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Vol No: XXIV Issue No. 11 12.01.2019 (Saturday) Daily Jammu Tawi Price 2/- Pages-12 Regd. No. JK|306|2017-19

Date Min Temp Max Temp WeatherJan 10 6.0 16.0 Generally cloudy sky Jan 11 7.0 17.0 Mainly Clear sky Jan 12 7.0 13.0 Mainly Clear sky

SrinagarJan 10 -2.0 3.0 Generally cloudy sky Jan 11 -1.0 2.0 Light snowJan 12 -1.0 1.0 Partly cloudy sky northlinestheJammu

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NL CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU TAWI, JAN 11: GovernorSatya Pal Malik attended the Oath

ceremony function of the newlyelected Sarpanches of JammuDivision, organized by theDepartment of Rural

Development and Panchayati Raj,here today. Khurshid AhmadGanai and K. Vijay Kumar,Advisors to Governor, UmangNarula, Principal Secretary toGovernor; and many senior

officers from Civil and Police werepresent on the occasion.

Governor congratulated theSarpanches on being elected asrepresentatives of theirrespective P02

Governor attends Oath Ceremony of SarpanchesAsks for playground in every village

JAMMU TAWI, JAN 11: Jammuand Kashmir Governor Satya PalMalik on Friday said theadministration was ready forassembly elections in the stateand a call in this direction shouldbe taken by the ElectionCommission and New Delhi.

"Whenever, they (EC) tell us,we are ready for the polls (toassembly)," he told reportersafter the oath-taking ceremonyof sarpanch of Jammu region.

On IAS officer Shah Faesal's

resignation, Mr Malik said hehimself was a governmentemployee and did not wish tocomment on the matter.

The Election Commission (EC)had in November last said freshelections in Jammu and Kashmirwould be held within the next sixmonths, even as the body did notrule out the possibility of holdingthe state polls before the LokSabha polls due this year.

"The Jammu and Kashmirassembly polls P02

'Ready for AssemblyPolls in JK'

NL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, JAN 11: Indiahas given green signal toPakistan to visit the IndusBasin, including Ratle,Lower Kalnai and Pakaldulhydro projects, on theChenab river.

Sources told informedthat Commissioners onboth sides agreed toundertake the tour duringthe 115th meeting of thePermanent Indus WatersCommission (PIC) inLahore in August 2018.Pakistan objects todesigns of Pakal Dul(1000MW) dam and LowerKalnai (48 MW) projectunder construction in

Jammu and Kashmir inChenab, calling it violativeof the Indus Waters Treaty(IWT) while Indiadismisses the objection asbaseless.

"Pakistan and India havebeen into the Indus watertreaty dispute for ages.Due to our continuedefforts, there's a majorbreakthrough that Indiahas finally agreed to ourrequest for inspection ofIndian projects in Chenabbasin," wrote Faisal Vawda,Pakistani Federal Ministerfor Water Resources onTwitter.

However, an Indianofficial source clarifiedthat this tour was

originally scheduled forOctober 2018 but waspostponed because of theelections of local bodies inJammu and Kashmir.

The PIC is anestablished mechanismunder IWT to promotecooperation indevelopment of IndusWater Systems. The IWTsigned with World Bankmediation after nine yearsof negotiations mandatesthe PIC to meet at leastonce a year alternately inIndia and Pakistan. UnderArticle VII of the Treaty,both the Commissionersare mandated toundertake, once in everyfive years, P02

India allows Pakistanto inspect Indus Basin NL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Jan 11:Stating that the nextrevolution in militarysystem would be definedby technology andinnovations, Indian ArmyChief Gen Bipin Rawat onFriday said vouched forincorporation of ArtificialIntelligence (AI) in armedforces after some ofIndia's adversariesspending huge money onsuch technology.

Addressing the ArmyTechnology Seminar here,Gen Rawat said, "We haveidentified technologiesthat need to beincorporated but what wenow need to address ishow we can incorporate

artificial intelligence andbig data analysis in oursystem. We cannot leavethese and confine to ourglossary of militaryterms."

He also added that theissue must be addressedin significant manner andalso identified whataspects of artificialintelligence we need toincorporate as support sothat they can support oursystems and thus improveour future over fightingcapabilities. "This iswhere we are looking for.This is where I think weneed the support of theindustry," he added.

Expressing concernover current status of AIhere, the army chief said,"As of now P02

Army Chief vouches for 'ArtificialIntelligence' in armed forces

NL CORRESPONDENT

RAJOURI, JAN 11: An Armymajor and a soldier werekilled in an IED blast atNowshera sector inRajouri district of J&K, anofficial was quoted bynews agency. Animprovised explosivedevice was planted bysuspected militants infoot-track along the LoC totarget Army soldierspatrolling the borderline inLaam belt of Nowsherasector of Rajouri district,they said. The blastresulted in injuries to twosoldiers, including a major,the officials said, addingthey were rushed to ahospital where they

succumbed to injuries. Inanother incident,terrorists lobbed agrenade at CRPF platoonnear Lal Chowk, Srinagaron Friday evening. No lossof life or injury wasreported from the attack.Earlier today, a JuniorCommissioned Officer(JCO) and a soldier wereinjured in an IED blastalong the LoC in Jammuand Kashmir's Rajouridistrict. An improvisedexplosive device wasplanted by suspectedterrorists in foot-trackalong the LoC to targetArmy soldiers patrollingthe borderline in Laamsector of Rajouri district.Army soldiers have been

alerted against IED blastsand attacks by the borderaction teams (BATs) of thePakistan Army. Also onFriday, an Army porter wascritically injured whenPakistani troops continuedceasefire violations for thefourth consecutive dayalong the LoC in Rajouriand Poonch districts ofJammu and Kashmir,prompting the IndianArmy to retaliate, officialssaid. Pakistan troopsresorted to firing andshelling along the LoC inforward areas inNowshera and Poonchsectors, critically injuringan Army porter, they said.He has been hospitalised,the officials P02

Army major, soldier martyredin IED blast in Nowshera

NL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Jan 11: TheArmy has gone in for anemergency purchase of avery small number ofadvanced sniper rifles,with longer ranges as wellas modern telescopicsights, for troops deployedalong the Line of Control

with Pakistan. The newsniper rifles, Beretta's .338Lapua Magnum ScorpioTGT and Barrett's .50-calibre M95 guns, whichhave an effective kill rangefrom 1,500 to 1,800 metres,are being purchased underthe Northern ArmyCommand chief'semergency financial

powers. "The rifles shouldarrive soon," said anofficer. The larger "capitalprocurement" of 5,719 new8.6mm sniper rifles toequip all the 382 infantrybattalions in the over 12-lakh strong Army - eachunit is authorized 10sniper rifles - will howevertake another couple ofyears. Sniping is posing amajor operationalchallenge for Indian troopsalong the 778-km long LoC,with Pakistan Armysoldiers equipped withmodern Remingtonmodular sniper rifles aswell as better training. Butit's the infantry soldiersdeployed P02

Army to deploy advancedsniper rifles for troops at LoC

Adil Ahmad

Srinagar, Jan 11: ShahFaesal, an IAS officer, whotopped the UPSC exam in2010 and the first to do sofrom Jammu and KashmirFriday said that he won’tjoin the Hurriyat insteadfight the upcoming polls.

He said that he wouldtake decision whether tojoin any existingmainstream party orcontest independentlyonly after build aconsensus with the youthand other stakeholders ofthe state.

“I am not trained to dopolitics. I will like to workwithin the system and usemy skills to do better

governance.. Hurriyatdoes not give me thatopportunity because theydon’t believe in electoralpolitics,” Faesal told apress conference at a localhotel, here.

He said that peoplewould knowrepresentative characterof Hurriyat if they fight theelections. “We don’t knowwhether they (Hurriyat)will win or not. It is wrongto presume that Hurriyathas no role to play in ourstate. I value thesuggestion of Hurriyatinviting me to join them,”he said, who recentlyreturned to India from astint as a Fulbright fellowat the P02

‘Omar always guided me’

Shah Faesal’s won’t join Hurriyatbut will contest upcoming polls

NL CORRESPONDENT

Srinagar, Jan 11: Afresh avalanche warninghas been issued inKashmir valley andLadakh region wheremoderate to heavysnowfall was experiencedduring the past 24 hours,an official spokesman saidhere on Friday evening.

He said in view of theinclement weather andsnow prediction,Divisional CommissionerKashmir, Baseer AhmadKhan, on Friday issuedfresh avalanche warningfor nine avalanche pronedistricts of KashmirDivision.

The warning has beenissued for the P02

Fresh avalanchewarning issued in JK

NL CORRESPONDENT

Srinagar, Jan 11: Most parts ofKashmir, including the plains,received fresh snowfall on Fridaywhich led to closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the onlyall-weather road-link connecting thevalley with the rest of the country.The MeT Office has forecastintermittent light precipitation forthe next 24 hours.

Kashmir, including plains of thevalley, received fresh snowfallThursday night which continued tillFriday morning, an official of theMeteorological Department heresaid. He said Srinagar, the summercapital of Jammu and Kashmir,recorded 5.6 mm of snowfall till 8:30am on Friday.

Pahalgam health resort, which

also serves as one of the base campsfor the annual Amarnath yatra,received 11.4 mm of snow, while thefamous ski-resort of Gulmargrecorded 3.4 mm of snow. Theofficial said while the plains of thealley received light snowfall, thereare reports of moderate snowfall inthe higher reaches of the state.

The fresh snowfall led to closureof the Srinagar-Jammu nationalhighway, the Valley's all-weatherroad link connecting Kashmir withthe rest of the country.

"Traffic on the Srinagar-Jammunational highway was suspendedthis morning due to snowfall andslippery conditions," an official ofthe Traffic Control Room here said.

He said the decision to resumetraffic on the national highwaywould be taken once there is

improvement in the weather and theroad is cleared off the snow.However, the flight operations at theSrinagar airport here took placenormally, an official at the airportsaid.

Meanwhile, the minimumtemperature at Srinagar settled atminus one degrees CelsiusThursday night, down from theprevious night's low of minus 0.3degree Celsius, the MeT official said.

He said Qazigund, the gatewaytown to the valley in south Kashmir,recorded a low of minus 1.2 degreesCelsius, while the nearby Kokernagtown registered a low of minus 2.2degrees Celsius Thursday night. Themercury in Kupwara town in northKashmir settled at a low of minus 0.6degree Celsius. Gulmarg ski-resortin north Kashmir P02

Snowfall in JK, Highway closed;flight operations normal

NL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, JAN 11: Withsuccessfully scaling the Mt Vinsonin Antarctica, Col Ranveer Jamwalhas become the first Indian Armyofficer to climb the highestmountains of all seven continents.“Summitted the highest mountainof Antarctica, Mount Vinson onJanuary 4. Feeling honoured toclimb the highest mountains of allthe seven continents,” said ColJamwal. He was a part of 9

members team. Only six couldmanage to climb.

“We started our journey fromUnion glacier on January 1. Twinotter planes dropped us at Vinsonbase camp on the same day andthen we established our basecamp, low camp & then Summitcamp (which is also called highcamp). We started our summitcamp on January 4,” said theArmy officer.

“Though the wind was verystrong and temperature fallingbelow -37 degrees even then we

did not loose our way finally andfinally summitted at 5pm on thesame day,” he added. Earlier, theArmy officer had climbed MtEverest(Highest mountain in theWorld & Asia), the highestmountain of Africa (MtKillimanjaro), Australia (MtCarstenesz Pyramid), Europe(MtElbrus), South America(MtAconcagua) and NorthAmerica(Mt Denali). It is pertinentto mention here that Col Jamwalhas the distinction of climbingMount Everest P02

Col Jamwal becomes first Indian Armyofficer to scale Seven Summits Srinagar, Jan 11:

Taking a jibe at NarendraModi-led NDA governmentfor granting citizenship tonationals from threeneighbouring countries onthe basis of religion,former Jammu andKashmir Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti on Fridaysaid even the country(Pakistan) which wasformed on the basis of twonation theory has changedits attitude towardsminorities and declaredtemples as national

heritage.Amid the ongoing row

over the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2019which was recently passedby Lok Sabha and RajyaSabha, president of thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP) Mehbooba referredto Pakistan to describehow India is “matching”some of the neighbouringcountry’s “policies inspirit” through its “attitudetowards minorities.

Taking to micro bloggingsite Twitter on Friday,

Mehbooba, who headed acoalition government withBJP for about three years,said, “Granting citizenshipon the basis of religion isappalling and disgusting inequal measure. We are fullof venom when it comes toPakistan but are matchingsome of its policies inspirit.

She further said, “Buteven the country that wasformed on the basis of thetwo-nation theory haschanged its attitudetowards P02

Mehbooba against grantingcitizenship to Hindu, Sikh migrants

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Governor attends OathCeremony of Sarpanches

Panchayats. He observed that the Panchayati RajInstitutions can truly represent and fulfill thedevelopmental aspirations of people due to directparticipation of people in planning development of theirareas and implementing Government welfare schemesunder close monitoring.Governor complimented Sarpanches and Panches fortheir whole hearted participation in the Panchayatelections which were held after a gap of 7 years and sawa voter turnout of 74.1 %. He lauded people andGovernment functionaries for making it a wellconducted and incident free elections even under verytrying circumstances. He described it as the victory ofdemocracy in a country which has faith in democraticinstitutions since time immemorial.Governor observed that major amendments in thePanchayati Raj Act have been incorporated throughwhich the Government intends massive devolution offunds, functions and functionaries of 19 departments tothe Panchayati Raj Institutions. He advised theSarpanches to use funds judiciously and urged them toensure development which is in sync with the naturalenvironment. He stressed that survival and existence ofvegetation, trees, ponds, indigenous animal species etcshould be taken into consideration while formulatingdevelopment plans.Governor assured every possible support of hisAdministration to the Sarpanches and Panches andobserved that planned development of any area wouldbe done in consensus with the Panches and Sarpnachesof respective Panchyats.Governor emphasized upon the Sarpanches to ensurethat institutions responsible for ensuring primary healthand education at grass root level are strengthened andattention is given to develop sports infrastructure at theVillage level with opportunities to youth to explore theircapabilities to the maximum.

Governor Satya Pal Malilk said today the Kashmiriyouth has not much to do in the evening as he askedauthorities to build a playground in every village of theState.He said sports helps in overall development."The youth has nothing to do after 6 pm even in Srinagarcity. They do not have a cinema hall, cafes or a place togo out for entertainment," Malilk said while addressingsarpanches here.The Governor said that he has instructed its deputy

commissioners to ensure carving out of playgrounds inevery village. He also announced to set up twointernational stadiums in Jammu and Srinagar.Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Advisor to Governor,congratulated the Sarpanches on their election andadvised Ms. Sheetal Nanda, Secretary RuralDevelopment to print multilingual literature for readyreference of elected Panches and Sarpanches regardingtheir roles and responsibilities.K. Vijay Kumar, Advisor to Governor, congratulated allthe Sarpanches on their successful election and advisedthem to work for the development of their areas as perpeople's aspirations.Sheetal Nanda, Secretary, Department of RuralDevelopment and Panchayati Raj assured herDepartment's full co-operation to the Panchayats andinformed them about their training programmes whichwill be shortly conducted by the Rural DevelopmentDepartment.Earlier Governor visited the stalls put up by theGovernment Departments for generating awarenessabout the various Central and State Government welfareschemes.A short film on Panchayat elections was screened on theoccasion.Ms. Rehana Batul Director General, Rural DevelopmentDepartment presented the Welcome Address and Sh.

Muddasir Latif Tasir, ACD Samba gave a Vote of Thankson the occasion.

India allows Pakistan toinspect Indus Basin

a general tour to ascertain facts connected with variousdevelopments and works on both sides of the rivers.Pakistani official team is expected to inspect the basinfrom 27th January to 1st February. "It's indeed a featherin Ministry for water resources' cap. We welcome thisgesture from India and we expect the same spirit forresolution of other outstanding issues. The delegationwill be headed by the Commissioner for Indus Watersand this is the result of his continued efforts," tweetedVawda.IWT allows control of water flowing in the eastern riversof Beas, Sutlej and Ravi to India. While Pakistan hascontrol over the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. Sincesigning of IWT in 1960, India has arranged 70 tours forthe Pakistani side, while the Indian team has beenhosted 48 times by Islamabad. No tour so far has beenheld in the current five years block ending in March2020.

'Ready for Assembly Polls in JK'must be held on the first occasion before May. It couldbe held before the parliamentary elections also," ChiefElection Commissioner O P Rawat had said.He said as per the Supreme Court, the outer limit forholding fresh polls after the dissolution of the Housewas six months, that is May, 2019. It may be recalled that the central government onDecember 28 told the Lok Sabha that Jammu andKashmir Governor had no option but to recommendPresident's Rule in the state as no party or alliancestaked claim to form the government.On Tuesday, former chief minister Omar Abdullah saidthe assembly polls should be held "as soon as possible". The National Conference (NC) vice president also took adig at some politicians and bureaucrats for "creatinghurdles" in holding of assembly elections along with theLok Sabha polls in the state.

