Srinagar, Apr 8 : Two foreign mil-itants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and three security personnel were killed in more than 13-hour-long encounter in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district.According to the details received by KNS, police had received a tipoff about the presence of mil-itants in one of the village of Kupwara. A joint operation was launched by the police and Army and search operation as started at Zoonreshi village in Chowkibal late. The officials stated that the militants were in their hide-out.During the evening of April 7, exchange of fire between secu-rity forces and militants started during which two militants were killed. Officials stated that the identity of the slain militants is being ascertained but the reports confirm that the duo belonged to

the militant outfit LeT and are for-eigners.However during the gun battle, two state

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WEDNESDAY 09 April | 2014 | 08 Jamadi-Ul-Thani 1435 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 4 | ISSUE NO: 98 | 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

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FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

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

Partly cloudy sky. Maximum &Minimum temperatures will be around 15°C & 04°C respectively.

Inside story

On Edit Page

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Health criticism is welcome but not personal attacks

Democracy gives the right to expres-sion to every citizen of the country and it is this right which allows ev-erybody to express his views through his words, ballot and the way he wants to form and reform the society. It gives equal opportunity to every-body to contest, to vote or not to vote. However the word parliamentary it-self speaks volumes about the way of expression and the behavior a person adopts. It does not allow anybody to indulge in abusive language, charac-ter assassination, passing filthy re-

Leaves for India as Army Officer Governor visits Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine

PG 06 PG 11 PG 06

Trooper dies of cardiac arrest in Pulwama

American based forum hired 3 Kashmiri Journalists

for Documentary

REASI, APRIL 08-As a part of an ex-ercise by the Election Commission of India to train the polling staff, en-trusted with election duty, regarding the functioning of the electronic vot-ing machines (EVMs), a training pro-gramme was conducted at Reasi here today by master trainers in presence of District Election Officer Dr Shahid Iqbal, Assistant Returning Officer-58 Tilak Raj Sharma and Assistant Re-

Attends Karan’s Show

NC won’t let BJP touch Article 370

PDP traded interests of state for power: Sagar

Mirwaiz writes open letter to the people of India

Omar, Dr. Farooq address rally in Bakshipora

Are arrogant politicians above the law of the land?Is their highhandedness leading to debase & erode election commission’s authority?

2 militants, 3 cops killed in Kupwara

encounter

Divisive forces to be fought tooth & nail

Inquiry initiated against doctors taking freebies: Govt

EVM training for pollstaff held at Reasi

From Our Special Correspondent

Srinagar, April 08: The refusal of Mamta Bannerjee, Chief Minis-ter of West Bengal to transfer the officers whose shifting was sought by the election commission as it did in other states has once again proved that arrogant politicians are bent upon to debase the elec-tion authority and indulge in elec-toral malpractices wherever and whenever they want in one form or the other. Though the commis-sion has taken a tough stand and

threatened to cancel the election process in that state if its orders are not followed still the posture adopted by Ms Bannerjee is in-dicative of the intensions of some politicians who think themselves

above law. The West Bengal Chief Minister has not acted in a dictato-rial way for the first time and tried to take law in her hand but she has done it several times before in some other cases. She does not al-low media to criticize her and uses all ways cohesion to suppress the voices of dissent within and out-side her party. This time she has taken on election commission and tried to dictate her terms to the commission as far as her favour-ites are concerned. However, the commission has to see that no of-ficial connected with poll process

should act as an agent of a particu-lar political party or a candidate. It is not Mamta Bannerjee only. Take the example of a so called crusader against corruption Arivind Kejri-

wal who has even threatened even media several times that he will take them to task if he comes to power at the

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Omar condoles death of

Slain personnelSrinagar, April 08: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday of-fered condolences to the fam-ilies of policemen and army officer killed in night-long Kupwara gunfight and prayed for ‘speedy recovery’ of in-jured.Omar wrote on micro-blog-ging twitter site: “My condo-lences to the

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Doda-Kishtwar, Apr 8: Caution-ing the people to beware from di-visive forces that are hell bent to create chaos and confusion among the innocent public, just to grab power, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday described erstwhile Doda district as minia-ture of Secular India. He also said that “Only those nations prosper, where secularism exists.”According to a statement issued to KNS, he pointed out that the mis-information campaign started by BJP particularly against Congress party-much before the announce-ment of Lok Sabha elections- is knocking down day by day as it had no existence on the ground. Ghulam Nabi Azad who is con-testing Lok Sabha elections from Doda-Udhampur Parliamentary constituency, during his campaign on Chopper service in the higher

reaches including Thaathri, Bhel-la, Shiva, Kilhotran, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, Doda and Malothi of Doda and Kishtwar districts addressed various public meet-ings and said that much before the announcements of Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) started propaganda to divert the attention of the masses, which they call wave in befooling the peo-ple, now evident nowhere.Lambasting BJP for its lust to come in power by hoodwinking the innocent people

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Secularism is the strength of a prosperous nations: Azad

We now know who Modi's friends in

Kashmir are: OmarSrinagar, Apr 8: National Con-ference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Working Pres-ident NC and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressed an impressive public meeting in Bakshipora today.Speaking on the occasion Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that National Conference would not allow Narendra Modi and BJP to touch Article 370 leave

alone think of its abrogation or dilution. BJP's intentions to-wards the people of Jammu & Kashmir are very clear now, as their manifesto has proven be-yond any doubt that Narendera Modi can never be a friend of J&K.Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that the same people who played a role in the erosion of J&K's Au-tonomy and facilitated the sab-otage of democratically elected governments were now sing-ing different tunes in different garbs. There can be

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Surankote-Poonch, Apr 8: Patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said that a strong wind is blowing in favour of PDP in whole State. He said that on-going Parliamentary elections are going to be proved as waterloo for Congress and National Conference in the country.According to a statement issued to KNS, addressing huge public gath-erings at Surankote and Poonch in

favour of party candidate Yash Pal Sharma on the last day of the campaign-ing for first phase of elections in J&K, Mufti said that over-whelm-ing response to the PDP is a clear indication that party is going to make history in the Parliamentary elec-tions. Seeking a decisive mandate of the people to get them rid from

the yoke of scandalous, inept and corrupt National Con-ference-Congress coalition regime, Mufti said that this government has proved as non-performing liability on the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that it is high time to intensify the

campaign for change in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that

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NC-Cong coalition exposed, no takers of hallow slogans”PDP is going to make history in Parliament elections: Mufti

Srinagar, Apr 8: Maintaining that the PDP has always traded the interests of the state for pow-er without caring for the people, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats and senior Na-tional Conference leaderAli Mo-hammad Sagar today said that now the leaders of the party in a state of hypocrisy are desperately trying hard to project themselves as well wishers of the people for

their ulterior political motives, but the people of the state are well aware of the fact that these forces have always preferred their inter-ests over those of state and have been responsible for inflicting miseries on them.Sagar was addressing a series of public rallies and road shows in different areas of Shopian Dis-trict, which

