DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2020 (PAGE 5)

Republic Day celebrated with enthusiasm across Kashmir valley

Steps afoot to usher UT into new era ofprogress, prosperity: Advisor Khan

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Jan 27: In con-nection with the celebration of71ST Republic-Day, functions wereheld across Kashmir Division withgreat enthusiasm and patriotic fer-

vor.The main function was held at

SK Cricket Stadium Sonwar inSrinagar where Advisor toLieutenant Governor, Farooq Khanunfurled National Flag and tooksalute at the march past presentedby contingents of JK Police, JKAP,ITBP, BSF, CRPF, Fire &Emergency Services, ForestProtection Force, NCC cadets andstudents.

Among others, DivisionalCommissioner Kashmir, BaseerAhmad Khan, Inspector General ofPolice, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar,Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, DrShahid Iqbal Chowdhary, other civiland police officers and a large gath-ering of people attended the func-tion.

Addressing the gathering,Advisor Khan paid rich tributes toDr B R Ambedkar who gave thiscountry a constitution which guar-antees rights to every citizen with-out discrimination of caste, colour,region or religion and the martyrswho sacrificed their lives for coun-try's sovereignty.

He said introduction of Back toVillage program, a unique mecha-nism to register and address publicgrievances at people's door step,witnessed a huge public participa-tion and the officers of the civiladministration reached out to everycorner of the UT. Under the pro-gramme, he said, a number ofdevelopmental projects have beentaken up, some have been complet-ed while others are nearing comple-tion.

To strengthen the democracy atthe grassroot level and to involvepeople in decision making fordevelopmental process, he said,Panchayat election were conductedacross Jammu and Kashmir but thehighlight of 2019 was holding of thefirst ever Block level DevelopmentCommittee elections.

Hailing Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, for exhibitingkeenness in the development andprogress of Jammu and Kashmir,the Advisor said the CentralGovernment has taken a slew ofmeasures in this regard.

On the occasion, Advisor Khanlauded the efforts of concerned

authorities for timely clearance ofsnow and restoration of traffic onJammu-Srinagar NationalHighway, thus avoiding shortage ofessential commodities in the Valley.He praised the efforts of PowerDevelopment Department for quick

restoration of electricity postNovember 7 snowfall.

Later, Advisor Khan awardedBasketball player, Ishrat Akhterwho represented the country inThailand recently. Awards were alsogiven to the best cultural perform-ance and best march past.

KULGAM: The main function

was held at District Police Lineswhere District DevelopmentCommissioner Showkat Aijaz Bhat,hoisted the National Flag and tooksalute at the march past presentedby the contingents of CRPF, JKP,JKP ladies police group, SSB,Home guard, fresh recruits, NCCcadets and school children.

Cultural programs and martialarts were presented on the occasion.

District DevelopmentCommissioner highlighted develop-mental activities and achievementsof district, on the occasion. He saidthat work on various developmentalprojects is apace including 25 megalanguishing projects will be com-pleted by this March.

SSP Kulgam, GurinderpaulSingh, ADDC, Riyaz Ahmad Sofi,ADC, Shabir Hussain Bhat,Commandant CRPF 18th BTN,Garau Singh , other civil and policeofficers besides members of PRI'sand locals participated in the event.

SHOPIAN: The main functionwas held at District Police Lines(DPL) where DeputyCommissioner ChaudharyMohammad Yaseen hoistedNational Flag and took salute at themarch past presented by the contin-

gents of CRPF, JKP, Home Guard,Fire and Emergency Services,Forest Protection Force and schoolstudents.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice, Additional DeputyCommissioner, Assistant

Commissioner Revenue, SeniorOfficers of Army, CRPF, district &sectoral officers and engineers of allthe departments were present on theoccasion.

Addressing the gathering,Deputy Commissioner highlightedthe importance of the day and alsopresented a detailed report on devel-

opments registered in the district.He said that work on 44 languishingprojects coming up at Rs 70.84crore is in full swing. Besides 95works are under progress underBack to Village program and 79road projects under variousschemes are in progress at Rs176.11crore.

