Ruckus in Assembly, Legislator Injured

Transcription

C M Y K
S at u r day
18
28 March 2015
Srinagar today : Sunny
kashmir
Mediterranean
diet has
low carbon
footprint: Study
Maximum : 17o
Minmum : 5o
humidity : 65%
8
SunSet
today : 6:45 PM
SunriSe
07 JAMAD UL Sani | 1436 Hijri | Vol: 18 | Issue: 68 | Pages : 08 | Price: `3
tommrow: 6:32 aM
w w w. k a s h m i r o b s e r v e r. n e t
t w i t t e r. c o m / k a s h m i r o b s e r v e r f a c e b o o k . c o m / k a s h m i r o b s e r v e r
Wisdom
Dispensing With
90:10 Funding Pattern
Will Have Serious
Implications for JK: Mufti
The smallest minority on
earth is the individual.
Those who deny
individual rights cannot
claim to be defenders of
minorities.
demands “Minimum
guaranteed
devolution” to States
at niti ayog Meet
..........Ayn Rand
PDP-BJP Panel
Holds Meet
Srinagar: The first meeting of PDP
and BJP government’s Coordination
Committee is scheduled to be held
in Jammu later this evening.
Sources said the meeting would be
held at the official residence of Chief
Minister Mufti Mohamamd Sayeed
at 8 pm. “The meeting will be presided over by the BJP leader and Deputy
CM Dr Nirmal Singh and attended
by all the members of the newly
formed Coordination Committee.”
A member of CC told KNS that in the
first meeting issues in common minimum programme would Page 6
183 JK youth
join army
Srinagar: One hundred eighty
three youth from the J&K were inducted into the Indian Army on Friday at J&K Light Infantry Regimental Centre in Srinagar. Singing their
Regimental Song, the young soldiers
took the oath to devote their lives to
protect India from all odds. These
Young Soldiers called themselves
singularly privileged to join this illustrious regiment which is the only
one in the entire Indian Army to have
been raised by the brave Page 6
Sistani calls
for unity
BagHDaD: Iraq's most revered cleric
on Friday called for unity among the
country's forces battling the ISIS after
most of the Shia militias pulled out of
the offensive in the militant-held city
of Tikrit in protest over US airstrikes
there. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's
appeal came a day after the militias,
which had been instrumental so far
in the sucesses, announced their boycott of the Tikrit offensive.
The U.S. got involved in the operation
and started providing Page 6
Cop Goes Missing
From Ganderbal
SRINAGAR: A Head Constable of the
Jammu and Kashmir Police has gone
missing from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, reports said on Friday.
According to a police officials, Mohammad Shafi Parray (belt no. 02/
BD) of Wussun Ganderbal went missing since today morning. He had not
returned till last reports came in.
Parray, according to the officials, is on
the rolls of District Budgam and has been
absent from duty for the last Page 6
H1N1: 482 Test
Positive in 2015
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir government today said that 482 patients
have been tested positive for H1N1
influenza in the state in 2015 with
seven suspected deaths due to swine
flu. In a reply to a joint question of
several members in Legislative Council, Minister for Health Choudhary
Lal Singh said that health institutions
of the state have reported 26 deaths
which include seven Page 6
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Observing nature from balcony made with exquisite Kashmiri design at Badamwari gives a differet feel- Pix courtesy muhammad aslam
GoI’s refusal to transfer power projects to JK
Ruckus in Assembly,
Legislator Injured
Jammu: Pandemonium marred
the proceedings of legislative assembly on Friday as opposition
members gathered near the speaker's podium amid slogan shouting
and noise against governments alleged failure to bring states back
power projects from NHPC.
Reports said stormy scenes were
witnessed in both the houses of
Legislative Assembly with the opposition parties National Conference
and Congress cornering government
over its ‘failure’ in bringing back the
power projects from NHPC and NC
legislator Abdul Majeed Bhat was
injured during a scuffle with the
marshals during the protest.
The house was adjourned after
former chief minister Omar Abdullah led the protesting members
who came in the well. Page 6
Why india
Admires
Atal Bihari?
Will go beyond Uri and Dulhasti: Mehbooba
Srinagar: PDP Friday said it will
not confine its approach to the return of Uri-I and Dulhasti power
projects from NHPC but explore all
options to make J&K rich in power
resources.
The PDP president Mehbooba
Mufti said that besides exploring
the modalities of returning Uri-I
and Dulhasti to Jammu and Kashmir, the party is striving to revise all
royalties and would ensure that the
state get its due share. “We have
put forward our point and pitched
for one of six ultra mega thermal
projects at Madhya Pradesh,” Mehbooba said, adding that the PDP
will go beyond the demand of Uri
and Dulhasti’s return.
She maintained that the party
will rectify the “wrongs committed by the National Conference in
the past and gave away the projects of the state against petty political gains.”
“We have the tenure of six
years and we want to assure that
the biggest problem faced by the
people of the state is of power and
same will be addressed during
the present dispensation. Everything is in black and white. There
is nothing hidden from the people
of the state,” Mehbooba Page 6
BJp favours return
of power projects
Srinagar: The deputy chief minister
Nirmal Singh Friday said the government is committed in bringing back
the power projects from NHPC to
state as mentioned in CMP between
the PDP and BJP.
Dr Singh while talking to reporters outside the Legislative Assembly
termed the uproar by the NC and Congress as an attempt to gain ‘cheap publicity’. He said that he has already held
some talks with the Union power minister over the return of the Page 6
2014 Floods
SC Seeks Status Report from JK Govt
nEW DELHi:- One of India’s most
charismatic leaders, Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who was awarded the
Bharat Ratna today, is lauded as a
statesman politician whose acceptability across the board broke barriers pitchforking the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) to centrestage of politics
in the late 90s.
It was Vajpayee’s sway that
brought new allies to BJP, then considered a virtual untouchable in
view of its rightist leanings, especially after demolition of Babri Masjid, in 1998.
An orator par excellence and
known for taking bold initiatives,
notable being the attempt to bridge
Indo-Pak differences, Vajpayee
reached far beyond his BJP’s nationalist political agenda. Page 6
nEW DELHi: The Chief Minister
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today
stated that dispensing with the
90:10 funding pattern for Centrally-sponsored Schemes (CSSs) for
Special Category states will have
serious implications for J&K which
is strategically located and has
seen a difficult period since 1947.
He said states like J&K and the
North East, which have huge locational disadvantages coupled
with challenging security scenario, will be severely handicapped
if the 90:10 funding pattern is
done away with. "We have seen
a turnaround for the better in
these states now. The recommendations to change funding pattern and de-link some Centrallysponsored schemes from Union
support will seriously hamper
the implementation of these
schemes in a state like ours," said
the Chief Minister.
Mufti was speaking in NITI
Ayog here today during the meeting of the Sub-Group of 10 Chief
Ministers, a think-tank constituted for rationalization of Centrally-sponsored Schemes.
Minister for Finance, Dr. Haseeb. A. Drabu, Principal Secretary,
Planning & Development, B. R.
Sharma and Principal Resident
Commissioner, J&K, L. D. Jha also
participated.
The meeting, which was
chaired by the Chief Minister of
Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh
Chauhan, was also attended by
the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan,
Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Nagaland, besides the Lt. Governor
of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
While suggesting cutting
down CSSs to 17 Mega Schemes
only from the present 66, the
Chief Minister said Page 6
Authorities say
elderly people had
natural deaths
BaramuLLa: Three people, two
of them women, died at the district
hospital in Baramulla due to the
alleged negligence of the doctors
sparking off strong protests by the
attendants on Friday.
Sumander Faqeer, 70, of Boniyar,
Bakhti Begum, 65, Hajra Begum, 70,
both residents of Rafiabad died at
the district hospital after being allegedly administered expired dextrose by the paramedics on Thursday, witnesses said. Many patients
also experienced shivering after
they were administered dextrose by
the medicos in the ward No 1 of the
hospital, they said.
The deaths due to alleged negligence
triggered protests by the attendants and
the locals outside the hospital.
Shouting slogans against Page 6
‘Kashmir first, Kashmiri first’
Srinagar: A division bench of the
Supreme Court headed by Justice
Madan B. Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit
Friday directed the Advocate-General
of J&K Government to provide status
report to the court regarding the distribution of relief to the flood victims
in J&K, reports said.
Supreme Court was hearing a writ
petition filed by J&K National Panthers
Party and others for the distribution of
equitable relief in cash and kind to the
victims of floods and rain in Jammu
and Kashmir in September, 2014.
Supreme Court granted four
weeks to the Jammu and Kashmir
government to file its status report.
300 people
Died in Sept
Floods: govt
Medical ‘Negligence’ Claims
3 Lives in Baramulla
Hurriyat (M) Raises New Slogan
Srinagar: Government on Friday said that 300 people died and 25 suffered injuries in floods
that battered the state last September. Responding a question in Legislative Council, Minister
for Relief and Rehabilitation Basharat Bukhari said that due to floods of 2014 in the state 300
people died and 25 persons were injured. He further said that apart from damage Page 6
Srinagar: Pitching for inclusion of
people of Kashmir in Indo-Pak talks,
Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday said
his amalgam will start a Valley wide
campaign named ‘Kashmir first,
Kashmiri first’.
“We have neither given the right
to India, nor to Pakistan for speaking on behalf of us,” Mirwaiz said
amid slogans while addressing
Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid here. He said that the people
of Kashmir are the primary stake
holders during the dialogue process
between India and Pakistan for the
resolution of Kashmir issue.
“We will not allow India to dictate terms as Kashmiris are the
main stake holders while as India
and Pakistan come second. We are
not the cannon fodder that could
be intimated about their fate while
India and Pakistan sit and talk,” the
Huriyat (M) chairman said.
He maintained that the bilateral
talks over Kashmir have so far failed
yield any results with the Kashmir issue hanging since decades. “We will
present our case ourselves as there is
no one who knows better than us the
pain that we had to undergo during
the conflict. Our stand is clear and
that is Kashmir first and Kashmiri
first during the Indo-Pak talks over
Kashmir resolution,” said Mirwaiz.
He added that his amalgam in
near future is starting a Page 6
Indian market deluged by discarded
medical devices from ‘developed’ world
mumBai: Poor regulation
and lack of indigenisation
in India’s multibillion dollar healthcare sector, has
set off a rampant trend of
‘dumping’ of medical equipment by first-world nations,
say reports. In their quest
to meet the massive demand for ‘certified’ medical
equipment especially in the
cardiac and orthopaedic sectors, markets like India, and
even China, Uganda and Nigeria have turned into destinations for “diversion of
unwanted stocks” from the
first world. Patients in these
countries end up being
fleeced unwittingly by companies looking for fatter margins, and are also delivered
either unnecessary products
or pre-used and substandard
hand-me-downs.
While
complaints have started to flood in from across the
developing world, China led
the pack, instituting a probe
last year, against western
and Japanese medical device
makers for selling dialysis
kits at exorbitant prices in
comparison to indigenous
versions. Recently, Uganda
and Nigeria complained
about poorly-calibrated, old
machines being dumped in
their hospitals in the name
of donations.
TOI reports that domestic manufacturers
in India, have also
repeatedly petitioned government officials
about the need to indigenise
this sector quickly for similar reasons. Indian manufacturers blame poorly-controlled Chinese companies
for exporting low-priced
equipment of questionable
quality to this country.
Spot Light
The problem is complex
with a range of stakeholders calling the shots in an
environment open to exploitation in the absence of
requisite legal frameworks
or checks and balances.
The main charge against
the ‘dumpers’ is that, not
only are they imposing
medical devices on developing nations, the gadgets are
being 'sold at inflated prices'
by first-world countries and
trading companies.
In terms of sheer numbers, the stakes are high in a
market like Page 6
C M Y K
saturday
28 03 2015 Kashmir Observer
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Ref:service selection Board J&K, Jammu no. ssB/sel/secy/015/ 1965-70 dated 12-02-2015
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SATURdAy

NEWS

Migratory Birds Bid Adieu To Kashmir Valley
more than 800,000 migratory
birds of various species spent
the winter in water bodies and
bird reserves in the Kashmir
Valley.
For the first time, Lone's department conducted the Asian
water birds' census in the valley
along with the Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS). "It was
Bharat Ratna fitting
recognition of Vajpayee’s
illustrious career: Mufti
NEW DELHI – Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today
described the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as
one of the tallest visionary statesmen of the country. He said
conferring Bharat Ratna on him is a fitting recognition of his
illustrious Political career.
The Chief Minister said this while attending a function here
today where the former Prime Minister received the prestigious
award from the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
Describing Vajpayee as one of the most outstanding Prime
Ministers of the country in the post-Independence era, Mufti
said he believed in taking the country forward through consensus and reconciliation.
Praising Vajpayee’s efforts during his tenure as Prime Minister in taking peace initiatives in the State, the Chief Minister
said Vajpayee is still admired in J&K for his historic initiatives
in engaging all stakeholders in a constructive and meaningful
dialogue.
Class 9th
Passing out
student killed in parade held in
accident
Rangreth
Srinagar: A 15-year-old boy
died after a the vehicle he
was driving colloided with a
speedy truck at Lawaypora
near HMT in the outskirts of
Srinagar city on Friday morning. The victim was identified
as Hatim Latif Zargar, a class 9
student of a private school.
Police sources said the deceased along with his friend
Momin Ahmed Pandit was
on way towards his residence
Umarabad Zainakot in his vehicle (JK0AS-391) when the
speedy truck (JK13C-5411)
rammed the vehicle causing
the death of the boy on the
spot. His friend Momin Pandit
suffered critical injuries and
was rushed to nearby hospital.
The truck driver whom police identifed as Fayaz Ahmed
Dagoo of Kakapora Pulwamma
was arrested soon after the accident.
“A case vide FIR number
66/2015 has been registered
and the investigation has been
taken up,” Station House Officer Police Station Parimpora
Muhammad Ayoub said.
Srinagar: The Passing Out Parade of 99th batch of the young
boys from Kashmir, trained
and transformed into soldiers
was held at Bana Singh Parade Ground of the Jammu and
Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre, Rangreth on
Friday. On this day the young
soldiers will be completing 42
weeks of strenuous training.
Parents and relatives of the
newly recruited soldiersalong
with a number of civil and
military dignitaries attended
the function.
An army official from Chinar
Corps said that a vibrant national sprit was visible among
the trainees who passed out
after rigorous training.
“Army is continuing to
provide opportunity to youth
for employment in Armed
Forces and even organising
pre-recruitment training at
numerous places across valley.
Large number of youth have
benefitted from these efforts,"
he said adding that parents
feel proud for their sons joining Armed Forces.
National Lok Adalat
on April 11 at Anntnag
ANANTNAG: A National Lok Adalat is proposed to be held at
CJM’s Court Anantnag under the Chairmanship of Chairman
Tehsil Legal Services Committee Anantnag on April 11, 2015 in
which Labour, family matters etc pending and pre-litigation
matters shall taken up for amicable settlement. Special Mobile
Magistrate, District Mobile Magistrate, Anantnag and Munsiff
(JMIC) Anantnag are requested to identify the cases in their respective court to this office by or before April 09, 2015.
