DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2016 (PAGE 7)

Some areas of city facingworst ever water crisis

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 5: As someareas of Jammu city are facingacute water scarcity over amonth or so with concernedauthorities looking as mutespectator the people left withno alternative are up in armsagainst the concerned depart-ment.

The worst ever water crisisin the Old City areas havebeen reported from ResidencyRoad area near Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan, MohallaDarogaran, Purani Mandi,Kali Jani, Mast Garh etcwhich has added to the woesof the people especially thehouse wives in these locali-ties.

There is no timing forwater supply now as earlier itwas supplied two times a daymorning and evening for onehour each and nowadays onedoes not know when the waterwill be supplied. Even theduration of one hour has beencurtailed to 20 to 30 minutesin the morning while the sup-ply during evening has beentotally stopped said Anju Balaa house wife in Kali Jani area.

She said the working ladiesare in most trouble as theycan't stock the water duringthe odd hours when they are inoffice as the timing and dura-tion has been totally changed.

Supporting her GovindSarin a social activist nearResidence Road said that

water is only supplied for 20minutes a day nowadays andpeople living in the ResidencyRoad near Sher-e-KashmirBhawan and Eidgah are facingacute problems due to waterscarcity. He said if this situa-tion persists there will begrave crisis in comingSummer Season. He accusedthe authorities of ignoring theplight of people.

Sarin said Gujjar Hostelwhich is near the Eidgah atResidence Road has a role of104 students and over 30 staffmembers and the inmatesdaily purchase a water tankerfor their use. Sometimes eventhey approach social activistsfor help in getting a watertanker as the hostel havingfour taps does not get regularwater supply.

Kartar Nath Gupta ofPurani Mandi said that hisarea is facing worst ever watercrisis at present and theauthorities have failed to settlethe same. The unscheduledpower cuts for last some timehave been the main cause ofwater crisis, he said, addingearlier there was a definitetiming for water now peopledon't know the same.Sometimes it is supplied inmorning, some times inevening and some times dur-ing the day depending uponthe power supply in the area.Moreover the duration of sup-ply has also been curtailed to a

great extent, he added.Pramod Kumar of Mohalla

Darogaran in Old City areasaid that the locality is alsoworst hit by water crisis nowa-days and no one at the helm ofaffairs is ready to listen theirwoes. He said while there isno schedule timing of watersupply in the area now as wasa past practice, the duration ofsupply has also been reducedto a great extent.

However when contactedthe Chief Engineer PHE, RajivGandotra said that the problemhas been caused due to thecurtailment in power supply.He said there is repeatedly sixhour power cut as the PowerDevelopment Department(PDD) is engaged in changingof lines in the city and its out-skirts. The water supply islinked to power supply andwhen there is power curtail-ment the water supply will benaturally affected, he added.

Mr Gandotra said other-wise PHE system is O K andthere is no problem fromDepartmental side. He made itclear once the power supply isbetter the water supply willnaturally improve.

International Conference on ‘Sustainable Destination Excellence’ begins at JU

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 5: The two-day 3rd InternationalConference on "SustainableDestination Excellence:Revitalizing Peacethrough Innovationin Tourism", wasinaugurated here thismorning at theSchool ofHospitality andT o u r i s mM a n a g e m e n t ,University ofJammu.

Kavinder Gupta,Speaker, J&KAssembly, was thechief guest whileFarooq Ahmad Shah, SecretaryTourism, Government of Jammu& Kashmir was the guest ofhonour, Prof R D Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, JU, presided overthe function and Ma Christina GAquino, president, APacCHRIE,Executive Director for Planningand Development of the Lyceumof the Philippines UniversityManila, was the key note speak-er.

Kavinder Gupta, in hisaddress, emphasized the role oftourism in integrating societiesand promoting brotherhood andunity. While appreciating the

theme of the conference, he saidthat tourism must be promotedat a large scale so that newissues can be resolved throughinnovation and creativity.

