Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

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JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19 2018 VOL. 33 | NO. 49 RNI No. 43798/86 REGD. NO. : JM/JK 118/15 /17 Email: [email protected] epaper.glimpsesoffuture.com Price 2.00 Pages : 12 CyanMagentaYellowBlack CyanMagentaYellowBlac NATIONAL Rahul asks PM, FM to speak up on PNB scam PAGE 12 WORLD China's military buildup wont stop patrols: US Navy PAGE 8 SPORTS Prannoy credits Saina, Sindhu for mindset change PAGE 9 C Y M K C Y M K C Y M K C Y M K News in Brief Srinagar, Feb 18 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir has made a considerable improvement in health sector over the years as the state has better parameters than the corre- sponding national average on vari- ous fronts, even as patient load on the public health institutions has in- creased tremendously. The state has been able to bring down the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) by eight points from 34 to 26 in a single year which is highest among all states, Health Department officials said here. Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down from 1.7 to 1.6 in 2016-17. Early Neonatal Mortality Rate has dipped from 22 in 2014 to 18 in 2015. Neonatal Mortality Rate has declined from 26 in 2014 to 20 in 2015. Under-five mor- tality rate reduced from 35 in 2014 to 28 in 2015," they said, adding that the national average of TFR is 2.3. The officials said the Crude Death Rate (CDR) as well as the IMR in the state was lower than the na- tional average. "While the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is 17.6, which is low- er than the national average Birth Rate of 21.8, the Crude Death Rate of 5.4 is lower than the national average death rate of 7.1. Infant Mortality rate of 26/1000 lives births is also lower than the National Infant Mortality rate of 37/1000 live birth, the officials said. Average population covered per health institution has decreased from 3,285 souls to 2,267 souls, while the decadal population growth rate of the state has declined from 29.43 per cent (1991-2001) to 23.71 per cent (2001- 2011)," they added. The officials said as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), mother and child See J&K Health on Page 11 Jammu, Feb 18 (PTI) Senior CPI(M) leader and MLA M Y Tarigami to- day termed the rally organ- ised by a fringe right-wing group, demanding the re- lease of the accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl, as the most "shameful act" and against human val- ues. He expressed hope that the civil society here would raise its voice to seek jus- tice for the eight-year-old girl, allegedly raped and murdered in Kathua dis- trict last month. Body of the minor girl was recovered from Rassana forest on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in the forest area. On Jan 23, the government handed over the case to crime branch of the state police which arrested a Special Police Officer (SPO) for his alleged involvement in abduction and killing of the girl in February. Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had arrested a 15-year-old boy and claimed he had strangulated the victim af- ter she resisted his rape at- tempt. Quoting example of similar brutal incident in See Organising on Page 11 Mumbai, Feb 18: The BJP-led govern- ment's budget reforms have created a new work culture and are transforming the socio-economic landscape of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Mumbai on Sunday. The government, he said, is working in the times of dis- ruption and discontent. "Our budget is not limited to outlay, its focus is on out- come. Our reforms in budg- et making and presentation have created a new work culture and are transform- ing the socio-economic landscape," the Prime Minister said. Modi was speaking after inaugurat- ing the 'Magnetic Maharashtra' Global Investors Summit in subur- ban Bandra. "We are mov- ing in a direction where the state is policy driven, gover- nance is performance driv- en, government is account- able and democracy is par- ticipative," he said. "We are working in times of disrup- tions and discontent," Modi added. In the last three and half years, the government has transformed the coun- try from being a ‘fragile five' nation to one now aspiring USD 5 trillion GDP, he said. "I am sure that Maharashtra will become the first trillion dollar econ- omy in the country. Maharashtra's develop- ment is representative of changes in the country," Modi added. He further said that a country progresses only when it has a vision and works for inclusive- ness. "Potential, policy, planning and performance leads to progress," the Prime Minister added. He said the government in the last three years has re- pealed 1,400 laws and the See From Fragile on Page 11 New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) The Congress today al- leged "fraudsters" were linked to the "highest eche- lons" of the BJP-led NDA and urged the government to bring out a white paper on the banking system which it said had witnessed scams involving over Rs 61,000 crore in the last five years. "Bank frauds are tumbling out of the closet faster than you can say Jack Robinson," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, alleging that another banking fraud was now out in the open. Referring to the Rs 11,400- crore scam in which bil- lionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of under- taking (LoUs) from state- owned Punjab National Bank (PNB), Tewari said while the "Modi-Choksi tango" was still going on, re- ports had emerged about another banking fraud. Vikram Kothari, the owner of Rotomac pens, owes Rs 800 crore to a consortium of Indian banks and was now untraceable, he said. The frauds in the Indian banks are growing every day, the former Union minister See Bring Out on Page 11 New Delhi Feb 18 (PTI) The total voter turnout stood at 74 per cent in the single-phase Tripura Assembly polls today, 17 per cent less than the last Assembly election when the polling percentage was recorded at 91.82. Voting was today held in 59 of the total 60 seats as polling could not be held in the Charilam constituency due to the death of CPI(M) candi- date Ramendra Narayan Deb Barma last week. The constituency will go to polls on March 12. According to the figures released by the Election Commission to- day, the voter turnout stood at 74 per cent. The BJP, an also-ran until now in the north-eastern state, is mak- ing a determined bid to de- molish the red bastion of 25 years, with stalwarts like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah leading the charge. The saffron party, See 75 Pc Polling on Page 11 Tehran, Feb 18 (AFP) All 66 people on board an Iranian passenger plane were feared dead today after it crashed into the country's Zagros mountains, with emergency services strug- gling to locate the wreckage in blizzard conditions. Aseman Airlines flight EP3704 left Tehran around 0800 (local time) for the city of Yasuj, some 500 kilome- tres (300 miles) to the south, the airlines public relations chief Mohammad Tabatabai told state broadcaster IRIB. The ATR-72 twin-engine plane, in service since 1993, disappeared from radar around 45 minutes after takeoff from the capitals Mehrabad airport. Emergency services had yet to locate the precise location of the crash. The plane was carrying 60 passengers, in- cluding one child, as well as six crew, said Tabatabai. "After searches in the area, unfortunately we were in- formed that the plane crashed. Unfortunately, our dear ones lost their lives in this incident," he said. But he later retracted his state- ment, telling the ISNA news agency: "We still have no ac- cess to the spot of the crash and therefore we cannot ac- curately and definitely con- firm the death of all passen- gers." There were conflict- ing reports on the location of the crash site as emergency teams battled severe weath- er. "The rescue and relief teams were sent to the possi- ble area of the crash... but the helicopter could not con- tinue its path due to snow and blizzard," Jalal Pooranfar, regional head for Iran's emergency services, told the ISNA news agency. He said teams were being sent by land. "Right now there are five rescue and re- lief teams of the emergency service in the area. But they still haven't spotted any- thing," said Pooranfar. The Relief and Rescue Organisation of Iran's Red Crescent said it had also sent 12 teams to the region. Aseman currently has a fleet of 36 planes, including at least three ATR-72s that date back to the early 1990s, according to the IRNA news agency. A spokesman for ATR, a subsidiary of Europes Airbus, told AFP in Paris the company was "re- searching the details" of Sundays crash. President Hassan Rouhani ordered the transport ministry to set up a crisis group to investi- gate the crash and coordi- nate rescue efforts, ISNA re- ported. Decades of interna- tional sanctions have left Irans airlines with ageing fleets of passenger planes which they have struggled to maintain and modernise. See 66 Feared on Page 11 PNB fraud: 200 shell firms, benami assets under ED, I-T dept scanner New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) At least 200 shell firms and "benami" assets have come under the scanner of the investigative agencies that are probing the Rs 11,400-crore alleged fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), involving diamond czar Nirav Modi, his relative and business partner Mehul Choksi and others. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which continued its searches against Modi, Choksi and their compa- nies for the fourth day Sunday, is also moving to attach at least two dozen im- movable properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The See PNB Fraud on Page 11 ‘As Pak opens fired, BAT team sneaks in but alert soldiers foil their attack’ Jammu, Feb 18: Army Sunday claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid across the Line of Control in Poonch district in which four Indian army soldiers also suffered in- juries. As per the Defense Spokesperson, Pakistan Army Sunday initiated unpro- voked and indiscriminate firing across the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch dis- trict from 1715h along Line of Control (LoC) in order to facilitate an infiltration attempt. The spokesperson said the alert troops deployed along the LoC detected the movement along the LC and engaged See Infiltration on Page 11 GOF Sta Reporter Kund (Devsar), Feb 18: Terming peace impera- tive for taking Jammu & Kashmir out of uncertain- ties, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today ap- pealed people to maintain peace so that she can take her agenda of dialogue and reconciliation to higher lev- els of fulfillment. Addressing a largely attend- ed public meeting here after laying foundation of some key developmental projects in the area, the Chief Minister appealed people to play their role in maintain- ing peace so that the process of dialogue and reconcilia- tion is carried forward, more routes across LoC in the State are opened and people on the both sides of the divide march together on the path of growth and progress. “Give me peace. I will purse dialogue, opening of routes like Kargil- Skardu, Jammu-Sialkote, Nowshehra-Jhangar etc. If there is peace I wish people on both sides would march together on the path of growth and development”, she said while addressing the gathering. Mehbooba Mufti said all along the agenda of her Government has been to take people of the State out of the mess of violence, initi- ation of consultative process in the State to sort out issues and develop Jammu & Kashmir as a modern State of the country. Some movement on this agenda has been made, she said, and many decisions of huge public welfare like withdrawal of cases against around 10 thousand youth, regularization of 61 thou- sand daily wagers, a mas- sive economic and recon- struction plan etc were initi- ated by her Government during the last three years. The Chief Minister said the situation across the borders in the State is not encourag- ing with deaths and destruc- tion being reported so fre- quently that there is a de- mand for construction of bunkers from the villagers. “This is unfortunate. In 21st century when they should be demanding better schools, good hospitals and See Give Me on Page 11 Transfers, promotions in Agri Deptt Jammu, Feb 18: In a major decision, the depart- ment of Agriculture has promoted around 130 of its officers of sub di- visional level and has been posted them across length and breadth of the state with the intension to in- tensify agricultural related activi- ties. This decision has been taken by the department, keeping in view the seniority issue of the See Transfers on Page 11 J-K's first rural mart set up in Kokernag Srinagar, Feb 18 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir's first ru- ral mart has been set up in Anantnag district to promote and market the handicraft products manufactured by the women self help groups (SHGs) in the state, a NABARD official said today. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned the mart in See J-K’s First on Page 11 Woman ends life in satwari GOF Sta Reporter Jammu, Feb 18: A house wife today ended her life by hanging herself at Satwari. Police said that a woman namely Neelma Devi wife of Vinod Kumar of Barjalla in Satwari was found hanging near her residence. She was shifted to the hospital for treatment where doctors pro- nounced her as brought dead. Timber smuggler arrested, timber worth lacs of rupees recovered Srinagar, February 18: Police Station Bandipora re- ceived an information through re- liable sources that one person namely Nazir Ahmad Dar son of Abdul Samad Dar resident of Aloosa Bandipora is involved in timber smuggling and has kept timber in his cowshed at Aloosa for illegal sale. On receipt of this infor- mation, a police team raided the See Timber Smuggler on Page 11 Over 4.53 lakh tourists visited Bagh-e-Bahu Aquarium in Jammu this fiscal Jammu, Feb 18 (PTI) Over 4.53 lakh tourists visited the fish-shaped Bagh-e-Bahu Aquarium, titled the largest un- derground aquarium in the coun- try, an official of the fisheries de- partment said today. Besides stu- dents, the aquarium has become a centre of attraction for tourists, giving them an opportunity to See Over 4.53 Lakh on Page 11 GOF Sta Reporter Jammu, Feb 18: On the basis of informa- tion received from SASE, Low danger avalanche warning has been issued for Baramulla, Gulmarg, Furkian-Z Gali and Kupwara-Chowkibal- Tangdhar, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar Udhampur, Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal Kargil and Leh Districts, Bandipora-Kanzalwan - Gurez sector and Srinagar - Jammu National Highway for next 24 hrs. People living in these avalanche prone areas have been advised by the Jammu and Kashmir See JKSDMA on Page 11 Give me peace, I’ll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes: CM Appeals youth to desist from entering violence trail, says it is people of the State who suffer ultimately 66 feared dead as plane crashes in Iran mountains 74 pc polling in Tripura assembly elections: EC From fragile 5 to aspiring USD 5 tn economy, govt changed country: Modi Bring out white paper on banking system: Congress to NDA Organising rally in support of rape accused a shameful act: CPI(M) JKSDMA issues low danger avalanche warning ‘J&K's health sector improved considerably’

Transcript of Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

Page 1: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

������������ � �JAMMU MONDAYFEBRUARY 19 2018

VOL. 33 | NO. 49 RNI No. 43798/86REGD. NO. : JM/JK 118/15 /17Email: [email protected]

epaper.glimpsesoffuture.com

Price ��2.00 Pages : 12

CyanMagentaYellowBlack

CyanMagentaYellowBlac

NATIONALRahul asks PM, FMto speak up on PNB scam

PAGE 12

WORLDChina's military buildupwont stop patrols: US Navy

PAGE 8

SPORTSPrannoy credits Saina,Sindhu for mindset change

PAGE 9

CYMK

CYMK

CYMK

CYMK

News in Brief

Srinagar, Feb 18 (PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir has made aconsiderable improvement in healthsector over the years as the state hasbetter parameters than the corre-sponding national average on vari-ous fronts, even as patient load on thepublic health institutions has in-creased tremendously. The state hasbeen able to bring down the InfantMortality Rate (IMR) by eight pointsfrom 34 to 26 in a single year which ishighest among all states, HealthDepartment officials said here. TotalFertility Rate (TFR) has also comedown from 1.7 to 1.6 in 2016-17. EarlyNeonatal Mortality Rate has dippedfrom 22 in 2014 to 18 in 2015. NeonatalMortality Rate has declined from 26in 2014 to 20 in 2015. Under-five mor-tality rate reduced from 35 in 2014 to28 in 2015," they said, adding that the

national average of TFR is 2.3.The officials said the Crude

Death Rate (CDR) as well as the IMRin the state was lower than the na-tional average. "While the CrudeBirth Rate (CBR) is 17.6, which is low-er than the national average BirthRate of 21.8, the Crude Death Rate of5.4 is lower than the national averagedeath rate of 7.1. Infant Mortality rateof 26/1000 lives births is also lowerthan the National Infant Mortalityrate of 37/1000 live birth, the officialssaid. Average population covered perhealth institution has decreasedfrom 3,285 souls to 2,267 souls, whilethe decadal population growth rate ofthe state has declined from 29.43 percent (1991-2001) to 23.71 per cent (2001-2011)," they added. The officials saidas per the National Family HealthSurvey (NFHS), mother and child

See J&K Health on Page 11

Jammu, Feb 18 (PTI)

Senior CPI(M) leaderand MLA M Y Tarigami to-day termed the rally organ-ised by a fringe right-winggroup, demanding the re-lease of the accused in therape and murder of a minorgirl, as the most "shamefulact" and against human val-ues. He expressed hope thatthe civil society here wouldraise its voice to seek jus-tice for the eight-year-oldgirl, allegedly raped andmurdered in Kathua dis-trict last month. Body of theminor girl was recoveredfrom Rassana forest on

January 17, a week after shewent missing while grazinghorses in the forest area. OnJan 23, the governmenthanded over the case tocrime branch of the statepolice which arrested aSpecial Police Officer (SPO)for his alleged involvementin abduction and killing ofthe girl in February.Earlier, a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT)had arrested a 15-year-oldboy and claimed he hadstrangulated the victim af-ter she resisted his rape at-tempt. Quoting example ofsimilar brutal incident in

See Organising on Page 11

Mumbai, Feb 18:

The BJP-led govern-ment's budget reforms havecreated a new work cultureand are transforming thesocio-economic landscapeof the country, PrimeMinister Narendra Modisaid in Mumbai on Sunday.The government, he said, isworking in the times of dis-

ruption and discontent."Our budget is not limited tooutlay, its focus is on out-come. Our reforms in budg-et making and presentationhave created a new workculture and are transform-ing the socio-economiclandscape," the PrimeMinister said. Modi wasspeaking after inaugurat-ing the 'MagneticMaharashtra' GlobalInvestors Summit in subur-ban Bandra. "We are mov-ing in a direction where thestate is policy driven, gover-nance is performance driv-en, government is account-able and democracy is par-ticipative," he said. "We areworking in times of disrup-tions and discontent," Modiadded. In the last three and

half years, the governmenthas transformed the coun-try from being a ‘fragile five'nation to one now aspiringUSD 5 trillion GDP, he said."I am sure thatMaharashtra will becomethe first trillion dollar econ-omy in the country.Maharashtra's develop-ment is representative ofchanges in the country,"Modi added. He further saidthat a country progressesonly when it has a visionand works for inclusive-ness. "Potential, policy,planning and performanceleads to progress," thePrime Minister added. Hesaid the government in thelast three years has re-pealed 1,400 laws and the

See From Fragile on Page 11

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI)

The Congress today al-leged "fraudsters" werelinked to the "highest eche-lons" of the BJP-led NDAand urged the governmentto bring out a white paperon the banking systemwhich it said had witnessedscams involving over Rs61,000 crore in the last fiveyears. "Bank frauds aretumbling out of the closetfaster than you can sayJack Robinson," Congressspokesperson ManishTewari said, alleging thatanother banking fraud wasnow out in the open.Referring to the Rs 11,400-

crore scam in which bil-lionaire jeweller NiravModi and his uncle MehulChoksi allegedly acquiredfraudulent letters of under-taking (LoUs) from state-owned Punjab NationalBank (PNB), Tewari saidwhile the "Modi-Choksitango" was still going on, re-ports had emerged aboutanother banking fraud.Vikram Kothari, the ownerof Rotomac pens, owes Rs800 crore to a consortium ofIndian banks and was nowuntraceable, he said. Thefrauds in the Indian banksare growing every day, theformer Union minister

See Bring Out on Page 11

New Delhi Feb 18 (PTI)

The total voter turnoutstood at 74 per cent in thesingle-phase TripuraAssembly polls today, 17 percent less than the lastAssembly election when thepolling percentage wasrecorded at 91.82. Votingwas today held in 59 of thetotal 60 seats as pollingcould not be held in theCharilam constituency dueto the death of CPI(M) candi-date Ramendra NarayanDeb Barma last week. Theconstituency will go to pollson March 12. According tothe figures released by theElection Commission to-

day, the voter turnout stoodat 74 per cent. The BJP, analso-ran until now in thenorth-eastern state, is mak-ing a determined bid to de-molish the red bastion of 25

years, with stalwarts likePrime Minister NarendraModi and party presidentAmit Shah leading thecharge. The saffron party,

See 75 Pc Polling on Page 11

Tehran, Feb 18 (AFP)

All 66 people on board anIranian passenger planewere feared dead today afterit crashed into the country'sZagros mountains, withemergency services strug-gling to locate the wreckagein blizzard conditions.Aseman Airlines flightEP3704 left Tehran around0800 (local time) for the cityof Yasuj, some 500 kilome-tres (300 miles) to the south,the airlines public relationschief Mohammad Tabatabaitold state broadcaster IRIB.The ATR-72 twin-engineplane, in service since 1993,disappeared from radararound 45 minutes aftertakeoff from the capitalsMehrabad airport.Emergency services had yet

to locate the precise locationof the crash. The plane wascarrying 60 passengers, in-cluding one child, as well assix crew, said Tabatabai.

"After searches in the area,unfortunately we were in-formed that the planecrashed. Unfortunately, ourdear ones lost their lives in

this incident," he said. Buthe later retracted his state-ment, telling the ISNA newsagency: "We still have no ac-cess to the spot of the crash

and therefore we cannot ac-curately and definitely con-firm the death of all passen-gers." There were conflict-ing reports on the location ofthe crash site as emergencyteams battled severe weath-er. "The rescue and reliefteams were sent to the possi-ble area of the crash... butthe helicopter could not con-tinue its path due to snowand blizzard," JalalPooranfar, regional head forIran's emergency services,told the ISNA news agency.He said teams were beingsent by land. "Right nowthere are five rescue and re-lief teams of the emergencyservice in the area. But theystill haven't spotted any-thing," said Pooranfar. TheRelief and RescueOrganisation of Iran's Red

Crescent said it had alsosent 12 teams to the region.

Aseman currently has afleet of 36 planes, includingat least three ATR-72s thatdate back to the early 1990s,according to the IRNA newsagency. A spokesman forATR, a subsidiary ofEuropes Airbus, told AFP inParis the company was "re-searching the details" ofSundays crash. PresidentHassan Rouhani orderedthe transport ministry to setup a crisis group to investi-gate the crash and coordi-nate rescue efforts, ISNA re-ported. Decades of interna-tional sanctions have leftIrans airlines with ageingfleets of passenger planeswhich they have struggledto maintain and modernise.

See 66 Feared on Page 11

PNB fraud: 200shell firms, benamiassets under ED, I-Tdept scannerNew Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI)

At least 200 shell firms and "benami"assets have come under the scanner of theinvestigative agencies that are probingthe Rs 11,400-crore alleged fraud at thePunjab National Bank (PNB), involvingdiamond czar Nirav Modi, his relativeand business partner Mehul Choksi andothers. The Enforcement Directorate(ED), which continued its searchesagainst Modi, Choksi and their compa-nies for the fourth day Sunday, is alsomoving to attach at least two dozen im-movable properties under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The

See PNB Fraud on Page 11

�� ����� � �� � �� ������ �� �� � � � �� ��

‘As Pak opens fired,BAT team sneaksin but alert soldiersfoil their attack’Jammu, Feb 18:

Army Sunday claimed to have foiledan infiltration bid across the Line ofControl in Poonch district in which fourIndian army soldiers also suffered in-juries. As per the Defense Spokesperson,Pakistan Army Sunday initiated unpro-voked and indiscriminate firing acrossthe Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch dis-trict from 1715h along Line of Control(LoC) in order to facilitate an infiltrationattempt. The spokesperson said the alerttroops deployed along the LoC detectedthe movement along the LC and engaged

See Infiltration on Page 11

GOF Sta: ReporterKund (Devsar), Feb 18:

Terming peace impera-tive for taking Jammu &Kashmir out of uncertain-ties, Chief Minister,Mehbooba Mufti today ap-pealed people to maintainpeace so that she can takeher agenda of dialogue andreconciliation to higher lev-els of fulfillment.Addressing a largely attend-ed public meeting here afterlaying foundation of somekey developmental projects

in the area, the ChiefMinister appealed people toplay their role in maintain-ing peace so that the processof dialogue and reconcilia-tion is carried forward,more routes across LoC inthe State are opened andpeople on the both sides ofthe divide march togetheron the path of growth andprogress. “Give me peace. Iwill purse dialogue, openingof routes like Kargil-Skardu, Jammu-Sialkote,Nowshehra-Jhangar etc. Ifthere is peace I wish people

on both sides would marchtogether on the path ofgrowth and development”,she said while addressingthe gathering.

Mehbooba Mufti said allalong the agenda of herGovernment has been totake people of the State outof the mess of violence, initi-ation of consultativeprocess in the State to sortout issues and developJammu & Kashmir as amodern State of the country.Some movement on thisagenda has been made, she

said, and many decisions ofhuge public welfare likewithdrawal of cases againstaround 10 thousand youth,regularization of 61 thou-sand daily wagers, a mas-sive economic and recon-struction plan etc were initi-ated by her Governmentduring the last three years.The Chief Minister said thesituation across the bordersin the State is not encourag-ing with deaths and destruc-tion being reported so fre-quently that there is a de-mand for construction of

bunkers from the villagers.“This is unfortunate. In 21stcentury when they shouldbe demanding betterschools, good hospitals and

See Give Me on Page 11

Transfers, promotionsin Agri DepttJammu, Feb 18:

In a major decision, the depart-ment of Agriculture has promotedaround 130 of its officers of sub di-visional level and has been postedthem across length and breadth ofthe state with the intension to in-tensify agricultural related activi-ties. This decision has been takenby the department, keeping inview the seniority issue of the

See Transfers on Page 11

J-K's first rural martset up in KokernagSrinagar, Feb 18 (PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir's first ru-ral mart has been set up inAnantnag district to promote andmarket the handicraft productsmanufactured by the women selfhelp groups (SHGs) in the state, aNABARD official said today. TheNational Bank for Agriculture andRural Development (NABARD)has sanctioned the mart in

See J-K’s First on Page 11

Woman ends lifein satwariGOF Sta: ReporterJammu, Feb 18:

A house wife today ended herlife by hanging herself at Satwari.Police said that a woman namelyNeelma Devi wife of Vinod Kumarof Barjalla in Satwari was foundhanging near her residence. Shewas shifted to the hospital fortreatment where doctors pro-nounced her as brought dead.

Timber smugglerarrested, timber worth lacsof rupees recoveredSrinagar, February 18:

Police Station Bandipora re-ceived an information through re-liable sources that one personnamely Nazir Ahmad Dar son ofAbdul Samad Dar resident ofAloosa Bandipora is involved intimber smuggling and has kepttimber in his cowshed at Aloosa forillegal sale. On receipt of this infor-mation, a police team raided the

See Timber Smuggler on Page 11

Over 4.53 lakh touristsvisited Bagh-e-BahuAquarium in Jammuthis fiscalJammu, Feb 18 (PTI)

Over 4.53 lakh tourists visitedthe fish-shaped Bagh-e-BahuAquarium, titled the largest un-derground aquarium in the coun-try, an official of the fisheries de-partment said today. Besides stu-dents, the aquarium has become acentre of attraction for tourists,giving them an opportunity to

See Over 4.53 Lakh on Page 11

GOF Sta: ReporterJammu, Feb 18:

On the basis of informa-tion received from SASE,Low danger avalanchewarning has been issued forBaramulla, Gulmarg,Furkian-Z Gali andKupwara-Chowkibal-Tangdhar, Poonch, Rajouri,Reasi, Ramban, Doda,Kishtwar Udhampur,Anantnag, Kulgam,Budgam, Kupwara,Bandipora, GanderbalKargil and Leh Districts,Bandipora-Kanzalwan -Gurez sector and Srinagar -Jammu National Highwayfor next 24 hrs. People livingin these avalanche proneareas have been advised bythe Jammu and Kashmir

See JKSDMA on Page 11

Give me peace, I’ll pursue dialogue,opening of cross LoC routes: CM

Appeals youth to desist from entering violence trail, says it is people of the State who suffer ultimately

66 feared dead as plane crashes in Iran mountains

74 pc polling in Tripuraassembly elections: EC

From fragile 5 to aspiring USD 5 tneconomy, govt changed country: Modi

Bring out whitepaper on banking system:

Congress to NDA

Organising rally insupport of rape accuseda shameful act: CPI(M)

JKSDMA issueslow danger

avalanche warning‘J&K's health sectorimproved considerably’

Page 2: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018Obituary2 Glimpses of Future

OBITUARYWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form about the sad demise of our

beloved mother Karamyogini Smt.

Shanta Mattoo W/o Late Prithvi Nath

Mattoo originally from Kral Teng

Maharaj Gunj Srinagar at present Lane

No.1, House No.6, Sector-1, Bharat

Nagar, Bantalab, Jammu on 11-02-

2018. Tenth Day will be performed on

20-02-2018 at Akhnoor Ghat and

Assembly held at our residence Bharat

Nagar, Bantalab at 11:30 AM.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Sh. G.L Mattoo - Brother-in-law

Sister-in-law & Brother-in-law

Smt. & Sh. P.K Mattoo

Daughter-in-law

Smt. Bitta Mattoo W/o Lt A.K Mattoo

Smt. & Sh. Rattan Lal Mattoo - Daughter-in-law & Son

Smt. & Sh. Satish Ji Mattoo - Daughter-in-law & Son

Smt. & Sh. Vijay Raina - Daughter & Son-in-law

Smt. & Sh. Vicky Mattoo - G.D-in-law & Grand Son

Smt. & Sh. Avinash Mattoo - G.D-in-law & Grand Son

Ashish Mattoo, Shivani Mattoo, Pratish Mattoo - Grand

Children

Mobile No: 9419121878, 9596652744

Smt. Shanta Mattoo

OBITUARYWith profound grief and sorrow we informthe sad demise of Smt. Chand Rani(Pyari Ji) W/o Lt. Chuni Lal Kaul (Hafiz)R/o Gund Ahalmar Nai Sarak Srinagar atpresent D- 83, Green Valley ApartmentsSector 18 Rohini Delhi on 11/2/2018.Tenth Day Kriya of the departed soul willbe held on 20th February 2018 at Sec-18Canal near Badli Exchange Rohini Delhiat 9:00 A.M. GRIeF STRICKeN (Daughters in law & Sons)Smt. Anjali Kaul & Sh. Rajkumar Kaul, Dr. Satya Bhama & Dr. V.K.KaulSmt. Nisha & Sh. Rakesh Kaul Sh. Ramesh Kaul (Son)(Daughters & Sons in law)Smt. Anita Ganjoo & Sh. D.K. Ganjoo Smt. Asha Raina & Sh. Virjee Raina Smt. Sunita Punjabi & Sh. Manoj Punjabi Smt. Veena Raina & Sh. Arun Raina Smt. Urmila & Sh. Sanjeev Singh Smt. Neha & Sh. Satish Mrs. Chetna & Mr. Arun (Grand Daughter & Grandson in law)Mrs Aditi & Mr. Ajay Vaid (Grand Daughter & Grandson in law) Grand Children :- Abhaay, Ashish, Karan, Sharika, Deeptanshu,Raman, Ridham, Shivam, Nitin, Diya, Poorvi.In Grief:- Raina’s, Razdan's, Koul's, Nehru's: Sapru's Contact No. :- 8527024949, 9871285009

Smt. Chand Rani

OBITUARYWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form the sad demise of Sh. Girdhari Lal

Handoo (Retd. AEE) S/o Shri Late

Vishwa Nath Handoo of Shalla Kadal

Srinagar presently at H. No. 36 Gandhi

Chowk Subash Nagar, Jammu on 12-02-

2018. Tenth Day will be performed on

20.02.2018 at Akhnoor Ghat. Assembly

will be held at 36, Subash Nagar, Jammu

at 11:15 am.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Smt. Raj Dulari Handoo -Wife

Son & Daughters-in-law

Sh. Sanjay Handoo & Smt. Pami Handoo

Sh. Sunil Handoo & Smt. Amrita Handoo

Brothers & Bhabis

Lt. Sh. Kashi Nath Handoo & Lt. Smt. Kameshari & Family

Sh. Brij Nath Bhat & Smt. Prabha Bhat & Family

Lt. Sh. Triloki Nath Handoo & Smt. Jai Kishori & Family

Sister & Brother-in-law

Smt. Susheela Gurtoo & Sh. Chaman Lal Gurtoo and Family

Grand Children: Chayan, Ashish, Tarika

and all near and dear ones.