Interested parties who desire to put their cases in said Lok
Adalat are directed to approach the concerned courts at Anantnag.
ADC attaches
four officials
BARAMULLA: On the directions of
Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, Additional Deputy Commissioner, today
attached four officials of Chief education office Baramulla, viz., Deputy
Chief Education officer, District Planning officer, Section Officer and Junior
Assistant to the office of Additional
Deputy Commissioner Baramulla.
Meanwhile, the enquiry Committee headed by the Additional Deputy
Commissioner has been constituted
for investigating the large scale transfer orders issued by Ex-Chief Education Officer in education department
after the transfer of the CEO.
2 more test
positive for
Swine Flu
Srinagar- Two more persons
were tested positive for
deadly virus Swine Flu in
Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of
Medical Sciences (SKIMS)
Soura on Friday, an official
said here. PRO SKIMS, Kulsoom Bhat in a statement
issued to GNS said the toll
of infected persons have
climbed to 401 in Kashmir
Valley. However, the spokesperson said, no death was
reported in last 24 hours.
a voluntary effort which will
now be a regular feature."
The migratory birds have
been coming to Kashmir from
time immemorial to ward off
the extreme winter of their
homes where temperatures
freeze water bodies rock solid,
making feeding and drinking
impossible.
The protected bird reserves
of the valley include Hokarsar
in Srinagar district, Shallabugh
in Ganderbal and Mirgund and
Hygam in the district of Baramulla.
Wildlife guards protect the
reserve's defined boundaries,
prevent poaching, watch bird
behaviour and look out for
spread of diseases in the habitat.
In addition to the reserves,
thousands of avian visitors inhabit the Wullar Lake, Dal Lake
and other big and small lakes in
the valley.
It is at these unprotected water bodies that poachers move
in organised bands during the
night to shoot these birds.
This season, anti-poaching
squads were moved to the Dal
Lake, Wullar Lake, the Narkara
water body and some other
places, with appreciable results.
Bandipora District Magistrate Shah Faesal ordered
people to deposit all licensed
weapons in local police stations
to give anti-poaching efforts a
boost, Lone said.
The migratory birds which
fly to Kashmir include greylag
geese, mallards, shovellers, wigeons, teals, pochards, Brahmany Ducks and coots.
There are also resident water
birds like normal and purple
moorhens, debchicks, strokes,
kingfishers and herons.
"Then there are cormorants
and Sandhills cranes which
come to Kashmir to spend some
time before moving to the Indian plains," Lone told IANS.
"Interestingly, we have noticed during the last over a decade that many mallards, finding the environment highly
hospitable, prefer to stay back
to breed in the protected reserves of Hokarsar, Shallabugh
and Mirgund.
"This a significant behaviour
change which needs a thorough
study," Lone added.
Officials noticed no case of
bird flu this season.
The mystery of how the migratory birds navigate their long
journey with stunning precision has baffled humans.
Flying in highly regimented
flocks with the leader in the
front, each species flies separately, proving the adage that
birds of the same feather flock
together.
"It is always the eldest and
the ablest bird that is fully familiar with the route that heads
the flight," explained Noor Muhammad Wani, 62, of Bandipora.
"Some of the most advanced
navigational skills of humans
look like child's play when
compared to the accuracy with
which these birds navigate.
"If the leader dies during
the flight or is taken sick, the
second in command takes over
so that the journey is not interrupted," said Wani, a keen bird
watcher whose village overlooks Wullar Lake.
Unfortunately, the traditional homes of the migratory birds
in Kashmir are shrinking. But
as of now, that is not the birds'
main concern. IANS
House passes R&B Grants
Process for
return of power
Pursuing key tunnel, road
projects on: Akhtar projects with Centre: Bukhari
‘Opposition
vainly trying to
cover-up its follies’
JAMMU: The State Government
today made it clear that it has
already begun the process for
return of power projects from
NHPC and the issue has been
flagged in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the
PDP-BJP coalition.
Accusing National Conference and Congress of trying to
mislead the people over the
issue, Education Minister, Mr
Naeem Akhtar said it is for the
first time that a tangible move
has been made by the PDP-BJP
coalition government to retrieve the power stations gifted
by successive NC regimes to the
Centre. “It’s because of the stated position of the Government
of India on the return of power
projects, that the issue has been
flagged in the CMP so that the
long-pending demand for the
return of these projects to the
State is taken to the logical
conclusion,” Akhtar told mediapersons here.
He said NC has no moral
authority to speak on the issue, as the party is responsible
CM greets
people on
Ramanavami
JAMMU - Chief Minister Mufti
Muhammad Sayeed has greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Ramanavami.
In his message, the Chief
Minister prayed for communal
harmony, brotherhood, peace,
progress and prosperity in the
State. He also prayed for the
well-being of the people of
the State.
Pesticide,
fertilizers dealers
in Anantnag fined
ANANTNAG: According to
District Enforcement Officer
Anantnag /Pulwama 180 inspections were conducted
under fertilizer control order
and 130 inspections under
Insecticide Act 1968 by the
agency and 35, 15 samples
were analyzed besides orders for sale stop were issued
in favour of five insecticide
dealers during the period
in Pulwama and Anantnag.
Prosecution/FIR were filed
against 5 dealers during the
period. Five samples of insecticides were found sub standard. Warnings/ Notices were
issued in favour of 15 insecticide dealers and 35 fertilizer
dealers during the period.
Five samples of pesticides
have been misbranded and
the accused were prosecuted under various provisions
of insecticide Act 1968 and
a fine of Rs.37800 has been
imposed upon the accused
by the District Court Anantnag.
for sellout of the State’s water resources in lieu of power.
“Let NC leaders tell the people
that have they ever made even
a feeble effort to get back the
power projects from NHPC,” he
said and added that on the other hand successive NC regimes
continued to gift prime power
stations, one after another, to
the Government of India to
please their godfathers in Delhi.
Mr Akhtar said the question
regarding return of power projects to J&K was submitted by
PDP MP, Mr Tariq Hameed Karra
in the Lok Sabha in January 2015,
long before the PDP-BJP coalition
government finalized its CMP.
He said given the fact that judicious harnessing of the State’s
water resources is fundamental
to J&K’s fiscal autonomy and
prosperity, it has been made
clear in the CMP that the PDPBJP coalition government will
work with the Central Government to explore modalities for
transfer of Dulhasti and Uri
hydropower projects to the
State besides seeking share in
the profits of NHPC emanating
from J&K’s waters and revisiting all royalty agreements. “Unlike NC, our Government would
take the process to its logical
conclusion,” he maintained.
JAMMU- Minister for R&B, GP&FC,
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari
today said that an effective communication network is essential
not only for meeting the requirements of travel and transport but
also for rapid socio-economic
development of the state and the
country, adding that good connectivity and economic growth
are linked with each other. He
said road connectivity is even
more important because it is directly linked to the promotion of
tourism.
“To set J&K on the path of investment we need infrastructure
planning and delivery to improve
the lives of our citizens across
the State” the Minister said in the
Legislative Assembly today adding that there is fundamental link
between sound infrastructure and
productive state economy. He said
infrastructure network enables
people to gain access to jobs and
prosperity. Quotation Noble Prize
winner Paul Krugman “Productivity is not everything, but in the
long run is almost everything”,
he said good road network is the
foundation stone for a successful
economy and productive and cohesive society, adding that roads
should never be at a standstill.
“You have to imagine the fu-
Jalil was among pioneers
of struggle: Malik
‘His replacement has not been yet found’
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik
Friday said advocate Jalil Andrabi was among the pioneers
of present struggle and his
replacement has not been yet
found.
“Besides being a worthy jurist, intellectual he was a courageous person who always cared
and worked for the betterment
of society and even sacrificed his
life in the way of steadfastness,”
Malik said while remembering
Andrabi on his anniversary.
Malik, who is admitted in
Delhi hospital and is, undergoing treatment, said, “Struggle
and sacrifice given by this
brother of ours has honored us
and this nation can never forget
his courage, passion and sacrifices. We are duty bound to continue the struggle for freedom
that has been nourished by the
sacred blood of our martyrs like
Sahheed I Insaaf and no oppres-
sive measures can deter us from
this path.”
Meanwhile, in connection
with the anniversary of Indrabi,
JKLF held a protest sit-in at Partap Park Lal Chowk today, a JKLF
spokesperson said in a statement to KNS. “The sit in led by
zonal president Noor Mohammad Kalwal was attended by
JKLF seniors and activists. The
protest sit in was held as a show
of solidarity with those languishing in Jammu Kashmir as
well as Indians jails especially
who are serving a life detention.
On the occasion while speaking
to media, Noor Mohammad
Kalwal said that Indian government has unleashed an undemocratic and oppressive assault
on Kashmiri inmates. Their
days in incarceration are being
prolonged by oppressive measures and they along with their
families are being subjected to
worst kind of state sponsored
violence,” he said.
80 sericulture farmers of
anantnag flagged off
ANANTNAG: District Development Commissioner Anantnag, Mr.
Bashir Ahmad Khan today flagged off two Buses carrying 80 progressive sericulture farmers under ATMA Programme for one day
training tour to Srinagar at a function organized by Sericulture Department Anantnag. The farmers belong to three Sericulture Zones
Kuthar, Dachnipora and Sarnal of the district.
On the occasion the DDC emphasized upon the farmers to avail all benefits from the departmental experts in building their socio economic prosperity. He asked to the department to organize more such kind of tours
inside and outside the state so that farmers related with sericulture sector can be awared by the ongoing central /state sponsored schemes under
ATMA and other programmes for the welfare of the farmers.
ture to understand the decisions
we need to take now” said Syed
Altaf Bukhari, adding that a sustainable improvement in economic performance requires a
road network, the transport links
that connect people with jobs
and goods with markets. Appreciating Members for giving
valuable suggestions regarding
various developmental activities
of the department, the Minister
assured them that points raised
by them would be taken care of.
He said steps would be taken to
make R&B department efficient,
responsive and accountable.
Giving details about the work
done the Minister said 1223 Km
road length across the State has
been blacktopped and WBM laid
for a length of 1683 Km during
the current financial year so far.
He said Rs. 565.71 crore stands
expended under R&B Sector during 2013-14 while a road length of
1376 Km was blacktopped besides
laying Water Bound Macadam
(WBM) over a length of 2354 Km.
The Minister said 6074 Kms
have been restored out of the aggregate damaged road length of
6121 Km due to floods of September, 2014. He said out of 600 damaged bridges, 510 bridges have
been restored so far.
Bukhari said the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has recently declared seven
new National Highways in the
state, adding that the government is pursuing vigorously with
MoRTH to have Mughal road,
Doda-Desa-Kapran-Verinag road
upto Jawahal Tunnel exit and Verinag- Achabal-Mattan- Pahalgam
road declared as National Highways. He said efforts would be
also made to open Mughal Road
for vehicular traffic earlier than
its scheduled opening time.
Bukhari said project proposals of Rs. 661.74 crore for funding for inter-state and intra-state
roads under various centrally
sponsored schemes have been
submitted to MoRT. These include
roads like Jammu –Pathankote,
Mahanpur-Basohli, Basohli-BaniBhaderwah to Bajootra HP, Bhagwati Nagar-Akhnoor Road, Bridge
over Rawi River at village Keerian
Kathua etc. The State Government
is pursuing the matter with Union
Government for seeking external
financial assistance from Japan
International Corporation Agency
(JICA) under Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for
20 major projects which includes
construction of 06 tunnels and 14
major / district road projects.
Youth booked on
stone-pelting charges
stage protest
demand speedy trial or general amnesty
Anantnag: Scores of youth who have been booked for their alleged involvement in stone-pleting and arson incidents during
2010 summer agitation and poll process Friday staged a protest
outside the court presmises in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district demanding either amnesty or speedy trial of their cases.
The protesters termed the slow trial of their cases related to
stone-pelting as a punitive measure and pressed for speedy trial.
In 2011, then J&K state government had announced the introduction of an amnesty scheme to withdraw cases against
people allegedly involved in stone-pelting that occurred during
unrest in the state in 2010.
The protesting youth alleged that their studies and other
routine work gets affected on daiy basis as they have to present themselves frequently in the court of law. “Eleven FIR’s have
been registered against me in different police stations of the
district. I have to make myself available in the court frequently
as a result my studies get affected and I fail to attend the college,” a final year student Showkat Ahmed Gilkar told CNS.
Another protester Asif Ahmed said that he was working as a
Salesman but lost three jobs so far due to his frequent absence
from job. “Police have booked in stone-pelting charges and 19
FIR’s have been registered against me. I can’t afford attending
court frequently and appeal to the government for the speedy
trial or review of our cases,” he said.
Another protester Rouf Ahmed said that, “even though we
are not detained, but we face considerable uncertainty and stigma, and the risk of being detained again in order to aid investigations.” “We appeal to the present government to announce
general amnesty for us so that we can live a normal and peaceful life,” they said.
cet aspirants
seek date extension
Srinagar: Parents of students desirous of taking the Common
Entrance Test (CET) for selection in various technical courses
have sought a week’s extension for submitting the forms.
The last date, it may be mentioned, expired last week. A delegation of parents told newsmen that vital documents/certificates destroyed during the floods had to be procured in duplicate from various agencies which caused the delay.
“If the forms of such applicants are not accepted and entertained, they will lose a year,” they said.
They urged the concerned to condone the delay.
C M Y K
Srinagar: After six months of
winter sojourn in the Kashmir
Valley, thousands of migratory
birds are bidding adieu to return to their summer homes in
far off lands.
The increasing cackle, the
preparatory flapping of wings
and vigorous feeding are some
of the signs for bird watchers
to know that the spectacle of
sound and colour is soon going
to end.
"Before beginning their journey of thousands of miles, the
birds show significant changes
like human beings but with different priorities," said Imtiyaz
Ahmad Lone, the Jammu and
Kashmir wildlife warden.
The birds will head to Eastern Europe, the Philippines,
China and Russian Siberia.
"To ensure cohesion and
better communication during
the long flight that lasts on an
average a fortnight, the cackle
increases, the birds peck at
each other to remove damaged
feathers, feed more vigorously
than usual to build energy for
the journey and even pin water
chestnuts on each other's wings
to feed during inhospitable
stopovers," Lone told IANS.
This year, according to Lone,
saturday

OPINION

Saturday, 28 march, 2015
Driverless cars
VIEWPOINT
Contemporary art In KashmIr
State Sanctioned Vandalism
OPINION
A LONG
T WAY TOOGO
AD
ON
13 HAS
HT
EN’T
O BE
TING
HAT the
d infused
e over the
aders on
ld easily
merely by
ce Buildhile they
ter an enust!