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Srinagar, Apr 8: Chairman Huriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Fa-rooq in an open letter addressed to the people of India has stated that after the general elections, here must be a serious, result-oriented and time-bound process of dialogue between the leadership of India, Pakistan and Jammu & Kashmir for the early settle-ment of Kashmir issue.According to the details received by KNS, Mirwaiz in a four page letter ti-

tled an ‘An open letter to the people of India’ stated, “We urge you to rec-ognize that the Kashmir Issue is not a peripheral or isolated issue. You must understand and become seized of this important matter. In the past we made many attempts to reach out to you personally and aprise you of the Kashmir issue and the grim situation on ground, but all these efforts were thwarted by use of brute force and hooliganism and on may occasions we

were manhandled. The Kashmir Issue continues to destroy life and obliter-ate the rights and aspirations of our people in Kashmir who desire only to live free, peaceful and dignified lives. The continuation of this tragic conflict is also a direct threat to your interests and well-being as a people. In one way or another, this tragic conflict directly affects all of the other issues that are currently

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Says Kashmir conflict a threat to stability of South Asia

Srinagar, April 08: The state govern-ment has initiated inquiry against doctors named in a Public Interest Litigation to have taken freebies and gifts from phar-maceutical companies for prescribing their medicine. This was revealed by the government before a division bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Justice Hasnain Massodi and D S Thakur while submitting ‘statement of facts’ in compli-ance to previous directions from the court.According to GNS, the PIL was filed last year by three persons—

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Srinagar, April 08: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel Tuesday died of heart attack in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.Constable Jitender Kumar (33-year old) of 182 Bn of CRPF suffered the cardiac arrest during duty at camp in Pulwama, officials said.He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead, they said.Kumar who belonged to Bijnour, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and his body has been sent to his native village, the official said. (GNS)

Srinagar, April 08, 2014: In the first of its significant develop-ment, three Kashmiri based young Journalists have been asked by an American based prestigious Peace and Activism Group to make a documentary entitled as ‘Peace and Hope’.Apart from working with other local and national Newspapers the trio comprising of Rameez Makh-doomi, Ajaz Ahmad War and Bilal Bashir Bhat are presently running separate News portals Kashmir Media Watch and Only Kashmir respectively.The three journalists via their power of pen have made a mark by writing on diverse issues of Hu-man concern and have displayed their intellectual dynamism on various forums and platforms.The documentary titled ‘Peace and Hope’ will be the first of its kind as scripted by the trio. It is learnt that work on shooting the

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11 Srinagar, Wednesday 09 April 2014 Zabarwan Times

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

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Owner , Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik Editor -in-Chief: Shahana Malik RNI NO. JKBII/2011/39764, Email: zabarwantimes@gmail.com 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

FOR GENRAL INFORMATIONI had lost my registration certificate of JK03B 0228 vehicle Tata Sumo Model 2008 while travel-ing from Mattan Ada to Sherbagh Anantnag some-where. Now I had applied for the duplicate of my RC, if anyone having any complaint regarding the above may contact in written with ARTO Anantnag within a period of seven days from the publication of notice in the daily newspaper.From: Dilshada Akther Kanue D/O Ab Rehman Kanue R/O Gulshanabad Sarnal Anantnag.

centre or again at Delhi. He even disregarded the countries Republic Day and sat on Dharna saying that his Dharna was more important because some lower rung policemen did not take the commands of one of his minister’s who ordered them to arrest an Afri-can Women on fake charges of indulging in unethical practices. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIAD-MK chief Jayalalita has also beaten all records of ar-rogance while dealing with her opponents including the former Chief Minister Karuna Nidhi who was lit-erary picked up and thrown in a vehicle while being taken into custody. This is not the question of some politicians only. In fact the politicians after coming to limelight become so arrogant that they even forget the basics of parliamentary system of government where every individual has certain rights and duties. This is the arrogance of these politicians which leads to large scale bungling and scandals as they know that even if they are booked, the cases will go lingering for years together and ultimately they will be set free by the ju-dicial system in absence of the proof and witnesses. It is said that absolute power makes absolutely corrupt, hence whatever they, they do it in contrast to what they are supposed to do. However, when they try to debase, disregard and degrade the statutory and con-stitutional bodies, it is evident that one day or the oth-er their actions will result in anarchy and the whole country will stand in disarray and divided. The elec-tion commission has the responsibility of holding free and fair elections hence it has to put its foot down to accomplish its job for which it has the mandate of the constitution and the people of this country. It has to create a cordial atmosphere, free of any cohesion and intimidation so that the democratic process is taken to its logical conclusion in the country and nobody is allowed to create hurdles or impediments. It is not the question of shifting of some officers but it is the ques-tion of propriety, authority, discipline and the respect of this constitutional body which is at stake when some arrogant politician tries to wear down its authority. If this is allowed the commission will lose its credibili-ty and nobody will trust its fairness in conducting the elections. The commission has also to see that places like North Eastern states and Jammu & Kashmir go to polls in such an atmosphere that everybody trusts the outcome of the polling as barring 2008 Assembly Elec-tions, it has always been rigging and rigging in what-ever the elections were held in Jammu & Kashmir. It was in the name of security and law and order that the commission was taken on a ride and compelled to keep its eyes shut on whatever was done by the politicians in the name of elections. The people of the state are watching each and every activity and they want that their vote should be a decider and should have the val-ue in electing their representatives and not the stooges who come to power with the help of rigging indulged by the same kind of officials for whom the west Ben-gal chief Minister has decided to take on the election commission.

police and one army personnel were killed. Inspector General of Police (IGP) A.G. Mir told KNS over phone that two militants and three security personnel were killed during the gun battle. “Both the militants killed belonged to LeT. During the encounter three of our boys, two from the state police and one from the army were martyred.”Reportedly one Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the state police and a constable were also injured during the fierce gun battle. The unconfirmed reports also stated that one civilian and two more army personnel were also injured.According to a statement issued by PRO defence, the operation to flush out militants from the house was conducted deliberately to avoid any collateral dam-age. “One Junior Commissioned Officer of Army and two personnel of SOG attained martyrdom during the operations while there were others who sustained mi-nor injuries. The militants were identified as Vilayat Khan, Divisional Commander Haphruda and Abu Ka-sha. Both the militants belong to LeT. Two AK 47 rifles were recovered from the site. The search of the nearby houses and the adjoining jungle area is underway.” Meanwhile in south Kashmir’s Anantnag area, a police personal was critically injured after unknown gunman shot him. The area is scheduled for polling on April 24. Officials stated that the injured police man was shifted to Srinagar hospital for the treatment. (KNS)

families of the martyred police & army personnel of the Kupwara encounter & prayers for speedy recovery of injured.”In of the fiercest encounters of year 2014, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of army, two cops of po-lice’s Special Operation Group (SOG) and two uniden-tified militants were killed at Zunreshi Chowkibal in border district of Kupwara while six police personal, an army man and a woman sustained injuries. (GNS)