Ma Chrsitina G Aquino, inher key note address, highlight-ing the importance of conver-gence between Government,Industry and academia whichcan help all the stakeholders ofthe tourism and hospitality sec-tor. Highlighting the 15 megatrends of the travel industry, shesaid we should have bettervision for tourism other that justbusiness and must have a reflec-tion of humanity.

Farooq Ahmad Shah saidthat focus of the tourism devel-opment should be on the stake-holders who are the ultimatebeneficiaries and its needs anintegrated and sustainableapproach to remove trust deficitin conflict destinations likeJ&K.

Prof R D Sharma, in hispresidential remarks, said thattourism is an effective strategyto promote peace and that sus-tainability is a dynamic process.He said that tourism promotesnational integration and pro-motes traditional art forms.

Prof Keshav Sharma, Dean,Faculty of Business Studies,said that tourism along with itsobvious international economicimpact transcends

Governmental boundaries bybringing population of the worldcloser.

Earlier, Prof Parikshat SinghManhas, Director SHTM, said

that this conference has set anew dimension of bringing vari-ous tourism stakeholders on acommon platform to discuss anddeliberate on various issuesrelated to sustainable tourism.He shared that the School is theprocess of leveraging the inter-national linkages to promotetourism and hospitality educa-tion in the region.

Dr. Anil Gupta , conductedthe proceedings and Dr SuvidhaKhanna coordinated the techni-cal sessions.

During the function, the con-ference proceedings werereleased along with theannouncement of two books,titled "Sustainable TourismDevelopment: BuildingCompetitive Advantage forDestinations" and "IntegratedApproach for SustainableTourism: Issues and Challenges"edited by Prof Parikshat SinghManhas, Dr Anil Gupta, and DrSuvidha Khanna.

The conference was attendedby over 120 international andnational delegates, keyGovernment officials of thetourism, industry professionals,faculty members, researchscholars, and students.

Jan seeks immediate replenishmentof ration in far-off areas

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU Feb 5: ProvincialYouth National Conference presi-dent Ajaz Jan today sought imme-diate buffer of rations in the far offareas of Doda, Kathua,Bani,Basholi, Reasi , Banihal, Poonch,Rajouri and Kisthtwar districts ofthe Jammu region, saying PDP-BJP owe an explanation to thepeople of these areas why theyfailed in doing so as per practice.

"The poor rationees are suffer-ing due to scarce stocks and theGovernor's Administration needsto take immediate steps for miti-gating their problems", Mr Jansaid while interacting with mediaat Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan herethis afternoon.

He said the PDP-BJPCoalition Government failed thepeople of Jammu and Kashmirespecially those living in far off

areas, as no concern was evershown towards their problems,least to speak of mitigating these.He said the insensitive dispensa-tion remained mired in controver-sies and instead of delivering theyplayed to the galleries at the costof public interest.

Mr Jan also dwelt upon prob-lems confronted to educatedunemployed and said that no seri-ous effort was made to fill thevacant posts. Instead, the anti-people and anti-youthGovernment attempted to intro-duce such a job policy whichwould have denied the deservingcandidates chance to seekemployment.

The Provincial Youth NationalConference president urged theGovernor's Administration todevise a mechanism wherein fasttrack recruitment is ensuredthrough designated institutions.

Mr Jan also expressed concernover delays in the release of finan-cial assistance to targeted segmentsof population like old, widows anddestitute besides grant of scholar-ships to Scheduled Caste andSchedule Tribe students of the State.

He also sought priority atten-tion to the restoration works of thedamaged infrastructure due to2014 floods and incessant rains,saying the people of the remoteareas continue to suffer due todilapidated road network and poorutility services.

Those present on the occasion,included Rohit Bali, AnkushAbrol, Raiz Malik, Rohit Kerni,Sandeep Singh, Tejinder PalSingh and others.

Provincial Youth NC president Ajaz Jan addressing a pressconference at Jammu on Friday.

Director Rajya SainikBoard distributes cheques

Excelsior Correspondent

KATHUA, Feb 5: Director,Rajya Sainik Board Retd.Brigadier Harcharan Singh metveterans and war widows duringhis visit to Sainik Sarai Basohlitoday.