Delhi and
idents on
reminder
of ‘buildnitiatives
ople’ con-
e concept
cause the
eem to be
ample by
ach other.
are now
heir dealthe prep between
tatements
siness as
ing” has
he newest Mercedes autonomous car
and enthusiasm. Once the space was
Kashmir) came to see the exhibition, hardly any creative spaces for the artSyed Mujtaba Rizvi
looks like a car on the outside but like a
he became so furious that the artists ists. The lone institute of music and ready, we worked closely with the artists and put together a fantastic show
fine arts is in shambles. What will beliterally ran away jumping through
n the opening day of Gallounge on the inside, with four swivel seats
never conceived before. Finally Kashthe windows. “What nonsense are come of this place?
lerie One, I was in a confacing each other in a multimedia bubble
mir’s first ever art Gallery, Gallerie
This
question
started
to
haunt
these
paintings,”
Bakshi
has
shouted.
versation
with
Rajendra
of padded leather and walnut veneer.
One, came into existence and was
me at an early age. And therefore,
Tickoo, Masood Hus- There were works by some of the most
The F 015 ‘Luxury in Motion’ concept car uninfluential
artists of the time like G.R. in August 2009 I decided to take the thrown open to people on 12 January
sain, Shabbir
Mirza,Indian,
M
he
would
like
to
remain
but
I
cated
for
the
Observer
Group
elseundone whatever
little
may
have
veiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las
matter into my own hands. Kashmir 2015 at 2:00 pm.
Trilok Koul, S.N. Bhat, Nisar
A Mehboob,
and several of Santosh,
willShaiqa
requestMohi
the government
India
where in difficult
economic times.
been achieved
byearlier
the CBMs.
Vegas
this year is completely
self-driving
Within one month we received
Aziz and others. The exhibition was Art Quest was born and we started to
Jammu
(to) artists
please from
provide
him and
security.”
However, as expected,other
thissenior
However, despite both sides rebut still has a steering wheel and brake if you
global media coverage, and put toorganize various art projects locally,
closed.
Kashmir. TheNot
opening
of the
first
content
with
hisever
‘request’
to
iterating that the bilateral ties had not ‘noble’ proposition with fiscal import
gether a world class exhibition of
nationally and internationally. We
Later, Bakhshi had visited some
centre
contemporary
and Malik
rewant to
around
and drive
Government arts
of India,
went
failedittomanually.
cut any ice as the issue
un- forthe
been derailed,
theswivel
recent
turn of
art exhibition in New Del- established an annual contemporary artworks by leading and emerging
search inon
Kashmir
was
dream
come
Daimler,
the maker
of Mercedes
and inventor
to appeal
toathe
Indian
public‘important’
that,
der discussion
was an open debate
events suggest
otherwise.
New
arts show, international art exchange artists of Kashmir. Many exhibiting
hi and there he saw works that were
true for all
them. like
Theytotold
me that
of thelike
original
wants
to be among
“I ofwould
request
all Indian
peacekeeping
and not on austerDelhi, suddenly
a bolt automobile,
out of the on
programmes, film screening events, artists have already been recognized
formally
quite
similar
to
what
he
had
they
had
waited
all
their
lives
for
such
brothers
and
sisters
and
all
those
ity measures.
blue, rakedthe
up first
the to re-invent the car, CEO Dieter Zetsche
travelling projects, educational work- by galleries and institutions nationseen
in
Kashmir.
When
he
arrived
an
initiative
and
how
several
great
New who are talking in a negative way
issue of the
New
saidrelat the CES, Why
which he
saysDelhi
will become more Why artists
back in Kashmir, he asked his offi- shops, seminars, research projects ally and they have already started
had
died Shah
with the
dream
of should
hav- know
about
Rukh,
they
Delhi
decided
to
evance of the
UN
than just a decided
means of transport
andfrom
will turn into
to deviate
working with them on various projing its
an art
in Kashmir.
They cers to gather all those artists again and several other physical and online
hegallery
is a movie
star."
deviate from
Military Observer
a mobile living space.
ects. We also executed the first ever
initiatives. Over the years we worked
and
helped
them
organize
another
were
all
very
excited.
They
shook
my
its age-old policy of
While New Delhi may be anage-old policy of
G r o u p
Design Summit to boost the creative
with around 500 artists worldwide
exhibition. He even acquired many
rival Audi, Tesla, Google and a numhand
again
and again
and hugged
me
noyed
at
Malik’s
‘request’,
the
‘letting
the
sleep(UNMOGIP) German
on
thearesleeping
economy in Kashmir and to bridge
artworks and was quite instrumental and partnered with some of the most
before
after. of India will perhaps remain
of other ‘letting
companies
working on their
people
ing dogs lie’
to and
the LoC in ber
Jammu
in the establishment of J&K Academy prestigious organizations and insti- the gap between arts and the rest of
The
artist
Rajendra
Tickoo
had
own
versions
of
driverless
cars,
fulfilling
the
dogs
lie’
to
bring
up
the
bring up the ever grateful to the Pakistani Inteand Kashmir.
arts culture and languages. Today, tutions. We had started to revive the the industry. We had already started
for the
of of
forecasts
they will be a issue
reality and
on the roads
rior Minister
foropening
enlightening
them
UNMOGIP come
issue especially
Declaring
that that
UNMOGIP
collaborating with artists, instituart-scene in Kashmir and took it to the
the gallery from Jammu, even though we don’t really know what happened
with
the
fact
that
Shahrukh
Khan
is
and
the
timing
it
“UNMOGIP’s
role
perhaps as soon as the end of this decade.
tions and organisations locally and
none of his artworks were in the open- to those works acquired by Bakshi. international stage. Young Kashmiri
the
timing
it
chose
chose to do so, “a movie star!”
has been overIn fact, all the technology needed for a selfing exhibition. We all stood in a circle Those works used to adore the walls artists are re-living the legacy of their internationally. Every Sunday we orCan bilateral ties between India
defies compretaken bydriving
the car exists
toalready.
do so,Current
defies features like
old masters and doing some really ganized artist talks, and every Thursrush of visitors to the gal- of old Tourist Reception Centre.
Pakistan improve if Pakistan
hension. amidst
So, a and
Shimla Agreement
day we screened art documentaries
adaptive
cruise
control
and
self-parking
preview
Like the disappearance of those dynamic and exciting work – gaining
lery, each artist sharing their memocomprehension.
So,
while nothing agrees that the UNMOGIP is not reof 1972 between
which have gathered more and more
critical recognition globally.
ries. Rajendra reminded the other artworks, the art scene also started to
what
a
fully
autonomous
car
can
do.
this quired any longer in J&K and India
India and Pakiwhile nothing came out came out ofartists
public participation. Gallerie One
But an art gallery – a creative
disappear from Kashmir. Probably bea weird incident that
is likelier to be legal and liability issues that
reciprocates
by providing Shahrukh
debate,
old about
stan, signed Itby
was already becoming a major attracof
this
debate,
old
had happened in the same building cause of the conflict. There were wars; space – an open breathing space – was
slow
down
actual
deployment.
That
and
social
acwounds were re- Khan ‘Z’ category security?
the Heads of the
tion for locals and tourists. What we
in 1960s – during the days of Ghulam there was the armed uprising, kill- still missing in Kashmir. So I spent
were
reopened
Though the recent exchanges beopened
and
two governments
ceptance of wounds
such a radical
change
could dampen
ings, encounters, rapes, mass graves two years in London at Goldsmiths established was no less than any pubMohammad Bakshi – long before the
tween
New
Delhi
and
Islamabad
may
normalisation
of
and ratified
by
the trend more
than
a lack of technology.
and
normalisation
of
preparing a functional & sustainable lic asset.
and a lot of other horrific things to
building was destroyed on April 6,
the bilateral ties bring a whiff of humour into our lives,
their respective
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a recent interHowever in an unfortunate turn
model for a centre for contemporary
2005 in an encounter between Indian deal with.
the
bilateral
ties
between
New the dismal future of the bilateral relaparliaments,”
view,thehowever, that the change in thinking
arts and research in Kashmir. When of events, the gallery was controverIf research is to be believed, then
armed forces and militants.
tions,
which
the
present
‘line
of
enDelhi
and
Indian representabetween
New
sially vandalized and seized by tourthere is ample evidence as to how arts I returned last year, I discussed this
The artists had put up a show in
coulditsbe no different
than
the Delhi
shift from elevaIslamabad has gagement’ portends, is disquieting
tive suggested
ism officials on Monday 23rd Februspur economic development, how arts vision with the Ex-Director Tourism,
one of the halls of the old building.
tors
manned
by
operators
to
today’s
completely
and
Islamabad
has
taken yet another and sends shivers down the spine.
termination.
Mr. Talat Parvez, Commissioner/ ary 2015. We were not served with any
These were the days when Modern boost tourism, how arts influence the
automatic elevators.
It
is
high
time
that
leaders
of
both
body
blow.
As expected,
taken yet another body
notice, neither was any proper explaSecretary Tourism & Culture, Mr.
social, cultural and intellectual evoluArt was not really modern and the
There is little question that driverless cars Islamabad
too countries stop behaving like schoolPakistan strongly
nation given as to why they behaved
tion of a society. But the artists had Shailendra Kumar, and other ofBombay Progressive Artists’ group
blow.
Islamabad
too
seems to be itch- children and remedy the serious
denouncedwill
New
improve fuel economies not only because
the way they did. Artworks were dambecome ghosts. Even the crafts in- ficers. Eventually we received suphad recently disbanded and were not
‘foot-in-the- mouth’ disease, which
ing
Delhi’s contention
be itching
for
they smoothseems
out theto
braking
and accelerating
of for a chance
too mainstream yet. The Kashmiri dustry was slowly decaying. Artifacts port from the tourism department in aged and all our operations came to
this
to ‘take on’ New seems to have afflicted them. Till
by saying human
that no drivers, but also because they improve
were reduced to mere objects to be terms of converting the main hall on a sudden halt as a result of their acartists were a league ahead, accorda chance to ‘take
Delhi. Just a day happens, ‘Aman ki Asha’ will remain
bilateral traffic
agree-flow by finding optimal routes and mitithe 1st Floor of the newly Constructed tions.
sold for consumption by tourists and
ing to MA Mehboob, and had heavily
on’ New Delhi.
a distant dream and bilateral people
rela- outside Kashmir – In a place Tourist Reception Centre Srinagar
after the Jamaatment between the
Just before Rajendra Tickoo was
influenced the progressive group. But
gating
tions will become another ‘comedy
ud-Dawa Chief,
two nations
had congestion. The lower accident rate will
due to lack of any space, they used to where the arts was deeply manifested into an art gallery. We conceived and telling us the story of the 1960’s exhimean
fewer
traffic
jams
from
that
cause
as
well.
to circus’!
“overtaken or affected” the role or Hafiz Saeed offered ‘asylum’
in its traditions, economy, culture, ar- prepared the entire project proposal, bition, the Tourism Director in his
together and organize shows in a
Also, there will be fewerBollywood
cars on thestar
road
be- Khan,get
Sharukh
Pakilegality of the UNMOGIP.
tent at Pratap Park in Srinagar. The chitecture, and even religious practic- and formulated the business model. inaugural statement had called the
Minister
Malik
New cause
Delhia single
initiated
the carstani
driverless
per Interior
family can
take Rehman members
Kashmir Art Quest gave have them gallery “the intellectual character of
of the progressive group es. Kashmir is dying a cultural death.
too kids
joined
saying that though
UNMOGIPboth
debate
underto
the
garbdrop
of the
NILOOFAR QURESHI is based in New Delhi and
parents
work,
offin
at by
school,
free advice, expertise, and personnel Kashmir.” Little did we know that
used to visit Kashmir often and And the signs of this are even visible
Sharukh
Khan
a born Indian
and can be reached
better spending
of resources
allo- and
at: [email protected]
pick them
up afterwards
obviate
the“is
need
worked closely
with
Kashmiri art- in the ugliness of its cities situated support to prepare a world-class gal- just over a month after its opening the
for the two or three-car family.
amidst jaw-dropping landscapes, as lery. We even contributed our sav- gallery will be vandalized, damaged
ists independently or in various artist
and seized by the officials of the same
camps. But this exhibition at the old if from paradise. The irony is evident ings, not to mention the time and enA recent study from the University of Michiergy. We worked hard day and night department.
Tourist Reception Centre was too bold everywhere.
gan suggests, however, that overall fuel conSyed Mujtaba Rizvi is an artThe J&K Academy of arts culture and our team was constantly at the
for the people in Kashmir especially
sumption could increase because the cars on
ist, and Founder, Managing Direcand languages, which boasts of one of construction site. The September
considering its deep rooted practice in
the road will get a lot more use. But of course
the richest
art collections, has become floods disrupted some progress, but tor – Kashmir Art Quest and initiahandicrafts.
When
Ghulam
Mohamof total
freedom
to pursue
the pathways
of
If he were a cricketer — which I rather of marks, remember.”
that can be balanced out by greater
reliance on
tor of Gallerie One, Srinagar.
almost
mad
(then
prime
of of an
one’s own
mind,
frolicminister
in the fields
idyl- defunct today. There are still we resumed soon with greater spirit
This generally got the ashen-faced
onesBakhshi
doubt since he possessed not one jot of cricket
fuel
the
cars.
moving
a few
feet forward in a determined lic nature and dream of writing lines that
vocabulary innon-fossil
his speech —
butenergy
if he weretoa power
Stock
analysts effort
are toalready
rhymed and described life in a more natural
overcometalking
their resisting wills.
cricketer Mr P would
have market
been categorised
about
evolution
because investors
Chemistrylooking
periods at
were about tables way — a way that had nothing to do with
as an all rounder.
This isthis
because
he was three
therolled
big picture
their with
money
into
the autocryptic
symbols
and water that changed science?
science teachers
into one.can
He put
taught
makers
who are
moving
inwith
thisthe
di-introduction of difA young man dreaming is how I come to
colour
magically
Physics, Chemistry
and and
whensuppliers
the frogs were
rection
ferentstart.
powders. I once remem- view my school reports of that day and age
plentiful he was
foundand
in thewho will have an important head
Along
with Audi and Mercedes, BMW
is on being drawn into when I glance at them occasionally these
ber naively
Biology rooms giving
lessons
a deep sniff from a days yellowing in a plastic sleeve. Mr P obvion dissectionthat
whichlist,
non-bias well as General Motors, Volvotaking
and Toybottle
of chlorine that nearly ously had a kind heart too for his marks
ology-inclinedota.
onesAuto
like mysuppliers that are in this trend
include
took
sinuses for a walk awarded to me in their own scientific way
self found hard
to stomach,
TRW,
Delphi, and Borg Warner in the U.S.,
asmy
well
reflect a kindness.
right out of my body.
especially the
as drawing
Europe’sofContinental and Japan’s Denso.