Army major, soldier martyred in IEDblast in Nowshera

added. Late on Thursday, an Army major and a BSFsoldier were injured in shelling by Pakistan in Tarkundiforward area of Balakote sector. The Pakistan Armyviolated ceasefire for a third consecutive day Thursday,inviting a strong retaliation from Indian forces. "OneArmy major and a constable of BSF were injured asPakistani troops violated ceasefire in Tarkundi forwardarea of Balakote sector late Thursday," an Army officersaid. Both of them were shifted to 166 Military hospitalat Jammu and their condition is stated to be stable.

Army to deploy advancedsniper rifles for troops at LoC

along the LoC who desperately need new weapons,ranging from assault and sniper rifles to close-combatcarbines and light machine guns. Much more than theuse of heavier weapons like mortars, light artillery andanti-tank guided missiles, effective sniper operationshave a greater demoralizing effect on rival troops in thecontinuing hostilities and ceasefire violations along theLoC.

Shah Faesal's won't join Hurriyat

but will contest upcoming pollsHarvard Kennedy School. He arrived in Kashmir lastweek following which he announced to resign fromservices.Hailing from Lolab - a picturesque valley in the frontierdistrict of Kupwara - the 35-year-old was a doctor beforequalifying for civil services exams.There are a lot of speculations that he may join theNational Conference and could be its probablecandidate from north Kashmir for Parliamentary polls.The speculations gained momentum after NationalConference senior leader and former chiefministerOmar Abdullah in a tweet said, "welcome to thefold".

Shah Faesal’s won’t join Hurriyatbut will contest upcoming polls

"Omar is a gracious and supported me. Omar is a leader,who has been guiding me. The NC never approached mebut I went toOmar for suggestions," he said.Faesal however said that he has not decided whether tojoin any existing political party or fight asindependently."My future plans depend after talking to youth and otherstakeholders of the state. We will reach to consensusbefore taking the final decision," he said.He announced that he would contest the upcoming polls."I believe parliamentary and assembly is an importantspace. We need well-meaning people there," he said.He said that due to de-legitimization of mainstreampolitics, youth were not interested towards that."We need to change that. I would like to use parliamentan important and useful tool of engagement for bringingsolution to our state," he claimed. "I will make peoplebelieve that it is a credible institution and not to destroypeople. We want destroy the politics the way it has beenhappening."The 2010 IAS topper said that he was inspired byPakistan Prime Imran Khan and Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal but said it was not an easy to work inthat space in a conflict region like Kashmir.Asked that people have been critical on social media forhis decision of joining electoral politics, he replied, "Themovement you started own party, people believe it issponsored by agencies. If you contest independentlythen you an agency person. If you join exiting party, thenpeople have problem with that."Faesal said that services have given him an opportunityto understand the development problems."I resigned against unabated killings.. lack of politicalinitiative.. denial of justice to Kashmiris..Article 370 and35 A continuously being invoked for electoral gains..failure of returning Kashmiri pundits to valley.. loss oflives along borders," he said.Faesal said that constant efforts were being made toundermine the JK sovereignty. "One region is beingpitched against other in the state. There are curbs onthe freedom of speech and even institutions like CBI andRBI have been undermined," he gave these reasons forhis resignation.He appealed people of India to come to rescue of JKpeople and to bring peace across the country. "We haveto defeat the communal and hateful elements of thecountry," he added, adding that Harvard gave him anopportunity to learn how to sacrifice big things for anycause.

Fresh avalanchewarning issued in JK

avalanche prone areas in district Anantnag, Kulgam,Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal inKashmir and Kargil and Leh in Ladakh region.

Divisional Commissioner has directed the DeputyCommissioners of all these districts to advise the peopleliving in avalanche prone areas not to venture out toavoid loss of lives. (AGENCIES)

Col Jamwal becomes first Indian Armyofficer to scale Seven Summits

thrice.He has completed over 30 expeditions across sixcontinents. He is the only person in India to lead back toback three Everest Expeditions. A total of 51 climbershave climbed Everest under his dynamic leadership. In2015, under his leadership, a rescue team had done anexceptional job by saving lives of 60 climbers, stuck inearthquake at Everest base camp in Nepal.He was also awarded with the Highest Adventure Awardof India-- Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awardwhich is equivalent to Arjuna award. He has won sevenawards from the Army, including the prestigiousVishisht Seva Medal twice.Col Jamwal also received the Jammu and Kashmir'shighest award "Sher-e-Kashmir" award for outstandingsportsperson.He was declared the best mountaineer of India by IndianMountaineering Foundation (IMF) in 2017 and wasawarded the IMF Gold Medal duly recognising his feats.

Army Chief vouches for 'ArtificialIntelligence' in armed forces

what I feel, there is haziness around the concept ofartificial intelligence and big data analysis. If we do notwork start now, it will be too late because countriesaround the world including some of our adversarieshave moved well forward on this." (AGENCIES)

Snowfall in JK, Highway closed;flight operations normal

recorded a low of minus 7.5 degrees Celsius Thursdaynight, a degree up from the previous night, the officialsaid.He said Pahalgam tourist resort recorded a low of minus3 degrees Celsius Thursday night, up over eight degreesfrom minus 11.4 degrees Celsius on the previous night.The official said Leh recorded a low of minus 9.5 degreesCelsius, while the mercury in Drass settled at a low ofminus 15.2 degrees Celsius. Drass was the coldestrecorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.The MeT Office said the weather is likely to remaincloudy and there is a possibility of light snowfall in someareas of Kashmir which would persist till the next 24hours. It said there is a possibility of overallimprovement in the weather from Sunday. Kashmir iscurrently under the grip of 'Chillai Kalan', the 40-dayharshest period of winter when the chances of snowfallare maximum and the temperature drops considerably.'Chillai Kalan' ends on January 31, but the cold wavecontinues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day periodis followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai Khurd' (small cold)and a 10-day long 'Chillai Bachha' (baby cold).

Mehbooba against grantingcitizenship to Hindu, Sikh migrants

minorities now. Temples have been declared as nationalheritage & approved the Hindu marriage bill ".The Bill, which was passed in both Houses of Parliamentand is awaiting the President's nod, aims to accordcitizenship to people from six non-Muslim minoritycommunities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistanwho sought to escape "religious persecution" in thosecountries. Despite assurance from the Centre, protestshave broken out across northeast states, especially inAssam, with agitators demanding revocation of the Bill.

2 CITY the northlinesJammu | Saturday | Jan 12 | 2019

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JAMMU | Saturday, January 12, 2019 3

NL CORRESPONDENT

Jammu, Jan 11:‘Wall of Kind-ness week’ a charity programme for poor and needy- was inaugu-rated by Director of Agriculture H. K. Razdan, here at Krishi Bhawan.

The programme is being orga-nized with the intent to help the poor and needy people with winter stuff including woollens, blankets and other necessary items.

The programme was attended by senior officers of the depart-ment including Deputy Director of Agriculture Trainings Sunil Koul, Deputy Director Central, Jagmo-han Bhat, Chief Agriculture Officer, Reasi/Udhampur, O. S. Choudhary, Agriculture Information Officer, J.

C. Raina besides others.Speaking on the occasion, the

Director said that various donated items like clothing, blankets, shoes

etc. are being distributed to the needy and poor people to provide them relief from the present chill-ing winter. He called upon the offi-

cers, employees and the general public of the locality to donate any useable item for the needy poor for the weeklong “Wall of Kind-ness Programme” where all poor or needy persons will receive any item of their need. It was apprised that if sufficient quantities of items are received in donations the same will also be sent at Kushth Ashram and Slum Areas for distribution among the patients and needy.

The Director Agriculture appre-ciated the efforts of Estates Offi-cer, A. H. Salaria and SCA (I&P), Sandeep Dogra for organizing such a novel programme like “Wall of Kindness”, Cleanliness Drive, Plantation Drive in the Agriculture Complex.

Charity week ‘Wall of Kindness’ begins at Krishi Bhawan

NL CORRESPONDENT

Ramnagar, Jan 11: Accusing the erstwhile BJP-PDP regime of utter failure in ensuring the imple-mentation of even a single commitment made in the Agenda of Alliance (AOA) during its 3½ years rule, Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and Former Minister said that it’s only achievement was legalizing corruption in the state. He said that the aborted rule witnessed a deep rooted culture of patronized cor-ruption in the state with none to take cognizance of the public cries and fre-quent reports in the media

of wanton irregularities and bunglings in the working of the govt. He was address-ing a huge public meeting in Thaplal in Ramnagar constituency today.

Peeved over the neg-ligible impact of various central schemes particu-larly MG-NREGA, IAY, DPAP, IWMP and TSC in the remote villages, Harsh Dev Singh regretted large scale pilferages and plunder of funds provided under the said schemes in the said villages. He lamented that there was hardly any tangi-ble impact of the aforesaid schemes on the ground with the public complaints regarding swindling of

funds by corrupt officials having fallen on deaf ears.

Calling for a probe into the transfer Industry which flourished in the erstwhile regime in the Deptts of Education, Health, Forest, Power, PHE and Rural Development, Singh called for the constitution of SIT to unearth the alleged extra-neous considerations and violations of prescribed norms.

Maintaining that cor-ruption had become all pervasive in the system, Singh urged upon the State Governor to tighten the noose around corrupt politicians and corrupt offi-cers who had raised huge un-accounted wealth and disproportionate assets by abusing their position and authority. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Pawan Dev Singh, Hans Raj, Shiv Lal, Ganesh Dass, Tosh Kumar, Madan Lal, Sohan Lal, Pushpinder Singh.

BJP-PDP Govt legalized corruption in state: Harsh

NL CORRESPONDENT

Jammu, Jan 11:Sam-vedna Society (SS) in collaboration with NGO Parivartan Jammu (PJ), organised plantation drive at Gandhi Nagar on Friday. The programme was organised under the Chairmanship of Sam-vedna Society Keshav Chopra and Treasurer NGO Parivartan Vishal Targotra.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Keshav Chopra said that to save the nature, we must take initiatives to plant more and more

trees. It is the duty of every individual to save the earth from global warming other-wise the nature will not spare the humans. Keshav also requested the people to plant

a tree on the name of each member in their family. Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Targotra said that the tempera-ture is increasing day by day so it’s the need of the hour to take care of the environment and need it to preserve it for future generations. Vishal also emphasized on the importance of preserving the environment. Makson Tickoo, Vinay Singh, Sandeep Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sahil Kumar, Sourav Gupta, Rahul Gupta, Manoj Tandon, Munish Jamwal were also present on the occasion.

Samvedna, Parivartan organize plantation drive

NL CORRESPONDENT

Jammu, Jan 11: Under the direction of State Presi-dent BJYM Vikas Choudhary and led by District Presi-dent BJYM Jammu Hari om Sharma and BJYM Gandhi Nagar Mandal President Nayan Gupta organized “Joining Program” at Ward No 47 Bahu fort Jammu

in presence of & Prabhari BJYM Jammu Annu Benhal and State Media Secretary and Seh-Prabhari BJYM Jammu Gaurav Balgotra. The youth present on the occasion interacted with the leadership and also joined BJYM. Hari Om Sharma, while addressing the gath-ering, congratulated Nayan Gupta for his appointment

as Mandal President and also said that BJYM Jammu is geared up for the upcom-ing challenges of election and ensured the leadership that they will leave no stone unturned in order to get favorable results in upcom-ing elections. Nayan Gupta, on this occasion thanked the people especially the youth for joining BJYM.

BJYM organizes joining prog

NL CORRESPONDENT

Jammu, Jan 11:The Jammu and Kashmir Free-dom Fighters Association (JKFFA) on Friday paid floral tributes to the former Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shas-tri on his 53rd death anni-versary at a function held at Dogra Shourya Samarak, Amphalla. The function was organised by Chairman of the Association, Ved Gando-tra and Vice Chairman Rajiv Mahajan where former JMC Commissioner Kiran Wattal graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Speaking on the occasion, Gandotra

termed former Prime Min-ister an iron man who gave be-fitting reply to the mili-tary aggression of Pakistan in 1965. He asked the citi-zens of India to rise like Lal Bahadur Shastri and other

freedom fighters and work for all over betterment of the masses and strengthen the nation. The young genera-tion should also follow the path of sacrifice and patrio-tism shown by the freedom

fighters and martyrs, he advised. “He was a stalwart who lived for others and to make our world a better place. His integrity, wartime leadership and role in the shaping of the Green Revo-lution remains an inspira-tion for the entire country,” Gandotra said. Rajiv Mahajan paying his tributes to late Prime Minister said that Lal Baha-dur Shastri Ji epitomised strength and simplicity. He led India at a crucial time and worked hard to make our nation more prosper-ous. Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who

understood the significance of farmers and soldiers, shares his birth anniversary with the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. Drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, Shastri coined the term ‘jai jawan jai kisan’. He plunged into the free-dom struggle while he was in his teens, Mahajan added. Let us rededicate ourselves to the values espoused by Shastri Ji - peace, frater-nity, harmony and inclusive national development. Shas-triji’s message remains rel-evant for all and he contin-ues to be our guiding light,” Mahajan maintained.

JKFFA pays tributes to Lal Bahadur Shastri on death anniversary

NL CORRESPONDENT

Jammu, Jan 11: 92.7 BIG FM Jammu, the leading FM Station of Jammu celebrat-ed their much awaited, much loved and unique concept of ‘Kudiyan Di Lohri’ for its listeners. In its seventh edition of the suc-cessful campaign, BIG FM held a special celebration with the families that have been blessed with a baby girl in the last one year by

visiting their houses with traditional ‘Chhajja’, Dry Fruits ‘Haar’ and ‘Dhol’. RJ Juhie, RJ Rahul and RJ Roohi Singh from BIG FM along with a special team of little ‘Gang of Girls’ vis-ited 7 houses from differ-ent parts of Jammu that had witnessed the birth of a girl child this year. Fami-lies were asked to register through WhatsApp and finally a lucky draw was held in the office of BIG

FM and 7 families were chosen for the visit. Going by its tradition, Big FM is releasing a special song this year also dedicated to girls. Vikrant Sharma, Cluster Programming Head 92.7 BIG FM J&K appreci-ated the families for invit-ing BIG FM team to make their daughters’ first Lohri really special. Also present with the team was Nitish Sharma, Producer 92.7 BIG FM Jammu.

92.7 BIG FM celebrates ‘Kudiyan Di Lohri’

NL CORRESPONDENT

Jammu, Jan 11: Former minister and senior Con-gress leader Sham Lal Sharma appreciated his party leadership for extend-ing support to the bill grant-ing 10 % reservation for poor in general category. Address-ing a public meeting at Pan-chayat Gharatal in Akhnoor, Sharma said that the Con-gress party supported this bill keeping in view the inter-est of common masses and above party politics. He fur-ther said that whenever BJP was in opposition, they did politics even on the issues relating to common people. Sham said the people are happy with Congress party for extending support to this bill. He said it is question that how much the effected people will be benefited with this bill. In the absence of job avenues, this bill will not be

of much help to the common poor man. He urged the Gov-ernment to open job avenues so that the poor people are able to take benefit of this reservation quota. Con-gress leader further said that it will be futile to derive benefit of 10% reservation unless and until job oppor-tunities are opened. He said that Modi Government had miserably failed to provide employment to unemployed youths across the country. He said the Govt’s decision on quota should not be politi-cized. The people of the area voiced their concern about the non- availability of basic amenities like improved of dilapidated roads, non- availability of water, elec-tricity, ration etc. Sharma extended his gratitude to the newly elected Sarpanch Ajit Kumar for making elaborate arrangements to make this function a success.

Reservation to poor of upper class welcome

step: Sham

4 HILL DISTRICT the northlinesJammu | Saturday| January 12| 2019

NoticeI, Sumit Gupta S/o Late Sh. Parma Nand Gupta R/oTehsil Sunderbani, District Rajouri, have lost RC of myvehicle bearing regd. no. JK11A-0760(santro) and mydriving licence bearing no. 9520/MVA/07. Now, I amapplying for the duplicates of the both. Objection, if any,may be conveyed to ARTO Rajouri within 7 days from thepublication of this notice.

Yograj Sunderbani

NL CORRESPONDENTPOONCH, JAN 11

District DevelopmentCommissioner RahulYadav today inauguratedone day workshop underNational ScheduledCaste/Scheduled TribeHub(NSSH) and otherrelated schemes organizedby Jammu and KashmirKhadi & Village IndustriesBoard Poonch, here.Deputy CEO KVIB Jammu,District Officer KVIBRajouri and PoonchSameer Ahmad, districtofficers of linedepartments, cluster HeadJ&K Bank Mr.Parvez Mir,Lead District ManagerPoonch, Representative ofDirector RSETI Poonch,District Nodal OfficerJKEDI Mr. Fayeem Mir,Project Manager DICWaheed Ahmed, Asstt.Director HandloomMohammad ArshadNomani, Chief AnimalHusbandry Dr. MohammadYounas, District Officer

Sheep Husbandry Dr.Sandeep Bassan Poonch,representative ofHandicraft Mr.SanjeevKumar, Sarpanches andPanches participants oftargeted population werepresent on the occasion.The workshop wasorganized for thedissemination ofinformation about variousschemes of the centraland State Governments forwelfare of scheduledcaste/scheduled Tribepopulation.Speaking on the occasion,the DDC said schemes likeNational ST/SC Hub areenvisaged to impartentrepreneurial skills toST/SC population toenable them to establishthe MSME (Micro Smalland Medium Enterprises).He said NSSH can play apivotal role in socio-economic development ofthese marginalizedcommunities and bringthem at par with themainstream.

