Zabarwan Times E-Paper English 05 June 2014

‘Well prepared for RBI’s AFI’Srinagar, June 4: The Jammu and Kash-mir Bank chairman Mushtaq Ahmad on Wednesday said the bank has foolproof measures in place which are implement-ed to preserve the economic value of as-sets of the bank if need arises.The chairman JK Bank told KNS, that the bank is well prepared for the Annual Finan-cial Inspection (AFI) going to be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) short-ly. “RBI conducts AFI of the books of the bank across the country every year and at every lev-el. It is an in-depth and robust audit that goes down to the granular account level as well. Besides, there is an off-site sur-veillance also going on through automat-ed reports regularly sought by the regu-lator. In any case, RBI is due to conduct its AFI for the gone by financial year shortly. And we are prepared for it,” the JK Bank chairman informed KNS.

He said the JK bank has performed real-ly well in a scenario where the gross Non Performing Assets (NPA) levels within the banking industry have gone up to 2.80 lac crores.

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Srinagar, June 4 : Seven years af-ter Tabinda Gani was raped and murdered at Langate in Kupwara district the family still awaits jus-tice.Syed Mohammad Iqbal, conve-ner of Justice for Tabinda Forum (JFTF) told KNS that seven years down the line the family visits Kupwara court with a hope that justice will be done but unfortu-nately the family of the victim returns disappointed.“Is there any difference between the blood of Delhi’s daughter Damini and Kashmir’s daughter Tabinda. Then why this discrim-ination and double standards,” Iqbal remarked. On July 20, 2007 Tabinda—a school girl—was found dead in an orchard in Lan-gate area on a Friday afternoon. Four of the abductors had raped her, the family had alleged. After hue and cry over the incident, the then chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had ordered a probe into the shocking incident.Iqbal said that claims made by

the successive governments have failed to bring the culprits to jus-tice. “Damini was gang raped in Delhi on December 16, 2012 and in a shortest trial all four guilty were convicted and sentenced to death by the Delhi court on Sep-tember 13, 2013. While as Tabin-da’s family is still awaiting jus-tice. They only get dates for next hearing in the court and nobody in the government is bothered to give them justice,” Iqbal alleged.He said that Tabinda’s family is completely shattered and disap-pointed with the system of justice in Kashmir. “Though the abduc-tors have been booked and are in jail but the family has undergoes trauma every day for failing to get any relief in the court,” Iqbal added. He said that Justice For Tabinda Forum fails to under-stand that despite cross examina-tions of 86 witnesses, confession statements of the guilty, medical and forensic reports confirming rape and murder,

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THURSDAY 05 June | 2014 | 06 Shaban, 1435 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 4 | ISSUE NO: 155 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 Paisa)Pen For Justice Largely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&Khttp://www.zabarwantimes.com

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(THURSDAY)SUNRISE ON (FRIDAY) 05:21 AM

07:40 PM 19.6 0C 29.90C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Light Rain would occur at a few places over the state.

Partly cloudy sky. Maximum & Minimum tempera-tures will be around 29°C & 14°C respectively.

Inside story

On Edit Page

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Army dismantles Iron Gate at Kudora road after 20 years

Bandipora, June 4: Much to the relief of the inhabitants of the hilly area’s Army has dismantled the iron gate that was erected by them soon after the inception of militancy at Kudura area in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district. Army had erected an iron gate in the middle of the Kudura and Chun-timulla road and after five in the eve-ning the army used to close the gate

>>>>> PG 06 >>>>> PG 11 >>>>> PG 06

01 dies, 11 injured in road mishaps

Despite the fact that state is passing through a critical economic crunch and the number of unemployed crossing over 8 lakhs, the coalition govt. has chosen to appease its fifty thousand employees ignoring lakhs of unemployed. Undoubtedly, it seems an election plank with the mo-tive to repair the dents suffered by N.C and Congress during the recently concluded parliament elections. Per-haps the advisors of the Chief Min-ister and his coalition govt. have not considered the fact that gone are the days when govt. employees would call shots to rig and

Instead of cosmetic treatment, win

general masses, not sections

Fire & Emergency training for Police

personnel in AnantnagSrinagar, June 04: A fire and emergency training programme was held for police personnel in Anantnag to assist the adminis-tration during the forthcoming annual Yatra.Anantnag Police in collabora-tion with experts deputed by the Deputy Director fire and emergency services, Anantnag imparted a short term training programme/course to the po-lice personal of district Police Lines, Anantnag.50 police personal from District Police Lines,

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PM meets secretaries to outline

his policy priorities Srinagar, June 04: One person died while eleven others were injured in differed road acci-dents.A Bus bearing registration number JK03/2883 while on way from Kargil to Drass hit a Sumo bearing registration number JK07/2297 at Tresbuce Drass near TV station, result-ing in injuries to 06 persons. All the injured were shifted to hospital where an 18 years old Ghulam Rabani son of Abdul Rashid resident of Jadyal succumbed his injuries. Drass Police has registered a case in this regard.Meanwhile, a Maruti Car bearing registration number JK04/7763 hit a hand cart running a Pakodas kiosk at Chanapora, in the jurisdic-tion of police station Saddar, resulting in burn injuries to 03 non-local laborers. All the injured were shifted to Hospital for treatment. Sadder Police ahs registered a

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JK Bank has foolproof measures to preserve economic values of

its assets: Mushtaq

>>>> Tabinda Gani rape, murder case >>>>

New Delhi, Jun 4: New Delhi says the visit of Chinese Foreign Min-ister Wang Yi to India will provide further momentum to India-Chi-na Strategic and Coop-erative Partneship. The two-day visit of Wang Yi will begin on 8th of this month. An External Af-fairs Ministry statement issued in New Delhi said, the visit is an important element of the Year of India-China Friendly Exchanges. Apart from calling on Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi, Wang will interact with his

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Wang Yi’s visit to add

momentum to ties with

China: India

Warn of fast unto-death at Srinagar

if demands not metSrinagar, June 4: All Parties Mi-grants Coordination Committee (APMCC) and Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) Kash-mir along with various Kash-miri Pandit organisations today staged a protest demonstration at Lal Chowk Srinagar, Kashmir to protest against the ‘discrimi-natory attitude’ of successive central and J&K Governments and their ‘broken promise’ with APMCC activists at Porbandar and served an ultimatum to the state and central governments to fulfil the promise of initiating final and fruitful dialogue with them on 6-Point Charter of de-mands warning that failure to do so will force them to go for Fast unto-death at Srinagar on the Janamashtami Day on Au-gust 17, 2014.According to a statement issued to KNS, leading scores of dem-onstrators the KPs reminded the state government of its prom-ise with APMCC twice during their fast unto death protests in 2011 at Jammu and later in 2013 at Porbandar after which

the state government through the Revenue, Relief & Rehabil-itation Minister Aijaz Ahmed Khan vide his DO letter No PS/HMOS/Rev/986/2013 dated 13-02-2013 to Collector Porbandar Gujarat requesting him to ask Vinod Pandit, Chairman AP-MCC to end his fast unto death so that their issues can be taken care of and dialogue initiated. (Letter attached)However as usual after one meeting the government slept over the issue forcing KPs to stage protest at Lal Chowk in support of their demands which include:The six demands include re-drafting and Passing of the pending Kashmir Temples and Shrines Bill in J&K Legisla-tive Assembly, probe into the multi-crore temple/shrines land encroachment in Kashmir, di-alogue with Pakistan for facil-itating visit to Shardha Peeth Temple in POK, establishment of Shardha Peeth University in J&K, one time compensation for over-aged Kashmiri Hindu youth outside Valley and special employment package for Hindus of Kashmir living in Valley.The protestors also demanded minority status for the commu-nity and removal

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KPs stage joint protest at Lal Chowk in support of their demands

