Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: ‘Arsh Rang’, the presentation of soulful musical rendition of poetry of Arsh Sehbai, Urdu’s  master poet of Jammu, here today at the K L Saigal Hall, under the auspices of Indian Cultural Forum, was part its continuing mission to take the tradition of Ghazal singing to masses and also resurrect Jammu once again as one of the leading centers of Urdu literature and musical form like gazal.
The NGO has already held such Ghazal sandhyas based on the poetry of well known local Urdu  poets like Vidya Rattan Aasi, Deepak Aarsi, Pritpal Singh Betab and others.
Unleashing the magic of Ghazal and its very special place in contemporary Indian music representing a great poetic tradition from over several centuries, today’s musical concert composed by Sham Sajan, eminent singer and musician of the state, was a treat for the audience who appreciated and applauded the singers.
The memorable musical evening was marked by lilting melodies sung by singers like Aroova Jamwal, Suraj Singh, Indu Bala, Gursharan Kaur and Sham Sajan. The mesmerizing musical poetry with musical compositions based on Indian Classical ragas retained the serenity, serious mood and temperament of the original ghazals that were selected from Arsh Sehbai’s two books of poetry namely ‘Kushboo Tere Badan Ki’ and ‘Sayei Teri Yadoon Ke’.
The highlight of the program was recitation of his gazals and poems by Arsh Sehbai. The couplets like “Mil Sakoon Khud Se Yeh Irada Hai/ Waqt Kam Hai Safar Zayada Hai” and Meri Hyat Mein Sadiyon Ki Pyas Rehne Do/ Nazar Ke Samne Khali Gilaas Rehne Do” , sent the listeners ecstatic. Those who gave accompaniment were Amarjeet on violin, Sanjay Pashi on guitar and Karan Malhotra on tabla.
The program was artistically conducted by Ravinder Kaul, one of the founding members of the NGO dedicated to the cause of promotion of music in J&K. He through his inimitable and knowledgeable interjections about Urdu gazals tradition in the country added a definite  color to the program which was presided by Prof Zahoor-ud-Din.
Prominent among the audience were Khalid Hussain, Aslam Qureshi, IAS (retd) and others.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: A prominent leader from Doda district Ishtiaq Wani rejoined BJP at a function today held at party headquarters after quitting PDP.
BJP State President & MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma, along with leader of Legislative Party Ashok Khajuria, State general secretary (Org.) Ashok Koul, MLA Sukhnandan Kumar, Doda district President Dalip Singh Parihar, district Prabhari Shakti Parihar and other senior leaders garlanded him amid distribution of sweets.
Welcoming Wani into the party fold, Jugal Kishore Sharma said that a change has been witnessed in entire length and breadth of the State as the people from all walks of life, from every region and religion are realizing that it is the BJP only which stands for the cause of nation and common masses. After the announcement of Narendra Modi as Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, a large number of leaders from Muslim community have voluntarily offered to work for BJP as they want Modi as next Prime Minister.
He said that the people have themselves seen that the Congress, PDP and NC have only misled them and taken for granted for seeking votes and doing nothing positive when in power. It is the view of one and all that the nation needs Modi and each one of us has to work towards strengthening BJP, he said and declared that the party will welcome everyone who stands for unity and integrity of the country.
Ishtiaq Wani, on the occasion, said that the BJP is sweeping the minds of people and he too could not escape from the strong wave witnessed in favour of BJP and its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Parmodh Kapahi, Chander Mohan Gupta, Balbir Ram Rattan, Nand Kishore Sharma, Bashir Ahmed Jogal, Ikhlaq Ahmed Wani, Mohinder Singh, Vipan Shastri, Ram Lal Sharma, Omar Wani, Sajjad Ahmed, Mohan Singh Rana and others were present on the occasion.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture Raman Bhalla today said that Government has earmarked Rs. 60 lakh for construction of parking lot near Jammu University auditorium, adding that the place would be dedicated to the students as well as faculty members soon after completing other allied works of the project by Jammu Municipal Corporation.
The Minister said this while inspecting ongoing construction work on the project here today.
The Minister said that   on its completion the problem faced by the students, visitors and organizers of   functions in the Auditorium would be addressed.
Mr. Bhalla further said that the Government has framed a comprehensive plan to facilitate the people with all infrastructural facilities.
Earlier, the Minister visited Udham Singh Nagar in Rani Talab and area opposite Peer Baba in Digiana and kick started construction work of lanes and drains, for which Government has earmarked Rs. 15 lakh.
Mr. Bhalla asked the JMC and UEED to complete the allotted works within stipulated time frame by using quality material. He warned  that there would be no compromise on the quality of work, adding that the Government was committed to create durable infrastructure with a prospective planning.
The Minister said Government has started development of all the periphery localities in the urban areas under a comprehensive plan envisaging creation of adequate infrastructure for improvement of basic amenities.
