Incessant rains throw life out of gear in Northern
Transcription
Incessant rains throw life out of gear in Northern
Make larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products: PM Narendra Modi... P7 | NATION Shiv Sena delegation National Seminar on Protecting the small farmer 'Quailty Teacher meets SSP Traffic Education in Modern Era' P5 | KATHUA P3 | CITY INFO P6 | OPINION theNORTHLINES The Newspaper of Substance Since 1995 Vol No: XX Issue No. 89 Jammu Tawi Sun, Apr. 5, 2015 Pages - 12 Price ‘2/- www.thenorthlines.com, www.epaper.northlines.in Regd. No. JK/306/2014-16 BJP rallies behind govt, to launch counter attack Bengaluru: Backing the government, the BJP today decided to launch a counteroffensive against the opposition "disinform-ation campaign" on the controversial land bill with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that his growth was pro-poor. Executive endorses Incessant rains throw life out of BJP National joining hands with PDP gear in Northern Jammu Region Two more bodies retrieved, Over 1200 houses damaged in erstwhile Doda Lakhs of students appear for JEE (Main) test New Delhi: JEE (Main) 2015, the first step for admission to IITs as well as NITs, IIITs and other prestigious engineering institutes in the country, did not throw up any surprises for the candidates who appeared in the offline mode of test conducted today by the CBSE. Paswan supports Amit Shah 'Jungle Raj 2' barb Patna: LJP, an NDA ally, today supported Amit Shah''s "jungle raj 2" barb against Nitish Kumar government and also mocked at talks of merger of old Janata Parivar. Cong welcomes agreement on Iran's nuclear issue New Delhi: Congress today welcomed the understanding reached among Iran, USA, Russia, France, UK, Germany and China on the contentious nuclear issue. AAP has no time for farmers, shedding crocodile tears: Cong New Delhi: Accusing AAP of "shedding crocodile tears" in support of farmers over their proposed rally against Centre''s Land Acquisition Bill, Congress today said the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit has no time to reach out to the peasants in Delhi who have been affected by unseasonal rains. Nalgonda encounter: Police probing SIMI link of slain duo Hyderabad: Two armed gangsters, who were gunned down by police in an encounter in Nalgonda district of Telangana today, were suspected to be members of the banned SIMI and could be part of the group of undertrials who had escaped from Khandwa jail in 2013, police said. Thousands witness partial lunar eclipse in city Chennai: Thousands of people witnessed a partial lunar eclipse in a coppery red hue from the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre here. Market Watch SENSEX 28,260.14 302.65 NIFTY 8,586.25 95.25 GOLD (MCX) (RS/10G.) 26,454.0 250.0 USD/INR 62.5 0 WEATHER JAMMU SRINAGAR High | Low High | Low 23°C | 14°C 15°C | 4°C MOHD MAJID MALIK Jammu Tawi/Doda | Apr | 4: More than 1200 houses have been damaged in the mountainous Doda district of Jammu region due to the ongoing spell of incessant rains in the state, an official spokesman said. Two more bodies were recovered today from the debris of the collapsed house, which was yesterday hit by a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains in Doda district. Three persons were still missing. "Rescuers today recovered two more bodies from the debris of the house that collapsed under a massive landslide in Diwalkund in Dessa belt of Doda district yesterday," Senior Superintendent of Police Doda, Javed Naseeb Manhas told. With the recovery of two more bodies, he said, the total bodies recovered since yesterday has risen to four. Mehbooba likely to get place in Union Ministry NL Correspondent New Delhi/Srinagar | Apr | 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to expand his council of ministers to include a key leader from Kashmir, sources said, as he looks to win the support of allies to push economic reforms through Parliament. Mehbooba Mufti is the daughter of Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which governs in the state alongside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will be inducted into the 65-member council, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Modi is expected to announce the changes - his second reshuffle of the executive body since he stormed to power last May - before he departs for an overseas trip on April 8, the sources said. The BJP made history in February when it formed a surprise coalition in Jammu & Kashmir with the PDP, the first time the party has had a role in governing the Muslimmajority state. The PDP's decision last month to release from prison a leading separatist Masarat Alam - angered opposition politicians and embarrassed Modi just as he is struggling to get key pieces of his economic reform agenda passed in Parliament. That includes a controversial bill to change land acquisition rules, which has been held up in the Rajya Sabha where Modi's party lacks a majority. Unlike the BJP, the PDP supports autonomy for the state. Among several other expected changes to the council, Modi will also induct a representative from "Two bodies were recovered yesterday. Three people who are also feared dead, continue to be trapped under the debris of the house which has come under around 18 feet of mud and slush," he said, adding a joint rescue operation by Police, Army and civil administration was under way. "Continuous rainfall has been creating hurdles in the operation as the area is prone to more landslides. It is a remote area which lacks road accessibility thus making the movement of heavy machinery impossible", he said. The house of one Jodh Ram had collapsed yesterday after being hit by a massive landslide burying the debris under more than 18 feet of mud and slush. A team of minister and MLAs today visited the Ramban, Kishtwar and Doda districts, to review the status of the damages caused by the rainfall. "Deputy Commissioner Doda Bhupinder Kumar said that the number of houses damaged in the District was 1291 out of which 198 got fully damaged, 319 received severe damages while as 774 houses were partially damaged," he said. "51 animals were reported to have died, 310 cow sheds received damages and seven religious structures were also damaged due to rains, floods and landslides when the reports last came in," he added. The spokesman said that around 650 people of 128 families have been shifted to safer places from the landslide prone areas and temporary accommodations have been Press Club Jammu elects new panel Ashwani, Abhimanyu, Zorawar, Jammu Tawi: In a hi-tech and closely contested election, Ashwani Kumar is elected president of the Press Club of Jammu here today, while Zorawar Singh Jamwal is elected secretary general. Abhimanyu Sharma is the new vice-president while Dinesh Manhotra will be the new Seeking to allay concerns in the party over alliance with PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP's national executive today dwelt at length on the issue, underscoring that "conventional positions" would not have met the developmental aspirations of the people of the State. A special briefing on its partnership with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led party, for which BJP put several key issues including Article 370 on the backburner, was made by the party's General Secretary Ram Madhav during the concluding day of the meeting and the decision received "complete endorsement" of the national executive, senior party leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. There has been a sense of unease in the BJP over the alliance, more so after Chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed credited Hurriyat, militants and Pakistan for smooth polls in the State and hardcore separatist Masrat Alam was released from jail, inviting strong reaction from the saffron party and the Modi Government. "It is the nature of the mandate which decided the Mine blast kills 3 civilians treasurer. Ashwani -Abhimanyu panel won all the 4 officebearer seats on offer in addition to seven executive committee positions by dislodging the committee at the helm of affairs of press club Jammu for the last more than eight years. The new seven-member Executive Committee comprises Nishikant Khajuria ( 417 votes), Pawan Sharma ( 381 Contd... on P2.... possible course of the coalition. Secondly, there is a popular feeling within the State also that the governance deficit must go and developmental politics must come. "And, thirdly, behind the national agenda of developmental politics it is extremely important that more and more political parties come and endorse the developmental politics which the rest of the country wants in J&K. "You need peace, you need developmental politics and therefore conventional positions would not have achieved that," Jaitley said during his briefing after the meeting ended. Avalanche kills 4 soldiers in Leh, leaves 2 missing NL Correspondent New Delhi | Apr | 4: Contd... on P2.... Dinesh new office bearers NL Correspondent Jammu Tawi | Apr | 4: Agencies Bengaluru | Apr | 4: Vinod Sharma Jammu Tawi | Apr | 4: A mine blast claimed the lives of three people in Nowshera Rajouri on Saturday morning. Reports said that four labourers were fatally wounded when an unidentified vintage mine accidentally exploded near Nowshera. Police said that the accident occurred when the labourers inadvertently lifted an unexploded old vintage mine. All the four persons were shifted to hospital in serious condition where three persons succumbed to their injuries. Police identified the dead as Ramu Prasad (42) s/ Bindra, Monu S/o Darshan Lal (38) and Vijay Kumar (26) S/o Ram Four soldiers were killed while two others are missing after their convoy was hit by a snow avalanche at Leh in Ladakh region last evening. Official sources said here today that three vehicles from an Army convoy were trapped under several feet of snow after they were hit by an avalanche at remote Changla village in Leh. Over eight soldiers were trapped under the avalanche, they said, adding a search and rescue operation was immediately launched. They said among the six injured soldiers, four of them in critical condition, were rescued and rushed to a hospital. However, the four critical soldiers had later succumbed to injures, the sources said, adding Measures in place soon to confront future eventualities: PDP Contd... on P2.... Contd... on P2.... NL Correspondent Srinagar | Apr | 4: of river basins and embankments. "Government will initiate both short and longterm measures to deal with the situation arising Ruling PDP on Saturday hailed the role played by due to water- logging and floods during the civil and police administration in dealing with raining seasons," Mufti, also an MP, said in a flood-like situation in Jammu and Kashmir and statement here. The Government will respond assured people that the coalition government will with appropriate action as and when needed so initiate both short and long-term measures to deal that people get the relief, she added. with the problem. PDP President also said that PDP-BJP coalition PDP President Mehbooba Mufti also sought government would continue to extend every cooperation from people in dealing with such possible support to the administration in reaching situation in future by desisting from encroachment Contd... on P2.... Jammu-Srinagar highway Flood threat ends in Valley, water level recedes blocked for 4th consecutive day Contd... on P2.... NL Correspondent Srinagar | Apr | 4 : fourth consecutive day on Saturday due to landslides triggered by heavy rains, leaving more than 600 Kashmir-bound passengers are stranded. Authorities have not allowed any fresh movement of traffic from Jammu to Srinagar or from the other side, SSP Traffic, National Highway, Sanjay Kotwal said. As a result of closure of the highway, more NL Correspondent than 600 Kashmir-bound passengers are stranded Jammu Tawi | Apr | 4: at the Jammu bus stand for the past three days The 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar National and are demanding that they be airlifted to Highway remained closed for traffic for the Kashmir. The highway was closed on 1 April due Over 600 passengers stranded at the Jammu bus stand After surviving the flood threat for about a week, situation in the Kashmir valley is limping back to normal as water level in river Jhelum was receding now following dry weather during the past 24 hours. The divisional authorities have now declared that flood threat has ended as the river Jhelum, which was at spate during last week of March, was now flowing below danger month of March recorded more than 300 mm rainfall, highest in three decades resulting in increase in the water level in Jhelum and its tributaries. An official of Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) told media. that the water level has started receding due to dry weather, much to the delight of people in Kashmir. It had witnessed increase following heavy rain in south Kashmir on mark for the past few days predicted that weather will April 2 and 3 and it took about despite heavy rain. The Mete- remain mainly dry during the orological department has also next five days. However, the Kunzar encounter pulls rug beneath AFSPA revocation rhetoric Contd... on P2.... NL Correspondent/KIP Jammu | Apr | 4 : The Kunzar (Tangmarg) encou-nter between the security forces and militants, in which two security personnel were killed and three others were injured and militants having managed to escape, has put a question mark on the demand for partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir. Reports said that the very incident has provoked the BJP to adopt a resolution at its national executive meet in Bengaluru which conveyed to Pakistan in clear terms that talks and terror cannot coexist. Stressing that terror and talks cannot go together, Bhartiya Janta Party has said India's engagement with Pakistan would be based on strategic interests and enunciated Modi government's foreign policy pillars or "Pancha-mrit" of dignity, dialogue, securi-ty and shared prosperity and culture. In the first-ever separate resolution on foreign policy brought in its National Executive in Bengaluru, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) attacked the previous Congress-led Governm-ent, saying "a cursory glance at the 'lost decade' of the Unitied Progressive Alliance (UPA), rev-eals retreat and a loss of direction in engaging with neighbours, ham-handed diplomacy visa -vis Pakistan and a blind-spot in our foreign policy to the Indian Ocean island states. Judged by the tone and tenor of the resolution the possibility of immediate Contd... on P2.... resumption of talks between New Delhi and Islamabad is quite remote. ‘According to these reports, New Delhi will watch the security scenario in weeks to come and on the basis of the ground realities decide whether their channels of talks with Pakistan have to be reopened or shut. In the meantime official sources confirmed that the plan to withdraw AFSPA in a phased manner may be put on hold in view of reports that militants may try to exploit the current flood situation in which the security forces and the Army had been engaged in carrying out relief and rescue operations. Sources said that lifting of Armed Forces Special Power Act from Jammu and Kashmir depends on the attitude of the establishment in Islamabad, particularly the Army and the ISI. If these two agencies stop aiding militants in crossing into Jammu and Kashmir the level of militancy related violence may touch a new low thereby increasing the scope for partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA). 2 The NORTHLINES CITY INFO JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 www.thenorthlines.com How Sep's official machinery Kashmir FC maintains tackled floods this time: Alam winning streak against 'Constituted committee PIFA FC Mumbai to probe the death': BMO Death of pregnant lady sparks protest Srinagar | Apr 4 | KNS | The PDP senior leader Mohammad Khurshid Alam on Saturday while taking dig at the previous government said it must act as an eye opener for NC Abdullah that how the government at present tamed the floods with the same official machinery that NC had in September last year In a statement issued to Press here, Alam maintained that the Kahsmir valley witnessed havoc last year in September only because there was no active government in place in Jammu and Kashmir. "Had there not been the regime of the national conference during the incessant rains of September last year, the summer capital would have been saved from destruction. It was only due to the inaction of previous government that the region witnessed such large scale devastation." Alam said that NC instead of playing politics over the recent situation must hold himself and his party accountable to what it did to the people of the state during crises. Instead of trying to grab headlines, NC should ascertain that how come the same official machinery which served him in September was able to save Srinagar this time from the fury of nature. "How inundation and water logging ended this time. How streets no longer resemble with the streams, how de watering was done at a same time on this much of large scale and how for the first time after the six years of the turbulent rule, did the people feel that government is working for them, assisting and addressing their concerns, " Alam said in a statement. He added that people of Srinagar have finally come to know that it is the regime of PDP which has so far been successful in delivering what it promised to the people of the state and time has come when the emotional slogans of NC would no longer work. Alam said that the NC leaders have no right to visit the rain affected areas as they failed to save peoples properties and lives during the six years of their tenure in the state. Saroori, Wani express shock over Desa Doda landslide incident Jammu | April 04: Vice President JKPCC, G. M. Saroori-MLA Inderwal and General Secretary JKPCC, Abdul Majid Wani-Former MLA Doda today expressed grief and shock in a tragic incident of landslide in Desa area of district Doda. Amud house belonging to Jodh Raj was collapsed due to landslides at Dessa area of district Doda in which all seven persons including four children's, one woman and two men were buried in the depris. Saroori and Wani have conveyed their heartfelt condolence to the family members of bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. They also prayed to Almighty Allah to give strength to the family members of the deceased's to bear irreparable loss. FROM PAGE 1... Press Club Jammu ... Votes), Deepak Mahajan (378 votes), Vishal Bharti ( 330 votes), Deepak Khajuria (311 Votes), Ajay Bachloo ( 311 votes ), Surjeet Singh ( 290 Votes). The much delayed election was held today after four years. Mehbooba likely to get .... the Shiv Sena, the BJP's coalition partner in Maharashtra, one of the sources said. Incessant rains throw life.... provided to them. The team comprising of Minister for Health and Medical Education, Chowdhary Lal Singh accompanied by Minister of State for PWD and Revenue Sunil Kumar Sharma and MLA Doda Shakti Raj Parihar and MLA Ramban Neelam Langeh interacted with the locals to know about the problems being faced by them, he said. Throwing life out of gear, incessant rains continue to lash whole Chenab valley, wherein from last one month hundreds of houses collapsed. The Batote Doda and Bhaderwah-Doda road along with Doda, Marmath, Bharath, Bhagwah, Bonjawa, Khara, Bhalessa, Kastigarh and other inter district roads of Doda remained closed for sixth consecutive day, causing great inconvenience to the people. The condition of Batote-Kishtwar stretch of National Highway has deteriorated further at Khilani some 8 KM from Doda has slipped approximately 8 feet created panic among the government circles. Meanwhile, there are reports of landslides and road skidding at 8 place all along Batote-Kishtwar stretch of National Highway and the worst condition of the road is between Drabshala to Kishtwar and Doda-Batote including areas at Khorapani, Raggi Nallah, Shalimar, Malori and other places. The internal road links in Doda and Kishtwar District are also close and Bhaderwah-Doda road is also facing a threat of collapse as the reports of road sinking at many places are travelling thick and fast. Thatri-Bhunzwah road is also blocked at many places since last several days as the concern department fails to meet out the requirement of man and machinery to clear the debris from the roads. The people blamed poor and sub standard work executed by GREF as main cause of frequent landslides and slipping of road all along Batote-Kishtwar National Highway. Several houses were also damaged due to rains in Doda and Kishtwar District. Agriculture land as well as orchids also suffered massive damages. All the major and minor roads of the District are blocked, there is shortage of essential commodities in few areas, LPG cylinder are not available in the District and Medical supplies are sufficient till date but shortage may arise in some areas, this was revealed by Deputy Commissioner Doda while briefing the meeting. Earlier, the Ministers along with MLA Doda visited Kishtwar and reviewed the damages to the life and property in a meeting with District Administration Kishtwar. Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Mr. Mohd Javaid Khan briefed about the extent of the damages and said that almost all the roads of the District are blocked due to slippery condition and landslides at different locations. He said that there is sufficient stock of essential commodities in the District but there is shortage of K-Oil and LPG besides he informed that the power supply in the Kishtwar town has been restored while as most of the rural areas are still without electricity, which got disrupted due to damages to power distribution network. After week long rains in Chenab valley, Sun shone brightly today amid chilly winds still triggering cold conditions. However there is acute shortage of ration in various parts of Doda, Bhaderwah, Thathri, Gondho, Bhalessa and Kishtwar, people alleging that the department of consumer affairs and public distribution (CAPD) has still not distributed ration for March and are involved in black marketing. Residents alleged that they had been demanding the ration for March, but their efforts bore no fruit as government ration stores remained closed as people are without non-availability of rice, wheat flour and sugar and even kerosene oil are being sold in black market by outlet holders."If the department concerned fails to send supplies to the affected areas, starvation is possible. The department should make necessary arrangements at the earliest, else people will take to the streets in protest," a local added in Bhaderwah. Reports further said today one dozen more houses got damaged in whole Doda district and a wall of Eid Gah Doda also collapsed. Minister directed SE PWD (R&B) Division Doda to mobilize their men and machinery and to closely monitor the road restoration works. He further directed Deputy Commissioner Doda to personally monitor the relief and rescue operation at Dewalkund village where 7 people of a family are buried under the debris of a landslide. Besides he impressed upon DC Doda to distribute tents, shift people to the safer places from vulnerable/ slide prone areas and provide ration and other essential commodities wherever necessary. Minister while reviewing the functioning of Health system in Doda in view of the recent heavy rain falls in the area enjoined upon the CMO Doda Dr. Yaqoob Mir Siliguri | Apr 04 | Kashmir FC continued on its winning ways with a hard fought 1-0 victory against PIFA in their 3rd round of Ileague division 2nd in Siliguri West Bengal. It was Kashmir FC who dominated procee-dings from the start with S.k Faiz and Bisheshwor going close with their efforts. It was Faiz who was brought down in the penalty box to which the referee awarded the penalty in favour of Kashmir FC but Kareem wasn';t able to convert it and missed the net. Kashmir FC started the second half again on the front coming out fierce with attacking intent and their efforts were rewarded when Bisheswor penetrated a through ball which was calmly finished by Rohit with a fine placement. The team didn';t stop attacking after the goal and went hard in search of another one with Ajay and Faiz going close with their respective efforts. The final score ended 1-0 in favour of Kashmir FC. Coach Hilal Parray was to streamline the health system of the hospitals in the District and personally monitor all the facilities available to the patients and the attendance of Doctors and other Staff in the health institutions. Responding to the demand of a Radiologist in District Hospital Doda he assured that the post will be soon filled, besides he expressed optimism on mitigation of the problem of staff shortage in Hospitals in the District. He also asked the Medical fraternity to focus more on serving in the public hospitals and refrain from the private practices. All the officers should work with honesty and dedication to effectively deliver the public services to the common masses, he added. Mine blast kills .... Savroop all residents of Village Upphoria, Rai Bareily (UP). The injured labourer Amit Kumar, a resident of Rae Bareli. According to the Block Medical Officer Dr. Shamim Choudhary, the injured is out of danger. Avalanche kills 4 soldiers ... that the rescue operation was still underway to locate the remaining two soldiers. Jammu-Srinagar highway .... to landslides triggered by heavy rains at several places, he said. The men and machines of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working to clear the highway of landslides and make it motorable, he said, adding the highway is expected to reopen by Saturday evening. About 700-800 trucks are stranded at various places at Jammu, Udhampur, Banihal, Ramban, Batote and Patnitop areas of the highway, he said, adding that all the stranded passenger vehicles have been cleared from the highway. Meanwhile, the Batote-Doda-Kishtwar inter-district road also remained closed for the fourth day for traffic in view of landslides at different places, they said, adding efforts are being made to restore the road for traffic. Flood threat ends .... Srinagar. However, that period is now over and water has started receding and it will now witness more drop at Sangam and Ram Munshi Bagh, but will increase slightly at Sangam downstream. He said against 14.85 feet water level at 0800 hrs in Jhelum at Sangam, it was 14.60 feet at 0900 hrs, which was more than seven feet below danger mark. Similarly, at Ram Munshi Bagh, the water level at 0800 hrs was 16.70 feet against 16.80 feet, still more than a feet below red mark, he said, adding that however, the water level at downstream Asham in Bandipora, the water level has witnessed increase. He said it was 12 feet at 0800 hrs and at 0900 hrs it was 12.08 feet, though still two feet below danger mark. Though rain is not new during the months of February to even in May, this time the valley received more than 300 mm rainfall during the month of March, breaking the record of three decades. It was in 1983 when the valley recorded 365 mm rainfall though there was no flood as almost all water bodies were open and the flow of water was smooth. The lowest 9.6 mm rainfall was recorded in March, 2004. Last year 220 mm rainfall was recorded in the month of March. However, this time there was a flood threat as almost all water bodies, nallahs, khuls and flood channel were encroached upon and filled. Major flood channel 'Doodgangaa' passing through Batmaloo in the heart of the city was converted into commercial hub and surprisingly, the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) also constructed a shopping complex after the water body was totally filled. All other nallahs and khuls were also encroached upon and used for business hubs and residential houses. The administration has finally woke up and started removing some of the encroachments on water bodies. Diversion constructed in Ram Bagh flood channel at a cost of several lakhs of rupees by previous government, was also removed as it was obstruction smooth of water from the river Jehlum. It will be now seen if the drive will continue or will end after the situation improves further. Measures in place soon ... out to people and "addressing the problems confronting the State so that there was visible change in the ground situation within minimum possible time." She said the state administr-ation functionaries have the "capacity and capability" to deliver in difficult situations if they get the required direction and leadership. "It was after a long time that the administration and the political executive worked in a cooperative and coordinated manner and put in a collective effort to confront the situation arising due to incessant rains in the State and the results were there for everybody to see," Mehbooba said. The PDP president said barring tragic incidents at Laden in Budgam and Dekundal in Doda, the administration by and large handled the situation deftly in the aftermath of incessant rains across Jammu and Kashmir. quoted saying" It was a well earned win; the lads gave their best out in the field. We could have scored multiple goals had we not wasted a host of chances. One goal is a unsafe lead in football you always need the second goal to kill the game. Secretary Majid Yousuf said "We need to work on our finishing and conversion rates. It';s long way to go and we cannot keep missing the scoring opportunities. Nevertheless Iftikhar A Lone Chairman and Nazir Ahmad Khan Exe-cutive Director KFC congratulate the boys for their valiant efforts, telephonically. Bandipora | April 4 | CNS | Hospital Srinagar but she died protest against the 'erring' The death of a pregnant female due to excessive loss of blood stirred a massive protest at Sub-District Hospital Hajin in North Kashmir's Bandipora district while the protesters who accused doctors of negligence demanded stringent punishment for the 'erring' doctors. "I admitted my wife Rubeena (26) in the hospital after she developed labour pain on Wednesday. After surgery, she developed some complications and in a bid to save their skin, the doctors referred her to SKIMS Trust on way," said the husband of the deceased woman, Sajad Ahmed who is a resident of Bangar Mohalla Hajin. "My wife despite breathing her last in the ambulance was taken to Srinagar hospital where doctors declared her brought dead," Sajad said alleging that it was the sheer negligence on part of the doctors who didn't refer her to Srinagar hospital in time. As the news about the death of Rubeena spread in the area, scores of people assembled outside Sub-District Hospital Hajin and staged a massive Horticulture key to JK's economic growth: Veeri Srinagar | April 04 | Terming horticulture as back bone of state's economy, the Minister for Horticulture, Hajj & Auqaf, Abdul Rehman Veeri today said that focused attention will be given to rejuvenate horticulture industry in a big way. The Minister was addressing a high level Horticulture review meeting at SKICC here today. The meeting was attended by Vice Chancellor SKUAST Kashmir, Dr. Tej Pratap Singh, C o m m i s s i o n e r- S e c r e t a r y Horticulture Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon, Director Horticulture Kashmir, Director Horticulture Planning and Marketing, Director Law Enforcement, Managing Director HPM&C, Horticulture Officers of the Valley, Subject matter experts and other officers of the department. The Minister also directed for constitution of a three member committee which will submit proposal for reorganization of the department within a week's time. Later, the Minister visited Hajj House Bemina Srinagar and took stock of the situation that has arisen due to incessant rains. He directed for immediate dewatering of the water in the premises of Hajj House and also directed concerned engineers to come up with a permanent drainage plan at an earliest. On this occasion, Executive Officer Hajj House Bemina, Engineers of PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control & R&B were present on the occasion. various departments in a meeting held under his chair at District Headquarters here. While giving brief about the achievements registered by various departments in the district during the year 201415, the Minister was informed that Rs.17.88 cr was distributed under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) among the September, 2014 flood affected families. He was informed that 881 houses were fully, 340 severely, 9691 partially, 2072 cow sheds and 4004 huts damaged during the September floods in the district. The Minister also reviewed the progress of work on ongoing hospital buildings. The Minister asked the offices to work with utmost dedication and come up to the expectations of the people. Earlier, a condolence meeting was held to express sympathies with the bereaved family members of Ledder incident. The participants prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. Rawoocha,Patoosa and Khushopora. Yawar Dilawar Mir also inspected houses and orchards damaged due to torrential rains and windstorm in Brandub, Kamber, Khamooha,Panjiwari and Roohama and expressed their sympathies with the affected families.They assured the affected families that the present government is with them in this need of the hour and nobody will be left to suffer . Yawar Dilawar Mir asked the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla to get prepared a detailed project report (DPR) immediately to check soil erosion due to gushing waters in Nallah Dakhill ' Nallah Vij and Nallah Hamal flowing through various areas of the Rafiabad Constituency and elsewhere. They said these Nallas have wrecked massive devastation in the area during the recent incessant rains , causing heavy losses to the farmers. The team also inspected the Water Supply Scheme at Harduchanam which has been damaged due to a massive landslide causing great hardship to the people. enough to meet any eventuality, G.A. Mir questioned? He said the Administration here remains in deep slumber and when any unfortunate incident takes place, the Administration starts working, he termed this behaviour very disappointing. Lashing out at the Govt apathy for not keeping a proper check on Natural Calamities, he (G. A. Mir) emphasized the need for streamlining the PHE, Flood Control and Irrigation departments, so that any eventuality in future can be tackled and loss of human lives prevented. On this occasion he ( G.A. Mir) provided Rs. 1.00 Lac as relief to affected family of Laden (Charar I Sharief). Those who accompanied G.A. Mir to Laden included Farooq Andrabi, Hilal Shah, Gulam Nabi Mir Lasjan, Zahid Hussain Jan, Abdul Gani Khan, Irfan Naqeeb and others. Hanjura reviews developmental works Budgam | April 4 | Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura who is supervising the relief measures in various landslide and rain affected areas of Budgam today visited various areas of the district including Ariwadi, Frislab, Watran and Arigam villages and took stock of the people's proble At Arigam village, the Minister was given warm welcome. He also reviewed the fiscal and financial achievements of DC visits damaged houses, affected horticulture land Srinagar | April 4 | MLA Rafiabad, Yawar Mir along with former Cabinet Minister, Diawar Mir today conducted a whirlwind daylong tour to about fifteen flood damaged villages of Rafiabad constituency and took stock of the damages caused to residential houses, agriculture and orchard land in the area. The villages visited included Watergam, Dangiwacha, Harduchanam, Chajihama, Tragpora, Brandab, Shalkoot, Panzla, Balhama, Shiekhpora,, Brandab Shutloo, JKPCC visits flood victims Srinagar | April 04 | President JKPCC G. A. Mir visited the affected family of Laden Charar-i-Sharief, who lost their 16 family members after getting buried alive in debris due to land erosion very recently and offered his condolences to bereaved family and sympathized with them. He said his heart goes out for those who lost their precious lives in this accident and termed this incident very unfortunate and painful. He met the family members of deceased and consoled them, assured them that Congress party will fight for their rehabilitation and compensation. He (G.A. Mir) said Congress Party is very much concerned for those affected families also who suffered in one way or the other particularly for those who lost their nears and dears due to land erosion or floods etc and will get them rehabilitated and compensated he assured. Why the administration was not alert LWWS stages Nukkad play Jammu |Apr 04 | Lalded Women Welfare Society Regd. has staged a play Nukkad play at Saturday at Shastri Nagar, Jammu. After seeing tremendous atrocities on speechless animals especially "Dogs" who are performing duties to their masters at different homes bestowed by the God but when they get older and sick they are treating them badly and house owners just letting them off outside the road to die down. LWWS Regd. has staged a play to highlight the pain suffering of dog animals. The script is conceived and written by Ram paul & directed by Naveen Pal. The story starts with " Nattu" who is not fond of keeping Dog pup at home but his wife Kamla instead him to bring a small puppy to guard the house. doctors. The protesters alleged that young Rubeena died to blood loss and the doctors failed to control her bleeding. Block Medical Officer Dr Tariq told CNS that the patient was fully dilated and the baby was in outlet when her family brought her in hospital. "The operation was conducted by Dr Ifshana in a smooth manner and the patient delivered a baby girl. She was anaemic and needed blood and that is why we referred her to Trust Hospital SKIMS where she died during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Booth level special camps to be organized under NERPAP Kupwara | April 04 | As per the communication of District Election Officer, who is also the Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, the booth level special camps are being organized at all Booth Level Officers in district Kupwara under National Electoral Rolls Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) on April 12, May 10, June 14, July 12 and August 09, 2015. The concerned Booth Level Officers of the district, associated with the election related matters have been directed to ensure their presence in the respective areas on the above scheduled dates. Ansari visits Polytechnic Baramulla | April 04 | The Minister for Technical Education, Youth Services, Sports and Information Technology, Moulvi Imran Raza Ansari today visited the Government Polytechnic College for Women, Srinagar. Accompanied by concerned officers the Minister took round of the college campus spread over twelve acres of land. The Minister was informed that the departments located in the ground floor including Textile, Food Technology, Electronic Communication, Garment Technology were damaged during September floods. He was told that these departments need to be restored for which Rs. 8 crore are required. The Minister assured the college administration that the college would be completely restored and projected restoration costs would be submitted to the concerned quarters for early sanction. During the visit, Imran Ansari inaugurated "Deodar Plantation Drive" of 2500 Deodar saplings which will be supplied to all polytechnic institutions across the valley. Asiya tours interior areas of Hazratbal Const Srinagar, April 04: The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Asiya Naqash today toured interior areas of Hazratbal constituency including Hassanabad, Rangpora, Elahi Bagh, Ahmad Nagar, Anchar and Jenab Sahib Soura to assess the situation which has arisen due to incessant rains in these areas. The Minister while visiting interiors of Hassanabad assessed the damage caused due to rains to the residential houses which have developed cracks. Printer, Publisher & Proprietor Neelam Singh Gill. Published from Gurudwara Sunder Singh Road, Jammu-180001 and Printed at Northlines Offset Printers & Publishers, Jeewan Nagar, Digiana, Jammu. Phone Editorial : 2574109 Telefax : 2548103. Advertisements: 9858183354; RNI No. 69574/98 e-mail:-< [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] > Visit www.thenorthlines.com, http://www.northlines.in. Epaper: www.epaper.thenorthlines.com 3 The NORTHLINES Jammu City Shiv Sena delegation meets SSP Traffic Jammu | Apr 04 | A delegation of Hindustan Shiv Sena met S.S.P Traffic J.P.Singh and submits memorandum to streamline the traffic problem in the state especially Jammu Distt. . Dimply Kohli ( National President ) lead the delegation and other office bearers Vikrant Kapoor , G.I. Singh , Vinay Gupta , Rohit Singh Bhau accompany him. On the occasion Shiv Sena leaders said that It is a mission of J&K Traffic Police to safeguard the lives of the people , to reduce the incidents of accidents, rash and negligent driving, driving under the influence of liquor and thus enhance the public safety . They said that efficient management of traffic has emerged as one of the most challenging aspect to the Government as it involves life and safety of the citizens. They said that separate stands are made for Tata Sumo , Wimgers and other commercial vehicles and metering should start in auto rickshaws so that tourists were not looted in this NDS organises Sahatik Goshthi state. Shiv Sena leaders said that this is high time that Pre paid metering will be start in Jammu Mahanagar on the pattern of metro cities so that passengers especially tourists will have a sigh of relief from over charging. They said that traffic police should take other steps also on its behalf to overcome traffic congestion problem. S.S.P Traffic listens the grievances of the Shiv Sena delegation and assures them that their genuine demands will be considered. www.thenorthlines.com Bali cautions land grabbers, timber smugglers Jammu | April 4 | Issuing strict warning to the forest land grabbers and timber smugglers across the State, Minister for Forest, Environment & Ecology and Social Welfare, Bali Bhagat today said that Government will deal with the elements involved in such unscrupulous acts sternly to save the State's natural resources. Addressing largely attended public meetings in Raipur-Domana constituency here today; the Minister said that a huge chunk of forest land is in the possession of land grabbers across the State and Government has launched a massive campaign to get it vacated. Maintaining that the PDP-BJP regime is committed to provide transparent and accountable governance, the Minister said that the people have voted the new dispensation for a change and it will make utmost effort to fulfil their expectations. Referring to the upgradation of Jammu-Akhnoor road and Bantalab-Amb Gharota Road, the Minister said that Central Government has approved the 4-laning of Jammu-Akhnoor road and survey work will be completed within two months. Sarpanchs, Panchs, local leaders including, Omi Khajuria, Kasturi Lal Sharma Rajdev Singh also accompanied the Minister. Sheikh Mehboob's appointment as PDP Gen Secy hailed BHADERWAH | Apr 04 | The PDP unit Bhaderwah welcomed the decision to appoint Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal as State General Secretary ."We hail the decision of the PDP high Command Mufti Mohd Sayeed andPresident Mehbooba Mufti for appointment of Sheikh as State General Secretary Said Thakur Yudvir Singh zonal President PDP Bhaderwah while addressing a meeting here today at hotel city center and said Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal appointment as General Secretary will further boost up the rank and file of the party cadre in Chenab valley. Shokat Malik , Ab Hamid Ganai , Kewal Kotwal , Majid Batt ,Chaman Lal ,Sartaj Ahmed Sarpanch Sherkahi,Mohd Sharief and several others has hailed the appointment of Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal and hailed the party high command for the decision saying it would further strengthen the party cadre at grass root level in the state. DBN organises Annual Graduation Day Jammu | Apr 04 | Nami Dogri Sanstha (Regd.) organised a Sahatik Goshthi at Sewa Bharti Jammu which was presided by Aaresh Om Dalmotra. Present on the occasion were Sham Talib, President, Adbi Kunj, Som Nath Taroch, Ashok Sharma, Maharaj Krishan, Vigyan Bharti Kaila, Shambu Ram Pyasa, Mohan Lal Komal, M. S. Kamra read the poe Aaresh Om Dalmotra in his presidential address said that Sahatik Goshthi organised by NDS is of great significance. Nami Dogri Sanstha is doing yeoman service for the development of Dogri language and Literature. Yash Pal Yash compared the Programme in a very befitting manner. Advocate Dogra Harish Kaila, President, Nami Dogri Sanstha (Regd.) The Additional Director General of Police Headquarters, (ADGP) S. P. Vaid today visited various police establishments in the summer capital to assess the situation caused due to heavy rains. Vaid accompanied by senior police officers, visited Police Headquarters (PHQ) at Pirbagh and took stock of the arrangements made for the opening of Darbar. He asked to take all required measures to make PHQ functional so that the routine work resumes on the scheduled date. The ADGP also visited CID Headquarters near Emporium Garden, Police Control Room, Police Hospital Batmaloo, Police Public School, Police Housing Colony Bemina and various city police stations, which had come under waters in the recent flood like situation. He enquired from the concerned about the damages caused to these establishments and asked to make efficient and effective measures for dewatering from the premises of these establishments. He was told that Jawans and Natrang's theatre workshop inaugrated Jammu | April 04 | Natrang's Spring Children's Theatre Workshop-2015 inaugurated here today by Padamshree Balwant Thakur, with the lighting of traditional lamp at newly refurbished Natrang Studio Theatre, Jammu. The workshop is being conducted by Neeraj Kant, Bipin Gupta and Aarushi Thakur. Neeraj Kant is an expert of Children Theatre whereas Bipin Gupta has specialized in Acting from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkatta and Aarushi Thakur after graduating from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi did her Masters from University of Leister, UK has specialized training in Dramatics from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London. The workshop in being coordinated by Mahikshit Singh. Speaking on the occasion, Natrang Director Balwant Thakur said that a unique and rarest opportunity has been provided by Natrang to Jammu children where they will be exposed to the amazing world of creativity and innovation. A wholesome and funfilled training module which applies the most latest developed theatrical and artistic devices of self exploration and personality development will be offered to the participating children who will have the occasion to explore their immense inner abilities while participating in creative games and professionally designed exercises. Children who participated on the inaugural day of the workshop included Gopi Sharma, Sanchita Dubey, Shreya Gupta, Sanyam Gupta, Mihir Gural, Asma Gul, Agam Kour, Swaranjali Sambyal, Riya Jandyal, Hamad Salif, Samyak Shirsh, Vidit Shirsh, Khushi Jandyal, Anandita Sethi, Nidyaat Jamwal, Yajur Gupta, Suditi Jamwal, Sanya Gupta, Praney, Vansh Vardhan Singh, Archit Sharma, Vairaj Sharma, Prashant, Nirbhey Khajuria, Arnav Anand, Sahil Anand, Himansh Gupta and Madhurya. Amongst others who attended the inaugural function included Anil Tickoo and Sumeet Sharma . Kundal convenes meeting of Young Panthers, NPSU Jammu | Apr 04| Yashpal Kundal State President Young Panthers convened a joint meeting of Young Panthers and NPSU to discuss the future of course of action at party head quarters here today. In the