Enhancement in retirement age to impact assembly polls: NC

It is NC’s ‘save the chair operation’: PDP

Srinagar, Jun 4 : Terming the decision of enhance-ment in the retirement age by two years for the gov-ernment employees ‘save the chair operation’, oppo-sition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Wednesday stated that the coalition is trying to undo what it did to the state in past five and a half years.The chief spokesman of PDP, Naeem Akhtar told KNS that the state gov-

ernment after beating the employees for the past six years and jailing them in large numbers did what ul-timately was needed to be done. “One thing is for sure that this development has underlined the power of the vote and what vote can do.”Cornering the Omar Ab-dullah led government over the various orders it passed during the recent past, Akhtar stated that earlier when the ban on SMS facility was imposed, the government here

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Kupwara, June 4: An en-quiry conducted into the allegations that officers and officials of Irrigation and Flood Control Divi-sion (I&FC) Kupwara in connivance with contrac-tor have embezzled huge amount of Government funds in the year 2008-09 and 2009-10 while ex-ecuting various works, revealed that the work of “Increasing Capacity by way of deepening and widening of Dharamwari Storage tank’ allotted by

one Mohammad Sarwar Dar then Executive En-gineer, I&FC Kupwara, in favour of contractor Nazir Ahmad Mir at the allotted cost of Rs 18.265 lakhs , later on extended to Rs.19.949 lakhs and full payment made against the work. During inspection, the actual measurements re-corded on M. Book did not tally with ground situa-tion and were found less-er to the paid ones.

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Enhancement in retirement age Irrigation & Flood Control Division employees in Vigilance net

Irfan wants to make Pak victorious in world cup

Argentina crushes Germany Government school children still without books

‘Congress should know running a Govt is not

playing cricket’Srinagar, Jun 4 : In a scath-ing attack against the state Congress for claiming credit for the enhancement in the retirement age of the government employ-ees, National Conference Thursday cautioned its ally, stating ruining a gov-

ernment is not playing a cricket match.It maintained further that the decision is likely to have an impact on the forthcoming poll in the state as the disgruntled state employees have been pacified at large. “There are around 25 lakh people who are directly connected to the government service, the decision has at large was a welcome step of the

government. I will fort sure impact the forthcom-ing polls,” said additional general secretary national conference Dr Sheikh Mus-tafa Kamal.Castigating the state Con-gress over issuing state-ments wherein credit for the retirement enhance-ment was claimed by its leaders, Kamal stated that the Congress

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Srinagar, June 04: A po-liceman associated with Special Operation Group (SOG), masquerading as militant to extort money from a family, was arrested in outskirts of Srinagar city on Tuesday evening.Official sources told GNS that the policeman Bilal Ahmad Ganie son of Ghulam Mohidin of Gulab Bagh, Zakura who is working with SOG in South Kashmir’s Tral barged inside a house of Mohammad Shafi Wani son of Ghulam Moham-mad Wani at Umerabad locality of Umerhear in Buchpora on the

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‘Extortionist’ SOG man held

in Srinagar

New Delhi, June 04: Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi Wednesday met the secretaries of all govern-ment departments to outline his agenda of governance and his ex-pectations from them. The meeting, which was original-ly scheduled on Tuesday and post-poned by a day because of the sud-den demise of Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde, was apparently modelled on a practice followed by some chief ministers who directly interact with the bu-reaucracy.This is the first time a Prime Min-ister has interacted directly with secretaries without the presence of ministers.Modi, who this week asked his ministers to prepare a 100-day

agenda for their departments, is believed to have given a glimpse of his policy priorities in today's meeting. Sources said the meeting was more of an interaction where sectoral priorities were listed. In all, 77 top bureaucrats, includ-ing Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram, Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Defence Secretary Rad-ha Krishna Mathur and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, were called for the meeting. Sources said 16 groups were formed by clubbing related min-istries. All finance ministry de-partments were grouped together, while secretaries of energy-relat-ed departments power,

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New Delhi, June 04: Union Minis-ter Gopinath Munde's death cast a shadow over the first day's sit-ting of the Lok Sabha which ad-journed for the day after paying homage to the departed leader.Proceedings of the House began on a sombre note, after the nation-al anthem was played out, with Protem Speaker Kamal Nath con-doled the death of Munde, whom he hailed as "man of the masses".Immediately after meeting for the day, Nath said the new Lok Sabha "charged with great and heavy responsibilities for the welfare of the country and our people has been elected under the Constitu-tion".The House, then, observed silence as per tradition.Later, Secretary General P Sreed-haran tabled the list of new-ly-elected members of the 16th Lok Sabha notified by the Elec-tion Commission.Nath sought the sense of the mem-bers on whether to take up the oath taking exercise on Thurs-day. As the members agreed, Nath postponed the exercise for Thursday.Before adjourning for the day, the House observed silence for two minutes as a mark of respect to Munde.The Lok Sabha bulletin said that in the wake of

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Munde's death casts shadow over first day's session of LS

New Delhi, June 04: Senior Con-gress leader Kamal Nath was on Wednesday sworn-in as the Pro-tem Speaker of the newly con-stituted Lok Sabha by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. 67-year-old Nath, a nine-term MP, was administered the oath at a simple function in the Rash-trapati Bhavan which was at-tended by Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and

Minister of State (Parliamentary Affairs) Santosh K Gangwar. The former Parliamentary Af-fairs Minister and Lok Sabha Member from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara was congratulated by the President and other dig-nitaries after the oath that took place in the 'Yellow Drawing Room' of the Presidents' House. After the oath, Nath said that his party will play the role of a "con-structive Opposition"

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Nath sworn-in as Protem Speaker of Lok Sabha

Maharashtra, Jun 4: Rural De-velopment Minister Gopinath Munde has been cremated with full state honour in Parali-Vai-jnath, in Beed district of Maha-rashtra. His eldest daughter and legislator Pankaja Munde-Palve performed the last rites.Prominent leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including L.K. Advani, Union Ministers

Rajnath Singh, External Af-fairs Minister Sushma Sawaraj, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Shiv Sena executive President Udhhav Thackrey, Maharashtra Home minister R R Patil, NCP leader Chaggan Bhujbal, and several other leaders attended the fu-neral.

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Munde cremated with full state honours in Beed, Maharashtra

7-years-on, family awaits justice

Srinagar, June 4: Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) Wednesday said that slash-ing interest rates on all commercial loans by 0.25 per cent by Jammu and Kashmir Bank is not enough while keeping the condition and situation of Kashmir Valley in view the Bank must slash this rate by up to 3 per cent. Pertinently, Jammu and Kashmir Bank slashed interest rates on all commercial loans by upto 0.25 per-cent last week. During a meeting of KTMF, pres-ident Muhamamd Sadiq Baqal said that the Jammu and Kashmir Bank never kept in mind the

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KTMF asks JK Bank to publish names of

slain account holders

77 top bureaucrats attend the meeting

11 Srinagar, Thursday 05 June 2014 Zabarwan Times

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

PM

LS

justice

Wang

Net

Mishaps

Fire

KPS

NC

SOG

PDP

Nath

Munde

Mushtaq

KTMF

Owner , Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik Editor -in-Chief: Shahana Malik Legal Advisor: Syed Riyaz Hussain RNI NO. JKBII/2011/39764, Email: [email protected] Publised at Govt. Quarters , M-13 Magarmal Bagh Srinagar-190001 J&K, Printed at:- Sangarmal Offset Press Humhama Sheikhpora Tele/Fax: 2478370 Cell No. 09999964750, 9796 787844