of the country, Azad said that “the population of Chen-ab valley that comprises the Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and Banihal belts is a symbol of secularism. It is the united effort of people who have strengthened secular-ism in this belt which has further helped in initiating developmental works here. Only secularism can ensure development.” He called upon the people to counter the divisive moves of certain political parties, which are least bothered about the addressing the miseries of the people and instead they (political parties) have just one hidden agenda i.e. to befool the people on the name of religion and caste and exploit their votes. He appealed the people to cast their votes to strengthen the secular forces.“Number of Hydro power projects worth thousands of crores of rupees has been made functional while num-ber of such projects is in the process of its completion

and shall be made functional in near future. Numer-ous projects of new roads are underway. Thousands of persons have been provided employment under MNREGA. These are some pointers to the fact that Congress at centre and NC-Congress coalition govern-ment here in Jammu and Kashmir have been consis-tently working for the overall development of the state especially the hilly and far-flung belts of the state,” highlighted Ghulam Nabi Azad further adding that “through these projects we have tried to provide em-ployment avenues to the poor people of these hilly ar-eas. We must thank Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who ensured record development in Jammu and Kashmir.”“Congress has never be-fooled the people; it’s pres-ence was always at grass roots level and will remain in future as well, with its commitment and dedication to-wards welfare of the people”, said Ghulam Nabi Azad further adding, “Using different means as a bait to get the votes, but what matters is the work and develop-ment for the general public which gets counted”.He said that Congress party is seeking the votes on the developmental plank to make the nation prosperous on the ideology of the secularism where all are equal in every dimension, rather than opting for the policy to disintegrate the people on the basis of caste creed and colour.Talking about the state’s development, Ghulam Nabi Azad highlighted that the Congress-NC coalition gov-ernment led by chief minister Omar Abdullah, with the backing of UPA has brought a revolution in vari-ous sectors including health, education, farming, road connectivity, Industry and creation of new adminis-trative units. Yet despite that some political parties, in a lust to grab power are hell bent to divert the at-tention of the people and cautioned the people not to fall prey to the propagandas of such parties, who will destabilize the peace and prosperity."Crores have been spent for the construction of num-ber of new roads under Prime Minister Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) as well as Central Road Fund (CRF) to ensure every hilly and remote village is connected with each other. Besides, number of such construction works are under way and would be completed soon, which would help to eradicate the problems of local populace to a large extent. In hilly areas, develop-mental works takes a lot of time. But even then, the developmental works are on and would be completed soon, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, further adding that "It is Congress party which, keeping in view the problems and plight of the people have initiated people oriented projects. There has been record development in the past 10 years' rule of Congress led UPA-I and UPA-II.

PDP is contesting Parliament elections with a vision-ary agenda to change destiny of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “We have fielded trusted and genuine candidates for the Parliamentary seats so that issues related to the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be effectively and vociferously taken up in the Par-liament”, he said and added that a vote in favour of PDP would harbinger a new era of peace, growth and development in Jammu and Kashmir. “After 2002 Assembly elections PDP had proved how to translate promises into reality”, he said while recalling histori-cal steps taken after formation of PDP led coalition in the State to restore peace and to accelerate develop-mental activities.Mufti especially mentioned that PDP led coalition, without compromising with the dignity of the peo-ple of the State, had pursued the reconciliatory pro-cess which was endorsed by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpyee and his successor Dr Manmohan Singh. He further said that PDP led regime had not only removed a number of misconceptions but also managed economic package for the development of the State without bartering wishes of the people. He mentioned towards financing of various developmen-tal projects by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the State during that tenure. He, however, regret-ted that the present dispensation headed by National Conference has miserable failed to carry forward the process of peace and development-which was initi-ated by the previous regime. “What to say of further consolidating the reconciliatory and peace initiatives made by the PDP led government, this coalition re-gime has even reversed the whole process through its wrong policies”, he said. He said that successive Na-tional Conference regimes were responsible for creat-ing mistrust between people of Jammu and Kashmir and rest of the country. “Instead of properly project-ing aspirations and wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, successive NC governments in the State have brazenly bartered interests of people for the lust of power” he said, adding, “Since 1947 NC leadership has been compromising with wishes of the people and changing its stance from the time to time for power and this is main reason of mistrust between residents of Jammu and Kashmir rest of the country”. “Facing credibility crises NC leadership has failed to prove itself as true representative of the people of Jammu and Kashmir before rest of the country”, he observed. “National Conference-Congress Coalition Govern-ment stands exposed for its non-performance and there are no takers for its hollow slogans now”, he said and added that this regime has reneged on almost all the promises made with the people during 2008 As-sembly elections. Observing that opening of LoC for crossing and trade was a biggest achievement of PDP government, he emphasized that besides initiating steps to boost cross LoC trade, facility of visiting both sides of LoC should not be confined only to divided families. “There should be free movement of people from both sides of Kashmir”, he demanded. Terming opening of points on LoC as most significant CBM since 1947, Mufti that opening of Uri-Muzafferabad and Poonch-Rawlakote roads has liberated people of Jammu and Kashmir from seize which they had been facing after partition of the countryWhile reminding the people about steps taken by the PDP regime to complete work on Mugal road, he told the people that Poonch would be soon emerged as “Gateway of Kashmir” and this belt would be a biggest business centre of this sub-continent. He reminded that during the regime of PDP-Congress various steps were taken for the development of this land locked border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Party candi-date Yash Pal Sharma, Muzaffar Bazi, Rafiq Hussain Khan, MLA Mendhar, Choudhary Hussain Ali Wafa,

Nizam-ud-Din Khatana, Hamid Manhas, Shah Mo-hammad Tantray, Imtayaz Banday, Shahzad Khan, Advocate Nadeem Khan, advocate Majid, Haji Munir, advocate Maroof, Wasim Khan, Mohi-ud-Din Poswal, Ishfiq ur Reham Poswal, Waza Khan, Mohamamd Ashraf, Shamim Ganai, Advocate Zaman, Choudhary Javid, Mohinder Dawar, Amar Singh Josh, Bhushan Bhalla, Naresh Sharma, Akbar Hussain, Taj Hussain Shah, Ghulam Mohiuddin Malik, Mohan Singh Mas-tana, Gurmeet Singh, Basant Ram Sharma, Bashir Ahmed Khaki, Sardar Raghubir Singh, Prem Sudan, Tanvir Dar, Shahzad Chouhan, Zarina Akthar, An-mol Singh, Avtar Singh and others also addressed the meetings. (KNS)

no compromise on the State's identity, despite the ink-pot brigade's covert tactical understanding with the BJP on this matter.Speaking on the occasion Working President Nation-al Conference and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the coming parliamentary elections were centered around the protection of the very ideals that form the bedrock of India's secularism and inclusivity. Omar Abdullah said that Narendra Modi had repeatedly asserted that he has friends from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari and one couldn't help but wonder who Modi's friends in Kashmir could possibly be. Today, we have our answer - Modi's friends in Kashmir are the leaders of the ink-pot brigade. Omar Abdullah said that the National Conference and Congress alliance was our attestation of the fact that Rahul Gandhi was a young and sincere friend of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and a validation of our ideology of integrity and secularism. We see in Rahul Gandhi a leader who believes in inclusiveness, equita-ble growth and reconciliation with isolated sections of our society, unlike Narendra Modi who has revealed his tendency to communally polarize this country for political power.The public meeting was attended by thousands of men and women from Batamaloo Constituency and Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were welcomed with pro National Conference slogans upon their ar-rival at the venue.