Mobile: 9810109852, 9971931931, 9419133014

Sh. Girdhari lal

Handoo

10TH DAY KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form the sad demise of our beloved Smt.

Somavati W/o Sh. Prathvi Nath Ganjoo

(Baramulla). She left for heavenly abode

on (11.02.2018). TENTH DAY KRIYA will

be performed on 20.02.2018 Akhnoor

Ghat at 7.30 A.M. Assembly will be held

at Pushpathi Mandir Sarwal, Jammu at

12.00 Noon.

Deeply ReMeMbeReD by:

Sons & Daughters-in-law

Bushan Lal & Phoola Ganjoo

Rattan Lal & Veena Ganjoo

Prannat & Rita Ganjoo

Krishan Lal Ganjoo & Suman Ganjoo

Daughters & Sons-in-law

Usha & Raj Pal Amla

Vijay & Chaman Lal Bindroo

Nisha & Dharm Pal Suri

Sheetal & Kishore K. Mattoo

Grand Childrens: Anju Rohit Suri, Jyoti Rakesh Ganjoo, Sheetal

Deepak Ganjoo, Jessly Durgesh Choudhary, Meenakshi

Ravinder Shahbadi, Malti Vikramjit Choudhary, Richa Ramit

Dembi, Ambica Vikrant Mattoo, Vasundra Ganjoo

Great Grand Childrens: Aayush, Sanvi, Reyaansh, Devaansh,

Danish, Darsh, Neerav, Shireen, Ishaan, Susheen, Vanshika,

Rishika, Rishabh, Vaidehi

Contact: 9796228842, 8825030446, 9811161183

Smt. Somavati

10TH DAY KRIYAWith profound deep sorrow, we inform

the sad demise of Sh. Dwarka Nath

Pandita S/o Lt. Sh. Kanth Ram Pandita

originally R/o Batpora-Wanpora

Pulwama (Kmr) at present H. No. 17,

Sec-B-1 Laxmipuram Chinore Bantalab

Jammu on 13-02- 2018. TENTH DAY will

be performed at Akhnoor Ghat on 22-02-

2018 and ASSEMBLY will be held at

home at 11.00 A.M.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Smt. Veena Ji Pandita-Wife

Sh. Sunil Kumar Pandita-Son

Smt. Nirma Pandita-Daughter-in-law

Smt. Dulari Pandita-Bhabhi

Smt. Sunita Koul-Daughter

Smt. Jyoti Koul-Daughter

Sh. Rakesh Koul-Son-in-law

Smt. & Sh. Ravinder Pandita-Son & Daughter-in-law

Smt. & Sh. Vijay Pandita

Smt. & Sh. Satish Pandita

M: 0191-2594149, 9469099150

Sh. Dwarka Nath

pandita

10TH DAY/KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow, weinform the sad demise of ourbeloved Shri Triloki Nath Tikoo S/oSh. Vaish Nath Tikoo, originally theresident of Sopore/ Baramulla,presently at H.No. 159, Sector 3,Durga Nagar, Jammu. The TENTHDAY KRIYA will be performed on21-02-2018 (Wednesday) atAkhnoor Ghat in the morning andthe ASSEMBLY will be held at theresidence at 12:30 PMGRIeF STRICKeN

Samast TIKOO family, BHAN family,KOUL family, AMBARDAR family,THATHOO family & All near and dear ones9587866425, 9086011159, 9419105330,9419232173, 9419273348

Shri Triloki Nath

Tikoo

OBITUARYWith profound grief and sorrow, we regret

to inform the sudden and untimely demise

of our beloved Sh. Shadi Lal Pandita

(Babloo Jee) originally resident of

Sahipora, Handwara and presently at H.

No. 06, Lane 06, Saraswati Vihar, Anand

Nagar, Bohri who left for heavenly abode

on 12-02-2018. THE TENTH DAY KRIYA

will be performed on 21-02-2018

(Wednesday) at Akhnoor Ghat and

Assembly will be held at above men-

tioned address at 12.00 Noon.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Smt. Sarla Pandita-Wife

Sumeet Pandita-Son

and Samast Parivars of:

Panditas, Dhars and Bhats

9796691588, 9596770316, 9596868592, 9797000788

Sh. Shadi lal

pandita

OBITUARYWITH PROFOUND GRIEF AND SORROWWE INFORM THE SAD DEMISE OF OURBELOVED MOTHER SMT. LUCHKUJ ZUT-SHI W/O LT. SH. VISHEMBER NATH ZUT-SHI ORIGINALLY RESIDENT OF BANDI-PORA AT PRESENT H.NO. -5, LANE NO. -3, DURGA NAGAR, TALAB TILLO, JAM-MU. WHO LEFT ON 13-02-18, MONDAY AT11:15 PM. TENTH DAY KRIYA WILL BEPERFORMED ON 22-02-18, THURSDAYAT AKHNOOR, ASSEMBLING AT OURRESIDENCE AT 12:00 NOONGRIeF STRICKeN:SON'S & DAUGHTER IN LAW'SSMT. & SH. BAL KRISHEN ZUTSHISMT. & SH. BANSI LAL ZUTSHISH. RAJ NATH ZUTSHIDAUGHTER & SON IN LAW'SSMT. & SH. CHUNI LAL BINDROOSMT. & SH. SHAMBOO NATH SAPROOSMT. SHOBA MAWA W/O LT. BUSHAN LAL MAWA.M. 94191-30438, 94192, 61659, 9412006912

SMT. lUCHKUJ

ZUTSHI

OBITUARYWith profound grief and deep sorrow,

we inform the sad demise of Phoola Ji

Pandita Wife of Sh O.N Pandita of

(Hugam/ Aakura) Anantnag Kashmir at

present House No. 218 Krishna Nagar

Opp. Brij Nagar, Miran Sahib Jammu

who left us for heavenly abode on 10-

02-2018. TENTH DAY KRIYA will be

performed on Monday 19-02-2018 at

Akhnoor Ghat, Assembly will be held at

our residence (Brij Nagar) at 12.00 Noon.

GRIeF STRICKeN

O.N Pandita -Husband

Sumawati -Mother-in-law

Roopa Devi Fotedar -Sister-in-law

Smt & Sh Tej Krishen Koul -Brother & Babi

Smt Durga Zutshi -Sister

Smt & Sh Ramesh Pandita -Devar and Babi

Smt & Sh Veer Ji Pandita -Devar and Babi

Smt & Sh Surender Pandita -Son & Daughter-in-law

Smt & Sh Ravinder Pandita -Son & Daughter-in-law

Smt & Sh Sunil Ji Pandita -Daughter & Son-in-law

Smt Jiga Koul -Daughter

Smt & Sh Ramesh K. Pandita -Daughter & Son-in-law

Contact Nos: 9469001151, 9999909755, 9469163868

phoola Ji pandita

10TH DAY KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow, we informthe sad demise of our beloved Karamyogifather Sh. Hira Lal Dhar (Bairaj) S/o Lt. Sh.Dina Nath Dhar of Nuner Ganderbal (Kmr)A/P H. No. 42 Sect A-1 LakshmipuramChinore Bantalab, Jammu. THE TENTHDAY KRIYA will be performed on19.02.2018 (Monday) at Akhnoor Ghatand Assembly will be held at our residenceat 11.00 A.M. He left for heavenly abode on10-2-2018.GRIeF STRICKeNSmt. Raj Dulari-WifeSh. M.L. Dhar-BrotherSmt. & Sh. M.K. Kaw-Brother & BhabhiSons & Daughter-in-lawsSmt. & Sh. Inder Bushan DharSmt. & Sh. Surinder DharSmt. & Sh. Sunil KawSmt. & Sh. Susheel KawSmt. & Sh. Sunil Bakshi-Daughter & Son-in-lawSmt. & Sh. Sunil Bhan -do-Smt. & Sh. Amit Raina -do-Grand Children: Reemu, Raju, Sanny, Sahil, Maina, Aakash,Gungun,Vanik, Aarna, Adu, Janu, Mahi

Sh. Hira lal Dhar

10TH DAY KRIYAOur beloved mother Smt. Roopa Devi

Dhar W/o Late Sh. Jagar Nath Dhar,

originally from Reshi Mohalla, Habba-

kadal, Srinagar, Kashmir, presently at

H. No. 822-B, Sector - 49, Sainik

Colony, Faridabad, left this world on

11th of February, 2018. Her 10th Day

Kriya on 20th February 2018 (Tuesday)

will be held at Muradnagar Ghat (UP) at

8.30am. Later on the same day, a

prayer meeting will be held in her loving

memory at 5.30pm at Maa Sharika

Mandir, Sharika Bhawan, Sector 17,

(Near Police Station), Faridabad, Haryana.

GRIeVING FAMIly:

Bade Mummy (Aunty)

Smt. Soomrani Dhar W/o Late Shri Som Nath Dhar

Sons & Daughters-in-Law

Dr. Ashok Dhar (Orthopaedics) & Dr. Pushpa Koul Dhar

Vinod Dhar (SBI) & Rajni Koul Dhar

Usha Dhar & Suraj Narayan Dhar - Daughter & Son-in-Law

Veena Dhar & Rajander Kumar Jatta - Daughter & Son-in-Law

Nirmala Dhar - Daughter

Renu Dhar Moza & Ashwani Moza - Daughter & Son-in-Law

Grandchildren: Dr. Sakshi, Shweta, Kartik, Arjun, Chandrika

Ph :9811224185, 7600044455, 9810393279, 9811226448,

9419131880

GRIEF STRICKEN : Bhats, Kouls, Qasbas, Dhars, Toshkhanis

Smt. Roopa Devi

Dhar

10TH DAYWith profound, we inform the sad demiseof Smt. Sheela Zutshi W/o Lt. Roshan LalZutshi R/o 102/1 Ragunath MandirSrinagar A/P Flat No. 9 Shiva EnclaveMadhuban Homes, Patiala Road,Zirakhpur, Pb. 10TH DAY will be per-formed on 19th Feb. Monday at 9.00 A.M.at Shani Mandir Ghat near Golf Course,Sector-3 Panchkula Haryana.IN GRIeFVijay & Anita Zutshi-Son & Daughter-in-lawVinod and Anju Zutshi-Son & Daughter-in-lawGrand Children: Nikita, Anmol, NikhilPh. No: 9419109080, 09878427861

Smt. Sheela Zutshi

10TH DAY/KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form the sad demise of our beloved Sh

Ram Chand Goswami S/o Late Pt Dina

Nath Goswami on 11th Feb 2018. 10th

Day will be performed on 20-02-2018

Tuesday at 10.30 AM at Laxami Narayan

Temple Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. Kriya will

be performed on 21-02-2018

Wednesday at 12.30 PM at our resi-

dence H.No 599/A, GNR Near Laxami

Narayan Temple GNR.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Smt Satya Devi -Wife

Daughter-in-law and Son

Smt Shobha Sharma W/o D.K Sharma (Retd Agri Officer)

Dr Ritu Raina W/o Harish Sharma

Daughters and Sons-in-law

Naresh Sharma W/o Dr R.C Sharma

Neelam Sharma W/o Shiv Raina

Sushma Sharma W/o Surinder Sharma

Anna Sharma W/o Dr Aseem Sharma

Grand Daughters & Sons

Advocate Kavita Sharma W/o Tushar Goswami

Taresh Goswami, Shikhrika Goswami

Grand Daughter : Yashvi Goswami

Cont: 9419241888, 941919770

Sh Ram Chand

Goswami

10TH DAY KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow, we re-

gret to inform the sad demise of our

beloved father Shri Saroop Nath Kaw

S/o Late Sh. Keshiv Ram R/o Tikker

Kupwara presently H. No. 165/B Uttam

Nagar Kunjwani Jammu. The Tenth Day

Kriya will be performed on Saturday 24th

Feb. 2018 at Akhnoor Ghat and subse-

quently the Assembly shall be held at

Muthi Ghat at 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM.

GRIeF STRICKeN

KAW’S, BHAT’S, RAINA’S AND KOUL’S

Mobile : 9419190936, 7298225411, 9796200319, 9797674876

Shri Saroop Nath

Kaw

10TH DAY KRIYAOur beloved mother Smt. Roopa Devi

Dhar W/o Late Sh. Jagar Nath Dhar, orig-

inally from Reshi Mohalla, Habba-kadal,

Srinagar, Kashmir, presently at H. No.

822-B, Sector - 49, Sainik Colony,

Faridabad, left this world on 11th of

February, 2018. Her 10th Day Kriya on

20th February 2018 (Tuesday) will be

held at Muradnagar Ghat (UP) at

8.30am. Later on the same day, a prayer

meeting will be held in her loving memory

at 5.30pm at Maa Sharika Mandir,

Sharika Bhawan, Sector 17, (Near

Police Station), Faridabad, Haryana.

GRIeVING FAMIly:

Bade Mummy (Aunty)

Smt. Soomrani Dhar W/o Late Shri Som Nath Dhar

Sons & Daughters-in-Law

Dr. Ashok Dhar (Orthopaedics) & Dr. Pushpa Koul Dhar

Vinod Dhar (SBI) & Rajni Koul Dhar

Usha Dhar & Suraj Narayan Dhar - Daughter & Son-in-Law

Veena Dhar & Rajander Kumar Jatta - Daughter & Son-in-Law

Nirmala Dhar - Daughter

Renu Dhar Moza & Ashwani Moza - Daughter & Son-in-Law

Grandchildren: Dr. Sakshi, Shweta, Kartik, Arjun, Chandrika,

Geetika, Deepika, Jharna, Bhumika

Phones :9811224185, 7600044455, 9810393279,

9811226448, 9419131880

Smt. Roopa Devi

Dhar 10TH DAY/UTHALAWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form the untimely demise of our beloved

Smt. Raj Rani Gupta W/o Late Sh. Atma

Ram Gupta R/o Padhian Street Purani

Mandi Jammu who expired on Saturday,

February 10, 2018. TENTH DAY will be

performed on Monday 19 Feb. 2018

from 10.00 A.M. to 11.00 A.M. at Arya

Samaj Mandhir Purani Mandi, Jammu.

UTHALA will be performed on Friday 23

Feb. 2018 from 3.00 P.M. to 4.00 P.M. at

Mahajan Sabha Shalamar Jammu.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Sons & Daughter-in-laws

Sh. Krishan Lal Gupta & Smt. Sneh Gupta

Sh. Ajay Mahajan & Smt. Neelima Mahajan

Daughter & Son-in-law

Late Smt. Madhu Gupta & Sh. Kamal Verma

Smt. Kiran Gupta & Late Sh. Ajay Suman Gupta

Smt. Anjana Ajrawat & Sh. Anil Ajrawat

Grand Son & Grand Daughter

Sh. Abhinav Mahajan & Poonam Mahajan

Grand Daughter & Grand Son

Smt. Isha Mehak & Sh. Nitin Gupta

Grand Children : Akhil, Aryan, Abhimanyu, Snehil, Misha, Nipu,

Shipu, Sanjoi, & Vannaya Naresh

Contact No: 8717077905, 9596707671

Smt. Raj Rani

Gupta

10TH DAY/UTHALAWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form the sad demise of our beloved

mother Karmyogni LUCHKUJ ZUTSHI

W/o Lt. Sh. VISHEMBER NATH ZUT-

SHI originally resident of BANDIPORA,

at present H.No. -5, Lane No. - 3, DUR-

GA NAGAR, TALAB TILLO, JAMMU,

who left on 13-02-18, Monday at 11:15

PM. TENTH DAY KRIYA will be pre-

formed on 22-02-18, Thursday at

AKHNOOR, Assembling at our resi-

dence at 12:00 Noon.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Son's & Daughter in law's

Smt. & Sh. Bal Krishen Zutshi

Smt. & Sh. Bansi Lal Zutshi

Sh. Raj Nath Zutshi

Daughters & Son in laws

Smt. & Sh. Chuni Lal Bindroo

Smt. & Sh. Shamboo Nath Saproo

Smt. Shoba Mawa W/o Lt. Bushan Lal Mawa

M. 94191-30438, 94192, 61659, 9412006912

lUCHKUJ

ZUTSHI

10TH DAY KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow, we in-

form the sad demise of our beloved

mother Smt. Kamla Kaul W/o Late Pt.

Kashi Nath Kaul erstwhile resident of

Banna Mohalla Razdan Kocha

Srinagar Kashmir A/P 144-Hazuri

Bagh near Royal Appartments Bohri

Jammu. TENTH DAY KRIYA will be

held at Akhnoor Ghat and Assembly at

Muthi Ghat near Directorate of

Education at 11 A.M. on 19.02.2018.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Sons - Daughter-in-laws

Omkar Kaul - Usha

Maharaj Kaul - Jaya

Nana Jee Kaul - Vijay Kaul

Ravinder Kaul - Dolly Kaul

Daughters - Son-in-law

Usha - A.K. Ganju

Sujata - Tej Bahadur Ganju

Samast Kaul & Ganju Parivar, Thusoo

7889948453, 9086059299

Smt. Kamla Kaul

10TH DAY/KRIYA/UTHALAWith profound grief and sorrow,we inform

the sad demise of our beloved Smt.

Chanchla Devi W/o Sh. Chander Mohan

Sharma R/o House No. 581, Lane No.5-D,

Suryanshi Nagar, Lower Muthi. 10th Day

will be performed on Monday 19th Feb,

2018 at 11 AM at our residence. Kriya will

be performed at our residence on 20th

Feb, 2018. Uthala will be performed on

21st Feb, 2018 (Wednesday) at 4 PM at

Shiv Mandir Lower Roop Nagar, Sector

No.7, Near Uma Devi Mandir.

GRIeF STRICKeN

Sh. Chander Mohan Sharma - Husband

Smt. Dolly & Sh. Anurag Sharma - Son & Daughter-in-law

Smt. Bhavna & Sh. Anubhav Sharma - Son & Daughter-in-law

Smt. Pratima & Sh. Sumit Bakshi - Daughter & Son-in-law

P.No: 7051383162, 9858121196, 9596898440

Smt. Chanchla Devi

10TH DAY KRIYAWith profound grief and sorrow we in-

form the sad demise of our beloved

mother Smt. Mohini Bali W/o Late Sh J.N

Bali original resident of Sheliteng Habba

Kadal Srinagar at present H No. 30-D

Matto Colony Village Enclave Marble

Market Trikuta Nagar Jammu. Tenth Day

Kriya will be performed on 20-02-2018 at

Akhnoor Ghat. Assembly will be per-

formed at Sai Baba Temple Matto Colony

Village Colony Enclave Marble Market

Trikuta Nagar, Jammu at 12 Noon.

GReIF STRICKeN:

Shanta Bali- Sister in law

Sons & Daughters-in-law

Surinder Bali & Nancy Bali

Ravinder Bali & Rohini Bali

Opender Bali & Urmilla Bali

Daughter & Son-in-law

Santosh & Surinder Trisal

Renu & R.M Koul

Neeru & Ramesh Razdan

Grand Childrens: Aparna, Mihir, Anmol, Rahul, Ravish, Ieshan,

Ayushi, Ankita, Isheeta, Rhea

Samast:- Bali, Raina, Saproo, Trisal, Parimoo, Dhar, Ganjoo,

Akhoon, Razdan Parivar

Mobile: 9419131798, 9419124512, 9535702344

Smt. Mohini bali

CHOUBARSIFour years have passed since you left us

for heavenly abode, but not a single mo-

ment goes without remembering you.

You were part of us then and will always

be. We pray to the Almighty to bestow

your noble soul with eternal peace.

Choubarsi of our beloved Shri Surinder

Mahajan S/o Lt. Shri Mangat Ram and

Amro Devi (Pabbo) on Monday 19-2-

2018 at our residence A-2, Chinar

Enclave Channi Himmat Jammu.

Deeply ReMeMbeReD by :

Mrs Anju Gupta -Wife

Mrs Sonal and Shagun Chopra -Daughter & Son-in-law

Mr Aakash Mahajan & Stuti Mahajan -Son & Daughter-in-law

Mr Aseem Mahajan -Son

Arham, Nirosha & Krishav -Grand Children

Mr Tilak Raj Gupta & Rama Gupta -Brother-in-law & Sister

Smt Veena Gupta -Bhabhi

Mr Vijay Gupta & Kanchan Gupta -Brother & Bhabhi

Mb. 94191-99990, 94199-99990

Shri Surinder

Mahajan

Page 3: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018state3 Glimpses of Future

Jammu:Feb 18

In an act of showing utterdisregard to the basic conceptof Right to Information Act ofthe government, administra-tion of Jammu University ishell bent to twist the spirits ofthe Act with the tacit inten-tion to hide an important in-formation which constituteslarger public interest.

This was stated byDeepak Kumar, PresidentJammu Youth Forum (JYF)while addressing a press con-ference today in which he dis-closed that one RTI activisthad sought information re-garding irregularities com-mitted by the University au-thority at the instance of itsVice Chancellor, Prof Ramji

Dass Sharma who engineeredill conceived methods to pro-vide undue benefits to NeerajSharma after his appoint-ment till he was made SpecialSecretary to VC during whichhe did his doctorate degreewithout adopting standardoperating procedures underrules.

Deepak Kumar said thatas per the document of replygiven by university to the in-formation seeker vide letterdated 15-1-18 , the Universityadministration flatly de-clined to share in formations,inter-alia, about NeerajSharma, who manipulated topursue and get Ph.D degreewhile on official duty withoutseeking six months leave forattending the course work re-

quired under rules.He said that on the one

hand University refused togive information on the pre-text of its being third party in-formation and on the otherhand the Public InformationOfficer directed the informa-tion seeker to file appeal withRegistrar of the varsity forthe same.

Such an evasive attitudeof the university administra-tion to avoid reply and simul-taneously asking the informa-tion seeker to file appeal withnext varsity authority,obliquely speaks about its in-tention to buy time in an at-tempt to manipulate requisiterecords in favour of NeerajSharma to provide him safepassage from disciplinary ac-

tion for violating rules and setstatutes. Questioning the ad-ministrative lapse on the partof university of Jammu toclear as to how a person work-ing as Special Secretary to theVC can attend his officialwork and simultaneouslypursue the Ph.D course. Hesaid that Prof R. D. Sharmahas reduced the University tothe status of a private firmeroding the sanctity of thechair of Vice Chancellor whocommitted numerous irregu-larities and gave undue bene-fits to his favourites selective-ly during his whole tenure asVC now ending soon. Amongthose who are present in thepress conference included,Rohit Sharma, Anil Manhas,and Sunny Mahajan.

Jammu Feb. 18

Demanding that the seatsfor open courses in Gojri sub-ject -recently started by theUniversity of Jammu atPostgraduate level - must beenhanced from 32 to 100 –themembers of Gujjar Bakerwaltribes- today pleaded that agood number of students areinterested to opt for Gojri asone of the subject under‘Choice Based Credit System’but seats are not available forthem. In a programme organ-ised by Tribal Research andCultural Foundation the com-munity members urged thatProf. RD Sharma, ViceChancellor, University ofJammu to intervene in thematter and issue direction inthis regard. The programmewas presided over by notedGujjar Scholar Dr. JavaidRahi while a large number ofcommunity members, eldersand community youth partic-ipated. Dr. Javaid Rahi in

his presidential address stat-ed that after 70 long year longwait the Gojri language ulti-mately entered intoUniversity Curriculum and itwas happened only with helpof University of Jammu au-thorities. He stated that Gojriis fast emerging languages ofthe state with rich treasuremodern literature besidesFolk and Classic literature atits back. He said presentlymore than one thousandbooks are available in Gojri inJ&K and adjoining states. Heexpressed high hopes and im-pressed upon JU authoritiesto enhance seats in Gojrikeeping in view its largercatchment area spread over12 states.

The speakers , on the oc-cassio stated that a new hori-zon has now opened for devel-opment of Gojri especially inthe field of research and docu-mentations which is un-doubtly a good omen forGujjar community at large.

They stated that students aretaking Gojri with great enthu-siasm and all the 32 seats fixedby JU for Gojri got full in just 3days. They made an appeal toProf. R D Sharma , ViceChancellor , University ofJammu to direct Universityto enhance seats in Gojri from32 to 100. Ch Ishtiaq AhmadMisbah, Khalida JabeenGorsi, Mehmood Riaz ,Advocate ShafeeqChoudhary, Bilal RashidChoudhary, MudassarChoudhary, Ishfaq Shahzaib,Shahid Ayoob, Abaid ur-Rehman and others also high-lighted the demand and otherissues regarding Gojri lan-guage and culture. The partic-ipant also urged Universityauthorities to start GojriResearch Centre in PoonchCamps of Jammu Universityform upcoming Academic ses-sion.The Gojri Centre was ap-proved by the council fiveyear back but till date its notmade functional.

JYF seeks immediate interventionof Chancellor's OfficeJU twists RTI rules to hide information pertaining to undue favour to a blue-eyed

Gujjars demand 100 seats forGojri in PG open courses of JU

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

CPI (M) senior leaderand MLA MohammadYousuf Tarigami todaytermed the rally organisedby a fringe right-wing groupusing the tricolour, demand-ing the release of the ac-cused in the brutal rape-and-murder case of an 8-year-oldBakerwal girl in Kathua dis-trict, as most shameful actand against the human val-ues. The rally is an indica-tion of dangers confrontingJammu and Kashmir. Bysupporting the accused the‘Hindu Ekta Manch’ hasshamelessly displayed theircommunal intentions. Usingnational flag during the ral-

ly is an insult of tri-colourand things can’t get morehorrible than this.

Some fringe elements inJammu are hell bent on giv-ing religious colour to thisheinous crime. Not only peo-ple cutting across politicaland ideological differencesshould unite to against thishorrific incident, but theGovernment must takestern action against the ac-cused without showing anyleniency to them. Civil soci-ety, political groups andsaner voices in Jammu arestrong and they should unit-edly fight for the justice tothe tender soul Asifa, whowas raped and brutally mur-dered by the enemies of hu-

manity. They should uniteand isolate the fringe ele-ments, who want to commu-nalise the situation inJammu by holding marchesin favour of enemies of hu-manity. Such acts will em-bolden criminals and lead toa chaotic and uncontrollablesituation in the state, hewarned. There should be noroom for those who shieldthe criminals under the onegarb or the other.

A criminal is a criminalirrespective of his caste,colour and creed and mustbe dealt according to law. Byevoking emotions and givingcommunal colour to Asifa’srape and murder, thesefringe elements are commit-

ting a heinous crime againstthe humanity.

These anti-social and an-ti-human elements are try-ing to politicize the issueand halt the investigation toderive political mileages outof this barbaric incident.Quoting example of similarbrutal incident in Lahore,Pakistan, where a seven-year-old girl Zainab wasraped and brutally mur-dered, he said, the accusedhas been sentenced to deathby an anti-terrorism court inshortest possible period offour days. The civil societyin Pakistan used its influ-ence to get the speedy trial ofthe case and they succeededin their mission. I am hope-

ful that similar efforts wouldbe made by the civil societyhere to ensure that the ac-cused in Asifa’s rape andmurder case are hanged todeath without any furtherdelay.He said that whoknows how many such inno-cent girls become victims ofsuch barbarism each day inthe world. During the recent-ly concluded Assembly ses-sion I had moved a calling at-tention notice to demand thestatus of the investigationordered into the rape andmurder of Asifa. In its replythe government had assuredthat the case would be takento logical conclusion andthose found guilty will besternly punished.

Tarigami terms rally supporting murderers of Asifa as most shamefulJammu Civil Society and saner voices must raise their vice against such elements

Jammu, February 18

Shoolini University inHimachal Pradesh has signeda Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with sixEthiopian Universities, whichwould go a long way in takingforward its research pro-gramme and also give the stu-dents and faculty an opportu-nity to visit these universities.Team of Office ofInternational Affairs (OIA) DrRP Dwivedi and Ms. RozyDhanta visited Ethiopia fromFebruary 3rd to 13th andsigned MOU with sixEthiopian Universities whereboth the Universities agreedto start student exchange, fac-ulty exchange, joint researchand joint publication pro-gramme in vice-versa termsand higher education atShoolini University.