meeting it was resolved to dissolve and reconstitute the district committees of Young Panthers. Yashpal Kundal stressed upon the activists to build and expand the party cadre and start membership drive with full throttle which was acknowledged by everyone Jammu | Apr 04 | DBN Vidya mandir Amarvilla organised Annual Graduation Day in which annual result of class Nursery to IX was declared and students were awarded merit/graduation certificates. Proshotam Dadichi, renowned educationist and social activist, who presented these certificates, was the Chief Guest. Advisors Leelakarn Sharma, Dr. Ramakant Dubey and manager Trust Rajendra Kakkar were also present on the ocassion. Principal Dr. Baljeet Singh congratulated the students on their successful competition of Term - 2. officers of Jammu and Kashmir Police, besides remaining active with the civil administration to evacuate the people to safer places, saved the records and property of the department. Timely action was taken to shift the records and moveable properties to safer places to ensure their safety, the ADGP was told. Vaid, stressed upon the officers to make all police establishments functional immediately so that the normal policing does not affect. He said that last year floods have served a lesson to take safety and precautionary measures to save the properties from any damages during such situations. The ADGP expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the JKP personnel in providing assistance to the civil administration, besides saving the organizational assets and records. Poonch | April 4, CNS | National Conference workers on Saturday held a massive protest in the border town of Poonch against apathetic approach of the government in facing the challenge posed by recent incessant rains and also the failure in solving the multiple problems faced by the people since the past few months. Led by former MLAAjaz Jan, a delegation comprising senior district functionaries of the party, after holding an extra-ordinary meeting, met the District Development Commissioner and presented a memorandu. The memorandum, inter allia, seeks immediate relief to the flood sufferers and assessment of losses caused to property, agriculture land and live stock due to recent heavy rains. It also expressed anguish over the missing of around 80 per cent case files of the September-2014 flood sufferers, pending disposal in the concerned government departments. While seeking inquiry into the matter, Mr Jan called for reconstructing the case files and processing these for early disposal in order to mitigate the sufferings of the people. The memorandum also expressed concern over delay in the distribution of solar lights, sanctioned by the former Renewable Energy Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. It noted with anguish the efforts being made by political leaders to get around 11000 lights distributed among their party workers and favourites in connivance with officials thus depriving the genuine cases to suffer. It also sought reallocation of kerosene oil and enhancing the quota, as per family distribution has surprisingly been reduced from five to just two litres. The memorandum also urged the government for making available adequate funds, especially in MGNAREGA to liquidate the liabilities of the contractors. (CNS) The ERA J&K has started laying pipes for its Sewerage Treatment Plant project at the confluence point of Janipur Nallah and Shakti Nagar Nallah, near Shanti Ghat AG Office, Jammu. The local people resented the layout of the pipes, as the same could intervene and affect the flow of nallahs, which would consequently bring the surroundings at the submerged level. Thereafter, the people when approached BJP MLA Jammu West Sat Sharma (CA) , he immediately directed the Jammu | April 04 | Minister for Health and Medical Education, ARI & Trainings Ch. Lal Singh accompanied by Minister of State for PWD and Revenue Sunil Kumar Sharma and MLA Doda Shakti Raj Parihar and MLA Ramban Neelam Langeh today visited flood hit areas of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts and reviewed the damages caused to life and property due to recent incessant rains and landslides in the area. During the tour to flood hit areas of the Ramban, Kishtwar and Doda, Ch Lal Singh directed the Public Works Department to gear up their men and machinery in restoring the flood damages including road connectivity especially on Batote-Doda-Kishtwar National Highway, DodaBhaderwah and ThathriGandoh roads so that all the essential supplies and medicines could be transported to these disconnected areas at the earliest. Ch Lal Singh while reviewing the functioning of health system in Doda in view of the recent heavy rainfall in the area enjoined upon the CMO Doda Dr. Yaqoob Mir to streamline the health system of the hospitals in the district and personally monitor all the facilities available to the patients and the attendance of doctors and other staff in the health institutions. Deputy Commissioner Doda Bhupinder Kumar while revealing the details of the persons trapped and killed in a tragic landslide in Dewal Kund village of Bhagwah Tehsil said that 7 persons of a family were trapped in the debris when their house collapsed due to landslide in the village Dewal Kund of Dessa area of District Doda out of which 4 dead Panthers and Vilakshan Singh General Secretary young Panthers proposed the strategies for raising the funds for the party. Other participants who spoke in the meeting included Virender Thakur, Ravinder Jamwal, Neeraj Gupta, Pushpinder Singh, Anil Rakwal, Aditya Hans, Abhishek Sharma, Anoop Thakur, Clinton Sharma, Vishal Tagotra, Rana, Lucky Malhotra, etc. Anita Thakur General Secretary NPP was a special invitee and an observer in the meeting. authorities of UEED and ERA to be present at site. The MLA on reaching the site could only find the team of UEED comprising of A.K. Vaid SE, Rakesh Gupta, XEN, and Satish Sharma AEE, whereas, no officer/official of ERA was present except for the contractor who was executing the work on behalf of ERA. The officers of UEED apprised the MLA that the desicion of laying the pipes at this confluence was taken by the ERA at its own level, without taking the UEED in the confidence and their department has categorically requested the authorities of the ERA to change the alignment of the pipes, but no attention has been given and the work continues to be executed by the contractor on the connivance of the ERA. In the meanwhile, S.K. Chauhan, SP City (North), Sriram SDPO and Daleep Singh SHO Bakshi Nagar Police Thana also reached the site on ascertaining the situation of law and order. After taking the onspot assessment of the problem, Sat Sharma (CA) directed to immediately stop the execution of the work till appropriate decision in the matter is taken up by the concerned authorities. Kathua Er Narinder Singh Bali, Chief Medical Officer Kathua R.K Sangra besides Medical Officer SDH Nagri accompanied the Minister. Ch Lal Singh was also briefed by CMO Kathua about the status of new Sub-District Hospital Nagri building. The Minister assured that funds to the tune of 85 lakh have been sanctioned recently for the building, adding that state of art building will provide infrastructural requirements for the hospital. Earlier, Ch Lal Singh also visited Sub-Centre Jakhbar and took stock of the healthcare facilities and medicines available in the centre. Ch Lal Singh assured them that Government is keen to give healthcare facilities to the people of every nook and corner of the State. He said that filling up of vacant posts and upgrading of healthcare infrastructure are the top agenda of the Government. Lal Singh conducts surprise check of hospitals Jammu | April 04 | Minister for Health & Medical Education, ARI and Training Ch Lal Singh today paid surprise visit to Sub-Health Centres at Nagri and Lakhanpur and enquirered about the healthcare facilities being provided to the people including staff strength and stock of medicines. After enquiring the available facilities, strength of the medico and medicines, the Minister directed the hospital administration to publicise the duty roaster of the doctors and paramedical staff. He directed to ensure their presence round the clock for the treatment of BANIHAL |Apr 04 | the ailing people. Mission Director NRHM Dr. In order to take review of Yash Pal Sharma, ADDC post rainfall situation and relief and measures taken by the administration Senior congress leader and MLA Banihal Vikar Rasool wani along with Tehsil administration including SDM Banihal conduct the extensive visit of Kralpora darshipora, bodies have been so far Hinjhal, Asher, chapnari and retrieved when the reports last Thachi Amkote area of his came in. constituency Banihal and Deputy Commissioner access the situation raised after Kishtwar Mohd. Javaid Khan recent devastating rainfall here briefed about the extent of the , He visited the affected damages and said that almost families of the area where all the roads of the district are several dozens of residential blocked due to slippery houses were completely condition and landslides at damaged due to landslides and different locations. Ch. Lal soil erosion and hundreds of Singh and MoS R&B Sunil structures were partially Kumar Sharma directed Deputy damaged. Commissioner Kishtwar to Vikar Rasool direct the local ensure speedy restoration of administration to ensure the main roads including Kishtwar- free ration and other daily Chatroo-Chingam, Kishtwar- items including tents to the Padder, Kishtwar- Thakrie and worst hit families which are Kishtwar- Ikhala roads. already shifted to the safer HM rushes to Doda to oversee rescue measures Devalkund Tragedy: in one voice. Pushvinder Singh Manhas Sr. Vice-President Young Panthers proposed a 'Volunteer Committee' for organizing such protests for raking up the core issues pertaining to the people Jammu Prade Pawan Dev Singh State secretary young Panthers and Thakur Virender Singh President NPSU suggested a concept of 'nodal point' (hotspot) for propagating the party activities and agenda through the electronic media via different social networking applications. Gagan Pratap Singh spokesman Young ERAviolates UEED nallahs, MLAintervenes Jammu | Apr 04 | NC holds protest in Poonch; Vaid visits Srinagar, reviews functioning of seeks relief to flood sufferers police establishments Jammu | April 04 | JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Rasool visits affected areas of Banihal, reviews situation places. While interacting with the affected families during his extensive visit Vikar assured them that he will take up the issue with the government so that they may not suffer more. He said that all requistic measures are being taken rehabilitate affected families and all will be compensated in short possible time. During his visit various local deputations of the local area call on him and apprised about their problems which includes shortage of Ration, restoration of electricity and local link roads in his reply Vikar Rasool wani assured the deputations that he will raise the issue with concerned deptts and the officials responsible for delay restoring the basic facilities will not be tolerated .Those who accompany the MLA Banihal are SDM fariq Qazi, Tehsildar Banihal syeed farooq and HOD';s of all departments of local administration. The NORTHLINES 4 HILL DISTRICTS www.thenorthlines.com JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Baisakhi Mela's Zulfkar visits flood-hit arrangements Rescue Operation at Diwal Kund discussed areas of Poonch Operation Sahyata Udhampur |April 04 | Poonch | April 04 | Minister for CA&PD and Tribal Affairs, Ch. Zulfkar Ali has asked the officers to remain stationed at their headquarters in view of the bad weather conditions prevailing in Poonch district. He commended the district administration for its proactive approach in saving human lives by timely evacuation of the people from vulnerable areas during incessant rains and flashfloods. The Minister was addressing an officer's meeting at Dak Bunglow Poonch during his day long tour to the flood hit district. The Minister reviewed the flood situation and the measures put in place by district administration to handle any eventuality. The Deputy Commissioner, M H Malik apprised the minister in detail about the havoc caused by the landslides and flash-floods in the district. The meeting was informed that besides 11 kacha houses and 01 pacca house that are severely damaged, 36 kacha houses, 04 pacca house and 04 animal husbandry buildings/sheds have been fully damaged due to incessant rains while 11 kacha houses are severely damaged and 171 are partially damaged. 41 cattle shed and 18 kanal lands have been damaged whereas 09 cattle and 10 poultry birds died. 89 EM&RE and 13 PHE schemes have also suffered damages. 55 flood control and 72 irrigation works have been affected while 41 PMGSY roads have suffered damages. Appreciating the extra vigilant and proactive approach of the district administration in efficiently handling the Army distributes Solar Battery charging station disaster, Zulfkar asked the officers to be on high alert besides asking them to set up control rooms at the district and sub-division level to monitor the situation. MLA, Haveli, Shah Mohammad Tantray, Director CA&PD, G S Chib Senior Superintendent of Police, J S Johar, ADDC, Arvind Sharma, ADC, Mumtaz Ali Chowdhary, ACR Shafiq Ahmed Choudhary, ACD Shokat Mahmmood Malik besides several district officers attended the meeting. Earlier, on his way to the district headquarters, the Minister also visited some flood hit spots like Potha, Sanai, Dhundak and Chandak. Zulfkar also visited the damaged Sher-e-Kashmir bridge site where he was apprised by the Deputy Commissioner about the status of restoration work. Committee constituted to assess damages Doda | April 04 | Arrangements to celebrate historic 3-day Baisakhi Mela at the sacred Devika Ghat, Udhampur were discussed at a meeting of Officers of various departments and members of Baisakhi Mela Committe under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, Vikas Sharma, here today. Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Rajeev Magotra, XEN PHE, N. Khan, District Information officer, Dr Ashwani Hansa, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Arun Sharma besides others attended the meeting. Detailed discussions regarding arrangements of security, drinking water and power supply, barricading, first-aid, sanitation, checking of rates, quality of food items, cultural programme etc. were held and directions were issued to concerned officers to ensure fool-proof arrangements in time. The mela will be held for three days w.e.f., 14th April to 16th April, 2015 and Tehsildar, Udhampur would be the Mela Officer. For the awareness of common masses about the different government sponsored schemes, department stalls will be established by various departments. MLA, DC visit landslide hit villages Poonch | April 04 | To take stock of the damages caused by incessant rains and landslides, Member Legislative Assembly, Haveli, Shah Mohammad Tantray alongwith Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, M H Malik visited flood and landslide hit areas of the district along with a team of officers. The areas which were visited include Chhamber Knari, Arai and Tangdar. The affected families have been shifted to the safer places. Due to landslides in village Tangdar 15 families have been affected who have been shifted to Panchayat Ghar and High School Batalkote. In village Arai some houses have developed cracks and the affected families have been accommodated by relatives in the village. Meanwhile Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, M H Malik also visited the flood prone areas like Dhundak, Potha Beila and Sanai of tehsil Surankote to get first hand information about the damages caused by incessant rains and resultant flash floods. About 32 houses have been damaged in the district in the last twenty four hours out of which one pakka house is fully damaged and three kacha In view of the damages caused due to recent rains and landslides in the district, Deputy Commissioner Doda Bhupinder Kumar has constituted various committees to assess and verify the damages caused to the private property, milch and drought animals, crop losses and restoration of public infrastructure. The Committees so constituted shall work on war footing basis and will furnish Jammu | Apr 04 | the duly authenticated report Rashtriya Rifle Battalion, located at Talwara has continuously within three days for further strived for the overall development of the region and ensuring a submission to the higher authorities. peaceful life for the 'AWAM'. In continuation with providing unflinching support to locals, Rashtriya Rifles Battalion Talwara alongwith Art of Living IN THE COURT OF ADDITIONAL MOBILE Foundation installed three solar charging stations in the area of Parankot and Dakkikot of Rajouri District. These solar charging MAGISTRATE (JMIC), SAMBA stations comprise of rechargeable batteries and solar charging Present : Smt. Swati Gupta component. Ganesh Kumar Sharma S/O Charan Dass R/o. Vill. Darui, Tehsil &, The Solar charging component has been installed at the houses District samba of needy locals. These three solar chargers have provided V/S electricity to thirty families. The locals were extremely thankful to S.H.O. Police Station, Samba. the Indian Army for this noble initiative. Application U/S 13 (3) of Registration of birth/death Act, seeking NC holds protest in Poonch; seeks relief to flood sufferers Poonch | April 4 | CNS | National Conference workers on Saturday held a massive protest in the border town of Poonch against apathetic approach of the government in facing the challenge posed by recent incessant rains and also the failure in solving the multiple problems faced by the people since the past few months. Led by former MLAAjaz Jan, a delegation comprising senior district functionaries of the party, after holding an extra-ordinary meeting, met the District Development Commissioner and presented a memorandum. The memorandum, inter allia, seeks immediate relief to the flood sufferers and assessment of losses caused to property, agriculture land and live stock due to recent heavy rains. It also expressed anguish over the missing of around 80 per cent case files of the September-2014 flood sufferers, pending disposal in the concerned government departments. While seeking inquiry into the matter, Mr Jan called for reconstructing the case files and processing these for early disposal in order to mitigate the sufferings of the people. The memorandum also expressed concern over delay in the distribution of solar lights, sanctioned by the former Renewable Energy Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. It noted with NOTICE I Karan Kumar S/o Sh. Surinder Kumar R/o Sawan Chack Ward No.14 Tehsil & District Kathua my mother name wrongly written in my 10th Class Mark Sheet as Sudershana Devi instead of Paramjeet Kour Now I am applying for the correction objection if any may be conveyed to concerned authorities within seven days from the date of publication of this notice. anguish the efforts being made by political leaders to get around 11000 lights distributed among their party workers and favourites in connivance with officials thus depriving the genuine cases to suffer. It also sought reallocation of kerosene oil and enhancing the quota, as per family distribution has surprisingly been reduced from five to just two litres. directions to S.H.O. Police Station, Samba to enter the birth particular of applicant's daughter.. PROCLAMATION Whereas applicant has filed the above titled application in this court for issuing direction to S.H.O. Police Station, Samba regarding registration of birth particulars of applicant's daughter namely Tannu Sharma (Female) D/o Ganesh Kumar Sharma & Smt. Rekha Devi R/o Darui Tehsil & District Samba in Police Station, Samba who was born on 0712-2007 at home and through the medium of this proclamation, general public is informed that any person/s has/have objection to the same, in that event he/she/they shall file same before this court on or before 1104-2015,failing which appropriate order shall passed. Take notice that in case the date of fixed is declared holiday, the matter shall be taken in the next working day. Given under my hand and seal of this court today 4th day of April 2015. Sd/Addl. Mob. Magistrate (JMIC) Samba houses are partially damaged besides three kacha houses are severely and twenty five kachha houses have been partially affected. 11 PHE schemes and 4 buildings of Animal Husbandry Department have suffered damages. Jammu | Apr 04 | Doda District was lashed with heavy and incessant rains from 29 March 15 to 03 April 15 causing widespread destruction to crops, residential property and live stock. On 03 IN THE COURT OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE 1st CLASS (ADDL MUNSIFF) SAMBA Present : Madhu (KCS Judicial) Ram Paul S/o Sh. Krishan Chand r/o Ratwana, Tehsil Ghagwal District Samba. V/S S.H.O. Police Station Ghagwal. In the matter of Application for Registration of birth/death of:Prinshu Sharma (Female) D.O.B.18-03-2010 at home Father's Name: Sh. Ram Paul Mother's Name: Rajni Sharma NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC Whereas, an application stand filed in this court for registration of birth of Prinshu Sharma (F) S/o Sh. Ram Paul r/o Ratwana, Tehsil Ghagwal District Samba in Police Station Ghagwal and through the medium of this publication notice at large and any other interested person is/ are informed that in case anybody has any objection in respect of aforementioned application then he/she/they shall file their objections in this court within 7 days from the date of publication of notice, failing which appropriate order shall follow. Given under my hand and seal of this court today 3rd day of April 2015 Sd/Addl. Munsiff (Judicial Magistrate Ist Class Samba) April 15 at 1130 hours approximately 200m of hill face caved in at village Diwal Kund and landed on the house of Satish Kumar s/o Jodhi Ram, trapping his entire family to include wife Sushma Devi (30 years), his Brother –in-law Sandeep Kumar (17 years) s/o Ganeder Singh resident of Gummar, Daughter Anjana (8 years), Bindu (03 years) and Pappu (01 years). Village Diwal Kund being remotely located has no mobile coverage. At 1330hrs villagers reached Gei Company Operating Base of Rashtriya Rifles Battallion Doda, requesting assistance. The officer in charge realizing the gravity of situation reacted swiftly with quick reaction team of 10 persons. A second party also left under a trained medical supervisor and 10 persons carrying digging, life saving and rescue equipment by 1410hrs. At 1640hrs the parties reached incident site and rescue operations began with meticulous efforts in spite of inclement weather, heavy rains and poor light conditions. Along with Police, VDC members and villagers the parties worked with vigor and tirelessly in order to save as many lives as possible. At 1810hrs two bodies of Sushma Devi and Bindu were retrieved after removing 9-10 feet of debris. Operations continued till 2345hr on 03 April 15 when more debris started falling on the rescue site making it virtually impossible to continue. The rescue operations restarted at 0530hrs on 04 April 15 when a third team of 10 more individuals from Gei Company Operating Base reached the site to strengthen the rescue team and fasten the ops. Two more bodies of Anjana and Sandeep Kumar were recovered by 1230hrs on 04 April 15. The Army has assured locals that the rescue efforts will continue till the last person is recovered. Despite being in grief the villagers praised the efforts of Indian Army which reacted swiftly in bad weather and for standing with them in times of need. IN THE COURT OF MUNSIFF DISTRICT MOBILE MAGISTRATE KATHUA IN THE COURT OF MUNSIFF DISTRICT MOBILE MAGISTRATE KATHUA Ankush Verma S/o Sh. Sham Lal R/o Ward No.2 House No.20 Tehsil & District Kathua Rakesh Kumar Sharma S/o sh. Shashi Paul Sharma and Smt. Suresh Devi R/o Ward No.15 Patel Nagar Tehsil & District Kathua Present: Dinesh Gupta 1. 