It is hereby notified for the information of the M.Com candidates bearing following Entrance Test Roll No’s that they have been provision-ally selected for admission to the M.Com pro-gramme session 2014 at the Govt. Degree College, Bemina, Srinagar under (reserved category & Self-finance), purely on the basis of merit & the counselling held at the Department of Business & Financial Studies, University of Kashmir on 04-06-2014. The selection of the candidates is subject to the production of original marks certificates of qualifying examination, provisional certificates, character certificates, state subject certificates and reserved category certificates (for the can-didate/s selected under different reserved cate-gories) for verification. Every candidate should submit an affidavit duly attested by 1st class mag-istrate to the effect that he/she is neither on the rolls of any Institution nor employed in any Govt/Semi-Govt. Department.The provisionally selected candidates can down-load the Admission Form from official website of the University of Kashmir www.kashmiruniver-sity.net and approach Principal Govt. Degree Col-lege Bemina along with original certificates for completing the required admission formalities by or before 05-06-2014 failing which their right to ad-mission shall be forfeited. Govt. Degree College Bemina:CGB: 200611; Self-Finance: 200741

No.F(M.Com-Adm-Counseling-II)DFCMS/KU/14 /ET-195 Dated:04/06/2014

Dean Faculty of Commerce & Management StudiesUniversity of Kashmir, Srinagar

M.Com Admission Notification-7(Counselling based)

Sd/-(Prof. Shabir A. Bhat)Dean

NoticeIt is for the information of the concerned students that Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi has estab-lished an Entrance Examination Centre for B.Tech applicants at the University of Kashmir.Those applicants who wish to appear at the above mentioned Centre should register for the same on the online link: http://jmi.ac.in/admissions/sri-nagar latest by June 06th, 2014.

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coal, oil, mines and atomic energy were put together.Agriculture and related departments were clubbed under one head, while the infrastructure group com-prised of railways, telecom, roads, civil aviation, ship-ping and posts. Previously, the secretaries had been asked to prepare a 10-slide presentation for the Prime Minister listing successes and failures of the past regime as well as points of action for the next five years. Sources, however, said individual presentations will take place later and today's meeting was more of an interaction.

Munde's death on Tuesday, his seat has fallen vacant.

and will work to live up to the aspirations of the youth and the country. "We will certainly play the role of a constructive Op-position. The BJP created ruckus and did riot in the last five years in the House but we will not allow this," Nath told reporters after the oath. He said the role of the Opposition will be to attract government's attention towards the needs of the peo-ple and to help "clear pending legislations." Nath said the Speaker of the Lok Sabha will decide the Leader of the Opposition and this would happen day after Thursday. "It is a important decision to have a Leader of Opposi-tion," he added. The Protem Speaker performs the duties of the office of the Speaker from the commencement of the sitting of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker.

Huge crowd of his supporters and villagers gathered to pay their last respect to the leader. Shiv Sena Ex-ecutive President Udhdhav Thackeray and other sup-porters demanded CBI inquiry into the accident.Gopinath Munde died of multiple injuries and cardiac arrest following a road accident in Delhi yesterday.

“The recent controversy is of course related to ac-counts wherein repayments have been received after a marginal delay. At the end of March 31, 2014, the bor-rowers have paid the installments in accordance with the terms and conditions of the sanction of the loans. However, we are watchfully monitoring the accounts and be assured that these are not bad loan accounts. We don’t understand how the newspaper arrived at such a figure,” he added.Mushtaq said that in March, 2014, the JK Bank had gross NPAs around Rs 783 Cr while as the Net NPLs were Rs 102 Cr. He said that classifying, categoriz-ing loans as NPA is quite a non-affordable thing for a bank. “For, the guidelines to classify loans catego-rized as Non Performing Assets (NPA) have been laid down by Reserve Bank of India in unequivocal terms. Technically speaking, the asset quality of the banking system globally has deteriorated significantly and non-performing assets of even country’s largest banks have gone up considerably. Even Reserve Bank of In-dia has vetted this fact in one of its reports.We have a robust mechanism for NPA management enabling us to track down early signs of stress in our loan accounts. We have foolproof measures in place which we implement to preserve the economic value of our assets if need arises.”He said it is absolutely wrong to assume that JK Bank have not done it and he was satisfied that JK Bank has through a series of proactive measures contained the rise in NPA’s very effectively.Asked if the bank can run a risk of financial instabil-ity, the chairman JK Bank said that ‘whims and fan-cies are very poor guides as far as banking business is concerned’. “There is a strong rationale behind ev-ery performance in the market. Take the case of our rating agencies that calculate risks from every angle and every possibility. Fitch India, a Fitch Ratings af-filiate, have reaffirmed our Long-Term Issuer Ratings at ‘IND AA’ with Stable Outlooks and vouched for our strength and operational capability. The company has rated the bank’s Subordinated Long-Term Debt at ‘IND AA’. CRISIL, India’s leading ratings agency, rates J&K Bank debt instruments at A1+’. The ratings on deposit programmes of the bank stand at FAA/Sta-ble/CRISIL A 1+’. CARE Ratings has reaffirmed the bank’s Lower Tier II Bonds as CARE AA. These rat-ings are based on the past performance and provide a perspective on the future outlook of the company. Besides many independent reports from reputed bro-kerage houses always place a lot of confidence in the bank’s future as well,” the chairman JK Bank told KNS.When asked about a slump in JK Bank shares, Mush-taq said the banking index has already been down in the stock market for last many days. “The market price has broadly stabilized and going forward, we are sure that it will settle down at its normal valuations.”The chairman of JK Bank said the Bank management is conscious of the fact that people of Jammu and Kashmir have a huge emotional equity invested in J&K Bank and it values it to be the most important as-set the bank has. “We have braved so many challeng-es throughout our remarkable journey of 75 years and we have innate capacity to meet any future challenges midway as well. Having invested in a major way in J&K, the bank is the major contributors in the state’s total lending, which currently stands at more than 65 %. Besides, the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibil-ity is completely focused on welfare activities within the state of J&K,” Mushtaq remarked. (KNS)

losses and suffering of the business community Kash-mir Valley. The Bank never understood the prob-lems and compulsions of business fraternity. “The decision to slash interest rate by mere 0.25 percent will provide no relief to the business community,” Baqal said. Baqal according to CNS asked Jammu and Kash-mir Bank to publish the names of those people on Internet who were account holders in the bank and who died without letting their family members know about the details of their bank accounts. “Jammu and Kashmir Bank must follow the norms as laid

down by Reserve Bank of India and should publish the names of slain account holders on the internet or news papers so that their family members can collect that money from the Bank,” he said. He reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir Bank should come out with a white paper to clear all doubts created and controversy raised by some me-dia reports about the bank’s asset quality. (CNS)

why there is delay in pronouncement of the verdict. “The successive governments have failed to establish a fast track court despite promises made with the fam-ily,” Iqbal added. He said that family wants death sen-tence for all the guilty in the matter. (KNS)

Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.China has expressed keen interest in establishing high-level contacts with India’s new leadership to step up engagement in political, trade and economic areas. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang during a call to Mr Modi had conveyed his government’s desire to establish robust partnership with the new government.Mr Modi had also expressed keenness to work closely to deal with any outstanding issues. During the call, Mr Modi had noted that China was always a priority in India’s foreign policy and welcomed greater eco-nomic engagement between the two countries.