The Minister said people’s participation is imperative in the development of the State as they are the main stakeholders in this process. He called upon the people to extend their cooperation and keep a watch on the implementation of schemes for better results on the ground.
Mr. Bhalla also directed the PHE functionaries to lay water supply pipes in the water deficit areas of the Preet Nagar and Udham Singh Nagar besides plugging   leakages.
Listing the measures taken by the Government for improving the basic amenities in the Preet Nagar and Udham Singh Nagar, Mr. Bhalla said that   Rs. 4 crore have been earmarked for setting up a receiving station. He said that work on the project is in progress and would be completed within stipulated time frame.

Lalit Gupta
JAMMU, Jan 15: Dr Sahib Punjabi play ‘Hoon Parinde Kithey Jaan’, was presented as fifth production of the ongoing drama festival organized by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, at Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar.
Staged by Manoranjan Kala Kendra, under the direction of T S Premi who also played the lead role of Kehar Singh, the story is about ‘Enaiti’, a Muslim girl who as aftermath of Partition finds herself in hands of a Sikh Kehar Singh, a well known bad character.
Enaiti, slowly succeeds in making Kehar Singh, the Dus Numbria, to shun his old ways and live the life of a gentleman. Kehar Singh marries her after giving her a Sikh name of Harbans Kaur and sires a son out of their wedlock.
After more than a decade, due to mutual agreement between Indian and Pakistan Governments when it is agreed to exchange the so called forcefully kept Hindu and Muslim women from one country to another, the lovers are heartbroken. Their plea to let them live as family fall on deaf ears. Before leaving India for Pakistan, Enaiti aka Harbans Kour promises to Kehru to reunite with him in near future.
The life of two characters Kehar Singh and Enaiti/Harbans Kaur, as a couple which despite having the deep commitment for each other are torn apart due to the politics of Partition was very well brought out on the stage by T S Premi and Mousami.
They were ably supported by Pandit Makhan Shashtri as Taya/Sarpanch, Mukesh Sharma as Malook Singh and Ajay Sharma as Pagal. Other members of the cast were Narayan, Anil Kumar, Davinder Singh, Aparna Sharma, Dalbir Singh, Dr Rajendra Thapa, Pramodh and Sahil Raina. Music was designed by Balwinder Kaur and songs sung by Surinder Hans, make up by Meenakshi, Chandani, set by Amit Sharma, Davinder, lights by Rajinder Narang and Jairam. Tomorrow Parveen Kesar’s Dogri play ‘Khede Khede Ch, directed by Vijay Malla, would be presented by Unison Cultural Club.

Excelsior Correspondent
LEH, Jan 15: Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Simrandeep Singh today took a review meeting of the Annual BADP Plan and Bad Pocket Plan of the Leh district.
The Deputy Commissioner laid emphasis on the unspent funds of previous financial year and directed all the concerned officers to achieve complete plan targets. The officers were told that achievements under BADP would be reflected in their Annual ACRs.
All the officers were told to complete the formalities of booking expenditures by February 15, 2014 after which the unspent amounts would be re-allocated to the schemes where liabilities are existing. The DC gave stress to the point that the officers should come out of the “revalidation” culture that generally exists due money being carried forward of previous plans. He said the performance of the officers would be judged keeping their ability and capacity to utilise the allocated funds.
The DC also released an amount of Rs 30 lakh to CMO Leh for implementing the ambitious scheme of LAHDC to provide Hepatitis-B vaccination to the entire population of the district.
The CMO was directed to come out with a complete calendar of activities to meet this objective. This money would serve as revolving fund to make Leh a Hepatitis free district.

Excelsior Correspondent
SHOPIAN, Jan 15: Justice Kaul One Man Commission held its sitting at Shopian, Circuit House today in presence of the parties.
The Counsel for the Union of India on behalf of the CRPF sought some time for production of his counter report which he could not produce due to the fact that the counter could not be vetted by his legal cell till date.
At his request time was granted and he was asked to counter on January 18, 2014 and petitioners will produce their evidence on the future date fixed by the Commission.
The Commission will hold its next hearing on January 18, 2014 at Circuit House, Shopian.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: National Panthers Party (NPP) fought for creation Jammu University in 1966 where half a dozen of youth were killed in brutal firing by the Congress Government.
This was stated by Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) and president, NPP Balwant Singh Mankotia, while interacting with media persons to highlight the achievements of Prof Bhim Singh, Patron, NPP here today.
He appealed the Jammuites to support Prof Bhim Singh’s candidature in forthcoming Lok Sabha election on parallel sacrifices and contributions towards the people of Jammu and youth and students in particular.
Mankotia said that Prof Singh is fighting for Jammu migrants from the streets to the Supreme Court, adding that Prof Singh got the operation of the Resettlement Act stayed since it was enacted by Sheikh Mohammad.
He fought against half salaries of employees in 1981 and got restored full salaries to the employees of J&K in 1981 and 1982, Mankotia said, adding that Prof Singh fought for Wazir Commission and got districts status for Samba, Kishtwar, Ramban etc.