HE situation in Yemen is, by any de- conflict. Yet the government had maintained conflict. Egypt and Turkey have supported
If the dissecting of a frog taught me anyPhysics
was
about
equations,
balance
blood or the severing
of
flesh
in
order
to
peer
This transformative automobile technology
scription, incendiary and Pakistan, a largely ambiguous stance, until yesterday’s the Saudi intervention while the US is also inthing
it pointed me
in theappears
direction oftovegand
sticking
pins
in
paper
while
trying
to
at the undercoating
and
the
insides.
as matters
stand,
be get- developments. The pressure on Pakistan was volved.
will be a game-changer for other industries as
and
a
kindness
to
all animals
great
“One has to have a stomach for these trace angles of reflection and refraction etarianism
ting ready to jump into
the fray.
indeed immense to tag along in the anti-Houthi
The Houthis, on the other hand, have
well, from software makers to suppliers of enterand small.
providedevening,
me with anafter
inthings,” Mr P would instruct, directing his through a thick glass slab.
On Science
Thursday
a coalition.
warned of a “wider war” in response to the
tainment.
As
cars
truly
do
become
mobile
living
into by
laterality.
That is,
you couldthe
be govMost things in Mr P’s class startedmeeting
out as sight
words at the ones who’d gone a whiter shade
chaired
the prime
minister,
Yet despite the heat from Riyadh and others, Saudi action, while the Iranian government has
spaces,stood
there
will
berows
new premises
revenue
streams
asworking their way seated
in the lap of
science
and be totallydelegaat
before
gradually
of pale and generally
in the
back
ernment announced
that
a high-level
considering the regional situation and Paki- dubbed the airstrikes a “dangerous step.
companies
waysthrough
to monetize
ex- stages to tion,
ease contemplating
poetry.
a series ofthe
reasoning
a finelyincluding
at the dissecting
table so theyfigure
missedout
a good
the defence
minister and repre- stan’s own predicament, neutrality would have
It is difficult for Pakistan to play favourites
tra time
have in theirdrawn
cars (movies,
Science
didn’t
care because
ultimately
it
conclusion.music,
deal of what was
goingpeople
on.
sentatives from
the
military,
would
be heading
been the wisest option.
with either Saudi Arabia or Iran — considerthe“Life
list isgoes
to to
Saudi
Arabia
today to
“assess
theissituation”.
Intervention in others’ internal affairs is ing Pakistan’s strategic relationship with the
everything
is relative.
There
no end,
Dispute that, he’d say, pointing
a seems
PREPARING games
TO FACE –LIFE:
goingon).
to
This no
comes
swiftly
thebecause
heels of
Carare
safety,
but toalso
– on
nobody
conclusion
to beon
drawn
likeSaudi
some air- always a tricky proposition. For example, how former and geographical proximity with the
solved equation
the blackboard. Of course,
toss things at you that
a lot harder
take,cybersecurity
Yemen
the Houthi
have
theirtocar
- areEspecially
issues that
wise person
oncetargeting
said, “A conclusion
is therebel are we to justify coming to the aid of the Yeme- latter. This is something both capitals need to
who could?
who could who strikes
had his inside
so get used towants
it. In anyto
case,
you have
do ithacked
movement,
is locked
a struggle with ni government while opposing, say, Bashar Al- understand.
where you
got tired in
of thinking.”
head wrapped around other notions —
those placewhich
yourself comeneed
exam time.
It carries
a good deal
to be
developed
and tested.
the Yemeni government.
Assad’s regime in Syria?
Also, Pakistan is fighting its own internal
Tesla’s Musk noted that driving in dense urGetting involved in what is essentially an
Also, considering the regional dynamics in war against militants. Can we realistically afban environments at intermediate speeds pose
N
O theHgreatest
O Lchallenge
D S for current
B Atechnologies
R R E D internal conflict is unwise, but the prime min- play in Yemen, Pakistan needs to tread care- ford to despatch troops overseas when the
.................................................................................................
ister seemed quite concerned with protecting fully. Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s beleaguered military is currently engaged in Fata and elseand these must be thoroughly tested before
Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, any viola- President, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who also where?
driverless cars are allowed on the road.
tion of which, he said, would evoke a “strong has American support, while the Houthi moveIf anything Pakistan should use its good ofresponse” from Islamabad.
ment is said to enjoy the confidence of Iran.
fices to help achieve a diplomatic solution, rathBut the self-driving car is coming to a showEarlier, there had been some talk of the SauIt is clear that Yemen has become the latest er than become a party in this conflict.
room near you sooner than you think.
dis wanting Pakistani troops involved in this regional theatre of the Riyadh-Tehran proxy
--Dawn
------Darrell Delamaide
d of Thinking? Come to a Conclusion
a favourite
an of scienoked at you
es. Mr P, let’s
till be alive
ed through
The Hippie
y from outut and taste
ndeed sing,
well have
oom bound
ollusion —
nsure at all
own peered
nd averted
ndows. The
education
ers
mbai in the
nal.
ndia should
on tournaantee safety
e the World
ournament
nsions. We
nly playing
ditions are
ersons tour
g the antiovernment
mfort of our
OTHER OPINION
LIFE IN A
CLASSROOM OF
THE SIXTIES
Yemeni Conflict Expands
T
Biscoe School On Decline!
W
teaching not to speak of quality or
e the parents of the functioning of the school and
class 10th students has adversely affected the aca- method of teaching. This has cerof
"TYNDALE demic career of our wards. Unless tainly put a question mark on the
popularity of the students .
BISCOE SCHOOL" your teachers are able to make the
Hope the Principal of the
Sheikh-Bagh,
wards understand the method of
Srinagar are embarrassed with solving any particular question or school make arrangements on prithe poor performance and lack of chapter of any subject for its solu- ority to save the academic career
of our wards as the 10th examinaqualified teachers, more impor- tions no one on the earth can we
S TRIBUNE
tions are approaching fast where
tantly the experienced teachers expect the desired results in the
we expect excellent performance
performance.
in the school which is popularly
by our wards. In case the school
The teachers not only lack
known for its reputation in past.
lication must includeThe
the writer’s
name and address, even
if a pseudonym is used. Letters are edited as clarity, space
method of teaching but do not fails to do away with it, we may
teachers lack ability and
require. Our publishing
a
letter
does
not
mean
we
agree
with
everything
or
even
anything
in
it.
-EDITOR
start
a poster campaign against
knowhow of teaching and are thus have grip on Maths , Science and
unable to convince the students in Urdu more importantly the Eng- the poor performance of the TBS
the class or to make them under- lish and grammar. Despite our teachers besides highlighting in
repeated requests to the school au- all leading newspapers and elecstand in a manner that suits the
thorities no improvement is vis- tronic media.
students.
DEAR
there is something
that seems
to
d the
ible EDITOR,
when we check copies of our killings and heinous crimes
It is the school
management
AproposWe
news,
‘AFSPA
Immucommitted by its army and such
invitethat
and is
incite
the elements
hmir.
cannot
compromise
responsible
fortosuch a wards.
with
education
and career
messy
we of
are
Forthe
Forces’
Sex Crimes
Must of all other
agencies that too with
Kashmir.
It issituation
part of theand
history
theleft nity
any of
[email protected]
our
wards despite
theJanuary
fact we pay the help of Indian puppets of
with no alternative but to send End’
, Kashmir
Observer,
sub-continent.
stan to
on behalf of
to the school on priorour wards to tuition centers
28,monthly
I want fee
to say
that we the
Kashmiri
We
need to overcome it for our
here or
Parentsorigin.
of 10th class Students
which put an extra financial bur- ity. Whatever the school authoriof Kashmir
R. BABA
eternal
ties demand
from appreciate
the parents, we
denpeace.
on usUnfortunately,
had the school not been people
tyndale Biscoe School,-M.
Srinagar
Dr.Kiran
Bedihesitate
said but
Via: email
fate isand
justinsensitive
consequential!
l or other Kashmir's
as parents
never
to who
abide
so callous
towards what
by.toWhy
cannot
Principal of
the academic
side and
of the
initiate
the the
action.
Shoaib,
keep writing
staystudent.
safe. has
rain and
the
appoint
or take
arrange
The
students are made scapegoats
It isschool
India who
has to
the XX
Khuda
Hafez!
d cold
for the lust of money or some in- quality teachers for teaching the
P.O. Box # 337, GPO, Srinagar-190 001
action,
but
this
country
is
never
-VORSHAL
e military
ternal crisis/ mismanagement. students instead of raw hands
bother
forhave
innocent
Via: mark
emailon ready
mised but
who to
even
do not
concept of
This has put a question
ntial!
Hail Kiran Bedi
aDnan Bhat
MAIL YOUR LETTERS
NO HOLDS BARRED
saturday

panorama

SIMPLE ACCOUNTING
5 Things The J&K Budget Can Teach India
Haseeb Drabu’s budget tries to set a new tone in budget-making in India
“I am asserting that I shall not go with a begging bowl to New Delhi. This despite the fact that we not only have a friendly government at the Centre, we also have an
exceptionally sensitive and accommodating Union Finance Minister. By doing so, I do hope to restore the dignity of the people of J & K who are forever being accused of
surviving on subsidies and largesse. The goal of our government is economic self-reliance and fiscal autonomy.” – Haseeb Drabu, Finance Minister, Jammu & Kashmir
A
former banker, editor and now full-time
politician, regarded
as a “renegade” by
Kashmiri
separatists who once believed he was
one among them, has just set the
tone for budget-making for Indian states in the era of Narendra
Modi.
In line with the prime minister’s intention to devolve more
power and finances to the states,
the seasoned Drabu, 54 – economist from Delhi’s Jawaharlal
Nehru University, former bank
chairman,
former columnist
with Mint, editor of businessstandard.com and member of
legislative assembly from Rajpora, J&K – presented last week
a budget that aimed at financial
independence.
“I shall not seek any financial assistance or grants from the
Centre other than what is provided for in the Constitution of India
for all the special category states
as a part of the federal fiscal system,” said Drabu, author of the
first budget of the People’s Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata
Party alliance.
Here are five things that
stood out in Drabu’s budget:
knowing what’s happening and
changing it immediately is a
beloved of Indian financial babudom, such as plan, non-plan, capi-
4,336 crore). And this Rs 4,336
crore is to be “financed by prep-
ing to latest estimates, service
sector constitutes 57% of the
GSDP (gross state domestic product), its contribution to the state
exchequer is next to nil. So far,
we have not been able to tap the
entire potential of this sector.”
first for any Indian state, most of
which face economic bottlenecks
because of electricity shortages.
He said power-sector development held the key to fiscal
autonomy through 24×7 “reliable and affordable power to all
So, included under the tax
net now are advertising agencies, security services, placement services, salons and health
clubs. This should generate Rs
150 crore.
Services make up nearly 60%
of India’s gross domestic product,
and services are taxed in India
based on the negative list regime
(not covered under service tax
act including services provided
by central/state governments
and RBI). IndiaSpend had earlier
reported how service tax collec-
domestic, commercial and industrial consumers” and “unleashing of a new era of development”.
Presenting a detailed plan
of what he hoped to do, Drabu
said 57 projects – hydel, solar and
thermal – with a capacity of 9344
MW (mega watt) are planned.
They require an investment of Rs
1 lakh crore ($16 billion).
The state faces a peak deficit of 22%. Electricity demand
is 2,657 MW in 2014-15, of which
only 2,050 MW is likely to be met.
Our verdict: Drabu’s
tion was expected to be higher
than other taxes in 2014-15.
budget is an effort to set a new
tone in budget-making in India—
from a state that appears to be
perpetually at conflict with India.
Source: J&K BudgeT, 2015-16
ed – it will begin as a pilot project
– based on the 2011 census:
Source: Census 2011
Jammu & Kashmir has seen
the child sex ratio (females per
1,000 males) decline to 859 in the
2011 census from 941 in the 2001
census.
1) Plain speaking on
wasteful government
Here’s what Drabu said
about his own government: “To
spend Rs 10,000 crore on the
economy, the government is
spending nearly three times (Rs
30,000 crore) that amount on the
machinery that spends Rs 10,000
crore!”
J&K, along with Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, spends
more money on revenue expenditure – which includes salaries,
pensions, interest payments and
other money that the government
spends on itself – than on capital
expenditure to build assets and
other infrastructure for the people, according to a state-budget
analysis by the Reserve Bank of
India.
The financial year 2011-12
was a year of high capital spending for all the three states. However, in the following years,
2012-13 and 2013-14, it is clear that
revenue expenditure is far higher than capital spending in the
three states as well as Delhi. This
means governments that spend
more on themselves than on the
people they govern.
Drabu also explained his
government’s spending plan in
2015-16: Rs 11,246 crore for building assets and Rs 35,227 crore for
revenue expenditure. Obviously,
21 years, she will receive about
Rs 6.5 lakh. This handout is to
address the state’s low sex ratio.
Cost: Rs 35 crore.
Here’s a look at the six possible districts in J&K where the
programme could be implement-
4) Taxing services to
increase revenue
Source: rBI; FIgureS In rS crore
tough ask.
“In the next budget, we will
provide details of the physical assets that have been created on the
ground by the money that was
spent,” said Drabu.
The Finance Minister promised a law that would allow money to be borrowed only for financing capital assets. IndiaSpend
previously reported how Maharashtra has built up a debt of
$48 billion and now must borrow
money to repay borrowed money.
Haseeb also did some plainspeaking when he emphasised job
creation over asset creation: “Jab
dukan chal padaygee, makaan
toh bun hi jayegaa!” (When businesses will run, houses will get
made).
2) Simple accounting:
income & expenditure
With one stroke, Drabu has
rewritten the rules of budgetwriting and accounting.
It’s very easy to understand
where the money is coming from
and where it will go. Gone are
those confusing terminologies
tal, revenue and non-revenue.
Starting from the next fiscal year, 2015-16, the budget will
have only two parts: receipts and
expenditure.
“The expenditure budget
will, in turn, have only revenue
and capital expenditure estimates,” said Drabu. “The entire
old classification of the plan and
non- plan has been discarded.
This is a major change which has
far reaching implications on the
allocation, efficiency and monitoring of public expenditure.
This change will demystify the
budget to a great extent.”
“Now there will be only two
categories of expenditure, current and capital; the former being
what is spent to meet our daily
expenses and the latter is what
is spent on making assets on the
ground. In the years to come, we
can start the mapping of asset
creation with money that has
been spent.”
Drabu’s budget calculations
are simple: total revenue receipts: Rs 42,137 crore; total public expenditure: Rs 46,473 crore;
resource gap (46,473-42,137= Rs
ositioning of the 14th Finance
Commission grants without
seeking any additional funding”.
That’s Drabuspeak for no favours
from Delhi.
Drabu intends to balance
dole handouts with new sources
of revenue.
“J&K is the only state in the
3) Protecting the
vulnerable: small
businesses, farmers,
women
Drabu has balanced fiscal
responsibility with subsidies
and handouts that could allow
vulnerable people in his floodravaged province to become self
sufficient.
Some examples:
* Waive 50% of the Kisan
Credit Card loans of farmers who
have an outstanding balance of
less than Rs 1 lakh. Cost: Rs 150
crore.