He said under capacitybuilding initiative of NSSHprogramme, around 2000SC/ST entrepreneurs willbe imparted skill trainingby skill councils forestablishing enterprisesby formulating clusters.He said in order to giveupward flip to thebusiness of MSEs ownedby SC/ST entrepreneurs,the government hasmandated 4% of totalprocurement by centralMinistries, Departmentsand CPSEs from theseMSEs.The Dy CEO KVIB briefedthe tribal population aboutthe benefits entailed undervarious self employmentschemes and flagshipprogrammes for inclusionof marginalizedcommunities indevelopmental process. Healso gave knowledge ofeligibility criteria andother parameters fixed bypolicy makers.

Workshop on NSSH inaugurated

NL CORRESPONDENTKISHTWAR, JAN 11

To spread awarenessabout 'Beti Bachao BetiPadhao' under 'Noor JevanKa Betiyan' campaign,District DevelopmentCommissioner, AngrezSingh Rana todayfelicitated mothers of

newly born girl child, hereat District Hospital.The DDC congratulated themothers of newly born girlchild and their familymembers and felicitatedthem with baby kits and onspot birth certificates. Asmany as 10 mothers ofnewly born girl child werefelicitated.

While interacting with thefamily members blessedwith girl, the DDC statedthat in present times thegirls are bringing pride andglory to the nation andexcelling in every field. Hestressed on the importanceof girls getting access toquality education, just likeboys. He further appealedto all the parents of girlchildren to educate theirdaughters and providethem all possible facilitiesfor pursuing highereducation and never treatthem with any ill feelings.He remarked that thoseparents who do not provideeducation to theirdaughters are her worstenemies.The DDC informed thatregular awareness campsunder BBBP shall beorganised across thedistrict in coming days.Among others present onthe occasion were NodalOfficer for BBBP, AnoopKumar, CMO Dr. AbdulMajeed, Deputy CMO Dr.Yaqoob, Medical Supdtt.District Hospital, Dr. S.D.Atri, besides others.

BBBP campaign:

DDC felicitates mothersblessed with girl child NL CORRESPONDENT

DODA, JAN 11

District Election Officer,Anshul Garg today issuedan activity calendar,starting from January 11to January 19, 2019, toeducate, train andfacilitate the young votersincluding future votersunder Systematic Voters'Education and ElectoralParticipation (SVEEP)campaign.First Orientation/awareness programmewas held today here at HSSKilothran and HSS Gandohunder the supervision ofTariq Ahmed Qazi, Nodalofficer SVEEP andpresided over by SDMGandoh Pritam SinghThapa. A large number ofstudents participated inthe programme.As per the calendar,similar activities will beheld at HSS Malothi andHSS Berruru on January12, HSS Thathri and HSSJangalwar on January 14,HSS Bhaderwah onJanuary 15, HSS Assarand HSS Khaleni onJanuary 18 and HSSBhagwah and Kastigarh onJanuary 19.The objective of the

orientation/ awarenessprogramme is to educatethe targeted populationsabout voter registration,electoral process andrelated matters throughhands on experience.Targeted populations willalso be familiarized withEVM and VVPAT andeducated about robustnessand integrity of theelectoral process usingEVMs along withdemonstration of VVPAT tobe introduced in upcomingParliamentary election2019.The programme is alsoaimed at to harness thepotential of ELC membersfor carrying the electoralliteracy in communities,especially young voters inthe age group of 18 to 19and future voters in the agegroup of 16 to 18.District Complaint Cell(DCC) has also beenestablished at DC officeDoda with 1950 as toll freenumber. Any grievancerelated to electoral roll orany query related toelection can be redressedvia toll this free number.The DCC shall receivecalls during office hoursbetween 10am to 5pm.

Activity calendar issued forvoters' awareness campaign

NL CORRESPONDENT

RAJOURI, JAN 11

Deputy CommissionerMohammad Aijaz Asadtoday chaired a meeting ofrevenue officers andreviewed the progress ofscanning of documents,quality check and upgradation of jamabandiesfor digitization of landrecord under Digital IndiaLand RecordModernization Programs(DILRMP).The ACR informed the

meeting that 349 manualjamabandies werenotified, of which 196were completed andprocess for completing theremaining is on.The DDC emphasized onto strictly follow thetimeline fixed for thepreparation ofJamabandies and scanningof all pending revenuerecords.The concerned weredirected to hold weeklyand fortnightly meetings to

review the progress ofpreparation ofJamabandies.Bottlenecks in theimplementation of DigitalIndia Land RecordModernization programmewere also discussed.The DC directed thetehsildars to identify thespace for setting upcomputer centre/Datacentre /Modern Recordroom at Tehsil level andalso depute at least oneemployee to NIC to learnthe digitlization andupgradation of documents.The meeting was attendedby ADC Sher Singh, ADCKotranka Ved Parkash,ACR, Mohammad Ashraf,all Tehsildars of thedistrict and other revenuefunctionaries.

Progress of land record digitization reviewed

NL CORRESPONDENT

KISHTWAR, JAN 11

Holding NationalConference, Congress andBJP responsible forbackwardness of nomadsin Chenab Valley, MemberLegislative Council FirdousTak Friday said that theGujjar and Bakarwals wereused just as mere votebank by their own electedrepresentatives.Tak was addressing aparty meeting at GujjarBasti in Nagseni Blaock ofKishtwar district. A largenumber of nationalconference workers joinedon the occasion andpledged to strengthen thehands of Ms MehboobaMufti. On this occasion,the Zonal President PDPKishtwar Arshad Giri,District President YouthWasil Doowal, HaJi MohdIqbal, Ab Rasheed Butt, GhMohd Sheikh, Firdous

Tapal, Arshad Hussain,Sajjad Hussain, ShahidHussain Gilkar, TariqHussain, Imran Ahmad ,Elam Din, Ab Kasim besideother senior party leaderswere present.Tak said that the people ofChenab Valley remaindeprived of even the basicamenities despite theregion contributingstrongly to the stateeconomy. He said thatpeople had dreamed ofprosperity and voted NCand Congress out of poweronly to face anotherbetrayal this time at thehand of BJP.He said that PDP on theother hand has stood forall weaker sections of thesociety and fought for theirrights. "It was MuftiMuhammad Sayeed whocreated a separate TribalAffairs Ministry and gaverepresentation to thecommunity', he said adding

that the than ChiefMinister Ms. MehboobaMufti stood firm in theAsifa case making surethat the family gets justice.He said that the only wayto get Chenab Valley out ofbackwardness and underdevelopment was to grantit separate divisionalstatus. the reorganisationof administrative setupwas necessary to addressdevelopment deficit of faroff areas of the state."The PDP transformed thepolitical ideologies andforced even the opponentslike NC and Congress toadopt the policy of peaceand reconciliation", he saidadding, "Today all thepolitical parties speakabout dialogue andreconciliation besidesfriendly relations with theneighbours. This is theachievement of PDP", hesaid.

NC, Cong exploit, BJP backstabsGujjar community: Tak

NL CORRESPONDENTKISHTWAR, JAN 11

An awareness programmewas today organised bydepartment ofemployment incollaboration withHandloom department tocreate awareness andregister the unorganisedworkers in of thismountainous district.The camp witnessed theparticipation of around100 handicrafts/Handloomweavers and othertrainers.Assistant DirectorEmployment- the NodalOfficer BBBP, AnoopKumar, Assistant. DirectorHandloom Department,Mohinder Pal amongothers were present on

the occasion.Addressing theparticipants, the A.Demployment educatedthem about the benefits ofregistration ofunorganised workers withemployment department.He said that the registeredunorganised worker willbe issued a smart cardwhich will in future act asa single point for varioussocial security schemes tobe notified by thegovernment.Asst. Director Handloomalso spoke on the occasionand informed theparticipants about variousschemes of theDepartment and BetiBachao Beti Padhaocampaign.

Awareness campfor workers held

NL CORRESPONDENTRAMBAN, JAN 11

As part of SwachhtaPakhwada (fortnightsanitation) campaign, theElsamex MaintenanceServices Ltd. the firmresponsible for thesecurity and maintenanceof the 9.25Km longChenani-Nashri tunnel,planted plants on thevacant land around thesubway, here today.Chief MedicalOfficer(CMO), Ramban, DrSaif-ud-din Khanalongwith Head TunnelOperations, Chander DevJamwal launched theplantation by plantingsaplings.Later, the BlockDevelopment Officer,Batote, Ajeet Singh,Supervisor, SurinderSharma also planted

several varieties of plantsin the area in presence ofDaljeet Singh, RoutePatrolling Officer, KomalKour, Assistant Manager,HR, Mohammed Javed,Safety Incharge, Er.Ankush Kah and team ofElsamex MaintenanceServices Ltd.Lauding the efforts ofElsamex MaintenanceServices Ltd. inmaintaining andconserving theenvironment around the C-N tunnel as part of itsCorporate SocialResponsibility (CSR), theCMO said that theCompany has beencarrying out many asanitation and cleanlinessrelated programmes in thearea besides creating theroad safety awarenessamong the public andmotorists.

Plantation drive launchedaround Chenani-Nashri tunnel

NL CORRESPONDENTRAJOURI, JAN 11

The three day longawareness campaign ofRegional Outreach Bureau(ROB), Union Ministry ofInformation &Broadcasting concludedwith daylong programmeon the theme 'Drug AbuseAnd Its Ill Effects' heretoday at ITI GovernmentIndustrial TrainingInstitute, Rajouri . A series of IEC activitiesincluding Drawingcompetition, Presentationof Skits and Mimes,

Expert lectures and aseminar were held duringthe event.Principal Govt. ITI, SajjadAhmad Naqueeb, DySPHqrs, Govind Rattan,Medical Officer Manjakot,Dr Vikas Sharma,Supervisor ITI ManzoorHussain, Performer, ROB,Jammu Ram Lal and otherstaff members werepresent on the occassion.Speakers on the occasionurged the students and theteachers to come forwardand contribute towards thefight against drug menace.They said that drug abuse

is a curse for the societyas it affects the family andsocial life of the addictedperson. He alsoenlightened the gatheringabout NDPS Act. They enlightened thestudents about ill effectsof drug abuse on humanbody. He said that drugsare harmful to the healthwhen they are used inexcess and for a prolongedperiod of time. Drugaddiction is an addiction ifa person consumes it for

at least two yearsregularly and is not able toleave it even if he wishesto. A cultural programme,drawing competition and aseminar were the mainattractions of theprogramme. The Studentswere awarded first,second and third prizesfor their participation indrawing competition. Theregistered troupe of ROBpresented theme basedfolk items to entertain theaudience.

ROB's awareness campaign concludes

NL CORRESPONDENT

RAMBAN, JAN 11

District Information Centre(DIC) Ramban todayhosted a culture cum verityshow here at Hill ViewHotel Batote to provide thelocal singers and artists anopportunity to showcasethese talent.Chief Medical Officer(CMO), Ramban, Dr. Saif-u-din Khan was the chiefguest and DeputyCommandant, SSB,7thBattalion, Ramesh Kumarwas the guest of honour.Local Artists, Shamun Mir,

Rashid Malik, Divya Bharti,Aftab, Mohammad Rafi,Kapil Sharma and BishanDass enthralled theaudience by theirmelodious songs in Hindi,Dogri and Punjabi.Speaking on the occasion,the CMO lauded the effortsof Information Departmentand for organizing theimpressive show. He urgedthe Department to organisemore such events toprovide platform tobudding artists. Later,participants werefelicitated by the chiefguest.

DIC hosts cultural show

NL CORRESPONDENT

DODA, JAN 11

As part of Road SafetyWeek, anOrientation/Awarenessprogramme was todayorganized by the MotorVehicles Department(MVD) on the theme"Sadak Suraksha JeevanRaksha" here at Pul Doda.Over 50-60 passengervehicle drivers andconductors participated inthe programme.Addressing the camp,ARTO Rajesh Guptasought cooperation of

drivers and conductors inspreading the message ofroad safety and makingthe road safety week a bigsuccess. He asked them toavoid over speeding, useof mobile phone whiledriving, drunken driving,wrong overtaking, racingand underage driving toprevent loss of precioushuman lives.The ARTO further askedthe participants to take allnecessary measures andfollow the traffic rulesstrictly for the safety ofcommuters andthemselves.

MVD organizesawareness prog

NL CORRESPONDENT

UDHAMPUR, JAN 11

Additional DistrictDevelopment Commissioner,Ashok Kumar along with ateam of officers todayinspected ongoing civicworks being executed b ythe Municipal CouncilUdhampur. He asked theconcerned officers tocomplete the developmentalworks in a time bound

manner and approach theadministration in case theyface any bottleneck.Meanwhile, the ADDC urgedthe local people to takemaximum benefit ofschemes meant for theirwelfare. Deputy DirectorPlanning, Sham Gupta XenReW, Bashir Ahmed SheikhAEE PWD and other seniorofficers of concerneddepartments accompaniedthe ADDC.

ADDC inspects civic works

5 STATE the northlinesJammu | Saturday| January 12| 2019

NL CORRESPONDENTKATHUA, JAN 11

Krishi Vigyan Kendra(KVK) Kathua todayorganized a Training-cum-Awareness programme forfarmers on Protection ofPlant Varieties & FarmersRights Act (PPV&FRA),2001.Over 150 farmers attendedthe programme andshared their experienceson cultivation of traditionalvarieties.The programme wasinaugurated by ViceChancellor, SKUAST-Jammu, Prof. Pradeep K.Sharma in presence ofDirector Research, Dr. J.P.Sharma, AssociateDirector Extension & I/cKVKs, Dr. R.K. Arora,Director, Planning &Monitoring, Dr. DeepakKher, Estates Officer, SunilGandotra, ExecutiveEngineer, Iqbal Singh andDDM NABARD Kathua,Madan Lal.In his address, Prof.Pradeep K. Sharma briefedthe farmers about thebenefits of PPV&FRA, 2001for the farmingcommunity. Heacknowledged thatfarmers are engaged inconserving and improvingage old varieties of cropsand emphasized upon theneed to make them awareabout the benefits of the

Act. He informed that theAct has provisions toreward the farmers/groupof farmers, who havemaintained multiplegermplasm of cropvarieties. Dr. J.P. Sharmaappreciated the efforts ofKrishi Vigyan Kendra,Kathua for organizing theprogramme with the activeparticipation of farmers offar flung areas of Banitehsil. He briefed aboutthe efforts of theuniversity in developmentof new technologies andalso in conserving theavailable biodiversity. Heinformed that SKUAST-Jammu is in the process ofdeveloping a Gene Bank ofall types of crop varietiesand requested farmers tosubmit the germplasmavailable with them formaintaining the gene poolat University level.Dr. R.K. Arora, AssociateDirector Extension & I/c

KVKs, welcomed theparticipating farmers andother dignitaries in theprogramme and gave abrief account of theobjective of organizing theprogramme. He elaboratedthe Distinctiveness,Uniformity and Stabilityparameters of crops inrelation to PPV&FR Act.Earlier, Dr. Amrish Vaid,Sr. Scientist and Head,KVK Kathua welcomed theparticipants in theprogramme and explainedspecific provisions ofPPV&FRA, 2001 including

identification of desirablecharacters in traditionalcrops & varieties, Farmers'Rights, registrationprocess etc.The event also witnessedan exhibition where localvarieties/land races ofcereals and other cropsbrought by the localfarmers were displayed.Some of them werecollected by KVK Kathuafor further submission toPPV&FR Authority for finalregistration.In the interaction session,resource personsresponded to queries ofparticipating farmers.A booklet on theprovisions of PPV&FRA,2001 was also released onthe occasion in Hindilanguage for distributionto the farmers of thedistrict. Dr. PradeepSharma also laid thefoundation stone forestablishment of SpawnProduction Laboratory atKVK Kathua.