It may be recalled thatrecognising the demand forYoga experts internationally,the Vice Chancellor ofShoolini University, Prof. P.K.Khosla had recently signed anMoU with China’s reputedvarsity, Yunnan MinzuUniversity under an ex-change-program, which shallcommence around theInternational Yoga Day, onJune 21 this year. The

Ethiopian universities withwhich MoU has been signedinclude Jimma University,Ethiopia, a governmentUniversity, ranked no. 1 inoverall Universities ofEthiopia, 22nd in Africa andglobal ranked 1595. It accom-modates 35000 plus students,Wolkite University, a govern-ment University, ranked no. 8in overall Universities ofEthiopia and accommodates14000 plus students, WolaitaSodo University (WSU), one ofthe second-generation publichigh institutions in Ethiopialocated in Wolaita Sodo town,and functions in three campuspremises (Gandaba, Ottonaand Dawuro Tarcha). Wondogenet college of Forestry-Ethiopia, a 40-year-old univer-

sity with expertise in forestry,covers 1000 acre of land, where117 acres is dedicated to forestplanting having 95 species oftrees, is also among the uni-versities with which MoU hasbeen signed. Zion Technologyand Business College-Ethiopia, a private Institutionoffering several Program inBusiness management andComputer Engineering, hav-ing more than 6000 studentsand one of the best in HawassaProvince, is also among the sixuniversities with whichShoolini University hassigned MoU, besides HawassaUniversity-Ethiopia, aGovernment University hav-ing 48000 students, which isranked among top threeUniversities of Ethiopia.

Jammu February18

Natrang Jammu todaypresented a new satirical play“Aaya Nahi Aayi” written byRajindra Kumar Sharma anddirected by Neeraj KantSharma in its weekly theatreseries, ‘Sunday Theatre’ atNatrang Studio theatre,Jammu. The play opens upwith sunny morning andchirping birds like a regularday of working couple Lataand Arun who are fightingover a cup of tea that who willmake tea today morning. Latais a teacher at school andArun is a Government em-ployee. They are blessed witha baby boy and when both ofthem leave for office theirAaya (Nanny) takes care ofthe baby. But today morningis unfortunate for both ofthem as their Aaya doesn’tcome till the said time and

both of them realize it be-tween their regular argu-ments and they have impor-tant works at their respectivejobs restricting them to take aholiday and take care of thebaby. None of their neigh-bours come to their rescue.An old lady who is the gossiphub of the neighbourhood

comes to visit them but leavesbefore they could ask for theirhelp. They ask Kamla, theirnext door neighbour for helpbut she swiftly refuses and in-stead asks them to take care ofher child. Now burdened withtwo children they are in amuch worse condition com-pared to when they began. The

Aaya's lover Jonny also paysthem a visit and asks themabout her whereabouts.Frustrated by this ordeal theybegin bickering again. Arunwants Lata to stay home,while Lata wants Arun tostay. In between such hustleand bustle Lata's Principalcomes to her rescue andwhisks her away handingover her baby to Arun as heraaya is also on leave today.Poor Arun is left behind mis-erable to take care of 3 chil-dren. The play was a comedypresentation which was verywell executed by MeenakshiBhagat, Ashley Mehta,Khushal Sharma, ZeeshanHaider, Toyab Hussain andPriya Hamal. The lights of theplay were executed by ShivamSingh whereas Sidhant Sathurendered the music of theplay. The show was coordinat-ed by Mohd. Yaseen.

Shoolini University signs MoU withtop Ethiopian UniversitiesMoU will give an opportunity for students and faculty to visit these universitiesand to take up joint research programme

Natrang presented a new satirical play “Aaya Nahi Aayi”

‘Obesity awareness program’held at PanchkulaPanchkula, February 18:

As part of an obesity awareness program, AlchemistHospital, Panchkula organized an obesity support group’sseminar today. Before seminar, a camp on weight loss was al-so held, where 45 people availed free services. Speaking dur-ing seminar, Dr. Atul Krishan Sharma, senior consultant, GIsurgery, said that obesity can severely affect the quality ofone’s life. However Bariatric surgery can transform lives ofmany obese people besides improving quality of life too.“International reports also says that after bariatric surgery,type-2 diabetes can also be controlled and cured if a person ismorbidly obese and is suffering from diabetes.” Bariatricsurgery is an only treatment modality that is allowed fortreating severe obesity with long-term success and accept-ance. In addition, it resolves diabetes, hypertension, sleep ap-nea, high-cholesterol and other co-existing obesity relateddiseases in severely obese people. Dr. Atul further informedthat Bariatric Support Group runs for the operated patientsand obese patients who want to overcome the challenges.Meanwhile during seminar the success stories of those whohave lost large amounts of weight successfully after bariatricsurgery were also shared with audience. Photos caption: Dr.Atul Krishan Sharma, senior consultant, GI surgery addressan obesity support group’s seminar at Alchemist Hospital,Panchkula on Sunday.

Appreciate Initiatives taken byI.G. Traffic to regulate traffic inJammu: Shiv Sena Jammu, Feb. 18:

State President of Shiv Sena (Bala Sahib Thackery )Dimpy Kohli today hailed the appointment Of Basant Rath asI.G. Traffic Jammu. In a statement issued here, Dimpy Kohlisaid that the situation of Traffic in Jammu city is a matter ofconcern. He said that after so many years an officer of goodcalibre is appointed as I.G. Traffic and is doing a marvellousjob to regularize the traffic scenario in Jammu. He said thatwhen Basant Rath was SSP Jammu, at that time Basant Rathhas done a marvellous job to make Jammu a crime free socie-ty. He said that if traffic congestion problem will be sortedout, then it is better for everyone. So I request people ofJammu to cooperate with Basant Rath. Others who werepresent were Rajan Gupta, Ramesh Gupta, Raj Singh, VikasPatel, Pawan Singh, Raj Kumar Raja, Raju Salaria, SanjeevSudan, Akshay Kumar, Rakesh Gupta, Pawan Choudharyand Kuldeep Singh.

Cultural Programme “Jashan-e-Jammu” in IndianAudit & Accounts Department

Jammu Feb 18

A colourful cultural programme was organized today atthe Auditorium of the Indian Institute of IntegrativeMedicine, Jammu by the Audit & Accounts Recreation Clubof Indian Audit & Accounts Department, J&K for promotingthe culture of peace, brotherhood and communal harmony.The programme was graced by the presence of Sh. SushilThakur, Accountant General (Audit), J&K and Sh.ShourjoChatterjee, Accountant General (A&E), J&K. Smt Sheela MJog, Principal Director, Regional Training Institute, Jammuwas the Chief Guest on the occasion. The dignitaries werewelcomed by the Audit & Accounts Recreation Club, Jammu(IA&AD). The programme began with lighting of the tradi-tional lamp of enlightenment by the Chief Guest and otherdignitaries and a recital of “Sarasvati Vandana” by the staffmembers. This was followed by welcome address bySh.Dipan Karmakar, Sr.Dy.Accountant General (A&E) andstage performances on the themes of culture, peace and com-munal harmony presented by the artists of offices ofAccountant General, A&E and Audit at Srinagar andJammu. Folk dances and recitals of popular Dogri andKashmiri folk songs by the artists of two offices were greatlyapplauded by the audience. The Song & Drama Division ofthe Jammu Unit of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting,Govt of India also staged live stage performances to the de-light of the audience. Sh.Shourjo Chatterjee, Patron, Audit &Accounts Recreation Club, Jammu and Accountant General,A&E, J&K sang a beautiful Punjabi song to the rich applauseof the audience. Sh.Chatterjee congratulated the partici-pants for their wonderful and colourful presentations and ap-preciated the organizing of cultural programme by the Audit& Accounts Recreation Club, Jammu. The values of culturebind the communities and enriches the social living and it isthe need of hour in this state to further peace and communalharmony, he added. The Mementos were also presented tothe participating performers. The event ended with a note ofgratitude by Sh.V.K,Bakshi, President / Dy.AccountantGeneral (E&R) Audit Office Jammu who applauded the roleof all the office bearers of the Audit & Accounts RecreationClub, Jammu in organizing the function and thanked the dig-nitaries, artists and staff members of the offices of IndianAudit & Accounts Department for their presence to make theevent a grand success.

Jammu Feb 18

Today sh. Neeraj Gupta Zonal PresidentJKNPP along with his supporters and partyworkers held a massive protest demonstrationagainst the present Govt over the issue of pricehike of diesel and petrol. The party workerspush a truck with the help of rope and raisedslogans against the govt and demanded with-drawal of price hike of diesel and petrol withimmediate effect. sh Neeraj Gupta said that forpersonal interest the govt is not taking theproblems of the common man seriously. thereis continuous hike in prices of the daily needthings and the hike in prices of diesel andpetrol further add to the miseries of the com-mon man. the Govt. is in deep sleep and not tak-ing any steps to decrease the prices of petroland diesel. He demands that the govt shouldwithdraw the price hike of diesel and petrolwith immediate effect as it directly affects the

daily need items of common man and it also af-fects the transporters and public transport. Hesaid that transporters re the spinal cord of theeconomy of any country or state and govtshould look into the matter to overcome the is-sue of price hike of diesel. On this occasion hewas accompanied by Sh Jagdish Singh Baryal,S Joginder Singh , Surat Lal, Mela Ram, SonuChoudhry Etc.

JKNPP demands withdrawal of price hike ofdiesel and petrol with immediate effect: Neeraj

RS Pura Feb 18:

Under the direction andguidelines of Chairman ofTeam Jammu Zorawar SinghJamwal, Social Activist andactive member of TeamJammu of RS Pura unit,Narinder Sharma today dis-tributed blankets amongneedy families of villageBaggamarh of RS Pura Tehsilon Sunday. Speaking on theoccasion, Sharma said vari-ous welfare schemes and de-velopmental projects for thevillages provided by Centreand State every year are mer-cilessly grabbed by the gov-ernment officials posted therein collaboration with repre-sentatives. Therefore, TeamJammu is organizing legalawareness programs for theneglect and unreachable peo-ple living in the remote areasof the State. Such exercise oflegal awareness programswill make the people aware oftheir fundamental rights, em-power them and assert theirdue basic rights and benefits,and privileges guaranteed bysocial welfare department, tolive in dignity as a citizen of

the country. Sharma madeaware the gathering abouttheir rights and duties be-sides updating them aboutvarious schemes and pro-grammes of both central andstate Govts for their welfare.Sharma appealed the peoplepresent in good number tomaintain hygiene and cleanli-ness at homes and in their sur-roundings to stay fit. He saidCleanliness is not a workwhich we should do forcefullyas it is a healthy way of ourhealthy life.

All type of cleanliness isvery necessary for our goodhealth whether it is personalcleanliness, surroundingcleanliness, environmentcleanliness, pet animal clean-liness or work place cleanli-ness like school, college, of-fice, etc. We all should behighly aware about how tomaintain cleanliness in ourdaily lives. We should nevercompromise with cleanliness,it is as necessary as food andwater for us. It should be prac-ticed from the childhoodwhich can only be initiated byeach parent as a first and fore-most responsibility, he added.

Team Jammu RS PuraUnit distributes blanketsamong destitute

*AZAD HUSSAIN*

Rajouri Feb 18

With the help of locals ofSalyote area, Rajouri policemanaged to unite a missingschool going girl with hisfamily. The said small childnamely Shabnam D/O MohdAslam R/O BrehviKalakote, aged about 03years only, went alongwithher mother to Sunderbaniwhere she suddenly left thehand of her mother andreached Salyote by boardingon a bus and mothers keptsearching her atSunderbani. The said girl started to road here and

there in Salyote market andthe local shopkeeper noticedher and inquire her where-abouts but she failed to di-vulge any detail of family.However, traders after see-ing school sweater wore byher with tag of DharamsalShiksha Kendar informed atPolice Station Dharamsaland a team of police stationwas rushed to spot whichbrought her to police sta-tion. Later with the help ofschool authorities, policemanaged to establish con-tact with her family andmanaged to unite her withfamily.

Missing child unites with family

CRPF praisedin Red CrossMela :EarnedSecond PlaceJammu: February 18, 2018.

People seemed to bevery enthusiastic on thesecond day of Red Crossmela here at Gulshanground Jammu. Among thevarious stalls, the informa-tive stall displayed byCRPF providing informa-tion pertaining to recruit-ment in CRPF at variouslevels attracted the people.Stall of CRPF earned sec-ond place among the all.Ashish Kumar JhaCommandant 166 Bn. CRPFreceived the trophy on be-half of CRPF by Sh. S.P.Vaid, IPS, DG, J&K police.

Digitisationdrive: Keralagovt to geotag 10lakh livestockfarmer housesThiruvananthapuram | February 18,

(PTI)

The Kerala government isgearing up to geotag the hous-es and farms of over 10 lakhlivestock and poultry farmersin the state as part of its mas-sive digitisation drive. Theobjective is to compile a com-prehensive digital repositoryof the information of animalhusbandry and dairying inthe state and integrate the da-ta using the GeographicalInformation System (GIS), of-ficial sources said. The stateAnimal HusbandryDepartment has a database ofover eight lakh farmers andhouses and farms of over60,000 of them have alreadybeen geotagged under the am-bitious initiative. It also plansto make the functioning of theDepartment ‘paperless’ in thenext 6-7 months as part of thedigitisation drive, for which23 mobile applications will bedeveloped, official sourcessaid. Besides the data of thehouses and farms, the statusof domestic animals andbirds, the information of vet-erinary hospitals and relatedoffices would also be linkedthrough the GIS technology.Through the geo-tagging, thelocation of the complete live-stock population in the south-ern state would also bemapped subsequently, a topofficial said.

Page 4: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018state4 Glimpses of Future

Jammu, Feb 18:

“The recent move of StateGovernment in which 3 percent reser-vation was extended to PahariSpeaking People of the State was a po-litically motivated as the real benefi-ciaries i.e. PoK Displaced Personswho are by clan Paharis haven’t beenincorporated in ambit of reservationthat is yet another discriminativemove to deprive PoK DPs from theirlegitimate rights”, this was stated byRajiv Chuni, Chairman S. O. S.International – An Organization forPoK Displaced Persons in jam-packedrally held at Maheshpura Chowk,Jammu. Thousands of PoK DPsacross Jammu have gathered in therally and hailed the efforts of S. O. S.International and vowed their fullfledged support to the Organizationover its struggle to get absolute jus-tice for which they have been waitingfor the last 7 decades. While address-ing the rally, Chairman S. O. S.International said that the recentmove of Government of extendingreservation to Pahari- Speaking peo-ple proved that it has nothing to dowith wellbeing of the most destitutecommunity of the world i.e. PoK DPsas Government has taken the deci-sion by keeping grudge in its mind.“The real beneficiaries who belong tohilly terrains of Mirpur,Muzaffarabad and Poonch kept awayfrom the ambit of reservation is aclear indication that how serious isGovernment to resolve our problemsand causes. It is quite surprising thata large community who by birth arePaharis, moreover who has sacrificedits all to save the State from invadersare given step motherly treatment.Government should have taken all

the Pahari Speaking People of theState into consideration before grant-ing 3 percent reservation according totheir cultural, linguistic,Geographical identities but on whatgrounds and which logic the so calledmove of providing reservation tohandful people hailing from two dis-tricts i.e. Poonch and Rajouri was tak-en”, he added. S. O. S. InternationalChairman further said that PoK DPshave been living in exile like nomadsunder inhumane conditions for thelast 70 years and they must have beenconsidered on high priority for thisreservation as their wards are work-ing as laborers, cleaners, domestichelpers etc. and they need reservationvery desperately so that their livingstandards can be uplifted.“Government ought to have includedPoK DPs in this reservation bill asthey have been demanding for longtime. A wave of gloom has gasped PoKDPs as they had great expectationfrom Government but they remainempty handed because vote bank poli-tics were kept in consideration whilegranting status of reservation to the

people who speak Pahari in hilly ter-rains of the state. If Government does-n’t want to grant us this status, then itmust constitute PoK DPsDevelopment Board that will look in-to the matters of ours as we have beendeprived from our basic rights whichinclude food, shelter, health, educa-tion, employment, etc.

”, Chuni reiterated. He furtheredsaid that PoK DPs are put in anothermental traumatic scenario whereGovernment is behaving like a mon-ster where limitations of discrimina-tion have gone beyond one’s imagina-tion. This is the 4th generation of PoKDPs who is expecting some sigh of re-lief amount but Government’s out oflogic decisions have put them in an-other state of gloominess. He furthersaid that if the process of providingjustice continue in such a biased man-ner then, we will be left with no optionbut to launch unprecedented strug-gle”, he added. He further said that ithas been approximately 2 years whenChief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tookoath of office. That time, S. O. S.International has sought time to meet

CM but after the lapse of almost 2years, we have not been given time tomeet her. “It seems that ChiefMinister doesn’t want to hear us forthe reasons best know to her. I wouldlike to say that Mehbooba is not theCM of only one community but of thewhole state and all the communities;she is meeting with every Tom, Dickand Harry but not with PoK DPs, it ishard to digest and very unfortunate.It seems that something is fishy hap-pening in her office. I point out toCM’s advisors Prof. Amitabh Mattooand Dr. Dhar because these two gen-tlemen have never paid any heed toour request to meet CM.

They both advise CM only aboutthe welfare of Valley migrants whichis quite unfortunate as PoK DPs arethe part and parcel of the state. S. O. S.International has submitted scores ofletters and even contacted telephoni-cally for seeking time to meet CM butall the time we were denied. We wantto meet CM to give her suggestionsand apprise of our issues but due toher advisors who keep grudge againstPoK DPs not allotting time to us. Thejob of advisor is to give advice for thebenefit of whole state not for a partic-ular community but unfortunatelywe have such people on these high-pitched posts who blatantly misusetheir position”, he stated. Mr. Chunifurther added that PoK DPs populacehas crossed the mark of more than 1million and till today they are deniedrights. V. K. Datta conducted stageproceedings. Others who also spokewere Prof. J. S. Mangal, Prof. N. N.Sharma, Gurmit Singh Isher, ParmodGhai, Bhai Ram Singh, Ved Raj Bali,Sharda Devi, Tilak Raj Sethi, PardeepSabharwal and Dharam Vir Gupta.

Chuni terms reservation to Pahari-speakingpeople politically motivated

Jammu Feb 18:

BJP-PDP insensitivecoalition has failed in assuag-ing urges and aspirations ofthe people on political front,its record in governance isquite dismal. The state is vir-tually witnessing mis-gover-nance with governmentnowhere to be seen onground,” former Minister andsenior Congress leaderRaman Bhalla said while in-teracting with people ofSanjay Nagar in GandhiNagar constituency. The pro-gramme was organized byDilawar Singh & JasbirSingh. Prominent amongthose present on the occasioninclude JKPCC GeneralSecretary ShahawazChoudhary,Ex CorporatorKulbushan Sharma, MadamMadhu Bala, MohinderSingh, Vijay Singh Chib,Parvinder Singh,Amar Singh,Janak Singh, Popinder Singh,Anuj, Diwan Singh KuldeepSharma Daljeet KourBalwinder Kour SumanDevi,Neelam, Parveen SinghJatinder Singh. He said if atall there is any visibility of thePDP and BJP anywhere in thestate, it is for all the wrongreasons of exploiting peopleand inciting them to fighteach other. In such a grim sce-nario, the role of Congress as apublic movement, represent-ing the urges and aspirationsof Jammu, Kashmir andLadakh becomes more pro-nounced, Bhalla said andurged the cadre to “realize

their crucial responsibilities.He said Congress cannot “af-ford to be a fence-sitter whenthe state remains standing ata crossroads where the secu-lar credentials, nurtured byCongress are at stake in thewake of elements inimical toamity and tranquility takingcenter-stage. He made a pas-sionate appeal to the people tomaintain vigil against the ele-ments inimical to the inclu-siveness of the State.

Bhalla described the PDP-BJP Government in Jammuand Kashmir as an abject fail-ure, saying the coalition isplagued by distractions thathas slowed down the processof development and left thegovernance in paralyticmode. In fact, the present dis-pensation has lost the will togovern. The slogan of develop-ment is just a façade, as themajor concern of the insensi-tive alliance is how to remainglued to power. Despite beingin power at the Centre and in

the State the party failed mis-erably on governance frontand let down Jammu on allfronts’’, he said, adding thatthe BJP has nothing to show-case as its achievement, leastto fulfilling liberal promisesduring elections. Bhalla ob-served that the treachery anddeceit of the BJP is hauntingJammu people who reposedtheir unflinching faith andsupport to it with the hopethat Jammu may perhaps geta better deal as during thedays of its wilderness in theopposition, the BJP leaderswere crying hoarse over dis-crimination and neglect. Hecharged the BJP for reversingsome of the prestigious proj-ects launched during thetenure of Congress for puttingthe Jammu region on equalpedestal of development.

Hitting out at the Modigovernment after the killingof soldiers in the terror attackon the family quarters inSunjuwa military station, in

Jammu, Bhalla said it was amatter of deep concern that 14major terror attacks have tak-en place on the Army inJammu and Kashmir since2014, after the NDA govern-ment came to power. “We ap-peal to the Prime Minister,whichever part of the worldhe is, to personally supervisethe operation and ensure thatthese terrorists are gunneddown and give the armedforces every possible help inthis regard,” he said. He ex-pressed anguish over the in-difference of PDP-BJP govern-ment towards the plight ofpeople residing along Line ofControl and InternationalBorder, saying the promisesof raising shelter sheds, con-structing bunkers and provid-ing five marla pots haveproven hoax during the pastnearly three years. The bor-der dwellers are living underperpetual threat with farmingcoming to standstill, econom-ic activity going disarray and

schooling of children taking abig hit for years now.

He said the insensitivedispensation has failed in feel-ing the pulse of the people whoare anguished over forgettingthe promises made by BJPstalwarts from top in the highcommand down in the stateleadership during 2014 parlia-mentary and assembly elec-tions and thereafter with re-gard to provision of five marlaplots and reservation for theirwards in professional coursesand government jobs. The cal-lousness of the governmenttowards residents is a classicexample of the duplicity anddeception of the BJP, whichhas mastered in exploitation,he added.Referring to denialof one time settlement of thePoK refugees of 1947, 1965 and1971, Bhalla said despite rec-ommendation for allocationof Rs 9025 crores during theCongress government, envis-aging Rs 25 lakhs to each fami-ly, the Centre has provided ameager Rs 2000 crore underPrime Minister’s Package,which too is still undis-bursed.“We fail to understandthe rationale behind reducingthe recommended Rs 9025crore to just Rs 2000 crore”, hesaid and castigated the BJPfor creating euphoria beforethe 2014 elections and ignor-ing all commitments aftercoming to power at the Centreand in Jammu and Kashmir.He described the maltreat-ment of the BJP with borderdwellers as reprehensible.Bhalla said that the PDP-BJP

has not only failed on deliver-ance front but also in appreci-ating the political sensitivi-ties of the people. He said thepeople of the three regions aresuffering adversely with mag-nitude of their problems in-creasing with each passingday. Cautioning the peopleagainst duplicity of the BJP,Bhalla described its develop-mental slogan just a façade,saying it exists on the plank ofexploitative and divisive poli-tics. Bhalla said it doesn’tmatter for the BJP whetherthe state progresses or not;the only thing that matters ishow the party will benefit byplaying communal politicsand indulging in mudslingingagainst different segments ofsociety, as it did in 2014.Hetook the PDP-BJP head on formaking hollow promises andfailing on deliverance front.He described the present dis-pensation as opportunisticand self-centric, saying itsmain objective is to remainglued to power by hook orcrook. He referred to the fail-ure of the PDP-BJP govern-ment on all fronts, addingthat the people were sufferingon account of utility services,rations, medicare and educa-tional infrastructure. He saidthe road network is in dilapi-dated condition as a result ofwhich mobility of people hasbeen adversely affected.Hesaid the state is sufferingfrom developmental inertiaand administrative paralysisunder the present dispensa-tion.

BJP crossed all limits of appeasement for remaining in power: BhallaTalks much on nationalism to teach other, but did not act in reality

Jammu, Feb 18

Disconcerted over the dangerousdelay and deny tactics of the Stategovt. to evict Rohingyas andBangladeshis from Jammu region,Mr. Harsh Dev Singh ChairmanJKNPP and former Minister admon-ished the BJP-PDP coalition for its to-tal failure to take call on the deporta-tion of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis totheir native countries despite theirsuspected role in the recent terror at-tacks on Army camps and overt in-volvement in drug trafficking, fleshtrade and other crimes. He was ad-dressing a press conference today.

Addressing the media, Mr. HarshDev Singh said that the earlier inputsby the intelligence agencies suggest-ing the presence of Rohingyas inJammu could fuel ‘drugs and terror-ism’ had come true with several ar-rests of Myanmar nationals in narcosmuggling and their alleged involve-ment in terror attacks on defence per-sonnel. He revealed that couple ofdays ago DSB wing of Jammu Policehad arrested a Rohingya after recov-ering 60 gms of Ganja from his posses-sion at Bari Brahamana area.Likewise, Police apprehended onemore in Samba recently and afterfrisking 37gms of Ganja was recov-ered from his possession, Harsh said.Recalling further, he divulged thatPolice had arrested a Rohingya na-tional in September last year atChowadi area and recovered 10 kg ofpurified form of cannabis from his

possession which he had smuggledfrom outside the State for sellingamong the youth. He asserted thattheir involvement in fidayeen attackslike one at Sunjawan Army campcould not be ruled as there were re-ports that they were lured by radicaloutfits like JeM, HM and other terrornetworks. “State government had ear-lier confessed that 17 FIRs had beenregistered against 38 Rohingyas forvarious offences including illegal bor-der crossing. Moreover, all these illic-it settlers inhabiting Jammu had beendubbed as ‘ticking time bomb’ by thesecurity agencies and their indul-gence in drug trade and other allegedsubversive acts only pointed out thatcoming dangerous events were cast-ing their shadows before”, Harsh

added.Mr. Harsh dev Singh regretted

that the so called GoM constituted bythe State government for the purposeof deportation of the foreign immi-grants to their respective countrieshad proved an ‘eye wash’. He said thatthe unlawful settlement of Rohingyasand Bangladeshis were not posing agrave threat to the Jammu region’s de-mography but also to its youth and thesecurity personnel.“The much hypedgroup of four cabinet Ministers head-ed by Dy CM Nirmal Singh had onlyproved a mere window dressing to be-fool the people at large. The panel meton few occasions and instead of adopt-ing practical approach, the GoM onlythrew the ball in the court of the Uniongovt.”, Harsh said. He said that while

the Congress and the BJP were blam-ing each other for their illegal settle-ment, the NC and the PDP besides oth-er Kashmir centric parties were open-ly supporting them to tow the seces-sionist agenda in the State. The GoM’sfailure in taking stringent actionagainst the foreign immigrants indi-cated that the BJP-PDP had clandes-tinely colluded to shelter and settlethem in Jammu region with a motiveto reduce the Dogras to minority.Referring to the latest directive ofUnion Home Ministry to the State gov-ernment to set up a task force at dis-trict level to identify and deport ille-gally staying foreign immigrants, hesaid that once again the communica-tion from GoI had failed to elicit anyresponse from the sinister BJP-PDPcombine and no minister had issuedany statement until now over the mat-ter of serious concern.

Mr. Singh said that since theseforeign nationals had already beenidentified in Jammu city and its adja-cent peripheries, the State govt.should immediately publicize theirpopulation and the GoI must actpromptly to simply deport them totheir native countries without anyfurther delay. He called upon intellec-tual forums, social organizations, na-tionalist forces, youth and student or-ganizations to get united to launch amass agitation against the soaringmenace which otherwise would provedetrimental to the peace, tranquillityand harmony of Duggar land and herpristine glory.