Prof Singh opposed National Conference and Congress against their anti-Jammu and anti-Ladakh policies. He defeated anti-Women Bill in Legislative Council in 2004 when all political parties in the legislature including Congress, NC and PDP intended to deny the daughters of J&K of their civil and constitutional rights, Mankotia added.
He resigned as MLA in 1982 in the interest of youth and people of the Jammu and founded a revolutionary political party, J&K National Panthers Party, Mankotia informed.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 15: Notwithstanding much hype over the ongoing Road Safety Week when cops in blue are generally seen more active and alert, the violation of Traffic Rules is unabated particularly by the passenger vehicle operators, which is proving fatal for those travelling in such vehicles and pedestrians.
Making mockery of the Road Safety Week, the operators of passenger vehicles particularly mini-buses and autorickshaws can be easily seen flouting the Traffic Rules at their will and whim that too in front of the cops in blue particularly during morning and evening hours.
The flouting of rules with the sole objective of fetching more passengers even during the Road Safety Week is resulting into numerous fatal accidents on the roads. This can be gauged from the fact that around 40 accident cases were reported from different areas of the Jammu in which nearly half a dozen people have lost their lives while over three dozens were injured.
In one of the glaring examples of traffic rules violation is that a rashly driven mini-bus crushed an auto-rickshaw while passing the other vehicle near Patoli Morh, falling under the jurisdiction of Janipur police station, in which ten persons received injuries and were hospitalized.
After the accident, long queues of the vehicle got stranded, leading to traffic chaos, but the traffic cops were not seen, which created manifold problems for the people for couple of hours.
People were seen cursing the cops in blue for their failure to keep check on the vehicles violating the traffic rules, especially on Bantalab-Janipur-Amphalla route.
It is the clear apathy of the Traffic Department to check the traffic rules violations thereby giving the license to traffic rules violators to kill or cause injuries to who so ever comes in their way.
The Traffic Department is not taking passenger vehicles violating the traffic rules to task under relevant Sections of Motor Vehicle Act, leading to loss of precious lives and injuries to many others on regular basis.
Instead of taking harsh steps to check and minimize violation of rules, the Traffic Police personnel are increasing the number of challans and realization of fine during the ongoing “Road Safety Week”, so as to prove their worth before their bosses.
Talking to Excelsior one of the passenger of mini-bus namely Vinay Malhotra, a private company employee flayed the Traffic Department to keep check on the rashly driving vehicles particularly mini-buses.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan15: In connection with the ongoing campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, PDP candidate for Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat Yash Pal Sharma, MLC, today addressed a public meeting at Suhanjana area of Marh Assembly segment.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sharma lambasted Coalition Government headed by Omar Abdullah for its failure to solve problems of the masses. He regretted that during the last five years this Government has done nothing to solve problems of the masses.
Calling upon the people to strengthen hands of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti to get rid of this worst ever corrupt regime, Mr Sharma said that PDP has decided to organise  massive protests at all district headquarters against failure of this regime.
Lambasting the Government for its failure to address grievances of the people, Sharma regretted that Government has failed to even supply ration to the people. He said that scarcity of ration was an indication of the total failure of this regime.
District president PDP Thakur Suram Singh, Rash Pal Singh Bittu, Vikram Singh, Balbir Singh, Balwant Singh, Ricky Sharma, Capt Pardeep Kumar, Harjinder Singh, Chain Singh and others also spoke on the occasion.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 15: Ten passengers were injured, when the mini-bus they were traveling in crushed auto-rickshaw near Patoli Morh, falling under the jurisdiction of Janipur police station.
As per reports, the rashly driven mini-bus bearing registration number JKO2S-511 was on its way from Janipur Colony to Parade, when the driver lost control over the steering and the vehicle crushed an auto-rickshaw bearing registration number JKO2T-1411 near Patoli Morh, resulting into injuries to 10 passengers.
On getting information, locals and police team from Janipur police station led by SI Hilal Azhar rushed to the spot and started rescue operation.
All the injured were shifted to Sarwal Hospital in police and other vehicles from where two were referred to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where their condition was stated to be out of danger, when last reports came in.
The injured have been identified as Menu Dogra, daughter of Jagdish Raj, Simran Malhotra, daughter of Ravi Kumar, Meenakshi, daughter of Rajeshwar Singh, Diksha Gupta, daughter of Vinod Gupta, Niketa, daughter of Davinder Singh, Shivani, daughter of Jagdish Raj, Monika Sharma, daughter of Gulzari Lal, Neha, daughter of Babu Ram and Munish, son of Madan Lal, all residents of Janipur and Neha Anand, daughter of Ashok Kumar of Roop Nagar.
A case under FIR number 7/14 under Section 279, 336 and 337 has been registered at Janipur police station and manhunt has been launched to arrest the absconding mini-bus driver.