KVK hosts awareness progNL CORRESPONDENTKARGIL, JAN 11

The concluding session ofthe week-long basiccourse in Yige-the scriptused to write Purgi, Balti,and Ladakhi was held atLanguage Centre Kargilhere today. Chairman and ChiefExecutive CouncillorLAHDC, Kargil, FerozAhmad Khan was theChief Guest and ExecutiveCouncillor for Tourism andCulture Er Punchok Tashiwas the Guest of Honour.Director CIBS Prof.Konchok Wangdus was thespecial guest on theoccasion. The course was organizedby Central Institute ofBuddhist Studies (CIBS),Leh in collaboration withLAHDC, Kargil.Speaking on the occasion,the CEC appreciated CIBSLeh for having comeforward to organize theseven-day programme in

Kargil. He expressed hopethat it will go a long way inreviving the lost glory ofPurgi language through theadoption of its script, Yige. The CEC appreciated thestep taken by Anayat AliShotopa, Copy Editor at AllIndia Radio, Kargil toorganize such a course inthe district. He said thatsuch courses willstrengthen the intellectualcommunity of Kargil interms of betterunderstanding of thenuances of the mothertongue. Feroz Khan further addedthat LAHDC, Kargil willcreate a new head underthe District Plan for thedevelopment of Purgi andits script and ensure thatthere is no shortage offunds for such activities. Feroz Khan said that theinitiative should mark thebeginning of an effort thatshould involve allstakeholders to promotethe use of Purgi and asked

participants to come upwith new ideas in thisregard. He declared thatLAHDC, Kargil will sign aMemorandum ofUnderstanding with CIBSin the near future whichwould be aimed to sustainthis effort. The CEC said that thisstep will help theEducation Department andJ&K Academy of Art,Culture and Languages todevelop a plan tostrengthen the use ofPurgi. The CEC also saidthat LAHDC, Kargil alsointends to organizecultural exchangeprogrammes to promotecultural awareness anddialogues among thecultural activists, writers,and artist from Kargil, Leh,and Baltistan.Er Punchok Tashi, while

speaking on the occasion,expressed histhankfulness to DirectorCIBS Prof. Konchok

Wangdus for responding sopromptly to their requestand also for extending thecourse from seven days to10 days.Prof. Konchok Wangdus inhis speech said thatseeing the huge responseand enthusiasm from theparticipants at Kargil CIBSwill organize an advancedcourse at its campusduring summer seasonthis year for the studentsrecommended by LAHDC,Kargil. He expressed his immensesatisfaction at thesuccessful conclusion ofthe course. Meanwhile, theparticipants of the courseexpressed their gratitudeto Instructor Dr KonchokRigzin and ResourcePerson Skarma Junglay fortheir tireless efforts inimparting valuableknowledge andinformation during thetraining programme.

Week-long language script course concludes

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JAN 11

Several public delegationsand individual today meetAdvisor to Governor, KVijay Kumar and apprisedhim their grievances anddemands at weekly publichearing under the aegis ofJammu & KashmirGovernor's Grievance Cell. A delegation of Udaiwalaresidents demandedconstruction of lanes &drains and requested todirect JMC officials to shiftthe waste dumping sitefrom the area.

The NIS trained Coachesprojected their issues

including continuation oftheir services.The Employees Union ofSericulture departmentsought regularization ofcasual labour working inthe department.All J&K Contingent PaidEducation EmployeesUnion submitted arepresentationhighlighting various issuesincluding regularization ofCPWs and wages as perminimum wages act.Aspirants seekingrecruitment in SDRFrequested for expeditingthe selection process andearly release of the finalselection list.

Horticulture DevelopmentOfficers under the bannerof All J&K HorticultureOfficers WelfareAssociation made arepresentation seekingassured careerprogression, removal ofpay anomaly in thegazetted cadre, holding ofDPC, filling and creation ofdistrict cadre posts andothers.A delegation comprisingMultipurpose Workers ofRural Developmentdepartment also projectedtheir issues and redressalof the same.Besides this, around 40individuals also apprisedthe Advisor about theirissues and projected theirdemands which includedup-gradation of health,road, schools and otherpublic matters.The Advisor gave a patienthearing and assured themthat their genuinedemands will be lookedinto.

Advisor Kumar listens to people's issues

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JAN 11

Divisional Commissioner,Sanjeev Verma todayreviewed the progress onconstruction of bunkersalong international borderhere at a meeting of DCsof border districts ofJammu.The meeting was attendedby Deputy CommissionerSamba, Sushma Chouhan,Chief Engineer R&B,Shudheer Shah, AssistantCommissioner RevenueJammu, Sanjay Kumar,besides seniorfunctionaries of concerneddepartments while Deputy

Commissioners of Kathua,Rajouri and Poonchattended the meetingthrough video conference.The DC Kathua apprisedthat out of 1956 individualbunkers, work on 452 is inprogress and 237 arenearing completion.DC Samba, Rajouri, Poonchapprised the Div Comabout the status ofconstruction of bunkers intheir respective districts.They informed about thework being done byexecuting agencies in theirrespective districts so farand also shared future planwith Div Com.DC Rajouri informed that

out of 2000 bunkers, workallottment of 310 bunkershas been done and 602 areunder evaluation whilework on 60 bunkers is inprogress.DC Poonch informed thatwork on 152 communitybunkers and 129 individualbunkers, has been allotted,while work on 20 bunkersis in progress.The Div Com directed DCsto conduct a reviewmeetings of AEs, JEs andcontractors of theirrespective districts andchalk out strategy forexpediting the work.The Div Com asked theconcerned departments tochalk out strategy for earlycompletion of work andmake activity calendar andshare progress on workswith respective DCs.He asked the DCs to seekprogress reports onregular basis to expeditethe pace of work and meetthe timelines.

Progress on const of bunkersalong IB, LoC reviewed

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JAN 11

Advisor to Governor, KVijay Kumar, todayemphasized officers' rolein using IT for easinggovernment functioningand reinforcingtransparency in servicesdelivery.The Advisor was speakingat the certificatedistribution ceremony ofcapacity building trainingsimparted to officers andorganized by InformationTechnology Department incollaboration with NationalInstitute of SmartGovernance (NISG).The trainings wereattended by over 60 seniorofficers of variousdepartments of the StateGovernment, addressedissues of security inhandling the internet andIT devices in today's age.

The training on processreengineering, sensitizedsenior officers aboutmaking work flow in thegovernment shorter,simpler, more efficient andspeedy.Advisor to Governor, KVijay Kumar gave away thecertificates to theparticipants at a jointclosing ceremony afterconclusion of the trainings.The Advisor congratulatedthe IT Department forhaving conducted thetraining programs onInformation Security,Project Management andGovernment Process Re-engineering in the last onemonth and also othertrainings in InformationTechnology during theyear.The Advisor highlightedthe importance of CyberSecurity at a time whenthe State government is

graduating to e-Governance and smartgovernance in a big way.Presently over 100 G2Cservices are being offeredonline. The land recordsare being digitized, hesaid.He added that the officesare moving towardsdigitization and adoptinge-tendering forprocurement purposes. e-Governance is penetratingdown up-to the panchayatlevel and thus havemultiplied the need ofprecautions to be taken forsafe transaction ofgovernment business. Theneed for simplifyinggovernment processeswith a view to makingthem faster, and hassle-free for the citizens cannotbe overemphasized.During the function, theAdvisor interacted on aone-to-one basis with all

the participants and alsoreviewed case studies ofprocess reengineeringpresented by a group ofDeputy Commissioners,Avny Lavasa, PiyushSingla and Owais Ahmed,who were participants inthe training.Secretary InformationTechnology, SaugatBiswas, while speaking onthe occasion, informedthat the J&K e-Governance Agency(JaKeGA),Department of IThas collaborated withprofessional agencies suchNISG, NeGD, NIIT with aview to raise thestandards of Capacitybuilding and making thetrainings relevant to thecontemporaryrequirements.He added that the series oftrainings, whichcommenced from midDecember, 2018 witnessedparticipation of over 250officers positioned atstrategic levels such asPrincipal Secretaries,Commissioner Secretaries,Secretaries, DeputyCommissioners, Directors,Senior Superintendents ofPolice etc and took benefitfrom interactions with

experts of national repute.He said this year the ITdepartment has alreadytrained more than 550government officials.Biswas informed that J&Ke-Governance Agency(JaKeGA), InformationTechnology Departmenthas successfully organizedtraining programes ondifferent themes. Duringthe last 6 months, morethan 240 employees whichinclude 180 officers fromSecretariat and 60officers/officials of districtadministration Leh &Kargil were trained onbasic InformationCommunicationTechnology(ICT) course.Further 60 employees ofState Taxes Departmentwere also trained on basicIT tools related to theimplementation of GSTNetwork in the State.Moreover in the presentinitiative concluding todaymore than 250 officerswere trained onGovernment Process Re-engineering, ProjectManagement, Informationand Cyber SecurityManagement.

Cyber Security, Process Re-engineering training concludes Advisor Kumar emphasizes role of IT in easing govt functioning

NL CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, JAN 11

Kisan Sabha celebratedits 39th Foundation Day,here today. Swaran Singh,Uday Chand and TekChand Sapolia presidedover the function. Founderpresident of Kisan Sabha,Hari Chand Jalmeria,while speaking on theoccasion said that farmerscomprise over 75% of thecountry's population butduring the past 70 yearsof democratic rule inIndia, the farmers havebeen left far behind in thecomparative developmentof society. They are notgetting profitable pricesfor their agriculturalproduce, their childrenare not getting qualityeducation and jobs, due toregressive policies ofGovt. towards farmers,

they are forced to divertto other fields and selltheir lands. Conversion ofuse of agricultural andirrigated land for nonagricultural purposes likebuilding colonies, banquethalls, brick kilns,shopping malls, has put abig challenge to theexistence of the farmersand rural economy whichis so far based onagriculture and alliedpursuits. Jalmeria addedthat the Govt. hasremained silent spectatorand worked against theinterest of the farmers.Swaran Singh, UdayChand, Tek ChandSapolia, Dewan Singh,Sagar Chand, Ravi Singh,Shanker Singh Chib,Kuldip Singh, Kunj Lalexpressed their views andhighlighted the issues ofthe farmers.

Kisan Sabha celebrates39th Foundation Day

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JAN 11

The JK Governor's Grievance Cell(including Governor's Secretariat) hassince June 20, 2018 received 41716complaints/grievances of which 40457have been dealt with / forwarded to theconcerned quarters for timely redressalwhile as 877 complaints / grievances are

under process.Similarly, on the directions of Governor,all three advisors to the Governor havebeen regularly meeting and hearing thegrievances of delegations / deputationsand individuals both at Srinagar and inJammu as per the schedule and areregularly reviewing the disposal of thegrievances pertaining to their respectivedepartments.

40457 grievances disposed of by GGC NL CORRESPONDENT

ANANTNAG, JAN 11

District DevelopmentCommissioner, MohammadYounis Malik today chaireda meeting regardingnational quality assurancestandards in the district.The purpose of themeeting was to review thespecific requirements andfacilities for public health,currently available atDistrict Hospital,Maternity & ChildcareHospital, all Sub districtHospitals and PublicHealth Centres of thedistrict and to assess the

quality for improvement ofhealth standards throughservice provision, patientrights, inputs, supportservices, clinical care,infection control, qualitymanagement and outcome.The DDC, on the occasion,instructed the officers ofthe health department tofollow the standardoperating protocols andprocesses for maintainingquality at public healthcentres.He stressed uponconcerned to improve thepatient care andcleanliness, containreferrals and achieve

overall notableimprovement. The DDCsaid that there is a notabledecrease in the number ofreferrals over a period oftime which reflectsimprovement in themanagement of thehospitals and healthcentres of the district. Among others the meetingwas attended by CMOAnantnag, Deputy CMO,Medical SuperintendentMCH, Public ProsecutorSession Court, therepresentative from anNGO and Members fromQuality Assurance Teamdistrict Anantnag.

DDC chairs national qualityassurance standards meet

NL CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, JAN 11

Governor Satya Pal Malikhas greeted the people onthe occasion of theNational Youth Day whichis observed tocommemorate thebirthday of SwamiVivekananda.In his message Governorhas appealed to the youthof the State to seekinspiration from greatthinkers and philosopherswho worked selflessly forthe betterment of thesociety.Governor urged the youthto explore their talentsand channelize theirenergies towards building

a strong and developednation with due regards to

its rich culture andtraditions.

Guv's message on NationalYouth Day

JAMMU |Saturday, January 12, 2019

(Disclaimer: The views expressed here are personal opinions of the writers. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the articles do not reflect the views of The Northlines and it does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same).

6EDITORIAL

For some, success invariably gets into head and one becomes a loose cannon and lands into controversies. In Cricket, controversies

always overshadowed the game. It is not just on the field but off the field often. Certain remarks by cricketers in media or elsewhere land them in trouble. The recent utterances by young Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul in a talk show with Karan Johar in a television channel got them condemnation. There comments got brisk reaction from their fans and people in general. They have received backlash on social media. Whatever may be their achievement in the sport, yet they are remembered for how they conduct themselves in real life. They should remember that they live and die by their conduct away from cricket. Several international sports personali-ties lost their prominence by making needless statements.

Taking part in a reality show recently, both Rahul and Pandya made some ‘sexist’ remarks. It immediately triggered debates. They were con-demned. Caught by surprise, the players issued an apology and said they would never repeat those statements. But the damage was already done.

The broadcasters pulled down the episode. Fans of these cricketers expressed shock at their comments. They said the sportspersons should have maintained decorum and showed restraint. The BCCI has even suggested a two-ODI ban for these players after many questioned why the two were still not suspended. Rahul and Pandya are part of the team that is currently touring Down Under.

BCCI should make sure that cricketers are not allowed to appear on such TV shows. Any-thing other than cricket should be banned. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid set a great example. They were disciplined not just on ground but away from it too. They spoke few words. And made sure that they never hurt anyone. In their long career, the likes of Gavas-kar, Kapil Dev, Sachin or Dhoni never got into any controversy.

Focus should be on the sport. They should make sure that they contribute their best to help the team win rather than putting themselves in an embarrassing situation by their conduct. Such needless acts would indirectly affect their performance on the field. Watch what you speak, is the advice.

MIND THE LANGUAGE!

OMKAR DATTATRAY

It has been India’s consis-tent policy and stand that Kashmir is a bilateral issue

between India and Pakistan and there is no role of any third party intervention and media-tion. Thus, keeping in view stated and clear position of India, Norway has no role so far as the resolution of Kashmir issue is concerned. Kashmir is a bilateral issue and can be solved by the bilateral initiatives and fruitful dialogue between the two stake holders of India and Pakistan and therefore there is no role for a third country to meddle into India’s inter-nal matters and more so the Norway whose former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondvik has paid a surprise visit to Kashmir in November, 2018 and has met Hurriyat Confer-ence and some other political leaders. Surprisingly the former Norway Prime Minister had subsequently visited Pakistan occupied Kashmir and met a cross section of people and leaders there. It clearly implies that there is some interest of Norway in Kashmir issue and they want to mediate between India and Pakistan regard-ing Kashmir dispute because Norway has a long history of conflict resolution in the globe and keeping this in view, the visit of former PM of Norway Bondevik to Kashmir and occu-pied Kashmir has evoked a controversy in political circles, while some welcoming his visit of our Kashmir and Pak occu-pied Kashmir.

National conference’s Tan-veer Sadik – political advisor of former CM of J&K Omer Abdullah has told Al-Jazeera, “if anything breaks the ice it

would be a welcome step. But we need to know if government in New Delhi is backing the meeting”. While move angered some within the ruling BJP with party MP Subramaniam Swamy hitting out at the government for allowing ex-Norwegian Prime Minister Bondevik to interfere on Kashmir. He then said that Norwegian PM should be imme-diately expelled from India for his gross interference in internal affairs of India while in Kashmir. Who does not want resolution of the vexed issue of Kashmir but then third party mediation has no place in Kashmir resolu-tion as per Simla agreement of 1972 and it should be left to India and Pakistan to resolve this tick-lish issue which has been there since unfortunate partition of India in 1947.

The issue of Norwegian connection and mediation has once again come to limelight because of the visit of Norway’s PM Erna Solberg who began her visit to India by asserting that Norway will only be a media-tor in Kashmir issue if both India and Pakistan agree but added that both countries are big enough to decrease the ten-sion without external help. She came on Monday for two day’s visit – the first of its kind by a PM of Norway in ten years. As already outlined former Norway PM Bondevik was in valley in November, 2018 but his visit was facilitated by Bangalore based art of living foundation.

Therefore, the question about Norway’s interest in Kashmir issue arouse because of his visit. As expected it because a politi-cal tool in the hands of opposi-tion to attack ruling BJP. Oppo-sition parties criticized Bond-evik’s surprise trip to Srinagar and then to Pak occupied Kash-

mir. Last month Indian external affairs minister Susham Swaraj told Parliament that the New Delhi, “Was not involved in orga-nizing of the visit and meetings”. She added that Indian govern-ment policy remained the same that “there is no scope for any third party role or mediation”. Speaking about her predeces-sor’s trip Solberg said that Bondevik went to Kashmir as a “Private Citizen”. “He had an institute for peace and security which is a private institute in Norway. It is not a part of any government plan to be involved in negotiations. He was invited and he went. Our government policy is very clear. If we are going to help somewhere, they have to ask me for it. It is not an initiative which came from outside”. It is a fact that Norway has done a lot in the resolution of conflicts between countries in the globe but it is also true that Norway steps in the role of mediator only if the parties involved in the dispute agree to its mediation.

The last resolution was Com-bodia which was successful. It had also stepped in Sri-Lanka crisis but there it has not met with success. Solberg had made it clear if India and Pakistan agree on the involvement of Norway in mediation and arbi-tration, then only we will step in otherwise not. Solberg has said that no body from outside can create peace or make changes. It has to come from inside. The talks have to be partner driven by those who are part of the con-flict. She further reiterated that with India not willing to have any third party involved in the dispute, there is no possibility of Norway or any other inter-national entity to act as media-tor. Pakistan has diametrically

opposed position. In a tweet she said, “PM Norway has not offered to mediate between India and Pakistan as has been erro-neously reported. Norway has neither been asked nor offered to mediate”. The media reports had entertained suspicion that Norway is going to step in and mediate between India and Paki-stan over Kashmir issue but the fact of the matter is that media and the opposition is making a mountain out of a mole hill as Soleberg has repeatedly con-tended that Norway will mediate only if both India and Pakistan agree but not otherwise. Thus, there is no question of creating an unnecessary and avoidable controversy but for the political expediency of election coming closer. It is a fact that Kash-mir problem cannot be solved by military means but by talks between the parties. Soleberg further said that, “I personally do not believe a military solution solves the problem. I believe in peaceful solution”. She cautious-ly and carefully indicated that both the countries will have to decide when they are ready for talks but citing good Scandina-vian neighborliness, noted that decrease in tension would lead to lower expenditure on defense. When asked about the matter, India government sources point-ed out Norway ambassador has already clarified on the matter. After a controversy broke out over remarks by Norway PM.