A colorful Cultural programswere presented by the students onthe occasion.

Later, DC distributed cashprizes and awards among the meri-torious students.

BANDIPORA: The mainfunction was held at SK Stadiumwhere Deputy CommissionerShahbaz Ahmad Mirza unfurledthe flag and inspected the parade.

SSP, Bandipora, Rahul Malik,ADC, Bandipora, Zahoor AhmadMir, Joint Director, Planning,Imtiyaz Ahmad, officers of civiladministration, police, army,besides Panchayat representativeswere present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, theDC Bandipora highlighted theimportance of the day and achieve-ments registered in the district. Hesaid that the Patushai Grid Stationwill soon be commissioned to endthe power crisis in the district.

Besides work on other develop-mental projects including DistrictHospital, TRC Saderkoot,Polytechnic College complex, Arin-Bapora bridge and Gujjar andBakerwal Hostel is apace and willbe completed by the end of the year.

Later, the DeputyCommissioner felicitated the meri-torious students of 10th and 12thclass besides several officers fortheir exceptional performance.

BUDGAM: The main functionwas held at Sports Stadium whereDeputy Commissioner TariqHussain Ganai as chief guestunfurled the National Flag and tooksalute at march past presented bycontingents of JKP, JKAP, CRPF,Home Guards, NCC and school stu-dents.

Among others, PrincipalDistrict and Sessions Judge, RajaShujaat Ali, SP Budgam, AmodAshok Nagpure, ADC Budgam,BDC Chairmen, and senior officersof the district attended the function.

Speaking on the occasion, DCBudgam said that Rs 234 crore areexpanded on 115 languishing proj-ects, the work on which is in fullswing. The district administrationhas setup a robust grievance redres-sal mechanism 'Aawaz-e-Budgam'where people can register theirgrievances 24x7.

On the occasion, a cultural pro-gram was presented by school chil-dren.

BARAMULLA: The day wascelebrated at District Police Lineswith District DevelopmentCommissioner, Dr GN Itoo was thechief guest.

GOC 19 Infantry Division,Major General, JP Singh, DIGNorth, Suliaman Chowdry, DIG,CRPF, SSP Baramulla, ACR,President, Municipal Council,Baramulla, Civil and Police officerswere present on the occasion.

The DDC hoisted the NationalFlag and took salute at march pastpresented by the contingents ofDistrict Police, CRPF, Fire &Emergency Service, NCC Cadetsand school children.

A colorful cultural programmedepicting cultural diversity and her-itage of the UTwas presented by the

school children and artists of DIPR.GANDERBAL: The District

Development Commissioner,Hashmat Ali Khan unfurled theNational Flag, took the salute at themarch-past, at Gadoora Stadium.

The march past was presentedby the contingents of JKP, BSF,CRPF, PTS Manigam, SashtraSeema Bal, JKAP, SPOs, HomeGuards and school children.

Addressing the gathering, theDDC highlighted the achievementsregistered under various sectors inthe district including education,sports, health, agriculture and socialwelfare.

He said that measures are apaceto develop Ganderbal as a modalhealth hub and Rs 34.56 crore havebeen expended, so far, for the newdistrict hospital building which willbe completed by this August.Besides, work is apace on construc-tion of several Health Centersincluding PHC Chattergul, PHCBatwina, PHC Gund, PHC Wakura,PHC Sonamarg and NTPHCNarayanabagh.

Later, prizes were distributedamong best performers and merito-rious students of the district.

Principal District and sessionsJudge, Ganderbal, MohammadYousuf Wani, SSP, Ganderbal,Khalil Ahmad Poswal, PresidentMunicipality, Ganderbal, AltafAhmad, ADC, Farooq AhmadBaba, ACR,BDC Chairpersons,Sarpanchs, Panchs, other civil andpolice officers were present on theoccasion.

ANANTNAG: The main func-tion was held at GovernmentDegree College (Boys) Khanabal,where the chief guest, AdditionalDistrict DevelopmentCommissioner, Anantnag, KhawajaNazir Ahmad Qureshi unfurled theNational Flag and took salute at themarch past presented by the contin-gents of CRPF, IRP, JKP, WomenPolice, J&K Home Guards, DistrictPolice Band (DPL), NCC cadets &school children.