of nomenclature like migrants or non-migrants from official communication and designation asking for the word Kashmiri Pandit in every official communi-cation.The protestors also warned of blame game between the central and state governments asking both the governments to do whatever is in their control to avoid another ugly situation where Kashmiri Pandits will have to launch fast-unto-death at Srinagar itself over their demands.Kashmiri Pandits also asked the state and central government to facilitate a delegation visit to POK and Pakistan comprising of ground level workers of KP organisations to initiate talks with POK and Pak gov-ernments besides civil society of both the areas.They also said that some talks at individual level were also going on adding the civil society of Kashmir, POK and Pakistan on their own must also initiate a dia-logue to discuss the ways and means to preserve his-toric Shardha Mata temple in Muzafarabad for which a KP delegation can visit both the areas through Uri route as a confidence building measure.Kashmiri Pandits said that both the central and state governments must understand the gravity of the sit-uation and take immediate steps warning of 3rd Fast Unto-Death at Srinagar in case governments again turn deaf ear to their demands.Prominent among those who participated in today’s historic protest include King Bharati, Social activist and National Spokesperson APMCC, Som Nath Saraf (Kapal Mochan Trust), Amit Raina, Rashneek Kher, Advocate Arun Kandroo, TK Zutshi, Vimarsh Koul, Manoj Bhat, Ravi Regu, Anil Dhar, Ashish Zutshi, Sandeep Koul, Bal Krishan, Rohit Bhat, Deepak Bhat, Satish ji& others (KNS)

leadership here in the state must understand that run-ning a government is not playing a cricket match and the issuance of the ‘bizarre’ statements only reflects inferiority complex of the state Congress.“Omar Abdullah is the head of the state government. I wonder what is wrong in claiming the credit for the age enhancement. If Omar claims credit of the deci-sion, he is doing the same on behalf of the government wherein Congress is also a part,” Kamal said adding that by trying to cash the government decision for which it played a little role, Congress is doing no good to the state.Substantiating his claims, Kamal maintained that the Congress nominee in the state cabinet Ghulam Hassan Mir in the recent past issued the statement wherein he asked the government to leave the deci-sion of the age enhancement to the next government. “Doesn’t this reflect the mindset of the Congress vis-à-vis the issue.”He told KNS that the decision was pending with the government and that it took it years to implement the same on ground. “The government here was taking into consideration all the aspects of the issue so that it could be implemented for the larger interests of the people.” (KNS)

city outskirts at around 11:30 p.m Tuesday.Posing as militant, they said, Ganie tried to overpow-er the family and demanded about 2 lakhs amount as extortion money. However the family members caught hold of Ganie, they said.In the mean time, they said, Ganie tried to escape and fired few shots in air. However, the hue and cry in the locality grabbed the attention of the neighbours of the family who rushed to the spot and thrashed the extortionist due to which he sustained injuries, they said.Meanwhile, the respectable of the area called the lo-cal police which immediately rushed to the spot and arrested the accused SOG man along with the rifle, sources said. “The police team rushed the extortion-ist to the SKIMS hospital for treatment”. A senior police official while confirming the incident told GNS a case under FIR no. 48/2014 under section 457, 393 RPC has been registered against the extor-tionist and further investigations taken up in this regard.He further said that another FIR 49 /2014 under sec-tion 336, 353 has been registered against the persons involved in the beating of the SOG man. (GNS)

shrugged its shoulders, stating that the revocation of the order is in the ambit of GOI. “Ironically when the ban was lifted, the government here said that the same was done in the larger interests of the people of the state.”He maintained further that from the last five years, the government was beating the drums of new re-cruitment policy and stated that the same cannot b revoked for the larger benefit of unemployed youth. “The government scrapped the same with the reason that the policy was anti-youth.”Omar Abdullah is trying to learn through his mis-takes but undermines that how much the state suf-

fered due to his ‘inabilities’, said PDP spokesman, adding that it seems as if Omar has got learner’s li-cense to run the affairs of the perturbed state of Jam-mu and Kashmir.Commenting over the recent war of words that emerged between Congress and its ally national con-ference with each party claiming credit of the age en-hancement in retirement, Akhtar told KNS that the statements have given the notion as if the decision has many fathers. “We can only say that this decision is too futile and too late.”Pertinently, amid thunderous applause of hundreds of government employee representatives, Chief Min-ister, Omar Abdullah on June 3 announced his inten-sion to enhance the retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years and the upper age limit for youth to ob-tain government job from 37 to 40 years. He further announced the deadline of one month for finalizing the regularization of adhoc employees whose cases are under process in Finance Department.(KNS)

The quantity of earthwork found executed on ground was 5926 cubic meters against a paid quantity of 14091 cubic meters thereby causing loss to the tune of Rs. 11,55906/- to state exchequer. This amount is also in-clusive of loss of Rs. 2,47762caused on account of wrong calculation made by the concerned engineers and drafts-men of the division. According to Vigilance Organization, Mohammad Sarwar Dar then Executive Engineer, Khazar Mohammd Khanday then AEE, Ghulam Mohi-ud-din peer then JE, Abdul Aziz Kumar then Head Draftsman, Akther Mohi-ud-din Baba and Irfan Ahmad Bhat the then Drafts-men of I&FC Divn Kupwara ( Headquarters Handwara) hatched a criminal conspiracy among themselves and others and by abuse of their official positions, misap-propriated an amount of Rs, 11,55,906 by inflating mea-surements and wrong calculations. State Vigilance Organization according to CNS stat-ed that the omissions and commissions on the part of the above named public servants constitute offences pun-ishable under section 5(1)(c), (d) r/w 5(2) P.C Act Svt. 2006 and 120-B RPC. A case vide FIR number 20/2014 P/S has been registered in this regard. (CNS)case in this regard.

In another accident, an EON car hit and injured a pedestrian Abdul Gani Shah so of Abdul Aziz resident of Danderkha Batamaloo near Bostan Hotel opposite Bakshi Stadium. The injured was shifted to B&J Hospital for treatment. Srinagar Police has registered a case in this regard.In another accident, a motorcycle bearing reg-istration number JK05/18091 hit and injured a lady at Papchan Bandipora. In this accident the motorcyclist was also injured. Both the injured were shifted to Hospital for treatment. Bandipora Police has resisted a case in this regard.

Anantnag were imparted training in fire and emergency techniques in two batches under the close supervision of professionals.SP Anantnag Sh Sheikh Juniad said that the main objectives of this programme is to train and educate the police personnel of the district so that their service can be utilized in the upcoming Shri Amarnath Ji yatra-2014, besides to cope with the immediate emergencies in the district.

Army dismantles Iron Gate at Kudora road

after 20 yearsBandipora, June 4: Much to the relief of the inhabi-tants of the hilly area’s Army has dismantled the iron gate that was erected by them soon after the inception of militancy at Kudura area in North Kashmir’s Ban-dipora district. Army had erected an iron gate in the middle of the Kudura and Chuntimulla road and after five in the evening the army used to close the gate after which people were not allowed to move to and fro. “In case of emergency, we had to sought permission from the army and only after that we were allowed to pass through the gate. We are happy that Deputy Commissioner Bandipora intervened and persuaded Army to dismantle the gate,” one of the residents of Chuntmulla told CNS. A district administration official told CNS that from now onwards, there will no restriction on the move-ment of the people and the road will be open for them day in and day out. (CNS)

Government school children still

without booksBandipora, June 4: Even after the expiry of half ses-sion, majority of the government schools in education zone Koil Muqam Bandipora have not been provided books as a result students are suffering and they are unable to take lessons from their teachers. Under norms, it is the job of the Board of School Education to provide books to the students studying in government schools. BOSE usually supply books free of cost to Zonal Educational Officer’s who in turn supply them to the schools soon before the commence-ment of the new session. Ironically, in most of the government schools in edu-cation zone Koil Muqam, children are without books. “Its June and my children who are studying in class fourth at Government School Malangam are without books. They attend the school without books and I am surprised what they will learn there,” Javid Ahmed a local told CNS.

Jammu, June 4 : Director General of Police, (DGP), Mr. K. Rajendra Kumar has stressed for effective monitoring and super-vision at all levels in the Organization to ensure better deliverance to the people. He has asked to make safety of people prime responsibility for which rule of law is to be ensured at all costs.Rajendra was address-ing a meeting of police officers from Jammu Zone here today. After assuming the charge as DGP, Mr. Rajendra had convened his first meet-ing with provincial offi-cers to take stock of the overall situation in the Zone, besides prepared-ness for ensuing Shri Amarnathji Yatra.The DGP stressed upon the officers to ensure better deliverance, say-ing that effective moni-

toring and super vision at all levels would lead to better results. He said that safety of the people and their property is our motto and maintenance of law and order is man-datory for achieving our goal to prevail lasting peace in the State. Better coordination among all wings of the Organiza-tion, besides other se-curity agencies is also necessary for ensuring the safety of the people.Discussing the pre-paredness for ensu-ing Shri Amarnathji Yatra, the officers ap-prised the DGP about arrangements made with regard to security, traffic and police ban-dobust for the routes right from Lakhanpur to Jawahar Tunnel. He stressed for better syner-gy among all stakehold-ers to make the yatra smooth and peaceful.