The Norway PM Soleberg, “has not offered to mediate between India and Pakistan” on Kashmir issue neither has Norway been requested to medi-ate. The Norway PM said clearly that as per Norway policy, any peace initiative in which it mediates has to be requested for. Norway PM’s offer of J&K

mediation sparks a row. Specu-lations have been mounting for the past couple of months when as per reports from Srinagar in November, 2018 former Norway PM Bondevik visited Kashmir valley and met top Hurriyat leader Mirwiz Umer Farooq and Syeed Ali Shah Geelani and subsequently to a cross section of leaders and people in Pok and this controversy is revived again on the visit of PM Soleberg of Norway to India. Opposition parties seek clarity on the Nor-weigan mediation on Kashmir.

Opposition parties ask Modi government to explain Ex-Norway PM’s Surprise visit to Kashmir during which he met Separatist leaders. It has sparked a controversy with opposition parties questioning the government over the sur-prise trip of Ex-PM Norway to Kashmir. Omer Abdullah point-ed fingers at Hindu nationalist government of Narinder Modi to explain the close door meet-ing held in Srinagar. What are the Norwegian’s up to in Kash-mir? Bondevik’s trip to Kashmir was first by a foreign dignitary since Modi took over reigns in 2014 and some months after UN urged an international enquiry into human rights violations by India security forces. Accord-ing to Ajai Shakula defense and security analyst, “there is complete vacuum in Kashmir at the moment. Hence this unco-ordinated step that is filling that vacuum.” In net shell there is no role for third party mediation in J&K as it has remained the consistent policy of New Delhi irrespective of the fact who rules the country and under which political party. Therefore mediation by Norway’s PM or Ex-PM is untenable and cannot be allowed.

MAJ. GEN SB ASTHANA

Although one year is too short a period for trending a serious subject like National Secu-

rity, nevertheless speculating the immediate trends may be a useful exercise under the existing reali-ties, because in the environment of high voltage political scenario in the country due to 2019 elections, the National Security tends to get off the thinking radar of some deci-sion makers.

External Security Chal-lenges

China Factor With the advent of US-China trade war, which is likely to continue in 2019 as well and reset of China India relations with Wuhan ‘Informal Summit’ the relations between China and India seem to be getting better than the previous years, when bitterness between both countries over Doklam Crisis had touched a new high. At this point China needs good relations with India, to ensure that India does not get into US club as well as economic and other reasons like peace and tranquility on borders, to concentrate on South China Sea and Eastern seaboard. This honey-mooning is however, temporary, till such time China is under pressure from US.

Although decision making in India will be affected in first six months of 2019, due to elections, but from international point of view, this is the ideal time for diplomats to make some progress…

There is going to be no change in Indian differences with China on border issue, BRI/CPEC or South China Sea. I do not expect any worthwhile development on border issue, which is very complex, but some agreements on delimitation leading to demarcation of LAC, to prevent a repeat of Doklam like incident is doable, if the political will exists on both sides.

Although decision making in India will be affected in first six months of 2019, due to elections, but from international point of view, this is the ideal time for diplomats to make some progress on delimi-tation and demarcation of LAC,

as China can be expected to con-trol its adventurism during Trade War. We can thus expect a relative quiet period on Chinese borders, with some positive steps for better border management, so long the Trade War continues, and Chinese remain under pressure of economic slowdown.

Pakistan Factor In 2019, I do not visualize any dramatic change in Pakistan’s behavior. The terror industry and proxy war will con-tinue, notwithstanding the per-ceived economic difficulties which have been in news in 2018, because whenever they are on the verge of sinking, some country will bail them out to foster its own inter-est through them because of their strategic location/terror potential. It may be interesting to note that their terror industry is mainly sustained by parallel economy involving drug trade, extortion and assistance from ISI, with material and operational support from Pakistan Army. Paki-stan in fact has earned out of this industry, besides launching proxy war against India and Afghanistan.

As the security situation unfolds in Af-Pak Region, I will not be surprised if Taliban, which was decimated by Multi-national Forces, but nurtured by Pakistan, may be in driving seat of power in Afghanistan(Much against Indian interest), and US may have no option but to silently end their pursuit against them acknowledg-ing Pakistan as one of the main broker. The efforts of FATF and IMF may show some check on the formal economy, but not the terror economy, as the linkage between the two is not as tight as it is made out to be. Pakistan is well used to international isolation, hence UN declared terrorists will continue to spit venom and plan terror opera-tions against India in 2019.

CPEC will make Pakistan a colony of China or enter into a client- Patron relationship, where strategic choices of Pakistan will be hostage to China.

Sino-Pak Nexus The prog-ress on CPEC will continue despite Indian opposition, some domes-tic opposition inside Pakistan,

although, globally BRI will continue to face many roadblocks. CPEC will make Pakistan a colony of China or enter into a client- Patron rela-tionship, where strategic choices of Pakistan will be hostage to China. This brings out a long term threat to India in terms of ‘Two-front war’ which India has to prepare, as it has been neglected for many decades so far.

Internal Security Chal-lenges

Kashmir In 2019, the situa-tion in Kashmir valley may be rela-tively peaceful for some time during President’s rule. On expiry of the same, there will be tremendous pressure on the Central Govern-ment to start the democratic pro-cess, even if adequate stabilization has not taken place. Various inter-ests groups of Kashmir including political parties, who benefit from a disturbed Kashmir, may be instru-mental in getting the fresh spate of violence in Kashmir Valley.

Incidentally Jammu, Ladakh and some part of Kashmir will continue to be peaceful and only a handful of districts, sympathetic to militants will continue to bleed due to terror actions. Unless some convictions of separatists happen, they will con-tinue to enjoy, because investiga-tions and temporary arrests do not matter to them.

The security forces will have to continue fighting infiltrators, terror-ists (Foreign as well local) because terror industry will continue to be a lucrative industry, having a role and salary package for everyone includ-ing stone-pelters, crowd managers, money launderers, informers and many more. The biggest vulner-ability deterring security forces in terror operations supported by stone pelters will be false allega-tions and some segments of human right organizations, legal fraternity, politicians using it to their advan-tage.

The infrastructure development there will have little impact because the state is quite high in per capita income and infrastructure amongst other states in the country.

The infrastructure development there will have little impact because

the state is quite high in per capita income and infrastructure amongst other states in the country. Schol-ars who quote theology/religious reasons for disturbance forget that no-one in Pakistan and Kashmir Valley speaks a word when Uyghurs are not allowed to practice some Islamic rituals and kept in re-edu-cation camps in Xinjiang (China) showing priority of money over religious brother in. 2019 will also see some more innovative methods of infiltration like rivers, sea routes and by air through countries where visa regulations have been relaxed.

North Eastern India We can hope for a developing North East in 2019, with declining insur-gency. Except for some parts Mani-pur and adjoining areas the region is showing keenness to grow. With friendly Governments in power in adjoining countries, North East may not be a major security concern.

Red Corridor/Naxalites The problem in these areas relates to poor governance and its intensity will increase/decrease depending upon the quality of governance pro-vided. There have been changes in Government in some affected states and some may go to polls next year. Depending upon the governance provided by them and lessons learnt by security forces operating there, the magnitude of the problem can be expected to vary in either direction in 2019. The police forces dealing with it need to have modern equipment, training including lead-ership training at grass root level.

What Should India do to meet these Security Chal-lenges?

With rolling out of CPEC, and need to do something different to generate nationalism by China amidst slowing down of economy, the clouds of ‘Two Front War’ are hanging over India, although it may not happen in 2019. The only way to avoid a ‘Two Front War’ is to con-vince the potential adversaries that India is capable of fighting it. This convincing cannot be by announce-ments or statements by leaders, but by building/proving capability to do so.

Unless Pakistan is deterred, the

proxy war will continue hence India has to be with ‘Offensive’ intent and capability to achieve it, not on ‘Offensive Defence’ mode.

For many decades governments in power claim to be giving high-est priority to national security but acting otherwise by minimizing the defence budget, which clearly gives out what kind of capability in terms of military hardware the nation can generate and where does the national priority lies. Chanakya, Clauswitz, and Sun Tzu, have said one thing in common that no nation can expect to be great and secure unless it has powerful Military, which can deter potential adver-sary.

Unless Pakistan is deterred, the proxy war will continue hence India has to be with ‘Offensive’ intent and capability to achieve it, not on ‘Offensive Defence’ mode. If capability exists then inten-tions can change overnight makes adversary jittery. Achievements like 200 to 300 militants killed or surgical strikes are commendable brave acts, but the need is to deter them to stop infiltration and deal with domestic enemies firmly. The nation has to be ready for it, not only the military as was the case in 1971 war.

India has some decision makers and beaurocrats, who create a per-ception that since war is not likely in near term; hence capacity build-ing can be a lower priority. We also have a set of diplomats who assure the decision makers that they will be able to prevent war, which leads them to Pre-1962 scenario. None of these categories realize that defence capabilities take long time to build up, more-so if India does not have strong Research, Devel-opment and manufacturing base. ‘Make in India’ and self reliance is essential but time consuming, should continue simultaneously. The defence budget allocation made in 2018 will have to substantially increase in 2019 in the interest of national security. Defence Procure-ment is already a slow process, which will become even slower, if it’s drawn into political gaming for 2019 elections.

India is well known all over the world as a country of cultural and traditional fes-

tivals. Our new year also begins with the harvest festivals which are celebrated with different names such as Lohri, Pongal, Bihu and Makar Sankranti. Each region acknowledges the gifts of nature and say thanks for a bountiful harvest. These festivals are deemed to mark the arrival of the New Year and spring and relieve people by giving a warm bid to the chilly cold winter.

When there is harvest, we celebrate the arrival of the first crop by sharing it with every-body. You are getting the ben-efit of all your labor and your hard work. In villages, at home, people used to get the first sug-arcane, the first bag of paddy and they share it with everyone.

And in this country sharing also has some knowledge & wisdom in it. Every celebration brings some wisdom with it. That’s the beauty here.

In Maharashtra, they give sesame seed and jaggery balls (laddoos). Sesame seed is the oil grain; sesame oil is the main oil that people use. Sesame, for some reason, is considered very precious. Sesame seed and jaggery are distributed to everybody and they say ‘You have this and let sweet words come out of your mouth’. This is the wish or greeting that we say. This tradition has been there for a long time.

This is also astrologically connected. Makar Sankranti is celebrated when the sun enters Makar rashi(Capricorn) which marks the end of winter. In the southern hemisphere, you must be celebrating Kark Sankra-man and not Makar Sankra-

man. Our beginning of ‘spring’ is beginning of ‘fall’ for them and our ‘fall’ here is beginning of ‘spring’ in Australia. So, the celebrations are also linked to seasons. Makar Sankranti is celebrated when you come from harsh winter into a pleas-ant sunshine.

‘Til’ or the Sesame is the smallest grain. When people in India die, there is one prayer for the soul. They take Sesame seed & some water and tell them ‘be content, be content, and be content’. The children tell their parents or other deceased people ‘your desires are like this sesame seed, just drop them, the world is so big, you move on, the universe is so huge, drop your small earthly desires, we are here to fulfill them, and you become content.’ This is called ‘tarpanam’. ‘Trip-tiyataam, triptiyataam, tripti-yataam’, three times we say ‘be content, be content, and be con-tent’. We tell the deceased ones, that if you have any unfulfilled desires then just let go of those and move on. We get stuck in small-small things, or anger or jealousy on somebody; we tend to hold on to something, some person or situation. If we hold on to such things then we will not be able to move forward on our journey. That is why it is said that drop all these desires and be content, be content, be content. Be like a sesame seed; very humble, small and be sweet like jaggery. “Let your ego be small like sesame seeds and words like jiggery.” This is the greeting or wish you make to each other. Not only give or exchange some mate-rial thing to other but also some wisdom.

-Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

How Secure will India be in 2019?

Celebration cannot happen without sharingNorwegian mediation is untenable

7 KASHMIR the northlinesJammu | Saturday| January 12| 2019

NL CORRESPONDENTBUDGAM, JAN 11

Deputy Commissioner,Dr. Syed Sehrish Asgartoday directed privatecoaching center ownersoperating in the district toensure safe and secureatmosphere for the girlstudents in theirinstitutions. The DC madethese remarks whilechairing a meeting of theowners/heads of thecoaching centers here.The DC warned that therewill be zero toleranceagainst indiscipline andasked heads of thecoaching centers to installCCTVs and keep close eyeon anti- social elements attheir centers. Stressing on qualityeducation, the DC warnedthat action will be takenagainst the coachingcenters for failing to meetthe criteria set by the

Education Department.She also directed them toprovide all facilitiesincluding separatewashrooms for male andfemale students, properseating and heatingarrangements, adequatespace, drinking water,library and reading roomfacilities to the students.The DC directed that allcoaching centers operatingin the district must getregistered with theeducation department elsethe centre violating thenorms will not be allowedto operate. She asked the coachingcenter owners to apply forregistration in time anddirected concerned toexpedite registrationformalities.The DC warned theowners of coachingcenters against misleadingstudents by titles of thenationally acclaimed

(brand names) of coachinginstitutions.She said action will betaken against suchcoaching centers for"misusing" brand titles.The DC enquired from theowners about thearrangements, intakecapacity, time scheduleand fee structure fordifferent classes andcourses.The DC further urgedthem to accommodatepoor students oncomplimentary/concessional rates and take fee fromthe students installments. Among others, the meetingwas attended by DistrictEducation Planning Officer,Farooq Ahmad Raina andowners/heads of scores ofprivate coaching centersoperating in Magam,Narbal, Beerwah, Khag,Budgam, Char-i-Sharief,Chadoora and inKhansaheb areas.

DC stresses on quality education,fee waiver for poor students NL CORRESPONDENT

BANDIPORA, JAN 11

Deputy Commissioner,Bandipora today touredvarious areas of the districtto review essential servicesand snow clearanceoperations, besidesobtaining public feedback inthis regard.He was accompanied bySuperintendent of PoliceBandipora Sheikh ZulfikarAzad, Tehsildar(headquarters) MubashirSaleem Nazki, officials ofR&B, PHE, PDD and othersenior officials of thedistrict.Dr Choudhary visitedvarious villages includingBankote, Matrigam,Pethkote, Chak, Kralpora,Braripora, Guzarbal,Nowgam, Pazalpora,Drmahama, Athwatoo,Tangat, Chandaji, villages.He took stock of snowclearance operations,

restoration of electricity andavailability of essentialcommodities. He interactedwith the public at variousplaces and heard theirgrievances, besides passingon spot directions for itsredressal.DC said all the men andmachinery have been put onhigh alert in the districtsince last week and thesnow clearance operationswere started on early Fridaymorning to ensure all majorlink roads are cleared onwar footing basis to makethem through for the generalpublic across the district. Hesaid all the main roads havebeen cleared till evening.He said the MechanicalEngineer Department hasput 14 Snow Cats in serviceacross the district to clearthe snow, besides machineryof various municipalities. Hesaid the men and machineryare on high alert in view ofthe snow prediction for the

next two days. DC Bandipora said majorroads including in town werecleared manually as therewas less accumulation ofsnow this time and use ofmachines could havedamaged the road surface.He said all the major roadsof Bandipora, Hajin, Sumbaltowns were cleared by thefield staff of respectivemunicipalities. He lauded the efforts of thefield staff in clearing theroads quickly, besidesensuring regular watersupply and electricity.DC said in SnowboundGurez area Sub-DivisionalMagistrate is monitoring thesnow clearance operationsand all major roads in Tulail,Dawar and adjoining areaswere cleared on priority sothat people do not suffer.He said the administrationhas set up a control room inthe Mini SecretariatBandipora and urged thepeople to contact on phonenumbers 01957-225322,01957-225276, 7006526985,9797151356.

DC inspects snow clearance ops

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, JAN 11

Deputy Commissioner DrSyed Abid Rasheed Shah,conducted an extensivetour of Downtown areasand took stock of thedevelopmental scenarioand listened to the issuesof the locals. The DCvisited the historicalmarkets of Bohri Kadal,Zaina Kadal and MaharajGunj and took stock ofconcerns of traders there.He held separate meetingswith traders' bodies ofthese markets anddiscussed varied issuesincluding transportation,traffic management, fireand emergency facilitiesand availability of financialservices.

During the interactions,the DC also discussedmeasures for easing trafficcongestion at majorsquares like Soura Chowk,Hawal Chowk, GojwaraChowk, Rajouri Kadal andSeki Dafar.The DC assured the localrepresentatives that theirlong standing concerns willbe addressed at theearliest. Dr Shah alsoreviewed the progress ondifferent works taken upunder the Srinagar SmartCity Project. He also visitedNaqashband Sahib Shrine(RA) at Khwaja Bazar andinspected the ongoingpreservation work of thehistoric mosque.Senior officers ofconcerned departmentsaccompanied the DC.