Deport Rohingyas, Bangladeshis fromJammu or face consequences: Harsh

Jammu Feb 18

To commemorate theglorious services in the fieldof education, Dogra HigherSecondary School, ShastriNagar, Jammu celebrated itsAnnual Day & PrizeDistribution Function on18th of Feb.2018 in theAuditorium of GCW, GandhiNagar, Jammu. The theme ofthe function was “NationalIntegration” The students ofthe school presented a bo-nanza of cultural items withgreat enthusiasm and fer-vor. Ch. Lal Singh, Hon’ bleMinister for Forests,Ecology & Environment wasthe Chief Guest to grace theoccasion and Th. GulchainSingh Charak Ji FormerMinister and PresidentDogra Sadar Sabha J&Kpresided over the function.Mr. Gambhir Dev SinghCharak welcomed the distin-guished Guests, parents ofthe students.Mr. RavinderSingh Director, SchoolEducation and Mrs SurekhaCharak President, DograAcademy Society were theGuest of Honour. Prominentamong those who attendedthe function included Smt.Uma Katal, Manager, RichHarvest Schools, Sh. SamarDev Singh Charak SecretaryDogra Educational Trust,Smt.Bela Thakur AcademicCoordinator Dogra Collegeof Education and Smt. RuchiCharak, Director RichHarvest School BariBrahmana, various heads ofthe institutions and promi-nent persons of the area.Principal, Mrs. Davinder

Kour read out the annualReport and expressed grati-tude to parents for their co-operation and frequent in-teraction to make the pro-gramme of the school an im-pressive one. A colourfulcultural programme waspresented by the students.The toddlers of Pre-Primarypresented the Kids dance onrhymes which enthralledthe audience presents there.The other students also pre-sented variety of items andskits which includedPunjabi Bhangra, DogriDance etc. and were greatlyappreciated by the largegathering of dignitaries,guests and parents presentthere. Of all the colourfulitems presented by the stu-dents, the medley depictingculture of the Dogra Land inparticular and State in gen-eral was the main attractionof the function. The ChiefGuest distributed theawards and Prizes amongthe winners for their accom-plishments in the fields ofacademics, curricular andextra curricular activities.The Chief Guest, Ch. LalSingh, in his speech laudedthe efforts of the school inputting up such a fine andmemorable function andcongratulated the school forrendering more then 50years glorious service in thefield of education. He fo-cused the attention of teach-ing faculty towards the edu-cation of the students to playa vital role to enlighten thesociety as well as individu-als. He hoped the schoolwould go from strength to

strength and would becomethe centre for Scholastic ex-cellence. Founder of theschool Th. Gulchain SinghCharak (Former Minister &President Dogra SadarSabha J&K) congratulatedall the students, parents andfaculty members of theschool. He expressed hisgratitude and indebtness tothe entire foundation. Hesaid that Dogra Group ofEducational Institutions hasstrived towards excellencewith the collaboration of allstakeholders, to each one ofwhom he conveyed his sin-cere and profound apprecia-tion with an ardent hope thatthey will always continue tosupport and stand by theDogra Group of EducationalInstitutions which theycherish so much. He also re-quested all the people pres-ent there to promote DograCulture and inculcate moralvalues among their chil-dren. He congratulated allthe winners and appreciatedtheir efforts. He said thatschool has set an example topromote national integrity,cultural values, unity andmoral values in the societyMrs.Japneet Kaur,Mrs.Eisha Gupta, Master KetanMahajan and Supriya Uttamwere the Anchor to the pro-ceedings of the occasion. TheFunction concluded with avote of thanks presented byMrs. Nirmala koul, the VicePrincipal and ‘Adieu’ in cel-ebration. At the end, heavyrefreshment was given to theGuests, Parents, Studentsand Staff Members by theSchool Management

DHSS, celebrated Annual Day

Jammu Feb 18

Bahujan Samaj party con-vened a meeting of all the sen-ior workers and newly joinedparty workers under theChairmanship of Raja RamMP (Rajya Sabha)Coordinator Jammu andKashmir and West Bengal towelcome and interact withthe newly joined party work-ers to inform them regardingthe duties assigned to themalong with senior colleaguesof the party so that they mayeducate the missionary mes-sage to general public. Whileaddressing the participantsRaja Ram directed the partyworkers to reach the door

steps of poorest of the poorand try to extend the full coop-eration whenever they feel in-secure in the hands of dirtypolitician who always usethem for their benefits andnever try to address their suf-ferings after they came topower. He stressed the need towork hard for improving theworking system of theparty.S.R.Majotra StatePresident Bahujan SamajParty thanked all the partici-pants and made humble re-quest to all the general publicto understand the mischie-vous design and workingstyle of the present Centreand State Govt. which basedon the total lie and befooling

the poor masses He appealedthe general public to come for-ward and join the BSP party ifyou wanted to spend a digni-fied and honourable life andto save the future of the com-ing generation. The partici-pants are Vice PresidentCharanjeet Chargotra, SomNath Ex- MLA). JagdishVerma, Ashok Bhagat,R.K.Thappa, Rattan LalBhagat, Lakhvir Singh, BadriNath, Hari Chand Thapa,Adv.Zaida Parveen,Sangeeta, Pritam Chand, AdvShashi Bhushan Thapa,Adv.Mahinder Atri, AdvPawan Kundal, Adv InderjeetShivgotra, Babu Ram, Raj PalBogia, Tilak Raj Bhagat.

BSP convenes meeting of seniorparty workers in Jammu

Dr. S.S. Soodan represents India atNobel peace prize award ceremony

We will continue to strive for world free ofnuclear weapons: Dr. SoodanJammu, December 15:

Making entire Jammu and Kashmir proud, Dr. SurinderSingh Soodan, leading ophthalmologist of the state, represent-ed India at Nobel Peace Prize function held at Oslo fromDecember 8 to 12. He led a delegation of eight people from Indiato participate in the function where International Campaign toAbolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was awarded Nobel PeacePrize for the year 2017. Dr. S.S. Soodan is the national Presidentof Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD). Being aneminent figure in the field of Medical Sciences, Dr. Soodan wasthe first doctor from the state to be invited for such a presti-gious event on a global front. An avid promoter of world peaceand development through global health, Dr S.S. Soodan belongsto a well educated family where most of them are doctors of re-pute. His wife Dr Parveen Kaur has served as PrincipalGovernment Medical College, Srinagar and his younger broth-er Dr. H S Soodan is a renowned dermatologist of north India.Dr. Surinder Singh Soodan is the main architect of success be-hind his family and remains a highly motivational figure ofIndian doctors for peace and development in creating optimalhealth awareness and building a powerful global groundswellof support for the abolition of nuclear weapons. IDPD is an affil-iate of International Physicians for Peace and Development(IPPNW), a receipt of Nobel Peace award 1985. IPPNW was asponsor of ICAN. Addressing a press conference Dr. Soodan in-formed that this year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded toICAN on December 10 by the King and Queen of Norway atPeace Hall, Oslo which he attended. “The ICAN was sponsoredin 2007 by IPPNW and Indian Doctors for Peace andDevelopment (IDPD) is its affiliate in India,” he said. “TheICAN was selected to receive this honor for its work to raiseawareness about humanitarian consequences of nuclearweapons and for promoting the United Nations GeneralAssembly approved treaty prohibiting the nuclear weaponsfrom the face of earth. Despite the opposition from many nu-clear powers, ICAN and IPPNW are working to make the worldfree of nuclear weapons,” Dr. Soodan said. Dr Soodan belongsto the first batch of M.B.B.S graduating from GovernmentMedical College, Srinagar. A topper of diploma in ophthalmolo-gy from AMU Aligarh, he further passed his Masters inOphthalmology in the year 1968 and has ever since spent his lifeworking with utmost dedication and sincerity in serving thesociety. He has also served as ex- Principal of Acharya ChandraCollege of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS), Jammu and is present-ly working as Advisor of the same Institute.

Jammu Feb 18

Aiming at promoting andmarketing the Kashmiri hand-icraft products manufacturedby the women Self HelpGroups of Kokernag,NABARD has sanctioned firstever Rural Mart in J&K stateat Kokernag area of Anantnagunder its Rural Mart Scheme.The Rural Mart was inaugu-rated by Vijay Kumar, ChiefGeneral Manager, NABARDJ&K along with DGM

NABARD Kashmir, DDMNABARD Anantnag, MDAnantnag CCB, LDM, officialsfrom Handicraft Departmentand members of SHGs alsopresent. The mart which hasbeen set up under total grantsupport from NABARD,would help the SHGs to mar-ket their products and realizebetter sales. Vijay Kumarlauded the efforts of SHGs inthe area for their joint effortand hard work. He informedthat this rural mart was the

first such Mart opened in J&Kand would look forward tosanction many more to wellperforming SHGs. He urgedthe people to support empow-erment of women by way offorming the Self-help groupsand getting the benefit of vari-ous schemes. He elaborated onvarious schemes being imple-mented by the NABARD forempowerment of women.Locals present at the inaugu-ral ceremony applaudedNABARD .

Anantnag Gets First Rural Mart In J&KFor Shgs Under Nabard

Page 5: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018state5 Glimpses of Future

JAMMU, FEBURARY 18:

Minister for RuralDevelopment, Panchayati Raj,Law and Justice, Abdul Haq Khandedicated to the public variousroads, culverts and paths con-structed by the Department ofRural Development Departmentunder various schemes includingMGNREGS in Reasi District.

The Minister was accompa-nied by Minster of State forFinance and Planning, AjayNanda, DC Reasi Reasi PaarsannaRamaswamy, SP Reasi, ACDReasi, SDM, BDOs and other sen-ior officers of the district.He inau-gurated more than a dozen tiledroads, culverts and paths atThanda Pani , Moori, Mani Talai,Bhangal, Kotli , SimbalChdwa.The roads have been con-structed under MGNREGS andgenerated more than 10 thousandPerson Days of work for the unem-ployed and unskilled youths of thearea besides creation of durableassets in the district. Three lanesat Thanda pani , Moori in Panthalblock and Gref compound to KhadHigh School Kotli have been con-

structed at the cost of Rs 5 lakheach, road at Mani Talai andCulvert on Old road at PanchayatManj Taki at the cost of Rs 10 lakh,Bus Stand to Mani Tali lane at Rs9.90 lakh, Main road to Bhangal inAghar Jito Panchayat at Rs 6 lakh,lane at Bhaga Panchayat at 4 lakhand a communication link tobowli at Simbal Chadwa at thecost of Rs 6.39 lakh. Speaking on

the occasion minister said thegovernment is implementing thecentrally sponsored scheme in let-ter and sprit on ground there byproviding employment to the un-employed and unskilled peoplebesides creating durable assets inthe villages. He said to constructthese assets, government was ableto generate more than 10 thou-sand Man days besides mitigating

the problems of the people by con-structing good roads, paths andculverts. He said the works doneby Rural DevelopmentDepartment will ultimately di-minish the Urban-Rural divide asthe infrastructure is being devel-oped in the villages and facilitiesbeing provided at par with the ur-ban areas. The Minister also visit-ed the proposed site for the con-

struction of court complex inReasi. The minister interactedwith the officers and urged themto complete the documentationprocess and pre-execution formal-ities at earliest so that work canbe started at earliest.Earlier AjayNanda who was accompanyingthe minister to Reasi said the gov-ernment under the stewardship ofChief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti,is relentlessly focusing onstrengthening of rural economyas engine of growth. The govern-ment is uplifting rural poorthrough a number of key initia-tives related to rural housing &infrastructure, farm income, jobcreation and entrepreneurshippromotion, he added. He said forthe first time durable assets arebeing created under MGNREGSand that too in a time bound man-ner. He said the works done underthe scheme in vast were never vis-ible on ground but now thoseworks are being taken up underthe scheme that are beneficial forthe common masses and that arevolutionary change has beenwitnessed with regard to the de-velopment of rural areas.

Abdul Haq inaugurates scoresof roads, culverts in Reasi Also visits proposed Reasi court complex site; directs to expedite Pre-execution formalities

Chief Minister hands overmotorized bicycles amongspecially abled youth

SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 18:

Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti handed over keys ofmotorized bicycles among eight specially abled youth heretoday. These youth had met the Chief Minister during herpublic interactions and she had promised them to hand overthese bicycles to make them socially independent.This ispart of the Chief Minister’s initiative for social inclusion ofall the disadvantaged sections of the society so that theydon’t have to be dependent on others.Director, State MotorGarages, Zakir Choudhary was present on the occasion.

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

Continuing his streak ofholding public grievance re-dress camps at regular inter-vals, Minister for PHE,Irrigation and FloodControl, Sham LalChoudhary today listened tothe grievances and concernsof the common masses dur-ing a public meeting at R.S.Pora. The people hailingfrom Mokha, Flora, , Grani,Nayi Basti, Khedyapur,Punjgrani, Devlea and other

areas of SuchetgarhConstituency apprised theMinister about the problemsbeing faced by them relatedto power supply, road con-nectivity, education, health-care, sanitation and rationdistribution. The villagersalso demanded upgradationof transformers, replace-ment of electric poles, LTand HT wires, blacktoppingof roads and construction oflanes and drains. TheMinister gave all the deputa-

tions a patient hearing andassured them that all theirgenuine concerns and de-mands will be addressed in aphased manner.TheMinister on the spot alsogave directions to the con-cerned about the redressal ofvarious public importantworks raised by the deputa-tions. The Minister said thatsteps are being taken to up-grade the transformers andrepairing the old ones, wher-ever required.

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 18 :

J&K State JudicialAcademy today organizedday-long Special TrainingProgramme on “The Jammu& Kashmir Pre-Conception& Pre-Natal SexSelection/Determination(Prohibition & Regulation)Act, 2002” at J&K StateJudicial Academy, Janipurhere.The training pro-gramme was inaugurated byJustice Mohammad YaqoobMir alongwith Justice AlokAradhe, Chairman, J&KState Judicial Academy andJustice Janak Raj Kotwal,Member, J&K State JudicialAcademy. All the ChiefJudicial Magistrates andSub-Judges of JammuProvince participated in theprogramme.

Proceedings were con-ducted by Mr. Abdul RashidMalik, Director, J&K StateJudicial Academy. In his in-troductory remarks,Director, State JudicialAcademy extended warmwelcome to JusticeMohammad Yaqoob Mir,Judge, High Court of J&K,Justice Alok Aradhe,Chairman, J&K StateJudicial Academy andJustice Janak Raj Kotwal,Member J&K State JudicialAcademy for gracing the oc-casion. While introducingthe subject of the SpecialOrientation Programme,Mr. Malik emphasised that

gender bias and deep-rootedprejudice and discrimina-tion against the girl and pref-erence of the male child haveled to the misuse of technolo-gy for gender biased sex se-lection leading to demo-graphic imbalance in thelast two decades. The declin-ing child sex ratio in India isa major concern for all. TheCensus data indicate thatthe female ratio has been de-clining at an alarming rateand would led to serious so-cio-cultural problem includ-ing population imbalances.

Justice Alok Aradhe,Chairman, J&K StateJudicial Academy in his spe-cial address said that femalefoeticide has its roots in thesocial thinking which is fun-damentally based on certainerroneous notions, egocen-tric traditions, pervertedperception of societal normsand obsession with ideaswhich are totally individual-istic. All involved in femalefoeticide deliberately forgetto realize that when the foe-tus of a girl child is de-stroyed, a woman of the fu-ture is crucified. To put itdifferently, the present gen-eration invites the suffer-ings on its own and also sowsthe seeds of suffering for thefuture generation, as in theultimate eventuate, the sexratio gets affected and leadsto manifold social problems.He added that no awarenesscampaign can ever be com-

plete unless there is real fo-cus on the women empower-ment. Justice, MohammadYaqoob Mir, Judge, HighCourt of J&K, in his inaugu-ral address gave anoverview of the specialtraining programme andsaid that society should givepreference to a male childover a girl child is a matter ofgrave concern. Such tenden-cy offends dignity of women.It undermines their impor-tance. It violates woman'sright to life. It violatesArticle 39(e) of theConstitution which statesthe principle of state policythat the health and strengthof women is not to be abused.It ignores Article 51A(e) ofthe Constitution whichstates that it shall be the du-ty of every citizen of India torenounce practices deroga-tory to the dignity of women.Sex selection is thereforeagainst the spirit of theConstitution. It insults andhumiliates womanhood.This is perhaps the greatestargument in favour of totalban on sex selection. He em-phasised that theGovernment, the Non-Government Organisationsincluding Legal ServiceAuthorities are required tocreate awareness which isreally effective to enlightenthe people about theConstitutional concepts, cul-ture, philosophy, religion,scriptural commands and

object behind the Act.Resource Person Ms. AnujaGulati, State ProgrammeCoordinator, UnitedNations Population Fund(UNFP), Maharashtra delib-erated upon the Backgroundof The Jammu & KashmirPre-Conception & Pre-NatalSexSelection/Determination(Prohibition & Regulation)Act, 2002, Role & Functionsof Authorities under the Actwith special reference toRole of Judiciary, TrialProcess, EnforcementChallenges, and Feedback &Interaction with ParticipantJudges. While interactingwith the participant JudgesMs. Anuja Gulati highlight-ed that the consequences ofdeclining sex ratio are seri-ous, all pervading and farreaching. Lesser number ofgirls in society has resultedin increased violenceagainst women and denial ofbasic rights to them. It hasalso led to increase in sex re-lated crimes (rape, abduc-tion, forced polyandry). Sexselection, further, impactshealth, especially reproduc-tive health of women whoare forced to go in for repeat-ed pregnancies followed byabortions in the desire tohave a male child. Ironicallythe major reason for declin-ing sex ratio is the prolifera-tion of modern technologyand easy and affordable ac-cess to such technology with

its rapidly expanding use forthe purpose of pre and postconception sex selection fol-lowed by elimination of foe-tus, if found to be of female.Taking cognizance of this is-sue, J&K State responded tothe imperative need of thehour by passing THE JAM-MU & KASHMIR PRE-CON-CEPTION & PRE-NATALSEX SELECTION/ DETER-MINATION (PROHIBITION& REGULATION) ACT, 2002to stop this practice and mis-use of technology for prena-tal sex determination pro-hibiting the use of new scien-tific techniques for sex de-termination and sex selec-tion treating it as totally in-sulting to the dignity ofwomanhood and against thespirit of Constitution inwhich the right to equality isembedded. The function con-cluded with the vote ofthanks by Mr. Abdul RashidMalik, Director, J&K StateJudicial Academy who in-formed the participants thatthe deliberation of theProgramme will be docu-mented and sent to theAppropriate Authorities un-der the Act so as to ensureimplementation of the Actand the Rules in letter andspirit. Lastly he referred tothe Swami Vivekanandawho had said: “Just as a birdcould not fly with one wingonly, a nation would notmarch forward if the womenare left behind”

Spl Training Prog on J&K Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Sex Selection/Determination(Prohibition & Regulation) Act, held at State Judicial Academy

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

Minister for Works (R&B), NaeemAkhtar has welcomed the statement of theChief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti regardingrelocating of the Central UniversityKashmir site within district Ganderbal.

Mr Akhtar said as has been made clearby the Chief Minister there is no proposal ofshifting CUK campus from Ganderbal. Hesaid as the Union Ministry of HumanResources Development has raised appre-hensions over the feasibility of the existingCUK site near Tulmulla, the Governmentwould explore alternative sites within the

district for the University.He said some vested interests have

spreading canards that the CUK is beingshifted from Ganderbal which is totallywrong. The Minister said the EducationMinister has also clarified in the LowerHouse during the recent Budget Session thatthere is no any proposal for shifting ofCentral University of Kashmir from districtGanderbal.

He hoped that the administration willput all their efforts to identify the alternatesuitable site within Ganderbal at an earliestso that work on this prestigious project couldbe started soon.

Naeem hails CM for clearing air on CUK campusAlternate site to be identified within district Ganderbal

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

Minister for Industriesand Commerce, ChanderPrakash Ganga held publicdarbar at Datta Talab. Agood number of peopledrawn from different sec-tions of the society met himand apprised him abouttheir problems and griev-ances.

People apprised himabout unscheduled powercuts, less availability of ra-tion, providing of drinkingwater facilities and other de-velopmental issues. Besidesthat unemployed youth ofthe area urged upon theMinister to formulate a poli-cy to attract the private sec-tor for adjustment of unem-ployed youth in theIndustries and manufactur-ing units.

Ganga heard the griev-ances patiently and assuredthat whatever has been

brought into his notice willbe taken up with the con-cerned authorities for appro-priate action. He also issuedon spot direction to the con-cerned for the redressal ofgenuine demands of the peo-ple.

Speaking on this occa-sion, the Minister said thatgovernment has provided aplatform to the general pub-lic for direct interactionwith its Ministers so thewoes of the people are raisedat highest level and mitigat-ed.He said that the CentreGovernment headed byNarendra Modi and the PDP-BJP coalition in the Statehas been working towardsdevelopment and welfare ofthe people of the State. He al-so said that an era of develop-ment and progress has start-ed in the State adding that so-cial and economic up-lift-ment of the weaker sections,downtrodden, women, youth

and farmer is on prime agen-da of both the governments.

He said that governmentis laying emphasis on im-proving road network bylinking internal roads withNational Highways to give afurther fillip to developmentactivities in the state.“Government is ensuringliberal funding under sever-al state and centrally spon-sored schemes to ensureoverall development of theState”, he added.

The Minister assertedthat durable roads and en-hanced infrastructure topsthe development agenda ofthe present dispensation andfocus is being laid on upgrad-ing and improving the roadnetwork in rural and remoteareas. He said that the gov-ernment has laid full focuson development of infra-structure and providing bet-ter civic amenities to thepeople.

Ganga convenes public darbar at Data Talab

POONCH, FEBRUARY 18:

Minister for Tourism,Tassaduq Mufti today saidthat government will ex-plore every possibility toharness and tap the tourismpotential of Peer-Panchal re-gion with particular focuson promoting pilgrimage,heritage, leisure, and eco-tourism in the border dis-trict of Poonch.

He said that governmentis contemplating to identifysome virgin areas and builtrequired infrastructure inthese places besides to en-hance and upgrade existingtourist-related facilities inalready established touristplaces as leading tourist des-

tination.The Minister said this

during his extensive tour ofsome important places likeNangali Sahib Gurdawara

and Sain Mira Bakashshrine at Guntrian. He saidpilgrim tourism can be pro-moted manifold in theseplaces by developing ade-

quate infrastructure to ac-commodate huge flow oftourist in such places includ-ing the shrine of BuddhaAmaranth.

Chairman, Speaker, Dy Speaker attendCommonwealth Parl Asso Conf in PatnaJAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

The Chairman Legislative Council, Haji Inayat Alialong with Speaker Assembly, Kavinder Gupta, DeputySpeaker Nazir Ahmad Gurezi and Secretary Law, Justice &Parliamentary Affairs today attended CommonwealthParliamentary Association (CPA) Conference at PatnaBihar as delegates to Indian Chapter of CPA.Among othersthe Chairperson CPA Emilia Lafika, Secretary GeneralCPA Akbar Khan delegates from Uganda and Australiawere attended the conference. The conference was inaugu-rated at Gyan Bhawan Patna by the Chief Minister of Bihar,Nitish Kumar. After the inaugural function the conferencecontinued at Legislative Assembly Bihar wherein LokhSabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan presided and MP MurliManohar Joshi and Union Law Minister Ravi ShankerPrasad apprised the delegates on the topic “Role ofLegislature in sustainable growth and separation of powersbetween Legislature and judiciary”. The ChairmanLegislative Council met Chairperson CPA Emilia, ChiefMinister Nitesh Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi and greeted them for holding internationalconference of CPA Indian chapter at Bihar and thankedthem for the hospitality provided to the delegates and par-ticipants from different states and foreign countries TheChairman also apprised the Chairperson CPA, SecretaryGeneral CPA and delegates from Uganda and Australiaabout the political affairs of state of J&K and hospitality ofthe people of the state for the tourists and assured them thestate is safe for tourists.

Navin Choudhary visits Lakhanpur Toll PlazaAnnounces Rs 30 lakh for library, gym;

Calls for leasing out of restaurantJAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

Principal Secretary Finance, Mr Navin KumarChoudhary today visited Toll Post Lakhanpur to take stockof the facilities there.He was accompanied by DeputyCommissioner Excise, Mr Vishesh Mahajan.MrChoudhary said that the Lakhanpur Toll Plaza is a gatewayto Jammu and Kashmir and it has to be developed as aunique greeting spot for the people visiting the State. Hewent around the Toll Plaza to personally take stock of the fa-cilities on the spot. He ordered immediate restoration ofvarious structures and facilities at the Toll Plaza for whichhe assured adequate funds.

Govt to explore possibilities to tap tourismpotential of Poonch: Tassaduq Mufti ANANTNAG, FEBRUARY 18:

Minister forHorticulture, Syed BasharatBukhari today visitedJablipora fruit mandi inBijbehara to take stock of on-going works there. Hestressed on early completionof the fruit mandi.TheMinister while highlightingthe importance of the fruitmandi impressed upon con-cerned officers to completethe work by the end of nextfiscal. He instructed the con-cerned department to adoptuniform designs and colourcode for constructing theshops and business establish-ments at the mandi. DistrictDevelopment CommissionerAnantnag, MohammadYounis Malik apprised the

Minister regarding the paceand progress of work on thefruit mandi. He was in-formed that the fruit mandibeing constructed underNABARD and MPDP, isspread over 425 kanals withan estimated cost of Rs5crore.He instructed the con-cerned department to adoptuniform designs and colourcode for constructing theshops and business establish-ments at the mandi. Themandi upon its completionwill provide improved mar-ket facilities to the growers ofthe valley.SDM Bijbehara,Chief Horticulture OfficerAnantnag, Exen PHEDivision Bijbehara and otherconcerned were also accom-panying the Minister.

Basharat Bukhari takes stock ofongoing work on Jablipora fruit mandi

Sham Choudhary convenes publicgrievance redressal camp

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JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018edit/OpiniOn6 Glimpses of Future

Glimpses of Future

By : Hari shankar vyas

As the biennial elections of the RajyaSabha near, the MPs who are going to re-tire are getting restless. The MPs of the SP,BSP, Congress, and JDU, whose tenure isabout to end, are more worried becausethey feel that they are not going to make acomeback. So, it is being said that two MPsfrom the Samajwadi Party are keeping aneye on West Bengal. They might have evensent feelers to Mamata Banerjee, but havenot got a green signal yet. One more MPfrom the SP, who is known for his contro-versial statements, recently contacted theBJP, but to no avail. Elections will be heldfor 10 Rajya Sabha seats from UP.Mayawati’s seat is already vacant andnine MPs are going to retire in April. Ofthese nine, six are from the SamajwadiParty. The Rajya Sabha MPs of the SP arewell aware that only one of them can makea comeback. In the present scenario of UPAssembly, the SP will get only one seat andthe whole Opposition, ie the SP, BSP, andCongress combined, will get one seat only.Rest of the eight seats will go to the BJP.

That is why some of the MPs of theSamajwadi Party are restless. People aresaying that two MPs of the SP want to takeadvantage of their Bengali origins.Kiranmoy Nanda, who was a Minister inthe Left Government in West Bengal, andJaya Bachchan who have a strong Bengalinetwork are said to be in touch with theTMC leaders. Amitabh Bachchan oftencalls himself the “son-in-law of Bengal”and Mamata has a lot of respect for him.This has said to have raised the hopes ofJaya and she is expecting a seat from WestBengal. In the same manner, Nanda hadbeen working as a bridge between Mamata

and Mulayam SinghYadav, so he is also hope-ful. From West Bengal, four Rajya Sabhaseats are going to be vacated; three belongto the TMC and one to the CPM. This timealso, the CPM and Congress will win oneseat and three seats will go to the TMC.People are saying that Mamata doesn’thave any problem in sending an outsiderto the Rajya Sabha, but on the conditionthat he or she will have to join her party.

SHEILA, MAKEN JOIN HANDSFormer Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila

Dikshit and president of Delhi CongressAjay Maken have once again come togeth-er, albeit on the directions of PartyPresident Rahul Gandhi. There was a timewhen Maken was very close to Sheila.When she became the CM for the first time,Maken was one of her closest ministers.Later, Maken’s ambitions grew, creating adivide between them. In 2004, Makenfought the Lok Sabha Elections and be-

came a Minister at the Centre. Now, bothleaders are facing an identity crisis. Sheilais least worried about herself, but feelsthat her son’s political future is in jeop-ardy. That is why she has tried to reach outto the party leadership. People are sayingthat seeing the prospects of SandeepDikshit, she has decided to help Maken’seffort for revival of the Congress in Delhi.The Congress leaders have become hope-ful of a good performance of the party afterresults of byelections in Bawana, and someother seats in different States. They feelthat if byelections for 20 seats are held inDelhi, then some of them can be grabbed bythe Congress. So, Maken is putting all hisefforts and Sheila is helping him.Sandeep’s statements, too, have changed.

RETURN TO RAJYA SABHAEight Ministers of the Modi Cabinet

are going to retire from the Rajya Sabha,but are expected to make a comeback.

Possibly, the States of some of theMinisters might be changed. They mightbe sent to the Rajya Sabha from differentStates, but it seems certain that they allwill make a re-entry into the Upper House.

Three members of the Rajya Sabhafrom Gujarat are Ministers in the ModiCabinet and they are going to retire fromthe Upper House this year. Apart fromArun Jaitley, State Minister forAgriculture Parshottam Rupala, and StateMinister for Chemical, MansukhMandaviya, are going to retire this year.According to the new equation of theGujarat Assembly, only two membersfrom the BJP can be sent to the RajyaSabha. So, possibly one of the Ministerswill be sent to the Rajya Sabha from anoth-er State. Rupala and Mandaviya are fromGujarat, so perhaps Jaitley might be sentfrom another State. It is another thing ifModi wants to keep only two Ministersfrom Gujarat. In that case, two Ministersfrom Gujarat will be elected to the RajyaSabha. In the same manner, two Ministersare from Madhya Pradesh and their tenurein the Rajya Sabha will end soon.Supposedly, Thawar Chand Gehlot will besent to the Rajya Sabha from MP, andPrakash Javadekar will be shifted to hishome State, Maharashtra. On the otherseat of MP, any leader of the State will besent to the Rajya Sabha because theAssembly Elections are scheduled in theState by the end of this year. Two CentralMinisters’ RS tenure is also about to end;Dharmendra Pradhan and Ravi ShankarPrasad are going to retire from the UpperHouse this year. The BJP, on its own, cansend back only one of them. So, possiblyPradhan could be shifted to any of the trib-

By : A G Noorani

The current stand-off between Indiaand Pakistan is highly troublesome, andneeds to be stopped at once. For, it is accom-panied by gruesome violations of the cease-fire on the Line of Control in Kashmir aswell as the International Working Border.The language used in the verbal spat itself ismenacing enough. Things can get out ofhand. On February 12, India’s defence min-ister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “I wouldn’tcertainly set a timeline (for action againstPakistan). But will say this; Pakistan willpay for this misadventure. I repeat;Pakistan will pay for it.” She was referringto a militant attack two days prior at theSunjuwan military station in Jammu, inwhich five soldiers and one civilian werekilled, and 11 persons including an Armymajor were injured. The very next day,Pakistan’s defence minister KhurramDastgir warned, “Any Indian aggression,strategic miscalculation or misadventure,regardless of its scale, mode or location,will not go unpunished and shall be metwith an equal and proportionate response.”The precision in the language reflects delib-eration. Home minister Rajnath Singh andIndian Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat are asbelligerent. The home minister said onJanuary 21, “India’s image in the world hasbecome that of a strong nation and we havegiven a strong message to the world that wecan attack our enemies not only on our soil,but also in their territory.” A few days earli-er, Gen. Rawat said, “If we will have to real-ly confront the Pakistanis, and a task is giv-en to us, we are not going to say we cannotcross the border because they have nuclearweapons. We will have to call their nuclearbluff.” This is a reckless charter. True, nei-

ther the United States nor the EuropeanUnion is as involved in South Asia as it was15 years ago, when they issued a joint state-ment in March 2003 laying down a pro-gramme for a ceasefire followed by a sum-mit; hence the ceasefire understanding inNovember 2003. It is easy to begin an armedconflict of whatever dimension. It is diffi-cult to predict, however, how it will end.Gen. Rawat should read BarbaraTuchman’s classic on the origins of theFirst World War, The Guns of August, pub-lished in the same year as the CubanMissile Crisis. In July 1964, HenryKissinger annoyed the strategist HermanKahn as he unfolded to a seminar atHarvard his elaborate theory of escalation,which formed the subject of a huge and use-less tome. “Herman, you know our leaders.Will they have the time or capacity to un-derstand that steps of the (escalation) lad-der you describe?” Kahn was speechless. Doour leaders understand better?

