NEW DELHI, May 25:
Ruling out any immediate rollback in the steep Rs 7.54 a litre hike in petrol prices, the Government today said it will watch international oil prices and rupee-dollar rate for “a few days” before taking any decision on cutting rates.
Amid growing street protests and unease within his own party, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy came out to defend the third price increase in a year and the first in almost seven months, saying the oil companies had exhausted all options.
Breaking his silence over the hike announced by oil companies on Wednesday, Reddy said: “All political parties including my own party (Congress) are populist… (but) we cannot run the country on populist sentiments”.
No immediate rollback: Govt
4 rifles snatched from cops
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 25: Militants last night snatched and escaped with four rifles from a security picket guarding minorities in a remote village in South Kashmir district of Pulwama.
DIG, South Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, told Excelsior that 3 militants entered a minority picket in Tral area of South Kashmir village of Arigam and snatched three self-loading rifles (SLR) and one INSAS rifle from it.
The DIG said that two Special Police Officers (SPOs) were absent from the duty while a Head Constable (HC) and a Constable were overpowered by the militants. He said that the rifles were snatched due to negligence on part of policemen.
A case (FIR 33/12) has been registered in the Police Station Tral and two policemen and two SPOs were suspended while Head Constable Mohammad Qasim, Constable Mushtaq Ahmad and an SPO were arrested while one is still absconding.
The policemen are being questioned while a police party has been sent to arrest another SPO who was also absent from duty at the time of the incident.
The minority security picket was guarding the Sikh families who comprise 30 percent of the population of the Arigam village. Police have strengthened the minority picket after the incident and a hunt has been launched to trace the militants responsible for looting the weapons.
The area is considered to be stronghold of Hizbul Mujahideen and sources said that around 5 militants were behind the looting of the weapons from the minority picket.
Senior police officers visited the spot and assed the situation after which the minority picket was strengthened.
This is second incident of weapon snatching in South Kashmir this month. On May 4, militants decamped with service rifles of four cops of a minority picket in Shopian district.
DIG Kumar said that those responsible for the snatching of weapons from Shopian village have been identified. He said that they are two Over Ground Workers of a militant outfit and police is after them.
DB restores PIL on crossvoting
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Division Bench of State High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Virender Singh and Justice Hasnain Massodi today allowed application filed by SOS International and others seeking restoration of PIL, which was dismissed in default for appearance and for non-prosecution on May 8, 2012.
After hearing Advocate S S Ahmed for the PIL, DB allowed the CMP and restored the Public Interest Litigation filed by SOS International and others to its original number with the direction to the Registry to list the PIL.
In the PIL, the petitioners have sought registration of a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the 7 BJP MLAs who had allegedly in lieu of cash and other considerations voted for the ruling alliance or for PDP in the MLC elections.
It has been submitted that conduct of BJP MLAs in receiving gratification “outside the house” does not falls within the purview of the Speaker’s power. “The ruling alliance may not like to register case against erring MLAs since it stands to gain because of the conduct of BJP MLAs. The entire episode has assumed proportion of “political scandal”, which needs to be proved through even if it means subjecting the BJP MLAs to Narco Analysis/ Lie-Detector Test”, the petitioners said.
The petitioners prayed before the DB that CBI should be directed to register the FIR against the BJP MLAs.
Searches for ultras in Kathua
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Army and police today launched a joint operation at village Jakhol in Kathua district on inputs regarding presence of three suspected militants.
“Based on specific Intelligence inputs regarding presence of three militants in village Jakhol of district Kathua, a joint operation was carried out by Army and police during wee hours today’’, official sources said.
The operation lasted nearly 10 hours but no militants were spotted as the Intelligence reports had indicated.
The operation was finally called off early morning today, sources said.
“A specific input was developed regarding presence of suspected militants and the operation was launched as the district is situated close to the Indo-Pak international border’’, sources said..
They added that search operations have been intensified and are being conducted as a routine exercise, keeping in view the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to begin from June 25.
Geelani flays Interlocutors report
Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, May 25: Chairman hardline faction of Huriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, today termed the Interlocutors report on Jammu and Kashmir as an attempt to divert the attention of international community from Jammu and Kashmir issue.