2. ….Petitioner…. V/S Present: Dinesh Gupta V/S ….Petitioner…. The Executive Officer Municipal Council Kathua Police Station Kathua Municipal Committee Kathua ….Respondents…. Petition U/s 13 (3) of Registration of birth & death Act, seeking directions to the respondents to enter the birth particulars of the petitioner child/children namely Ankush Verma S/o Sh. Sham Lal who was born on 14-11-1991. Petition U/s 13 (3) of Registration of birth & death Act, seeking directions to the respondents to enter the birth particulars of the petitioner child/children namely Rakesh Kumar Sharma S/o Sh. Shashi Paul Sharma who was born on 2-2-1989 at Ward No.15 Patel Nagar Tehsil & District Kathua. Whereas petitioner has filed the above titled petition in this court for issuing direction to respondent regarding registration of birth particulars of the petitioner child/children namely Ankush Verma S/o Sh. Sham Lal R/o Ward No.2 Tehsil & District Kathua and through the medium of this proclamation, general public is informed that any persons/has/have any objection to the same, in that event he/she/they shall file objection before this court on or before 10-4-2015 failing which appropriate order shall passed. Take notice that in case the date fixed is declared holiday, the matter shall be taken in the next working day. Whereas petitioner has filed the above titled petition in this court for issuing direction to respondent regarding registration of birth particulars of the petitioner child/children namely Rakesh Kumar Sharma S/o Sh. Shashi Paul Sharma Ward No.15 Patel Nagar Tehsil & District Kathua and through the medium of this proclamation, general public is informed that any persons has/have any objection before this court on or before 10-4-2015 failing which appropriate order shall passed. Take notice that in case fixed is declared holiday, the matter shall be taken in the next working day. ….Respondents…. PROCLAMATION SdMunsiff (DJMM) Kathua PROCLAMATION SdMunsiff (DJMM) Kathua MILITARY ENGINEERS SERVICES Appendix ‘A’ to HQ Commander Works Engineers Letter No. 82014/147, 148, 149, 152, 153 & 170/358/E8 Dated 23 Mar 15 MES HQ Commander Works Engineers, Jammu Invites applications by form appropriate class of Contractors for the under mentioned works:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ser. Name of Work Estimated Period of Amt of Cost of blank Publishing Document Bid Submission Bid Submission Bid Opening Bid Opening Eligibility Criteria No. cost Rs. Completion Earnest Tender (Rs.) Date Sale Start Start Date End date Date (Cover Date (Cover For MES Enlised For other (in lakhs) Money Date (Cover No 1 & 2) (Cover No 1 & 2) No 01) No 02) Contractor Contractors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Spl Repair/Replacement of 14.60 180 Days 29,200/- 500/08.04.15 08.04.15 22.04.15 29.04.15 01.05.15 Will be intima- ‘E’ & a (ii), b(i) See Remarks submersible/VT pumping 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1500 hrs 1500 hrs ted online after ing set at Tippu line and completion of redevelopment and testing evaulation of of Tube Well No. 3 at Dill Tech bid/appliPond at Sunjuwan under cation (Cover GE Jammu. No. 01) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Spl. Repair to Bldg No. T17.50 180 Days 35,000/- 500/08.04.15 08.04.15 22.04.15 29.04.15 01.05.15 -do‘E’ & a(i) -do86/1 to 6 Qtr (or MD Accn) 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1500 hrs 1500 hrs including roof repair at Catnatic Lines in Damana Mill Stn Under GE Jammu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Spl Repair/Replacement of 13.10 180 Days 26,200/- 500/08.04.15 08.04.15 22.04.15 29.04.15 01.05.15 -do‘E’ & b (i) -doLT over head conductor with 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1500 hrs 1500 hrs underground LT cable in Ranjit Lines at MJiran Sahib Mill Stn under GE Jammu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Provn of Exhaust Fans and 10.15 180 Days 20,300/- 500/08.04.15 08.04.15 22.04.15 29.04.15 01.05.15 -do‘E’ & b (i) -doGeysers in Existing Offr MD 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1500 hrs 1500 hrs Accn at Damana Mill Stn under GE Jammu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Provn of 3 X Hot Water 10.15 180 Days 20,300/- 500/08.04.15 08.04.15 22.04.15 29.04.15 01.05.15 -do‘E’ & a (ii) -doPlants at Otm Accn of ‘A’, 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1500 hrs 1500 hrs ‘B’ & ‘C’ Bn of Sunjuwan Mill Stn under GE Jammu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Provn of Arboriculture at 05.80 180 Days 11,600/- 500/08.04.15 08.04.15 22.04.15 29.04.15 01.05.15 -do‘E’ & d (iii) -doRatnuchak Mill Stn Jammu 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1000 hrs 1500 hrs 1500 hrs under GE (P) Jammu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note:- 1. Demand draft for Rs. 500/- (Rupees five hundred only) from Nationalized Bank drawn in favour of GE Jammu from Srl No. 01 to 05 and GE (P) Jammu for Srl No. 06 be submitted alongwith application. 2. Invitation for issue of tender forms on payment does not constitute any guarantee for issue of tender to the applicant. The payment toward tender forms shall be refunded to the unsuccessful applicant only. However all bank charges shall be borne by the applicant. 3. The above details are also available on MES website: www.mes.gov.in and Indian Trade Journal. Full Notice of Tender IAFW-2162 and Enlisted Criteria is available in all offices of MES and also on MES website. No. 82014/147, 148, 149, 152, 153 & 170/358/E8 Dated 23 Mar 2015 The NORTHLINES 5 KATHUA National Seminar on 'Quailty Teacher Arrangements finalized for "Border Festival" Education in Modern Era' www.thenorthlines.com Kathua | Apr 04 | A National Seminar on 'Quality Teacher Education in Modern Era' was organized in Vivekananda College of Education, Lakhanpur, and Kathua. The whole function was divided in three sessions .The first session was inaugural session. The Chief Guest of this session was Prof. R.D. Sharma Vice Chancellor University of Jammu whereas Prof. S.K. Murgai , Director General was the special dignitary to present the keynote address . The other dignitaries who graced the occasion were J.K. Sharma special secretary to ViceChancellor, University of Jammu, Dr. S.M. Gupta, and former Prof. & Dean, Kurukshetra University, Prof. K.B. Sethi, Chairman of the College Dr. S.K. Gupta & Dr. Anju Sharma, Principal of the College. Programme started with lightening of lamp by the chief guest escorted by other eminent dignitaries. In his welcome address Dr. S.K. Gupta said that it was a great matter of honour for the college to have such reputed academicians and educationists. Organizing the seminar is a part of the mission which aims to bring various educationists working in the field of education or associated with education on a platform, sit together, discuss and come out with various suggestions, ideas and innovations. Chief Guest in his address highlighted the topic of the seminar. He said that 'now - adays a teacher is in the urgent need of certain skills and competencies to deliver and he is also in need of a new type of knowledge for development in knowledge and attitude, atmosphere and facility so that he may be in a position to make the task easy, fruitful and confirming the demands of the students. His education, therefore, should be according to the necessities of the time and needs of the society'. He highly appreciated the efforts of the college for organizing the seminar of such a higher level . In his keynote address, professor S.K. Murgai said that 'To be an effective teacher does not involve having a deep content knowledge but also organizational knowledge and communication skills, being able to organize instructions and providing relevant assessment and fair evaluations' The inaugural session ended with the vote of thanks presented by Principal of the College Dr. Anju Sharma. She said that the college is greatly encouraged by the gracious presence of dignitaries and immensely benefitted by their inspiring addresses. It is because of the vision and leadership that has brought revolutionary changes in the Youth Congress leader welcomes Pranav Shagotra Kathua | Apr 04 | In a press statement issued here today, Advocate Ajat Shatru Sharma, Sr. Youth Congress Leader & Ex-DYC President Kathua welcome the appointment of Pranav Shagotra as the new president of J&K Pardesh Youth Congress. In his statement he said that Pranav Shagotra was working tirelessly & dedicatedly serving for the cause of youth & students in state from 2003 and onwards. He had a great experience of working in NSUI, INTUC & PYC. In 2012 he contested first ever internal elections of youth congress and stood second with margin of few votes and get elected as Vice President of Pradesh Youth Congress J&K. Ajat Shatru Sharma also said that by his appointment as State Chief of Youth Congress is a right step taken in right direction by the congress high command & especially All Indian Youth Congress' president and MLA Amarinder Singh Brar to gear up the activities of youth congress in the State. He has the mass following in all the three regions of the State i.e Jammu Province, Kashmir Province &Ladakh. His secular credentials & grass root base will prove a boon for the congress party in near future in J&K. He also thanked AICC president Sonia Gandhi and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary AmbikaSoni, AICC secretary Suraj Hedge, JKPCC president Ghulam Ahmed Mir and IYC secretary &Incharge Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey. NOTICE I Birendra Bahadur Singh S/o Indra Bahadur R/o gorkhpur (U.P ) C/o Aman Paper mill kathua I have Incorrect name in my P F Record B.P Singh S/o Sh. I.B Singh Insert Of B.P Singh to birendera Singh if may be convey to concern authority with in seven days in this publication Notice. Other Youth Congress activists from district kathua who welcomed PranavShagotra's appointment includes Munish Kumar, Sanjeev Sharma, JeevanJyoti, Aman Sharma, Man Singh, Kushal Rajput, Sahil Sharma,Varun, SandeepBalotra, Vishal Thakur, Surjeet Singh etc. Drug sale premises inspected at Kathua Kathua | April 4 | A team headed by Assistant Controller Drugs Kathua, Munish Kumar Gupta conducted the inspection of drug sale premises of M/s Choudhary Medical Hall Marli. The team seized drugs worth Rs. 47000, as firm was not having any purchase record of the seized drugs. The team also observed that the storage of drugs has been made under unhygienic conditions. A show cause notice was issued to the firm contravening the provisions of drugs and cosmetic Act 1940 and rules there under. Warning was also issued to other drug sale premises to comply with the conditions of the drug sale licenses and maintain proper storage conditions and cleanliness. educational sphere. According to her conducting seminar of such higher level is a testimony of the college's deep commitment to strengthen quality teacher education. The resource persons invited for conducting the technical sessions , first and second were Dr. S.M.Gupta, Prof and Dean , faculty of education, Kurukshetra University and Prof. K.B. Sethi . Near about 103 delegates of various colleges and Universities not only from J&K state but also from colleges and universities of other states like Punjab, Haryana, U.P., Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc. presented their papers. The chief guest for the valedictory JAMMU | SUNDAY| APRIL 05 | 2015 session was prof. Deshbandhu Gupta, Director Colleges Development Council, University of Jammu. He was welcomed by Dr. S.K. Gupta. He shared his views with the audience and said that teachers are a section of community sharply segregated from the rest of the community preparing themselves for the life's work in the institutions where their fellow students will be preparing themselves for the developing human attributes. T The teacher education system as it exists today may succeed in the training of teachers, but it has entirely failed to educate the human beings, this is what we have tended to do. The trained teachers have been too often the untrained human being. Chief Guest along with Chairman, Dr. S.K. Gupta and Principal, Dr. Anju Sharma presented certificates to all the participants. He was honored with memento and portrait of Vivekananda on behalf of the Vivekananda family. The valedictory session ended with a vote of thanks presented by Dr. Anju Sharma. Kathua | April 04 | District Development Commissioner, Kathua, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary chaired a meeting to finalize arrangements for celebration of 1st Border Festival, which will be celebrated biannually on rotation in various border areas. The border festival aimed at promoting International Border as a tourist attraction and creating facilities for local and national Baisakhi Mela from April 13 to April 15 Kathua | April 04 | To finalize the arrangements for organizing the historic Baisakhi Mela ,Tehsildar Billawar Dr Manmeet Kumar convened a meeting of Tehsil level officers of various departments here today. Tehsildar Billawar while addressing the officer said that Baisakhi Mela will be organized from 13th April to 15th April 2015 at Naaj ground Billawar. REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL TRAINING CENTRE (Committed to Career Oriented Education) Courses under NSIC New Delhi, Govt. of India. BHARTIYA PUBLIC HIGH ADMISSION OPEN FOR SESSION 2015-16 COURSES OFFERED SCHOOL JAKHBAR KATHUA Fee Structure for the Session 2015-16 S.No classes Monthly Tuition Fee Annul charge 1. Pre- pry 300 1000 2. 1st 320 1000 3. 2nd 330 1200 4. 3rd 350 1300 5. 4th 350 1300 6. 5th 380 1500 7. 6th 400 1500 8. 7th 400 1500 9. 8th 500 2000 10. 9th 600 2000 11. 10th 650 2100 1. Annual changes in Eluding school improvement found, Red Cross fund, game Fund, science Fund , Printing and Stationery Fund ,Library Fund and Social activity Fund Charged one in a Year 2. Poor students and orphan are Granted concession. Sd/ Bhartiya Public High School Jakhbar Kathua UNIVERSAL PUBLIC SCHOOL LOGATE KATHUA Fee Structure for the Session 2015-16 S.NO. CLASS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Ist 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 8th 9th MONTHLY FEE 200 225 275 300 325 350 375 400 Children Public School Mara Patti zone Mahanpur Fee Structure for the Session 2015-16 S.NO. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. CLASS Ist 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 8th 9th MONTHLY FEE 200 225 275 300 325 350 375 400 Sd/ Children Public School Mara Patti zone Mahanpur Electrician/Fitter/Computer Hardware/AC & Refrigirator-Qualification 10th Cutting & Tailoring/Plumber-!ualification 10th Computer Software-Qualification 12th Mobile Repairing-During 2 Months. Qualification 8th limited Seats so hurry up.. For more details contact 9 AM to 5 PM at REGIONAL INSTITUTES W.No. 1opp, Krishna Colony Kathua (J&K) Ph. 9018912606, 9419141992, 238791 tourists is being organised on 9th April 2015 at Hiranagar. The festival will have a series of recreational activities, cultural programmes and special emphasis will also be laid on information, education and communication regarding various Government schemes for border residents in particular. The DDC informed that the festival is aimed at boosting the tourism sector in border area and linking youth with a public driven tourism industry. More than 15 Border Tourism Huts are being taken up with public partnership in current year for attracting tourists. He called upon officers of line departments to put in their best efforts for making the event successful and lay firm foundation for showcasing border belt as a tourist destination and support livelihood of border residents. He further called for a greater public participation in the event and engaging public as key stakeholder in such initiatives for long term sustainability and visible results. Arrangements related foolproof security, establishment of 104 stalls, fire & emergency, first aid, cultural programme, invitation, reception, heritage display, transportation, management, involvement of public and industry, tourism groups, NGOs, publicity were discussed in the meeting. Administration has also extended open invitation to interested associations and groups to display various tourist destinations and packages in the festival. SSP Kathua Neeva Jain, Addl DC Dr Mushtaq Ahmed, Addl SP Nasir Ahmed, CPO Ram Rattan, SDM Hiranagar Sohan Lal, ACD Tilak Raj, Principal GDCs, CEO, District officers of all the departments and other attended the meeting. The NORTHLINES www.thenorthlines.com ETOUQ "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do,And that enables you to laugh at life's realities." - Dr. Seuss the NORTHLINES, Jammu The importance of net neutrality S hould the Internet be touched? That’s one way to summarise the twenty questions the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked the public in a recent consultation paper. Most questions pertain to whether the hitherto unregulated over-the-top services, typically apps such as Skype and Facebook that ride on telecom networks, need regulation. Views have also been sought regarding net neutrality, the principle of data equality that has over the years ensured the Internet remained a level playing ground. TRAI will eventually take a call on whether India has to change its approach to Internet regulation. But isn’t the Internet perfect the way it is? Apparently not. At least that is what telecom companies believe. After spending billions of dollars in setting up infrastructure and bringing themselves under regulatory scrutiny, telecom companies can’t bear the fact that numerous applications ride on their networks for free. Some of the apps have millions of subscribers and command valuations of billions of dollars. Some like Skype and WhatsApp compete head on with the voice and messaging offerings of the telcos, who to be fair also need money to invest in building networks. Still, what’s not to be forgotten is that the telcos do benefit from the apps that piggyback on them. More app usage means more data consumed and more money inflow. Whether telcos are really aggrieved or not is debatable. Even if they are, violating the core principle governing the Internet will be a disastrous way of delivering justice. For, the licence to violate net neutrality will mean telcos could now be in a position to ensure some sites are served faster than others. It could also mean it becomes costlier to use certain applications. Most importantly, it could endanger the very feature of the Internet that has over the years made it possible for countless startups, right from the Googles to the Flipkarts, to dream and act big. It’s well acknowledged that the Internet has disrupted the world of business like no other technology has in recent decades. It has helped start-ups with hardly any capital and clout to still make a mark. So by rejecting net neutrality, which will enable telcos to play the gatekeeper to a valuable resource, we will be shutting the door on the entrepreneurial aspirations of millions. That’s because the only way for them to compete with the big moneyed Internet players would be to match their spends to make the Internet work for them. The absence of net neutrality will definitely benefit the telcos while at the same time harming the market by unleashing monopolistic tendencies. Telcos don’t want to be dumb pipes that agnostically transfer data. The cost of their ambition will be the loss of the Internet’s openness. OPINION 6 JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Protecting the small farmer ANANTH GUDIPATI R eviving the Farm Income Insurance Scheme could be the best tool for small and marginal farmers to fight falling prices in an increasingly globalised marketplace. Data from the recently held National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) survey show that close to 60 per cent of rural households are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. More than half of them are at risk of defaulting on their debts with either banks or informal moneylenders. Many reports have pointed towards the debt burden and its resulting vulnerability at the household level as the primary factor for farmer suicides. In a recent case of farmer suicide, a rubber farmer from Kerala blamed falling rubber prices and the lack of government support in his suicide note. The unfortunate incident is not an isolated one in India. Many small and marginal farmers are getting low prices for their produce because of increased global production and lower demand for various commodities. Recent reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show the declining food price index in most common commodities such as sugar, cereals and meat. The NSSO report also highlights the increasing input costs in agriculture and the alarming increase in consumption expenditure vis-à-vis income, especially among households with less than two hectares of land holdings. While minimum support prices (MSPs), announced by various State governments, have traditionally been the instrument used to fight declining prices, they have scarcely been effective at the farm level. For example, among rice and wheat farmers, more than half the produce is consumed at the household level and the rest mostly sold to traders at much lower prices. Other challenges such as the impact of climate change on agriculture and the World Trade Organization’s anti-MSP stress on reforms underline the need for a reliable mechanism to improve the resilience of small farm holders. Reform agricultural insurance The recent attempt by the Gujarat government to reintroduce the Farm Income Insurance Scheme (FIIS) can reform agricultural insurance and prevent farm-level distress. The government’s present National Crop Insurance Programme covers prevented/ failed sowing, post-harvest losses, and losses from natural calamities on an individual basis. It is an area-based approach that covers a wide variety of food, oilseed and horticulture crops. However, low literacy, the absence of infrastructure to measure data accurately at the farm level, and the limited penetration of formal financial credit have made the scheme inefficient, leading to reduced trust among farmers. Additionally, in the current globalised market with widely varying market prices, the scheme is unable to protect farmers against price fluctuations. In a true market economy, the government must resist from distorting market prices through instruments like MSP, and rely instead on other financial instruments to protect farmers. The FIIS, originally introduced in 2003 and withdrawn the next year, has been revived in Gujarat. The scheme’s main thrust is that it tries to ensure guaranteed income by insuring the difference between the farmer’s predicted income and the actual income. It calculates the predicted income by using the product of unit area yields and prices at the district level. Any decrease in the predicted income due to yield fluctuations or market fluctuations is insured under the scheme. By only considering yield losses from natural perils, it also ensures that farmers are incentivised to produce more, and that inefficiency in farming is not rewarded. The success of FIIS will depend on whether the government is willing to move away from the current mundane system of manual inspection and data gathering to the new era of big data and technology. When the FIIS pilot was tried a decade ago, it proved to be premature, but the time is right now to correct some of the errors in the previous scheme and move ahead. The concerns over reliable yield and price data in the earlier attempts can be largely eradicated using present technologies. The maturing of satellite-based yield monitoring systems, integrating agricultural markets in India, and ensuring the efficiency