On January 21, a former Indian intelli-gence agency chief said, “There seems to beno strategy at all. The situation is gettingout of hand. The ceasefire is as good asover.” Shelling across the LoC exacts a hugetoll on lives; almost entirely of the poor.Since 2016, when the militant leaderBurhanuddin Wani was killed, there hasbeen a steep rise in the young joining themilitancy. “The number of local terroristsin Kashmir is at an all-time high,” one cor-respondent reported. On January 14, Gen.Rawat made a pertinent point when he stat-ed, “The political initiative and all otherinitiatives must go simultaneously hand-in-hand, and only if all (emphasis added) ofus function in synergy can we bring lastingpeace in Kashmir”. Successive Srinagar-based 15 corps commanders have said pre-

cisely that. Recently, the national security advisers

of India and Pakistan, Ajit Doval and re-tired Lt. Gen. Nasser Khan Janjua, met inBangkok and Russia. But the directors-gen-eral of military operations of both countrieslast met in December 2013. The need of thehour is a formalisation, in writing, of theceasefire understanding of November 2003.Given the will, the problems are not insolu-ble provided that the Doval doctrine is dis-carded. Pakistan’s lapses should be dis-cussed at the conference table. It cannot be“brought to heel” by mindless confronta-tion and attempts to isolate it international-ly. None of the other states joins in thissport. Meanwhile, an all-time low isreached in the refusal of visas to pilgrims

who wish to go to the dargahs of KhwajaGharib Nawaz in Ajmer and HazratNizamuddin Auliya in New Delhi. Whatabout the Pakistan-India agreement on themaintenance of places of religious worshipsigned in Karachi on August 4, 1953? Thedemolition of Babri Masjid violated para-graph 1.i (protecting, maintaining and pre-serving the sanctity of places of worship),while the refusal to grant visas to pilgrimsviolates paragraph 1.ii (increased facilita-tion for pilgrims on auspicious days). Thisis apart from the 1974 Protocol on Visits toHoly Shrines. Last December, 192 pilgrimswere refused a visa to attend the urs ofHazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Can things getworse than this? Of course they can whichis why we must stop the drift now.

By : Aakar Patel

The last major war between two stateswas fought 15 years ago. Saddam Husseinwas defeated by George W. Bush in 2003 in aone-sided engagement (I am referring hereto the initial invasion and not the occupa-tion). The Iraqis had not received modernequipment for many years, and their out-dated tanks and fighter jets were no matchfor American military power. Though bothsides went to war with almost equal num-bers of soldiers, about 350,000 each, theAmerican casualties were 1/10th that of theIraqi side, because their equipment wasmuch better. The military hardware thatnations spend so much money on usually isused to buy equipment for war between na-tions, meaning tanks, ships and planes. Forexample, India’s defence budget this yearincludes over `1 lakh crore for such hard-ware alone. It has become very obvious tomost experts of military strategy that thisis materiel that is almost certainly nevergoing to be used except for things like ourRepublic Day parade. The next modern warbetween two major nations will be as differ-ent from the Iraq war of 2003 as the Iraq warwas from the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Tounderstand this we need to ask ourselveswhat war actually is. A war between stateshappens when one side is convinced it cancompel the other side through force to dowhat it wants. However, getting the otherside to do something can also happen with-out violence at all. The intelligence agen-cies of the United States have said thatRussia meddled with the American presi-dential election of 2016. Vladimir Putinwanted Hillary Clinton to lose and DonaldTrump to win. There is also the accusationthat Mr Trump may have colluded with theRussians in this meddling. This is still be-

ing investigated but what is not in doubt isthat Mr Putin and his spies meddled and in-fluenced the American election, perhapsdecisively. On Friday, February 16, MrTrump’s justice department charged 13Russians, most from a group calledInternet Research Agency in St Petersburg,Russia. They set up social media accountson a virtual private network that made itappear that these accounts were being op-erated from America while they were actu-ally in Russia. The Americans believe thatthese accounts, on which Mr Putin spentless than `2 crore, helped decide the elec-tion in Mr Trump’s favour. Why did Russiawant Mr Trump to win? Because MsClinton would have used sanctions and oth-er means of limiting Russia’s influence inthe world. Without going to war againstAmerica, Mr Putin got what he wanted.

I am writing this because of what theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s chiefMohan Bhagwat has said about war. MrBhagwat said that the RSS could mobilisein three days a force that it could send to theborder, though, according to him, theIndian Army would take six months to dothe same thing. This was attacked as beinganti-Army but I am not going there. My con-cern is: what does Mr Bhagwat think hismilitia will do once it is at the border? Doeshe think, perhaps because of having seensome documentaries of the 1962 war, thatthe Chinese will come rushing down themountains with rifles in their hands? Andif so what does Mr Bhagwat imagine hisSangh followers will do that will protectMother India? The RSS shakhas drill thecadre regularly with some physical activi-ty and singing of patriotic songs. This is not

the sort of training that is useful even for awar fought 100 years ago, forget today.Modern military drill training for infantryis about 400 years old and has evolved overthe centuries. It is in 2018, in the era of guid-ed missiles, totally useless.

In a war against a modern nation, ourvulnerability will arise not from a lack ofvolunteers to fight the Indian Army is oneof the largest in the world or from a lack ofequipment, meaning not enough tanks orplanes. It will be a vulnerability from a lackof technology, which is usually fatal. An ad-vanced nation will focus on disabling theenemy’s communications. A shuttingdown of the Internet will cripple any mod-ern nation today in a way that Iraq couldnot have been in 2003. The banking systemwould collapse, and bring the nation to itsknees in hours. Internal communicationswould become so chaotic as to produce pan-ic and disorder. Even purely militarily, justthe attack on communications from theoutside would defang a nation. For exam-ple, the reliance on global positioning sys-tems, which are controlled by theAmericans, for aeroplanes and missileswill make them vulnerable, if not useless.Having millions of individuals prepared tomartyr themselves will not be of muchhelp. The enemy can compel the less ad-vanced nation to do what it wants, withoutmuch violence. This is the way of warfaretoday, and if this has not been understood itis not because of a want of information, it isbecause of ignorance. I thought I shouldwrite about this because we should beaware that this is the quality of thinkingthat informs the RSS, and its products, in-cluding our Prime Minister. It is very prim-itive and simplistic. It may be burning withpatriotism and one doesn’t doubt the in-tent. It is the quality that is alarming.

Printed, published and owned by Prem Nath Sharma, Printedat Glimpses of Future Press 63 Padha Street, Purani Mandi,Jammu. Chief Editor Prem Nath Sharma, Associate Editor :Rajiv Sharma, Ph. 2546079, Fax 0191-2547240, RNI NO.43798/86, email : [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Facing retirement, a few MPs scrambleto stay in Rajya Sabha

Facing retirement on Page 7

India-Pak ties can get worse

What will Sangh militia do at the border ?

By : Dr Anant Kumar

The release of the'Healthy States, ProgressiveIndia' report by Niti Aayogrecently is a welcome steptowards developing a com-prehensive annual system-atic tool to measure, moni-tor and understand thecountry's performance inhealthcare. It promises thatthis health index reportwould act as a referencepoint to monitor futureprogress in health and as atool to monitor and guidehealthcare intervention atthe national level to achieveNational Health Missiongoals as well as the UnitedNations' SustainableDevelopment Goals. In thiscontext, it would be interest-ing to cautiously and criti-cally study the report, andthe indices generated for thestates and UnionTerritories. The reportranks Kerala, Punjab andTamil Nadu on top in termsof overall performance, andJharkhand, Jammu andKashmir and Uttar Pradeshas the top three states interms of annual incremen-tal performance, althoughadmittedly from a lowerbase than at which the topperforming states are. Thepolicymakers and healthplanners also believe thatthis health index will not on-ly act as an indicator of per-formance but also motivatestates to compete and im-prove health outcomes. Inthis direction, Niti Aayog isalso in the process of rank-ing all 730 district hospitalsin the country based ontheir performance with anavowed "name and shamestrategy", which may belinked to hospital person-nel's career growth and pro-motion, which is a goodsign. However, it would beinteresting to see the re-sponse and strategies ofhealth administrators, par-ticularly in states likeBihar, Jharkhand, UttarPradesh and others, wherethe health system is strug-gling with lack of human re-sources, health infrastruc-ture, supplies, and corrup-tion, poor leadership andlack of political will. In thisscenario, there is all likeli-hood of false and fudged da-ta reporting by the districtand state officials to meetthe pressure on them to per-form. Thus, a continuous re-

ality check on data providedby the states will be an im-portant issue. It would be in-teresting to study the case ofJharkhand, which tops thelist with a score of 6.87 withrespect to incremental im-provement in its key healthindicators during 2014-15(base year) and 2015-16 (ref-erence year). According tothe Rural Health Statisticsreports of 2014, 2015 and2016, there were significantand constant shortfalls ofhealth infrastructure andhuman resources inJharkhand. The same re-port also shows infrastruc-ture shortfalls of 35% inSub-Centres, 66% inPrimary Health Centres,and 22% in CommunityHealth Centres, which re-mained constant during2014-2016. Besides, one canalso observe a significantlack of health personnelduring the base year (2014-15) and reference year (2015-16), when the human re-sources shortfall over thetwo years was almost thesame for Health Workers(male) at Sub-Centres(90.2% and 88.5%), HealthAssistants (female) at PHCs(95.1% and 94.2%), HealthAssistants (male) at PHCs(91.7% and 94.2%),Specialists at CHCs (83%and 83.8%), Radiologists atCHCs (69.1% and 79.3%).

In such a scenario,where, the state is strug-gling with the issues of sup-ply, corruption, lack ofhealth infrastructure andhuman resources, it wouldbe interesting to examineand study the circum-stances, strategies and stepstaken by the state govern-ment which led to this incre-mental change in the NitiAayog's health index. One ofthe possible reasons for thisperformance may be falsereporting under pressure,where the district teamsand health personnel weretold to show enhanced per-formance numbers in theirdistricts, even at the threatof termination in some cas-es. Thus, a reality check ofthe health index preparedby NITI Aayog with techni-cal support from the WorldBank, and in consultationwith the Ministry of healthand Family Welfare, is need-ed. Besides, poor incremen-tal performance of states al-so needs examination.

Niti Aayog’s index needsa reality check

Niti Aayog's index on Page 7

Social activist Anna Hazare will come toJammu to address people before launchingsatyagraha on March 23 from New Delhi.

The Anti corruption crusader who fought for JanLokpal bill is all set to rock the national capitalnext week. Anna Hazare is upset with the Centrefor weakening the anti-corruption Lokpal Actand ignoring the plight of farmers and he willlaunch a satyagraha against the Narendra Modi-led government on March 23. He says that thenPrime Minister, Manmohan Singh, had givenhim a written assurance that the Lokpal Billwould be passed with immediate effect but hedidn’t deliver on his promise. During his elec-tion campaign, Mr. Modi promised the appoint-ment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas at the Centreand the States but has failed to deliver. The anti-corruption crusader says that he wrote 30 lettersto Modi concerning the issues of farmers and theimplementation of the Lokpal Act, but did not re-ceive any response. He accused the governmentof evading farmers’ issues and failing to deliveron its promises. Despite an anti-corruption agen-da, he believes that Modi has further weakenedthe Lokpal Act. He presented an amendment inParliament on July 27, 2016, through which aprovision was made that relatives of officerswould not have to submit details of their proper-ties every year. This amendment, which goesagainst the original Law, was passed withinthree days but Acts like Lokpal, which strength-en democracy and curb corruption, take years tosee the light of day. The veteran leader has alsounderlined that reports submitted by multiplecommissions on issues facing farmers have notbeen worked upon and accused the governmentof weakening the faith of farmers in the coun-try’s democratic system. Mr Hazare is visitingall parts of the country to moblise people to sup-port the cause of farmers and to stand againstcorruption. Anna Hazare has the power to pullbig crowds as we have seen in past also but willhe succeed this time also?

Anna in Jammu

Page 7: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19 , 2018natiOnal7 Glimpses of Future

Particularly, the factors responsible for their low perform-ance on selected indicators. These state-specific studies andreflections will help states to improve their performance anddesign targeted interventions. The report shows that thestates with better literacy, nutrition and primary health caresystem have achieved the best scores and ranks. Thus, thereis a need to focus on holistic and inter-sectoral convergencebetween the line departments such as health, education, so-cial welfare, etc., to enhance its ranking. Besides this, toachieve the desired results, both the Centre and the state gov-ernments have to increase budgetary allocations and investmore on healthcare in accordance with their performanceand required domain-specific targeted interventions.

Especially, when health is a state subject, the efficiency of thestate administration will reflect on what results areachieved. This initiative is a beginning and will have somepositive impact in the future. Nevertheless, we also need tounderstand and address intra-state inequalities in health-care, which is crucial if we are to meet the National HealthMission and Sustainable Development Goals in the comingyears.

(The writer is Associate Professor, Xavier Institute of SocialService, Ranchi, and Adjunct Additional Professor at theGlobal Institute of Public Health, Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala)

Niti Aayog’s .............................................................

Contn. on Page 6 .................................................

al-dominated States like Jharkhand or Chhattisgarh. Hecan also be sent to the Rajya Sabha from UP. SeniorMinister JP Nadda will also retire from RS this year, andwill make a re-entry from there only. THE SEAT FORMU-LA This time, the BJP can win 10 to 12 new seats on its ownin the Rajya Sabha. But the BJP will need its partners’ helpto win new seats. In the last biennial elections in 2016,Chandrababu Naidu had helped the BJP by sending SureshPrabhu to the Rajya Sabha from his own quota. Before that,he had given a seat to Nirmala Sitharaman. But this time,he won’t give any seat from his quota to the BJP. Threeseats will be vacated from the State and two will go to theTDP and one to the YSR Congress quota. The BJP will haveto toil for the other seat in Bihar. Six seats will be vacatedfrom Bihar and two of them belong to the BJP. Given thepresent equation in the Assembly, 35 votes will be required

to win one Rajya Sabha seat. After that, the BJP will be leftwith 24 votes only. If Nitish Kumar helps the BJP, he canmanage cross-voting of 11 Congress MLAs and manage theother seat for the party. But right now, this seems difficult.The last time, the BJP had won both seats from Jharkhandbut now that seems like a tall order. The reason is simple:The BJP is not in a good phase with the AJSU. The last time,two MLAs from Babulal Marandi’s party had cast theirvotes in favour of the BJP candidate. This time, that willnot be possible. Despite that, the BJP will try to win bothseats. The seats which are going to be vacated belong to theJMM and Congress. This means the BJP will have the bene-fit of two seats from Jharkhand. As many as 28 votes areneeded to win one seat of the Rajya Sabha, which means 56votes will be needed to win both seats, and the ruling al-liance has 49 votes.

Facing retirement ..............................................................

Press Trust of India,

New Delhi, Feb 18

Congress activists burn effigiesof Nirav Modi,Vijay Mallya andLalit Modi during a demonstrationprotest in Kolkata on Sunday.PTIThe Congress on Sunday claimed"fraudsters" were linked to the"highest echelons" of the BJP-ledNDA and urged the government tobring out a white paper on the bank-ing system which it said had wit-nessed scams involving over Rs61,000 crore in the last five years.

"Bank frauds are tumbling out ofthe closet faster than you can sayJack Robinson," Congressspokesperson Manish Tewari said,claiming that another banking fraudwas now out in the open. Referring tothe Rs 11,400-crore scam in whichbillionaire jeweller Nirav Modi andhis uncle Mehul Choksi reportedlyacquired fraudulent letters of under-taking (LoUs) from state-ownedPunjab National Bank (PNB),Tewari said while the "Modi-Choksitango" was still going on, reports hademerged about another bankingfraud. Vikram Kothari, the owner of

Rotomac pens, owes Rs 800 crore to aconsortium of Indian banks and wasnow untraceable, he said. The fraudsin the Indian banks are growingevery day, the former Union minis-ter said, claiming that according toReserve Bank of India data, Rs 61,260crore of banking frauds had takenplace in the last five years. "Data re-leased by the RBI show that Rs 61,260

crore banking frauds have takenplace in the last five years, and out ofthese five years, the BJP-led NDAhas been in power for four years. Thelinkages between these fraudstersand the highest echelons of the BJPraise some very serious questionsabout the health of the Indian econo-my," he told reporters here."Therefore, the Congress party de-

mands a white paper on the Indianbanking system from the govern-ment," he said, adding that the BJP-led NDA should direct all banks topublish and declare the name offraudsters and details related toNPAs ( non-performing assets). Thetotal NPAs of all public and privatebanks were worth Rs 8,36,782 croreas of September, 2017. "And 77% ofthese NPAs are of leading Indian cor-porate offices," he said, accusing thegovernment of being unable to checkNPAs and take care of the generalpublic's money. India occupies thefifth position among 39 countries onNPAs, he added. An NPA is when aloan taker cannot pay interest for twosuccessive quarters. The Congress hasbeen attacking the government overthe fraud involving PNB, which de-tected a $1.77 billion (about Rs 11,400-crore) scam in which jeweller Modiacquired fake LoUs from the bank tosecure overseas credit from otherlenders. "It is hilarious that PNB,where this scam happened, won thevigilant award for 2016-17," Tewarisaid, adding that this scam raisedimportant question about the lack oftransparency in the government.

Bring out white paper on bankingsystem : Congress to NDA

Press Trust of India

Agra, Feb 18

Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeauwith wife Sophie GregoireTrudeau and children visitthe Taj Mahal in Agra onSunday. Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeauon Sunday toured the TajMahal with his wife andchildren as he began aweek-long visit to promotetrade and investment withIndia. Trudeau, his wifeSophie Gregoire and theirthree children posed for afamily portrait before mar-velling at the legendarymarble monument fre-quently visited by foreignleaders during roadshowsto India.

It was Trudeau's firstvisit to India since takingoffice in 2015. He will meetPrime Minister NarendraModi, and efforts to expandtrade will dominate anagenda also covering ener-gy, education and infra-

structure. "Wheels up forIndia and a busy visit, fo-cused on creating good jobsand strengthening thedeep connection betweenthe people of our two coun-tries," Trudeau tweeted be-fore embarking on the trip.Trade between Canada andIndia has doubled in thelast decade to just over $8billion in 2016, a figurewhich India's foreign min-istry says "does not reflecttrue potential". Canada ishome to more than 1.2 mil-lion Indians - more than3%of its population - andTrudeau is joined by Sikhmembers of his Cabinet forthe visit. The delegationwill walk a diplomatictightrope in Punjab whereTrudeau will visit theGolden Temple - the holiestsite in Sikhism, and thescene of a bloody massacreof religious separatists in1984. For decades Sikh sep-aratists have been agitat-ing for an independentstate, and last year

Punjab's chief minister ac-cused Canadian DefenceMinister Harjit Sajjan,who joins Trudeau on thistrip, of being sympatheticto their cause. TheCanadian premier willmeet Indian political lead-ers, civil society figuresand corporate executivesbetween ceremonial visitsto religious sites and na-tional memorials. Trudeauis scheduled to visit Modi'shome state of Gujarat onMonday before jetting offto Mumbai for talks withCEOs and business leadersthe next day. After visitingAmritsar in Punjab onWednesday, Trudeau willmeet Modi and ForeignMinister Sushma Swarajin New Delhi following awelcome at the presiden-tial palace and a wreath-laying at MahatmaGandhi's memorial. Modivisited Canada in 2015 andaddressed a crowd of 10,000from the Indian diasporain Toronto.

Justin Trudeau begins Indiatrip with Taj Mahal visit

Press Trust of India

Jaipur, Feb 18

A leaked official communica-tion has put the Vasundhara Raje-led government in Rajasthan in atight spot. The state's school educa-tion department has sent an officialcommunication to BJP MLAs anddistrict presidents to submit re-quests for favourable transfers oftheir family members and partyworkers employed in the depart-ment, in a particular format.

The letter, dated February 16,was issued by the office of VasudevDevnani, Minister of State forElementary and SecondaryEducation and is addressed to MLAsand district presidents. The letterduly signed by RajasthanAdministration Services (RAS) offi-cer Bharat Kumar Sharma reads: "Ifany office-bearers, former office-

bearers or senior party workers aredesirous of getting a transfer them-selves or for their family members,they should apply in the given for-mat and the MLA or district presi-dent should forward the applicationby e-mail". The letter also has an en-closed format which is supposed tobe filled up by MLAs and districtpresidents. The enclosed formatseeks from party functionaries to in-dicate where their might like theirrelatives to be posted. They also haveto mention the present posting oftheir relatives along with a mentionof their place of posting.

Further, it also seeks informa-tion about and the nature of the rela-tive's relationship with the partyleader or district president.Targeting the ruling BJP over theleaked official communication, theOpposition Congress has termed itan attempt to woo "disgruntled" BJP

party members after the party's de-feat in the recent bypolls. StateCongress president Sachin Pilot whosought an apology from the BJP,said," The BJP is shocked by the re-cent defeat in bypolls so this is an at-tempt to reach out to its workers.The move is unconstitutional andthe order should be withdrawn assoon as possible". Echoing similarviews, Congress spokespersonArchana Sharma added, "The BJP'srecent loss in the bypolls was a resultof BJP functionaries not acting onthe directions of state leadership,hence this move is made to woo itsdisgruntled workers who had beencomplaining about ministers".Incidentally, the state's primary edu-cation minister is considered to aloyalist of Chief MinisterVasundhara Raje and has been in thenews for reportedly changing histo-ry in textbooks.

'Partisan' letter on teacher transfers in Rajasthan creates rowPress Trust of India

New Delhi, Feb 18

The setting up of these forensic traininglabs comes as part of the Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) plans to control cyber crimesin the country. The government has setMarch 31 as the deadline for states to set upcyber forensic training labs for which Rs 82.8crore has already been released. The settingup of these forensic training labs comes aspart of the Ministry of Home Affairs plans tocontrol cyber crimes in the country.

It has already asked states to gear up in-stitutional mechanism to tackle cybercrimes, which pose "technical, administra-tive as well as legal challenges" in investiga-tions. The MHA has also unveiled an exten-sive training programme in which 37,500 po-licemen and judicial officers will be trainedin the next two years about the facets of cybercrime. As per the scheme, states that got Rs

3.94 crore as grant should set up a lab with atleast 25 work stations. Those who got Rs 2.30crore each should have labs with 25 worksta-tions and 15 for those who got Rs 1.48 croreeach. "These funds have to be utilised onlyfor the purchase of cyber forensic tools andlab resources and it cannot be used for civilwork or construction of lab," a senior officialsaid. According to a concept note circulatedby the MHA on cyber crimes, most of thecrimes now have an element of misuse ofcomputers, smartphones and communica-tion networks and these technologies are be-ing used by criminals in committing conven-tional crimes. "Increasing use of internet andsocial media has resulted in a plethora of var-ied crimes being committed in the cyber do-main. It has become imperative for the lawenforcement agencies to have an in-depth un-derstanding of the working of the cyber do-main and the modus operandi of crimes be-ing committed therein," it said.

Cyber labs: Home Ministry setsMarch 31 deadline for states

Press Trust of India,

New Delhi, Feb 18

The company withdrewthe plea as the Centre hadencashed the bank guaran-tee after the high court re-voked its stay preventingthe government from invok-ing it. Reuters photo for rep-resentation. Italian helicop-ter manufacturerAgustaWestland has with-drawn from the Delhi HighCourt a plea against invoca-tion by the Indian Navy tobuy 56 naval utility chop-pers.of its Rs 3-crore bankguarantee deposited to bidfor a tender floated The com-pany withdrew the plea asthe Centre had encashed thebank guarantee after thehigh court revoked its staypreventing the governmentfrom invoking it.

The submission on be-half of the Italian companywas made before JusticeJayant Nath who "dismissedas withdrawn" the civil suit

of the helicopter manufac-turer. The high court onOctober 17 last year had re-voked its stay on the invoca-tion of the bank guarantee.The order came as theItalian company had neitherdeposited the amount of Rs 3crore in the court, nor givena guarantee of a nation-alised bank or banks such asICICI, Axis Bank or HDFCas directed by the highcourt.

The court had earliermade it clear that not com-plying with its directions

would lead to revocation ofthe interim stay order. Theamount of Rs 3 crore was de-posited by the companyalong with the pre-contractintegrity pact, which wasone of the conditions of therequest for technical andcommercial proposal (RFP)issued to it by the govern-ment. The integrity pact,signed in 2013, said that if asuccessful bidder violatedthe agreement, it would en-tail forfeiture of the bankguarantee. Central govern-ment standing counsel

Anurag Ahluwalia, appear-ing for the Centre, had earli-er told the court that thebank guarantee was in-voked and full payment ofthe amount was demandedas the company had alleged-ly violated the integritypact. In its petition challeng-ing the invocation of thebank guarantee, the compa-ny had said that the govern-ment in its invocation letterdid not say that the RFP hasalready been withdrawn.The company had claimedthat it was not informed ofany alleged breach of the in-tegrity pact and that oncethe government had with-drawn the RFP, it had noright to seek enforcement ofthe bank guarantee. It hadsaid that the government in-stead was obligated to re-turn the bank guarantee.The company, in its plea,had also alleged that by in-voking the bank guarantee,the government was tryingto "unjustly enrich itself".

Naval chopper tender : AgustaWestlandwithdraws plea from HC on bank guarantee

Press Trust of India,

New Delhi, Feb 18

The National Missionfor Clean Ganga has sanc-tioned 97 sewerage infra-structure projects to abatepollution in the 2,525-kmlong river. To ensure betterco-ordination and improvedquality of water, the govern-ment plans to have a singleoperator maintain allsewage treatment plants(STPs) in a city along theGanga, as part of its efforts toclean the river, a senior offi-cial said. The Union WaterResources Ministry has al-ready invited tender for inte-grating the existing sewagetreatment infrastructure inMathura with a new 30 mil-lion litres daily (MLD) STPto be built there under thehybrid annuity-based publicprivate partnership mode.Under this mode, the govern-ment will pay the operator40% of the amount initially,while the remaining 60%will be spent by the operator.

The rest of the amountwould be paid by the govern-ment over a period of 15years, provided the firm op-erates and maintains theSTP properly and meets theministryâs affluent dis-charge norms, the officialsaid. He said efforts are on tointegrate STP infrastruc-tures in Allahabad (72 MLD)and Kanpur (49 MLD) inUttar Pradesh, Patna (150MLD) in Bihar and Kolkata(136 MLD) in West Bengal.Tenders for these projects

are likely to be invited by thelast week of this month, theofficial said. There are sev-eral STPs in each city alongthe Ganga. Some of them areold and are not operatingproperly. Upgradation, oper-ation and maintenance ofSTPs in the entire town/citywould be done by one opera-tor. This will also mean theministry does not have todeal with five to six opera-tors, the official said. TheNational Mission for CleanGanga (NMCG), which is ex-

ecuting the mission on be-half of the ministry, hassanctioned 97 sewerage in-frastructure projects at acost of Rs 14,127 crore toabate pollution in the 2,525-km long river. Of these, 11are proposed to be completedunder the hybrid annuitymodel. The NMCG has iden-tified 97 towns (in five Gangabasin states of Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Jharkhand and WestBengal) along the main-stream of the river whichgenerate 3,603 MLD ofsewage. The existing treat-ment capacity of the townsconcerned is 1,584 MLD.Eighty-nine sewage treat-ment projects have been tak-en up in 56 towns along themainstream of the Ganga.These projects are estimatedto create another 1,525 MLDcapacity. Nineteen of the 89projects have been complet-ed and created 172 MLD ca-pacity, while work on 42projects are under progress,the official said.

Clean Ganga mission: Govt plansone city, one operator for STPs

Press Trust of India,

Mumbai, Feb 18

At a time when attemptsare being made to removethe taboo associated with thetopic of menstrual hygienewith increased awareness,the Maharashtra govern-ment is all set to roll out its"Asmita Yojana" on theInternational Women's Daynext month. Under thescheme, girls in zillaparishad schools will get asanitary napkin packet at Rs5 while rural women canavail it at a subsidised rate ofRs 24 and Rs 29. The scheme,catering to girl students andwomen in rural areas, willbe formally launched onMarch 8, a rural develop-ment ministry official said.Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis and Bollywood ac-tor Akshay Kumar will bepresent at the launch.Akshay's film "Padman", re-leased recently, envisionedto create awareness aboutmenstrual hygiene among

rural women.The Asmita Yojana was

announced last year byWomen and Child and RuralDevelopment MinisterPankaja Munde. Accordingto the official, there is verylittle awareness about hy-giene during periods amonggirls in the age group of 11 to19 years and women in gen-eral in rural areas ofMaharashtra. "Only 17% ofthem use sanitary napkins,"he said. He attributes highcosts of sanitary pads, theirunavailability in rural areasand awkwardness amongwomen to purchase themfrom male chemists as themain reasons behind suchlow usage. The state govern-

ment has appointed "Umed'-the Maharashtra State RuralLivelihood Mission, as anodal agency for effectiveimplementation of thescheme, the official said.Under the scheme, benefici-ary girls will be given"Asmita cards", while partic-ipating self help groups(SHGs) will be entrustedwith the task of the supplyand sale of sanitary pads andcounselling the girls andwomen. "The SHGs will haveto procure sanitary napkinsfrom suppliers by register-ing on the Asmita mobile ap-plication and distributethem to rural women andgirls as per the requirementand demand," the officialsaid, adding that the SHGsconcerned will earn Rs 5 inprofit per sanitary packet.Meanwhile, the rural devel-opment minister said a hy-giene campaign will also belaunched across the state toincrease awareness amongyoung girls on usage of sani-tary pads.