Geelani said that his conglomerate’s stand on interlocutors has been vindicated adding that Kashmir issue can be solved only when right to self-determination is given to the people of the State. He rescheduled his strike call for May 29 and asked people to observe strike on May 30 against the Shopian incident of 2009 in which two women were found dead under mysterious circumstances in a river bed.
“There is nothing in the report submitted by the team of Interlocutors. From day one we opposed the appointment of interlocutors and their report clearly indicated that Interlocution was just a time buying exercise. Relief can be provided to people only when the UN resolutions are implemented in letter and spirit,” said Geelani while addressing a press conference here at his residence.
Geelani said that his faction of Hurriyat Conference was not expecting any miracles from the report. He said the interlocutors were also given the mandate of diluting the importance of street protests that erupted in Kashmir Valley in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
“After the street protests for three consecutive years New Delhi tried its best to mislead the international community that everything is rosy in Kashmir. The appointment of Interlocutors was a part of this exercise and their report is in on expected lines. Kashmiris would get relief only when meaningful exercise is taken for resolving the Kashmir issue,” said Geelani.
Responding to a question about the Interlocutors’ observation that clock cannot be reversed, Geelani said that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used the same words to National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He said that Government of India should adopt a realistic and pragmatic approach towards the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
“I had given the call for strike against the Shopian incident on May 29, but as Mela Khir Bhawani is being celebrated on that day, the strike call has been rescheduled for May 30. I received calls from Kashmiri Pandits and they requested me to reschedule the strike. I appeal the people to observe complete strike since justice has been denied to Asiya and Neelofar, victims of Shopian tragedy,” said Geelani.
Geelani alleged that the Government is using all its might to crush the movement in Kashmir adding that Kashmiris cannot give up on their claim on right to self-determination. He accused the Government of being intolerant and said that he is being denied carrying out both the religious and political activities.
“If the Government thinks that people would forget about Kashmir issue with the construction of flyovers and roads then they are living in a fool’s paradise. The intolerance of the State Government can be gauged by the fact that we were not allowed to hold a religious programme on Thursday,” said Geelani.
Dr Karan Singh stresses on speaking Dogri
Dr Ashutosh Sharma’s book released
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Member Parliament (MP) Dr Karan Singh along with Sports Minister RS Chib and Vice Chancellor, Jammu Varsity Prof MPS Ishar, today unveiled the Autobiography of Dr Ashutosh Sharma namely “A Tale of Pains and Pleasures My 60 Years of Sports” in a well attended function organised by J&K Olympic Association at the auditorium of Jammu Club this evening.
While speaking, Dr Ashutosh Sharma, Author of the book, presented the welcome address and highlighted the contents of the book. Dr Sharma said that in the book, he has written all his pleasures and problems, which he faced in his sports career.
Dr Sharma added that his sisters and brother encouraged him to write his own story and this is the result of that that his autobiography has been published. Dr Sharma said that the book is all about sports achievements, which he made during his 60 years in sports career.
Sports Minister, RS Chib, who also graced the occasion as guest of honour, also congratulated Dr Sharma for his autobiography and added that this book will boost the sports activities in the State. He said that Dr Sharma is associated with sports since long, and has performed all his duties with honesty and dedication.
“Dr Ashutosh has taken the J&K State to the great height and brought laurels at national and international level by winning medals and trophies”, Chib added.
Prof Mohan Pal Singh Ishar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, who was the guest of honour on the occasion, congratulated Dr Sharma for his book and added that the book will surely encourage the budding talent of the State.
Padma Sachdev, renowned Dogri Poetess, appreciated the contribution of Dr Sharma towards the upliftment of the sports and impressed upon the women folk present on the occasion to speak Dogri language and also make their children to speak Dogri language for the upliftment of the language.
In his presidential address, Dr Karan Singh, said that the work done by Dr Sharma is appreciable and added that the photography in the book is commendable.
He said that Dr Ashutosh always worked to polish the hidden talent from the rural and urban areas of the State and this is his restless efforts that he wrote this autobiography.
“Stressing on the need of speaking Dogri language, Dr Karan Singh, said that Dogri has been included in the 8th schedule and all its credit goes to the people, who always worked for the upliftment of the Dogri language and culture.