Rajendra visits Jammu, interacts with officers,

stresses for people friendly policing

Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS SRINAGAR | WEDNESDAY 05. 06 .2014

SRINAGAR, JUNE 4: Minister for Planning, Labour and Employment, Ajay Sadhotra has asked the officers of Employees Provident Fund Orga-nization (EPFO) to settle all claims of the subscribers, pending with the or-ganization, besides taking necessary steps for making all the district offices functional early in the State.The Min-ister was chairing on 77th meeting of Board of Trustees of J&K Employment Provident Fund Organization here today.Principal Secretary Finance, Secretary Labour and Employment, Labour Commissioner, Deputy Provi-dent Fund Commissioner, Trustees of the Board besides other officers from Finance and J&KEPFO were present on the occasion.Underling need for effective implementing of the differ-ent provisions of Employees Provident Fund Act, the Minister asked the con-cerned officers to carry out regular in-spections of the factories, established under J&K Employees Provident Fund Act, and check whether the benefits guaranteed under the Act are ex-

tending to the personnel working in these units.Regarding introduction of pension scheme for provident fund subscribers of the State, Mr. Sadhotra

directed the concerned authorities to frame the modalities after surveying the States where this scheme has been introduced and is running successfully. “It is an important issue and cannot be ignored, said the Minister, and in-structed the Labour Commissioner to initiate for its early introduction in the

State to benefit of the laborer class.The Minister said that payment to the sub-scribers on retirement should be our priority and enjoined upon the offi-

cers to accelerate the recovery process so that provident fund subscribers registered with the department are benefitted.The board also approved enhancement of interest rate to 8.5% from April, 2013 at par with Central Employees Provident Fund Organiza-tion, creation of staff of district offices.

77th meeting of Board of Trustees of J&KEPFO held today

Sadhotra for early settlement of EPF claims

JAMMU, JUNE 4: Direc-tor General of Police, (DGP), Mr. K. Rajendra Kumar has stressed for effective moni-toring and supervision at all levels in the Organiza-tion to ensure better de-liverance to the people. He has asked to make safety of people prime responsibil-ity for which rule of law is to be ensured at all costs.

Mr. Rajendra was addressing a meeting of police officers from Jam-mu Zone here today. Af-ter assuming the charge as DGP, Mr. Rajendra had convened his first meet-ing with provincial of-ficers to take stock of the overall situation in the Zone, besides prepared-ness for ensuing Shri Am-arnathji Yatra.

The DGP stressed upon the officers to en-

sure better deliverance, saying that effective mon-itoring and super vision at all levels would lead to better results. He said that safety of the people and their property is our mot-to and maintenance of law and order is manda-tory for achieving our goal to prevail lasting peace in the State. Better coordina-tion among all wings of the Organization, besides other security agencies is also necessary for en-suring the safety of the people.Discussing the preparedness for ensu-ing Shri Amarnathji Yatra, the officers apprised the DGP about arrangements made with regard to se-curity, traffic and police bandobust for the routes right from Lakhanpur to Jawahar Tunnel.

SRINAGAR, JUNE 04-A deputation of Daily Wa-gers/Daily Rated Workers of PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control from Kashmir Val-ley called on the Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, ShamLal Sharma at his official residence here today and expressed their gratitude for vocifer-ously highlighting their plight in the State Cabinet that met on Tuesday.

The deputation led by President, Kashmir Province PHE Daily Rated Workers & Casual La-bourers Union, Mir Tariq Pampori maintained that the Daily Wagers/Daily Rated Workers are very happy and whole heart-edly hail the decision of State Cabinet which called for details of such workers from various

departments by ending June, 2014 to take a final call on the matter. They expressed full faith in the Coalition Government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and in the leadership of Minister In-charge PHE, Sham Lal Sharma, who have under-stood the difficulties of the workers and taken a positive decision in their favour.The workers reit-erated their commitment to give further boost to their efforts to improve the public services at the ground. They maintained that every worker realizes their responsibility and ensures accountability to-wards their assigned jobs.

While interacting with the workers, the Minister said that the matter for regularization.

GUREZ, JUNE04: Minister of State for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Mr. Nazir Ahmad Gurezi today vis-ited various farlung areas in Tulail including Checkwali, Gujran and Abdullain and took stock of various developmental works.

Addressing a series of public meetings at different places includ-ing Check-i- Bahar, the Minister said that Government is committed to upgrade the existing infrastructure of health, education, PHE and power.

Referring to the development works under execution in the Tulail area, the Minister said that several-projects under different sectors have been sanctioned and on completion of these projects the development scenario of the area will change.

The Minister said that Rs.2.10 crore Checkwali-Abdullan road along with bridge under NABARD, Rs. 15 lakh D.G. Shed, Rs. 18 lakh 50 MT Food Godown, Rs.25 lakh addi-tional accommodation for Primary School at Cheeckwali has been sanc-

tioned and the construction work on these projects will be started soon. Mr. Gurezi further said that Water Supply Scheme (WSS) at Checkwali costing Rs.72 lakh has also been

sanctioned.He said Tehsil and Block status

have been given to Tulail and the people of the area will now get ben-efits at their door steps.

Rajendra visits Jammu, inter-acts with officers, stresses for

people friendly policing

Policy for regularization of Daily Wagers/Daily Rated Workers in offing: Sham

Gurezi visits far-flung areas of Tulail, takes stock of ongoing developmental works

SRINAGAR, JUNE 04- An amount of Rs.375 Crore has been released under 13th Finance Commission for the construction and repair/renova-tion of the Panchayats Ghars in the state for augmenting the infrastruc-tural capacities of the Panchayati Raj system.

The information was given in a high level meeting convened by the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar here today.

Secretary Rural development Shiekh Mushtaq Ahmad, Direc-tors Rural Development, Jammu/ Kashmir Mr. Shafiq Ahmad Raina, Mir Altaf Ahmad, Additional Secre-tary Rural Development, Mr. Nisar Ahmad Wani, Member Secretary MGNREGA Mr. Pawan Rathore, Di-rector Finance (RDD), Mr. K.S. Jam-wal, Joint Director Planning, Mr. Azmat and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

Mr. Sagar directed the officers to speed up the work on the left

over Panchayat ghars and ensure their early completion. He said that these should be completed by Au-gust end, so that the panchayats get the requisite infrastructural assets where they can hold their meetings and carry out their day to day func-

tions.The Minister said that the gov-

ernment has put in place a vibrant Panchayati Raj system by ensuring their proper empowerment by em-powering them with the functions of 14 vital departments. He said

by getting the requisite Panchayat ghars their infrastructural capaci-ties would get a boost.

Mr. Sagar asked the officers to work in synergized manner in or-der to ensure that the Panchayat Ghars are constructed as early as

possible and the funds earmarked for these are used to the maxi-mum. He said that a proper monitoring sys-tem should be put in place, so that a proper feedback is got about their status of imple-mentation.It was given out in the meeting that during the implemen-tation of 13th Finance Commission 1785 Panchayat Ghars were without buildings out of which 1678 are be-ing constructed within an estimated cost of Rs 20 Lakh each by dove-tailing (convergence)

the funds from MGNREA and the 13th FC Award. Similarly, 2215 number of Panchayat Ghars have been taken for renovation with an estimated cost of Rs. 2 Lakh per Panchayat Ghars.

SRINAGAR, JUNE 04: The Project Monitoring Committee (PMC) of Seri-culture Development Department, convened to finalize the project pro-posals under Cocoon Development Programme (CDP) for the year 2014-15 with the senior functionaries of Central Silk Board, and the officers of Union Ministry of Textiles, was held here today with the Commissioner/Secretary Agriculture Production De-partment Dr. Asgar Samoon in chair.