Maharashtra to launch cheapsanitary pad scheme on March 8

Press Trust of India,

New Delhi, Feb 18

Gurmehar writes aboutthe women in her family whofought their own battles, whostood by each other and whokept going. Gurmehar Kaur,who became the focal point ofa nationalism debate lastyear, says her answer to re-peated questions about howshe survived the vitriol andsocial media trial and fromwhere she gathered thestrength to move on is her newbook. "Small Acts of Freedom"is the story of three genera-tions of single women in afamily who have faced theworld on their own terms. Ithas an unusual narrativestructure that crisscrosses be-tween the past and the pres-ent, spanning 70 years from1947 to 2017. From her grand-mother who came to Indiafrom Lahore after Partition tothe whirlwind romance be-tween her parents, from herwar martyr father's state fu-neral to her experiences sinceher days of student activism.

My memoir is aboutwhat kept me going:Gurmehar Kaur

Page 8: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRURAY 19, 2018wOrld8 Glimpses of Future

GURUGRAM Feb 18:

When the Trump family jet landsin India this week, the family membertaking a tour of the world’s largestdemocracy — with a Secret Service de-tail in tow — won’t be the president ona diplomatic mission. It will be his eld-est son, Donald Trump Jr., on a salestrip.

The visit by the younger Trump,intended to help sell more than $1 bil-lion in luxury residential units beingbuilt by the Trumps and their localpartners, has been promoted withnewspaper advertisements that read:“Trump has arrived. Have you?”

The younger Trump’s weeklongitinerary of cocktail parties, dinnersand events with real estate brokers,business leaders and prospective buy-ers comes as President Donald Trumpis working to strengthen ties betweenthe two countries.

The president, who enjoys wide-spread popularity in India, was greet-ed by Prime Minister Narendra Modiwith a bear hug in Washington in June,and the two leaders have frequentlydiscussed greater military coopera-tion and ramping up trade. Trump hasalso taken a harder line towardPakistan and China, the two countriesthat continue to have tensed relationswith India. Two weeks ago, Trumpphoned PM Modi pledging “tostrengthen security and economic co-operation” between India and theUnited States.

The overlap in India between fa-ther and son creates a spectacle withfew parallels in business and diploma-cy. The younger Trump is scheduled toarrive Monday on a Boeing 757 nick-named Trump Force One, because thepresident crisscrossed the United

States on the plane during the cam-paign. The Trump family earned asmuch as $3 million in royalties in 2016from ventures in India, according tothe president’s financial disclosure re-port. And Ivanka Trumpmade her owntrip to India in November, in her ca-pacity as a member of Trump adminis-tration, just as sales were about to starton some of the residential projects.“The idea that the president’s sonwould be going and shilling the presi-dent’s brand at same time DonaldTrump is president and is managingstrategic and foreign relations withIndia — that is just bizarre,” saidDaniel S. Markey, who helped coordi-nate South Asia policy at the StateDepartment during the George W.Bush administration. There are no for-mal federal rules that prohibit TrumpJr. from pursuing his business inter-ests; he is a private citizen. And eventhough his father is still a beneficialowner of the family business, he is notsubject to conflict of interest laws, asthe president is exempt. The WhiteHouse, asked if Trump Jr.'s trip gaveeven an appearance of a conflict of in-terest, declined to comment on the mat-ter. India is the Trump Organization’sbiggest international market, withfour real estate projects underway.The largest is here in Gurugram, a fast-growing city with a litany of Fortune500 companies and a skyline filled withskyscrapers. The Trump developmentencompasses two towers with a total of254 “ultra luxury” units, according tothe company, each selling for as muchas $1.5 million.The luxury apartmentbuildings near the Trump develop-ment in Gurugram have names likePalm Springs and Central Park, evenas they overlook pothole-ridden high-

ways. The Trumps and their partnersare offering buyers the opportunity tobecome “members of the Trump fami-ly,” with the promise of exclusiveamenities such as an infinity swim-ming pool, a billiards room and valetservices. The marketing materials,however, don’t mention the president— his name and image, as well as thatof his daughter Ivanka, who joined hisadministration, were removed frombrochures, websites andbillboards.Still, confusion amongIndians is evident. “I had no idea thatTrump built property around theworld before this development waslaunched,” said Hitesh Khanna, who ishelping sell units at the Trump towersin Gurugram through a local real es-tate brokerage firm. “I just thought he

was president.” Khanna’s boss, RajivBansal, predicted the presidential con-nection would create enough buzz toentice buyers. Khanna was workingout of a roadside tent near the con-struction site, with a tattered emeraldgreen felt carpet at its entrance.“Everyone in India knows who the USpresident is,” Bansal said. “It’s a statussymbol. This is a big brand, the presi-dent of the United States’ name will beon it.” Trump Jr., in an interview inNew York last week, said he had spentnearly a decade “cultivating relation-ships in India,” and the company was“now seeing the response of that ef-fort.” The younger Trump said his itin-erary did not include interactions withgovernment officials in an intentionaleffort to steer clear of politics.

“We certainly won’t get involved inthat,” he said, when asked if the com-pany would seek concessions or incen-tives for the developments from Indianofficials. “Not at all.”

He is scheduled, nonetheless, tospeak at the Global Business Summitin Delhi, where he is billed as a keynotespeaker, along with Modi.

Other stops on the 3,000-mile jour-ney include Kolkata, where construc-tion on a project with 137 luxury unitsis about to begin; Mumbai, where a 78-story Trump-branded tower with 400residences is scheduled to be complet-ed next year; and Pune, where a fourthTrump-branded project has been built.

According to business partners inIndia, many units are selling about 30per cent per square foot higher thanmarket rates. The younger Trump’svisit this week is expected to reinforcethat trend, they said, even as many oth-er luxury housing towers have hun-dreds of empty units. In addition to anoversupply, a recent governmentcrackdown on the black money inIndia has hurt sales at competing de-velopments, but the Trump name re-mains a draw. “The brand is a lead gen-erator,” said Kalpesh Mehta, who runsthe Mumbai-based development com-pany Tribeca, which serves as the leadrepresentative for the Trump brand inIndia. “It is what is making people payattention and look at it deeply.”Undervoluntary ethics rules governing theTrump Organization’s activities dur-ing the Trump presidency, interna-tional projects in the works before the2016 election — which include all of theIndia properties now being marketed— can proceed as planned. The presi-dent handed over daily operations ofthe company to his sons Donald Jr. and

Eric, but he remains the owner.Still,some ethics lawyers say the mere pres-ence of the Trump Organization inIndia is problematic. “The question is-n’t just whether Don Trump Jr. is mak-ing phone calls to say, ‘Give me a fa-vor,'” said Zephyr Teachout, aFordham University law professorwho is part of a lawsuit claiming thatthe president’s business ties violatethe emoluments clause of theConstitution. “It is by having thesebusiness entanglements, does it createincentives and opportunities for peo-ple in the Indian government to try touse the business relations to impactAmerican policy.” The Trump family’sfinancial interests in India could alsocall into question the president’s objec-tivity in dealing with the country,Teachout said. looks bad, it smells bad,and it leaves an uncertainty in thefaith of the American public about thediplomatic choices that the Trump ad-ministration makes regarding India,”she said. Arun Kumar Singh, a formerambassador to the United States fromIndia, and Markey, the former StateDepartment official who is now a pro-fessor at Johns Hopkins University’sSchool of Advanced InternationalStudies, said they had not seen changesin US policy toward India that theywould attribute to the president’s busi-ness interests. The biggest differencefrom the Obama administration, theysaid, was the apparent warmth be-tween the president and Modi. “I havealways had a deep admiration for yourcountry and for its people, and a pro-found appreciation for your rich cul-ture, heritage and traditions,” Trumpsaid in June during a state visit byModi, one of many such words of praisefor India he has offered in the last year.

President, or luxury towers? Either way, Trump is the rage in India

PARKLAND, (USA) Feb 18 :

Pressure is growing fortougher gun-control laws af-ter a mass shooting at aFlorida high school, withthousands of angry protest-ers at state rallies demand-ing immediate action fromlawmakers, and moredemonstrations plannedacross the country in theweeks ahead.Organizers be-hind the Women's March, ananti-Trump and female em-powerment protest, calledfor a 17-minute, nationwidewalkout by teachers and stu-dents on March 14. TheNetwork for PublicEducation, an advocacy or-ganization for publicschools, announced a day ofwalkouts, sit-ins and otherevents on school campuseson April 20, the anniversaryof the 1999 shooting atColumbine High School inColorado that left 12 stu-dents and one teacher dead.Plans for the protests circu-lated widely on social mediaon Saturday, as students,parents, teachers and neigh-bors gathered to expresstheir grief over the fatalshooting of 14 students andthree staff members at theMarjory Stoneman DouglasHigh School in Parkland.Hundreds showed up at ral-lies in Fort Lauderdale,about 25 miles (40 kilome-ters) away, and in St.Petersburg, 250 miles (400kilometers) northwest, to de-mand action on gun-controllegislation. "The fact that wecan't go to school and feelsafe every day, when we'resupposed to feel safe, is a

problem," said FabianaCorsa, a Florida high schoolstudent who attended theFort Lauderdale gathering.Corsa said legislators were'sacrificing students' in or-der to get money from theNational Rifle Association.The crowd at the rally chant-ed: "Vote them out!" and heldsigns calling for action.Some read: '(hash)NeverAgain,' '(hash)Do somethingnow' and 'Don't Let MyFriends Die.' The rallieswere held as new detailsemerged about the suspect,Nikolas Cruz. Authoritiessay Cruz, 19, was a formerstudent at StonemanDouglas who had been ex-pelled, had mental health is-sues and had been reportedto law enforcement before heused a legally purchasedsemiautomatic rifle to takethe lives of 17 people onWednesday. From a mosaicof public records, interviewswith friends and family andonline interactions, it ap-pears Cruz was unstable andviolent to himself and thosearound him- and that whennotified about his threaten-ing behavior, law enforce-ment did little to stop it.Cruz's mother died inNovember and his fatherdied years ago. He reported-ly left a suburban PalmBeach County mobile homewhere he had been stayingafter his mother's death be-cause his benefactor gavehim an ultimatum: you orthe gun. The Sun-Sentinelreported that Florida'sDepartment of Children andFamilies investigated whenCruz posted a video on the

social media networkSnapchat showing him cut-ting his arms in 2016. "Mr.Cruz has fresh cuts on bothhis arms," the Florida DCFabuse hotline was told inAugust 2016, the paper re-ported. "Mr. Cruz stated heplans to go out and buy agun. It is unknown what heis buying the gun for."According to the paper,DCF's investigation wascompleted that Nov. 12. Theagency concluded Cruz hadnot been mistreated by hismother, was receiving ade-quate care from a mentalhealth counselor and was at-tending chool. At school,Cruz routinely fought withteachers, was accused ofswearing at staff and was re-ferred for a ``threat assess-ment'' in January 2017, twomonths after the DCF inves-tigation concluded, The NewYork Times reportedSaturday, citing school dis-ciplinary records it ob-tained. The records show hewas suspended several timesin the 2016-17 school yearand was frequently absent.They also show Cruz attend-ed at least six schools, in-cluding a school for studentswith emotional problems,the newspaper said. Cruzhad been diagnosed withautism, a neurological disor-der that often leads to socialawkwardness and isolation,and attention deficit hyper-activity disorder, or ADHD.

The FBI said a personclose to Cruz called the FBI'stip line and provided infor-mation about Cruz'sweapons and his erratic be-havior.

Calls for gun control growlouder after Florida shooting ABOARD USS CARL VINSON Feb 18 :

US forces are unde-terred by China's militarybuildup on man-made is-lands in the South China Seaand will continue patrollingthe strategic, disputed wa-ters wherever "internation-al law allows us," said aNavy officer aboard a mam-moth US aircraft carrierbrimming with F-18 fighterjets.Lt. Cmdr. Tim Hawkinstold The Associated Press onboard the USS CarlVinsonthat the Navy hascarried out routine patrolsat sea and in the air in the re-gion for 70 years to promotesecurity and guarantee theunimpeded flow of tradethat's crucial for Asian andUSeconomies."Internationallaw allows us to operatehere, allows us to fly here, al-

lows us to train here, allowsus to sail here, and that'swhat were doing and weregoing to continue to do that,"Hawkins said today on theflight deck of the 95,000-tonwarship, which anchored atManila Bay while on a visitto the Philippines.WhenPresident Donald Trumpcame to power, SoutheastAsian officials were uncer-tain how deep the US wouldget involved in the overlap-ping territorial claims in-volving China and itsSoutheast Asian neighbors.Trump's predecessor,Barack Obama, was a vocalcritic of Chinas increasinglyaggressive actions, includ-ing the construction of sevenman-made islands equippedwith troops, hangers, radarand missile stations andthree long runways. Chinaclaims the South China Sea

almost in its entirety andhas challenged the US navalsupremacy in the westernPacific. "Were committed,"Hawkins told reporters."Were here." The Trump ad-ministration has outlined anew security strategy thatemphasized counteringChina's rise and reinforcingthe US presence in the Indo-Pacific region, whereBeijing and Washingtonhave accused each other ofstoking a dangerous mili-tary buildup and fought forwider influence.Washington stakes noclaims in the disputes buthas declared that theirpeaceful resolution and themaintenance of freedom ofnavigation are in its nation-al interest. US officials havesaid American warshipswill continue sailing close toChinese-occupied features

without prior notice, plac-ing Washington in a contin-uing collision course withChina's interests. InJanuary, China accused theUS of trespassing when theUS guided missile destroyerUSS Hopper sailed near theChinese-guardedScarborough Shoal, whichBeijing wrestled from thePhilippines in 2012, despiteits proximity to the mainnorthern island of Luzon.After voicing a strongprotest, China said it wouldtake "necessary measures"to protect its sovereignty.The nuclear-powered CarlVinson patrolled the sea pri-or to its Manila visit but didnot conduct a freedom ofnavigation operation,Hawkins said. "That's not tosay that we wont or we cant,but we have not, up to thispoint," he said. There are re-

ports that the Carl Vinsonwill also make a port call inDanang in Vietnam — an-other critical rival of Chinasambitions in the SouthChina Sea -- as the firstAmerican aircraft carriersince the Vietnam War end-ed in 1975, but Hawkins de-clined to provide details offuture trips. China has alsoopposed the Philippine mili-tary's deployment of aJapanese-donatedBeechcraft King Air patrolplane in late January toScarborough, a Philippineofficial said on condition ofanonymity because of a lackof authority to discuss the is-sue publicly. Chinese offi-cials have relayed their ob-jection to their Philippinecounterparts, the officialsaid. China and Japan havetheir own territorial rifts inthe East China Sea.

China's military buildup wont stop patrols: US Navy

MALE Feb 18 :

Dozens of pro-oppositionsupporters were injured andmany were arrested after po-lice in the Maldives broke upcountrywide protests de-manding the resignation ofPresident Yameen AbdulGayoom and the release ofhis political opponents fromprison.Thousands of peopletook part in the protests inthe archipelago nation onFriday despite the countrybeing under a state of emer-gency.Several people werehospitalised with injuries

and many protesters werearrested, but hospital andpolice officials refused toprovide numbers. The in-jured included about 10 re-porters who were coveringthe protest.Police said onSaturday that the demon-strators had ignored warn-ings that the right to protesthas been suspended underthe state of emergency. "Inspite of the warning, certainpolitical leaders encouragedthis protest, encouraged citi-zens to face off against secu-rity services personnel."po-lice said in a statement .

Anti-Yameen protestserupt across Maldives

WASHINGTON Feb 18 :

Mark Marran, an opera-tions manager for a Fortune500 company, voted forDonald Trump. Two weeksago he noticed an extra $100in his bimonthly pay check,courtesy of sweeping taxcuts passed by theRepublican Congress latelast year. says the extra cashis nice, but it will not changehis life. “A lot of peoplearound ere think (the taxcuts) were a giveaway to therich,” said Marran, 56, a res-ident of this city of 14,000about 30 miles southwest ofPittsburgh.Just up thestreet, George Smith, an op-tician who makes $55,000 ayear, echoed that sentiment.Taking a pull from a ciga-rette, the Trump voter saidhe is now getting an extra$120 a month in his pay-check. But he says it is thewealthy who reallyscored.“It’s almost like be-ing thrown a bone,” saidmith, 9. These are worrying

words for the GOP, which isbanking on the tax cutspushed by President Trumpto help Republicans retaincontrol of the House andSenate in midterm electionsthis November. crucial ear-ly test is set for March 13here in westernPennsylvania. Republicancandidate Rick Saccone, aconservative Trump loyal-ist, is vying to win a specialelection for a congressionalseat in a district that thepresident won by 19 pointsin 2016. Yet recent pollsshow a tightening race inPennsylvania’s 18th dis-trict, where Republicanstypically enjoy a double-dig-it advantage.Political ana-lysts point to a number offactors fueling a competitiverace, including Trump’s lowapproval ratings and height-ened Democratic enthusi-asm. Democratic challengerConor Lamb, a retiredMarine and former federalprosecutor, is running as amoderate in a district where

liberals are viewed with sus-picion. Saccone, meanwhile,has been touting Trump’ssignature legislativeachievement as a boon forthe middle class. “Tax cutsare changing lives,” saysone of Saccone’s TV spots.But it remains to be seenwhether the four-term staterepresentative can persuadetax-cut skeptics such asMarran and Smith.

Such doubts are reflect-ed in a new nationwideReuters/Ipsos public opin-ion poll that shows a plurali-ty believe the legislation is awindfall for the wealthy andbig businesses. Some 36 per-cent of respondents said therich would benefit most,while another 22 percentsaid it would be U.S. corpo-rations. Just 13 percent saidthey believed that the mid-dle class would be the mainbeneficiaries. The poll alsosuggests that the tax planalone may not fuelRepublican turnout inNovember.

Republicans face first test of taxcuts' power to sway voters

Pakistan to send transgendersas Haj volunteersISLAMABAD Feb 18:

For the first time in the history of Pakistan, transgen-ders will be part of a team of boy scouts being sent to SaudiArabia to serve as volunteers during 2018 Haj pilgrimage, amedia report said today."Efforts for sending transgenderyouth to Saudi Arabia to serve as Khuddamul Hujjaj(volun-teers during the annual Haj) are underway," IPC SindhBoys Scouts Commissioner Atif Amin Husain was quotedas saying by the Express Tribune. Blue Veins, a transgen-der welfare organisation, is coordinating with the IPC onthe matter, the paper said. "At least two to three transgen-der persons will be selected from each of the remainingthree provinces for joining the scouting community thatleaves for Saudi Arabia every year.," Husain said.He saidrecently 40 transgender youth from Sindh were adminis-tered oath on joining the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association(PBSA) a national scouting organisation and one of thelargest volunteer forces in the country. The transgenderpersons would be part of a team of more than 150 boy scouts,he said, adding that last year over a hundred boy scouts hadbeen sent. "The recruitment process for Khuddamul Hujjajincludes physical training and a test. After that, the PBSAsends a list of successful candidates to the Federal Ministryof Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony for a final ap-proval," Husain said, explaining the process. This year thelist would include names of transgender youth, he added.Husain feels that by joining the PBSA, transgender youthwould get social acceptance, attain confidence, feel secureand move forward, the paper said. Blue Veins ProgrammeCoordinator Qamar Naseem said that after the recruitmentof 40 transgenders in Sindh, his organisation is planning re-cruitment processes in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa andBalochistan. "This can be a game changer and can signifi-cantly improve the social acceptance of transgender youthin our society," he said.

GAZA CITY (PALESTINIAN TERRITO-

RIES) Feb 18 :

Israeli jets struck theGaza Strip on Saturday afterfour soldiers were woundedwhen an improvised explo-sive device blew up along theborder with the Palestinianenclave. explosion earlierSaturday, which left two ofthe Israeli soldiers severelyinjured, was one of the mostserious incidents on the bor-der of the Hamas-ruled en-clave since the Islamistmovement and Israel foughta war in 2014. In responseIsrael's army said it attacked"18 terror targets belongingto the Hamas terror organi-sation" in two waves of airstrikes."Eight targets wereattacked in a military com-pound near Deir el Balah,which belongs to the Hamas

terror organization, includ-ing weapon-manufacturingand training infrastruc-tures," a statement releasedearly Sunday read.An earli-er statement said the fighterjets had targeted "six mili-tary targets in Gaza belong-

ing to Hamas, including: aterror tunnel in the Zaytunarea and military com-pounds near Deir el-Balahand Khan Yunis". The armyalso reported that a "launchwas identified from the GazaStrip at Israeli territory",

with a projectile hitting neara home in a southern Israelicommunity. Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu at a se-curity conference in Munichcalled the Gaza border inci-dent "very serious" andpledged to "respond appro-

priately".A Palestinian secu-rity source said the Israeliair strikes hit three bases be-longing to Hamas in the eastof the blockaded Gaza en-clave.Two Palestinians wereinjured in the raids,Palestinian medical sourcessaid. Earlier in the day thearmy said "two soldiers wereseverely wounded, one mod-erately and one slightly"when an improvised explo-sive device blew up along theborder fence with Gaza.None of the soldiers' liveswere in danger, a spokesmanclarified. In response Israeliforces said a tank quicklyopened fire at an "observa-tion post" in southern Gaza,causing no injuries on thePalestinian side.Palestiniansecurity sources said the ex-plosion took place east of thecity of Khan Yunis.

Using large sticks, notcarrot, to convince NKorea to talk: Tillerson

WASHINGTON Feb 18 :

United StatesSecretary of State RexTillerson on Sunday saidthat Washington is now us-ing "large sticks" instead ofa carrot to bringPyongyang to the table formultilateral negotiations."We're not using a carrot toconvince them to talk.We're using large sticks.And that is what they needto understand," Tillersontold CBS News's MargaretBrennan in a segment forSunday's "60 Minutes" pro-gram. He further said thathe is "listening" for an indi-cation from North Koreathat they are ready for di-rect talks."I am listening. Iam not sending a lot of mes-sages back because there'snothing to say to them atthis point. So I am listeningfor you to tell me you areready to talk," Tillersonsaid. The US and NorthKorea have long been en-gaged in back-and-forthbarbs over the latter'sthreat of a nuclear attack,however, the Pyongyangparticipation in the winter .

Israel strikes Gaza after blast wounds four soldiers

Page 9: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018spOrts9 Glimpses of Future

Mumbai, Feb 18 (PTI)

Star shuttler H SPrannoy has credited topwomen shuttlers P V Sindhuand Saina Nehwal for thepositive change in mindsetof other players while facingtougher opponents. "The onething which changed amongall of us (players) was the be-lief (to win). (And) in the lastfive to six years I could seethe change," Prannoy saidhere. "Before (earlier) weused to go out there andwhen we (saw) big names,we used to say its tough.Nowadays whenever we seethe big names we are muchmore confident," said theworld no 11 last night.Prannoy, along with leg-endary badminton playerNandu Natekar and chief na-tional coach PullelaGopichand, was present atthe prize distribution cere-mony of the 25th G D BirlaMemorial Masters Inter-Club BadmintonTournament at the BombayGymkhana. "First when weused to play them we used togive them a lot of respect.

When I started playing bad-minton I never thought Icould play against these bignames or at this SuperSeries level or at the WorldChampionships," he ex-plained.According toPrannoy, when Saina andSindhu started winning bigtournaments and startedbeating Chinese players, theother players too started be-lieving that they could also

also achieve a similar feat."The first time when I

started playing (against)them there was a lot of re-spect and things which mademe play a very silent game,"he said. "That was the onething that changed and overthe years the belief, special-ly in the last one or twoyears. A lot of credit goes toSaina and Sindhu, becausethey were the ones who

started it. And when theystarted to win the biggerevents, when they started tobeat the Chinese continu-ously, that's when all the restof the members in the(Indian) team got the self be-lief saying if they can do it,then why not us..," the 25-year-old Prannoy added.

Saina won the bronzemedal at the 2012 LondonOlympics and Sindhu script-

ed history by winning thesilver Medal in women's sin-gles at the 2016 RioOlympics. Gopichand alsosaid that there has been achange of mindset amongthe current players."When Ilook at the change in bad-minton, for me the change isnot only in the players ofbadminton, but in the youthin general. When I went toOlympics in 2000 or theGames prior to that, about80-90 per cent of us, whowent, almost went with anidea that we will go there,and (since) winning was noton our minds, we would go,be happy collecting sou-venirs, clicking photo-graphs. The mindset was notreally to win. "But when Iwent again in 2008 and 2012,although we may not havewon huge medals, the mind-set of people had changed.Every athlete who went tothe Olympics thought ofwinning a medal and theywanted to win a medal andthat was a big difference be-tween earlier generationand now," said Gopichand.

Prannoy credits Saina,Sindhu for mindset change

Johannesburg Feb 18 :

India's middle-order col-lapsed after a fiery start asSouth Africa won the thirdT20 by five wickets to keepthe five-match series alive.Indian women, eyeing theirmaiden T20 series win inSouth Africa after winningthe first two matches, col-lapsed to 133 in 17.5 overs af-ter being placed at a solid 93for two in the 12th over.

South Africa's top-ordercame out firing and over-hauled the target with oneover to spare. They lostLizelle Lee (5) early beforeskipper Dane van Niekerk(26 off 20) and Sune Luus (41off 34) steadied the ship.

After Van Niekerk's dis-missal, Luus and Mignon duPreez (20) raised a 50-runstand for the third wicket tolay the base for the comfort-able chase. Chloe Tryon (34

off 15) also played a quickknock to help the hometeam's cause.

For India, medium pacerPooja Vastrakar picked uptwo wickets, giving awayjust 21 runs from her fourovers. Off-spinner AnujaPatil was a big let down forIndia today as she conceded44 runs from her four oversand accounted for just onewicket.Earlier put into bat,India were cruising at onestage with skipperHarmanpreet Kaur (48) pun-ishing the home bowlerswith her thunderousstrokes. Harmanpreetsmashed two sixes six foursin her 30-ball knock.

However, once the ag-gressive Indian captain andleft-handed opener SmritiMandhana (37) were dis-missed, the tourists lostwickets in a heap to bebowled out in 17.5 overs.

After losing the seasonedMithali Raj for a duck in thevery first over,Harmanpreet and Smriti (37)added 55 runs for the secondwicket in quick time.

The partnership wasbroken by leg-spinner VanNiekerk, who had the left-handed Smriti caught byMoseline Daniels. Smrititook 24 balls for her 37 whichhad five fours and one shotover the ropes.

Harmanpreet wascaught behind off pacerShabnim Ismail, whoemerged as the wrecker-in-chief with a five-wicket haul.It was a career-best figuresfor Shabnim, who concededonly 30 runs. Medium pacerMasabata Klaas (2/20) alsocontributed by assistingShabnim in dismantling theIndian middle-order. Thefourth T20 will be played inCenturion on Wednesday.

India women slump after middle-order collapse, lose third T20 against South Africa

Jammu United,Hero Club advancein FootballJAMMU, Feb 18:

Jammu United andHero Club won their re-spective matches to ad-vance into the next round ofthe ongoing Ist MaharajaHari Singh Memorial GoldCup Football Tournamentunder the aegis of J&KFootball Association (JK-FA) at GGM ScienceCollege ground, here today.

In the first match of theday, Jammu Unitedtrounced NGR FootballClub by a solitary goal. Theonly goal came throughMunish in the 8th minute ofthe match.Meanwhile, inother game of the day, HeroClub defeated SainikColony Football Club 4-3via tie-breaker. Earlier, inthe stipulated time thematch ended in a goallessdraw. In tie-breaker,Deepak, Shivam Gupta,Vijay Kumar and Anmolnetted the ball from win-ners Hero Club whileVirender, Gagandeep andRobin were scorers fromSainik Colony. Today’smatches officiated by thetechnical penal includingSuresh Gupta, RockeyKumar, Damania, RomeshKumar, Rahul Sharma andMohinder Kalsi (Physio).

National Kho-Khoreferee exam inJammu from Feb 23JAMMU, Feb 18:

Jammu and KashmirKho-Kho Association shallbe holding All India Kho-Kho Examination duringthe State Championshipscheduled to be held atJammu from February23.The last day for the regis-tration to appear in the ref-eree exam is February 21, ahandout issued by theAssociation here today in-formed. Meanwhile, theState Kho-Kho (boys andgirls) Championship shalltake place at Green Fieldsground, Gandhi Nagar herefrom February 23 toFebruary 25. The eventshall be declared open at11.30 am.

Archery Associationnominates body JAMMU, Feb 18:

The newly elected pres-ident of J&K ArcheryAssociation, Waheed UrRehman Para today nomi-nated the office bearers forthe new body.The officebearers: A K Sahu (Patron-in-Chief), Vijay Saraf andDeepak Handa (Patrons);Dr Ashutosh Sharma(working president), SunilSharma (vice president), GR Beigh (vice presidentKashmir), Shorya Sharma(general secretary), VikasGupta (joint secretary),Wasim Raja (joint secre-tary Kashmir), Raj Kumar(Jyoti-treasurer).Executive Members: DrNirmolak Singh, Prof. RCThakur, Madam Nuzhat,Rouf Khan, Sarwant SinghGill, Sheikh Tulal Ahmad,Suraj Parkash, RajanSharma, Tarsem Kumar.