* For 50,000 widows: zero balance savings account, life insurance cover of Rs 25,000, accident
cover of Rs 25,000 sickness/disease cover of Rs 5,000 and maturity/survival benefits of Rs 25,000
after five years.
* Rs 1,000 per month to every
girl for 14 years from birth. At
Source: cenSuS 2011
country that has the power to tax
services,” he said. “By virtue of
the Goods & Services Tax Act,
J&K has the power to tax both
goods and services. All other
states of India have the power to
tax only goods. The moot point
is that J&K is a special taxation
area. Given the fact that accord-
5) A budget for the main
economic bottleneck –
electricity
Drabu also presented a 41page power budget for J&K, a
This article was originally
published on IndiaSpend.com,
a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.
-----BOOKS
Re-imagining the days of Ghalib and Mir
Chandni Chowk in time of glory- 16th century
I
ASIF FArruKHI
N HIS latest work, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi brilliantly spins stories of 18th- and 19th-century Urdu
literati
A RICH and lovingly crafted tapestry of longish tales, critic-turned-novelist Shamsur Rahman
Faruqi’s latest book, The Sun That Rose From the Earth,
is hefty, 600-odd pages of a connected narrative, offering a dazzling variety which few novels, let alone short
story collections provide. Five longish tales which can
also be read as components of a longer, broken narrative
flow into each other effortlessly so that by the end of the
book, you cannot decide if it is one story you have read
or more.
The lives of poets and literati in the 18th- and 19thcentury milieu of Delhi and its environs form the material of the short stories, but then this is just the beginning.
The biographical details are sketched out with such fulsome details that one derives a critical pleasure from
reading the book: the kind of intellectual robustness
which reminds one of the literary spirit of the esteemed
Dr Samuel Johnson’s The Lives of the Poets or Muhammad Husain Azad’s Ab-e-Hayat, which Intizar Husain
insists on reading as a sort of novel in the making. This
is not surprising in a book which takes
its dramatis personae to include a distinguished
cast of Mir Taqi Mir, Mushafi Ghulam Hamdani, Ghalib and Abdul Hayy Taban. In a less dexterous writer’s
hand, this matter would have turned pedantic and dull.
But in Faruqi’s hands, the critical acumen is retained
and becomes one strand out of the many with which the
narrative is woven.
One of the most respected figures in contemporary
Urdu literature for his erudite literary criticism, Faruqi
is no stranger to fiction. Known for his modernistic
stance and learned interpretation of Ghalib, he broke
new ground with his four volumes on exegesis of Mir’s
selected poetry and then single-handedly established
the poetics of the dastan which had become a victim of
neglect.
Farqui surprised the literary world by his foray in
the realm of the novel with the marvelous Kai Chand
Thay Sar-e Aasman, which he himself translated into
English as The Mirror of Beauty. The Sun That Rose
From the Earth stories, too, carry the same stamp of genius that mark his criticism and fiction, and cover new
ground. Originally published in Urdu, they created a sensation. I remember when the first story was published in
Shabkhoon, the literary journal Faruqi edited from Allahabad; it was done under the pen name of Umar Sheikh
Mirza. But this was a tale few were ready to believe and
there was much speculation regarding its author. Soon
Faruqi’s authorship was established and the stories
eventually appeared under the title Sawar Aur Doosray
Afsanay: truly a modern classic. Published in English as
The Sun That Rose from the Earth, the stories have once
again been translated by Faruqi.
The individual lives of the poets are described in
fanciful detail with great imagination and intellectual
fervour but the real character is the cultural capital of
Delhi; the seat of political and cultural power, and a great
centre of learning which draws talented people from all
around. As a large supporting cast of many characters
move through the pages — like the multitude thronging
the crowded bazaars of a burgeoning metropolis — we
get a sense of the rich and varied culture of North India,
associated with the Indo-Persian, and later Urdu poetry
moving and breathing like a living character. More than
a richly described background, the very atmosphere
takes on the attributes of a powerful character in a fictional world. The book breathes and moves with the
spirit of this culture which is not so much described as
evoked to show its enlivened presence.
In the opening tale, ‘Bright star, lone splendour’ a
fictive but apparently all-but-real narrator fulfills a lifetime dream when he encounters the entirely real and
justly celebrated Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib. The
narrative invokes the tazkirahs and other such stories of
famous poets from that time and age. Reading it one gets
the sense that Faruqi has perfected a technique. He takes
biographical and historical material from the lives of the
poets and infuses them with imagination.
The young Rajput in this story is a convenient vehicle for revealing the author’s all-encompassing enthusiasm for Ghalib — the poet as well as the person. And
in this process the Rajput acquires a life of his own, and
the circumstances of his life move us as we read of his
distinguished lineage, and how his family was destroyed
in the upheaval of 1857. The story conjures up Ghalib and
the turbulent age with enough force that even a shelf-full
of Ghalibiana cannot hope to achieve. Mir and Mushafi
are observed in later stories through an entirely different lens, stories which are similar in spirit but different
in technique.
Knowing his subject well and having perfected his
technique, Faruqi can take liberties with his storyline
which would have been deadly in the hands of a less
skilled writer. Faruqi can sometimes overload the story
with period detail. ‘Bright Star, Lone Splendour’ opens
with details of the Rajput lineage and its background
while the protagonist’s birth is discussed on page nine.
Some readers may become impatient with this
much detail but for Faruqi this is an essential component
of his narrative style. As the story draws to a close we are
reminded that earlier events are being recorded by the
narrator in his twilight years yet everything is still vivid
to him and dream-like. It is obvious that language is an
essential element in achieving this quality. It is at once
many-layered and, at times, somewhat quaint in keeping
with the sense of historicity. So we find that in the same
story, a character is respectfully addressed as “Exalted
Presence”.
Persian poetry forms an essential part of the background in ‘The Rider’ and we read: “The breezes that
blew so pleasantly through the lanes and bazaars of
Delhi resonated anyway with the poetry of Mirza Bedil,
his disciple Achal Das, his friend Muhammad Afzal Surkhush, and younger poets like Anand Ram Mukhlis, Mirza Mazhar Jan-e Janan and scores of others. The winds
wafted away the poetry to far-off places.”
Faruqi provides his language with a sonorous and
supple quality and at the same time gives his phrases an
Indian touch without making them quaint or Oriental in
manner. And because he is so well grounded in his own
culture, he can play with concepts and take the title of
his story about Ghalib from the haunting sonnet by John
Keats, a lone star in a different tradition.
‘Bright Star, Lone Splendour’ reads like a personal
testimony. However the poetic worlds of Mir and Mushafi are brightly coloured and sensuous in a different
style. Mir is described in very simplistic terms by Maulvi Abdul Haque in his selections from the works of the
great poet, almost like somebody whining and crying all
the time in a rather monotonous simplicity. Such views
are challenged in Faruqi’s literary criticism such as
Sher-e-Shor Angez, but it is fiction where Haque comes
alive as a great human figure, and what more can one say
of Mushafi who seems to come alive on the page.
The stories come to their grand finale in the enigmatically entitled ‘Timecompression’ but then the tale
describes exactly what it promises: a Borgesian incident
from the annals of Urdu poetry which must have been
true. This is the only tale which is not taken from the
author’s Urdu collection Sawar but appeared later and
separately as a long tale. Historical detail colours the
background of a miracle of time and the classical Urdu
poet’s life provides for the occasion. Like the other stories in the book, this one too is savoured and relished
by the reader. It has been said of fiction that all but the
names and dates are true, in contrast to history in which
only the names and dates ring true. Faruqi has taken this
a step further as even the dates and, at least, some of the
names are true, and what is not true, is fashioned out of
the truth.
The reviewer is a fiction writer and critic
the Sun that rose
From the earth
(SHORT STORIES)
By Shamsur Rahman
Faruqi
Penguin Books, India
ISBN 9780670086917
610 pp.
6 Saturday 28032015
Kashmir Observer
The repatriation of the professional Indian expatriate
TRANS ASIA NEWS
MUMBAI: Its a different kind of Ghar
Wapasi- one that involves the homecoming of those Indians that chose once
to leave the comfort of home and hearth
and make a leap into the unknown, overseas, in search of the promised better
life. Confidence, spurred by a resurgent
Indian economy, improvement in the
standards of living, and better education
opportunities are drawing back homesick Indian professionals.
The trend has reportedly spread beyond just the IT sector, to include banking and finance, pharmaceuticals, auto,
textiles and food processing. And surprisingly, this is despite the fact that
monetary remunerations have as much
as halved in India compared to prospects
only a few years ago.
The reverse brain-drain is now trending says, Moorthy K Uppaluri, CEO,
Randstad India, a leading recruitment
and staffing firm. “With the recovery of
the Indian economy and increase in the
number of Indian companies looking to
expand globally, there is a definite rise in
the number of Indian repatriates.”
Counter intuitively the homecoming
of the Indian professional expat is a gaining trend despite the fact that money is
no longer the big or only lure. The monetary benefits that these executives could
expect to earn has reduced over the last
few years reports TOI. The gap in premium between what the managers would
have expected, say, three years ago and
now has nearly halved, say hiring experts. However, the reasons for their return largely combine family-related matters and better job prospects.
Oddly, market factors have proved to
be the big leveller. A combination of high
inflation in India along with the search
for top talent has reportedly helped to
reduce the difference in compensation
between India and western nations. Uppaluri says, “About a decade ago, the difference in the junior and middle levels
was as much as 75%, and at the top management level it was about 50% to 60%.
Today, the difference at the junior and
middle levels is about 50%, and at the top
it's just about 30% to 40%.”
Other observers like Nilay Khandelwal, regional director, Michael Page, a recruitment firm, find that the differences
are reducing mainly in areas which have
traditionally remained with India for a
longer time, such as analytics, risk, finance and operations in banking. “The
From Front Page
tain areas, the cost of delivery of public services
Ruckus
in J&K is very high as compared to other parts of
“Your CMP (Common Minimum Programme)
says return of power projects; Governor’s address
also says the same. This deceit won’t do,” Omar
asked the BJP-PDP coalition government.
Congress legislators also joined the NC in the
protest, following which the Speaker Kavinder
Gupta adjourned the house.
Later, when the house resumed, NC members
again started protesting on the issue after coming
in the well resulting their scuffle with marshals.
Meanwhile, the upper house was also adjourned two times as opposition continued its
protests over New Delhi’s refusal to transfer power projects to the state.
As the house convened on Friday morning, NC
members started shouting slogans against the
Mufti Muhammad Sayeed government as they
displayed copies of a local newspaper report carried on Friday saying the central government had
denied financial support to the state for wresting
the ownership of NHPC-run hydro-power projects.
The Common Minimum Programme worked
out by the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Peoples
Democratic Party coalition includes central support to the state government so that the NHPC
owned and run hydro power projects are transferred to state government.
Will
go
said.
Pertinently, the Legislative Assembly Friday witnessed ruckus over the refusal of Center in returning the power projects to the state.
BJP
favours
power projects and that the state government
would continue its efforts in bringing back Uri and
Dulhasti from NHPC.
The deputy chief minister stated that the ruckus of the opposition parties is nothing but futile
attempts to gain prominence. “People know the
politics of such partiers better that anyone and
are aware that such tactics would not make them
dearer to the people of state,” he said.
He maintained that the government is committed in bringing back state’s power projects from
NHPC and the state dispensation is working for
the same. “My only question is that what the previous government could not do in six years, how
could the present government do that it mere 20
days,” he added.
Dispensing
With
the other schemes should be wound up and its re-
sources subsumed in the kitty of 17 Mega Schemes.
"More than 86% funds are being sourced to 17 flagship programmes under CSSs. It will be prudent if
the other 14% funds allocated to 49 other schemes
are transferred for a more coordinated implementation of CSSs in the states," he suggested.
Asking the Centre to see from the same lens
and do away with its policy of one-size-fits-all
for forging a better match between schemes and
needs of the states, Mufti urged upon the Central
Government to consider funding pattern of all
Centrally-Sponsored schemes for Special Category states in the ratio of 90:10.
The Chief Minister said it is quite possible that
fiscal imbalance in states can be caused by the fiscal mismanagement of the Centre. “If the Centre
doesn’t meet its budgeted revenues, the states
will bear the brunt of the shortfall,” the Chief Minister said while pushing for a “Minimum Guaranteed Devolution” for the states.
Referring to the State’s weak resource base, the
Chief Minister said J&K is experiencing difficulties
to fund large number of CSSs. He asked for continuation of financing scheme for CSSs as 90% grant
and 10% loan. “Keeping in view certain innate
structural and infrastructural deficiencies afflicting the State, we are not in a position to take any
Centrally-sponsored Scheme for outright transfer
to the State Budget,” he said, while requesting the
Central Government to continue to treat J&K as a
Special Category state, as recommended by the
National Development Council.
While highlighting the recommendations of
the 14th Finance Commission, the Chief Minister
called for implementation of cooperative federalism by considering more decision-making powers and greater devolution of Central taxes to the
States. He said the CSSs should not be treated on
a standalone basis and must be seen as part of an
integrated fiscal federal system.
Reiterating its earlier position of allowing
greater flexibility in the guidelines of Centrallysponsored Schemes by factoring in local requirements, the Chief Minister suggested front-loading
of bulk CSS releases preferably in the month of
April, keeping in view the limited working season
in states like J&K. “We have been raising the issue
of allowing flexibility in guidelines of the schemes
for quite some time. Non-release or untimely release of funds results in cost and time overruns.
Due to difficult terrain and inaccessibility of cer-
gap has been reduced as the early movers had a better advantage than people
moving at later stages. So, for example,
a 40-50% premium in the past is now reduced to 20-30%,” he said.
The banking sector is peculiar because premiums have steadily reduced
for returnees, owing to a supply-demand
to know that without the inclusion of Kashmiris,
the talks over the resolution are futile and will not
yield any desired results. “I had a meeting with
Pak envoy in New Delhi and he assured me to
raise the issue with the GOI that talks over Kashmir cannot be held without the inclusion of the
people of Kashmir. It has been the slogan of the
people here that Kashmir which we nourished by
our blood is ours,” Mirwaiz said with the pro-Azadi slogans reverberating within the masjid.
Huriyat (M) chairman said there will be no
solution to Kashmir issue without the ‘self representation’ while condemning the GOI over its
recent remarks that only bilateral talks will be
held between India and Pakistan for the resolution of Kashmir. “It should be understood by all
the Kashmir dispute is not the issue of electricity, roads and drains but about the future of the
people of Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, he pitched for the separate dates of
entrance examinations being held at Aligarh Muslim University and by the BOPEE here. “We appeal
that the dates must not be similar so that students
who appear at the entrance at Aligarh could also
appear in BOPEE exams,” he said.
party’s links with Hindu groups.
Undeterred by party hawks who accused him
of embarking on a misdirected visit to Pakistan
in 1999, Vajpayee rode triumphantly into Lahore
aboard a bus, on an initiative that was pursued by
his successor Manmohan Singh.