included Moosasahib, Kralcheck, Machwar, Keller, Chewan, Zambipathri, Pahalpora, Nasirpora, Zaak-kan, Guthipora,Katjwalan,Nationall,KManloo,KZa-woora,Wiyho,Nazneenpora and Check Keegan Panch / Sarpanchs, leaders of National Conference and other prominent persons from different fields of life partici-pated in the road shows. Asking PDP to recall history, Sagar said that the peo-ple of the valley are well aware of the fact that their patron was instrumental in ensuring the extension of certain Acts to the state, which have been responsible for inflicting miseries and hardships on the masses. He said now they in a state of desperation are trying to project themselves as well wishers of the people, but their basic motive is to garb power for tormenting the masses by their sadist agenda.Coming down heavily on the statement of PDP presi-dent regarding employment, Sagar said that the gov-ernment has provided jobs to more than 51,000 youth, besides providing jobs and to more than 18,000 in Himmayat, Udaan and under SKEWPY more than 72, 000 others were imparted skills for staring up their own entrepreneurial units, so that they can contribute their bit in generating jobs. ”We are aware of the fact that the youth of the state have to be channelized and have done accordingly by taking the necessary steps ,whereas PDP has done nothing during their tenure in power except lip service and sugar coated lies”, he added. Referring to achievements registered by the gov-ernment in various spheres of life, Sagar said that growing popularity of the present coalition has in-duced sense desperation and frustration in the cadres of PDP, which has triggered a panic reaction in them and they have started spreading lies and false propa-ganda. “The people of the state are wise enough to understand their mechanizations and would give a befitting reply to these forces of chaos and confusion, whose leaders are known for their dubious role in the political circles of the state as they can go to any extent to further their lust for power and propagation of their personal agendas”, he addedMr. Sagar further maintained that the NC has always projected and safeguarded the interests of the state and its people without caring for political gains and power. “ It is a recorded history that, NC has rendered innumerable sacrifices and people are well aware of it and the recent measures taken for the socio-econom-ic upliftment, decentralization of powers to the grass root level have been instrumental in ensuring appre-ciable changes in the rural landscape in particular and state as a whole, which include providing employment to them at their doorsteps and involving people at the grass root level in day to day governance by setting up of a empowered and vibrant Panchayati Raj System”, he added.

Naseer Ahmad Shah, Lateef Panjabi and Imtiyaz Ahmad Shah— following reports in section of press, highlighting nexus between the doctors and pharma companies offering and taking “cash, freebies, kick-back or gifts for prescribing medicines of Macro Lab Ltd.”The petitioner have alleged in the PIL that Dr. Ab-dul Majeed Wani (Gastroenterologist), Dr. Jawaid A Zargar (senior ENT specialist), Dr. FA Peerzada (Physician) and Dr Firdous Ahmad Vaid took free-bies and claimed to have proof against them.Meanwhile, the division bench of the court on pe-rusal of statement of facts said that it reveal that Secretary Health and Medical Education Depart-ment has issued a circular whereby doctors prac-ticing in the field of medicine have been prohibited from receiving freebies/gifts from the pharmaceuti-cal companies.Likewise pharmaceutical companies have been asked not to make any arrangements for tours of doctors within or outside the country.“We direct Secretary Health and Medical Education to locate statutory provisions under which circular

has been issued so that the circular has a binding ef-fect and disciplinary proceedings are initiated against the erring doctors,” the court said. The petitioners have demanded initiation of ac-tion against the doctors who are involved in the commission and omission of offenses besides cancellation of their licenses.The petitioners also demand ascertaining assets and constitution of taskforce to look into such type of offences.Besides they also seek black listing of the compa-nies who are offering cash, freebies or Kickbacks and also action against the representatives who are promoting.The petitioners also seek imparting of moral ed-ucation to medical students during their training in medical training. Pertinently, following media reports on August 21 last year, Government had constituted a 3-mem-ber team to inquire the allegations levelled against doctors who received freebies from Micro-Labs Bangalore for prescribing their medicine.The team comprised of HOD Medicine Dr. Saima Bhat, Medical Superintendent (SMHS), Nazir Ah-mad Chowdary and Registrar Government Medi-cal College Srinagar, Dr. Wasim Khalid.After the panel submitted its report, Dr. Abdul Majeed Wani was attached to the office of the Principal GMC College.Principal Medical College, Dr. Qazi Masood Ah-mad had told GNS that there is a specific media report about Dr. Majid having received freebies from Micro-Labs and “we have initiated a depart-mental enquiry into the issue.”Documents reveal that the renowned Gastroen-terologist, Dr. Majeed has purchased sanitary items of rupees 40,000 which company has reim-bursed them for prescribing Clariwin, Pulmoxyl and Moxigram range. (GNS)

being discussed and debated during the election sea-son in India. You have a direct stake in seeing that a just and lasting resolution of the Kashmir Issue is reached. The conflict is not only a threat to millions of Kashmiris, it is a serious hazard for the entire one bil-lion plus population of India and for the population of the entire region. There is no better time than now to press your representatives to exercise their leadership to resolve the Kashmir Issue.”Mirwaiz also urged the people that they must ask their leaders why after so many decades, military approaches have failed to resolve the Kashmir is-sue. He added that as on date, Kashmir conflict is a direct threat to the security and stability of the entire region. It is the main driver of militarization and regional instability and there is every possibil-ity that the situation could escalate and worsen in the coming years. The Huriyat Chief stated that if GOI continues to avoid a political solution to the conflict, if it insists on continuation of the same ‘unjust and hegemonic’ approaches, it will spell disaster for the region. “This beaten path has already proved to be a policy failure long back. Delaying a political solution has made the situation more insecure and unstable and the conflict has only become more dangerous with time.” (KNS)

documentary would begin soon and it is expected to be released by mid June/July 2014. The documenta-ry is expected to focus on numerous positive para-digms of Humanity and ethos of Kashmir. In account of the documentary the trio is scheduled to visit various places within Jammu and Kashmir.Notingly, Kashmir Peace Network: Planting Seeds of Peace in Kashmir is a non-profit, non-political ad-vocacy group, advocating non-violence and peaceful strategy for conflict resolution.Pertinent to mention here, the trio in 2012 along with other dozens of Young Journalists of Valley formu-lated an association “Jammu and Kashmir Young Journalist Association” which works to address the problems faced by the media fraternity especially the young media professionals who usually face tough times at the start of their career. (GNS)

SRINAGAR | TUESDAY, APRIL | 08| 2014Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS

Take a break from your routine, Libra. You might feel like you’re leading an army into battle as you strive for new adven-tures and conquer new realms. Make sure you take a bit of time out today to stop and let your troops rest. You deserve a little rest yourself. Use this moment of stillness to form your plan of attack so you’re sure about how to proceed.