On the occasion, the ADDChighlighting the achievements ofthe district and said that work on126 languishing projects coming upat Rs.347 crore is nearing comple-tion. He said that during Back toVillage phase-1 and phase-2, 5652demands related to power, road con-nectivity, establishment of AnimalHusbandry, Sheep Centres, fencingof school premises, setting up ofhealth centres and deployment ofadequate doctors and para medicalstaff in the existing hospitals werereceived.

The function was attended byADDCs, ACR, SEs of PHE, PDD,R&B other district and sectoral offi-cers.

KUPWARA: The day was cel-ebrated at District Police Lineswhere chief guest DeputyCommissioner Anshul Garg hoist-ed the National Flag and took saluteat the march past presented by thecontingents of JKP, JK ArmedPolice, CRPF, IRP, FPF and schoolchildren.

Among others, SeniorSuperintendent of Police (SSP)Kupwara, Shriram Ambarker;Additional District DevelopmentCommissioner (ADDC),Mohammad Ashraf Bhat;Additional Deputy Commissioner(ADC), Nazir Ahmad Lone;Assistant Commissioner Revenue(ACR), Bashir Ahmad Bhat, BDCChairpersons, civil and police offi-cers attended the function.

On the occasion, DeputyCommissioner said Rs.9 crore havebeen spent under Back to VillageProgramme and other developmen-tal schemes for construction of basicinfrastructure in the district.Besides, for augmentation of thepower infrastructure Rs.6 crore hasalso been expended during the cur-rent fiscal.

Acolorful cultural program waspresented by artists and school chil-dren.

Later, DC distributed prizesamong district officers, field func-tionaries and school children for thebest performance in their domain ofactivity.

PULWAMA: The main func-tion was held at District PoliceLines during which DeputyCommissioner Pulwama, DrRaghav Langer unfurled theNational Flag and took salute atmarch past presented by the contin-gents of Police, CRPF, NCC,JKAP,Home Guard and School Children.

Speaking on the occasion,Deputy Commissioner highlightedachievements registered under vari-ous sectors in the district. He saidthat mega project AIIMS being con-structed in Pulwama, adding Rs 350crore are being expended for com-pletion of languishing projects toaugment developmental infra.

On the occasion Cultural pro-gram and martial arts were present-ed by artists and school children.The highlight of the program wasdisplay of departmental tableaux.

SSP Pulwama, Chandan Kohli,ADC, Altaf Ahmad Khan, AssistantCommissioner Revenue, AssistantCommissioner Development, BDCChairmen, other Civil and Policeofficers were present on the occa-sion.

Advisor Farooq Khan inspecting Republic Day parade at Srinagar.

Deputy Commissioner Pulwama during Republic Day cele-brations.

Deputy Commissioner Kupwara taking salute from marchpast.

LG, CEC unfurl National Flag at district level functionsRepublic Day celebrated with patriotic fervor in Leh, KargilExcelsior Correspondent

LEH/KARGIL, Jan 27: TheRepublic Day was celebrated withpatriotic fervor and gaiety acrossthe Union Territory of Ladakh.

In Leh, the main function washeld at Polo Ground whereLieutenant Governor Radha

Krishna Mathur unfurled theNational Flag and inspected theparade in the presence ofChairman/Chief ExecutiveCouncilor LAHDC Leh GyalPhuntsog Wangyal, ExecutiveCouncillors, families of martyrs,religious heads, defence andadministrative officers, awardees,Councillors and other distin-guished guests.

On the occasion, colourful cul-tural pageantry based on nationalintegration and the glorious com-posite heritage of the region waspresented by students from variouslocal schools and Governmentdepartments. Army weapons andequipment display and aerialsalute by flying Cheetah helicopterwas witnessed by thousands ofspectators.

Earlier, Lt Governor paid histributes to the martyrs by layingthe wreath at Hall of Fame. GOC14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singhand other Army officers were pres-ent.