During the visit, Directorspoke about issues being takenup with the Governor and alsoabout his vision for employmentof ex-servicemen including dis-abled/handicapped veterans.

He thanked the StateGovernment and Army for alltheir continued support. He alsostressed upon the ex-servicemento concentrate on educating theirchildren so that they can join thearmed forces and bring laurels

to the nation and families.Later, Director distributed

four annuity grants chequesamong Veer Chakra holder Hon.Capt. Balwant Singh amountingto Rs 50,000 and chequeamounting to Rs. 3000 each toSena Medal holder Lt. Hans Rajand Hon. Capt. Hans Raj. Healso distributed a cheque for'one battle causality at Kargil' toKaran Singh, father of MartyrRajinder Singh of village MartaNagrota, Basohli amounting Rs3750.

Zila Sainik Welfare OfficerKathua Y.S Andotra, staff ofSainik Sarai Basohli, ExServicemen, veterans and warwidows were also present on theoccasion.

Director Rajya Sainik Board, Retd. Brigadier HarcharanSingh handing over cheque to a beneficiary at Kathua onFriday.

NPP activists stageprotest demonstration

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Feb 5: Theactivists of Jammu and KashmirNational Panthers Party (NPP)and local youth and farmersfrom Moud, Bali, Samroli,Chirdi, Kithers and MaddaPanchayats led by NPP Statepresident Balwant SinghMankotia (Ex-MLA) held aprotest demonstration at Moudin front of the office of M/sGammon India Ltd today.

The local public also tookout rally at the village andblocked National Highway atMoud in support of theirdemands. They alleged thatlocal youth are being ignored bythe company management inproviding employment, more-over, famers whose land hasbeen acquired for constructionof 4-lane highway ahead ofUdhamnpur have not been paidcompensation. Same is the com-plaint of the people residingbetween Udhampur andChenani.

Mr Mankotia blamed M/sGammon India Pvt Ltd for con-struction of their office forcibly

at village Moud on private landwithout the consent of the landowners in connivance with someofficials in local administration.He further said that the compa-ny had allotted work to the con-tractors from Kashmir, UttarPradesh, Punjab etc instead oflocal contractors of the said areawho were blatantly ignored andas such they had only option tostart strong agitation against thecompany. He also said thatcompany had engaged hundredsof youth in the company fromoutside while ignoring the localyouth. He added that PanthersParty shall fully support the agi-tating youth, contractors, localresidents and farmers.

The Ex-MLA warned thecompany management toresolve the aforesaid issueswithin weeks time or elsePanthers Party shall take the agi-tational course against them.

Others who were present inthe protest demonstrationincluded Jagdev Singh, MohdAmin, Mohd Zafar, RafiqChandil Sarpanch, Mohd MirzaKhan, Shankar Singh andBaldev Singh.

NPP leader Balwant Singh Mankotia addressing villagers atMoud near Udhampur on Friday.

Varma interacts withstaff, students of IIMC

Chairman IIMC Uday Kumar Varma interacting with stu-dents and staff of IIMC Jammu Centre.

Dignitaries releasing book on conference proceedings during inauguralfunction on Friday.

Executive police has pivotalrole to deliver justice: DGP

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 5: Describingexecutive police an importantpillar of the JKP, the DirectorGeneral of Police (DGP), K.Rajendra Kumar has said thatexecutive police has to play avital role in strengthening itsrelations with people. He saidthat executive police, being thefirst responder to the problemsof public has a great responsibil-ity to win their trust by deliver-ing justice.

This was disclosed by DGP,while inspecting the police sta-tion R. S. Pura and other policeposts coming under the borderjurisdiction of Police Station. Hewas accompanied by IGPJammu Zone, Danish Rana.

During his surprise inspec-tion, he inspected Roznamcharegister, FIR register, Lockuproom, Maal-khana, CCTN con-nectivity and crime relatedcases. He also interacted withthe accused persons bookedunder various cases and lodgedin lockup room. He alsoenquired about their involve-ment in different cases and pres-ent status of their cases.