He said that the Dogri language is losing its value among new generation and impressed upon the audience and new generation to speak Dogri so as to make its existence for forever.
MLA West Chaman Lal Gupta, Prof Nilamber Dev Sharma, Prof Dhian Singh Bhau, Director, Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, Jammu University, JP Singh, Director, Directorate of Youth Services and Sports, sports lovers and people of civil society were also present.
At the end, Rangil Singh, president, J&K Olympic Association, presented vote of thanks.
Saleem guides Samba XI to 3-wkt win over Poonch
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: A superb all-round display by Mohd Saleem helped Samba XI to script an emphatic win by 3 wickets against Poonch XI in the ongoing 3rd Prof Pran Nath Malhotra Memorial One-Day Cricket Tournament, being organized by Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) at GGM Science College Hostel ground, here.
Saleem bowled with a superb line and length and scalped 3 important wickets by conceding 28 runs in his 10 overs to restrict Poonch XI to a modest total of 177 runs and later-on scored a brilliant half-century to take his side to a convincing victory.
Earlier, put into bat, Poonch XI scored 177 runs in 48.2 overs by losing all their wickets. Nawaz Rather was the top scorer with 56 runs, while Ankush and Pankaj contributed 33 and 25 runs to the total respectively. Mohd Saleem captured 3 wickets, while Sunny bagged 2 wickets for Samba XI. Jaktar, Vikrant, Arjun and Siddarth claimed one wicket each.
Samba XI, in reply chased the target in 43 overs by losing 7 wickets, thus won the match by 3 wickets. Mohd Saleem top scored with 64 runs, which included 10 crispy boundaries, while Gourav contributed 32 runs to the total. Sunny Gupta also chipped in 21 runs. For Poonch XI, Chamkor Singh was the pick of the bowlers, who scalped 3 wickets, while Aquib and Navia claimed one wicket each.
The match was officiated by Sadiq Hussain Malik and Sham Singh Langeh as umpires, while Raghav Verma acted as the scorer.
Chib sends off State gymnasts for World Championship
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Minister for Medical Education, Technical Education and Youth Services and Sports RS Chib today accorded a ceremonial send off to seven gymnasts of Jammu and Kashmir, who shall represent India in the 12th World Aerobic Gymnastics Championship to be held from May 29 to June 3 at Sofia in Bulgaria.
These gymnasts have been selected on the basis of their performance in the 11th National Gymnastics Championship held at Vadodara, Gujarat from 16-18 January, 2012, where the J&K team won 6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze to win the championship defeating strong contenders and last years title holders Services in Group Event.
The J&K gymnasts in the Indian team included Tej Pal Kour, Honey Mehra, Gourav Sharma, Inderdeep Singh, Mayank Jain, Jaskaran Singh and Parul Mehra.
The Minister, while blessing the gymnasts, lauded their accomplishment and appreciated the efforts of the coaches for producing international stuff. He also enumerated the initiatives undertaken by the Government for development of sports across the State.
He said that the selection of the seven gymnastics from the J&K State for international event depicts picture of sheer-dint of hard work by the gymnasts and the coaches. He also lauded the Coach SP Singh of Jammu for being selected as one of the Indian Coaches in the 12th World Aerobic Gymnastics Championship.
The Gymnast selected in the national team expressed gratitude for support and patronage of the J&K State Sports Council and the Department of Youth Services and Sports, which extended all possible help for their training and participation in the event.
It is pertinent to mention here that 18 gymnasts of the State so far have represented the country in various international championships and two gymnasts have been decorated with State Award and 13 with Sher-e-Kashmir Awards.
On the occasion, cheque worth rupees1.38 lakh was given to the coach for providing some sort of financial assistance to the selected gymnastics during the tour.
GD Goenka organizes ‘Students Tour’ to Krishi Bhawan
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: As a part of curriculum, GD Goenka Public School, organised “Students Tour” to Krishi Bhawan, Department of Agriculture.
The students were made aware about the four sections based on agricultural activities, which satisfied the curiosity of the students for accomplishing their goal of collecting information.
The four sections were apiculture, which is cultivation of honeybees, mushroom cultivation, vermicomposting, floriculture and soil testing laboratory.