DC inspectsdevelopmental works

NL CORRESPONDENTKARGIL, JAN 11

Deputy Commissioner andCEO, LAHDC, Kargil VikasKundal today reviewed thearrangements being put inplace for impartingtraining to the newlyelected Sarpanchs fromJanuary, 15 at ConferenceHall Baroo, Kargil.Additional DeputyCommissioner SonamChosjor, AssistantCommissionerDevelopment Imteeaz

Kacho, District PanchayatOfficer Shabir Hussain,Executive Engineers ofR&B, KDA and PDDbesides other concernedofficers attended themeeting.Issues with regard to thevenue of the trainingprogramme, trainingschedule, transportation,boarding and lodging ofSarpanchs besides otherarrangements werediscussed threadbare.It was informed in themeeting that a trainingschedule has already beendevised and the trainingshall be imparted in twophases.The meeting was furtherinformed that the batch of49 newly electedSarpanchs of Drass,

Bhimbhat, Kargil, Sodh,Pashkum, Lotchum,Shargole and Zanskarblocks shall be impartedtraining during the 1stphase w.e.f; 15th Januaryto 18th January, 2019 .Moreover, in the 2nd phasetraining for another batchof 49 newly electedSarpanchs in respect ofShakar, TSG, Sankoo,Barsoo, Tai Suru, Karshaand Lungnak blocks isscheduled is to be heldfrom 19th to 22nd January,2019.The DC impressed uponthe concerned officers toput in place all requisitearrangements well in timeso as to ensure smoothconduct of the trainingprogramme.

Arrangements for PRImembers' training reviewed

NL CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR, JAN 11

State of Art IndiaInternational KashmirSaffron Trade Center(IIKSTC) will becommissioned soon atDussu, Pampore,Divisional CommissionerKashmir Baseer AhmadKhan said today.He was speaking during atour to Pulwama wherein

he reviewed thedevelopmental scenarioand youth engagementprogrammes of thedistrict.While chairing a meeting,the officials said thatJammu & Kashmir is the2nd largest Saffronproducing area in theworld and is only state inthe country where saffronis being cultivated.Initiative for economic

revival of J&K Saffron,National Mission onSaffron was introducedduring 2010-11 at anestimated cost of Rs 400crores and 3715 hectaresof saffron was proposed tobe rejuvenated under themission. Under themission, government hasbuilt State of ArtInternational KashmirSaffron Trade Center alsoknown as Spice Park atDussu, Pampore at a costof Rs 37 crores. Latestmachinery has beeninstalled at stigmaseparation unit, Qualityevaluation laboratory,besides packing machinesand cold storage facilitieshave been constructed inthe centre. The DivisionalCommissioner directed

officers to complete therequired formalitiesimmediately so that it willbe thrown open forsaffron buyers at anearliest besidesunemployed youth of thedistrict will also getbenefited from theupcoming trade center. The meeting was furtherinformed that 450 kanalsin Pulwama district havebeen brought under HighDensity fruit plantationand Rs 2.50 crores ofsubsidies standdistributed to the newgeneration of orchardists.More than hundred sheepfarms were established byunemployed youths underdifferent schemes besidesnew abattoirs are comingup in different locations of

the districts.Div Com asked theconcerned officers tomake agriculture,horticulture and sheephusbandry a sustainableand remunerativeeconomic activity forunemployed youth whichwill create new generationof agricultureentrepreneurship personsacross the district.To provide best sportsfacilities across thedistrict, Khan directedYouth Services and Sportsdepartment to identifynew sports fields whichcan be furnished withsynthetic turf so thatfuture national andinternational sportsplayers can be groomedthere.

IIK Saffron Trade Centre to be commissioned soon

NL CORRESPONDENTKARGIL, JAN 11

Several public delegations from Drass,Tai Suru and other areas called on theChairman and Chief ExecutiveCouncillor (CEC) Kargil Feroz AhmedKhan and Executive Councillor forHealth Zakir Hussain and projecteddemands of the people of theirrespective areas.The delegations apprised the CEC andthe EC Health of issues like snowclearance from internal roads,resumption of SRTC bus services,augmentation of water and power supply,ration, medicare facilities and otherrelated demands.A delegation from Drass took up theissue regarding the posting of BlockMedical Officer, doctors and paramedicalstaff for Sub District Hospital Drass.The CEC directed the EC Health to lookinto the matter and assured thedelegation that all their genuinedemands shall be fulfilled within a

week's time positively.Former Executive Councillor Tai SuruAga Syed Abbass Razvi took up thematter regarding the malfunctioning ofDG set at village Purtikchay.The CEC gave on spot instructions to theDeputy Commissioner Kargil to directthe EM&RE PDD Kargil to rectify the DGset at the earliest so as to restore powersupply to the village. Meanwhile, other delegations fromDrass and Tai Suru during their meetingwith the EC Health demanded for earlyoperation of SRTC bus services to theirareas and snow clearance from theinternal roads of village Trongjun,Goshan and Bearass. It was accordingly decided in themeeting to resume SRTC bus servicesbetween Kargil to Drass, ThasgamDrass, Parkachik and Khawsimmediately and the schedule of thebuses was also finalized.The EC also issued on spot directions toMechanical Division Kargil to start snowclearance on the internal roads.

Public delegations callon CEC, EC Health

NL CORRESPONDENT

SHOPIAN, JAN 11

Additional DistrictDevelopmentCommissioner (ADDC)Shopian, MohammadSaleem Malik todayreviewed the progressunder Swachh BharatMission (SBM) in thedistrict.The ADDC took a thoroughreview of the constructionof Individual Household

Latrines (IHHL) in eachblock.The meeting was attendedby Assistant CommissionerDevelopment, BlockDevelopment Officers,Village Level Workers,Panchayat Secretaries,GRS and other concerned.Threadbare discussion washeld on various aspects ofthe Mission like progressin the pendency of IHHLunits, their MIS and GeoTagging and overall

progress made so far.The ADDCcomprehensively reviewedPanchayat wiseperformance of each blockand directed forcompletion of all pendingworks within the stipulatedtime frame. Heemphasized upon theBDOs to ensure 100percent coverage underGeo-Tagging and directedthem for regularmonitoring of Panchayatsto ensure infrastructureupgradation under SBM.He also directed theconcerned officers topersonally visit the villagesand inform the villagersabout the health hazards ofopen defecation and itsserious impact on sociallife.

ADDC reviews progress under SBM

NL CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR, JAN 11

Institute of Management,Public Administration andRural Development(IMPARD), Srinagarconcluded its series oftraining programmes formembers of Urban LocalBodies.Under the guidance of ViceChairman and DirectorGeneral IMPARD LokeshDutt Jha, the Institutetrained elected counsellorsby organizing nine trainingcourses which wereconducted for a period ofone month. Theprogrammes were jointlyconducted by Dr. JahanAra Jabeen and Dr. S.KIslam, AssociateProfessors under theSupervision of Dr. MushtaqA. Khan, DirectorTrainings, IMPARD,

Srinagar. The focus of thetraining was on buildingcapacities of the electedrepresentatives and helpthem to understand theirroles and responsibilitiesto enable them todischarge their legitimateduties.Apart from the internal

faculty of the Institute,some well-knownpractitioners, serving andretired officers were ropedin to conduct varioustechnical sessions in thesetraining programmes.The IMPARD is alsoshortly starting thetraining of elected Panchasand Sarpanchas byconducting a series ofTraining of Trainers (TOT)programmes for MasterTrainers who would thentrain the electedrepresentatives at differentdistricts of the State.

Training prog for ULBmembers concludes

NL CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR, JAN 11

In view of the inclementweather and snowprediction, DivisionalCommissioner Kashmir,Baseer Ahmad Khan,today issued freshavalanche warning fornine avalanche pronedistricts of KashmirDivision.The warning has beenissued for the avalancheprone areas in districtAnantnag, Kulgam,Budgam, Baramulla,

Kupwara, Bandipora,Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh.The DivisionalCommissioner hasdirected the DeputyCommissioners of allthese districts to advisepeople living in avalancheprone areas not to ventureout to avoid loss of lives.Besides, they have beendirected to take all theprecautionary measuresand to keep the SDRF,Police and Para-medicalstaff with ambulances inreadiness to avert anyuntoward incident.

Avalanche warning issued

NL CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR, JAN 11

A group of 25 farmerstoday left from here toattend 21 dayentrepreneur developmentprogramme at KrishiVigyan Kendra BaramatiPune. The farmers wereflagged off by DirectorAgriculture Kashmir SyedAltaf Ajaz Andrabi. Thefarmers' tour has been

jointly organised by theAgriculture and NationalHorticulture Board.Interacting with thefarmers, the DirectorAgriculture stressed upontouring farmers to take fulladvantage of the trainingby learning about theinnovative trends andtechniques in the field ofagriculture especiallyvegetable cultivation.Highlighting the aim of the

training course, theDirector said that themain aim is to take thefarmers and growers tothe actual place ofdemonstration so that theycan become well equippedwith the real-time trendsin the fast-changing globalagricultural scenario.Senior officers of thedepartment were alsopresent on the occasion.

Dir Agri flags off group of farmers to Pune

NL CORRESPONDENTSHOPIAN, JAN 11

A team headed byAssistant CommissionerDevelopment (ACD) ZubairAhmad visited Kaprinblock of district Shopian toreview the progress ofvarious developmentalworks and took stock ofthe public grievances.ACD on the visit directedthe officers to immediatelydispose off pending casesand dedicate more time fordisposal of public

grievances.He directed the officers not

to delay the developmentworks and ensure theirtime bound completion.

ACD also did physicalverification of works andvisited various sites withinthe block. He said he willbe constantly visiting allthe blocks within thedistrict and will meetpublic more often to listento any grievances.

Progress of dev works reviewed

NL CORRESPONDENT

KULGAM, JAN 11

Additional Deputy Commissioner,Ghulam Hassan Sheikh today informedthat an amount of Rs 10.40 crore hasbeen disbursed to 21395 farmers andorchardists of Kulgam district whosecrop and plants were affected during

November 2018 snowfall.He said a total of Rs 36.41 crore has beensanctioned in favour of 70079 affectedfarmers and orchardists and the reliefamount will be paid through DBT tomaintain transparency.The ADC said that the disbursement ofpayment to the affected will be finishedby January end.

Nov 2018 snowfall

Dist Admn disburses Rs 10.40 cr relief

HOME & GARDEN

Lighting

Difference

Healthy

ndulging in gardening may not only keep older adults active but also boost their health and mental well-I

being, finds a study.The findings showed that older women who spend more than three hours on household chores a day and got less or more than seven hours of sleep a night, were less likely to be in good health.However, the researchers found that the similar criteria had no effect on the health of

elderly men.It is because older women spent more time doing repititive housework like cleaning and cooking, while men spent time in gardening and maintenance work, which is mentally very stimulating, the Daily Mail reported."The difference in the sexes' health is probably to do with the type of housework women tend to do, which is a lot more

repetitive and routine work, like cleaning and cooking. While this probably has some limited health benefits, it is not very physically active, is not really exercise and is not very stimulating mentally, which relates to physical health," Nicholas Adjei, researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Germany, was quoted as saying by the paper."Men did much more active household chores,

such as gardening and maintenance. The physical exertion is good for the health, with gardening involving digging, mowing and carrying soil. We think gardening and fixing things may also be more enjoyable than cleaning," Adjei added.For the study, researchers looked at more than 36,000 pensioners, who reported about their daily activities and general health. Healthiness was calculated based on participants' answers

to a questionnaire, in which they rated their health on a five-point scale from "poor" to "very good".The results showed that even taking away sleep, which can impact people's health, men appear healthier when doing jobs around the house.

Most conventional lighting is directed downwards, but uplighters can diffuse light, creating a more subtle effect, without glare or dazzle. If you don't want lighting to be confined solely to the perimeter of the room, use free-standing lamps. Floor lamps also called as standard lamps are available as uplighters, down lighters or spotlights, in both modern and traditional styles. There is an even greater variety of table lamps available. Some have touch-sensitive bases, which allow you to adjust the light level and save energy.

Use down lit lamps, which cast a shadow on the floor, and keep the ceiling dark or

How to get maximum

effect use uplighters to reflect light of the ceiling and light up the whole room. For a feeling of space use wall sconces that don't take up much space and can be the same colour as

the wall to blend in. For practical reasons some rooms like the kitchen and living room may have several lights. For easy control on all the lights use a lighting circuit so that you

Healthy

makes all the

Lightingcan turn them off in one go, and switch them on individually. However with a little know-how you can easily get maximum lighting effect in every single room:

Separately highlight work areas with halogen downlighters or clip on lights for a clean, clear beam over areas such as the sink and islands. If your kitchen is also a dining room, for an occasional touch of ambient lighting choose a functional chandelier or pendant light on dimmers for your main light.

Take care to avoid or reduce lighting glare to fall on the eyes of the diner. Ensure downlighters are aimed straight onto the table surface. Place chandeliers where they create sparkle as opposed to distracting light. Wall sconces placed above eye-level can be very effective too.

Do you watch TV in the dark? Apparently it's not good as it strains the eyes. To reduce the effect, position a light near the TV in such a way that it needs to shade from the viewer's eyes and shouldn't reflect on the screen. Do this and you'll still be able to view in relative darkness but with less strain on your eyes.

To avoid splashes, ceiling downlighters are most practical. For a relaxing candle light effect have these on a dimmer but remember the safety of children and older folk who need to see clearly when they bathe.

Don't forget about your garden or outside porch. Light up your porch or door to make it welcoming and safe. Place lights below walls and plants you wish to feature. You could even l i gh t you r garden path.

Don't have downlighters above the bed as they create glare. Instead try a wall sconce slightly above your head and over your shoulder to avoid shadows. Or have a table lamp placed slightly behind you.

Kitchen:

Dining room:

TV room:

Bathroom:

Outside:

Bedroom:

Wardrobes:

DifferenceTo find clothes quickly, light up the wardrobe interior for a clear view. Shop around, you might see something you never knew existed. These days there are lots of lighting shops offering different looks. From Italian lighting to art nouveau and art deco reproduction, hand-forged iron, i ron chandeliers, candle holder designs, glass shades, period lighting, strobe, halogen and different shaped light bulbs. Get the proportions right. The lamp base and shade fittings should be in propo rtion with the room. Small lamps

could look odd in a large room. With lampshades, pick colours that suit your soft furnishings, curtains and carpets. They should be in contrast with the walls, instead of being the same colour or they might just get lost in the ambience. Use a downlighter over a vase of f l o w e r s . H i g h l i g h t a r ch i t ec tu ra l f ea tu re s . Recessed downlighters can look great in built-in shelves or alcoves. Get creative, go ahead and bring warmth, drama and

sheer elegance to your home with lighting techniques.

Gardening can make old people stay more

the northlinesJammu | Saturday | Jan 12 | 2019

8

JAMMU |Saturday, January 12, 2019 9

New Delhi:Finance Min-ister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the 10 per cent res-ervation for economically weaker sections in govern-ment jobs and educational institutions does not con-travene the basic struc-ture of the Constitution and termed the move the single greatest recognition for the poor in the general category.

He also accused the main opposition party Congress of only paying “lip sympathy” and grudg-ingly supporting the Con-stitution Amendment Bill, passed by Parliament ear-lier this week.

Caste in India was con-sidered as a key deter-minant of either social or historical oppression as in the case of the Sched-uled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or a determinant of social and educational backwardness as in the case of the Other Backward

Classes, he said in a Face-book blog.

“Poverty, however, is a secular criteria” and it cuts across communities and religions,” he said, adding that “poverty as criteria for a carve-out does not in any way contravene the basic structure of the Constitu-tion”.

The Union Minister noted that the original Constitution (unamended) in its Preamble mentions equality of opportunity and justice for all whether political, social or eco-nomic to be ensured by the state.

The Preamble expresses the intent of the Constitu-tion framers, he added.

“It is an aid to the inter-pretation of what consti-tutes the basic structure. Nor does the carve out amongst the general non-reserved categories for 10 per cent of their poor in any way get restricted

by the 50 per cent reser-vation embargo placed by the Supreme Court,” said the senior BJP leader.

In the Indra Sawh-ney case, Jaitley said the Supreme Court had cat-egorically mentioned that 50 per cent criteria applies only to the caste-based reservations envisaged in Article 16(4) of the Consti-tution.

Nonetheless, the Prime Minister’s decision to force an agenda for poverty based reservation is “the single greatest recognition/concern” for poor across the general categories and the need to eliminate pov-erty.

“The principal opposi-

tion party showed only lip sympathy for the measure and grudgingly supported it while poking holes in the same,” the minister said.

He also highlighted other government’s ini-tiatives like housing for every rural poor, universal health scheme — Ayush-man Bharat, and interest subvention, for economic upliftment of the poor.

On relief measures for the middle class, Jaitley said that in the last five years, not a single tax has been increased, GST has been brought down on most commodities, and income tax relief has been pro-vided.

Commodities have been made cheaper, even though the revenue sacrificed now after the rates revision would be close to Rs 1 lakh crore, he said.