The key for you is to minimize your daily drama as much as possible, Scorpio. You may not realize how much you cripple your-self by the way you exaggerate every aspect of your life. Try not to give so much of your attention to things that really don’t matter much. Petty jealousy and gossip about other people’s lives are es-pecially irrelevant in your world.

Be careful of advertising yourself as someone who is so strong and mentally competent that you’re capable of handling every-thing, Sagittarius. Take note that the strongest mule on the trail usually ends up carrying the most weight. Your emotions are more sensitive than you may think, and certainly more than you demonstrate to others. Be honest about the way you feel and not just the way you think.

Things should flow well for you today with very little ef-fort on your part, Capricorn. Take note that if any quarrel arises, it’s an indication that the person you’re arguing with isn’t nec-essarily the right person to deal with or confide in. Emotional issues are likely to be the hardest ones to overcome, but this shouldn’t be a problem for you. You have the ability to work through these like a pro.

This is meant to be a nice, relaxing day, so treat it as such, Aquarius. There’s no need for you to plan any great strategy at this time. Try to take it easy and not indulge in any unnecessary stress. This is your time to enjoy the moment. Don’t tax your mind by overanalyzing everything that comes your way. Go with the flow and have a great time regardless of what you end up doing.

Your sensual nature is heightened, Pisces, and you’ll find yourself engaged in tender moments and languid peacefulness in the company of others. Soothe your soul by letting yourself slip into situations that give you the emotional freedom to do or say whatever comes to mind. Life should be like a love poem written by a great master. Accept the good energy that comes your way.

Your sixth sense is right on target, Virgo, so trust your instincts today. You’re likely to connect with someone in a wonderful partnership that will help you foster the very plan you want to develop now. Stay close to those things that resonate strongly with your morals. The answer is in front of you; you don’t have to search too far afield in order to find it.

Allow your eager and restless nature to express itself in ways other than through the spoken word, Aries. Show someone that you care through your gentle touch or a big bear hug. Hold on a little bit more tightly than you might normally. There’s an unspo-ken understanding that comes when you communicate through nothing but pure silence. Work on developing this kind of connec-tion with those closest to you.

This is a terrific day for you, Taurus. You should find that your relationships, especially with men, go exceptionally well. Your tender and extremely sensitive nature is finally being recognized as the treasure chest it is. There are many times in which this type of personality is seen as weak, yet today is one of those times in which you’re given the full credit you deserve.

A selfish attitude on your part won’t be tolerated today, re-gardless of the circumstances, Gemini. Don’t make it worse for yourself by pretending that you don’t notice others’ hurt feelings. People are likely to be extra sensitive today, so be careful about trying to impose your will on someone who really wants nothing more than an ear to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.

You could find the hardest person to face is you, Cancer. You tend toward introspection, and you may find yourself shrinking into self-recrimination. You could analyze the important people in your life and yet fail to address the one you really need to look at – you. As you continually strive for perfection, give yourself proper credit. Do something nice for yourself today.

Take advantage of the creative energy in the air today, Leo. Keep your hands moving and your imagination flowing toward something fun and artistic. If you begin to doubt your work, you may fall down a spiral of creative blockage. Don’t get into the habit of constantly judging the quality or outcome of your work. Give yourself free rein to open up and explore whatever comes to mind.

POONCH, APRIL 08-To review the security preparedness in district Poonch for elections to Lok Sabha, in 06-Jammu Parliamentary Constitu-ency, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shan-tamanu, today chaired a meet-ing of officers at Dakbunglow Poonch.

The Di-visional Com-missioner im-pressed upon the police, cen-tral paramilitary forces, zonal, sectoral officers and area magistrates to ensure coordination in order to ensure free and fair elections. He di-rected the district administration to ensure that the communication plan

works without fail. He also discussed the contingency plan for polling sta-tions near the border and their relo-cation into safer areas in case of any

exigency.Meanwhile IGP Jammu, Rajesh

Kumar, also directed the Police personal to ensure area domina-tion and ceiling of borders to stop

entry of undesirable elements into the district and remain extra vigilant.

Amongst others, Inspector

General of CRPF, District Election Of-ficer, Poonch, Deputy Inspector Gen-eral of Police Rajouri-Poonch Range, Deputy Inspector General of CRPF and SP Poonch , attended the meeting.

SRINAGAR, APRIL 08: In continuation with 39th World Ar-bor Day, a plantation drive was launched today by the Forest Department as a part of avenue plantation for beautification of Srinagar city.On the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Sri-nagar, Mr. Farooq Ahmad Shah planted a Deodar sapling at Rawalpora Bund Srinagar.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shah said that plantation is necessary for making environment healthy and pollution free. He was informed that Forest Department has taken up the ornamental plant plantation programme across the Sri-nagar city.

Deputy Commissioner also directed various departments to co-ordinate with the Forest Department for raising qual-ity plants and proper selection of species for beautification of avenues and highways.

Conservator of Forests Srinagar Circle, Mr. Farooq Ahmad Geelani, Divisional Forest Officer Urban Forestry Srinagar, Ha-kim Mukhtar Ahmad and NGO, Nazir Be Nazir also planted Deodar and Conifer trees on the occasion.

Among others, senior officers of District Administration and Forest Department besides senior Citizen of the area were present on the occasion.

Plantation of ornamental plants for beautifying

Srinagar begins

Div Com reviews security arrangements in Poonch

KATRA, APRIL 8 - Mr. N.N. Vohra, Governor, who is the Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, paid obei-sance at the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji today, on the auspicious occasion of Ramanavami, and spent several hours in reviewing the various ongoing development works of the Shrine Board.

The Governor, accompa-nied by Mr. H. L. Maini, Member and Technical Consultant of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Dr. Mandeep K. Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Shri B. Mohandass, Dy CEO, Mr. S. C Gupta, Superintend-ing Engineer of the Shrine Board and other officers of Shrine Board and District Administration, inspected the track, toilets and other facilities during his walk from Sanjichhat to Bhawan. The Governor issued instructions for speeding up the work of retil-ing and widening the track for making the movement of pil-grims more comfortable. He also directed the officer incharge of the Forestry Wing to plant more flowering shrubs and creepers to improve the ambience along the Yatra route and also use more lo-

cal and hardy species which have high soil binding properties.