The meeting was informed that under the CDP the Central govern-ment has provided Rs 15 crore to the State for capacity building measures under 12th financial plan during the year 2013-14. The Joint Secretary (Tech) Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles has stressed upon the State functionaries to submit Utilization Certificates (UCs) of funds provided during 2012-13 and the recurring

expenditure for the year 2013-14 to their Ministry immediately. He also stressed to submit a detailed propos-al for Hot Air Dryer to the concerned Ministry up to ending June positively so that it can be included in the plan accordingly.Speaking on the occasion the Commissioner/Secretary Agri-culture Production Department Dr. Asgar Samoon stressed for increasing the central share for various schemes being implemented by the Sericul-ture Development Department for boosting the cocoon production in the State. He said there is urgent need to create post-cocoon structure in the State so that the farmers associated with cocoon rearing activities will get high values from the market.

Dr. Samoon said that Jammu and Kashmir is most productive State in respect of cocoon production as com-pared to other States of the country.

He said there is gigantic scope of employment opportunities, besides changing ones socio economic con-dition in the Sericulture and Cocoon production sectors, adding that sec-tors needs focused attention of the central as well as the State govern-ments.The Commissioner/Secretary said that the silk industry is an agro based industry which provides sub-sidiary employment to the rural peo-ple especially to women folk in the State. He said that the department of Sericulture has developed a latest technology to adopt multiple crop-ping pattern in the State with the aim that the more and more farmers are involved in silk worm rearing and co-coon production. It was also given out in the meeting that 10 lac kg average cocoon worth Rs 25 crore is being produced every year by the farmers in the State.

PMC of SDD held at Sericulture Complex Tulsi BaghJ&K-most productive State in respect of cocoon production: Asgar Samoon

Consider making some plans for a vacation or short getaway, Libra. Looking forward to something fun can make even the tough-est of days far easier to handle. You’ll be amazed how much you can manage when there’s an end in plain sight. Your entire attitude can lighten. So take the bull by the horns and create an incentive for yourself. Do something special to reward the hard work you do day after day.

Don’t judge someone if he or she has a different lifestyle than what you consider to be OK, Scorpio. You probably lean toward the traditional, yet not everyone feels this way about re-lationships, working, or lifestyle. While it may seem impossible to understand and even frighten you, try not to be too harsh on those you deem odd. You’d be better off using that energy to keep your own life on track.

Friends seeking advice or a shoulder to cry on could be plentiful today, Sagittarius. You’re one of best people to give them the support and care they need. Just be sure that you don’t give so much to others that you don’t have anything left for yourself. True friendship is about sharing and the exchange of problems and help. Running yourself down will leave you in a place where you aren’t going to be much help to anyone.

Getting through today shouldn’t pose too big a problem for you, Capricorn. You may feel a huge second wind that can give you the drive and determination to see your chores and projects through. Make some plans for this evening, such as getting to-gether with friends or taking in an event that really intrigues you. Until then, go about your tasks bit by bit. You’ll get things finished before you know it.

Working within boundaries and restrictions could really get to you today, Aquarius. Yours is an independent spirit and your best achievements are often born of doing things your own way. Yet like it or not, we all have to follow guidelines and rules. Do your best to follow suit and finish what needs to be done. Afterward, you may find more freedom to act independently without consequences. Exercise patience and diligence as needed today.

Chances are that you’ll feel upbeat and positive today, Pisces. Consider sharing this energy with those around you who are feel-ing less than content. Your attitude can have a profound effect on friends, partners, spouses, and children. Even neighbors and ex-tended family can pick up on your spirit without you even real-izing it. Share your optimism with everyone you can today. If you see someone hurt or angry.

Feeling the effects of today’s energies, Virgo? Take heart if this is the case, because the end of the tunnel isn’t as far away as it seems. Do your best to take things one step at a time and see about making some plans for a little fun this evening. Get together with friends or take in a movie. Help yourself feel better by staying busy and focused and follow up with some recreation. Before you know it, the aspect will pass and you’ll be back to normal.

Don’t discount your ability to be extremely resourceful if you need to be, Aries. If you don’t have everything you need or all of the required information, take time to think. Who can you ask? What places can you access? Who might know where you can find what you need? Rather than panic because the pieces aren’t all there, instead make a list of contacts and go for it. Trust in yourself.

Try not to let today’s blues get you down, Taurus. While it’s true that some days can seem to drag on, the busier you are the faster time will pass. Get down to finishing any work still before you and then make plans for tonight. If there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, not only will things seem to speed up but you’ll feel better knowing it’s coming.

Dare to be different, Gemini. It can be so easy to fall into a drill. Sleeping at the same time, eating at the same time, wearing the same style, and going about work the same way day after day. Be-fore you know it, you feel like you’re in a rut. The only way to get away from this is to make a decision to break free by doing some-thing unique. Try a new haircut. Wear colors that are unusual for you. If the need is there, consider a new career. Pursue expansion.

If your lifestyle is considerably different than that of others, re-sist feeling self-conscience about it today, Cancer. Try to remember that you chose the life you have for specific reasons. Even if you’ve come to a point where you’re considering a change, there’s no need to feel badly, ashamed, or embarrassed about where you are now. Everyone has to make his or her own way. If this conforms to the norm, that’s fine. If it doesn’t, that’s fine, too.

An enhanced feeling of determination could motivate you today, Leo. Finish the things that aren’t complete and make some plans for this evening. Don’t hesitate to take on something that feels compli-cated or big. Chances are you’ll be able to handle most anything and it will feel great when it’s finished. Enjoy your day by making the most of opportunity.

Rs 375 Crore released for Construction of Panchayat Ghars: Sagar

SRINAGAR, JUNE 4: Secre-tary Forest and Environ-ment, Mohammad Af-zal today flagged off the Eco-March, organized by Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing Depart-ment on the eve of World Environment Day here. The March started from Ne-hru Park and culminated at hotel grand palace. Over 300 students of 21 schools of Srinagar city partici-pated in the March. This year the theme of World Environment Day is per-taining to Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and the slogan is Raise Your Voice-Not the Sea Level.The aim of the March was

to generate awareness among the students about the environmental issues, climate change, depletion of water bodies, solid and waste management and the steps need to be taken for environment protec-tion.Speaking on the oc-casion, Mr Afzal said that our children are the main motivational force, who can carry the message of environment conservation and sensitize people about the consequences of the deteriorating environment and climate change. He underlined need for tak-ing collective measures for making the state pollution free place.

Secretary Forests flags off Eco-MarchOver 300 students of different

schools participated

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Thursday 05 June 2014

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer

Instead of cosmetic treatment, win

general masses, not sections

Despite the fact that state is passing through a critical economic crunch and the number of unemployed cross-

ing over 8 lakhs, the coalition govt. has chosen to appease its fif-ty thousand employees ignoring lakhs of unemployed. Undoubted-ly, it seems an election plank with the motive to repair the dents suf-fered by N.C and Congress during the recently concluded parlia-ment elections. Perhaps the ad-visors of the Chief Minister and his coalition govt. have not con-sidered the fact that gone are the days when govt. employees would call shots to rig and manipulate elections in favour of a political party. The present age is an age of satellite and information technol-ogy which has the capabilities of monitoring every activity going on during election process includ-ing voting day. The electronic vot-ing machines do not provide even 1% chances of rigging and the cat eye of media, hardly leaves any chance for any kind of manipula-tion. In fact the present coalition govt. has done one more blunder to carry on with dead wood and massacred the future of lakhs of qualified professionals whose young blood could revolutionise the state in all fields. Now the race has begun to claim the credit for enhancing the age limit for state employees who even after taking hefty amounts by way of their sal-aries contribute hardly anything. Perhaps both N.C and Congress ignore those matters which could boost their chances in reality. In-stead of appeasing the state em-ployees, govt. should have gone all out to address the problem of unemployment and should have focused on filling about one lakh vacant posts on fast track basis. It should have improved the power supply which in turn could boost industries and handicrafts. It should pay its attention towards improving the condition of de-pleted roads which have become death traps, should have priori-tised the health sector. But, alas it could! Infact it is wasting its ener-gy on unproductive things which in no way are going to improve its electoral fortunes. People had lots of hopes from both the political parties which were holding chair at centre and state. It is really un-fortunate that when it came to deliverance, both of them instead of taking the state on the path of development and progress , en-gaged themselves in leg-pulling, hatching conspiracies against each other and letting themselves down in the eyes of the general masses. This can be gauged from their recent humiliating electoral debacle.