JAMMU, Feb 18:

Shubam Sharma ofUdhampur shall be playingagainst Shah Farman ofSrinagar in the 48 kg final ofJunior boys event in the on-going State BoxingChampionship, organised byJ&K Amateur BoxingAssociation at MA Stadium,here today.Earlier, in thesemifinals, Shubam out-played Chanchal Singh ofReasi while Shan Farmantrounced Aquib of Srinagar.A number of semifinal andquarterfinal bouts also de-cided in other weight groupsof Junior category. TheResults: 46 kg: Bharat Singh(Samba) bt Deepanshu

Thappa (Jammu). 50 kg:Mohd Tahir (Poonch) btSatyakam Khajuria(Jammu); Prajwal Jamwal(Jammu) bt GurmeetParihar (Jammu). 52 kg:Rubal Singh (Jammu) btRahul Dabgotra(Jammu).PreliminaryRound: 52 kg: Javed Iqbal(Kargil) bt Gourav Kumar(Jammu); VijayBhaskar(Jammu) bt Ganesh(Jammu). 60 kg: NiamulHussain (Kargil) bt N Singh(Jammu); Balbir Singh(Jammu) bt Tariq Alam(Kargil); ShubamChoudhary (Jammu) btHardeep Singh (Jammu);Mohd Yasir (Poonch) btZakir Hussain (Kargil).

Shubam meets Farman in48 kg Junior Boys final

A boxing bout in progress at MA Stadium Jammu on Sunday.

Gauteng Feb 18:

A refreshed Australiacaptain Steve Smith is look-ing forward to the challenge oftaking on South Africa's fastbowlers in a four-Test seriesstarting in Durban on March1. His sentiment may not beshared by the tailenders ofboth teams, though.

When Australia beatEngland 4-0 in their recenthome Ashes series, the

tourists' lower order wasblown away by aggressiveshort-pitched bowling frompace trio Mitchell Starc, JoshHazlewood and PatCummins. Smith said onSaturday e expected hisbowlers to "go down a similarpath" in South Africa, eventhough the hosts have the fire-power to hit back throughKagiso Rabada, MorneMorkel and new find LungiNgidi."There could be some

good short-pitched bowlingfrom both sides, to the batters,to the tail, everyone from bothsides," said Smith. "I think it'sgreat. I`m excited by it. Youlove coming up against thebest bowlers around theworld."The batters should belooking forward to this series.You love coming up againstgood pace. I think it's going tobe a fantastic series for theviewers to watch."Smith tooka break from cricket after aone-day series againstEngland at the end ofJanuary. He said he realisedhe needed the rest when hedidn`t even want to pick up abat. "But five or six days ago Iwanted to do it again," hesaid.Smith said he was awareof Australia's proud record ofnot having lost a Test series inSouth Africa on seven tours inthe modern era. "It means alot. Coming to South Africayou have the most similarconditions to Australia.

Australia skipper Steve Smith excited totake on South Africa's pace challenge

South Africa batsman AB de Villiers ruledout of entire T20I series against India

South Africa batsman AB de Villiers was ruled out ofthe three-game T20I series because of an injured left kneeon Sunday. De Villiers was not part of South Africa's play-ing XI in the first T20I at the Wanderers in Johannesburg,and soon the news came through that not only the firstmatch he was also out for the remainder of the series. Theright-handed batsman picked up the injury ahead of thefifth ODI, informed a press release from Cricket SouthAfrica. De Villiers also missed the first three one-dayers ofthe preceding six-game rubber that South Africa lost 5-1.After regular captain Faf du Plessis and wicketkeeper-bats-man Quinton De Kock, the 34-year-old was the third Proteasbatsman to be ruled out of the T20 series. South Africa nextplay Australia in the first Test of a four-game rubber atDurban's Kingsmead on March 1, and de Villiers is expect-ed to return to full fitness in time for that game.

Shoaib Akhtar made advisor and brandambassador by Pakistan Cricket Board

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was ap-pointed as an advisor and brand ambassador by thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier this week.PCB chair-man Najam Sethi, who will receive advice from Akhtar oncricketing matters, took to Twitter to reveal the announce-ment on Friday. Akhtar, though critical of Sethi in the past,in his response said he was honoured to be given these veryimportant roles in the board. 42-year-old Akhtar played 46Tests, 163 ODIs and 15 T20Is for Pakistan and in all took 444wickets before retiring in 2011.

Huddersfield, Feb 18

Jose Mourinho faces ananxious wait to discoverwhether Paul Pogba cantake part in ManchesterUniteds midweekChampions League last 16trip to Sevilla after hemissed their FA Cup victoryover Huddersfield Town.

An unspecified illnesssaw Pogba withdraw on themorning of Saturdays matchin Huddersfield, whichUnited won 2-0 thanks to twogoals from Romelu Lukakuas they advanced into thequarter-finals.

United managerMourinho, whose relation-ship with club-record sign-ing Pogba has been underclose scrutiny in recentweeks, insisted he did noteven know what the illnesswas or how long the Francemidfielder may be unable to

play, having planned to playhim in a 4-3-3 system that theplayer considers hisfavourite."I dont know," saidMourinho when asked aboutthe nature of Pogbas illnessafter today's match.

"When I was told by thedoctor this morning that hewas not coming, I dont wantto know anything else aboutit -- I have to think who is go-ing to replace him, what I amgoing to do because weworked hard during theweek."

The Portuguese bossadded: "Now is the time tothink about Paul, to knowwhat happened, why he did-nt feel good enough to play,can he play or be available tohelp us on Wednesday?"

Pogba has reportedlybeen unhappy in recentweeks at the style Mourinhohas adopted, generally play-

ing him alongside NemanjaMatic in a two-man midfield.

But ahead of Saturdaysmatch, Mourinho appearedprepared to meet the wishesof Pogba, who rejoinedUnited from Juventus for89.3 million ( 123.5 million,100.5 million euros) inAugust 2016, by playing himon the left side of a three-man midfield set-up.

United still won comfort-ably, thanks to Lukakusdouble, although victorycould have been even moreemphatic but for video assis-tant referee (VAR) NeilSwarbrick ruling out a JuanMata goal late in the firsthalf in an incredibly closeoffside call.

- Emotion killed - "It was my first experi-

ence on the bench but wehave VAR in Portugal," saidMourinho.

is amazing when thetruth comes but also (thereare) problems like what hap-pened today (Saturday)which go against the wordsof the protocol.

"The words of the proto-col are something like aclear and obvious situationand for sure it is not a clearand obvious situation, butwe know it is experimentaland we have to accept, but Iam speaking after a 2-0 victo-ry," he stressed.

"The feeling is a bitstrange and I was sharing itwith David (Wagner) on thetouchline which is the mo-ment of doubt. We score agoal, I cannot be happy.

"David concedes a goalbut he doesnt know (quick-ly) if he goes to half-time at 1-0 or 2-0."So we have to adaptto that waiting time and copewith the frustration when

that decision goes againstyou."

Although Wagners sidebenefitted from the VAR inthis instance, theHuddersfield manager saidhe was against the experi-mental system.

"I said immediately toJose, during the incident,whatever is decided,whether it goes in our favouror not, I dont like it," Wagnerexplained.

"The emotion is killed,the emotion in the stadium,the stands, for us in the dug-outs. It is killed. Thats why Idont like it," the Germanadded.

United have been drawnto face Brighton in the lasteight -- a tie that revivesmemories of the 1983 FA Cupfinal when they eventuallydefeated the Seagulls after aWembley replay.

Pogba illness concerns Mourinho ahead of Sevilla trip

An aggressive ColinMunro belted New Zealandinto the Twenty20 tri-seriesfinal against Australia de-spite England claiming theirfinal round-robin match bytwo runs in Hamilton onSunday.Munro plunderedthe England attack at the topof the New Zealand innings,equalling the sixth-fastesthalf-century of all time incrickets shortest form as heraced past 50 in just 18 deliv-eries. England, on the backof an unbeaten 80 by return-ing captain Eoin Morgan,posted 194 for seven after be-ing sent into bat. NewZealand, with MartinGuptill adding 62 and HongKong-born Mark Chapmanunbeaten on 37, made 192 forfour in reply. The narrowtwo-run margin was notenough to save an Englandside who had lost all theirprevious games in the com-petition and needed to winby 20 runs to overtake New

Zealand on overall run-rateto face unbeaten Australiain Wednesday's final. NewZealand passed that target atthe start of the 18th over butthe groundwork had beenlaid by opener Munroswhirlwind 57 in a big-hittinginnings that included sevensixes and three fours. AfterNew Zealand's rollickingstart, England spinners Adil

Rashid and Liam Dawsonquietened the pace throughthe middle of theinnings.New Zealand were77 without loss after sixovers when Rashid came onand quickly claimedMunro's wicket. Seven overslater, when Rashid wasbowled out and Dawson hadclaimed the prized wicket ofKane Williamson, New

Zealand were 108 for twowith Guptill and MarkChapman primed to finishthe innings off. Dawsonmissed a caught-and-bowledchance from Guptill on 25 be-fore he lashed out to reach 62off 47 balls before he was outin the 17th over. Englandskipper Morgan, whomissed their last two match-es because of a groin strain,hit six sixes and four fours ina crucial innings that en-sured his side posted a com-petitive score. He went to themiddle in the fourth overwhen England were two for24 and featured in a 93-run,nine-over stand with DawidMalan who made 53 -- hisfourth half-century in fiveinternational Twenty20 in-nings. Opener Jason Roymade a flying start to the in-nings with 21 off 13 balls,while Dawson and DavidWilley with 10 each were theonly other players to reachdouble figures.

England beat New Zealand but miss T20 tri-series final

New Delhi Feb 18 :

The promisingManavaditya Singh Rathorehas won a silver medal inthe Qatar Open Shotgunmeet in Lusail,Qatar.Participating in thejunior men's trap event,Manavaditya shot 118 to fin-ish second on the podium be-hind Italy's AngeloScalzone, who shot119.Germany's JeremySchulz won the bronze

medal with a score of 115.Son of Sports Minister andAthens Olympics silvermedallist RajyavardhanSingh Rathore, the 19-year-old Manavaditya startedwith 23 in the first series of25 shots and improved it to24 in the next three series,but could manage only a 23in the fifth and final serieson Saturday.The field had atotal of 11 shooters, includ-ing James Dedman of GreatBritain, who recentlyswitched from double trapto trap shooting.Manavaditya has earlierwon bronze in the AsianShooting Championshipsheld in Almaty in 2013. Hehas participated in JuniorWorld Championships in2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 oth-er than shooting in JuniorWorld Cup in the last twoyears.

Pacific Palisades Feb 18 :

Anirban Lahiri turnedin a superb four-under 67 inthe third round to rise toTied -13th ahead of thefourth and final round at theGenesis Open here.

After holing two 30-foot-ers for birdies in his remain-ing three holes from the sec-ond round, Lahiri fired fivebirdies against a bogey inthe third round to total 208.

He is five-under and fiveshots behind the leader --two-time Masters champion,Bubba Watson (65). “I feltlike it was the first time in awhile where I kept my inten-sity and concentration at ahigh level throughout the 21holes I played today(Saturday),” Lahiri said.

“The (new) clubs are be-ginning to settle down after afew adjustments in the lastcouple of weeks,” he added.

s for the course, Lahiriwas very happy and said, “Ilove the golf course, so ithelps when you enjoy thetrack."Hopefully, I can kickon from this momentum andfinish strong on Sunday.”

Buoyed by his finish inthe second round, Lahiriopened his third round witha birdie on first and addedback-to-back birdies on fifthand sixth, though he diddrop a shot on par-4 third.Turning in two-under 33, headded two more birdies on16th and 17th to finish at 67.

He also missed at leastthree other birdie chancesbetween 10-15 feet and his on-ly bogey came when hemissed a six-footer on third.He also had a great par saveholing a 20 footer after goinginto the rough and then intoa greenside bunker.

Bubba, winless for two

years, since his win here atthe Riviera in 2016 – he alsowon here in 2014 – did what-ever is required at thistricky course and shot sev-en-under 65 for a one-shotlead. He is now at 10-under ashe tries to end a two-yearslump that dates to his lastvictory at Riviera.It will alsobe the first time that he hashad the lead going into the fi-nal round since his win atRiviera in 2016. "The trend isgoing in the right direction,and that's what I'm lookingfor," Watson said."If I don'twin tomorrow, or if I do wintomorrow, I'm still going inthe right direction." He willbe in the final group withPatrick Cantlay, the formerNo. 1 amateur in the world.Cantlay ended his roundwith a 55-foot birdie putt fora 69 to get within one shot ofWatson.

Intense and focused Anirban Lahiri movesto Tied-13th after Genesis Open Round 3

Manavaditya Singh Rathore winssilver in Qatar Open shotgun meet

Page 10: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018�������������10 ���������������������� �� ��

Aiyaary box office collection day 2:Sidharth Malhotra – Rakul PreetSingh’s film witnesses a dip in the overseas market, collects Rs 4.57 crore

Rani Mukerji reveals what Aditya Chopratold her the first time they met

Did Fatima Sana Sheikhshave a part of her eyebrowfor Thugs Of Hindostan?

Ranbir Kapoor and AliaBhatt can’t contain theirhappiness to kickstartBrahmastra and thisselfie is proof

Will Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasanjoin hands in politics? Find out!

Karan Johar at BerlinInternational Film Festival: Iwould be happy if SanjayLeela Bhansali was here

Rajinikanth andKamal Haasan joiningpolitics has given thepeople down South a lotof hope. Fans and civil-ians are super excited tosee these two contestelections and do some-thing for the them tomake their lives better.Despite launching seper-ate parties, Rajinikanthand Kamal have been su-per cordial and support-ive of each other’s politi-cal endeavors. In fact,Kamal was spotted out-side Rajinikanth’s PoeGarde residence wherethe two had a meeting.Fans are wondering if thetwo will form any sort ofan alliance to contestelections and go abouttheir agendas. The twodid address the mediathat gathered outside hisresidence and were all

praises about each other.TOI quoted Thalaiva say-ing, “Kamal wants to servethe people of Tamil Nadu. Ipray to God that he attainssuccess. He has not enteredpolitics for fame or moneybut only to serve people ofthe state.” When Kamal wasasked if the two of them areentering into any kind of al-liance, Kamal said, “Onlytime will tell.” Kamal invit-ed Rajinikanth to attend hispublic meeting in Madhuraion 21st February 2018 andthe superstar wished himlots of luck for the publicmeeting. Now this is some-thing fans are never gettingtired of. We think people aregoing to be elated if thesetwo decide to come togetherin their political career.What are your thoughts onthis? Tell us in the com-ments below and stay tunedwith us for more.

Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are currently in Sofia,Bulgaria for Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra. The ambitiousfilm is all set to kickstart soon, but before that the duo areprepping for the film. And looks like they are having agreat time together. In fact, they are quite excited to startthe film and this selfie, taken during their rehearsals, isproof. In the picture, we see Ranbir and Alia not able tocontain their happiness as they pose together with theirtrainer Jonathan Fletcher. For those of you who don’tknow, Alia and Ranbir will be doing some insane, high oc-tane action sequences in Brahmastra. And hence, theyare training with Jonathan. Both of them are learningcertain sorts of movements that will aid them in perform-ing the stunts with ease and without causing any injury.The trainer is a student of Ido Portal or movement cul-ture. Jonathan also knows several kinds of treatmentsand yoga. So Alia and Ranbir will surely be taking in all ofhis knowledge. The duo will train for 15 days together,post which they will return and start shooting along withAmitabh Bachchan. Mouni Roy, who plays a negativecharacter in the movie, is also training with RK and Alia.In the picture, we see Ranbir wearing a ganjee and shorts,while Alia sports a top and tracks. Check out the pictureand Jonathan’s post above and share with us yourthoughts about it in the comments section below!Brahmastra, directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced byKaran Johar’s Dharma Productions, is all set to releaseon August 15, 2019 and will be the first part of the ambi-tious superhero trilogy.

Sidharth Malhotra – RakulPreet Singh – ManojBajpayee‘s Aiyaary has had amixed day two. While it saw adecent upward trend in theIndian domestic box office, thefilm saw a considerable dip inthe overseas market. If yourecollect, on day 1, Aiyaaryhad raked in Rs 2.68 crore atthe international market.However, it could manage tocollect Rs 1.89 crore on day 2.And even though this higherthan what Naam Shabanamanaged to earn at the inter-national box office, we hadsome more expectations from

Aiyaary. Trade analyst TaranAdarsh gave us a breakdown ofcollections, when he tweeted,“#Aiyaary – OVERSEAS. Fri $419,000. Sat $ 292,000. Total: $711,000 [Rs 4.57 crore]. 2-daybiz is 40% higher than#NaamShabana in interna-tional markets.” SidharthMalhotra – Rakul PreetSingh’s Aiyaary had per-formed well in USA and UAE-GCC, but with Black Panthertaking over the box office, theBollywood release was affect-ed. In fact, the film has not im-pressed the audience too. Thepoor execution of the subject

and the flawed screenplay inAiyaary also left the audienceunhappy. The critics weren’ttoo pleased with the film too.All this gave rise to a negativeword of mouth publicity,which in turn caused the foot-falls to decrease and an adverseeffect on the box office collec-tions.For those of you who don’tknow, Aiyaary revolves aroundthe story of an Indian army offi-cer (Sidharth Malhotra), whogoes rogue after discoveringabout the inefficiencies and mal-practices in the defence forces.His mentor (Manoj Bajpayee)tries hard to find and capture

him, but will he be successful?Or will he end up discoveringsomething else? Well, that’ssomething you will find out onlywhen you watch the movie. Andthough this story seems inter-esting on paper, director NeerajPandey could not pull it off.Extra, unwanted elements andthe confusing progression in thestory made the audience frus-trated. Anyway, what is yourtake on the film? Share with usyour reviews in the commentssection below! Also stay tuned toBollywoodLife as we get you allthe dope and updates aboutAiyaary right here.

Fatima Sana Sheikh is currently gearing up forThugs Of Hindostan with Aamir Khan andKatrina Kaif. Recently, we had spotted Kat with a

tattoo on her arm which made everyone guess if she wassporting one for Thugs and now this. Fatima was recent-ly snapped after her workout session in Mumbai andthere was something totally different about her eye-brows. A part of her eyebrows look shaved, like you dowhen you are getting a piercing done. But it looks com-pletely badass. Though we love the look, we can’t helpbut wonder what caused it. Is it a part of her look for thefilm or did she have a minor accident on the sets? Butthis is also not the first time that she has been seen withthose eyebrows. Remember when Aamir got trolled afterhis selfie with Kat and Fatima? The actress was sportingthe semi-shaved eyebrows in that particular pic, too. Weare certain that it has something to do with her role inthe film. A couple of pictures had been leaked from thesets of the show which left Aamir very upset. We’re kindof surprised no one noticed her eyebrow before.

Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra’s af-fair was just a series of speculations untilthe day the two got married. The two hadnever spoken about their relationship atall. Well, we can’t remember the last timeAdi addressed the media at all. In the re-cent episode of Vogue BFF, Rani made anappearance with her designer best friend,Sabyasachi. When Neha Dhupia asked herabout her first meeting with Adi, Ranisaid, “‘After having faced failure for a cou-

ple of my films, luckily Mujhse DostiKaroge happened and that’s when I metAdi first time professionally. He told methat I’m doing a couple of crap films andthat people have pressured him not to takeme because they think you don’t have theequity for a Yash Raj film but Adi had be-lief in my talent and me and thought that Iwas good for the part. My mother and Ihave been very upfront people always andI like frankness and openness so I like the

fact that he was on myface.”<That kind ofhonestly is definitelyimpressive. Rani spokea lot about her mar-riage and even herdaughter in the inter-view. She reveals thereason behind hidingAdira from the pa-parazzi. Adi has alwaysmaintained a fair dis-tance from the camerasand Rani opens upabout why he is so cam-era-shy. She says, “It’snot as if he is paranoidabout the cameras. Hejust doesn’t want to bephotographed. He hadtold me after our mar-riage, ‘God when I fellin love with you, Ididn’t stop to think thatI was in love with an ac-tress. Now, because ofyou, people are attach-ing my pictures toyours as well.”Speaking about hiding

Adira from the paparazzi, Rani says, “Iwant Adira to grow up normally.[Otherwise] you get unwanted and unde-served attention without having achievedanything in life. I want Adira to be treatedlike any other child in school. Aditya and Idon’t want her to be photographed con-stantly.” What are your thoughts on this?Tell us in the comments below and staytuned with us for more.

Karan Johar is bursting with pride as he is representing Indian cinema at theprestigious Berlin International Film Festival. He feels that to achieve a glob-al impact and for Indian cinema to progress, fellow filmmakers need to go be-yond themselves and focus on the industry. The Ministry of Information andBroadcasting in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) isparticipating at the European Film Market from February 16-18 in Berlin.The Indian delegation, which also consists of filmmakers like Jahnu Baruaand Shaji Karun, is being led by Karan. “I am having a great time. This is afantastic coming together of people and exploring possibilities of what we cando with Europe. This is like the beginning of a new era in cinema. I am gladthat the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is supporting the causewith CII to make sure that we have this kind of global interaction,” Karan toldIANS over phone from Berlin. While he is excited about his presence there,some of the netizens are not. They thought that Padmaavat director SanjayLeela Bhansali would have been a better fit. Asked about the haters on socialmedia, the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai director said, “I would be happy if SanjayLeela Bhansali was here as well or anybody else. I have always quietly donemy own thing whether it is speaking at colleges or attending World EconomicForum Annual Meeting in Davos or film festivals in places like Toronto. I willdo my own thing, no matter what people say. There will always be haters onsocial media but I am one of those few filmmakers who has spoken aboutIndian cinema on a global platform. I never talk about myself there. I talkabout what I represent.” In fact, Karan says he would be happy if Indian film-makers like Rajkumar Hirani or Bhansali travelled to different places andspoke about Indian cinema. But at a time of digital boom, how important is itto have an Indian presence at international film festivals? “It is very critical.Many filmmakers travel but we need more of mainstream voices. There is noway that we can achieve that global impact, if we just think about ourselves.You have to look at the industry as a holistic force, and not as an individual’swork. We tend to do only that. We have to get over ourselves and go beyondourselves if we need our cinema to progress the way it has to,” he said.

Page 11: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

J&K Healthhealth indicators in the state have improved in 2016-17

and are relatively better than the national average. Theysaid improvement of health care facilities in far flung andinaccessible areas of the state has been achieved by provid-ing additional manpower of doctors and paramedicals un-der the National Health Mission, financial incentives to thedoctors serving in far-flung or difficult areas and deploy-ment of high end Medical Mobile Units (MMU) to providebasic health care facilities to people residing in difficult ar-eas. At present there are 5,534 health institutions in thestate (4,433 government and 1,101 private). The bed capacityat tertiary care hospitals has risen to 5,083 beds. At second-ary level, the bed strength has risen to 9,339 by way of con-structing new building infrastructure and additional ac-commodation over or adjacent to the existing infrastruc-ture," they said. The officials, however, said the patient loadon the public health institutions has increased tremendous-ly over the years. "The doctor patient ratio in our state is1:1658 as against the recommended norm of 1:1000 of WorldHealth Organization (WHO). To address the shortage ofmanpower, additional manpower in health sector has beenhired on contractual basis under the National HealthMission. "Special New Born Care Units (SNCUs) have beenset up in SKIMS Soura, 20 district hospitals and three com-munity health centres (CHCs). New Born StabilizationUnits (NBSUs) in 76 CHCs and New Born Care Corners(NBCCs) in 281 Delivery Points -- all these have led tomarked improvement in healthcare in the state," the offi-cials said. They said during the current financial year, thedepartment has formulated a proposal for establishment of87 new model health centres - one in each assembly con-stituency of the state - involving financial implication of Rs544.98 crore. Meanwhile, Director Health Services,Kashmir, Saleem-Ur-Rehman said several factors have con-tributed to the improvement in the healthcare in the state."Over two years there has been a remarkable improvementin the infrastructure, equipments, operation theatres,blood banks, etc in the peripheral health setup.

Bring Outsaid, claiming that according to Reserve Bank of India

data, Rs 61,260 crore of banking frauds had taken place in thelast five years. "Data released by the RBI show that Rs 61,260crore banking frauds have taken place in the last five years,and out of these five years, the BJP-led NDA has been in pow-er for four years. The linkages between these alleged fraud-sters and the highest echelons of the BJP raise some very se-rious questions about the health of the Indian economy," hetold reporters here. Therefore, the Congress party "demandsa white paper on the Indian banking system from the gov-ernment," he said, adding that the BJP-led NDA should di-rect all banks to publish and declare the name of fraudstersand details related to NPAs ( non-performing assets). The to-tal NPAs of all public and private banks were worth Rs8,36,782 crore as of September, 2017. "And 77 per cent of theseNPAs are of leading Indian corporate offices," he said, accus-ing the government of being unable to check NPAs and takecare of the general public's money. India occupies the fifthposition among 39 countries on NPAs, he added. An NPA iswhen a loan taker cannot pay interest for two successivequarters. The Congress has been attacking the governmentover the fraud involving PNB, which detected a USD 1.77 bil-lion (about Rs 11,400-crore) scam in which jeweller Modi al-legedly acquired fake LoUs from the bank to secure overseascredit from other lenders. "It is hilarious that PNB, wherethis scam happened, won the vigilant award for 2016-17,"Tewari said, adding that this scam raised important ques-tion about the lack of transparency in the government.

Give Meefficient services they are asking for bunkers to protect

themselves”, she said adding the people of the State continueto bear the brunt of partition and acrimony between Indiaand Pakistan. Mehbooba Mufti said she is pained to see thata common citizen of the State is the ultimate victim of thiswhole scenario of uncertainty, violence and acrimony. “It’sthe people of the State alone whole get killed, their business-es suffered, education affected and what not”, she saidadding that recently when she went to Ajmer to pay obei-sance at the Dargah of Hazrat Khawaj Moin ud DinChishti(R.A.) she met an officer there who was all praise forthe talent and intelligence of youth from the State. “Alas, shesaid, they(the youth) are imposing a self afflicting pain uponthemselves which hurts them only and nobody else”, she re-marked in an emotional tone. Appealing youth to desistfrom going on the path of violence, the Chief Minister saidworld is witness to the fact that violence has not resolvedany issues rather it gives birth to many more. Resorting tomore violence, she reminded, leads to a response which ulti-mately leaves behind scars only. Minister for Public Works,Naeem Akhtar; Minister for Food Civil Supplies & PublicDistribution, Choudhary Zulfkar; Member Parliament,Nazir Ahmad Laway; former Deputy Speaker and VicePresident, PDP, Muhammad Sartaj Madni and other leadersalso addressed the public meeting and appealed people tostrengthen the hands of Chief Minister in her effort to takethe State out of the quagmire of violence and uncertainty.

PNB FraudED Sunday raided at least 45 premises, including jew-

ellery showrooms and workshops, across the country. "Asmany as 29 properties -- of Modi, his family members and com-panies -- that have been provisionally attached by the IncomeTax department, are being assessed by the ED under the PM-LA. A few more assets will be attached soon under the anti-money laundering law," a senior ED official said. He addedthat the ED and the I-T department had zeroed in on about 200dummy or shell companies in the country and abroad thatwere being used to route or receive funds as part of the allegedfraud. It is suspected that the shell firms were being used bythe accused to launder money and create "benami" assets inthe form of land, gold and precious stones, which is now beingprobed by the tax department. Both the ED and the IT depart-ment had formed special teams to investigate the case,sources said. The ED has seized diamonds, gold jewellery andother precious stones worth Rs 5,674 crore till now in the case.The I-T department Saturday attached nine bank accounts ofGitanjali Gems, its promoter Mehul Choksi and others in con-nection with a tax evasion probe against them. It had also at-tached 29 properties and 105 bank accounts of Modi, his fami-ly members and firms owned by them. Modi, Choksi and oth-ers are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after itrecently came to light, following a complaint by the PNB, thatthey allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employ-ees of the bank. The CBI is also looking into the matter.

Over 4.53 Lakhrevel in the exotic aquatic world. While four lakh people

visited the aquarium during 2016-17, over 4.53 lakh people vis-ited the place so far during the current fiscal, generating a to-tal revenue of over Rs 1.70 crore, a spokesperson said. Theaquarium-cum-awareness centre comprises 24 aquariumcaves including 13 small caves for holding freshwater fishes,two large caves for marine water fishes and nine mediumsized aquariums for marine and fresh water fishes. It hasstate-of-the-art equipment, a public gallery, museum, labora-tory and a multimedia conference hall. The entrance is de-signed in the shape of the mouth of a fish and the exit lookslike a fish tail. The facility also houses a museum where 400

varieties of freshwater and marine fish are on display.Briefing reporters about a meeting chaired by fisheries min-ister A G Kohli here, the spokesperson said the ministerasked the officials concerned to achieve all the targets and en-sure that benefits of centrally sponsored and state schemesreach to the deserving well in time. At the meeting, the minis-ter directed the officials concerned to prepare DetailedProject Reports (DPRs) for construction of new ponds, hatch-eries and establishment of offices and submit the same to theauthorities concerned, the spokesperson said.

OrganisingLahore in Pakistan, where a seven-year-old girl was

raped and brutally murdered, the CPI(M) leader said the ac-cused has been sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism courtin shortest possible period of four days. The civil society inPakistan used its influence to get the speedy trial of the caseand they succeeded in their mission. I am hopeful that similarefforts would be made by the civil society here to ensure thatthe accused in the minor's rape and murder case are hanged todeath without any further delay," he said. Referring to the ral-ly taken out on Thursday last to seek the release of the ac-cused, Tarigami said it is an "indication of dangers con-fronting Jammu and Kashmir". By supporting the accusedthe Hindu Ekta Manch has shamelessly displayed their com-munal intentions. Using national flag during the rally is aninsult to tri-colour and things cant get more horrible thanthis," he said. The MLA said some fringe elements in Jammuare "hell bent" on giving religious colour to this heinouscrime. Not only people cutting across political and ideologicaldifferences should unite to against this horrific incident, butthe government must take stern action against the accusedwithout showing any leniency to them," he said. "A criminalis a criminal irrespective of his caste, colour and creed andmust be dealt according to law, Tarigami said.