At the Sanctum Sanc-torum the Governor prayed for peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the State.

Reviewing the ongoing development works in the Shrine area, the Governor asked the CEO

to take immediate measures for remodelling the entire drain-age system, providing a sharper better gradient and covering all the drains effectively. He also di-rected time bound action to ad-equately enlarge the availability of lockers and relocating them in order to avoid decongestion

in the Shrine area. The Governor asked the CEO to draw up a 15-20 year perspective plan for meet-ing the emerging requirements of the pilgrims and the existing facilities expanded, upgraded and modernized on a continuing basis.

The Governor also re-

viewed the pace of progress on the installation of the elevator which will connect the track with Shridhar Bhawan and asked the CEO to ensure against any fur-ther delay in the completion of this project.

During inspection of the Rs.3.80 crore under-construction Pony Stand, the Governor stressed the need to ensure its completion before year end.

While reviewing the ongoing work on the construc-tion of Helipad near Panchhi View Point, the Governor em-phasised the need for speed-ily completing the remaining work and all the related facili-ties being simultaneously put in place so that this facility can be operationalised at the earliest.

On his return journey, the Governor inspected the Lower Track from Bhawan to Adhkuwari and observed that a substantial portion of this Track had been covered with new shelter sheds and fencing had been raised along 9 km. He asked the CEO to take steps for early completion of all the pending works on this Track.

Governor visits Mata Vaishno Devi ShrineCalls for expeditious completion of development works

Info department condoles G M Wani Promote electoral participation through SVEEP: EO JAMMU APRIL 08: The Information Department today convened a condolence meeting,

under the chairmanship of Director Information, Mr Tasaduq Jeelani, to condole the demise of Constable Riyaz Ahmad Lone, Son-in-Law of Information Officer, Mr Ghulam Ahmad Wani who attained martyrdom while fighting militants in Kupwara today.

All the officers, officials of the department conveyed their heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for peace to the departed soul.

The Martyred Police constable Riyaz Ahmad Lone is survived by mother, wife and two children, younger brother and sister.

Malhotra, Gul extend greetings to people on RamnavamiJAMMU, April 08: Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, Mr. Amrit Malhotra

and Speaker, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Mr. Mubarak Gul have extended greet-ings to the people of the State on the eve of Ramnavami.

They prayed for the well-being of the people and hoped that this auspicious day would be the harbinger of peace, progress and prosperity in the State and the Country.

Malhotra, Gul condole demise of mother of KichlooJAMMU, April 08: Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, Mr. Amrit Malhotra

and Speaker, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Mr. Mubarak Gul have condoled the demise of the mother of Minister of State for Home, Mr Sajad Ahmad Kichloo and expressed sympathy and solidarity with the bereaved family.

They expressed grief over her demise and prayed for peace to the departed soul.

KULGAM, APRIL 08: Election Observer, Mr. R.A. Khandelwal has emphasized on strict compliance of Election Commission of India guidelines for ensuring free, fair and transparent polls.Chairing a meeting of Assistant Returning Officers, Nodal Of-ficer and other election related officials at Kulgam today, he called for intensifying SVEEP activities for promoting electoral participation in the forthcoming parliamen-tary polls.The Election Observer highlighted the importance of imparting compre-hensive training to poll personal so that they are made fully acquainted with the operation of EVMs and election procedure.Earlier, District Election Officer, Mr. Je-hangir Mir gave PowerPoint presentation detailing the arrangements put in place for smooth conduct of elections. He said 389 polling stations stand established to fa-cilitate polling for 3,020,604 electorates of 4 Assembly Constituencies of the district.

District Administration Reasi runs door-to-door campaign to motivate women voters

REASI, APRIL 08— With a view to motivate women voters to come out and cast their vote in the coming Lok Sabha elections District administration Reasi under the guidance of District Election Officer Reasi Dr Shahid Iqbal is running a door to door campaign in the district. “Our main focus is on those villages in the district where the turnout of female voters has been less than 15 per cent” District Election Officer (DEO) said adding that help of women connected with self-help groups and those associated with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is being sought to reach out to women in the district.

EVM training for poll staff held at Reasi

REASI, APRIL 08-As a part of an exercise by the Election Commis-sion of India to train the polling staff, entrusted with election duty, regarding the functioning of the electronic voting machines (EVMs), a training programme was con-ducted at Reasi here today by mas-ter trainers in presence of District Election Officer Dr Shahid Iqbal, Assistant Returning Officer-58 Tilak Raj Sharma and Assistant Returning Officer-57 Dr HS Rana.

During this session, complete practical training for properly op-erating the EVMs was imparted to the polling staff of assembly constituency-58 and assembly constituency-57. The District Level master trainers demonstrated the functioning of each and every part of the machine to the participating staff.

Employees belonging to differ-ent departments were imparted EVM training. . The trainers ex-

plained in detail about the possible errors that may crop up due to mis-

handling of EVMs and their solu-tion during the polls. The handling

of poll material including the com-pulsory filling up of forms was also

explained to the trainees during the day long training.

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Wednesday 09 April 2014

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

Health criticism is welcome but not personal attacks

Democracy gives the right to expression to every citizen of the country and it is this right which allows

everybody to express his views through his words, ballot and the way he wants to form and reform the society. It gives equal oppor-tunity to everybody to contest, to vote or not to vote. However the word parliamentary itself speaks volumes about the way of expres-sion and the behavior a person adopts. It does not allow anybody to indulge in abusive language, character assassination, passing filthy remarks or come to blows for recording a win. However, it is unfortunate that the leaders in the largest democracy of the world are stooping sometimes so low that it looks as if they are not fighting the elections but have personal scores to settle with each other. It is very cheap of them when they indulge in personal attacks, character assassinations and use unparliamentarily lan-guage against each other. We in this country are teaching the par-liamentary way of behaving to the whole world but when such un-fortunate things happen in our campaigning; it does not look dig-nified and civilized. The political leaders are no doubt contesting the elections against each other but they are not each other’s en-emies who are bent upon to harm the prestige and pristine of their opponents. In fact when they are fighting the parliament elections, the way of fighting should also be parliamentarian so that the whole world makes our way of elections as their model and cites the exam-ples of India Democracy. It is un-fortunate that besides scathing at-tacks on each other’s personal life some leaders are even polarizing and communalizing the country and in this way doing the worst disservice to the nation. India is a country which houses hun-dreds of religious and ethnic groups with thousands of lan-guages and dialects and living in different regions and areas, hence every caution has to be maintained to see that no action of these leaders harms the social fabric of the country and does not create problems for the unity and integrity of the nation. It is there-fore, obligatory for every politi-cian and the candidates that they do not indulge in any action which is not conducive to the interests of the country. India is a democratic country and its constitution is sec-ular in character. There is no dis-crimination on the basis of caste, creed or religion, hence every cit-izen has his duty to protect the country from anything which will create hatred and ill will. Healthy criticism is most welcome and it should be encouraged as it is the soul of democracy.