“This is the first time that during the five-year tenure of a government a

Rs 2 lakh crore annual tax rebate for both direct and indirect taxes is given to the middle class tax payer without a single tax being increased,” Jaitley said.

The finance minister further listed out measures taken by the present gov-ernment for the upliftment and economic empower-ment of the poor.

“There is a method for economically empowering the poor. Their purchasing power has improved. This helps trade and businesses which impacts positively on the economy.

“This is the first five year tenure of a govern-ment where India has consistently remained the fastest growing economy in the world,” he said.

This indeed helps every Indian – the poor, the neo-middle class, the middle class and, of course, the large business community, the minister added.

10% quota for EWS doesn’t violate basic structure of Constitution: Jaitley New Delhi:Six states-

-Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh--on Friday signed an agreement for con-struction of Renukaji Dam Multi-Purpose Project in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Chief Ministers ML Khattar, Jairam Thakur, TS Rawat, Arvind Kejri-wal, Ashok Gehlot and Yogi Adityanath signed the agreement.

Three projects are pro-posed to be constructed on the Yamuna and two of its tributaries, Tons and Giri, in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand and Him-achal Pradesh of the Upper Yamuna Basin.

These include Lakhwar project on the Yamuna in Uttarakhand, Kisau on the Tons in Uttarakhand and Himachal, and Renukaji on the Giri in Himachal.

The states had already signed an agreement in respect of sharing of cost

and benefits of Lakhwar project in August 2018.

After signing the agreement, Gadkari said an agreement among the states concerned regarding the Kisau proj-ect would be reached soon.

Renukaji Dam project has been conceived as a storage project on the Giri river (tributary of the Yamuna) in Sirmour dis-trict of Himachal. It envis-ages construction if 148 m-high rock-filled dam for supply of 23 cumec water to Delhi and other basin states.

The project will also generate 40 MW of power during peak flow. It is pro-posed to be executed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL). The live storage of Renu-kaji project is 0.404 MAF and total submergence area is about 1,508 hect-ares in the territory of Himachal.

“After construction of the project, the flow of the

Giri will increase about 110 per cent which will meet the drinking water needs of Delhi and the other Yamuna basin states up to some extent in the lean period,” Gadkari said.

Stored water of Renuk-aji Dam will be used by the signatory states. The share of water among the states will be: Haryana-47.8 per cent; Uttar Pradesh/Utta-rakhand-33.65 per cent; Himachal-3.15 per cent; Rajasthan-9.3 per cent and NCT of Delhi: 6.04 per cent.

The total cost of the project estimated on Price Level 2015 is Rs 4,596.76 crore out of which the cost of irrigation/drink-ing water component is Rs 4,325.43 crore and the power component Rs 277.33 crore. The Centre will bear 90 per cent of cost of irrigation/drink-ing water component, and the balance cost will be borne by the states as per the MoU inked by them in 1994.

6 states sign agreement for Renukaji dam multipurpose project

New Delhi:A 27-year-old Haryana-based woman stage singer was arrested for allegedly duping a retired govern-ment officer of Rs 60 lakh on the pretext of exchang-ing old currency notes during demonetisation in 2016.

The accused woman, identified as Shikha Raghav, a stage singer was declared as a pro-claimed offender by a city court since she was evading arrest in the case from last two years, police said.

After receiving a tip-off about her location in Haryana, the accused was held on Wednesday

and brought to Delhi the next day, Nupur Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) said.

However, no recovery has been made from the accused, the officer said.

I n v e s t i g a t i o n s revealed that Raghav used to perform stage shows in several religious and other programmes in Delhi and adjoining states, Prasad added.

In 2016, the accused and her friend Pawan participated in a Ramlila in north Delhi where she came in contact with an organiser of the event who was a retired para-military officer, the DCP said.

During demonetisa-tion, the accused Raghav and Pawan had allegedly assured the retired offi-cer and his family mem-bers that they can get the old notes exchanged with new ones, she said.

On the pretext, the accused duo took the money from them and fled, the officer added.

Following a complaint filed by the retired officer, a case was registered at Roop Nagar police station and an investigation was taken up, the officer said.

Subsequently, Pawan was arrested while Raghav was absconding, police said.

Haryana singer dupes govt ex-officer of Rs 60 lakh; arrested

CBI being misused by BJP for political gains: Mamata

Kolkata:West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Baner-jee on Friday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing the Central Bureau of Inves-tigation (CBI) for political gains.

“The CBI has been repeatedly misused by the BJP, which is trying to use the probe agency for politi-cal gains and turn it into ‘His Master’s Voice’,” she said, referring to the fiasco surrounding Alok Verma, the former director of the agency who was removed from his position by a high-powered committee on Thursday.

“The BJP is destroying institutions like the CBI and the RBI,” the Trinamool Congress supremo added.

Refusing to take on his new assignment as the Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, Verma on Friday asked the govern-ment to treat him as “deemed superannuated” with immediate effect.

SC nod to construction of projects under Chardham development plan

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday gave its nod to ongoing projects under the government’s ambi-tious Chardham development plan, which proposes to provide all-weather connectivity to the four holy towns of Uttarakhand.

The top court, however, said the construction of stalled projects under the plan would remain stayed till further orders.

A bench of justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran asked the Centre to file its affidavit on a plea to stay the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which had cleared the projects and set up a committee to over-see it.

The Chardham project intends to connect four towns of the hilly state, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedar-nath and Badrinath, by all-weather roads.

Smuggling gang busted, 327 turtles seized

Lucknow:The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police busted a wildlife smuggling gang oper-ating from Etawah district on Friday and seized 327 turtles, police said.

Four members of the gang were arrested.According to a STF official, the gang was smuggling

turtles and was busted after a tip. The 327 turtles were kept in 10 sacks and hidden in the boot of a car.

Chandrayaan-2 mission planned for middle of April: ISRO

Bengaluru:The launch of India’s second Moon mis-sion, Chandray-aan-2, is planned for the middle of April this year, Indian Space Research Organisa-tion (ISRO) chair-man K Sivan announced on Friday.

ISRO had earlier said Chandrayaan-2 would be launched in a window between January-February 16 this year.

The mission, costing nearly Rs 800 crore, is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission about 10 years ago.

“Regarding Chandrayaan-2 schedule, right now Chandrayaan is scheduled from March 25 to April-end. Most probably, the normal targeted date is April middle,” Sivan told reporters here.

He said the space agency had earlier planned to launch the spacecraft sometime between January and February but it could not materialise because certain tests could not be conducted.

“Once we missed the February target, next avail-able target is April. Right now it is planned for April,” the ISRO chief added.

New Delhi:BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said NDA’s victory was certain in the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tions and called the ‘maha-gathbandhan’ a charade.

“Our victory is certain in 2019,” Shah said.

In UP also, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party formed a coalition resulting in the BJP’s major victory in assembly elections, he said, speaking at the party national convention.

Dismissing the coming together of “bua- bhatija” Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav affecting its pros-pects in UP in anyway, Shah said the NDA would win not a seat less than 73 that it won in 2014.

A day ahead of the expected big announce-ment by the BSP and the SP tomorrow, Shah said they know it is impossible to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone that

is why they were coming together.

“We will repeat our 2014 victory in 2019, he said declaring Modi as the most popular leader with a pan-India appeal. Opposition knows it is impossible to defeat Prime Minister Modi that is why it is coming together in a desperate bid,” he said.

Calling the ‘gathband-han’ an eyewash, Shah recounted the works done by the Modi government since 2014.

Chalking out the game plan for 2019, he recounted

the BJP government’s deci-sive actions against Paki-stan via surgical strikes, asking Congress president Rahul Gandhi to also speci-fy his stance on the Nation-al Registry of Citizens.

National security should not be compromised for the sake of votes, said Shah, slamming the Congress and parties like TMC opposing the Citizens Amendment Bill.

Talking of India’s increasing might in the international arena, he said Indian passport was now a powerful document.

NDA will definitely win 2019 Lok Sabha polls: Amit Shah

Panchkula:A CBI court Friday convicted self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and three others for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chha-trapati 16 years ago.

The quantum of sentence for the Dera Sacha Sauda chief and the others will be pronounced by the special CBI court Judge Jag-deep Singh on January 17.

The 51-year-old sect head appeared before the court through video conference from Sunaria jail in Rohtak, where he is already serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his followers.

The journalist was killed in Haryana’s Sirsa in 2002

after his newspaper pub-lished a letter alleging sexual exploitation of women by the godman.

After the conviction in the murder case, he now faces a minimum sentence of life, law-yers said.

The other three accused - Kul-deep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal appeared in person at the Panchkula court. After the verdict, they were taken to Ambala jail following a medical examination.

All the four accused have been convicted under section 302 (murder) and 120 B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, CBI

counsel H P S Verma said.Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal

have also been convicted under the Arms Act, he said.

Security was tight outside the Panchkula court complex with the Haryana police putting up barri-cades on roads leading to it. It was also stepped up in the rest of the state and parts of Punjab.

The situation remained peace-ful.

Chhatrapati was shot out-side his house in October 2002 after his newspaper ‘Poora Sach’ published an anonymous letter narrating the alleged the sexual exploitation of women followers by Ram Rahim at the Dera head-

quarters in Sirsa.Ram Rahim was named as the

main conspirator in the case.C h h a t r a p a t i ’ s f a m i l y

approached the Punjab and Hary-ana High Court in 2003, seeking the transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation was later handed over to the CBI which filed the chargesheet in July 2007.

Verma said the CBI examined 46 witnesses and the defence 21.

There was violence in Panch-kula and some other parts of Haryana and Punjab in August 2017 after Ram Rahim’s convic-tion in the rape case. The police opened fire and about 30 people,

mostly Dera followers, were killed in Panchkula.

In 2017, the sect leader was brought to the Panchkula court where the CBI court judge pro-nounced the verdict.

The judge had later travelled to Sunaria jail, where Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was lodged, to pronounce the sentence.

The CBI counsel said Friday a convict has to appear in person before the judge when the quan-tum of sentence is pronounced.

But it is not immediately known whether Ram Rahim will be brought to the court in Panch-kula or the judge will pronounce the sentence in jail this time.

Dera chief, 3 others held guilty of murdering journalist

New Delhi: Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday told Indian workers here that he wants to listen to their problems instead of telling his “Mann Ki Baat”.

Gandhi, who is in the UAE on a maiden visit, was accorded a warm welcome by the Indian diaspora at the Dubai airport on Thurs-day. He lauded the Indian workers here for making the country proud by their hard work in the UAE. He said his party was aware of the difficulties faced by the labourers and wants to help them.

“I realise you face sev-eral hardships. You work all day, send money to your family back home. We want to talk to you,” he said. “Main yahan apne mann ki baat kahne nahi aaya hun..main yayan aapke mann ki baat sunane aaya hun (I have not come here to speak my mind, I have come to listen to your heart),” he said in his address at the Jabel Ali labour colony. He was referring to Prime Minister Modi’s monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat where he address the nation on various issues.

“All these massive devel-opments you see here, tall

buildings, large airports and metro, would not have been built without your contribu-tion,” he said while prais-ing the workers. “You have given your sweat, blood and time for the development of this city and you have made Indians of all backgrounds proud,” he said.

“You have illuminated the names of every reli-gion, every state and every caste,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi told them that he is a common man like them and would always stand by them. “The battle has begun…and we are going to win,” he said, hinting at the upcoming general elections

in India. He was accompa-nied by Kerala Congress leader Oommen Chandy and Indian Overseas Con-gress chairman Sam Pat-roda, as he was welcomed to loud cheers from the labourers gathered in the camp.

Earlier Gandhi met with the business leaders in the country. A construc-tion worker from Jabel Ali labour colony said he wants to see Gandhi leading India with compassion and care for all Indians. Gandhi is also set to meet some UAE ministers during his two-day visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Gandhi takes jibe at PM Modi, says does not want to tell his ‘Mann Ki Baat’

New Delhi:Former CBI Director Alok Verma submit-ted his resignation from ser-vice on Friday, a day after he was removed from his post by a high-powered commit-tee.

Verma said in his resig-nation letter, accessed by a news agency, that it was a moment of “collective intro-spection”.

“Also, it may be noted that the undersigned already superannuated as on Janu-ary 31, 2017, and was only serving Government as Director, CBI, till January 31, 2019, as the same was fixed tenure role. The undersigned is no longer Director, CBI, and has already crossed the superannuation age for DG Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards. Accord-

ingly, the undersigned may be deemed as superannu-ated with effect from today,” Verma said in his letter to Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training on Friday.

Verma, a 1979-batch IPS officer from AGMUT cadre, was transferred from the position of CBI Director to Director General, Fire Ser-vice, Civil Defence and Home Guards under the home min-istry on Thursday.

The move came after a high-powered selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Justice A K Sikri and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, in a split verdict, decided to transfer him 21 days ahead of the completion of his tenure.

Ousted CBI Director Alok Verma resigns from service

AMRITSAR, JAN 11

In a joint venture withAmandeep HospitalAmritsar, Ojas Hospital,Panchkula haslaunchedrobot-assistedknee replacement surgery.Amandeep Hospital wasfirst to introduce robot-assisted knee surgery inthis part on country. Dr Avtar Singh, chieforthopedic surgeon,Amandeep Hospital will beassisted by Dr SureshSingla , Director -Orthopaedics and JointReplacement Surgery atOjas Hospital for surgery. Dr. Harish Gupta, CEO ofOjas Hospital said that thisis the latest roboticintervention in jointreplacement which will beavailable for first time forresidents of Chandigarharea. Gone are the days oftraditional method ofsurgery which involvescuts, swelling, excessblood loss etc., the peoplecan avail robot-assisted

surgery at Ojas , whichensure to solve one kneeproblem completely withprecision with moreaccurate and reliableresults, he asserted.Dr Suresh Singla said,"Robot-assisted surgeryenables a surgeon tooperate with enhancedprecision, dexterity andcontrol even duringcomplex procedures andensures lesser boneremoval, preserves naturalanatomy and facilitatesbetter post operativeoutcomes for the patient."Robotic knee replacementsurgery is an evolution anda boon for the people whoare suffering from kneeproblems. It has broughtnew innovation andstimulated the growth oforthopaedics field. Thesurgeons can effectivelyoperate with least chancesof errors. It has surpassedother methodologies and iscontinuing doing so, heremarked.Talking about advantagesof Robotic Knee

Replacement Surgery, DrAvtar Singh said withminimal blood loss, thepatient can get back tonormal life fast. There is nodamage to the bones as itonly targets the boneswhich need treatment andthe reliability rate is veryhigh. It is clinically proventhat there are no harmfuleffects of this surgery withan exposure control, hemaintained.It's in fact a combination ofsurgeon's expertise androbot's precision. Thissurgery is not totallydependent either on thesurgeon or on therobotically- assisted hand-piece. It offers the benefitsof a mix of surgeon'sexpertise and robot'sprecision which makes itmore effective andbeneficial for the patients,informed Dr Singh.In fact this surgery issurgeon controlled yet notsurgeon dependent. So it ismore safe and scalable, headded.

JALANDHAR JAN 11

MBD Group, one of theleading educationcompanies in India withover 6 decades ofexperience, todaylaunched Modern's abc+of Physics for Grades XI& XII in the ongoing NewDelhi World Book Fair2019. Modern's abc+ ofPhysicsfor Grades XI andXII, has been authored byShri Uttam NarayanTripathi, an IIT-Kanpuralumnus, with richteaching experience. Thisbook has been enrichedby the author's deepunderstanding ofstudents' needs andintellectual insight intothe subject. This bookfeatures detailedsolutions of NCERT,NCERT Exemplar, solvedexamples and practice

problems, thought-provoking HOTSquestions, very shortanswer questions, shortanswer questions, longanswer questions andnumerical problems, andprevious years' questionsfrom CBSE exams, variousstate boards, AIPMT/NEET,AIEEE/JEE Main (onlineand offline), IIT JEE/JEEAdvanced of last 10 years,which will be helpful forstudents in their

preparation for the boardandentrance exams.Speaking about the book,

Ms. Monica MalhotraKandhari, ManagingDirector, MBD Group, said,"We are very optimisticabout the launch of theAR/VR enabled bookModern's abc+ of Physicsfor Grades XI & XII. Thebook has been createdaccording to the latestsyllabus that ensuresbetter learning with thecurrent standard. So,I amconfident that Sciencestudents can now excel inthe board and competitive(IIT-JEE and NEET)examinations easily bypracticing questionsincluded in this book asthis also covers mostquestions asked in thevarious examinations inthe last 10 years. I trulywish to thank Shri UttamNarayan Tripathi to laborover this commendable

book for us and amhopeful for a positiveresponse from thestudents."