The students were briefed about the entire procedure of vermicompost and also about the mushroom cultivation. The step-by-step procedure of apiculture were also explained to the students who also learnt about floriculture in depth.
Dr Mohita, Sarita, Monika and Rimjim, teachers of the school, coordinated the visit.
While speaking, Poonam Jha, Principal of the school, expressed gratitude to the agriculture department for providing indepth knowledge to the students about agriculture.
She added that the school has recently started with the Eco-Club and with this visit the students will be motivated to participate in all the activities undertaken under the banner of Eco-Club.
SOS girls win U-17 hockey, football titles
Jammu District Inter-School competitions
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Scripting a narrow win by a solitary goal over High School Rajpura Mangotrian, SOS School Gole Gujral claimed the under-17 girls hockey title in the Jammu District Inter-School competitions in various sports disciplines, being organized by the Department of Youth Services and Sports, here.
SOS School also lifted Under-17 girls football title by defeating MHAC School Nagbani in a tough contest by one goal.
Meanwhile, under-17 girls basketball title went to MHAC Nagbani, which defeated the formidable side of KC Public School by 2 baskets (11-9) in thrilling contest, while JK Public School trounced KC Public in Under-14 girls football final to claim the trophy.
Throwball Under-17 girls title went to MHAC Nagbani by defeating Karan Convent Kunjwani in the summit clash by two goals to nil (2-0). MHAC Nagbani also claimed tug-of-war boys under-14 title, defeating HSS Gole Gujral by (2-1). The tug-of-war under-17 boys title went to Guru Harkrishan Public School, while Navyug Public School remained the runners-up team.
In table tennis Under-14 boys, KC Public School beat JK Public School easily by three sets to one (3-1), while in Under-17 boys table tennis, KC Public School trounced SOS by three sets to one (3-1).
Meanwhile, Inter-School competitions in the disciplines of badminton, judo and taekwondo for boys and girls under the age group of 14 and 17 years got underway at Indoor Complex, University of Jammu.
About 400 boys and girls drawn from various schools of district Jammu are taking part in the event which is being organized by the Department of Youth Services and Sports, under the overall supervision of Tirath Ram, District Youth Services and Sports Officer, Jammu.
Detailed Results: Judo boys U-14; below 25 kg, Aryan Khajuria, gold; Manish, silver; below 30 kg; Sumedh Singh, gold; Shivam Sharma, silver; below 35 kg, Shrvesh, gold, Diwakar, silver; below 40 kg, Nikhil, gold, Ashish Pandita, silver; below 45 kg, Bilal Ahmed, gold, Akshit, silver and in below 50 kg, Parvinder, gold, Shashank, silver.
Judo boys Under-17 boys; below 40 kg, Jeevan Singh, gold, Ankit Mahajan, silver; below 45 kg, Anmol Abrol, gold, Nikhil Sharma, silver; below 50 kg, Kunal Sharma, gold, Ajit Behra, silver; below 55 kg, Shubam Singh, gold, Aman Choudhary, silver; below 60 kg, Kumar Vishisht, gold, Aditya Anand, silver; below 65 kg, Karandeep Singh, gold, Rishav Kumar, silver; below 71 kg, Abhijeet,gold, Paras Singh, silver.
Taekwondo Under-14 girls: below 26 kg, Dhwani, gold, Bharti Mehra, silver; below 29 kg, Manpreet Kour, gold, Jhanvi Mahajan, silver, below 32 kg, Komal Dhiman, gold, Aditi Verma, silver; below 35 kg, Simranjeet Kour, gold, Ritika Sharma, silver; below 38 kg, Ashita, gold, Riya Sharma, silver; Above 38 kg, Vidhi Sharma, gold, Akshita, silver.
Taekwondo Under-14 boys; below 18 kg, Achutam, gold, Vawn, silver.
Meanwhile, MIER and DPS have qualified for the finals in badminton under-14 boys, while Presentation Convent and JK Public School have made it to the finals of badminton under-14 girls.
In badminton under-17 girls, JK Public School will lock horns with KC Public School in the summit clash, while in badminton under-17 boys, the semifinals position has been cleared with KC Public, MHAC Nagbani, APS Domana and DBN making it to the last four stage.