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Wednesday 19 February 2014

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

Untimely death of

water-bodies in Kashmir

Sugar Decontrol -- Taking Care of Interests of Sugarcane Grower,

Consumer and Sugar Sector

In a landmark decision the union Govern-ment has abolished the levy sugar mech-anism and regulated release mechanism to de-control Indian sugar industry while at the same time ensured that poor seg-

ments of the society continue to get sugar at existing subsidised prices by taking upon itself the entire financial burden of distributing sugar through ration shops. A notification in this re-gard has been issued on May 7, 2013.By this landmark decision the Government has ensured that the interests of all segments of the sugar economy be it industries, farmers, consumers and poor section of society are safe-guarded.For industries, the measure will give them freedom to sell their produce without any re-striction and improve their liquidity position, a improved liquidity will ensure that millions of sugarcane farmers in India will now not have to wait for their due price from sugar millers, while for consumers it means sugar availability will increase in the market by as much as 10 per cent per year.The Government has decided to reimburse the state governments for purchasing and selling sugar through PDS below the market rate for which it will bear upon itself an additional bur-den of around Rs 3,100 crore.The issue of de-controlling of sugar industry was engaging the attention of the Government for a very long time. There were representa-tions from sugarcane farmers’ associations as well as sugar mills, the major stakeholders of the sugar industry, that a price sharing formula for sugarcane was long overdue. The Government, too, thought about bringing a level playing field where the interests of the consumers on the one hand and the develop-ment of sugar industry on the other hand can be ensured. The demand for decontrol of sugar has stemmed from cyclic nature of sugar produc-tion in the country, which puts the sugar indus-try at a disadvantage in that they are not able to find it a viable business option finally affecting sugarcane farmers. Starting from a normal year when there are no major cane price arrears, the farmers tend to plant larger area under sugar-cane. This leads to increase in sugarcane pro-duction with the consequent increase in sugar production which in turn leads to excess stocks resulting in depressed sugar prices and build-

ing up of cane price arrears. As a result of lower returns, the farmers tend to take lesser care of the cane and area under sugarcane gets reduced in the subsequent years. The years of reduced production of sugarcane also witness higher diversion of cane for gur making, a significant part of which also finds its way into the liquor industry in the unorganised sector as a substi-tute for molasses which itself would be in short supply. The lower production of sugarcane and higher diversion combine to produce still lower availability of cane for crushing in sugar mills which results in disproportionately low sugar production. As a result, the sugar prices rise, the mills get higher returns, the arrears position is taken care of and the farmers get a good price and are encouraged to plant more and the area under sugarcane starts rising again. In two to three years time, this leads to another year of peak production and the cycle starts all over again.The Central Government was confident of tak-ing the burden arising out decontrol of sugar as the country could achieve sugar production of 263.50 lac metric tonnes during the 2011-12 (October-September) sugar season which was 20 lac tonnes more than the sugar production of 243.50 lac tonnes during the 2010-11 sugar season. While the seasonal variation in sugar production had also started to smoothen in the last 3-4 years, the market price of sugar had re-mained within reasonable levels all throughout 2012-13 sugar season.The Rangarajan Committee appointed by the Government to look into the whole gam-ut of sugar decontrol had observed that levy amounts to a cross subsidy between open mar-ket and PDS sugar and, it is not in the interest of general consumer or development of sugar sector and recommended that levy sugar be dispensed with. So, two crucial issues emanating from the Ran-garajan Committee’s report came up before the Government for a decision. These were, one, whether sugar is to be continued as an item un-der the PDS; and, two, if sugar is to be contin-ued as an item under the PDS, does the current levy obligation on sugar mills need to be con-tinued with or the PDS supplies are to be met through open market procurement. The options that were available before the Gov-ernment were quite complex in that it had not only to take the State Governments along, but

to look into other critical issues such as increase in procurement cost, problems relating to mar-ket distortions including delayed payments for cane price, the subsidy burden, etc. It was felt that removal of sugar in the PDS could not be acceptable. The major decision to take was that if sugar was to be continued as an item under the PDS, who would bear the ex-tra burden for keeping the delivery at Rs. 13.50 per kg? The extra burden in terms of increase in subsidy owing to decontrol of sugar will be around Rs. 3100 crore excluding distribution cost involved. At present open market price of sugar hovers around Rs. 32 per per kg., while in respect of retail price through PDS, it is Rs. 13.5 per kg, which has not been revised since 2002. The Government is able to provide sugar at Rs.13.5 per kg by absorbing the subsidy involved in each kg at Rs.6 per kg after buying it from sugar mills at levy price fixed by the Government at Rs. 19.05 per kg. At present, the total expenditure being in-curred by the Government in terms of subsi-dy for supply of 27 lakh tonnes of sugar under PDS comes to Rs. 2556 crore. With decontrol of sugar, the additional burden would mean ab-sorbing the increase in subsidy component to the tune of Rs. 13 per kg, currently being borne by the individual sugar mills, i.e. the difference between the ex-mill price of Rs. 32 and the levy price fixed on them for the current year, which is Rs. 19.5. The total additional subsidy burden works out to Rs. 3100 crores excluding distri-bution cost. The Central Government had decided to take the responsibility of the additional burden in terms of subsidy increase upon itself. The decision of the Government to partially decontrol sugar has not affected the sugar price in open market also, as there is enough sugar in the country with this year’s production expect-ed to be around 24.5 million tonnes as against a requirement of 22.2 million tonnes. Now the States will also be free to purchase sug-ar through a transparent system at the current ex-factory price of Rs. 32 per kg which has been capped for two years. The Government had ensured that this import-ant decision on partial decontrol of sugar takes care of the interests of sugarcane farmers while also ensuring that the interests of the common man and development of sugar sector.

Nature bestowed vale of Kashmir with distinc-tive beauty. Lofty moun-tain ranges, dense forest cover, royal majestic