66 FearedAsemans three Boeing 727-200s are almost as old as the

country's 1979 Islamic revolution, having made their firstflights the following year. Iran has suffered multiple avia-tion disasters, most recently in 2014 when a SepahanAirlines plane crashed killing 39 people just after take-offfrom Tehran, narrowly avoiding many more deaths when itplummeted near a busy market. Lifting sanctions on avia-tion purchases was a key clause in the nuclear deal Iransigned with world powers in 2015. Following the deal,Aseman Airlines finalised an agreement to buy 30 Boeing737 MAX jets for 3 billion (2.4 billion euros) last June, withan option to buy 30 more. However, the sale could be scup-pered if US President Donald Trump chooses to reimposesanctions in the coming months, as he has threatened to do.The US has maintained its own sanctions on Iran, blockingalmost all trade with the country, but plane manufacturerswere given a specific exemption under the nuclear deal.

Infiltrationwith effective automatic fire. Search and sanitisation

operations are in progress. Pakistan continues in its nefari-ous designs of supporting and abetting infiltration acrossthe LOC. The Army is keeping a strict and constant vigilacross the LOC and is prepared to thwart any nefarious de-signs of Pakistan sponsored terrorists, said the DefenseSpokesperson. Even as defense has not confirmed, sourcestold Glimpses of Future that a Border Action Team of PakArmy and militants jointly conducted operation across theLoC in Poonch. To facilitate across the LoC, sources said,Pakistan restored to unprovoked firing. During the crossfiring, sources said, a BAT team infilitrated into this sidethough their attempt was foiled to ambush an Indian Armypatrol. During the gunfight, sources said, four Indian Armyjawan suffered injuries. It was not confirmed that four sol-diers have suffered injuries critically in the BAT operationcarried out with the help of Pakistan Army, said the sourcessaid. The injured soldiers have been evacuated and shiftedto the hospital, added the sources.

J-K’s FirstKokernag in south Kashmir under its rural mart

scheme, the official said here He said the mart aims to pro-mote and market the Kashmiri handicraft products manu-factured by the women SHGs of the area and was inaugurat-ed by chief general manager of NABARD for Jammu andKashmir, Vijay Kumar. The mart, which has been set up un-der total grant support from NABARD, would help theSHGs to market their products and realise better sales, theofficial said. The chief general manager informed that therural mart was the first such mart in J-K and that NABARDlooks forward to sanction many more to well performingself help groups, he said. Kumar urged the people to supportempowerment of women by way of forming the SHGs andgetting the benefit of various schemes. He elaborated onvarious schemes being implemented by the NABARD forempowerment of women, the official said.

From Fragilenew ones are being written with the intent of simplifica-

tion, not to complicate (things). On investments, Modi saidthere is a healthy competition among states to attract in-vestments as per their strengths. "What started withGujarat is visible all across the country now. I congratulateMaharashtra government for the work on ease of doingbusiness and making it easier for investors," he said. He fur-ther said that the 'Samruddhi corridor' (between Mumbaiand Nagpur) will help boost agriculture and agriculture-based industries. On the Centre's development initiatives,Modi said, "We will create 1.5 lakh wellness centres in big-ger gram panchayats". Besides, Modi said, 10.5 crore peoplehave been accepted under MUDRA scheme and Rs 4.60 lakhcrore has been disbursed to small businesses.

75 Pc Pollingwhich had forged a pre-poll alliance with tribal outfit

Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), had fielded 51candidates. The IPFT, an anti-Left party, contested from theremaining nine seats. The Congress went it all alone inTripura this time and contested from 59 seats.

Transfersdepartment which was lingering for the last 30 years. The

Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura in abid to streamline the department and address the grievancesof the employees has initiated this exercise of promotionsand postings to bring back more vibrancy in the functioningof the department. The move will also help in reaching out tofarming community and will also help in effective implemen-tation of the centrally sponsored schemes in the state.

Timber Smugglerspot and recovered 04 logs of illicit timber from his cow-

shed. The accused person was arrested and the illegal tim-ber was seized. A case FIR No 20/2018 under section 379RPC, 6 Forest Act was registered in Police StationBandipora and investigation was taken up.

JKSDMAState Disaster Management Authority to take precau-

tionary measures.

JAMMU MONDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2018natiOn11CONT F ROM PAGE 1

SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 18:

Secretary SchoolEducation, Farooq AhmadShah along with DirectorSchool Education Kashmir,Dr G.N. Itoo today touredmany schools in the districtSrinagar and took a compre-hensive stock of develop-ment works going on inthese institutions andarrangements being madefor the upgradation of SIEKashmir and all the DIETs.He directed the concernedofficials to expedite theworks so that they are com-pleted within the stipulated

deadline as set by Ministerfor Education. SecretaryEducation visited DIETSrinagar and SIE Kashmirat Bemina and took stock ofthe construction works go-ing on there. He askedDirector School EducationKashmir to develop aUnique Divisional Levelmodel herbal garden in SIEKashmir to add to the beau-ty of the Institute.

He directed the officialsfrom the engineering wingof the Department to accel-erate the constructionworks in the Institute andalso make sure the avail-

ability of all the facilities inthe auditorium of SIEKashmir. Talking about thesteps being taken for the ed-ucation of specially-abledchildren in the State,Secretary Education saidthat special centres will beestablished in every districtfor the education of thesechildren and a special mas-ter trainers group for pur-pose shall be trained at SIEKashmir so that they canwork at district level andmonitor the functioning ofthese centres for such chil-dren. During his visit toHigh school Sonwar,

Secretary Education an-nounced that during thecurrent session 14Kindergarten centres shallbe established in the Statewith 7 each in Jammu andSrinagar. Director SchoolEducation briefed Shahabout the arrangements forthe upgradation of all theDIETs. Executive Engineer,Division First, EngineeringWing of Department Hashim-ud-Din, Deputy ChiefEducation Officer SrinagarMudasir Kaleem Fazili andother officers of theDepartment also accompa-nied the Secretary Education.

GOF Staff ReporterJAMMU, FEBRUARY 18:

Minister for RuralDevelopment PanchayatiRaj, Law and Justice, AbdulHaq Khan Sunday said thatthe government will pre-pare a fresh list of peoplewho do not own a house sothat their case can be rec-ommended to the centralgovernment for PrimeMinister’s Awas Yojna(PMAY)-Housing for AllScheme. In this regard, theMinister directed the offi-cers of the department tocall Gram Sabhas immedi-ately and prepare a list ofgenuine and deserving fam-ilies after consulting thepeople of the respectivePanchayats so that thesame can be recommendedto the Government of Indiafor grant of funds to themunder PMAY for makinghouses. The minister saidthis while laying founda-tion stone of various housesto be constructed under

PMAY in Samba district.During the tour to the dis-trict, many people interact-ed with the minister and in-formed him about thehouseless people drop outfrom the PMAY list.

The Minister appealedto the people of the state toparticipate in the GramSabhas and help the govern-ment in identifying the gen-uine people who are house-less so that genuine peopleare benefitted from thescheme. He said the freshpreparation of list will helpin including the drop outsin the earlier list and willensure transparency in thelist by getting the list ap-proved in Gram Sabhas. Hesaid the people of the re-spective Panchayats knowwho are houseless in theirvicinity and by participat-ing in the Gram Sabhasthey will help the govern-ment in identifying the gen-uine persons to be recom-mended for grant of fundsunder PMAY. Abdul Haq di-

rected the officials of RuralDevelopment to finalize thelist within 15 days afterGram Sabha and make thelist public in the respectivePanchayats by pasting thesame list at Public places in-cluding outside the Officesof BDOs and Panchayathouses so that everybody isaware about the list and dis-crepancy or complaint, ifany, can be communicatedto the people. He also direct-ed the officials to do properpublicity in villages beforeholding Gram Sabhas sothat maximum people par-ticipate. The Minister saidthe state government willrecommend the same list tothe Central government forgrant of funds underPMAY. He said the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana,‘Housing for All- by 2022’,was launched by the gov-ernment in June 2015 withthe aim of promoting afford-able housing for peoplefrom the economicallyweaker sections.

GOF Staff ReporterKUPWARA, FEBRUARY 18:

The Department ofIndian System ofMedicines (AYUSH) todayorganized a day-longawareness camp at SubDistrict Hospital Langate.The camp was presidedover by District NodalOfficer National AyushMission Kupwara DrShabir Ahmad was attend-ed by Block MedicalOfficer Langate, DistrictCoordinator IEC, AyushMedical Officers,Aganwari Supervisors,Asha workers and FM-PHW. The seminar wasaimed at providing gener-al awareness aboutNational AYUSH Missionto the participants.Speaking on the occasion,the District Nodal OfficerNational Ayush Missionsaid that a number of dis-pensaries are going to befunctional under AYUSHMission in the district. Hesaid that the doctors andthe paramedical staff ofthe AYUSH should awarepeople about various pro-grammes under whichIndian System ofMedicines is providingmedicare. The DistrictCoordinator IEC high-lighted the achievementsof AYUSH in the districtand stressed the partici-pants to follow the AYUSHmedicines as according tohim are side-effect free.

The seminar wasaimed at providing gener-al awareness aboutNational AYUSH Missionto the participants.

GOF Staff ReporterDODA/KISHTWAR, February 18:

On his third day tour toChenab valley region,Minister for Food, CivilSupplies & ConsumerAffairs (FCS&CA) andTribal Development,Chowdhary Zulfkar AliSunday interacted with thepeople of Chatroo villageand directed the district ad-ministration to prepare acomprehensive proposal fordevelopment and uplift-ment of Tribal population ofthe district. He asked theDC kishtwar to identify thetribal population in the dis-trict and prepare anIntegrated TribalDevelopment Programme(ITDP) for filling the criticalgaps, covering all the majoraspects related to basicamenities including food,water, electricity, educa-tion, health facilities etc.

The Minster said thiswhile addressing a hugegathering of people in a pub-lic outreach programmeheld at Chatroo Kishtwar.He was accompanied byVice Chairman Gujjar andBakarwal DevelopmentBoard Gulzar AhmedKhatana, Legislators G.M.Saroori, Firdoos AhmedTak, Director TribalAffairs, Mohammad Rafi

Poswal, Director FCS&CAR.A. Inquilabi, DDCKishtwar Angrez SinghRana and other officers ofdistrict administration.

During the programme,Minster interacted with thepublic, listened to theirgrievances and assured toredress their issues so thatevery single household getsbenefitted by the policies ofGovt especially with regardto the upliftment of theTribal population of theChenab Valley that, accord-ing to him, lacks basicamenities of livelihood.Terming education as a ba-sic factor for welfare andoverall development of thesociety, he urged upon theTribal community to edu-cate their children and di-rected DDC Kishtwar tomake the very Tribal areaschool functional in all as-pects besides prepare a com-prehensive proposal of theleft out areas. He assuredthat their children shall be

imparted vocational train-ings so that they can earntheir livelihood. Zulfkar di-rected DDC to identify landfor construction ofEKLAVYA residential mod-el school with intake capaci-ty of 500 boys and girls and aGujjar Girls hostel atKishtwar on priority basis.He further asked the offi-cers to prepare a list of no-madic people to authenti-cate the residents of districtso that Ration cards are is-sued to them. The Ministersaid that the governmentshall provide 10,000Biomass Gas Stoves for dis-tribution among the Tribalcommunity besides 1000Solar lights are kept underthe disposal of DC to distrib-ute it to the needy or areawise on priority. Acting up-on the demands of MLAInderwal G.M Saroori, theMinister assured that Govtwill examine the proposal ofenhancement of ration quo-ta from existing 35% to 50%

for the people of Chatroo onthe pattern Marwah,Warwan and Dachhan ar-eas. He asked the dealers tocheck the quality of foodgrains before unloading thestock and directed to dis-tribute the same in a trans-parent manner. Later, theMinster laid foundationstone for construction of“EKLAVYA ResidentialModel School” at GujjarBoys hostel Doda. He an-nounced Rs 16 crore for con-struction of the said schooland said that the schoolshall provide education be-sides boarding and lodgingfacilities to 480 Boys andgirls students belonging toGujjar and Bakarwal com-munity. Vice ChairmanGujjar and BakarwalDevelopment Board GulzarAhmed Khatana, MLADoda Shakti Raj Parihar,MLC Firdoos Tak, DDCDoda Bhawani Rakwal be-sides other officers werepresent on the occasion.

Zulfkar listens to Public grievancesat Chatroo; Directs admin to preparecomprehensive proposal for Tribal devL a y s f o u n d a t i o n s t o n e o f E k l a v y a s c h o o l a t D o d a

Govt to prepare fresh listof houseless people: Abdul HaqPASSES DIRECTIONS TO HOLD GRAM SABHAS TO IDENTIFY

HOUSELESS POPULACE FOR PMAY RECOMMENDATION

Awarenesscamp onAYUSH held atSDH Langate

Farooq Shah reviews dev worksof Education Deptt in Srinagar

Page 12: Give me peace, I'll pursue dialogue, opening of cross LoC routes

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New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI)

More than 40 languages or dialects inIndia are considered to be endangered andis believed to be heading towards extinctionas only a few thousand people speak them,officials said. According to a report of thecensus directorate, there are 22 scheduledlanguages and 100 non-scheduled languagesin the country which are spoken by a largenumber of people - one lakh or more.However, there are around 42 languageswhich are spoken by less than 10,000 people.These are considered endangered and maybe heading towards extinction, a home min-istry official said. A list prepared by UN-ESCO has also mentioned about the 42 lan-guages or dialects in India which are endan-gered and they may be heading towards ex-tinction, the official said. The languages ordialects which were considered endan-gered, include 11 from Andaman andNicobar Islands (Great Andamanese,Jarawa, Lamongse, Luro, Muot, Onge, Pu,Sanenyo, Sentilese, Shompen andTakahanyilang), seven from Manipur(Aimol, Aka, Koiren, Lamgang, Langrong,Purum and Tarao) and four from Himachal

Pradesh (Baghati, Handuri, Pangvali andSirmaudi). The other languages in the en-dangered category are Manda, Parji andPengo (Odisha), Koraga and Kuruba(Karnataka), Gadaba and Naiki (AndhraPradesh), Kota and Toda (Tamil Nadu), Mraand Na (Arunachal Pradesh), Tai Nora andTai Rong (Assam), Bangani (Uttarakhand),Birhor (Jharkhand), Nihali (Maharashtra),Ruga (Meghalaya) and Toto (West Bengal).The Central Institute of Indian Languages,Mysore, has been working for the protec-tion and preservation of endangered lan-guages of the country, under a centralscheme, another official said. Under theprogramme, grammatical descriptions,monolingual and bilingual dictionaries,language primers, anthologies of folklore,encyclopedias of all languages or dialectsespecially those spoken by less than 10,000people are being prepared, the official said.Apart from the 22 scheduled languages,there are 31 other languages in the countrywhich were given the status of official lan-guage by various state governments andUnion territories. According to the censusdata, there are 1,635 rationalised mothertongues, 234 identifiable mother tongues.

BUDGAM, FEBRUARY 18:

District Budgam hasbeen shortlisted for PrimeMinister’s excellence awardin public administration fortaking lead in the State forpromoting the cashlesseconomy. So far, under thesupervision of DeputyCommissioner MohammadHarun Malik, digital pay-ments facility has been in-stalled at 670 places acrossthe district. The venues in-clude 372 ration shops, 285fertilizer shops and 13Revenue (Tehsil) officesacross Budgam, while as thedistrict has also witnessed800 percent increase in thecollection of revenue of elec-tricity bills through the digi-tal mode during current fis-cal. Pertinently, Budgamand Srinagar are the onlytwo districts which havebeen shortlisted from the

State this time for the excel-lence award. For the suc-cessful implementation ofthe digital payments, 421155bank accounts have beenseeded with Aadhar, whileas 549550 accounts havebeen seeded with mobilenumbers across the district.In order to ensure success-ful implementation of thedigital payments system inthe district, DC supervisedthe training of 80,000 citi-zens through audio-visualpresentations by CSC cen-tres. Workshops to awareand encourage the cashlessmode of transactions wereconducted in all degree col-leges, secondary schools,hospitals and sub-districthospitals of the district. Avigorous campaign was al-so launched through differ-ent social networking sites.Meanwhile, training for theadministrative staff and

their subordinates were al-so conducted, and DC con-vened meetings and heldopen discussions withmembers on regular basisto improve the digital pay-ments in government of-fices. Under the directionsof DC, all petrol pumps wereasked to install POS ma-chines for the digital pay-ments. Village Lanura ofKhasaheb in the districtwas declared first cashlessvillage in the state, hence,taking lead in the promo-tion of digital payments.

Under the DC’s direc-tions, the disbursement ofpayments only through dig-ital payments, scholarshipprograms, ration shops us-ing digital payments andPradhan Mantri GrameenDigital Saschata Abhiyanand seeding of Aadhar andphone with Bank accountshas been proving as a boost.

KERALA, FEBRUARY 18:

Deputy Chief Minister,Dr Nirmal Singh today saidthe initiatives undertakenby the Prime Minister in theagriculture sector are his-toric which would ensure

surge in the Agri produceresulting increase in the in-come of the farming commu-nity as well thereby uplift-ing their economic profilebesides making the countryself-sufficient in food pro-duction. The Deputy Chief

Minister was speaking atNational Banana festival2018 organized at VellayaniDevi Temple Ground inThiruvananthapuram,Kerala. Vice Chairman J&KState Advisory Board forDevelopment of Kisans,Daljeet Singh Chib, locallegislators, prominent sci-entists attended the festi-val. Deputy Chief Ministersaid that the farming com-munity should take advan-tage of the modern technol-ogy in order to make thefarming and related prac-tices simpler and therebyincreasing their productivi-ty. He said that the historicinitiatives undertaken bythe Prime Minister will en-sure that the agriculturistsand horticulturists would be

provided with the necessarysupport which would resultin increasing their produc-tivity and also give the nec-essary fillip to the agricul-ture related activities. Hesaid the government has al-so undertaken the initia-tives to introduce newertechnologies in theAgriculture sector, whichwould ensure that the agri-cultural produce gets in-creased and thereby result-ing in uplift of the economicactivities of the farming com-munity. While referring tothe several initiatives takenby the central government,Dr Singh said these would goa long way in ensuring thatthe lot of farming communityand agriculturists gets therequisite upliftment.

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI)

Congress PresidentRahul Gandhi today askedPrime Minister NarendraModi and Finance MinisterArun Jaitley to speak up onthe multi-crore PNB scamand not behave like "guilty"."PM Modi tells kids how topass exams for 2 hours, butwon't speak for 2 mins on the22,000 Crore banking scam.Mr Jaitley is in hiding. Stop

behaving as if you're guilty!Speak up #ModiRobsIndia,"he wrote on Twitter. TheCongress had on Thursdaytargeted Modi for the pres-ence of Punjab NationalBank fraud accused jew-ellery designer Nirav Modiin an Indian business delega-tion at the World EconomicForum in Davos. Gandhi hadearlier alleged Modi andJaitley did not act despite be-ing aware of the scam.

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI)

President Ram NathKovind today said the 21stcentury was the age of"knowledge economy" andthe power of new ideas andinnovation was greaterthan money. He said a sus-tainable development of thehuman society was possiblethrough the confluence ofIndian values and modernscience and technology.Kovind was addressing thediamond jubilee celebra-tions of University of Delhi sPGDAV College here.Pointing to the success ofthe youth and their start-ups in e-commerce, trans-port and tourism, he saidmore than capital invest-ment, it was the human tal-ent and ingenuity that werebehind such success.

"The 21st century is theage of the knowledge econo-

my. In today s era, the powerof new ideas, new thinkingand innovation is greaterthan money, Kovind said.The President said that thedefinition of employment ischanging. Employment isno longer just a convention-al job. Creating self-employ-ment opportunities foryourself and for others hasbecome more feasible," hesaid. In order to encourageself-employment, the gov-ernment is providing assis-tance through variousschemes, Kovind said, as heurged students to use theseopportunities for their ca-reer development as well asto create opportunities forothers. Remembering socialreformer SwamiDayananda Saraswati, hesaid that to spread his teach-ings, Indian educationistLala Hansraj had laid thefoundation of Dayanand

Anglo-Vedic (DAV) schoolin Lahore about 130 yearsago. Kovind also praised theDAV family of educationalinstitutions, saying it hasimparted education basedon modern scientific per-spectives, as well as in-spired by Indian traditions,to successive generations inthe country. Indeed, the phi-losophy of the DAV institu-

tions, which were firstfounded in the 19th century,can stand us in good stead inthe 21st century as well, hesaid. The President saidthat former prime ministerAtal Bihari Vajpayee hadcompleted his MA fromDAV school in Kanpur. "I al-so completed my B com andLLB from DAV school,Kanpur," he added.

SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 18:

Minister of State forHealth & MedicalEducation, Asiea Naqaashtoday directed Directorateof Health Services Kashmirto work out modalities foroperationalizing newly-built 18 health centres sothat people of far-flung ar-eas avail better medicarefacilities. The Minister wasspeaking at a meeting sheconvened to take stock offunctioning of DHSK.Director DHSK Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman, Chief MedicalOfficers, BMOs, MedicalSuperintendents, officers

of NHM and other con-cerned officers were pres-ent at the meeting. Themeeting was informed thatthe newly-built health cen-ters including PHCs Ladoo,Konibal, Charsoo,Gulzarpora, Panzgam,ANG in Pulwama, PHCsHarmain, Rampora,Tikroo, CHC Zainpora,ANM in Shopian, NTPHCSrandoo, Kulgam, PHCLalpora Budgam, PHCTirgam, Bandipora, PHCMadwan Bandipora andPHC Trehgam Kupwara up-on their functioning wouldaugment healthcare facili-ties in respective areas .

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI)

With an area of over1.70 lakh sq ft, the BJP's newheadquarters is bigger thanthe office of any other politi-cal party in the world, itspresident Amit Shah saidtoday. The party's newheadquarters was today in-augurated by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inpresence of former BJPchiefs, a number of Unionministers and office-bear-ers. Shah said the BJP is onthe course of having its ownoffice in almost every dis-trict of the country in anyear and noted that the par-ty, at its national executivemeeting in 2015, had decid-ed to own an office in 635 of694 districts in the country.

With Modi laudingShah and his team for build-ing the multi-storied three-tower premises in 18months, the BJP chief saidthe new headquarters is fit-ted with the latest commu-nication technologies andhosts a spacious social me-dia office. The Prime minis-ter can address a state exec-utive sitting here, he said.Shah said he had done hisresearch and came to knowthat with any area of over1.70 lakh sq ft the BJP officeis bigger than that of anyother party in the world.The dream of workers ofJana Sangh, the BJP's fore-runner, and the BJP thatthey have an office of theirown has been realised to-day, he said. The office is lo-cated at Deen DayalUpadhyay Marg and itmakes the BJP the first ma-jor national party to shift

its office outside Lutyens'Bungalow Zone, following aSupreme Court directivethat party offices should berelocated from there.

The BJP shifting its of-fice may put pressure onother parties to follow suitas almost all of them havebeen functioning fordecades out of residentialproperties. The saffron par-ty had been working fromAshoka Road for over 35years while the main oppo-sition Congress' office is atAkbar Road and the twopremises are part of thepool of government resi-dences. Modi and Shah hadlaid the foundation stone ofthe new headquarters inAugust last year and aMumbai-based architec-ture company had designedit. The premises has threebuildings fitted with mod-ern communication tools,enabling party office-bear-ers to coordinate officialworks with their counter-parts in states and local lev-els in real time. Shah saidthe country has over 1,600political parties but onlyBJP's functioning is basedon a cadre-based organisa-tion and democracy. Theparty and its crores ofworkers will work togetherto realise PM Modi's dreamof a new India, he said whilepaying tributes to late partyleaders and workers.Former party chiefs, L KAdvani, Murli ManoharJoshi, Rajnath Singh andNitin Gadkari (the last twoare also Union ministers)besides Union ministerSushma Swaraj were on thedais at the event.

Jammu, Feb 18:

In the loving memory ofSant Gurbaksh Singh jiDanna One day grandGurmat Samagam was or-ganised by Sant Pura DannaCharitable trust atGurudwara Sri Guru ArjunDev Ji, Akhnoor roadDomana, under the patron-age of Sant Tejwant Singh ji,Dera Mukhi, Sant PuraDanna. The programme wasorganised with the active co-operation of S. JoginderSingh Bali & Smt JoginderKour Bali (Hong Kong wa-ley) and S. Baldev Singh,CEO Peaks Auto Ltd, S. T.SWazir and AdvocateSurinder Kour. RenownedRagi Bhai Sahib BhaiGurmeet Singh Ji, HazuriRagi Sri Darbar Sahib,while reciting ShabadKirtan said that teachingsand principles of the greattenth Guru are more rele-vant today and can be help-ful in bringing peace in thewhole world. local RagiJathas of Bhai KulvinderSingh, Bhai Gurmeet Singh,Bhai Kulvinder Singh, BhaiRajinder Singh & Tadi Jathaof Amrik Singh also recitedShabad Kirtan on the occa-

sion. Bhai Sahib Bhai RanjitSingh, Head GranthiGurdwara Sri Bangla SahibDelhi, appealed to the peopleto follow the path shown bythis great Guru for the worldpeace and serve the humani-ty. Manjinder Singh SirsaGen Secretary DSGMC andBJP MLA Delhi besideshighlighting the sacrifices ofthe Sikh Community and theteachings of Guru Sahib to-wards the service of humani-

ty also took up the serious is-sues being faced by theCommunity in the State ofJ&K concerns like AnandMarriage Act, application ofMinority Commission in theState and the job placementfor the Sikh youths living inthe Valley at par with theKashmiri Pandits, for whomthe government has alreadyannounced the said package.Mr Sirsa assured the gather-ing he will take up the matter

with the high command inthe centre. He also stressedthe unity in the communityfor the welfare of the Sikhs ofthe State. Dr. Jaspal Singh,former Ambassador andVice Chancellor PunjabiUniversity Patiala said thatSant Gurbaksh Singh Dannawas a revolutionary soul,spiritual upright personali-ty, besides spreading themessage of peace,universalbrotherhood and Sikhism.

Kund(Devsar), Feb 18:

Chief Minister,Mehbooba Mufti, who was ona day’s visit to the area, laid

the foundation of some keydevelopmental projects heretoday. The Chief Ministerlaid the foundation of famousBrazloo bridge which would

come up at a cost of Rs. 28.64crore and is expected to becompleted within threeyears. The 378 metre bridgewould be having nine spans

and a width of 16 metres.Mehbooba Mufti also threwopen 80 metre span bridge atWanpora Shamsipora whichhas come up at a cost of Rs.6.83 crore. With this, the am-bitious project of wideningof National Highway-444(Srinagar - Shopian-Qazigund road) has kickedoff which is expected to costRs. 1800 crore.

Mehbooba Mufti alsolaid the foundation of Modelvillage under Tribal SubPlan at Nagress villagewhich would benefit aroundthree thousand souls in thearea. The Rs. 10 crore proj-ect would be completedwithin three year’s time.The Chief Minister also laidthe foundation of a 100 bed-ded Gujjar Bakerwal hostelwhich would be completed

by the end of next year. Thehostel would be spread over47 kanals of land and wouldbe completed at a cost of Rs.six crore. Mehbooba Muftialso laid the foundation ofITI building at Kund whichwould be constructed at acost of Rs. 4.71 crore. Spreadover around 20 kanals, theproposed ITI would be im-parting training in 8-10 dis-ciplines with high job place-ment. She also laid the foun-dation of conference hall atDeputy Commissioner,Kulgam’s office whichwould come up at a cost ofRs. five crore and is expect-ed to be ready by the end ofthis year only. Interactingwith the officers on the occa-sion, the Chief Minister di-rected the project executingagencies to stick to the com-

pletion deadline and com-plete them within the same.She hoped that raising ofsuch developmental infra-structure would get the areaon the path of developmentand empowerment.Minister for Public Works,Naeem Akhtar; Minister forFood Civil Supplies & PublicDistribution, ChoudharyZulfkar; MemberParliament, Nazir AhmadLaway; MLA,Homeshalibugh, AbdulMajeed Larmi; formerDeputy Speaker and VicePresident, PDP,Muhammad Sartaj Madni;IGP, Kashmir zone, S P Pani;Deputy Commissioner,Kulgam, Talat Parvez,heads of severalDepartments and senior of-ficers were also present.

CM lays foundation of Rs. 28 cr Brazloobridge, ITI at Kund, GB hostel

Also lays foundation of Rs. 10 cr model tribal village at Nagress, throws open Wanpora Shamsipora bridge, directs sticking to timeline

New BJP HQ bigger thanany other party office in

world: Shah

PM Modi lights lamp as BJP President Amit Shah, Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh, senior leader LK Advani and otherleaders look on, during inauguration of the new BJP head-quarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, in New Delhi.

Grand Gurmat Samagam organised at Domana Gurudwara�� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

21st century is age of knowledge economy: Prez

Rahul asks PM, FM tospeak up on PNB scam

Initiatives undertaken by PM inAgriculture sector Historic: DY CM

Asiea directs DHSK tooperationalize 18 new

health centres

Budgam shortlisted for PM’s excellenceaward for promoting cashless economy

More than 40 languages maybe heading for extinction: Officials


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