of commodity exchanges will remove most of the concerns that arise over the large amounts of data needed for such a revolutionary scheme. Additionally, leveraging mobile phone penetration levels and mobile-enabled technologies can ensure the availability of real time data, and reduce the moral hazard problems that afflict current insurance schemes. Streamlining initiatives FIIS also provides the government an opportunity to streamline some recently announced initiatives such as assessing soil health through soil health cards, and rationalising fertilizer and water usage by insuring only the efficient cost of production. It also incentivises farmers to use the available agriculture markets and engage with formal markets to take advantage of insurance in case of income dips. This will also bring in much-needed transparency in agriculture prices and bridge the gap between price discovery and realisation for the smallholding farmer. FIIS might be the right instrument to integrate farm-level subsidies and remove leakages in the system. If implemented with the right intentions and rigour, it could act as a credible instrument to prevent farmer suicides and contribute to national food security. (Ananth Gudipati is a consultant with the World Food Programme. The views expressed are personal.) An anti-terror law that can be fine-tuned R. K. RAGHAVAN D. SIVANANDHAN T o make a claim or take the position that an anti-terror law such as the one Gujarat is now steering will eliminate terror would be dishonest and hypocritical. At the same time, to portray GCTOC as being diabolical and a tool to serve the ruling dispensation’s political ends would also be unfair and preposterous The Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill, which was passed by the Gujarat Legislative Assembly on March 31, 2015, is now a reality and the reactions have been on predictable lines. The Bill, interestingly, is in its fourth ‘avatar’ — the earlier versions having been rejected by the President of India in 2004, 2008 and 2009 respectively — and will now be sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan for presidential assent. While parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been crying foul saying that the Bill is politically motivated and can subvert the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, the BJP, on the other hand, has been trying to hard sell it as being the right step forward in fighting terrorism and organised crime more seriously than before, and at a time when these threats loom large over all of us. Prime objections The Bill’s detractors point to at least four provisions which they say will promote police tyranny and the abuse of the law in order to settle political scores especially using ruling party-driven law enforcement. In their eyes, the most obnoxious of these is the empowerment of an investigating agency to continue with the investigation for 180 days, as against the permitted 90 days under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C). In this period, the accused may or may not be in judicial custody. Police custody is normally for very short periods and with a magistrate’s permission. However, this has to be considered in conjunction with the designation by the Bill of all offences under GCTOC as being non-bailable. The term “nonbailable” itself does not mean no bail at all but that “bail” is not automatic, and has to be given by the appropriate magistrate or judge after being convinced of the grounds on which it is being sought. The second feature of GCTOC that has drawn ire is the one that makes confessions made to senior police officers — of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above — admissible in evidence, something analogous to a provision in the infamous and now extinct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). The Indian Evidence Act makes confessions before the police inadmissible in evidence, except when they lead directly to the discovery of a fact that is material to the offence under investigation. Activists feel that the new sanctity accorded to confessions made to law enforcement by an accused will be grossly abused, and confessions will be extracted by the police under duress and torture. The next provision that those who cherish individual privacy are up in arms against is the Bill’s authorisation of interception of telephonic conversations and their admissibility in evidence. The criticism is in tune with the perception that government agencies indulge in snooping all the time. What the critics forget is that the normal procedure, of the police obtaining the Home Secretary’s permission, has still to be observed under GCTOC. Security concerns The last objection is with regard to Section 25 of the Bill that makes the government immune from any legal action for “anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act.” There is anxiety that the Executive will exploit this section and become less accountable to the law for its commissions and omissions. We would not like to take the position that a law such as the one Gujarat is now steering will carry such a lot of deterrence as to liquidate all terrorism forever. Extravagant claims would be downright dishonest and hypocritical. At the same time, we believe that to portray GCTOC as being wholly diabolical and a mere tool to serve the ruling dispensation’s political ends is being unfair and preposterous. Such reckless thinking ignores two relevant facts. First, GCTOC replicates what has stood the test of time — 15 years — in Maharashtra. Second, criticism of the proposed Gujarat legislation grievously misreads what is happening all over the world in the form of mindless savagery spearheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The terror organisation has scaled new heights of barbarism and violence, and is luring youth from all over the world, including India, to join its ranks. If India remains relatively untouched by its influence, it is only because the Muslim community has held steadfast to its values. The absence of any major incursion by IS into India is also a tribute to the alert state of our intelligence agencies, especially the Intelligence Bureau, and the responses of police formations at grass-roots level. However, we are not sanguine that this comforting scene will remain so in the years to come. There is actually everything to indicate that the situation could change for the worse with a little more instigation from our hostile neighbours and more audacity and desperation by undetected sleeper cells on our soil which Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and outfits like the Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) nurse and fund from across the border. It is this hard reality that makes us uneasy and persuades us to commend GCTOC as a welcome move. Not new We should also take into account that GCTOC is not new and copies what a few other nations battling terrorism have done. The Patriot Act of 2001, which came as a swift response to 9/11 from United States President George W. Bush and the whole of U.S. polity acting in unison, was roundly criticised by many in that country as also the judiciary. Therefore, it had to undergo many The Gujarat Bill borrows heavily from its parallel in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999,with the difference that,in the latter,there is no reference to terrorism.In fact,the legal sanction and respectability that MCOCA has acquired over the years explains the spurt in much similar State legislation. Karnataka and New Delhi are examples that come to mind. changes in order to make it more acceptable to a cross section of American society. If the U.S. has remained reasonably free from terrorist machinations, an obvious reason is the ability of that country’s law enforcement agencies to act firmly, and sometimes ruthlessly, even at the cost of alienating influential segments of the human rights community, both at home and abroad. It is our belief that the Gujarat Bill, if and when it becomes an Act, will undergo many such course corrections egged on by the judiciary and the many social watchdogs which have stood out for their vigilance. The Gujarat Bill borrows heavily from its parallel in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, with the difference that, in the latter, there is no reference to terrorism. In fact, the legal sanction and respectability that MCOCA has acquired over the years explains the spurt in much similar State legislation. Karnataka and New Delhi are examples that come to mind. Safeguards Under MCOCA and GCTOC, there are several safeguards for the citizen, prime among them being the stipulation that the permission of a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)/Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) is required for registering a case. Also, the investigating officer will have to be of the rank of Deputy Superintendent (DSP). The permission of an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) is required for charge sheeting an accused before a court. A heartening feature of MCOCA is that, among those charged under it till now, only a small number is from the minority communities. The Dharmadhikari Committee, which was appointed by the Maharashtra government to go into the working of MCOCA, found no major shortcomings or criticism that would detract from the merits of the Act. Facts such as there being an average of about 40 cases registered annually and about 6-7 persons arrested in each case, especially in a large State like Maharashtra, are testimony to the fact that the use of MCOCAhas been extremely selective and not indiscriminate as was the case with TADA or POTA. If the Gujarat Police pattern themselves after their Maharashtra counterparts, half the battle against those who oppose GCTOC will have been won. Being situated on the border with Pakistan, Gujarat has every reason to protect itself as well as it can, and the new piece of legislation fits into the scheme of things in the State. In the final analysis, while GCTOC is definitely not a perfect work of art, it certainly deserves to be viewed as a piece that would hone itself over the years in the hands of those in authority who are level-headed and who uphold order and peace in society as their principal concerns. (Dr. R.K. Raghavan is a former CBI Director and D. Sivanandhan is a former Commissioner of Police of Mumbai and a former DGP of Maharashtra.) The NORTHLINES 7 NATIONAL www.thenorthlines.com JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Fishermen arrest: Karuna seeks Modi's intervention RIP Malli Mastan Babu: 'Mountains retained its favourite child' AGENCIES CHENNAI, APRIL 04 AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 Ace mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who went missing since March 24 from Andes Mountains in South America, has been found dead. A Facebook page 'Rescue Malli Mastan Babu' launched by his supporters and well wishers had this single post on Saturday: "Mountains retained its favourite child.. R.I.P Malli Mastan Babu." Babu was a top Indian mountaineer, having achieved the feat of becoming the "fastest seven summiteer" in the world (172 days in 2006, during which he climbed seven summits on seven days of the week in each calendar month). He is also the first Indian to summit Mt Vinson Massif, the tallest peak in Antarctica and the first person from Andhra Pradesh to scale the Everest. Ministry of External Affairs expressed grief over Babu's death and said that the government is working with the authorities in Argentina and Chile to decide on future steps. Forty-year-old Babu, a native of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, was in South America to climb the 21,748 feet-high Cerro Tres Cruces Sur. Babu and his friends had started their ascent from the Argentinean side towards the summit that lies on the Chilean side of the Andes. As per reports, Babu and his group were at the base camp on March 24 when he apparently set off alone to check out the route up. The weather deteriorated soon afterwards and he has been missing since then. An alumnus of IITKharagpur and IIM-Calcutta, Babu had taken to mountain climbing after working as a software engineer for 3 years. President Pranab Mukherjee greets people on Easter AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday greeted people on the eve of Easter and said the inspiring example of Jesus Christ should be followed for dedication to the service of the weak and the poor. Mukherjee, in his message said: "On the auspicious occasion of Easter, I convey my greetings and good wishes to all fellow citizens and in particular, my Christian brothers and sisters in India and abroad," an official release said here. "May the blessed celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ be a time of renewal and rejuvenation, filling our hearts with new hope, peace, love and happiness. Let us follow the inspiring example of Jesus Christ and dedicate ourselves to the service of the weak and downtrodden," he added. Do I smell a rat to obfuscate BJP NE meet: Meenakshi Lekhi on CCTV row AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 In potentially controversial remarks, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday night wondered if she "smelt a rat to obfuscate" the coverage of BJP's national executive meeting in Bengaluru by the row over union minister Smriti Irani spotting a hidden camera in the trial room of a garment store in Panaji. "Do I smell a RAT 2 obfuscate the BJP national executive meeting, attempts being made not to cover the meeting, instead cover some other inane issues?", Lekhi tweeted in remarks reviving memories of the row over union minister V K Singh's controversial tweets after his attending the Pakistan national day celebration at that country's high commission here last month when several Kashmiri separatist leaders were present. In a separate post soon afterwards on the micro-blogging site, Lekhi said "response 2 my previous tweet shows D intent while 1 story is relevant as news, other S a discussion material, ?ing not Smritiji's but media emphasis." Singh's tweets had raised eyebrows about their meaning-particularly whether he had expressed his unhappiness over being asked to attend an event where Kashmiri separatist. Modi govt only selling dreams, has no road map: Sharad Yadav AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Saturday attacked the NDA government over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on addressing farmers' woes, alleging that they are only "selling dreams" and have "no policy or programme". "Policy is more important than intention. All governments have an intention to do public good. The issue is that whether the government has some policy and programmes to fulfill it not. This government has no road map, no policy and programme. Mere intention will not do any good to farmers," Yadav told PTI. He was reacting to the Prime Minister's remarks yesterday attacking opposition for "spreading lies" that the government was working against the interests of the farming community. Facing attack over the new Land Acquisition Bill, Modi had contended that he had lived among the farmers and he could understand their plight and was working with "good intention" to address their woes. The Prime Minister said this yesterday speaking at a public meeting in Bengaluru. Retorting, Yadav said,"what is the worth of intention if it is not backed by concrete policy and programmes. Results when come only when policy and intent both combine. This government completely lacks on policy front. The government had promised to create two crores of employment. It sold many such dreams. But none of them were fulfilled." He said that instead of talking of "intent alone", the government should come out with a clear road map and spell out is policy prescription to remove poverty, create employment and provide succour to farmers. Last month, Yadav coordinated a march of odd a dozen opposition parties from Parliament to President House against the new land law alleging that the NDA government's measure was "anti farmer and pro corporate". The JD-U President was earlier the NDA convenor when his party and BJP were together before parting ways in June 2013 over Modi's elevation within his party before Lok Sabha polls. Hindu devotee from Pakistan drowns to death in Haridwar AGENCIES HARIDWAR, APRIL 04 A Hindu devotee from Pakistan on Friday drowned in the Ganga while having a bath here. The deceased, identified as Ramchandra (29), a resident of Sindh, Pakistan, was having a bath when his foot slipped accidentally and he fell in the river, police said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, they added. He had come last Wednesday with 93 other devotees to visit Haridwar. The Air Force One, with President Barack Obama aboard, taxis on tarmac of Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as it arrives from in the rain, a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah5. BJP to take land bill fight to villages AGENCIES BENGALURU, APRIL 04 BJP on Saturday strongly defended the land bill and accused the opposition of disinformation campaign on the provisions of the bill. How to dispel the anti-farmer image created by opposition parties? BJP's national executive deliberated extensively on this question to find answers on the final day of the BJP's national executive. On the second day of the twoday national executive, BJP discussed its political resolution which included among other things party's committment to go ahead with the land bill. Union minister of commerce and industry Nirmala Seetharaman told reporters the discussion revolved around the role of MPs and MLAs to educate farmers on the nine amendments incorporated in the land bill to allay apprehensions created by opposition parties. Seetharaman said an assessment showed that inflation is well under control and India is emerging as fastest growing economy in the world, said union minister commerce and industry Nirmala sitaraman. "Intention with Land bill is to take everyone forward; we want to engage with opposition and also engage with our alliance partners, Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters. IAS imposter case: Ruby Choudhary arrested by Uttarakhand Police AGENCIES MUSSOORIE, APRIL 04 The Dehradun Police has arrested Ruby Choudhary, accused of posing as a trainee IAS officer and illegally staying at the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri Administrative Academy in Mussoorie. The arrest came after, Ruby on Friday accused authorities of shielding deputy director of the academy Saurabh Jain and threatened to commit suicide if she did not get justice. Alleging a collective effort by the authorities to save the influential IAS officer the woman dared Jain to come out in the open if he was not wrong and demanded an objective probe into the whole episode. The husband of Ruby Choudhary said on Friday that his family was kept in the dark about his wife's claim of being a trainee at the prestigious academy in Mussoorie. Giving a detailed account about his wife, Ruby's husband Virender Malik said that her family had lied to his parents that she was a trainee with the IAS academy. Malik demanded a probe into his wife's role and professionals working with the prestigious institute. In what is termed as a major security breach, Ruby had stayed at the prestigious institute, a place among top targets of terrorists, for over six months without the knowledge of the authorities. The sensational claims were made after Ruby said that Malik and her uncle knew everything and were supportive of her. She also alleged that police were not registering her complaint. Ruby today maintained that she was introduced to Academy's deputy director Saurabh Jain by Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Gangwar's personal assistant at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan. Jain, accused of assisting 'imposter' Ruby, has denied all the allegations and maintained that the woman is a fraud. Jain's stern response came after Ruby on Thursday claimed that an official had issued her a fake identity card to assist her in securing accommodation at the facility. While rejecting all the charges made by Ruby, Jain said that he will file a criminal conspiracy case against the lady. The deputy director of the prestigious academy said that he has given his report to Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate in relation to the case. Ruby has alleged that Jain had subordinate legislation, sparked a huge row by saying that there was no Indian study to confirm that use of tobacco leads to cancer. Another BJP Lok Sabha member from Allahabad Shyama Charan Gupta had echoed Gandhi's statement, claiming that there was no evidence to show that tobacco causes cancer. He also alleged that there was a global conspiracy to kill India's beedi industry. Union Health Minister JP Nadda had dissociated from Sarmah's statement and said, "We are very clear that the party (BJP) and the Health Ministry do not subscribe to his (Gupta) views. We dissociate with his statement.” PMK's A Ramadoss had on Friday termed the tobacco lobby as one of the most powerful. Make larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products: PM Narendra Modi to Health Ministry AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 With the BJP-led NDA government receiving flak from all quarters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the Health Ministry to increase the size of pictorial warnings on tobacco product packets to 60 percent. The PM's statement comes amidst controversy over comments by BJP MPs, including those in a parliamentary panel, on the use of tobacco. Earlier, the central government's had postponed the implementation of pictorial warnings that asked for Expressing concern over the latest instance of arrest of 33 Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka, DMK president M Karunanidhi today sought prime minister Narendra Modi's intervention to hold talks with Lankan President Maithiripala Sirisena to find a solution to the vexed issue. Karunanidhi, however, welcomed Sirisena's statement that his country wanted a solution to this issue without affecting the longstanding ties with India. "Though this (Sirisena's statement) gave some relief, Centre, especially Modi, should focus on long-time problems of the fishermen by holding talks with them besides state government and discuss it directly with Sri Lankan President and take steps to safeguard the livelihood of the fishermen," he said. Despite three rounds of talks between fishermen of the two countries, latest one being held here last month, arrests of fishermen had not abated, as the latest incident showed, Karunanidhi said in a statement here. more space on tobacco packaging from April 1. A huge controversy had broken out after BJPMPDilip Gandhi, who heads a parliamentary panel on helped her in getting the fake identity card. She has further claimed that she had paid a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to Jain for securing the job of librarian at the institute. The woman maintained that she was assured of job, but got nothing and was instead framed. She admitted committing a mistake, but also demanded action against academy officials who were at fault. Ruby had also said that she was offered Rs 5 crore as bribe to keep her mouth shut. The civil service recruits training academy learnt about the woman and her prolonged stay at the institute when she had already left on March 27, Dehradun SSP Pushpak Jyoti told a news agency. The matter came to light when administrative officer of the institute Satyavir Singh lodged an FIR in this connection at Mussoorie police station Tuesday, the SSP said. According to the FIR, the woman hailing from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh had arrived at the academy on September 20 and introduced herself as Ruby Choudhary, a trainee IAS officer, and stayed there for a little over six months