Vajpayee’s diplomatic breakthrough was hailed
as the dawn of a new era in Indo-Pak relations. But
it was another story that Pakistan army undertook
a covert operation to send its troops into Kargil
that led to a limited conflict that Pakistan lost.
Vajpayee first became Prime Minister in 1996
after four decades in opposition. He lasted only 13
days as prime minister for lack of numbers.
The lack of a stable majority ended his second
stint in power from 1998 after 13 months. His government collapsed after AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa withdrew her support from the coalition.
He was reelected in 1999 at the head of amore
stable coalition that lasted its full term.
The compulsions of coalition politics forced
BJP to put on the backburner issuesdear to its
heart– scrapping of special status for Jammu and
Kashmir, building a Hindu temple on the site of
the mosque in Ayodhya and adopting a uniform
civil code. Widely respected within the country
and abroad as a statesman of the genre of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vajpayee’s 1998-99 tenure as prime
minister was characterised as one year of courage of conviction. It was during this period that
Indiaconducted a series of successive nuclear
tests at Pokhran in May 1998. Those close to Vajpayee say his personal mission was to improve
relations with Pakistan and the seeds were sown
when he was the Foreign Minister in the Morarji
Desai Government in the late seventies. After the
Lahore peace overtures failed to carry forward,
another initiative was the historic Agra summit
with General Pervez Musharraf in 2001 but that
failed. The demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya
by kar sewaks on December 6, 1992 when he was
the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was an acid
test for Vajpayee on where he stood on secularism. Vajpayee’s trusted lieutenant L K Advani and
most BJP politicians supported the demolition but
Vajpayee condemned the attack unequivocally.
His personal integrity has never been seriously
questioned but arms bribery scandals have exposed corruption in his government and at times
cast doubts on his judgement.
A bachelor, Vajpayee is also a poet of some repute and he is often quoted by his party.
Born on December 25, 1924 at Gwalior, Madhya
Pradesh to Krishna Bihari Vajpayee and Krishna
Devi, Vajpayee, a high-caste Brahmin brought
with him a long parliamentary experience spanning over five decades. He became a Member of
Parliament for the first time in 1957. As a teenager Vajpayee was jailed briefly for opposing British colonial rule, but played no major part in the
freedom movement. He flirted with communism
before choosing to support the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swamyamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the
Jan Sangh – both right-wing organisations that
later developed close links with the BJP. Vajpayee
dropped out of law school to run an RSS magazine
in the early 1950s. Later, he transcended his political roots in the RSS to emerge as the moderate
voice of the BJP. His involvement in politics began
as a freedom-fighter during the Quit IndiaMovement of 1942-1945. He started out as a communist but shed that for membership in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an organization
propounding Hindutva, or Hindu Nationalism and
considered Right-Wing inIndian politics.
Vajpayee became a close follower and aide
to Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), BJP’s predecessor.
Vajpayee was at Mookerjee’s side when he went
on a fast-unto-death in Kashmir in 1953, to protest
against the system of carrying a permit for entering the state and the “inferior” treatment of Indian
citizens visiting Kashmir, as also the special treatment accorded to Kashmir because it had a Muslim majority. Mookerjee’s fast and protest ended
the identity card requirement, and hastened the
integration of Kashmir into the Indian Union. But
Mookherjee died after weeks of weakness, illness
and confinement in jail. These events were a watershed moment for the young Vajpayee.
Taking the baton from Mookerjee, Vajpayee
won his first election to Parliament in 1957. As
the leader of BJS, he expanded its political appeal,
organization and agenda. In spite of his youth, he
soon became a respected voice in the opposition
— one of reason and intelligence. His broad appeal
brought respect, recognition and acceptance to a
rising nationalist cultural movement.
As India’s longest serving prime minister outside Congress party, Vajpayee is often described as
the moderate face of BJP.
His detractors used to call him a “mask” of the
RSS, his benign smile of moderation hiding his
lakh hectares of agricultural land and 3.96 lakh
hectares of horticulture land also suffered damage.
According to the government data 6,910 kms
of road length, 559 bridges, 3,063 PHE schemes,
6,423 irrigation works and schemes, 4,202 sub-
the country,” Chief Minister said and added that
cost norms for Central schemes should be based
on State Schedule Rates.
The Chief Minister said that the recommendations of 14th FC have been such that they have decisively given more revenues and responsibilities to
the states but the manner in which these recommendations have been implemented by the Union
Government has hurt the Special Category states.
Pointing out the difficulties some of the States
are facing in catching up in growth and development, Mufti called for accommodating certain
area-specific requirements while designing the
guidelines of the schemes. He said Centre should
consider the security situation, hostile geographical conditions, limited working season and the
massive hit the State’s infrastructure took last
year due to devastating floods while framing the
guidelines of the Central schemes.
Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister
Haseeb A. Drabu said the NITI Ayog will have to
re-look on how the Centrally-sponsored schemes
are implemented in the States, keeping in view
the recommendations of 14th Finance Commission. He said the new system under 14th FC will
become regressive if the size of financial transfer
to the States from the Centre is reduced. “With a
tax buoyancy of only 18% under 14th FC, we will
have to look for other ways to fill the gaps of funding CSSs,” Dr. Drabu said.
Medical ‘Negligence’
the hospital administration, the protesters
blocked Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road near Kanth
Bagh for several hours. The protesters were demanding a probe into the circumstances that
caused the deaths.
Later, a team of civil and police officials, including ADC, Baramulla, Riyaz Ahmad Wani, DSP
headquarters, Feroz Yahya visited the hospital to
take stock of the situation.
According to Mohammad Maqbool Sheikh who
was attending on his brother, admitted in the hospital for urine infection, said he developed shivering after being given dextrose by the paramedics
on Thursday night.
“My brother was shivering badly. We kept him
warm with several blankets and brought drugs
from the open market that provided him relief
after sometime,” Sheikh said.
He said later in the night two people died at the
hospital after being given dextrose by the paramedics. He said that the panicked attendants also
called the Medical Superintendent but to no avail.
Refuting the allegations of negligence, the
Medical Superintendent (MS) district hospital,
Baramulla, Dr Bashir Chalkoo said that the elderly
patients had a natural death.
“I say with confidence that no death has been
caused by drip reaction or drugs given at the hospital. The patients were elderly and were suffering
from lung disease,” he said.
He said that some patients, who had developed
shivering after being administered with the dextrose, were stable and doing well.
“Drip or allergic reactions happens in a few cases. But the death due to cold have not happened in
the hospital,” he said. (GNS)
Hurriyat
(M)
valley-wide campaign so that the world comes
Why India
300
People
caused to 26,1361 structures, farm sector of 3.27
anomaly. Yet, professionals are returning,
thanks to stagnation in foreign markets
and better opportunities for skill-development in a growing economy like India.
Post the financial crisis of 2008, banks in
India started grooming talent from within
so that they wouldn’t have to rely on expats and returning Indians. In finance and
operations, where the supply is greater
than the demand, Khandelwal said the gap
in premium salary (pre-2011 levels and
now) for returning Indians has reduced.
“So if a VP level in finance and operations
was earlier coming at Rs 50 lakh, he/she
today is ready to take up the assignment
for between Rs 35-40 lakh,” he noted.
Foreign banks in particular are witness to this reversal of brain drain. Anuranjita Kumar, chief HR officer, Citi
South Asia says, “We have seen a lot of
interest across the developed markets
from managers wanting to relocate to
India, whether for personal or professional reasons. In the last 18 months, the
trend of returning Indians has gathered
momentum.”
According to Kumar, the last time
stations, 11,671 kms of electric conductors, besides 6,466 other buildings suffered damages due
to floods.
Indian market
India. Contributing about 6% of India's $40
billion healthcare sector (Ficci estimate), the
medical equipment sector is small but vital to
the healthcare industry. Consider cardiac and orthopaedic- the sector's biggest revenue-earners.
About 3 lakh Indians undergo heart procedures
and around 1 lakh knee-replacement surgeries.
These cost a patient between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 5
lakh. Each involves use of medical devices. From
the high end stent or a ball-and-socket knee joint
to the humble clip or blood pressure-monitoring
cuff, devices play a crucial role. The US Food &
Drug Administration lists 150 types of medical
devices used during angioplasties and cardiac bypass surgeries and over 120 types for orthopaedic
operations. The medical devices list is long. Ficci
estimates about 14,000 product types. Yet few
Indians ask doctors about the make of stents or
intra-ocular lenses.
The medical devices segment in India is worth
over Rs 35,000 crore. “Imports account for Rs
27,000 crore and could balloon to Rs 85,000 crore
soon,” said a healthcare expert. TOI reports that
unfortunately for Indians, the Drug Controller
General of India's office has regulations for only
20 devices. A new legislation widening the scope
of regulation is expected this year.
According to Rajiv Nath of Hindustan Syringes
and Medical Devices (HSMD), which makes single-use injections, there's little awareness among
Indian lawmakers that medical devices are classified into seven fields (disposables, consumable,
electronics, equipment, implants, diagnostic and
surgical instruments). "They club these with
medicines without realising that electronic medical devices are different from, say, consumables
used in operations. Just as you wouldn't want one
doctor performing your heart surgery and knee
replacement, you cannot have one set of regulations for the pharmaceutical industry covering all
medical devices."
There's another problem: Pricing. According
to Dr G S K Velu of Trivitron Healthcare, a Chennai medical devices company, “Many companies
sell drug-eluting stents at heavy premiums. They
possibly get it at Rs 5,000 to 10,000 but charge
patients Rs 75,000." Nath said: "The government
reduced duty on imported medical devices. Was
this benefit passed on to patients? Did government check if the MRP of imported implants or
stents has come down?
Worse, retailers and hospitals blackmail Indian manufacturers to maintain the same MRP
as importers so they get their margins." A doctor
who didn't want to be named pointed to `indirect
dumping': Diversion of unwanted stocks to the
third world. He said a landmark clinical trial on
drug-eluting stents, COURAGE, in 2009 proved
angioplasties don't necessarily help more than
aggressive medical management in patients with
stable coronary artery disease. “After the trial,
there was drop in stent use across the US. Foreign
manufacturers flocked to countries such as India
to promote stent use,” he said.
Dr Velu says, “CT and MRI scanners and ventilators can be imported with zero regulation. Patient
monitors and dialysis machines are brought in
without regulation.” Many of these machinessome refurbished after a year's use and resold
cheaper - are dumped in India, where the regulatory framework is feeble, he says.
Yet, Dr Nath of HSMD says, ironically, doctors
prefer a refurbished imported machine over a
new India-made one as the latter isn't certified by
the government. "Who do we go to for certification? Government regulates a handful of medical
devices, the rest are in the unregulated sector. A
known, imported brand is thus preferred," he said.
A Mumbai medical equipment vendor conceded dumping was rampant. "Do Indian consumers
know if the dialysis machine they're strapped to
or oximeters checking their oxygen levels aren't
new? Or whether they're calibrated to function in
Indian settings?” he wondered.
A 2012 report in The Lancet showed that about
40% of healthcare equipment in poor countries
is out of service mainly because of ill-conceived
donations-for instance, oxygen concentrators donated to a Gambian hospital worked on a voltage
incompatible with the country's power supply.
But the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), which represents most American
manufacturers, denies that foreign makers don't
care about their end users. Vibhav Garg, co-chair
AdvaMed-India Working Group said, in the context of Indian consumers, “AdvaMed's member
companies try to make appropriate technologies
available to the Indian market to help India address its non-communicable disease burden,"
adding that his company actually focuses on
such a trend was witnessed was about a
decade ago between 2005-07 when India’s GDP growth was around 8% to 9%.
However, following the subsequent uncertainty surrounding the global financial crisis and lower growth in India, the
trend plateaued out, she said.
At Citi, Indian managers based abroad
with varied experience have indicated
their interest to come back to India, given
the positive market sentiment. As compared to the 9% growth in compensation in
the Indian banking sector, developed markets offer around 2%. “More than compensation, the opportunity for these managers
is in up-skilling themselves in a growing
market like India,” Kumar points out.
Its the dynamism in India’s market
that’s providing it magnetism as well.
With economic growth stalling in the
West, leading to slower career growth
opportunities, India on the other hand, is
a market which appears to be be growing
and changing, offering better job prospects to NRIs. What's assisting the process is a change in the standard of living
in India and its education system.
adapting devices to customised settings.
A collaboration between The Lancet and Imperial College London, UK, in 2012 which examined
how medical technology should best be used
to improve health in low- and middle-income
countries found that instead of relying on handme-down technologies from wealthier countries,
which can be costly, inappropriate for local conditions, and even dangerous, there should be an
effort towards developing what they call "frugal
technologies”. These are cost-effective technologies that are developed specifically to cope in
local conditions. Examples include: the Jaipur
foot, a rubber prosthetic for people who have lost
their leg and foot below the knee; PATH's Uniject
injection system, which allows once-only use of
needles for injectable contraceptives; and the
eRanger, a durable rural ambulance, based around
a motorbike and stretcher sidecar (which can be
modified to carry one or two people).
The report also advocated a wider understanding of what is meant by medical technologies,
pointing out that technological improvement to
sanitation and road conditions could also have a
far-reaching impact on public health in many lowand middle-income countries. The authors of the
report said advances in technology need to be
accompanied by innovation to have a significant
effect on health, which includes the development
of effective delivery mechanisms and novel approaches to financing. --EJ
PDP-BJP Panel
be discussed and deliberated upon. “The meeting
would discuss how agenda for the alliance is implemented within the defined timeframe and all the
policy issues adhered to in letter and spirit.”
The ten-member Coordination Committee is headed by Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh while other members
of the Committee include party presidents Mehbooba Mufti and Jugal Kishore, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh.
Tariq Hamid Karra, Thusptan Chhewang and Shamsher Singh, Members of Parliament and Choudhary
Lal Singh, Abdul Rehman Veeri and Naeem Akhter,
Cabinet Ministers in the coalition Government.
183
JK youth
& patriotic sons of this glorious state in 1947-48
Sistani
calls
airstrikes on Wednesday in support of the mission
at the request of Iraq's government. Al-Sistani said
that coordination between the military, militias and
tribes is necessary for the success of the operation,
according to his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the
holy site of Karbala. It is up to the ``high command
of (the Iraqi) armed forces to adopt the proper and
right decision,'' al-Sistani said.
Cop
Goes
one year.
He has been suspended on 31/01/2014 in case FIR no
06/2014 u/s 307.353, 510,427/RPC stands registered
against him in police station Ganderbal.
“Already notices served to him by DPO Budgam”,
he said, adding that first notice was issued on
14/01/2015 and second notice was accordingly issued
on 27/02/2015. He further said that today we have
registered a case after Parray’s family files missing
report in police station Ganderbal and further investigations have been taken up. “We have constituted a
special team to trace him,” the official said.
Meanwhile, family members of the Parray staged
a protest demonstration at Wussun Ganderbal demanding his whereabouts. (GNS)
H1N1:
482
suspected deaths from H1N1 influenza. Most of the
deaths occurred to patients suffering from comorbidites, the minister said, adding, 482 patients have
tested positive for H1N1 influenza in the state.