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way

ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.

Qoute of the day

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Tuesday 04 March 2014

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer

Education-Magic wand to progress

and prosperity

The progress and prosperity of any nation can be measured only on one yard-stick, as to how many citizens

have excess to quality educational facilities. The off rule, Might is Right, Aristocrats rule the Nations, are now obsolete. The de-veloped countries paid heed to education in the initial stage and now they are har-vesting the fruits of those initiatives by way of dictating their terms on developing and under developed countries. The citizens are leading comfortable life with all the basic necessities fulfilled. They don’t have to live under open sky or stand in que for hours together to fetch one bucket of wa-ter or ration at concessional rates. Their children don’t have to lose eye sight while studying in dim lights. Talk of any comfort; they are bestowed with in comparison to the people of the third world who have to live from hand to mouth, where poverty is their destiny. It is all because of least priority given to education sector that these coun-tries could not harness their resources and compete with the developed nations. They miss the condition in India. We too woke late to the need of the hour in giving em-phasis on education. The words of Former President of India Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam keep on echoing when he one said “com-ing generation will not remember you as to how many temples, mosques or churches you built, but will remember you as to how many school you built”. His golden words speak of his vast experience and practical approach. But despite various schemes and initiatives launched by Central Govern-ment, country still lags behind in the field of education. Due to poverty most of our children go to government run school to seek education. Except Kerala almost in tall the states the literacy rate is below expec-tations. There could be various reasons for this. The way politics has plagued this sec-tor is beyond one’s imagination and almost killing the future of the country. The state of Jammu & Kashmir is no exception. Here the people are being duped with the slo-gans of freedom, justice, progress and what not for the last so many years. But it was ed-ucation sector which was made sacrificial lamb at the first instance. Schools, colleges, libraries were set ablaze. Day today calls of strike, civil curfew, and curfew made the life out of gear. The future of the students was darkened. With the establishment of pop-ular government some initiative with the financial assistance by central government were taken to build or repair school college buildings but the situation still is pitiable. Even now nearly 5000 government schools are without their own buildings. School buildings are in delipated condition. May schools are without roof top, without doors and with broken window panes. There is no proper sitting arrangement what to talk of other civic amenities like heating system during chilly days of harsh winter, drink-ing water or toilet facilities. Even teacher are not properly trained. There are certain schools were students are without teaching staff but some schools with more teachers but less students due to ineffective transfer policy and rampant corruption. The con-cept of Rehbar-e-Taleem may be ideal on paper but practically it has failed to deliver goods as it is a means for back door entries. What kind of quality education can be ex-pected from a teacher with nominal hono-rarium? Moreover when such teachers are regularised they get themselves transferred to towns or cities with political pressure or money power leaving students to their fate.Now time has come when Government and the people have to take education sector seriously. Government should take bold steps by adopting public private part-nership for spreading education to every nook and corner of the state to channelize the talent and intelligence of t he children of the state and also in calculate a sense of accountability in teaching community which is possible only when there is good governance.

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar,Sunday 16 February 2014

Prevention of Drug Addiction

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer

Kejriwal -Small man big designs

AThe resignation of Arvind Kejri-wal and his forty eight days stint consisting high drama in which he claimed to climb the sky with-out stairs has exposed the over ambitiousness of a middle rung former Govt. officer who wanted to erode even the constitution of India to fulfil his political expan-sionism. From the very begin-ning it looked crystal clear that Kejriwal without much political knowhow wanted to conquer the Mount Everest even without ven-turing out of his home. His day dreaming, his unfulfilled promis-es to the people of Delhi, his mis-calculations and aspirations with which he tried to befool the peo-ple suddenly vanished in air. His promise to supply the free water up to 900 litres to every home, electricity supply on half of the rate and Jan Lokpal bill were all flues. Above all his style of func-tioning like an anarchist and the way he approached to deal with different issues was nothing but immature senseless and direc-tionless. Infact he was trying to create a kind of anarchy and constitutional crisis which could destroy the very basis of the dem-ocratic set-up. His blunt lies, his allegations against everybody including the high dignitaries re-portedly without any basis clear-ly show that he has no priority and targets except to derive max-imum mileage out of minimum. As per constitution experts he thinks that he can overrule the constitution according to his will and whims and he thinks himself to be the only honest man in the county. His behaviour and the at-tempts he made to disrespect the constitution of India and also to erode the laid principles of law where simply unbearable as no society in the world can tolerate such attempts. As he could not fulfil his promises, he wanted a way eject, which he got through his Jan Lokpal Bill whose con-troversial introduction in Delhi Assembly was unconstitutional as any Bill in the central list can be introduced and passed but not before the permission of Ministry of Home Affairs is sort. As he was acting in an anchorist and dicta-torial style, he thought he is above law and can do anything he likes. The Indian democracy is the larg-est in the world hence deep root-ed. Arvind Kejriwal did not avail the opportunity he got to prove his metal. He thought by quitting he will gain the sympathies of the people of India but forgot that he has in the process exposed him-self before the masses and is in danger of losing whatever he had achieved so far. It is very easy to sit on ‘Dharnas’ and criticize oth-ers but it is not so easy to trans-late one’s whims unless one goes through the established system of norms and is honest in the ap-proach.

lcoholism and drug abuse is a pysco-social-medical problem re-quiring a holistic approach – from prevention and early detection to effective intervention, rehabilita-tion and social integration. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal Min-istry for drug demand reduction. It coordinates and monitors all aspects of drug abuse prevention which include assessment of the extent of the problem, preventive action, treatment and rehabilita-tion of addicts, dissemination of information and public education. The Ministry provides communi-ty-based services for the identifi-cation, treatment and rehabilita-tion of addicts through voluntary organizations. In order to recog-nize the efforts, and, encourage excellence in the Prevention of Al-coholism and Substance (Drugs) Abuse and rehabilitation of its victims, awards will be presented, every year, for the most effective or outstanding services as individ-uals as well as institutions in the prevention of abuse of:- (a) Alcohol;(b) Narcotic Drugs;(c) Psychotropic Substances;(d) Other Addictive Substances (Except tobacco and its products)e.g. cough syrups, correction fluid,

etc.The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has been imple-menting the Scheme of Preven-tion of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse since 1985-86. The Scheme, which was re-vised twice in 1994 and 1999, at present provides financial support to NGOs and employers mainly for creating Awareness and Pre-ventive Education, Drug Aware-ness and CounsellingCentres (CCs), Treatment- Cum- Rehabil-itation Centres (TC), Workplace Prevention Programme (WPP), De-addiction Camps (ACDC), NGO forum for Drug Abuse Pre-vention Innovative Interventions etc. Apart from this, the Ministry takes up awareness gen-eration programme every year dis-seminating information, education and communication (IEC) mate-rials, organizing programmes in schools and community, holding exhibitions and publishing news-letters and journals. At present there are about 41 CCs and 401 TCs are function-ing with the support of the minis-try in the country. Besides, a large number of NGO’s are involved in this endeavour, Ministry of social Justice and Em-