before mysteriously disappearing on March 27, the official said. According to the SSP said a special team headed by Mussoorie police inspector Chandan Singh Bisht has been constituted to find out how the woman gained entry into the high security academy and managed to stay there for so long without the knowledge of the authorities. During her stay at the academy Ruby used to frequent the library. Documents seized from the room where she stayed are being closely investigated, police said, adding that the team constituted by the Uttarakhand Police will first interrogate Satyavir Singh who lodged the FIR in this connection. Fishermen arrest: Karuna seeks Modi's intervention AGENCIES CHENNAI, APRIL 04 Expressing concern over the latest instance of arrest of 33 Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka, DMK president M Karunanidhi today sought prime minister Narendra Modi's intervention to hold talks with Lankan President Maithiripala Sirisena to find a solution to the vexed issue. Karunanidhi, however, welcomed Sirisena's statement that his country wanted a solution to this issue without affecting the long-standing ties with India. "Though this (Sirisena's statement) gave some relief, Centre, especially Modi, should focus on long-time problems of the fishermen by holding talks with them besides state government and discuss it directly with Sri Lankan President and take steps to safeguard the livelihood of the fishermen," he said. Despite three rounds of talks between fishermen of the two countries, latest one being held here last month, arrests of fishermen had not abated, as the latest incident showed, Karunanidhi said in a statement here. Government plans nuclear missile shield in Delhi AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 Modi Sarkar has taken the first real step in giving India's capital city, Delhi, a security cover that cities such as Beijing and Washington already have — a nuclear missile shield. Two long-range missile-tracking radars have been placed in the national capital region. When completed, the shield will be able to intercept missiles fired from as far as 5,000 km away. Senior government officials familiar with the matter told ET placing the radars is the beginning of an accelerated process in creating a missile cover for major Indian cities. The next Indian city to be covered is Mumbai. Major cities around the world such as Washington, Beijing, Paris, London and Tel Aviv all have missile shields. India's missile shield programme has fallen behind over the past two years. The programme started in real earnest in 2006 and 2009-12 saw many tests. However, say senior officials, 2013 and 2014 were lull years for the programme. There was a failed test in April 2014. Officials said the Modi government had ordered a major acceleration of the missile shield programme immediately after coming to power last May. Placing the long-range radars — Swordfish, developed with Israeli assistance, and capable of tracking incoming missiles from a range of 800 km — is a first big step that will be followed by placing missile interceptor units by 2016. Missile tests will be held regularly, officials said. Next Monday will see an air defence missile test from Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast. Wheeler Island is India's main missile testing location. The missile shield system will require several dozen missiles to be produced annually in the first phase. Missile defence systems in India use both long- and short range interceptors. Officials said India was better prepared in developing short-range interceptor missiles. The long range system will require more tests. Officials say the Modi government's view is that given the growing sophistication of nuclear arsenal in India's neighbourhood, the lack of a missile defence system was a major security gap. The missile shield is even more critical for India given its 'no first use' policy for nuclear weapons, a doctrine that Pakistan doesn't follow. A major project cleared by the Modi government in its first months in power was to approve setting up a $1-billion facility in DRDO to manufacture vital seeker systems. Seeker systems direct missiles in the final phase of targeting. The facility, expected to come up near Hyderabad, is critical for missile shield. The NORTHLINES KASHMIR VALLEY www.thenorthlines.com 8 JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Omar Abdullah holds meetings in Beerwah Dr. Farooq, Omar Abdullah express Negligence: Surgical blades found inside body of mother grief over Doda, Uri mishaps Visits various villages, takes note of public issues National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Working President Omar Abdullah have expressed grief over incidents of loss of life due to landslides and land-sinking in Doda and Uri. "I convey my deepest condolences with the bereaved families over this loss. The State Government should dispense immediate ex-gratia relief in favor of the affected families and ensure the prevention of such mishaps in areas where the incessant rainfall has created similar circumstances", NC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah said. NC Working President Omar Abdullah while conveying his deepest condolences with the bereaved families has demanded exgratia relief for the affected families. Senior NC Leaders, MLA Uri Mohammad Shafi Uri and MLC Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo have also expressed grief and sorrow over these mishaps and asked the administration to release ex-gratia relief in favour of the victims' families. Srinagar | April 4 | CNS | Srinagar | April 4 | Naeem visits Women's College Srinagar | April 04 | Beerwah | April 5 | National Conference Working President and MLA Beerwah Omar Abdullah Saturday conducted an extensive tour of Beerwah Constituency and held a meeting with party workers and met public delegations at Narabal. The NC Working President also visited Sundarabad, Narabal Ghat, Chak-eQawoosa, Yarigund, Gagaripura and Gooripura where he took note of damages to public infrastructure and private property due to the recent incessant rains. Omar Abdullah asked the party workers to work in a coordinated manner to address public issues in the constituency with the goal of improving the standard of life of the common citizen. "Politics is not an end in itself but the means to an end. That end is of public welfare, progress and the betterment of the common man's life his empowerment and growth. This is the reason why National Conference came into being and this has been our motto over the decades. I want Beerwah to be a model of these values and we should all work together to ensure there is visible and palpable change in the constituency in how public issues are highlighted, taken up and resolved. Every single issue - no MODERN PUBLIC SCHOOL KEERIAN LAKHANPUR FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE SESSION 2015-16 S. No. Classes Admission Fee Tuition Fee 1. K.G 500 200 2. 1st 600 250 3. 2nd 600 280 4. 3rd 600 300 5. 4th 600 350 6. 5th 600 350 7. 6th 650 400 8. 7th 700 450 9. 8th 750 500 Note: The charges which are taken once a year Annual Charge is utilized in School Repair/Maintenance full year Stationery printing materials progress report question paper during class test. SdPrincipal Modern Public School Keerian Lakhanpur SHAKUNTLA MODEL HIGH SCHOOL KISHANPUR BILLAWAR FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE SESSION 2015-16 S. Classes No. Admission Tuition Yearly Charges Fee Fee Re- Admission Yearly Charges for New Admission 1. Nursery 150 800 800 2. L.K.G 200 800 900 3. U.K.G 220 800 1000 4. 1st 5 230 800 1000 5. 2nd 5 240 900 1100 6. 3rd 5 250 900 1100 7. 4th 5 260 1000 1200 8. 5th 5 270 1000 1200 9. 6th 10 280 1100 1300 10. 7th 10 290 1100 1300 11. 8th 10 300 1100 1300 12. 9th 10 475 1200+RR 1400+RR 13. 10th 10 500 1200 1400 Note: Annual Funds include MBF, Games Fund, Red Cross Fund, Printing Fund, Sweeping Fund and Electricity Fund etc. SdPrincipal Shakuntla Model High School Kishanpur Billawar matter how big or small - is of importance to me as the elected representative of the people here and will be taken up for redress", NC Working President Omar Abdullah said. The NC Working President took note of various public works that need immediate attention and said he would implore the State Government to address these issues without any delay. NOTICE I Birendra Bahadur Singh S/o Indra Bahadur R/o gorkhpur (U.P ) C/o Aman Paper mill kathua I have Incorrect name in my P F Record B.P Singh S/o Sh. I.B Singh Insert Of B.P Singh to birendera Singh if may be convey to concern authority with in seven days i9n this publication Notice. Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar today visited Women's College M.A. Road and Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kothi Bagh Srinagar to review the functioning of these premiere educational institutions. He called for strengthening the infrastructure and rejuvenating the academic process in these institutions. On this occasion, the Minister said that there is immediate need to transform the education system in the State. He asked teaching fraternity of Government schools to work with dedication and make it a mission to achieve literacy targets and to motivate students to seek admission in government schools instead of hankering after private educational institutes. The Minister announced release of Rs. 5 lakh from his CDF for strengthening infrastructure of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kothi Bagh Srinagar. The funds would be spent on developing sports activities and for setting up hiking and monitoring clubs in the School. The Minister urged the administration of these educational institutions to destroy the books and records affected by the floods to maintain better hygiene in these institutions. FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE SESSION 2015-16 S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Classes 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th Annual Charges 600 600 600 600 700 700 700 800 SdPrincipal Saraswati Vidya Mandir Parnala Billawar SIDCO INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, KATHUA CONT NO. 09796241086, 09419152086 1. Estd.2003 Phone: 233344 LEARNING TEMPLE ENGLISH MEDIUM HIGH SCHOOL NEAR AGRICULTURE OFFICE, KATHUA-184101 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Welcome to a World… Where learning becomes a pasion. ADMISSIONS OPEN 10. (2015-16) 11. For more details:- Parents/Wards are welcome with us at: LEARNING TEMPLE ENGLISH MEDIUM HIGH SCHOOL 12. 13. 04.04.2015 to 21.04.2015 upto 02:00 P.M. 27.04.2015 to 02:00 P.M. 28.04.2015 at 02:30 P.M. or any other date convenient to the tender opening authority. The teneders should be sent to the officer designate Executive Engineer Floriculture Division Bagh-E-Bahu Jammu in sealed envelopes by registered post/speed post/courier service only well before the last date. Other terms and conditions in the detailed NIT, technical specifications, Rate list are contained tender document which can be had against cash payment as mentioned above (non-refundable) from the office of the undersigned. The tender documents shall be issued only to the contractor in person or authorized representative. The Registration Card duly renewed for the current financial year should be shown in original or Photo copy of the same duly attested by the Gazetted Officer while purchasing the tender documents and PAN, TIN numbers & No objection certificate from Sales Tax Department J&K (Latest) be also produced for purchase of tender documents. The time of completion in view of the emergent nature of work, is quite essential and as such the work should be completed within the stipulated time period, failing which the said work or balance part thereof shall be put to fresh tenders or can be got completed through any other contractor/Agency at the risk and cost of the original contractor. Besides a penalty of 0.25% of the advertised cost shall be imposed for each day of delay beyond stipulated date of completion to a maximum of 10% of the advertised amount. If the intending Bidder likes to quote Rebate, the same should be incorporated in his percentage of quoted Rates Lump Sum Rebate shall not be accepted as such, the tender of such condition shall be rejected. The Department shall deduct the 1% cess on cost of construction workers Welfare Board (Labour Department) under the provision of law in order to avoid any legal proceedings. Any item(s) of work other than those advertised in the N.I.T/rate list shall have to be executed if found necessary and the same shall be paid as per SSR 2012 with contractor’s allottee appreciation/depreciation. a) The item of owrk and rates and rates quoted should be written in figures and words duly safeguarded with wide strong adhesive transparent taps, otherwise, the tender shall be rejected without assigning any reason thereof. In case of discrepancy between the rates quoted in figures and words, the higher rate shall be considered for the comparative statement and in case the tenderer shall turns out to be the lowest, the lower of the rates will be considered for the allotment. b) in case overwriting/corrections are found in quoted rates, the tender shall be rejected without assigning any reason thereof to avoid all sorts of ambiguity. The intending tenderers are advised to visit the site before casting the tender. The Defect liability Period shall be six month after the completion of the work, 10% of the gross amount of the running bills shall be kept as deposit 50% of the deposit shall be released after successful completion of the work and balance 50% shall be released after expiry of Defect liability period. Tenders shall be opened on the same day or any other subsequent date convenient to the tender opening authority in presence of tenderers who may like to remain present at the opening of the same. The construction key material i.e. cement to be used shall be ISI marked i.e. ACC, Ambuja, Ultra Tech, Birla Plus, Khyber duly certified by the engineer-in-charge at site. If the contractor casting the tender feels that the rates quoted by him or less than 15 of the advertised amount the contractor has to enclose additional ssecurity @5% of advertise amount of the time of costing of tender in shapae of CDR/FDR for eligibility of the tender addition to original CDR @2%. The contractor who will not submit the additional CDR @ 5% after opening of tender and the rates are found less than @15% of the advertised amount the tender shall be straightaway rejected. Besides if the contractor quotes rate Below SSR 2012 and any item is quoted as Free of Cost, the tender shall be straightaway rejected. WARD 17, KATHUA Contact: 01922-233344, 94191-50400 E-mail: [email protected] Classes Tuition Fee Annual Charges Pre-Primary 150 500 L.K.G, U.K.G 2. 1st to 3rd 170 800 3. 4th to 5th 200 850 Note: Annual Charges/ Admission Fee Charges once in a year including Games Fund, School Improvement Fund, Sweeping Fund, Red Cross Fund, Printing Fund, Water and Electricity Charges etc. SdPrincipal Sanket Sheksha Kender Dadwara Bhaddu Kathua For and on behalf of Governor of J&K State the Executive Engineer Floriculture Deptt. Jammu invited sealed tenders for the below mentioned work affixed with Revenue Stamps worth Rs. 6/- on the prescribed tender form of Executive Engineer Deptt. of Floriculture J&K through registered post/speed post/sealed cover by hand from the eligible approved/registered contractors/Firms of J&K State of the classes mentioned here under in strict accordance with conditions noted below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------S. Name of the work Approx. E/Money Time of Class of Cost of No. Amount Completion Contractor document in Lacs ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Maintenance of Triangular Park by 2.55 5100.00 45 days A, B, C, D 300.00 way of Restoration of Grill Fencing Good Earth Filling, Repair to Plaster and allied works at Shastri Nagar Near Cremation Ground, Jammu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Position of Funds: Demanded Position of AAA: Under Process Position of T.S: Under Process M/S EXCEL PACKAGING PLOT NO 6 BUCKETS, MUGS, TASLAS, BASIN, PEDDLE BIN, DUSTBIN UNBRAKEABLE & FROSTY. FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE SESSION 2015-16 S. No. 1. NIT No. 01 of 2015-16 Dated: 04.04.2015. Date of Sale of Tender: Date of Receipt of Tender: Date of opening of Tenders: MANUFACTURING SANKET SHEKSHA KENDER DADWARA BHADDU KATHUA NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (Tele & Fax 0191-2470888) EXTENSION NOTICE Srinagar | April 04 | The Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj System, Abdul Haq Khan convened a meeting of Rural Development department here today to review its functioning. Briefing the meeting through a power point presentation, the Director Rural Development department informed the Minister that during last fiscal 56613 rural development works were taken in hand out of which 33306 works have been completed while work on 72 works is apace. An amount of Rs. 368.04 crore are being expended on these projects, out of which Rs. 16066.19 crore have been spent up to ending March 2015. Besides, 549826 job cards have also been issued among the unemployed youth by the department. The meeting was attended by the Director Rural Development Kashmir, Executive Engineers of various streams, ACDs and other concerned officers. OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, FLORICULTURE DEPARTMENT, BAGH-E-BAHU, JAMMU. EXCISE & TAXATION COMPLEX, RAIL HEAD, JAMMU. Due to poor response to this office Notice issued under No. 174/DECEJ/Adm/11733 dated; 12.03.2015 on the subject, the date for the receipt of proposals is hereby extended upto 15.04.2015 till 4:00 P.M. Detailed terms and conditions can be downloaded from our website www.jkexcise.nic.in or can be obtained from the office of Deputy Excise Commissioner, (Executive) Jammu, Hall No. 324, Excise & Taxation Complex, Rail Head, Jammu. Those who have already applied need not apply again. Sd/(Anuradha Gupta) KAS DIP/J-77. Deputy Excise Commissioner, Dated: 4.4.2015. (Executive) Jammu. Tuition Fee 220 240 250 270 270 300 300 300 responsible for the supervision of the surgery of the Chadoora woman was admonished by the superiors after the death of a pregnant lady namely Rehana Akhtar of Sumbal on 26 January 2010 in her operation theater. The family of the deceased woman had then accused the said doctor of negligence and on the directions of then Speaker Legislative Assembly Muhammad Akbar Lone an inquiry was ordered but the report was neither made to public nor was handed over to the family of the deceased. (CNS) Haq reviews functioning of RDD SARASWATI VIDYA MANDIR PARNALA BILLAWAR OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY EXCISE COMMISIONER (EXECUTIVE) JAMMU. Proposals for operation, managaement and maintenance of Public toilets at newly constructed Toll Plaza, Lakhanpur. A new mother who was in pain two days after giving birth Saturday discovered the surgeons have left a pair of surgical blades in her womb. The blades according to her husband had been inside her body for more than two days before being discovered. "After developing labour pain, I admitted my wife Daisy Banoo in Lal Ded Hospital on Wednesday (April 1) under MRD number 090 where after surgery she gave birth to a baby boy. After two days, she developed pain inside the body and blood started oozing out from the parts where the doctors had stitched her," Muhammd Ashraf Shergujri of Sarai Chadoora told CNS. He said that the two doctors (names withheld) namely responsible for the surgical operation were scared and they immediately shifted the patient to operation theater. "Pain from my body vanished after the doctors removed surgical blades from my body," the patient Daisy Banoo said. "The doctors apologized. They did not have much of an explanation for what happened. They took responsibility," her husband said. Despite repeated attempts, Medical Superintendent Lal Ded Hospital did not respond to call, however an official said that doctors can't be blamed for the negligence. "It is the job of the medical assistant to check how many surgical apparatus he has taken back from the doctors after the operation. Medical Assistant is supposed to count the surgical apparatus and he has to see how many instruments he has supplied to doctor and how many he has taken back," he said. Pertinently, the doctor DIP/J-82. Dated: 4.4.2015. Sd/Executive Engineer, Deptt. of Floriculture, Jammu. 9 The NORTHLINES JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 www.thenorthlines.com The NORTHLINES BUSINESS 10 www.thenorthlines.com JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Foreign investors cry foul over Indian tax surprise AGENCIES HONG KONG, APRIL 04 US and European investor groups have called for the Indian government to urgently clarify its tax regime for foreigners, following surprise attempts by tax inspectors to claw back money they say is owed on years of previously untaxed gains. International funds and banks could face a bill of as much as $8 billion, said tax experts, just as many foreign investors are poised to pour money into India following the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has pledged to create a more business-friendly environment. “This development has caught everyone by surprise and is extremely worrying for foreign investors," said Patrick Pang, a managing director at the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) in Hong Kong. "It suggests that the Indian government can come out at any time and reclarify what was believed to be an established tax policy on foreign investments." ASIFMA is one of several business groups, including Adlabs Entertainment poised for market debut on Monday AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 Come Monday, theme park operator Adlabs Entertainment, which recently concluded its initial public offer (IPO), will make its debut on the stock market. "Trading members of the exchange are hereby informed that effective Monday, April 6, 2015, the equity shares of Adlabs Entertainment Limited shall be listed and admitted to dealings on the exchange," according to a notice dated March 31 on the BSE. The company's IPO, which was off the ground last month, was subscribed 1.11 times, helping it mop up an estimated Rs 376 crore. The funds raised include Rs 60 crore from anchor investors. Adlabs offer price was lowered to Rs 180-215 from Rs 221-230 per share while the closure date was extended by three days amid tepid response from institutional investors. The issue had opened on March 10. The issue price for the public issue is Rs 180 per share. Adlabs Entertainment is promoted by Manmohan Shetty and Thrill Park. Besides, Adlabs' two firms - Inox Wind and Ortel Communications - had come out with their public issues last month. Market participants expect a surge in IPO activity this year as many firms that have already received Sebi approval may roll out public offers in coming months. London-headquartered ICI Global, the European Fund and Asset Management Association, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, to have raised the alarm over attempts by the Indian tax department to levy minimum alternative tax (MAT) on foreign investors` profits, according to sources and letters seen by Reuters. In many jurisdictions governments use a form of MAT to ensure that tax breaks don`t pull domestic companies` effective tax rate below a minimum threshold. Foreigners without local operations are not typically covered by such provisions. In India, foreign investors have hitherto paid 15 percent on short-term listed equity gains, 5 percent on gains from bonds, and nothing on long-term gains, but from late last year many firms received notices from tax inspectors requiring them to pay MAT, potentially bringing overall tax on these gains to as much as 20 percent. The following month Finance Minister Arun Jaitley intervened via the 2015 budget bill to state that capital gains made by foreign investors as of April 2015 were exempt from MAT, but that did not resolve the issue. "The government’s clarification in February, though right in intent, has created unwanted confusion, and the view the tax office is taking is that, by implication, the past years` gains can be subject to MAT," said Keyur Shah, a partner in the India tax practice at EY. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS A senior official from the tax department who declined to be identified confirmed that the tax office believed the exemption from MAT does not apply retroactively. “There is nothing (in the budget) to suggest that it (the exemption) would apply to old cases," this person told Reuters. He added that a 2012 decision by India`s Authority for Advance Rulings, a body that mostly non-residents can apply to for tax rulings to avoid legal disputes, had set a precedent for levying MAT on foreign companies, and that the tax department was enforcing the ruling. In recent weeks, many foreign investors have duly received notices requesting their MAT calculations for financial year 2011-2012. The tax office has said it would also apply the tax to previous years. Tax inspectors could go back seven years, according to Indian law, and could also charge interest and penalties. Two individuals said some foreign investors had begun legal proceedings against the government. Investors say the change is at odds with Modi`s desire to welcome investment, since it could hit private equity and venture capital transactions, not just portfolio investors. Some investor groups are also concerned that the finance bill wording does not preclude MAT liability on other future income and are asking the Ministry of Finance to amend the bill to specify that the MAT exemption covers all future and past gains and income. "An amendment which introduces a clarification embodying the principle that a foreign company which has no business presence ... is not liable to MAT is required to end unwarranted litigation on this aspect," the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said in a statement. The senior official from the income tax department, which is part of the Finance Ministry`s Department of Revenue, said he believed it was clear future gains would not be taxed. He added that Jaitley might provide further clarification in the parliamentary budget session starting on April 20. Companies can soon choose accountants, secretaries from one entity Gold reclaims Rs 27,000-level on strong demand AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 Gold prices rose for the third straight day to regain the Rs 27,000 per 10 grams level at the bullion market on Saturday on the back of strong demand. However, silver prices remained steady at Rs 37,600 per kg on scattered demand from industrial units and coin makers. In the national capital, prices of 99.9 and 99.5 percent pure gold increased by Rs 60 each to Rs 27,010 and Rs 26,860 per 10 grams, respectively. Companies will soon have a reason to cheer as plans are on anvil to set up multidisciplinary partnerships that offer services of audit, cost accounting and consultancy, among other services, under one roof. The three professional institutes that represent chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries are discussing the broad contours for setting up multi-disciplinary partnerships (MDPs). "What is required is that all three institutes to come together and set out certain internal procedures and rules as to which institute will register such firm, how this firm will be called. There are administrative issues which need to be adjudicated between the three institutes. We have one coordination committee which is looking into the issues," ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) President Manoj Fadnis told PTI. The proposed entity can be a partnership firm under the Indian Partnership Act or an Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) under the LLP Act. According to Fadnis, the idea is that a chartered accountant, cost accountant and company secretary, among others, can practice by becoming partners and provide services as part of one entity. The idea follows changes made in the Companies Act, 2013 whereby a firm, with majority of members as chartered accountants, can be appointed as an auditor. In previous law -- Companies Act, 1956 -- a firm can be appointed as an auditor only if all its members are chartered accountants. Such a provision did not allow setting up of multi-disciplinary partnerships. "We are working very fast from our side. We would like to do it as fast as possible. One meeting happened in March and next meeting is scheduled this month," Fadnis said. U.S. employers added the fewest number of jobs in more than a year in March, the latest sign of weakness in the economy and one likely to further delay an anticipated interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. Nonfarm payrolls rose 126,000 last month, less than half February`s pace and the smallest gain since December 2013, the Labor Department said on Friday. The weakness was concentrated in the goodsproducing sector, which has been hurt by a strong dollar and lower crude oil prices. Leisure and hospitality also saw a sharp slowdown in jobs growth, suggesting harsh winter weather could have dragged on hiring. While the jobless rate held at a more than 6-1/2-year low of 5.5 percent, the workforce shrank. The labor force participation rate returned to a Greece will meet its financial obligations to the IMF and pay workers` salaries and pensions next week, a government source said Friday, easing speculation that Athens could default on its debts with unknowable consequences for global markets. "Everything that should be paid next week, the IMF (International Monetary Fund), wages, pensions, will be," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. Greece has a deadline of April 9 to pay the IMF 460 million euros ($500 million) to meet the conditions of its loan agreement, and speculation had been rife it would fail to pay if forced to choose between workers and the institution. Another source said that the payment of 250 million euros in interest due later this month and the question of 2.4 billion euros` worth of government bonds due to mature on April 13 and 17 were also no longer sources of anxiety for the hard-left administration of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Experts from the IMF and the European Union are scrutinising a list of economic reforms proposed by Athens in a bid to unlock another 7.2 billion euros in loans to stave off possible bankruptcy and a euro exit. Athens has already been sharply pressed to meet its monthly payments in salaries, pensions and debt servicing without the bailout funds, and has proposed to levy higher taxes on the rich, as well as measures to tackle tax evasion and illegal fuel and cigarette smuggling. But its creditors are still pushing for pension cuts and civil service layoffs, as well as a number of key privatisations that the government in January said it would block. Two meetings of eurozone experts are due to take place next week on the topic of Athens` finances. Reducing Greece`s debt -- which in 2014 reached 176 percent of national output -- is among the main priorities of Tsipras`s Syriza party. Since 2010, Athens has received two successive loans from the EU and the IMF totalling 240 billion euros in exchange for tough austerity measures. Sensex, Nifty snap 3-week Judge orders Facebook and losing streak on fresh buying Zuckerberg to turn over documents AGENCIES MUMBAI, APRIL 04 Both the benchmark indices -S&P BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty -- snapped their 3-week losing streak and recovered by 802 points and 245 points, respectively on fresh buying on the back of positive global cues. Small-cap and mid-cap counters too attracted heavy buying interest from retail investors as their indices outperformed the Sensex. Besides, resumption of foreign capital inflows boosted market sentiments. "Firm global cues combined with oversold positions in index majors triggered the rebound," said Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities. Reduction in crude oil prices and improvement in F&O liquidity, post a poor March expiry (-7 percent return) provided the essential, said Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. Cut in petrol and diesel prices was another reason behind rise in the value of shares. The Sensex opened higher at 27,655.79 and hovered in a wide range of 28,298.34 and 27,624.76 before concluding at 28,260.14, witnessing a sharp recovery of 801.50 points, or 2.92 percent. It had dropped by 1,990.31 points, or 6.76 percent, in the previous three weeks. The CNX 50-share Nifty also rose by 244.85 points, or 2.94 percent, to close at 8,586.25. It had dropped by 596.35 points, or 6.67 percent, in the previous three weeks. Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 487.73 crore, according to Sebi data. In the overseas markets, European stocks were trading higher after a solid round of Eurozone manufacturing data for March. 27 scrips out of the 30-share Sensex pack ended higher while only three finished lower. Stock markets remained closed on April 2 for "Mahavir Jayanti" and April 3 for "Good Friday." Major gainers were Bharti Airtel (6.86 percent), Sun Pharma (6.72 percent), HDFC (5.71 percent), Tata Motors (5.38 percent), ITC (4.79 percent), Coal India (4.43 percent), Axis Bank (4.31 percent), Dr Reddy's Lab (4.11 percent), SBI (3.76 percent), HUL (3.68 percent), Larsen (3.42 percent), Tata Power (3.26 percent), Hero Motocorp (3.25 percent), Wipro (3.15 percent), Tata Steel (2.86 percent), Reliance Ind (2.81 percent), ICICI Bank (2.70 percent) and Cipla (2.25 percent). Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, Healthcare rose by 4.32 percent, Realty (3.74 percent), Bankex (3.37 percent), PSU (3.35 percent), Auto (3.30 percent), FMCG (3.28 percent), Capital Goods (3.19 percent) and Oil & Gas (2.57 percent). Small-cap and Mid-cap indices also rose by 6.76 percent and 3.77 percent, respectively. The total turnover at BSE and NSE dropped further to Rs Rs 8,236.17 crore and Rs 47,640.57 crore, respectively as against the last weekend's level of Rs 16,906 crore and Rs 87,594.44 crore AGENCIES NEW YORK, APRIL 04 Facebook and its founder must release documents and electronic correspondence to a defence lawyer whose client has fled from criminal charges that he falsely claimed a majority ownership in the social media giant, a federal judge said. US District Judge Vernon Broderick yesterday ordered Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to relinquish documents by Monday that were requested by Paul Ceglia's lawyer, Robert Ross Fogg. The judge said he received a letter Thursday from lawyers for Facebook Inc. And Zuckerberg asking that an order he issued earlier in the week to promptly turn over requested documents be suspended until Ceglia is caught. Documents requested include all electronic communications Zuckerberg had about a Ceglia contract during an 18-month stretch beginning in 2003. With a May 4 trial approaching, Ceglia cut off his electronic ankle bracelet last month and fled. His wife, two children and dog also are missing from their home in Wellsville, 112 kilometres southeast of Buffalo. Ceglia's father told Broderick at a hearing last week that he believed his son might have fled because he believed Facebook and Zuckerberg were working together with prosecutors against him, jeopardising his chance for a fair trial. The judge said he would not allow a trial to proceed unjustly. Federal prosecutors had urged US job growth brakes sharply, clouds Fed rate hike timing AGENCIES WASHINGTON, APRIL 04 Greece ‘confident’ of paying IMF on time: Source more than 36-year low reached late last year. "The report confirms the emerging narrative of slowing growth momentum seen in the other economic indicators. It will weaken the argument for a mid-year (rate) hike," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. The tepid increase in payrolls ended 12 straight months of job gains above 200,000 - the longest streak since 1994. In addition, data for January and February were revised to show 69,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported, giving the report an even weaker tone. After its robust stretch, the jobs figures now appear more in line with other signals from consumer spending to housing starts and manufacturing that have suggested the economy grew at a sub-1 percent annual rate in the first quarter. Economists had forecast that payrolls would rise 245,000 last month. Prices for U.S. government debt rallied as investors pushed back their expectations for a Fed rate hike, while U.S. stock index futures fell about 1 percent. The dollar dropped against a basket of currencies. The U.S. central bank has kept overnight interest rates near zero since December 2008, but a number of officials have said an increase will likely be considered at its June policysetting meeting. While economic growth is expected to rebound, it appears increasingly unlikely the Fed will have sufficient signs of strength in hand by then. "Now the timing for the liftoff could be delayed to September or even to December. The June date is not off the table, however, assuming the economy and employment rebound," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo. DOLLAR AND OIL HURT The buoyant dollar and lower oil prices have combined to crimp the profits of some large companies, forcing a reduction in capital spending. Equipment maker Caterpillar Inc has warned that lower oil prices will hurt its business in 2015, and Procter & Gamble, the world`s largest household products maker, has cautioned that the dollar would hit its profits. The dollar has gained about 13 percent against the currencies of the main U.S. trading partners since last June. Economists say the impact is equivalent to a half-point interest rate hike. At the same time, the sharp oil price drop has curtailed U.S. drilling activity. Payrolls in the mining sector fell 11,000, reflecting ongoing weakness in oil and gas extraction. Energy producers have idled half of their rigs since October. A harsh winter and a nowsettled labor dispute at normally busy West Coast ports have also weighed on activity, as has softer global demand. Bad weather is estimated to have lopped off as much a seventenths of a percentage point from first-quarter growth. Construction employment fell 1,000 last month, while manufacturing payrolls slipped by 1,000. There was, however, some good news in the report. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent. Even so, that only lifted the year-on-year gain to 2.1 percent, in the same tepid range that earnings growth has held to for several years. With Wal-Mart and McDonald`s recently announcing pay increases for their hourly workers, wage growth could gain traction in the months ahead. Other companies, including TJX Cos Inc and health insurer Aetna, also have announced pay hikes. Although the labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, slipped one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.7 percent in March, other measures on the Fed`s so-called dashboard continued to improve. A broad measure of joblessness that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment fell to a more than 6-1/2-year low of 10.9 percent from 11 percent in February. The number of Americans unemployed for 27 weeks or longer also declined to its lowest point since November 2008. In a sign that cold weather could have undercut job growth, the average work week fell to 34.5 hours, the lowest since September, from 34.6 in February. About 182,000 people said they could not get work because of inclement weather, slightly above the historical average of 141,000. "It is possible that the colderthan-normal weather slowed hiring activity," said Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Nomura Securities International in New York. Broderick not to force Facebook and Zuckerberg to turn over the documents, saying doing so would "reward Ceglia's flouting of the judicial process while unreasonably drawing on the resources of the government and the authority of the court." The criminal case against Ceglia was brought after a judge threw out his 2010 civil lawsuit claiming that he gave Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University at the time, USD 1,000 in startup money in exchange for 50 percent of the future company. Prosecutors said a forensic analysis of his computers and Harvard's email archive determined Ceglia had altered an unrelated software development contract he signed with Zuckerberg in 2003 and falsified emails to make it appear Zuckerberg had promised him a half-share of Facebook. Zuckerberg has said he did not come up with the idea for Facebook until months after he responded to Ceglia's online help-wanted ad and signed a contract agreeing to create some software for him. A lawyer for Facebook and Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment yesterday on the judge's order. Neither did a spokesman for government attorneys nor Fogg. Fogg said in an email Wednesday that he and others "continue to fight for Paul, even in his absence, with the same vigor and fortitude and in a sense - more determined than ever." Micromax Unite 2 smartphone to get Android 5.0 Lollipop update AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 04 Homegrown smartphone maker Micromax, will roll out Android 5.0 Lollipop update for its Unite 2 smartphone. Micromax will start rolling out over-the-air (OTA) from Tuesday wherein users will directly get a notification on their phone. However, users can also manually download the update by going to phone Setting –About phone –Software update. Unite 2, the first ever phone which supports 21 Indian languages, was lauched last year bearing the price tag of Rs 6,999. The phone comes with 4.7 inch IPS display, 5MP primary camera and 2 MP secondary camera. The camera also offers a number of features such as beauty mode, live photo mode and panorama. Micromax Unite 2 is powered by 1.3 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage (expandable upto 32GB). The languages supported by the phones include: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, kannada, Odia, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Nepali, Bodo, Dogri, Konkani, Kashmiri, Maithili, Manipuri, Sanskrit, Sindhi. The NORTHLINES 11 SPORTS www.thenorthlines.com JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 05 | 2015 Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray to Kashmir FC maintains winning spree in I-League meet again in Miami final NL CORRESPONDENT JAMMU TAWI, APRIL 04 Kashmir Football Club (FC) continued its winning spree with a hard fought solitary goal win against PIFA in their third outing of the I-League Division second underway at Siliguri in West Bengal. As per the reports reaching here, Kashmir FC dominated proceedings from the start with SK Faiz and Bisheshwor going close with their efforts. It was Faiz who was brought down in the penalty box to which the referee awarded the penalty in favour of Kashmir FC but Kareem could not convert it and missed the net. Kashmir FC started the second half again on the front coming out fierce with attacking intent and their efforts were rewarded when Bisheswor penetrated a through ball which was calmly finished by Rohit with a fine placement. The team didn't stop attacking after the goal and went hard in search of another one with Ajay and Faiz going close with their respective efforts. The final score ended 1-0 in favour of Kashmir FC. "It was a well earned win, the lads gave their best out in the field. We could have scored multiple goals had we not wasted a host of chances. One goal is a unsafe lead in football you always need the second goal to kill the game," informed the coach. With this win Kashmir FC have created a wave of support and all the circles are now considering them as serious contenders. Their brand of football and style of play has been highly admired and it isn't far when they cement their place at the top. Police organises quiz contest NL CORRESPONDENT JAMMU TAWI, APRIL 04 Rajouri-Pooch Police range organised a quiz competition involving young boys and girls from remotest areas of district Poonch. The competition held at Government Higher Secondary School, Lathung on the directions of Deputy Inspector General (DIG), AK Atri. In all, four teams representing different educational institution took part in this competition wherein, team D and team C emerged first and second respectively. The winners were given away prizes by Principal Higher Secondary School, Lathung, Mohd Latief Choudhary, who was chief guest. In addition study material was also distributed among 100 students belonging to the needy families. Meanwhile, speaking to the gathering, Additional SP Poonch, Amit Gupta highlighted the role of District Police Poonch for organizing such type of events with an aim to channelize the energy of the youth of the area and helping the down trodden sections of the society. Prominent among those who were present included DySP Surankote, Ajay Sharma, Mohd Amin , SHO PS Surankote, Mohd Ashraf, Saddar Din, Faqir Mohd and Mohd Azam, besides huge gathering drawn from all walks of life witnessed the programme. AGENCIES MIAMI, APRIL 04 World number one Novak Djokovic will face Britain`s Andy Murray in the final of the Miami Open for a third time on Sunday after the pair triumphed in their semifinals. Third seed Murray delivered a controlled and precise performance to beat Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4 64 while Djokovic faced greater resistance in the form of big-serving American John Isner but still won 7-6(3) 6-2. The first set was on-serve throughout but the Serb emerged victorious from the tie-break and never looked back. The four-times Miami champion broke twice early in the second to open up a 41 lead and from then on the match was out of Isner`s reach. The big-serving American was unable to create a single break point in the game but the 29-year-old, ranked 24th in the world, will be encouraged by his run to the last four. In bright sunlight and Floridian heat, Murray broke early in both sets and looked in charge throughout, winning 80 percent of firstserve points while registering four service breaks. Berdych made a break in each set himself but with Murray`s defence strong and the Scot making few errors, the Czech was unable to overtake him. The Scot feels comfortable at Miami where he won in 2009 and 2013 and lost to Djokovic in the 2012 final. Murray spends his offseason practice time on the stadium court at the Crandon Park Tennis Center and has clearly acclimatised to the heat and humidity. "I`ve obviously played some good tennis here over Delhi skipper Duminy rubbishes Yuvraj, Zaheer concerns AGENCIES NEW DELHI, APRIL 03 New Delhi Daredevils skipper JP Duminy has the unenviable task of leading a side which looks far from settled and is eager to shed its tag of IPL wooden spooners. Having arrived late on Thursday night, Duminy was there at the ground on Friday playing a practice game to "identify the senior players". But he didn't get the opportunity to see how two of his most senior players in terms of experience - Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan - are shaping up. "The key is to find who can play the role of senior players and also figure out the combination. It is a Last year, in particular, Delhi were hampered by the absence of a big-ticket Indian cricketer to rally the youngsters. Yuvraj, however, has decided to skip two training sessions on the trot while Zaheer is not the sprightly figure he once was. Yuvraj, incidentally, is chasing an India comeback. Asked if the star duo had any fitness concerns, Duminy only said, "For me, Zaheer and Yuvraj are good enough to field anywhere. I don't think it's a problem. If I look