Speaking at Polo Ground, LtGovernor expressed gratitude toPrime Minister on behalf of thepeople for making the long-stand-ing demand a reality. Highlightingthe successful efforts of both theHill Councils, he stated that theirefforts have shown results thathave earned appreciation from therest of the country.

Appreciating the armed forcesin the security and the develop-ment of Ladakh, he expressedgratitude on behalf of the people ofthe land for defending the bordersand for providing assistance to thelocal citizens. "The recent incidentof saving precious lives of strand-

ed tourists of Chadar trek was pos-sible because of the daring rescueoperation carried out by the bravemen and women of the army andthe air force", he added.

He emphasized nurturing theyouth of Ladakh by way of educa-tion, sports, employment and

preparing them for self-employ-ment and entrepreneurship. Healso talked about efforts for anearly function of sanctionedMedical College and the NationalInstitute of Sowa Rigpa.

He also talked about efforts

being made by the UTAdministration in the fields ofHandicraft, Handloom, FoodProcessing, Pashmina & Yakwool, aromatic & medicinalplants, handicrafts and tourism etc."This is the crucial time to ensurethe cultural treasure and ecology

of Ladakh is not compromised inthe name of modernization", hesaid.

At Kargil, Chairman and ChiefExecutive Councillor, LAHDC,Kargil Feroz Ahmed Khan hoistedthe National Tricolor at KhreeSultan Chow Sports Stadium andtook salute at an impressive marchpast by the contingents of Police,NCC, Police band party besides anumber of contingents of govern-ment and private educational insti-tutions.

Speaking on the occasion,Khan recalled the contributions ofthe makers of the Constitution andsupreme sacrifices of the nationalheroes who laid down their livesfor the country. He also hailed theservices of the Army, paramilitaryforces and police in guarding thefrontiers of the country in harshweather conditions and for main-taining peace, order and internalsecurity in the country.

While highlighting theachievements, developmentalactivities underway and futureplans of the present Council inKargil district, the CEC said thatthe Council is fully committedtowards the overall developmentof the district in all sectors and sev-eral important initiatives arepresently underway in this regard.

The CEC saidthat developmentalworks are going onin full swing in sec-tors like PublicWorks, Agriculture,Tourism and RuralDevelopment whileas concrete meas-ures are beingtaken to augmentother sectors.

M e a n w h i l e ,colorful culturalprogrammes werepresented by theartists of CulturalAcademy and stu-dents of variousGovernment andprivate educationalinstitutions.

Later, the CECand other digni-taries distributedmementoes andcertificates amongthe employees ofvarious depart-ments, meritoriousstudents, membersof NGOs, volun-

teers and individuals for theirextraordinary performances andnoteworthy contributions for pub-lic welfare. Prizes were also dis-tributed among the participants inthe March Past and cultural pro-grammes.

Lt Governor R K Mathur saluting National Flag at Leh.

CEC saluting National Flag at Kargil.

First Lady lays thrust on empowering womenExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 27: SmitaMurmu, First Lady of the UnionTerritory of Jammu and Kashmir,attended a "Ladies CulturalProgramme" organized byDepartment of Youth Services andSports (YSS) at Teachers Bhawan,here today.

The program aimed at celebrat-ing the spirit of womanhoodthrough a host of cultural programs,skits and exchange of thoughts isorganized every year on 27thJanuary as part of the Republic Daycelebrations by the Department ofYouth Services & Sports and isexclusively for women from allwalks of life- working women,housewives, teachers and studentsfrom different educational institu-tions, and participants from variouswomen organizations and NGOsworking on the similar lines.

Speaking on the occasion,Smita Murmu said that it becomesall the more necessary to ponderover and work towards womenempowerment since women consti-

tute half of world's population andare responsible for developingfuture generations.

She observed that women areinherently talented and she realizedit while working with an NGO inthe rural and tribal belts ofJharkhand and Odisha. All theyneed is a conducive atmosphereand a little hand holding from theagencies, NGOs working in thefield so as to make them bloom tothe full potential towards being selfsufficient and independent citizens.