Referring to measures taken by the government, he
said that soon after first confirmed case was diagnosed
at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences on January 27, an action plan was framed to deal with the influenza which envisaged setting up of isolation wards
in tertiary hospitals of the state. He said that till March
23, 8,665 health-care workers have been vaccinated to
protect them from contracting the virus. A 32-bedded
isolation ward was made functional at SKIMS, Soura,
for patients suffering from swine flu, he said, adding
similarly, a four-bedded Intensive Care Unit and 10
isolation rooms were earmarked in SMHS hospital.
Isolation wards with capacity of ten beds each were
also made operational at G B Panth Hospital and Chest
disease Hospital in Srinagar, he said. In Jammu, a ward
with 48 independent rooms was earmarked for swine
flu in GMC Hospital here. The department established
round the clock control rooms at directorate of health
services in Jammu and Srinagar.
As far as the testing facilities are concerned, SKIMS
has testing facility for H1N1 virus and state cabinet
has sanctioned two testing laboratories for H1N1 at
Government Medical college Jammu and Government Chest Disease hospital Srinagar, he said. He further said the method of treatment varies from patient
to patient depending upon the severity of the disease.
NEWS
saturday

NEWS

Saudis, Allies Bomb Yemen For 2nd Day
SANAA - Yemen's beleaguered
government said Saudi-led
airstrikes would not last long
on the second day of a Gulf
Arab-led campaign against
the Iranian-allied fighters that
could escalate a proxy conflict
spreading through the region.
Warplanes targeted Ansarullah forces controlling Yemen's capital and their northern heartland on Friday and, in
a boost for Riyadh, fellow monarchy Morocco said it would
join the rapidly-assembled coalition against the anti-Western group.
Fighters, also called Houthis,
advanced south despite the
airstrikes and Pakistan, named
by Saudi Arabia on Thursday as
a partner, said it had made no
decision on whether to contribute.
Riyadh’s move is the latest front in a growing regional
contest for power with Iran
that is also playing out in Syria,
where Tehran backs government against US backed rebels,
and Iraq, where Iranian-backed
militias are playing a major
role in fighting extremist ISIS.
On Friday the warplanes of
the Saudi-led alliance attacked
a popular market in the northwestern Yemeni city of Sa’ada,
also affiliated with Saleh.
Yemeni oil flows through
the Marib pipeline, its main export route, at a rate of around
70,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The well-armed tribes are the
de facto authority in the central province so their support
for the air strikes was significant.
In his first reaction to the
attacks, Ansarullah leader
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi on
Thursday called Saudi Arabia
a bad neighbor serving American and Israeli interests, saying
in a televised speech Yemenis
would confront the "criminal,
unjust and unjustified aggression".
Iran denounced the surprise
assault on the Houthis and demanded an immediate halt to
Saudi-led military operations
and, on Friday, accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of
fomenting strife in the Middle
East, rebuffing his accusation
that Iran was trying to dominate the region.
According to Ansarullah
leader, two fronts will be established in the country, a
defensive front to preserve
security in the capital, and an
offensive front to counter the
Saudi-led strikes.
Yemen’s fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (L) is
welcomed by Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammad bin
Salman upon arrival in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on March 26.
killing or injuring at least 15
people, according to Yemen’s
al-Massira TV.
The airstrikes against Sana’a
resumed during the early
hours of Friday.
The planes bombed military and civilian targets in and
around the Yemeni capital.
The airstrikes targeted the
al-Samaa military base north
of the capital and al-Istiqlal
camp on the western edge of
Sana’a.
Television also said that anti-aircraft guns have shot down
a reconnaissance plane west
of Sana’a. Health Ministry officials say 39 people have been
killed in Yemen since Saudi-led
strikes began.
But undeterred Houthi
fighters entered the southern
provinces of Abyan and Shabwa on Friday through the central province of Bayda, extending their reach into the south,
according to tribal sources.
The fighters entered the city
of Lodar in Abyan after clashes
with tribal forces loyal to Hadi,
and also took over Bayhan in
Shabwa, where they faced less
resistance.
Mosques in Saudi capital on
Friday preached fiery sermons
against the Ansarullah fighters and their Iranian allies, describing the fight as a religious
duty. Saudi Arabia's top clerical council issued a fatwa on
Thursday giving its blessing to
the campaign.
In the Iranian capital Tehran,
Friday prayer leader Ayatollah
Kazem Sadeghi described the
attacks as "an aggression and
interference in Yemen’s internal affairs".
Residents said aircraft targeted bases around Sanaa of
Republican Guards allied to the
Houthis, including one near
the presidential compound in a
southern district, around dawn
and also struck near a military
installation that houses missiles.
OIL REGION HIT
The Republican Guards are
loyal to former president Ali
Abdullah Saleh, Houthi's main
Sunni ally who retains wide
power despite having stepped
down in 2011 after Arab Spring
protests.
Earlier air strikes south of
the city and in the oil-producing Marib region appeared to
target military installations
In hIS FIrSt reActIon to the AttAckS, Ansarullah leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi on Thursday called Saudi Arabia a bad neighbor serving
American and Israeli interests, saying in a televised speech Yemenis would confront the "criminal, unjust and unjustified aggression".
Mccain applauds
saudi Offensive
in YeMen
Pak Refuses To Join Conflict
‘That Divides Muslims’
Oil tankers carry almost four
million barrels daily through the Bab
el-Mandeb strait, which connects the
Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and
the Arabian Sea. The strait is 18 miles
wide at its narrowest point.
The offensive has raised concerns about the vulnerability of the Bab el-Mandeb strait between Yemen and Djibouti, which has been identified by the US Department of
Energy as a potential “chokepoint” in the global oil market.
The tankers carry crude on a daily basis through the
Red Sea and Suez Canal to Europe. Oil supplies to the
United States take a longer route around the southern tip
of Africa.
Dont Rush To Yemen:
Imran Advises Sharif
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran
Khan said Friday that Pakistan
should be playing the role of
a key negotiator in peace talks
rather than becoming a participant in the Yemen war, in a
series of tweets posted on his
official Twitter account.
Imran said Pakistan had suffered huge losses in the past
due to its involvement in other
Kejriwal wanted to form govt
with Congress: Bhushan
NEW DELHI: AAP leader
Prashant Bhushan on Friday alleged that following the party's
massive defeat in 2014 Lok
Sabha polls, AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal wanted
to form a government in Delhi
with the support of Congress,
despite opposition from many.
Addressing the media here
along with colleague Yogendra
Yadav, Bhushan said Kejriwal
acted in an autocratic manner
and refused to pay heed to opposing voices.
"After the Lok Sabha elections there were talks that AAP
should form government in Delhi with the support of Congress.
A PAC meeting was called and
five were opposed to the idea
while four supported it.
"Arvind said that as national
convener, he had the right to
take the final decision and he has
decided to take Congress' support to form the government in
Delhi. However, we protested."
Yogendra, Bhushan should
'depart gracefully': kumar
A
am Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas on Friday called on senior party leaders
Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav to leave
the party 'gracefully' if nothing was working out.
"If nothing is working then you [Prashant Bhushan
and Yogendra Yadav] should depart gracefully," he
told ANI.Vishwas added that there were some forces
behind the rift in the party, which is showing no signs
of abating yet.
"Personal jealousy and frustration is there. But
there are also some forces for the rift within the
AAP," he said.Meanwhile, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi
said that it was "unfortunate" that excuses were
being made and the impression given that Yadav and
Bhushan were against the party.
Kumar Vishwas had earlier accused Yadav of
being 'two-faced', claiming the latter's statements
would vary depending on his audience, with different
remarks made before the party and the media.
He also linked the calls for Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal's removal from the post of the AAP's
national convener after Prashant Bhushan raised his
objections.
‘sluMdOg MilliOnaire’ authOr
is next Mea spOkesMan
New Delhi: Vikas Swarupa senior diplomat, better
known as the celebrated
author of bestselling novel
“Q&A”, made into Oscar winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is set to replace
Syed Akbaruddin as the official spokesperson of India’s
Ministry of External Affairs
(MEA). He is expected to take
over on 18 April, a day after
the return of PM Narendra
Modi from his 3-nation Link
West tour to France, Germany
and Canada.
The appointment order of
the 1986 batch Indian Foreign
Service (IFS) officer- Vikas
Swarup to head the external
publicity and public diplomacy divisions, was issued late
evening on 25 March. He was
reportedly chosen for the role
by foreign secretary S Jaishankar. Swarup's larger-than-life
persona is expected to help
him execute the high-profile
responsibility given to him.
Meanwhile Syed Akbaruddin who made quite an impression with his accessibility
and quick responses is due
to be promoted as additional
secretary. For the time being,
he has been appointed the
‘Chief Coordinator’ for India
Africa Forum Summit which
will be held on October 29 in
New Delhi.
Akbaruddin known popularly as only ‘Akbar’ is likely
to be given a high-profile
ambassadorial
assignment
later on. He could be made
India’s next High Commissioner in London, a post currently held by former foreign
secretary Ranjan Mathai who
completes his stint at the end
of the year.
wars.
He said Pakistan was facing
a huge sectarian issue, adding
that the country had already
suffered enough in ten years.
Saudi Arabia had said on
Thursday that five Muslim
countries including Egypt and
Pakistan want to participate in
the Gulf-led military coalition
against Shia Houthi rebels in
Yemen.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif
Friday said that no decision to
participate in war on Yemen
has been taken and that Pakistan has only pledged to safeguard the territorial integrity
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(KSA).
He stressed on Pakistan's
role as 'facilitator' to end the
conflicts in the Muslim world.
"Instead of aggravating the
situation by participating in
it, Pakistan should do what it
can to prevent it ─ for the alliance and unity of the Muslim
world," the defence minister
told the National Assembly
. "Pakistan is ready to adopt
whatever role is needed in
order to facilitate the termination of conflicts in the Islamic
world."
"We will not take part in any
conflict that could result in differences in the Muslim world,
causing fault-lines present in
Pakistan to be disturbed, the
aggravation of which will have
to be borne by Pakistan," he asserted.
The request from Riyadh
comes at a time when the
Pakistan military is engaged
in an operation against terrorists in North Waziristan. Asif's
reference to 'fault-lines' hints
at Pakistan's widespread sectarian conflict, as a result of
which Shia and other religious
minorities are targeted in tit
for tat killings by extremist
groups.
The defence minister's
statement comes a day after
Saudi Arabia said that Pakistan
will join its operation against
Iran-backed Shia militants in
Yemen, for a conflict that is
rapidly escalating into a murky
civil war. The minister's announcement today apparently
rules out Pakistan's immediate participation in the Yemen
conflict.
"Division on the basis of religion or sect is rising in Syria,
Iraq and Yemen. Instead of
conflagration or proliferation
... It should be contained," he
added.
"
Instead of aggravating the situation by participating in it, Pakistan
should do what it can to prevent it ─ for the alliance and unity of the
Muslim world," the defence minister told the National Assembly .
"Pakistan is ready to adopt whatever role is needed in order to facilitate the
termination of conflicts in the Islamic world."
2014 devastating Year
fOr palestinians: un
GAZA: Amid a surge in hostilities and an ongoing blockade,
2014 was a traumatic year for millions of people living in
the occupied Palestinian territory, a senior United Nations
humanitarian official said on Thursday, as the Organization
released its latest report on the situation on the ground.
"Continued occupation undermines the ability of Palestinians to live normal lives," UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the territory, James Rawley, said in conjunction
with the release of the 2014 Annual Humanitarian Overview
by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA).
"Were these factors removed and related policies changed,
international humanitarian assistance would not be necessary
here," he added, while acknowledging that last year had been
a "devastating" one for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West
Bank. The OCHA report, entitled Fragmented Lives, recalls that
1.8 million people in Gaza experienced an escalation in hostilities during the 2014 conflict between Gaza-based Palestinian
militants and Israeli forces, resulting in over 1,500 Palestinian
civilian fatalities, including more than 550 children, and leaving some 100,000 residents without a home. In addition, five
Israeli civilians, including a child, as well as a security guard
were killed. Moreover, it adds, reconstruction efforts in Gaza
following the 51-day conflict have been slow, hampered by
the continued blockade and the lack of funding, although the
temporary Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism has enabled the
import of construction material.
The ongoing crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory has
been overwhelming relief efforts in recent months. Just last
month, Rawley presented OCHA's 2015 Strategic Response
Plan in an effort to raise $705 million required to help the
millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with their
sharply increasing humanitarian needs.
But, he warned, there were also many lingering difficulties. A lack of donor support for the Plan would result in the
continued displacement of over 22,000 families while up to
1.6 million people across the occupied Palestinian territory
would be deprived of adequate water and sanitation services,
and food assistance. Access to basic healthcare and education
would also be compromised.
In Thursday's press release, Rawley added that the problems for the occupied Palestinian territory were not only
isolated to Gaza, where the ongoing blockade had placed a
stranglehold on the enclave's economy and restricted movement for its residents, but also spilled over into the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem.
"A record number of 1,215 Palestinians were displaced due
to home demolitions by Israeli authorities, while settlement
and settler activity continued, in contravention of international law, and contributed to humanitarian vulnerability of
affected Palestinian communities," he noted.
Books This Weekend
A mother's dilemma, a virtual world, Nepal
T
he nightmare of being the mother of a 27-year-old, looking at a
relationship through the lens of virtual reality and a journey through
Nepal are some of the hand-picked gems presented here. Take a look.
W
i
d
e
A
n
g
l
e
1. Book: Simi's Mum's Diary: The Daughter of All Battles; Author: Rupa Gulab;
Publisher: Amaryllis; Pages: 201; Price:
Rs. 175 Being a mother to a 27 year old can
be a nightmare. Particularly if she is sassy,
stubborn, sulky and selfish - like Simi.Simi's mum is cool but confused. Why is it
that when normal girls are falling in love
with vampires and other sexy corpses, her
daughter brings home the most disgusting specimens of mankind imaginable?
There is the hypochondriac hostelite with
the appetite of a locust, the firang who
loves hanging out in slums and others.
And then to be accused of being an evil
khap panchayat mum.Even worse, in between relationships, Simi doesn't do normal girly things to recover; she turns to
religion, anarchy and bad poetry.It is terribly frustrating, because Simi's mum is
dying to introduce her to medical student
Imran - the cutest and nicest guy ever,
who just happens to live in the building.
Naturally, Simi's suffering mum needs to
vent occasionally. Because no matter how
cool she thinks she is, she will never be
cool enough for Simi.
2. Book: Maya; Author: Clyde DeSouza;
Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 210; Price: Rs.
250 Dan and Krish have invented a gadget that they know will change the way
people experience reality. When their
invention is still in its trial phase, an accident kills Krish's sister, Maya. Little does
he know that Dan and Maya were deeply
in love.