at myself 10 years ago, I would say I was much better. But it's understanding the dynamics disadvantage especially when Yuvraj and Zaheer in the squad and knowing who is best others are well settled," will help the Indian youngsters suited to a position. Those two will offer a lot in terms of Duminy said, adding: "Having this year." experience....most players will feed off their knowledge." With Zaheer playing the dual role of mentor and player, Duminy felt the veteran pacer's role was crucial for "not only the young team but the captain as well". Duminy added: "The work ethic looks good. It has a lot to do with the management staff and we have a good one. The youngsters have been really good. They look in good nick. So it will be a good blend of youth and experience." Incidentally, Duminy seems eager to forget South Africa's World Cup semifinal loss -he dodged questions on his horrendous mix-up with Farhan Behardein, which allowed Grant Elliot to knock the Proteas out. the years. The reason for that is because I`m extremely familiar with the conditions, with the surface, the way the court plays," he said. "There are little things in the court that maybe players that haven`t played on it that much won`t really know. "Because I practice on it all the time, I know how the ball bounces in certain areas and which serves work into certain spots on the court and how the ball responds off different spins. So that`s why I feel comfortable on it," he said. Djokovic and Murray have won once against each other in finals at Key Biscayne but the Serb holds a 17-8 advantage in their overall meetings. as she broke off at 6-6 to gradually increase the lead with straight bursts of points. The Indian led 11-6 at the break and soon moved to 15-7 after the interval. Li's movement seemed to be a little slow, probably due to the injury she suffered in her right knee. The Chinese tried to reduce the gap but Saina kept her tosses as accurate as possible as they landed just on the baseline. Soon the Indian pocketed the game comfortably to lead 1-0. The second game was a close contest as lead changed hands too often right from the start after Saina had a narrow 3-1 advantage. After changing to the fast side of the court, Saina found the going tough as Li clawed back quickly and was neck and neck till 10-10, before managing to grab three points at 18-17 to bounce back. In the decider, Saina grabbed an early 12-7 lead but Li used her height and reach to good effect and soon reeled off five straight points to catch up with the Indian. It then turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller as Saina and Li fought tooth and nail for each point. Li played some lovely overhead shots and was also good at the nets. The change of side at the break brought Saina back to the fast side and the drift once again affected the game as the match turned into a battle of nerves. Saina was 19-18 up but Li eventually showed better nerves in a battle of attrition to grab a place at the finals. Saina Nehwal knocked out from Malaysia Open, lose No. 1 ranking A GENCIES KUALALUMPUR, APRIL 04 Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will lose her world No. 1 ranking after her gallant fight against Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the semifinals ended in heartbreak at the $500,000 Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament, here on Saturday. World number one Saina squandered a one-game advantage as she lost 21-13, 17-21, 20-22 to world number three Li in a gruelling semifinal that lasted one hour and eight minutes at Putra Stadium. Saina, who won the India Open Super Series last week, once again failed to come good against Xuerui, who has now beaten the Indian nine times in 11 meetings. The girl from Hyderabad, who has been on a rampaging run ever since winning the China Open last year, played out of her skin in a match where fortunes fluctuated too often but in the end it was Li, who emerged victorious. Saina became the world No. 1 for her exploits at the India Open triumph last week and a semifinal finish here will give her 7700 points but Li reaching the finals means the Chinese will regain her No. 1 ranking. Saina, who had beaten Li only on two occasions at the 2010 Singapore Open and 2012 Indonesia Open, started the match on a confident note Rajasthan Royals: Can the underdogs bite again? AGENCIES JAIPUR, APRIL 04 There is a feel good factor to the Rajasthan Royals squad this time. This happy feeling comes from the fact that four of their players featured in the World Cup final at Melbourne Cricket Ground last Sunday. While Steve Smith and James Faulkner had crucial roles to play, Shane Watson and Tim Southee were there too, doing their bits. "That's not all," Royals CEO Raghu Iyer exudes. "There was Ajinkya Rahane too in the tournament. Stuart Binny and Dhawal Kulkarni did not get to play, but they were part of the Indian team." No wonder, the Royals management is sporting a huge smile now-a-days. The Royals, perennial underdogs of the IPL, have a stable look around them this time and Iyer agrees this augurs well for the team. "It's a very balanced side and we are quite confident this time," he said. "We have retained the core of the team from last year. A lot of thought has gone into the changes that we have made this time." Indeed, Royals have retained 19 players this year and that includes proven performers like Watson, Smith, Faulkner, Southee, Rahane, Binny, Sanju Samson among others. The six new faces that they included are lesser known players who will surely gain from the experience of sharing the dressing with international stars. The difference between last year and this time could well be Smith and Faulkner. These two rising stars are now established players and brimming with confidence. Royals have always had a strong Australian connection ever since Shane Warne controlled its reins. Faulkner and Smith are just additions to this legacy. Another factor that's in Royals' favour is the presence of Rahul Dravid. The legacy of a calm head over dependable shoulders. The former India skipper has seen it all and understands quite well how to handle a pressure situation. After making a smooth transition from captain to mentor, Dravid remains one of the key reasons for Royals to keep hoping. "His presence is definitely a huge advantage for us," a Royals official admitted. Dravid's cricketing acumen and reading of the game can only help the Royals, who for the second year running; will miss out on the opportunity of playing at their lucky venue, Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. A look at the Royals squad would tell you why their management is so confident this time. The job of scoring runs will rest on Watson, Rahane, Smith, Faulkner, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair among others. To defend that score, Southee's experience, Faulkner's slower ones and Binny's deceptive pace seems more than capable, at least on paper. Then there is Pravin Tambe too, the 44-year old "find", whose leg-breaks have been so effective that the Royals have stopped worrying about the lack of a quality spinner since Warne's departure. Having said that, the Royals bowling would do well to take lessons from the mauling they were subjected to by the Mumbai Indians last year. They might also miss the reassuring presence of Aussie veteran Brad Hodge, whose late cameos have rescued them from precarious positions on many occasions. As always, the Royals have put their faith in bits-and-pieces players, quite a few of them being unknown quantities. "We have picked up some players whom you would not have heard of," Iyer smiled, referring to the likes of Pradeep Sahu, Barinder Saran, and Sagar Trivedi. Royals have a habit of producing champions from the blue - Samson and Tambe being two examples - and it wouldn't be surprising if one of these unknown names becomes a match-winner. Incidentally, Royals' six picks at the Bangalore auction, which includes two overseas players, cost them a paltry Rs 2.1 crore. Compare that to the whooping Rs 16 crore that Delhi Daredevils paid for Yuvraj Singh and you'll know why Royals remain the most unpredictable side. A BATTING POWERHOUSE THAT'S LIGHT ON SPIN STRENGTH: Batting looks to be their strong point, with Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair finding form. Apart from these three, Sanju Samson, Shane Watson and James Faulkner are all capable of scoring at a brisk pace. WEAKNESS: They might miss a quality spinner, particularly as they won't have the comfort of playing at Jaipur, where seamers dominate. OPPORTUNITY: James Faulkner can be quite destructive in the death overs. Smith and Rahane are in good form and can build up the innings for some late charge. THREAT: Watson's inconsistent form can be a worry. Some of their key players may also be exhausted. The think-tank is known to tinker with the playing XI needlessly. PLAYERS WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE NEW FACES TO WATCH JUAN THERON..Known as Rusty, this South African seamer can be useful in checking the flow of runs as he keeps it straight and simple. CHRIS MORRIS..Another South African, this all rounder is known for his big-hitting abilities. He can also prove useful with his fast medium pace. SARANDEEP SINGH..This off-break bowler from Amritsar has played four Tests and five ODIs for India. His experience will help the side in the middle overs. PARDEEP SAHU..This legspinner caught attention when he picked up all 10 wickets in an innings in a Kanga League A division match. Another Tambe in the making? IN: Chris Morris, Pardeep Sahu, Dinesh Salunkhe, Sarandeep Singh, Juan Theron, Sagar Trivedi OUT: Unmukt Chand, Brad Hodge, Kevon Cooper, Iqbal Abdulla, Ankush Bains, Amit Mishra RR SUPPORT STAFF..Rahul Dravid will have a major say in team decisions, being the mentor. Paddy Upton is the head coach and given his background as a mental conditioning coach, he will have a crucial role in motivating the players. Zubin Bharucha is the director of cricket and Monty Desai is the coach. John Gloster is the team physio. Yemen crisis: 'Indian rescue ship unable Wanted to raise concern on to enter Aden port due to heavy shelling’ future of secularism: SC judge Agencies New Delhi, Apr 4: Agenciees Kochi, Apr 4: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday that due to heavy shelling in Aden, an Indian warship which was sent to evacuate the stranded Indians in Yemen, is unable to enter the port and is evacuating them from outside the harbour. Swaraj took to microblogging website Twitter to provide this information. “There is heavy shelling in Aden.The ship is anchored 5/6 KM off the coast. Indian nationals are being taken by boat to board the ship there,” she tweeted. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy confirmed that the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, one of the Indian Navy’s most powerful warships, was unable to enter the Aden port. “Officials had hired a dozen smaller vessels, each capable of carrying 30 to 35 people, to ferry the Indians to the destroyer,” the Navy officials said. The warship placed itself just outside Aden harbour as part of 'Operation Raahat' as heavy firing was reported in Aden where the Saudi-led coalition is fighting Houthi rebels who are making a bid for the city. Indian authorities have hired small crafts which are being used to move 30-35 Indians at one time from the port to INS Mumbai, the Navy said. While the exact number of Indians stranded Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph, who has raised objections with Chief Justice of India HL Dattu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over holding of a three-day long judges conference during holy weekend for Christians, on saturday said he only wanted to raise the "serious concern" about secularism in India. When contacted by media, Justice Kurien Joseph, who was attending religious services with family members at his ancestral home in nearby Kaladi, said he was sad as a section of media was treating the issue "wrongly" there is not known, defence sources put it over 200. "Absolute tough environment at Aden... Evacuation of stranded Indians being carried out in almost warlike conditions by Indian Naval ship Mumbai," the Navy said. Earlier in the day, Ministry of External Affairs ( MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin posted a list of Indians being evacuated from Yemen according to their respective States. In a series of tweets he assured that all stranded Indians will be evacuated safely. Till now, 1,350 Indians have been evacuated from Yemen and efforts are on to rescue over 2,000 others from various parts of the strife-torn country where situation has deteriorated significantly due to escalation in fighting between warring groups. Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh, who was overseeing the massive evacuation operation from Djibouti, had also gone to Sanaa, the largest Yemeni city from where Air India was rescuing Indians after getting permission to land. Singh has come back to Djibouti today. A group of 46 persons, including seven women and two children belonging to Tamil Nadu, reached here Chennai airport in two private flights after they were evacuated from strife-torn Yemen, as per the airport sources. The group members, most of them belonging to Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts, were part of the 334 people who landed in Mumbai in two Indian Air Force planes last night after their evacuation. Tamil Nadu Government officials were at the airport to welcome them. The state government had arranged for their travel to their respective destinations, the sources added. No alternative to Rahul Gandhi in Congress: Meena Agencies Kota, Apr 4: Congress party has no other alternative to Rahul Gandhi and that he is the "best one" to lead the party, senior Congress leader Ramnarayan Meena on Saturday said. "Congress party has got no other leader but Rahul Gandhi who can unite the party and bring it to the mainstream. There is no other alternative to Rahul Gandhi in Congress party. He is the next one and best one in the party," Meena told media. The veteran leader, who had been Congress party observer in Punjab, Chattisgarh, Haryana and other states in the past, expressed confidence that the party can retain its previous image only under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. "There is no other leader except Rahul to lead the Congress party. He is an accepted leader in the party," he said. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY missing the core issue. "I only wanted to raise the serious concern--the future of secularism in this great country-(which required consideration of appropriate authorities). Nothing personal between me or anybody (on this issue). But I am sad that it has been projected wrongly by a section of media, missing the core issue," he said. Justice Joseph has declined to attend the Prime Minister's dinner for top judges tonight on the ground that the event and the ongoing judges' conference clashed with Good Friday and Easter weekend. Justice Joseph will leave for New Delhi after Easter celebrations tomorrow evening. '0.56 percent disabled students in top 150 Indian colleges' Agencies New Delhi, Apr 4: There are only 8,449 disabled students, or 0.56 percent, studying in the country's 150 top universities and colleges that have a total strength of 15,21,438, a survey released on Saturday said. Conducted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), the nationwide survey of status of disabled students in top Indian colleges, institutes and universities, revealed that of these differently-abled students, 74.08 percent were male and 22.07 percent were female students. The national survey 'Status of Disability in Higher Education' was released as part of the 3rd National Convention for Youth with Disabilities. However, while over 200 institutions were written to, only 150 responded -- which included all the 16 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and 13 Indian Instiitutes of Management (IIMs). The colleges were identified on the basis of streams and courses on which the survey was to be conducted. Last year, the total number of students with disabilities was 0.63 percent. "It is a big reason to worry that so many years after the law, only 0.56 percent students are disabled," Javed Abidi, director, NCPEDP, said. Abidi pointed out a significant number of institutes that did not respond was that of private institutions, which he said were the "biggest culprits". He told media that the first step which needs to be taken is that of "accessibility". "It is about removing both -architectural and technological barriers," he said. Visually impaired Kaustubh Tapal said that it was extremely important to change people's mindset. "People do not know how to act and react... awareness is the most important thing," the 21-year-old Mumbai-based student told media. Soft, energy-efficient robotic wings soon Salman Family Restaurant R esearchers have discovered a new resonance phenomenon in a dielectric elastomer rotary joint that can make the artificial joint bend up and down, like a flapping wing. The new discovery by scientists from Harbin Institute of Technology, China and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has potential in soft robotic applications as lightweight, energy-efficient flapping wings. Dielectric elastomers are novel materials with soft and lightweight properties, resembling human muscle, that can undergo large active deformations. This has made dielectric elastomers popular for creating devices such as robotic hands, soft robots, tunable lenses and pneumatic valves. The study appeared in the journal Applied Physics Letters. "The dielectric elastomer is a kind of electro-active polymer that can deform if you apply a voltage on it," said Jianwen Zhao from Harbin Institute of Technology. "We found that alternating voltages can make the joint continuously bend at different angles. Especially, when the rotational inertia of the joint or the applied voltage is large enough, the joint can bend beyond 90 degrees to 180 degrees, following a principle different from the normal resonance rule," Zhao explained. Zhao said this new phenomenon makes the dielectric elastomer joint a good candidate for creating a soft and lightweight flapping wing for robotic birds. These wings would be more efficient than bird wings based on electrical motors due to the higher energy conversion efficiency (60 to 90 percent) of the dielectric elastomer. This new phenomenon may open doors for many novel soft devices, such as soft and lightweight robots for circumstances with restricted space and weight requirements or flapping wings of soft robotic birds that can generate a large lift force, Zhao noted. Offbeat Texas police chase down escaped buffalo TEXAS: A Texas police department shared video of squad cars trying to chase down an escaped buffalo seen wandering the streets Friday morning. The Round Rock Police Department shared a video on their Facebook page Friday showing squad cars chasing the loose North American bison, commonly called a buffalo, down a city street. "We have been able to get the loose livestock back to its owners. Yes, that is a buffalo our officers and Animal Control secured near Timothy Dr. and Forest Ridge. Thankfully, no one was injured while it was out," police said in the post. Police said officers and an Animal Control unit responded at 7:37 a.m. Friday to a "loose livestock" report and they were able to lure the bison to a secure area. Investigators said they discovered the bison had made it past an electric fence and a barbed wire fence to escape its owner's property. "Yes, two fences," police said in a statement provided to the Austin American-Statesman. "We are happy that no one was hurt. ... These animals are large, quick, and could do harm if encountered in the wrong circumstances." Sheriff: Mo. truck theft suspects stole walnut trees for drug money UNION, Mo.: Missouri police Toelke told KTVI-TV. "One of walnut logs they stole off private probing a truck theft ring said they discovered the vehicles were being used to steal walnut trees that were then sold for drug money. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said at least two dozen trucks, including large rigs and tow trucks, have been stolen in recent months and a probe that has so far resulted in six arrests discovered the trucks were being used to transport walnut trees they illegally cut down on private land. "The tow trucks, I think they used those to help lift the logs onto some of the trucks," the suspects they arrested had a check in his pocket, where he had sold a log, and it was a little over $2,000 for the one log." Toelke said the suspects would sell the ill-gotten wood to saw mills and then abandon the stolen trucks, often stripped of valuable parts that could be sold individually. He said the trucks also had other uses for the suspects. "We believe they were using them to transport narcotics and they also parted them out, taking orders for parts. I think the primary function was to haul The NORTHLINES www.thenorthlines.com 12 JAMMU | SUNDAY | APRIL 5 | 2015 property," Toelke told KMOVTV. The sheriff said the money made from selling the logs and truck parts were used to purchase more drugs for their trafficking operation. Jerry Courtway, Brian Jones, Michael Smith and Roger Sohn are facing charges including vehicle theft, property damage, receiving stolen property and drug trafficking. The suspects were previously known to law enforcement from narcotics operations. Police Line, W. No. 17, Kathua. 9086728518, 9419281205 Funny Photo Tripathi sworn in as Mizoram governor Agencies Aizawl, April 4 West Bengal and Bihar Governor K.N. Tripathi, who has been given additional charge of Mizoram, was sworn in as the 16th governor of the northeastern state here on Saturday. Justice Michael Zothankhuma of the Gauhati High Court administered the oath of office to Tripathi, 80, at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan here. Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, his cabinet colleagues, assembly Speaker Hiphei, parliamentary secretaries, legislators, leaders of various political parties and top security and civil officials were present at the swearing-in ceremony. Chief Secretary Lalmalsawma conducted the programme. Earlier in the day, on his arrival from Kolkata, Tripathi was received at the Lengpui airport by Lal Thanhawla, Home Minister R. Lalzirliana and top officials including the chief secretary and state police chief. Tripathi replaces Aziz Qureshi, who was sacked last week. His term would have ended in 2017. Tripathi practised as a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court from 1956 till 2014 except for the three times when he was speaker of the Uttar Pradesh assembly - in 1991, 1997 and 2002. Congress-ruled Mizoram has the dubious distinction of having seen seven governors in eight months. President Pranab Mukherjee had transferred Qureshi, who had filed a petition in the Supreme Court over the Bharatiya Janata Party- led central government’s pressure on him to relinquish his post, to Mizoram on December 30 last year from Uttarakhand. Qureshi’s case was referred to a five-judge constitutional bench as it involves a substantive question of constitutional law relating to removal of governors. The bench is yet to be formed. Politicians, civil society groups, youth and students’ unions have criticised the central government for frequent transfers of the governors in Mizoram. The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), an apex body of students’ organisations, Saturday staged a protest in front of the Raj Bhavan and raised slogans accusing the central government of using Mizoram as the “gubernatorial dumping ground”. It also said it will hold protests at central government offices here on Tuesday as well as during President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit on April 9-10.