During the inspection,Rajendra sought detailed reportsof crime and other cases from

the concerned investigating offi-cers dealing with the cases. TheSHO, Bushan Singh Manhasbriefed the DGP about theprogress of various cases,deployment of personnel andfunctioning of police station. Healso informed about the casesrelated to the theft of vehicles inthe jurisdiction of Thana.

DGP interacted withthe cops and stressed that ThanaPolice has a great responsibilityto deliver to public service atdifferent locations includingborder areas. He said that timelyand quick disposal of publicgrievances and better attitude atlowest level would build imageof the Organization among themasses. He said that selflessservice by the personnel wouldbe recognized and the tainted,selfish elements would not betolerated in the Organization.

Discussing about the crimein Thana jurisdiction, the DGPstressed upon the cops to chalkout an effective mechanism todeal with the challenge of crimefirmly. He said that the investi-gation process should bestepped up to bring the culpritsto justice. He asked to nab theevil before it raises its head andposes challenge to the lawenforcing agencies.

CommissionerCommercial Taxes

reviews performance Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Feb 5:Commissioner CommercialTaxes, Baseer Ahmad Khan,today held a meeting to reviewthe performance of the depart-ment in Kashmir division.

It was given out in the meet-ing that nearly 13 percentgrowth was registered in taxcollection in Kashmir divisiontill January, 2016. An amount ofRs. 1089.27 crore was realizedin comparison to previous year'sRs 964.84 crore.

The Commissioner wasinformed that there was anincrease of Rs. 95.10 crore andRs 29.50 crore revenue realisa-tion under VAT and GSTrespectively till ending January2016, thus registering a growthof 19.13 percent and 6.35 per-cent accordingly.

Baseer Khan asked the offi-cers to work with zeal anddirected for strict action againsttax defaulters.

Retired police personnel take upissues with DGP, ADGP ArmedExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 5: All J&KRetired Police Personnel NGO& ORS Forum led by itsPresident Ajit Singh met DGPand discussed various problemsof police personnel.

During the meeting, the par-ticipants highlighted variousissues including enhancement ofmedical allowance from Rs 300to Rs 3000 as per 6th PayCommission, free of cost medi-cines and treatment to be pro-vided to the retired police per-sonnel from the PoliceHospitals, reimbursement ofmedical bills to the policeretirees, reservation in recruit-ment of Police Department andprofessional courses at the rateof 15 per cent for wards ofpolice personnel, sanction of atleast Rs 50,000 at the time ofmarriage of daughters/sons ofthe police retirees as a financialhelp out of welfare funds, and atleast 50,000 should be sanc-tioned at the time of death ofpolice personnel/retirees for per-forming the last rites of thedeceased.

They added that recently theCentral Government has issued

ordinance regarding one rankone pension. The StateGovernment should also followthe same pattern in PoliceDepartment. They further statedthat the Government Order No.229-F of 2014, Dt 17-10-2014 isnot acceptable regarding payanomalies since the effect isbeing given prospective, whichmeans the effect will be givenfrom the date of order.

Ajit Singh also metAdditional Director General SMSahai, ADGP (Armed) in regardwith issue of Police Personnel(Retd.) certificate by the con-cerned SP instead of the con-cerned Battalion.

In this regard, Sahai issuedthe order on the spot.

Meanwhile, the members ofthe Forum along with SSPKathua Neeva Jain visited thehouse of Chaman Lal Verma(Retd ASI) at village Uttri in dis-trict Kathua, who met with anaccident and received injuries.

Ajit Singh along with SSPKathua Neeva Jain presented Rs25,000 to Verma in presence ofSat Paul, District President,Mohammad Maqbool, VicePresident, Ghulam Qadir andRamesh Singh.

DSS members chalk out prog for various activities

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Feb 5: Dogra Sadar

Sabha (DSS) chalked out a detailedprogramme of various activities forimplementation at a special meetingof the Sabha held here under thechairmanship of its president andformer Minister Gulchain SinghCharak today.