11 BUSINESS the northlinesJammu | Saturday| January 12| 2019

Now get robot-assistedknee replacement surgery

NEW DEHLI JAN 11

Nissan India has begundispatching the "2019make" of the new NissanKICKS to the dealershipsfrom its plant in Chennaitoday. The Intelligent SUVis all set to launch onJanuary 22 and thedeliveries to customerswill also commence inJanuary 2019.Customers can also testdrive the new NissanKICKS across Nissandealerships in India. Thecompany started thebookings for new NissanKICKS in December 2018and since then, it has

received an overwhelmingresponse. Customers canalso book onwww.nissan.inat the booking amount ofINR 25,000. Out of thebookings made in January2019, 500 customers, whopurchase Nissan KICKS,will get a chance watch theICC Cricket world Cup inEngland.*Designed for the new ageadventure seekers, thenew Nissan KICKS is allset to target individualswho are bold, confident,and are looking for thrillingexperiences. Building onNissan's SUV heritage, theNissan KICKS is acomplete vehicle package,

with an exceptionalcombination of intelligenttechnology and classleading premium-ness.The "Most-awaited SUV"comes with features likeFloating Roof Designcreated by blacked outpillars with Stylish RoofRail, Signature LED DRLs,Front Fog Lamps and DoorMounted ORVS withIndicators. Apart fromproviding the best in classground clearance andturning radius for superiordriving experience, theSUV provides host oftechnologically advancedfeatures like first-in-classAround View MonitorDisplay (AVM) 360 Camera,Floating infotainmentsystem with ANDROIDAUTO & APPLE CARPLAYand Nissan Connect. Thecabin offers luxuriousDual-tone Brown & BlackInterior theme and leatherwrapped soft touchdashboard & Door trims.

Nissan India to deliver newKICKS to customers in Jan MUMBAI JAN 11

As part of its broadervision to offer consumer-driven, innovative anddigital insurance productsand services, Aegon LifeInsurance, one of India'sleading digital insurancecompanies, has launched IOwe You.At the time of thepolicyholder's death, thefamily or nominee isrequired to carry out themandated procedure toreceive insurance. AegonLife's data suggested thatat least 41% of claimintimations were madeafter 6 months of death ofpolicyholders. Thisinitiative by Aegon Lifemakes it easy for anyone toprovide quick means ofsharing policy details withtheir nominees. 'I Owe You'is an editable e-cardcontaining the insured'spolicies along with its planname, sum assured, ridername and rider sumassured if any along withthe helpline number.Benefits and featuresillustration: Not just AegonLife's customers, butanyone can avail thisfacility. They will be able toshare this OTP verified e-card with their nominee foreasy reference at times ofclaim, if any. The card willalso enable them topersonalize it with apicture and their messagefor their loved ones. For

their customers, AegonLife has also incorporatedan option for updating theirnominee if they wish to.One can download the finalcard to share with theirnominees via WhatsApp orshare in as link on anemail. Also, included is anoption for the nominee toinvest further, if they wishto.Life Insurance is thebusiness of honoringclaims. In an industrywhere trust plays a majorrole; with this initiative,Aegon Life Insurance istaking every effort tospread awareness andhelp people keep theirnominees informed.Speaking on this initiative,Vineet Arora, MD & CEO ofAegon Life Insurance, said"One of the major reasonswhy the amount remainsunclaimed is because thenominee is not aware of thepolicy. This results in thenominees not intimatingthe company either in timeor worse, not intimating atall. To avoid such ascenario and ensure thatthe nominee is aware of thepolicy details and thedocument, we haveintroduced 'I Owe You'. It isour way of ensuring thatthe promise of financialsecurity that people maketo their loved ones, isalways kept."The 'I Owe You' e-card canbe accessed here:https://iou.aegonlife.com/

Aegon Life Insurancelaunches 'I Owe You' e-card

New Delhi, Jan 11

Honda Cars India Ltd.(HCIL), leadingmanufacturer of passengercars in India, todayintroduced a new ZX MT(Petrol) grade of itspremium mid-size sedanHonda City. The City line-up has also been enrichedwith two new exteriorcolours and standardapplication of Rear ParkingSensors. Honda City will now comein two exciting new coloursof Radiant Red Metallic andLunar Silver Metallicacross the line-up. Theintroduction of new ZX MT(Petrol) grade is inresponse to high demandfor top spec Petrol variantin manual transmissionfrom City buyers. Speaking on theintroduction of theenriched Honda City, Mr.Rajesh Goel, Sr. VicePresident and Director,Sales & Marketing, HondaCars India Ltd. said, "We

are delighted to introducethe new ZX variant ofHonda City in Petrol withManual Transmission tocomplete the top spec ZXrange and offer increasedchoice for our customers.The addition of newcolours and standardapplication of Rear Parkingsensors will furtherstrengthen the City offeringin the market." Key features of new grade -ZX MT (Petrol)6 Airbags -Dual SRS Airbags forDriver & Front Passenger,Front Side & Side CurtainAirbags. LED package -Integrated LED DaytimeRunning Lamp, AdvancedInline LED headlamps,LED fog lamps, LED RearCombi Lamps, LED licenseplate lamps, Trunk LidSpoiler with LED. ElectricSunroof with One-TouchOpen/Close Function withAuto-reverse. R16Diamond-Cut & FinishedMulti-Spoke Alloy Wheels.Advanced 17.7 cmtouchscreen infotainment

system - Digipad.Automatic Headlights.Headlamp Auto-Off Timer.Automatic Rain-SensingWipersEx-showroom price (New

Delhi) Honda City ZX MT(Petrol) - Rs 12,75000(Ex-Showroom Delhi) The Honda City is nowoffered in 4 grades inManual Transmission forPetrol and Diesel - SV, V, VXand ZX grades.Additionally, Petrol CVT isalso available in V, VX andZX grades.Honda City is one of themost successful carbrands in India with veryhigh brand equity. Firstintroduced in India inJanuary 1998, Honda Cityhas brought joy to morethan 7.5 lakh customersacross the country.Currently in its 4thgeneration, the Honda Citydelights the customerswith best in class range oftechnology, design, exteriorand interior features.

HCIL introduces new gradeand colours in Honda City

World Book Fair 2019:

MBD Group launches Modern's abc+ ofPhysics for Grades XI & XII

NEW DELHI, JAN 11

India’s Industrial outputgrowth dropped to a 17-month low of 0.5 per cent inNovember on account ofcontraction inmanufacturing sector,particularly consumer andcapital goods.Factory output as measuredin terms of the Index ofIndustrial Production (IIP)had grown by 8.5 per cent inNovember 2017, as per datareleased by the CentralStatistics Office (CSO) onFriday.The previous low was inJune 2017, when IIP growthcontracted by 0.3 per cent.The growth for October 2018was revised upwards to 8.4per cent from 8.1 per cent.During the April-Novemberperiod, industrial outputgrew 5 per cent ascompared to 3.2 per cent inthe same period of theprevious fiscal. The manufacturing sector,which constitutes 77.63 percent of the index, recorded acontraction of 0.4 per cent inNovember as against agrowth of 10.4 per cent a

year ago.The mining sector posted2.7 per cent growth duringthe month as against 1.4 percent in November 2017.Power sector output alsogrew by 5.1 per cent from3.9 per cent a year ago.Capital goods outputdeclined by 3.4 per cent,compared to 3.7 per centgrowth a year ago.Consumer durables outputalso dipped by 0.9 per centas against a growth of 3.1per cent a year earlier.Consumer non-durablegoods also saw acontraction of 0.6 per centas compared to 23.7 percent growth a year ago.In terms of industries, 10out of 23 industry groups inthe manufacturing sectorshowed positive growthduring November 2018.As per use-basedclassification, the growthrates in November 2018 overNovember 2017 are 3.2 percent in primary goods, (-)4.5 per cent in intermediategoods and 5 per cent ininfrastructure/constructiongoods.

Industrial growth falls to 17-month low of 0.5% in November

MUMBAI, JAN 11

The key equity indicesextended their lossesduring the late afternoonsession of the trade onFriday following strongselling in financial sectorstocks.Caution ahead of the keymicro-economic data andselling in key sector stocksdragged the major indices,the most being the realtysector stocks.Realty sector stocks tradedover 1 per cent lower afterFinance Minister ArunJaitley said at Thursday'sGST Council Meeting thatowing to diverse opinions,a decision on the much-

expected rate reduction forunder-construction homeswill be taken at a latermeeting.The IT sector stocks also

witnessed heavy sellingpressure.At 2.18 pm, the BSE Sensextraded 190.44 points or0.53 per cent lower totouch 35,916.06.It opened at 36,191.87 onFriday from its previousclose of 36,106.50 onWednesday.The benchmark indextouched an intra-day highof 36,214.26 and a low of35,840.60.The broader Nifty50declined 57.40 points, or0.53 per cent, to 10,764.20.Also, key macro-economicfigures like forex reserves,Index of IndustrialProduction andmanufacturing output areset to be released later inthe day.

Sensex down 190points, financials in red

NEW DELHI, JAN 10

Debt-riddenInfrastructure Leasing &Financial Services(IL&FS) today said it hasreceived more than 30expressions of interest(EOI) for acquiring itsstakes in its 22 assetsacross its domestic roadvertical as a part of itsasset-monetisation plan.“IL&FS has received astrong response to theasset-monetisationprocess for the domesticroads vertical housedunder its subsidiary,IL&FS TransportationNetworks. More than 30expressions of interestwere received foracquiring IL&FS’interests in its 22 assetsacross its domestic roadvertical,” IL&FSTransportationNetworkssaid.IL&FS group onDecember 18, 2018 hadinitiated the process for

asset monetisation. Lastdate for receipt of EOIswas January 8, 2019.“Eligibility of thereceived EOIs is beingscrutinised. Interest hasbeen received from a mixof strategic and financialplayers. Qualifyinginterested bidders willthen be invited to reviewinformation on thebusiness that would beshared with them, so asto enable them to submitcommercial bids,” thecompany added.IL&FS said any bindingtransaction for the saleof assets, as well as theresulting resolutionplan(s), will be subject torequisite approvals(including that of NCLT)before the transactionsare concluded. The IL&FS group isfacing serious liquiditycrisis and has defaultedon interest payment onvarious debt repaymentssince August 27.

IL&FS arm gets over 30bids for 22 assets

LONDON, JAN 10

Jaguar Land Rover, ownedby Indian conglomerateTata Motors, todayannounced around 4,500job cuts worldwide afterthe British high-endcarmaker was hit bydwindling sales in Chinaand concerns about UK’scompetitiveness post-Brexit.“We are taking decisiveaction to help deliverlong-term growth, in theface of multiplegeopolitical andregulatory disruptionsand technology challengesfacing the automotiveindustry,” Dr Ralf Speth,CEO of Jaguar Land Rover(JLR) said.The company isexpanding a business-wide organisation reviewaimed at reducing thesize of its global

workforce by around4,500 people, JLR said.This is in addition to the1,500 who left thecompany during 2018.The next phase of thistransformationprogramme will beginwith a voluntaryredundancy programmein the UK. Thestrategic review willcreate a leaner, moreresilient organisation witha flatter managementstructure, JLR CEO Spethsaid.The JLR’s manufacturingis centred in the UK, withadditional plants inChina, Brazil, Austria andSlovakia. In India, thecompany has an assemblyunit in Pune. The BBC reported that thesubstantial majority of the4,500 job cuts will be fromJLR’s 40,000-strong UKworkforce.

Tata’s JLR to slash4,500 jobs globally

NEW DELHI, JAN 11

Petrol price was hiked onFriday by 19 paise per litreand diesel by 28 paise, thesecond increase in rates inas many days on firminginput cost.Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs69.07 per litre--the highestthis month--up from Rs68.88 per litre rate ofThursday, according to theprice notification issued bystate-owned oil firms.A litre of diesel in Delhi is

now priced at Rs 62.81 ascompared to Rs 62.53 onThursday.In Mumbai, petrol now costsRs 74.72 a litre and diesel ispriced at Rs 65.73.Rates vary from state tostate depending on the rateof local sales tax or VAT. The increase--third thismonth--comes on the back ofa 38 paise increase in petrolrates and 29 paise in case ofdiesel announced onThursday.On January 7, the petrol

price was hiked by 21 paiseand diesel by 8 paise. Rateswere unchanged on January8 and 9.In three hikes, petrol pricehas gone up by a total of 78paise a litre and diesel by 55paise, according to the pricenotification.Prior to these hikes, rateshad cooled to a yearly low ofRs 68.29 for petrol and Rs62.16 in case of diesel. Thisfollowed a decline in rates onalmost all days sinceOctober 18, 2018.

In all, the petrol price hasfallen by Rs 14.54 per litresince October 18, more thannegating all of the hikes thatwere witnessed in the two-month period beginningmid-August. Diesel price hasdeclined by Rs 13.53 per litrein two and a half months.Petrol price had touched arecord high of Rs 84 per litrein Delhi and Rs 91.34 inMumbai on October 4. Dieselon that day had peaked to Rs75.45 a litre in Delhi and Rs80.10 in Mumbai.

Petrol price hiked by 19 paise, diesel by 28 paise

NEW DELHI, JAN 11: Govt.reiterates position againstdirect talks after Armychief’s commentsIn the midst of confusionover the Army Chief’scomments on India joiningtalks with the Taliban onThursday, the governmentmade it clear that Indiawould not engage theAfghan insurgents directly,and had not changed itsposition on the issue.On the sidelines of theannual Raisina Dialogue,Minister of State forExternal Affairs Gen (Retd)V.K. Singh said India’sposition on direct talkswith the Taliban remainedthe same.He explained that theattendance of two formerdiplomats at a conference

in Moscow which includedTaliban representativeswas purely “non-official”.“We had just sent non-officials because it wassomething called for byRussia,” Mr. Singh toldreporters, “We have gotnothing to do withTaliban.”A senior governmentofficial also said India’straditional position on apurely “Afghan-led andAfghan-owned” dialoguehad not altered, despite anumber of countriesincluding U.S., Russia,China, Iran, Pakistan andUzbekistan beginningtalks with the Taliban.Rawat’s assertionsSuggesting that ArmyChief General BipinRawat’s comments werean opinion expressed inresponse to questions, Mr.Singh added, “You asked[Gen. Rawat] whether weshould talk with [Taliban].He said ‘yes we should’.Matter ends there; where

is the problem?”On Thursday, Mr. Rawatrepeated his assertion thattalks with the Talibanshould be pursued.“Does India have aninterest in Afghanistan? Isanswer is yes, then wecan’t be out of thebandwagon… Our thinkingis that yes, we haveinterest in Afghanistan. Ifwe have an interest andother people want to talkto Taliban, then should wein some way be involved,either directly orindirectly? But we shouldnot be left out,” Gen.Rawat said at the Army’sannual press conferenceahead of Army Day.Senior officials said themessage that India wascommitted to pursuingbilateral ties withAfghanistan through itsprojects with thegovernment in Kabul hadalso been conveyed tovisiting U.S. envoy ZalmayKhalilzad.

THE NORTHLINESJAMMU || SATURDAY | JAN | 12 || 201912

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NEW DELHI, JAN 11: India’sIndustrial output growth droppedto a 17-month low of 0.5 per centin November on account ofcontraction in manufacturingsector, particularly consumer andcapital goods.

Factory output as measured interms of the Index of IndustrialProduction (IIP) had grown by 8.5per cent in November 2017, as perdata released by the CentralStatistics Office (CSO) on Friday.

The previous low was in June2017, when IIP growth contractedby 0.3 per cent.

The growth for October 2018was revised upwards to 8.4 percent from 8.1 per cent.

During the April-Novemberperiod, industrial output grew 5per cent as compared to 3.2 percent in the same period of the

previous fiscal.The manufacturing sector,

which constitutes 77.63 per centof the index, recorded acontraction of 0.4 per cent inNovember as against a growth of10.4 per cent a year ago.

The mining sector posted 2.7per cent growth during the monthas against 1.4 per cent inNovember 2017.

Power sector output also grewby 5.1 per cent from 3.9 per cent ayear ago.

Capital goods output declinedby 3.4 per cent, compared to 3.7per cent growth a year ago.Consumer durables output alsodipped by 0.9 per cent as againsta growth of 3.1 per cent a yearearlier. Consumer non-durablegoods also saw a contraction of0.6 per cent as compared to 23.7per cent growth a year ago.

In terms of industries, 10 outof 23 industry groups in themanufacturing sector showedpositive growth during November2018.

As per use-basedclassification, the growth rates inNovember 2018 over November2017 are 3.2 per cent in primarygoods, (-) 4.5 per cent inintermediate goods and 5 per centin infrastructure/constructiongoods. PTI

Industrial growth falls to 17-month low of 0.5% in November

NEW DELHI, JAN 11: Theformation of a ConstitutionBench to hear the Ayodhyaappeals may be a signalfrom the Supreme Courtthat it does not considerthe dispute merely as acivil suit for land but a caseof historical importance forthe country.In 2017, the then ChiefJustice Dipak Misra,

heading a three-judgeBench, chose to view theappeals like any othersarising from a title dispute.Justice Misra had directedthat a three-judge Benchwould hear the appeals.However, Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi’s decision tohead a five-judgeConstitution Bench, thattoo comprising prospective

Chief Justices of India inthe line of seniority, signalsthat the top court no moreconsiders these appealsordinary.In fact, the constitution ofthe Constitution Bench is inline with submissionsmade by senior advocatesincluding Rajeev Dhawanand Kapil Sibal. In aDecember 5, 2017, hearing,Mr. Sibal, Mr. Dhawan andsenior advocate DushyantDave had submitted thatthe Ayodhya dispute wasprobably the mostimportant case in thehistory of India whichwould “decide the future ofthe polity”.

Supreme Court signals Ayodhyanot just a ‘civil case’ any more

Talks with Taliban: Indiasays stand hasn’t changed