powerment notified in December last year a scheme of National Awards for Outstanding Services in the field of Prevention of Al-coholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse, in order to recognize the efforts and encourage excellence in the field of prevention of sub-stance abuse and rehabilitation of its victims. The Scheme is applicable to in-stitutions and individuals working in this field. Under the scheme, awards will be presented every year to the most effective or out-standing services rendered as in-dividuals as well as institutions in the prevention of abuse of alcohol; narcotic drugs; psychotropic sub-stances and other addictive sub-stances. The awards are presented ev-ery year, on the 26th June, which has been declared by the United Nations as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and are given in ten different categories to institutions and individuals. I. Institutional Category (i) Best Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts (IRCA) for providing rehabilitation services to alcoholics and drug users (ii) Best Regional Resource and Training Centre (RRTC) provid-

ing exemplary contribution in the field of prevention of addiction. (iii) Best Panchayati Raj or Mu-nicipal Body working for preven-tion of alcoholism and substance (drug) abuse. (iv) Best Educational Institution doing outstanding work in aware-ness generation and prevention of alcoholism and substance (drug) abuse. (v) Best Non-Profit Institution, other than Serial Number (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) above, with out-standing contribution in the field of Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse. (vi) Best Research or Innova-tion. (vii) Best Awareness Campaign. II. Individual Category(viii) Outstanding individual achievement by a professional. (ix) Outstanding individual achievement by a non- profes-sional. (x) Former Addict, who has done outstanding work in the field of awareness generation or de-addic-tion or rehabilitation.The institution of these National Awards is indeed a manifestation of Government’s commitment to address the issues and take effec-tive steps against alcohol and drug abuse.

Building not just Roads but Nation

ransport system is considered as the life line of any nation. Road Infrastructure, because of its easy accessibility, flexibility in oper-ation, door to door service and reliability occupies a dominant position in the transportation system. It is vital for unleashing economic growth and is a crit-ical component of all inclusive growth. In the last few decades, Road transport in India has regis-tered tremendous growth and has become the most preferred mode of transport. The share of road transport in carrying the passen-gers and goods is more than 80% and 60% of the total passenger and freight movement respec-tively. Road Network India has huge network of roads totalling about 46.90 lakh km. The road density in India at present is nearly 1.43 km per sq. km of area which compares favourably with many countries. Responsibility of development of this network rests with the Central Government, State Gov-ernments and local Government. National Highways (NH), having total length of 82,803 km, con-stitutes less than 2% of the total road network. However, these are the main arteries carrying more than 40% of the total road traffic. Development of NHs is the responsibility of the Central Government.Good and efficient transport infrastructure is an essential pre-requisite for the economic growth of a nation. It has been the endeavor of the Government to provide speedy, safe and effi-cient road transport network. It is recognized that modernisation of infrastructure is the key to at-tain higher GDP. India’s Trans-port sector as a whole contributes about 5.5% to the GDP, with road transport contributing the lion’s share. India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economy in the world. According to ex-perts, India could unleash its full potential, provided, it improves the infrastructure facilities, which are at present not sufficient to meet the growing demand of the economy. To address emerging demand by catching up with the economic and social growth of the country, a massive Road de-velopment programme has been

taken up in the country.NHDP The National Highways Devel-opment Project (NHDP) is the flagship programme, for devel-opment of less developed areas, dedicated regional programmes like the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North-East (SARDP-NE) and the Special Programme for the Left Wing Extremism affected areas have also been taken up. Now, there are plans for building up Expressways in the Country. Three projects i.e. Eastern Pe-ripheral Expressway in National Capital Region, Delhi - Meerut Expressway and Mumbai – Va-dodra Expressway covering about 650 km are targeted during the current financial year. Plan-ning for Bengaluru – Chennai and Delhi – Jaipur Expressways are also in advance stages. All these Expressways will be fully access controlled roads on green field alignment. To meet with the mas-sive requirement of funds, inno-vative means of financing and financing strategies which inter alia include cess on fuel, private sector participation including for-eign investment, borrowing from the market as well as budgetary support have been adopted. A major step was to attract foreign as well as domestic investments through Public Private Partner-ship (PPP). Involving the private sector would lead to increasing efficiency with the help of using modern technology. The private sector has more flexible pro-curement and decision-making procedures and therefore, it can speed up implementation efforts. Allowing private sector to raise capital/funds has paved the way for the Government to use its scarce resources efficiently and effectively. Several new materi-als of road construction are also emerging that would need to be encouraged depending upon their cost effectiveness. For development of National Highways in the Country in the 12 five year plan targets to invest Rs 1,44,769 crores from bud-getary support, Rs 64,834 crores from IEBR and Rs 1,87,995 crores from private sector partic-ipation. Launched in 1998, the NHDP

program represents the largest road construction project ever undertaken to boost the develop-ment of the National Highways in the country. The program is aimed at the development of about 50,000 km of National Highways. Golden Quadrilateral which provides four-lane con-nectivity between four metros, is complete, while the North-South-East-West (NSEW) corridor is about to be completed. Four lan-ing and six laning is underway at many places and progressing at brisk pace, despite the hurdles in land acquisition, obtaining en-vironment and forest clearances, high cost debt etc,. So far work on more than 21,000 km have been completed and in about 12,350 km works are in progress. Other flagship regional programmes which includes SARDP-NE and roads in LWE affected areas cov-ers development of about 12,000 km of roads out of which work has already been completed in about 3800 kms.Mode of Projects The emphasis has been to take up progressively more and more infrastructure projects through private sector participa-tion on BOT (Toll) basis so that more public funds are available for social sectors such as Health, Education, etc. However, it would not be practically possible to take up development of the majority of the highway stretches on BOT (Toll) mode. This has re-flected in the recent trends of bid-ding when in majority of roads projects we could not get the fa-vourable response. Accordingly, recently, Ministry has decided to take up road projects as turnkey Engineering Procurement Con-struction (EPC) contracts basis which would help to reduce con-struction time and is expected to improve quality of work as well. Also, in this system the objective to garner private sector efficiency is retained and the private entre-preneurs are free to use new tech-nology to speed up their worksNew InitiativesE-Tolling The experience on present tolling system is associ-ated with congestion and delays at toll plazas. To overcome this, Government has decided adop-tion of Electronic Toll Collec-tion (ETC) system across Na-

tional Highways in India, which would enable toll to be collected electronically from vehicles at toll plazas while the vehicle is in motion. Pilot projects have already been taken up in this re-gard which will pave way for nation-wide interoperable ETC at all the toll plazas on National Highways by 2014.New Materials Besides financ-ing, such a mammoth develop-ment programme requires huge amount of natural resources. As such conservation of the material is area of concern for all. There is a need to save scarce physical resource like aggregates, sand, earth, cement, bitumen, etc. looking to huge programme of construction of highways in the country. On the other hand, the Nation is facing problem of the disposal & storage of industrial waste like fly-ash, copper slag, marble slurry, etc. Efforts are on in utilizing these waste materials in construction of roads through complete/partial replacement of conventional materials. Cashless Treatment of accident Victims (A Road Safety initiative) India has the dubious distinction of having maximum number of fatali-ties on roads. During the year 2011, there were around 5 lakh road acci-dents resulting in the deaths of over 1.42 lakh people. Each day, nearly 390 people die on our roads. In In-dia more than half of road accident victims are in the age group 20-65 years. The loss of the main bread earner and head of household due to death or disability can be cata-strophic, leading to lower living standards and poverty, in addition to the human cost of bereavement. This is an unacceptable price to pay for mobility. The Ministry has already taken up multi-pronged strategy in his regard. The latest milestone in this area is a Pilot Project for “implementation of cashless medical treatment to the accident victims” for the first 48 hours. Under this scheme accident victims will be provided free treat-ment during this period as a result immediate relief can be provided to the accident victim, which will go a long way in reducing fatalities on our road.Completion of programmes al-ready taken up is expected to go a long way in contributing towards building the Nation.

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Awareness Generation, Research and Rehabilitation