In the meeting, the members ofintellectual group, media cell andoffice bearers of the Sabha participat-ed. The Sabha president emphasizedthat a thorough research should beconducted for highlighting the histo-ry and culture of Dogras in the booksprescribed in the educational institu-tions at various levels, organizingDogra literary activities, cultural pro-grammes, holding of KaviSammelans, reviving of DograFestivals, maximum involvement ofDogra youth in all the activities and

undertake social and media activitiesand setting up of Dogra Sadar Sabhawebsite.

The DSS chalked out a detailedprogramme for a conference onFebruary 16 in which British MPBob Blackman, Ms Manu KhajuriaSingh, daughter of soil, who hasstarted the "Voice of Dogras" inEngland and Ms Lakshmi Koul,who is heading "Kashmiri PanditsCultural Society" in London willparticipate.

The intellectual cell was taskedto prepare a detailed presentation forFebruary 16 programme at DograSadar Sabha Bhawan near RanbirHigher Secondary School. Theprogamme will showcase the valour,culture and contribution of Dogras inthis Strategic State of J&K.

The meeting was attended,among others, by Maj Gen G SJamwal (Retd), Col Karan SinghJamwal (Retd), vice president, PremSagar Gupta, gneral secretary, Dr MS Baloria, Gambhir Dev SinghCharak, Dr P S Pathania RegistrarCentral University Jammu Retd,Prof Shyam Singh, HoD LawDepartment Retd, Prof AnitaBillawaria, HOD History, Universityof Jammu, Sohail Kazmi- Journalist,Brig M S Jamwal (Retd) OPSharma- Journalist, Chhatter Singh,Prithvi Raj Vaid and Ravi SinghSlathia.

12 yrs RI awarded to 3 narco smugglersExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 5: Additional Sessions Judge Udhampur SoniaGupta today awarded 12 years rigorous imprisonment and fine ofRs 1.5 lakh each to three narco smugglers namely Sayyed MohdSadiq, Haroon Sheikh and Mohd Razak.

They were arrested on October 1, 2011 while smuggling cha-ras.

After hearing both the sides, court observed, "the crime com-mitted by the accused is very serious. Narcotic menace is spread-ing its tentacles throughout the country and is eating vitals of thesociety and posing a grave threat to the youth of the country".

"Sentence has to be proportionate to the gravity of the crimecommitted. There is a little scope for exercise of discretion indeciding the quantum of punishment. The courts have to adhere tothe principles of law governing the award of sentence, the legisla-tive intent behind NDPS Act and also the impact of awarding sen-tence", Additional Sessions Judge said.

With these observations, court awarded 12 years RI and fine ofRs 1.5 lakh to each accused.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 5: FormerUnion Secretary, Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingand Chairman, Indian Institute ofMass Communication (IIMC),Uday Kumar Varma visited theJammu Centre of IIMC.

Since Jammu Centre was setup during his tenure as ChairmanIIMC, he was keen to have inter-action with the students and alsoto know the activities beingundertaken in the Centre.

During his interaction withSpecial Officer, IIMC Jammu

Centre, Manohar Khajuria, hewas briefed about the perform-ance of the Centre. It was told tohim that Centre has bagged Istposition in all three batchespassed out from the date of itsinception, thus having hat trickamong all six centres of IIMCacross the country.

Sugam Singhal bagged Istposition in Ist batch passed outduring 2012-13, and AvantikaGupta and Jeevan Kaur securedIst position in successive year2013-14 and 2014-15 respective-ly.

DDC chairs DLSWCC meetingExcelsior Correspondent

BARAMULLA, Feb 5: District Development Commissioner,Yasha Mudgal today stressed upon members of District Level SingleWindow Clearance Committee (DLSWCC) for enhancing perform-ance to create more and more employment avenues in the district.

During the meeting, various cases of Sopore Industrial Estatewere cleared. Besides, Juhama Industrial Estate case was also dis-cussed thoroughly.

The meeting was attended by Joint Director Planning, DistrictIndustry Manager, DFO Social Forestry, officers from SIDCO,SICOP, PDD, Pollution Control Board and other officers from variousDepartments.