For both, the pain of her loss is intense,
but Dan will not accept losing Maya, and
challenges the powers that be that took
her away. He sets about creating something unique that he knows will fulfill
Maya's dream of becoming a dancer and
also satisfy his need to be with her.
But is it the right thing to do?
The novel bridges two worlds - the real
and the virtual and explores human rela-
tionships through this lens.
3. Book: The Two-Year Mountain: A
Nepal Journey; Author: Phil Deutschle;
Pages: 350; Price: Rs. 395
When Phil Deutschle sets out for Nepal, he is naively unaware of the ordeals
he will face - striving to teach in the Nepali language, suffering from debilitating
disease, painfully adapting to a foreign
culture - but imperceptibly over two
years, he grows so attached to the village
that he ultimately leaves it in tears. Following the alienation of his departure, he
sets off on a reckless, solo climb of Mount
Pharchamo, hardly caring whether he
survives. Now, 34 years, later, Deutschle
returns to his village, intent on learning
the fate of his family and his students in
the wake of Nepal's bloody Maoist civil
war.
4. Book: The Debt Collector's Due; Author: Adhirath Sethi; Publisher: HarperCollins; Pages: 174; Price: Rs. 250 There
comes a day in everybody's life when one
needs to sit down and decide what to do
with the rest of it. But our layabout here,
Samay, slept through it, as he did most
days growing up. Waking up aged 27, he
finds that he barely has any money left in
the bank and the only job anyone is willing to give him as as a debt collector for
small businesses. His less than ordinary
life takes a mad turn when he is mistaken
by mob boss Pande for a hitman and given
Rs. 75 lakh as payment. Samay wants to
take the money and flee the city, but he
discovers that Amrita, his college flame
and now a journalist, is next on the hit list.
This novel is a wild ride through the drama of college heartbreak and terrifying
murder in south Mumbai's Parsi colony,
from the sweaty alleys of Crawford Market to the mist-filled valley of Panchgani.
This is a story about shifting fortunes and
high stakes, a breathless read from the
first page to the very last word. IANS
C M Y K
WASHINGTON: US Republican Senator John McCain has
applauded the offensive launched by Saudi Arabia and its
allies against Yemen, speculating that the “conflict will
probably escalate” into a regional war in the Middle East.
McCain said on Thursday Saudi Arabia and its allies “did the
right thing” by launching the offensive against the country.
The Armed Services chairman added the invasion saved
oil exports from the Middle East because if Yemen were to
fall, it could choke off oil exports from the region.


C M Y K
Observer Out POst
One
DieD
William King, a sculptor in a
variety of materials whose
human figures traced social
attitudes through the last
half of the 20th century,
often poking sly and
poignant fun at human
follies and foibles, has
died. He was 90.
Today IN HISToRy
March 28 is the 87th day of
the year in the Gregorian
calendar. There are 278
days remaining until the
end of the year.
• 845 –ParisissackedbyVikingraiders,probablyunderRagnarLodbrok,who
collectsahugeransomin
exchangeforleaving.
• 1854 – Crimean War:
France and Britain declarewaronRussia.
1913 –Guatemalabecomes
a signatory to the Buenos
Airescopyrighttreaty.
C M Y K
• 1933 – The Imperial
Airways biplane City of
Liverpool is believed to
bethefirstairlinelostto
sabotagewhenapassengersetsafireonboard.
• 1959 –TheStateCouncil
ofthePeople'sRepublic
of China dissolves the
GovernmentofTibet.
• 1968 – Brazilian high
school student Edson
Luís de Lima Souto is
shot by the police in
a protest for cheaper
mealsatarestaurantfor
low-income students.
The aftermath of his
death is one of the first
majoreventsagainstthe
militarydictatorship.
• 1969 – Greek poet and
Nobel Prize laureate
Giorgos Seferis makes a
famousstatementonthe
BBCWorldServiceopposingthejuntainGreece.
• 2003 – In a friendly
fire incident, two A-10
Thunderbolt II attack
aircraftfromtheUnited
StatesIdahoAirNational
Guard's 190th Fighter
Squadron attack British tanks participating
in the 2003 invasion of
Iraq, killing British soldierMattyHull.
• 2005 –The2005Sumatra
earthquakerocksIndonesia,andatmagnitude8.7
is the fourth strongest
earthquakesince1965.
Woman set afire
by youth for
resisting rape
QUoTe UNQUoTe
I find playing morally-ambiguous
characters easier than a woman who
is always cute on screen. I find
myself suddenly becoming
more flexible and more
fitting into the thing when I
am doing a grey roles.
Radhika Apte
Actress
Mediterranean
diet has low carbon
footprint: Study
• 193 – Roman Emperor
Pertinaxisassassinatedby
Praetorian Guards, who
thensellthethroneinan
auctiontoDidiusJulianus.
•
A two-year-old Indian girl has set
a new national record in archery,
according to the India Book of
Records. Dolly Shivani Cherukuri
from Vijaywada in the southern
state of Andhra Pradesh - who
turns three next week - became the
youngest Indian to score more than
200 points at a trial event on Tuesday.
Researchers found that people in the study
who had ever been prescribed two or more
courses of specific types of antibiotics were
more likely to be diagnosed with type 2
diabetes than people who
had never been prescribed
these antibiotics, or had
taken just one course.
1923 – Constantinople and
Angora change their names
to Istanbul and Ankara.
• 1910 – Henri Fabre becomesthefirstpersonto
flyaseaplane,theFabre
Hydravion, after taking
offfromawaterrunway
nearMartigues,France.
ReCoRD
ReSeARCH
Minute
LONDON:EveryonetalksaboutthehealthbenefitsoftheMediterraneandiet,andassustainabilitybecomesmoreandmoreofaconcern,a
newstudydelvedintothecarbonfootprintof
theMeddietandfounditrelativelylow.
In the study, the Spanish research team analyzed the carbon footprints of daily menus
based on a diet they describe as being the
roughequivalenttotheMeddiet.
Theycomparedthemwiththedailymenusof
dietsconsumedintheU.S.andtheU.K.
Overthecourseofoneyear,theresearchteam
analyzedatotalof448lunchesand448dinners,
allofwhichwerebasedona2,000calorie-perdaydiet.
"Thesemenuscouldhaveequallybeenserved
in any school, restaurant or Spanish household," says lead author Rosario Vidal, a researcher in the Mechanical Engineering and
Construction department at the Valencian institution SINC. "The recipes analysed include
typical dishes such as Andalusian gazpacho
soup,vegetablepistomanchego,paellaorthe
stew-likepuchero."
Onaverage,thedailycarbonfootprintwas5.08
kilogramsofcarbonequivalent(CO2e),accordingtothestudy.
Diets in the two English-speaking countries,
however, presented a carbon footprint considerably higher, of between 8.5 kg and 8.8 kg of
CO2eintheU.S.andanestimated7.4kgofCO2e
intheU.K.
The research team also analyzed the Med diet
against17othertherapeuticdietsincludingsoft,
liquidandbothlow-andhigh-proteindiets.
"Thedifferencesbetweentheaveragevalueofthe
MediterraneandietandthatofEnglish-speaking
countries is due to much less beef being eaten
inSpain(afooditemwithalargercarbonfootprint)andmorevegetablesandfruitbeingeaten,
whichhavealowercarbonfootprints,"saysVidal.
"Therefore,itisnotonlyhealthier,butourdietis
alsomoreecological."
Vidal's study comes on the heels of revisions
bytheU.S.DietaryGuidelinesAdvisoryCommitteeinwhichtheyrecommendcuttingback
on lean meat not for health purposes but for
sustainability.
It'samovethat'sthoughttobethefirsttobase
dietaryadviceonecologicalpreservationratherthanhumanhealth,yetitcouldbeanimportant strategy for protecting the environment,
Vidalremindsus.
"Climate change is an international priority
thatmustbetackledfromallangles,onebeing
the family environment and consideration of
ourdailydiet,"hesays.
A carbon footprint expresses the amount of
carbon dioxide you are contributing to global
warmingwhenyouengageinactivitiessuchas
driving, using electricity and home heating, or
eatingmeat,theraisingandbutcheringofwhich
hasleftanegativeimpactontheenvironment.
IN THE LIGHTER VEIN:BothPrimeMinisterofIndiaNarenderModiandPresident,PranabhMukherjeeareofdecentheightbut
standingbesidetheQatariEmirSheikhTamimbinHamadbinKhalifaAlThaniremindsoneofGPSippy’sSholayscenewherethe
jailerAsranifeelsbelittledbeforeimposterAmitabBachan.TheEmirconcludedhisrecenttourtoIndiaonThursday.
Meeting education cost through sex
LONDON: Students turn to
sexworktomakeendsmeet
atuniversity,studyfinds
Researchshowsonein20studentshasworkedinsexindustry to fund lifestyles, just get
byorreducedebts,withmore
menthanwomeninvolved.
Many students are secretly
turning to sex work to fund
basic living costs while at
university,astudyhasfound.
ResearchbySwanseaUniversityshowsonein20students
hasworkedinthesexindustry while studying for a degree,andmenaremorelikely
todosothanwomen.
Students are involved in everything from prostitution
andescortingtostrippingand
internetwork,theStudentSex
WorkProjectreportfound.
The researchers have called
Earth Hour: Tonight millions will switch off
lights around the world for climate action
Annual switching off of
lights in homes, businesses
and landmarks on Saturday
evening holds extra significance ahead of this year’s
climate talks in Paris, says
the UN secretary general,
Ban Ki-moon
NEWYORK:Inasymbolicgesturetobringmoreattentionto
climate change, cities around
theworldwillholdanhourof
“lightsout”Saturdaynight.
Organizerssay7,000citiesin
162 countries are joining in
“Earth Hour” and turning off
lightstosaveenergy.InMinnesota, E-hour is 8:30–9:30
p.m.Saturday.
TheUNsecretarygeneral,Ban
Ki-moon, has said hundreds
ofmillionsofEarthhourparticipants around the world
will demand a strong global
climateagreementbyswitchingofftheirlightsforanhour
onSaturdaynight.
Manyoftheworld’sbrightest
Hour In Paris the illuminated Eiffel Tower with the lights turned off as activists light up
candles to observe the Earth Hour.
lightswillgodarkat8:30pm
(GMT)asEarthhourmarksits
ninthyear.Inavideoaddress,
Bansaidthesymbolicswitch-
ing-offheldmoresignificance
than ever, just nine months
before a pivotal UN meeting
ontheclimatecrisisinParis.
“Climate change is a people
problem. People cause climate
changeandpeoplesufferfrom
climate change. People can
alsosolveclimatechange.This
December in Paris, the United
Nationsisbringingnationstogethertoagreeanew,universal
andmeaningfulclimateagreement.Itwillbetheculmination
of a year of action on sustainabledevelopment,”saidBan.
Morethan7,000citiesin172
countriesareexpectedtotake
part in the world’s largest
ever demonstration, which
has grown from a single
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
eventinSydneyin2007.
“EarthHourshowswhatispossiblewhenweuniteinsupport
ofacause:noindividualaction
istoosmall,nocollectivevision
istoobig.Thisisthetimetouse
yourpower,”saidBan.
Organisers said this year’s
demonstration would be the
biggest yet. Sudhanshu Sarronwala, chair of Earth Hour
global said: “Climate change
is not just the issue of the
hour,it’stheissueofourgeneration.
on universities to do more to
supportthoseinvolved,which
could be as many as tens of
thousandsofUKstudents.
Woman accuses
immigration
officer of
harassment
BENGALURU: A homemaker
inBengaluruhasallegedthat
shewasverballysexuallyharassedbyanimmigrationofficer at the Delhi airport on
March18whenshewasflying
toHongKongviaDelhi.
The woman claimed that the
immigration officer harassed
her by asking her several uncomfortablepersonalquestions.
The incident took place when
thewomanwasattheimmigrationcounterbeforesheboarded
theflightforHongKongwhere
shehadtomeetherhusband.
C M Y K
C M Y K
8 SATURDAY 28 03 2015
Emma Watson Named
Most ‘Outstanding
Woman’ in the World
NEW YORK:AskMenhasplacedactressEmmaWatsonat
thetopofitslistoftheTop99OutstandingWomen,citing
herworkontheUnitedNations’HeforShecampaignasa
“noblepursuit.”
The men’s website says their list celebrates women who
arebothbeautifulandremarkablewithintheirindustries.
MMAfighterRondaRouseyclocksinatNo.2onthelist,
and Kim Kardashian rounds out the top three. Laverne
CoxwasnamedNo.16,andthoughthelistisheavyonactresses,thereareplentyofspacesforathletes,fromAlex
MorgantoLindseyVonn.
PublisherJamesBassilcalledWatson“rich,successful,famous,
stylish,beautiful,intelligent,personable,kind,”yetemphasized
thatshehas“thrownherback”intotheissueoffeminism.
MUzAffARNAGAR:
A
30-year-oldwomanwasset
afire allegedly by a youth
after she resisted his rape
attemptinSisolitownhere.
Thewomanwasrushedtoa
hospital and her condition
was stated to be serious,
police said on Friday. The
victim,whoisthewifeofa
bankemployee,wasalonein
her house yesterday when
the youth, identified has
Shiv Kumar, barged in and
triedtorapeher,SeniorSuperintendent of Police Alok
PriyaDarshitoldreporters.
C M Y K
NEW YORK: The thickness of
Antarctica'sfloatingiceshelves
hasdecreasedby18percentin
certain areas over nearly two
decades, warns a study that
provides insights on how the
ice sheet is responding to climatechange.
Data from nearly two decades
ofsatellitemissionshaveshown
thattheicevolumedeclineisaccelerating,researcherssaid.
The research team led by the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego constructed
a new high-resolution record
oficeshelfthicknessbasedon
satellite radar altimetry missions of the European Space
Agencyfrom1994to2012.
Merging data from three overlapping missions, researchers
identifiedchangesinicethicknessthattookplaceovermore
thanadecade,anadvancement
overstudyingdatafromsingle
missions that only provide
snapshotsoftrends.
Total ice shelf volume (mean
thickness multiplied by ice
shelf area) across Antarctica
changed very little from 1994
to2003,thendeclinedrapidly,
thestudyshows.
West Antarctic ice shelves lost
icethroughouttheentireobservation period, with accelerated
lossinthemostrecentdecade.
Earlier gains in East Antarctic
ice shelf volume ceased after
about2003,thestudyshowed.
Some ice shelves lost up to 18
per cent of their volume from
1994to2012.
"Eighteen per cent over the
course of 18 years is really
a substantial change," said
Scripps graduate student FernandoPaolo.
"Overall, we show not only
the total ice shelf volume is
decreasing, but we see an acceleration in the last decade,"
Paolosaid.
While melting ice shelves do
not contribute directly to sealevelrise,theresearchersindicatethatthereisanimportant
indirecteffect.
Page Editor: Farooq Shah | [email protected] | Layout: Muntazir Yaseen
C M Y K
C M Y K
C M Y K
Antarctic ice shelves rapidly thinning, warns study

Ruckus in Assembly, Legislator Injured

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