She stressed that focus onwomen empowerment is a nationbuilding strategy and to rid a socie-ty of its deep rooted bias embeddedin cultures, economies, political andsocial institutions will only facili-tate women in playing a full part insociety and decision-making.

She said that it is the need of thehour to look beyond economicresources or material prosperityinto cultural and social influences,to stimulate collective thoughtprocess on the various aspects suchas creating awareness, identifyingthe workable areas, movingtowards making women self suffi-cient by way of skill enhancement,self help groups and engaging withvarious welfare organizations andNGOs to shape women's autonomyby making women socially, politi-cally and economically empow-ered.

She applauded the enthusiasmof the teachers and students from

various educational institutions andrepresentatives of Women WelfareOrganisations who participated inthe programme and presentedenthralling performances showcas-ing the diverse cultures of India andexpressed her pleasure to be a partof such programme. RajasthaniFolk Dance presented by the teach-ers of Crescent Public School, skiton women empowerment by anNGO received special mention ofthe First Lady.

NGO-The Performer led byUrja Singh, Jain Taruni Mandal,

Women College Parade, WomenCollege Gandhi Nagar, GG HSSCanal Road, Fay Fair School andAMT, besides solo performersnamely Brij Bala, Manpreet Kaurand Nooreen Bhat.

Dr. Saleem-ur-Rehman,Director General, Youth Servicesand Sports, presented the welcomeaddress. Ninette Vas Sharma, Dr.Amita Mehta, Anita Choudhary,Deepa Kotwal, Prof. (Dr) SanjanaKoul were among the distinguishedguests who were present on theoccasion.

First Lady of UT J&K Smita Murmu lighting ceremoniallamp while inaugurating Ladies Cultural Programme atTeacher’s Bhawan, Gandhi Nagar in Jammu.

-Excelsior/ Rakesh

ReT Forum renamed as TeachersJoint Action Committee

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 27: JammuKashmir ReT Teachers' Forum hasbeen renamed as Jammu KashmirTeachers' Joint Action Committeewith immediate effect.

This was announced VinodSharma, president of JammuKashmir Teachers' Joint ActionCommittee (JKTJAC) and erst-while JKRETF, while addressing apress conference, here today.

He said that this step has beentaken in the backdrop ofGovernment's decision to close

ReT scheme and to convert regu-larised ReTs to Teachers Grade IIand Teachers Grade III. JKTJACconsists of Teachers Grade II ,Teachers Grade III, 3rd teachers,left out ReTs and other teachers andleadership of the same will workwith quite dedication to come up tothe expectations of the teachingcommunity, he added.

On the occasion, genuineissues of the cadre were also raised,which include; conversion of leftout teachers and newly regularisedReTs to Teachers Grade II /Teachers Grade III as they are with-out salary for last one year and fac-ing a lot of hardship to make theirboth ends.

Vinod Sharma also lamentedthat the IGNOU authorities havenot revoked the order of cancella-tion of papers till date thereby cre-ating a chaos and confusion among

the B Ed aspirants. "Though, weheld one day peaceful protest atJammu on 16.01.2020 and gaveone week ultimatum but nothinghas been done so for and if theorder of cancellation of B Edpapers isn't revoked before30.01.2020, a future course ofaction regarding the protest demon-stration will be announced and forsuch decision IGNOU authoritieswill be solely responsible," hewarned.

JKTJAC leader also appealedthe Lt Governor G C Murmu to

resolve the long pending issues ofthe cadre such as: inclusion of 5years ReT period for seniority ben-efits, comprehensive transfer policyfor Teachers Grade II, TeachersGrade III and 3rd Teachers whohave been working in the sameschools for last more than 15 years,release pay arrears of regularisedReTs under SMAGRA.

Others, who were present onthe occasion, included SukhdevSingh Sumbria, Chief Coordinator;Gulzabir Daing, vice president;Rajesh Jamwal, ProvincialPresident; Sham Sharma, SukeshKhajuria, Naresh Sharma , LekhRaj Parihar, Subash Chander ,Mahesh Kumar, Surjit Singh,Ravinder Singh, Anita Kiran, Sabir, Ashiq Jaral, Hamiet Wani, ManojSharma, Syed Mumtaz Hussainand Mohd Amin Magrey.