rows of chinar trees, snow covered peaks, bubbling springs, fresh water lakes, wild rivers, roaring streams, green meadows and a rare flora and fauna are the main characteristics of the Kashmir valley. The all season beauty has given this valley a unique status, a well known, famous tourist destination all over the world. All the travelers visiting this attractive valley mentioned in their travelogues the charming beauty of Kashmir especial-ly description of mesmerizing images of water bodies. The tourists enjoy the flowing water in the rivers the most. But with the passage of time the charm, attraction and beauty of this valley is fading away. The increasing popula-tion, continuing violence, diminish-ing values, lack of responsibility and various other reasons have taken toll of the water bodies. The world famous Dal Lake, Wular lake, Manasbal, Hok-ersar, Jehlum river known as Vitasta, revered by Kashmiri pundits and other wetlands have virtually become soak-age pits. The filth of city and towns is dumped into water bodies and no of-ficial machinery is ready to check it as the work culture has suffered a severe jolt under the garb of law and order situation. Almost all the water bod-ies whether in urban and rural areas are choked with enormous dirt and filth. The floating plastic bags in the water-bodies are very common. The human greed, materialistic and self-ish nature has given rise to encroach-ments. The nature lovers are shocked to see the huge concrete jungle of ho-tels around the Dal Lake. More pain-ful is lack of waste management pol-icy before commissioning hotels and other buildings around water-bodies. Unfortunately these innocent silent water-bodies are bearing the brunt of human intervention which is tamper-ing with ecosystem and pushing these bodies towards gradual extinction. The general masses and the concerned departments seem to be unconcerned or clueless about the future disastrous they are bringing for the next gener-ation. Everybody is watching the un-usual high temperature for the last few years resulting into less snowfall, less rainfall, decrease in the forest cover, drying up lakes and rivers. Central government is pumping in huge funds for the preservation of water-bodies but unfortunately with no monitor-ing system, accountability towards funds goes unnoticed and the dream of good governance is a far off cry. The civil society here is a mix of contra-dictions and whimsical emotions. We watch agriculture land turning into fields for narcotic cultivation or into concrete buildings with awe but with no reaction. Time has come when the society as a whole has to be proactive to save its culture, heritage and natu-ral wealth. Perhaps no “Kashap Reshi” will come to our rescue at this time.

‘Steel’ Vision At the time of Independence

in 1947, India had only three steel plants – the Tata Iron & Steel Company (Jamshedpur), the Indian

Iron and Steel Company (Burnpur) and Visveswaraya Iron & Steel Ltd (Bhadra-vathi), besides a few electric arc fur-nace-based plants. The period till 1947 thus witnessed a small but viable steel industry in the country, which operat-ed with a capacity of about one million tonne and was completely in the private sector. From the fledgling one million tonne capacity status at the time of Indepen-dence, India has now risen to be the 4th largest crude steel producer in the world and the largest producer of sponge iron. The Indian steel industry is now globally acknowledged for its product quality. During the first three Five-Year Plans (1952-1970), in line with the economic order of the day, iron and steel industry was earmarked for state control. From the mid-50s to the early 1970s, the Government set up large integrated steel plants in the public sector at Bhilai, Durgapur, Rourkela and Bokaro. The policy re-gime governing the industry during these years involved licensing of ca-pacity, dual-pricing system and con-trol of imports and exports. Globalisation Benefits Indus-

try The large-scale capacity creation in the public sector during these years contributed to making India the 10th largest steel producer in the world. Crude steel production grew markedly to nearly 15 million tonnes in the span of a decade. Economic slowdown adversely affected the pace of growth of the steel industry. How-ever, this phase was reversed in 1991-92 with the advent of globalization and opening up of our economy. Con-trol regime was replaced by liberalisa-tion and deregulation. The provisions

of the New Economic Policy initiated in the early 1990’s impacted the Indian steel industry in many ways. Large-scale capacities were removed from the list of industries reserved for the public sector. The licensing requirement for additional capacities was also withdrawn subject to loca-tional restrictions. Private sector came to play a prominent role in the overall set-up. Pricing and distribution con-trol mechanisms were discontinued. Iron and steel industry was included in the high priority list for foreign in-vestment, implying automatic approv-al for foreign equity participation up to 50%. Freight equalisation scheme was replaced by a system of freight ceiling. While export restrictions were withdrawn, quantitative import re-strictions were largely removed. The system, thereafter, underwent rapid changes. For steel makers, open-ing up of the economy opened up new channels of procuring their inputs at competitive rates from overseas mar-kets and also new markets for their products. It also led to greater access to information on global operations/techniques in manufacturing. This, along with the pressures of a competi-tive global market, increased the need to enhance efficiency levels so as to become internationally competitive. The consumer, on the other hand, was now able to choose items from an ar-ray of goods, be it indigenously man-ufactured or imported. This freedom to choose established the sovereignty of the consumer and galvanised steel producers to provide products/service levels in tune with the needs of the consumers.

Slow-down & Turnaround Large integrated steel plants were set up in the Private Sector while the al-ready existing plants expanded their capacity. This has resulted in the emergence of private sector with the creation of around 9 million tonnes of

steel capacity based on state-of-the-art technology. Tariff barriers were either reduced or dismantled while partial float of the rupee on trade account, access to best-practice of global tech-nologies and consequent reduction in costs – all these enhanced the interna-tional competitiveness of Indian steel in the world export market. After 1996-97, the Indian steel indus-try’s pace of growth slowed down with the steady decline in the domestic economy’s growth rate. Production, consumption and, exports fell below average. Indian steel was also subject-ed to anti-dumping/ safeguard duties as most developed economies invoked non-tariff barriers. Economic devas-tation caused by the slowdown of the global economy, Asian financial cri-sis and the impact of glut created by additional supplies from the newly steel-surplus countries pulled down growth levels. However, from the year 2002, the global industry turned around. The situation was no different for the In-dian steel industry, which by now had acquired a degree of maturity, with emphasis on intensive R&D activities, adoption of measures to increase domestic per capita steel consumption and other market devel-opment projects, import substitution measures and thrust on export pro-motion.

National Steel Policy The rapid pace of growth of the indus-try and market trends called for cer-tain guidelines and framework. Thus was born the concept of the National Steel Policy, with the aim to provide a roadmap of growth and development for the Indian steel industry. The National Steel Policy (NSP) was announced in November 2005 as a basic blueprint for the growth of a self-reliant and globally competitive steel sector. The long-term objective of this policy is to ensure that India has a

modern and efficient steel industry of world standards, catering to diversified steel demand. The focus of the policy was to attain levels of global competi-tiveness in terms of global benchmarks of efficiency and productivity. The policy sought to facilitate removal of procedural and policy, increased in-vestment in research and development, and creation of road, railway and port infrastructure. It also focused on the do-mestic sector, but also envisaged a steel industry growing faster than domestic consumption, to enable export op-portunities to be realised.

Sponge & Pig Iron India is also a leading producer of sponge iron with a host of coal based units, located in the mineral-rich states of the country. Over the years, the coal based route has emerged as a key contributor and accounted for 75 per cent of total sponge iron pro-duction in the country. India isalso an important producer of pig iron. Post-liberalisation, with setting up several units in the private sector, not only imports have drastically re-duced but also India has turned out to be a net exporter of pig iron. The private sector accounted for 91 per cent of total production for sale of pig iron in the country in 2011-12. Besides achieving the rank of the 4th largest global crude steel producer in 2012, India has also made a mark globally in the production of sponge iron/direct reduced iron (DRI). Thanks to mushrooming growth of coal-based sponge iron units, do-mestic production of sponge iron increased rapidly, enabling the country to achieve and maintain the number one position in the global mar-ket. With a series of mega projects and the domestic economy carrying forward the reform process further, the future of Indian steel industry is definitely opti-mistic. A new ‘Steel Vision’ for the next 20 years is also under finalization.