years, the Corporation has now started generating profits again from the 2011-2012 when it registered a net profit of Rs. 4.38 crore.
The meeting among others was attended by Economic Advisor to the Government, Jalil Ahmed Khan, prominent businessmen of the State, including C.L. Gulati, Akhil Chopra, Mohammad Ashraf, concerned share holders and officers of the Corporation.
The Minister said that SFC has also managed recoveries from its decade’s old sticky debts to the extent of Rs. 79 crore and settled liabilities of Rs. 173 crore against total liability of Rs. 181 crore which had been in default from the year 2006-07. “The Corporation has reduced its NPA portfolio from Rs. 105.40 crore to Rs. 66.23 crore through its consistent recovery drives supported by “One Time Settlement Scheme” brought in the year 2010, Mr. Rather added.
He said after witnessing spectacular progress on revival plan of the Corporation, the SIDBI has finally agreed to restore the refinance facility to it and most likely their (SIDBI) credit line will become operational during the next financial year.
The Minister said that the Government and the management has embarked on a three pronged strategy for ensuring professional and financial restructuring of the Corporation to strengthen its capital base which was imperative to restore its past glory when it used to play a very important role in promoting industry, tourism and transport related ventures in the State.

Burglars make abortive bid to loot Grameen Bank

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Daily Excelsior

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent

SAMBA, Jan 22: An abortive bid was made by the burglars to loot the Grameen Bank, Nandpur in border area of Ramgarh in Samba district late last night.
According to police the burglars after breaking the locks of the main gate intruded into the Bank late last night with an intention to loot it. But they could not break the locker inside the Bank and fled leaving the tools behind.
The Ramgarh Police has registered a case under Section 174 and started investigation but no arrest was made as yet.

AMCCC, relief holders’ concern over non supply of ration to migrants

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: All Migrant Camp Coordination Committee (AMCCC) has expressed grave concern over the non availability of ration in CAPD depots at Jagti Migrant camp and other camps.
In a statement issued here today, president of the organization Desh Rattan took the authorities of CAPD to task for its failure in providing ration to the people till date.
He said the authorities of CAPD when contacted said that the Centre has stopped quota of ration for migrants which is a cause of concern. Desh Rattan said on the one hand the UPA has passed the Food Security Bill and on the other hand it has stopped the ration quota for the internally displaced people from Valley.
He said the Jagti township inmates were already facing the problem of electricity and water scarcity and now the Government has also stopped ration supply which is the grave injustice.
Meanwhile, Ajay Bhat representative of over aged youth and relief holders also demanded immediate supply of ration to migrants and warned that in case ration was not supplied within two days the migrants will be forced to come to streets.

Shabir lays foundation of staff quarter

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January 23, 2014

Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Jan 22: Re-affirming Government’s determination to provide better health facilities to the people particularly in far-off and remote villages, the Minister of State for Health, Shabir Ahmad Khan has said under a comprehensive and gigantic health consolidation and expansion programme scores of health centers in the villages, sub-districts and districts have been completed and many are in the process of completion.
Addressing a public meeting after laying foundation of staff quarter at Primary Health Center at Ghambir Mughlan to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs. 50 lakh, the Health Minister said that besides upgrading and modernizing the health institutions, a mega expansion programme is in offing to ensure health coverage and better medicare facilities to the people across the State. He said that health sector has been focused as one of the most important sectors by the Government in the development policy and during last five years it received full attention for improvement and upgradation.
The Health Minister said that coming up of modern health facilities at the primary and secondary levels would not only expand the orbit of health coverage for people but reduce the pressure on the hospitals in cities. He asked Health Department to ensure better facilities to the patients in Government hospitals and utilize modern equipments provided to the health institutions to extend modern treatment to the patients.
Shabir said that Union Health Ministry is extending special grants to Jammu and Kashmir for upgradation of health and medical education sector and extend its reach to all areas in the State. He said the Centre recently doubled the programme implementation plan from Rs 236 crore to Rs 436 crore to the State under NRHM, which would help to complete the ongoing health projects besides strengthen diagnostic equipments and skilled human resource in the hospitals.
The Minister also met local deputations who brought to his notice different development demands pertaining to their areas and also urged setting up of more health centers in their areas. The Minister gave patient hearing to the deputations and said that their genuine demands would be considered duly.
Meanwhile, the Minister also reviewed pace of progress of several ongoing projects in the area. He directed concerned executing agencies to ensure time bound completion of the projects for early benefits of the people of area.