JKTJAC leaders addressing a press conference at Jammu onMonday. -Excelsior/ Rakesh

Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam inaugurating VideoConferencing facility for inmates at Amphalla Jail in Jammu onMonday.

CS inaugurates Video ConferencingFacility for inmates at Amphalla Jail

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 27: ChiefSecretary, BVR Subrahmanyaminaugurated Video ConferencingFacility for jail inmates at theDistrict Jail Amphalla.

Chief Secretary complimentedthe inmates for getting this facilitywhich will reduce the distancesbetween the inmates and theirfamilies as they could now interactwith each other without coveringlong distances.

He also inspected various sec-tions of the jail includingInterview Room facility, JailProduct's Display, Manufactoryand Jail Hospital.

He was informed that thePrison Department has been pro-viding correctional programmeswhich include educational andvocational trainings, recreationalprogrammes, psychiatric consulta-tion etc. Besides the products man-ufactured in the prison are put tosale at the department's retail out-let and through various exhibi-tions.

Meanwhile, a cultural functionto celebrate the Republic Day wasalso held in the jail premises whereseveral cultural items were pre-sented by the jail inmates and the

jail staff.Speaking on the occasion,

Chief Secretary complimented theinmates and jail staff for the cultur-al performances. He said it was awonderful experience to witnessso much talent of the inmates.

He also appreciated J&KPrisons Department for impartingprofessional skills of weaving, tai-loring, and handicrafts to the jailinmates.

He said that jails are meant forcorrection where inmates are sup-posed to shun their past and start anew future so as to live a normallife as a good citizen of this coun-try.

On the occasion, a 90 secondsshort film on J&K PrisonsDepartment was also playedwhich showcased several correc-tional services being provided tothe inmates.

The cultural programme wasalso witnessed by DirectorGeneral of Police, Prisons, J&K,VK Singh; DIG Prisons, M SLone; SSP District Jail KotBhalwal, Dinesh Sharma;Superintendent, District JailApmphalla, Saleem AhmadBeigh, Jail officers, Jail inmatesand their families.

Legal Metrology imposes Rs 75000 fine on surgical company

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 27: LegalMetrology, Consumer ProtectionJammu has challaned M/sBectinson Dickinson surgicalcompany for Rs 75000 for notadhering to mandatory declara-tions.

As vide latest amendmentsissued in January 2018 inPackaged Commodities Rules2011, the surgical medical deviceswhich were earlier exempted havenow been brought under the ambitof the department and made themmandatory to declare MRP, PKD,Net contents, manufactureraddress, consumer helpline num-ber etc, the department in a driveconducted during last six monthsbooked several companies dealingwith surgical items and medicines.

Those booked were M/S Pointof Care Biomedical PrivateLimited, Gujarat; M/s MedicarePharmaceuticals and ChemicalCivision; M/s Bectison DickinsonMedical (s) Pvt Ltd, Singapore;

M/sTynor orthotics, Mohali; M/sColoplast India Pvt Ltd, M/sPerfect urine Pot, Ludhiana;M/shanimex Thermometer, Solan;Perfect Surgical Karnal; M/s RGIMeditech Pvt ltd, Noida; M/sVision Parenteral Pvt Ltd,Gorakhpur; M/s LDR Associated,Gandhi Nagar; M/s Pearl MedicalAids and Equipments, Samba andothers.

A total of 3 lakh fine wasimposed on 11 defaulters whilemanagement of M/s MedicarePharmaceuticals and ChemicalDivision and M/s Point of CareBiomedical Pvt Ltd, Gujarat wereput on notice.

Meanwhile, the departmentalso fined Rs 50000 to M/s JKWhite cement, Kanpur for notreducing PRP and passing on thebenefit of tax reduction to the con-sumers due to abolishment ofLakhanpur Toll Plaza. Later, man-agement of the company compliedwith the directions and reduced Rs47 on MRP on 40 kg JK WallPutty bag.

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