1. religion and spirituality
2. hinduism

AAP shouldnt waste
opportunity with
immature politics:
Jaitley
P7 | NATION
WW Employees
resent non-payment
of wages
SLC holds Langar
on the eve of
Ramnavmi
India's unrealised
maternity
entitlement
P5 | KATHUA
P3 | CITY INFO
P6 | OPINION
theNORTHLINES
The Newspaper of Substance Since 1995
Vol No: XX Issue No. 82 Jammu Tawi Sun, Mar. 29, 2015 Pages - 12 Price ‘2/- www.thenorthlines.com, www.epaper.northlines.in Regd. No. JK/306/2014-16
Manhunt launched to
nab the absconding
cop, associates
Gunmen attack police officer's house
NL Correspondent
Srinagar | March | 28:
A policeman of the Jammu and
Kashmir Police has gone
missing along with two AK-47
rifles. The policeman belongs to
the Security wing and was
recently deployed to guard the
personal residence of Roads and
Building Minister, Syed Altaf
Ahmed Bukhari at Sheikh Bagh
Srinagar.
According to official police
sources, Naseer Ahmed Pandit
son of Ghulam Rasool, a
resident of Karimabad Pulwama
attached with 11th Battalion of
Jammu and Kashmir Armed
Police went missing on Friday
night along with two guns. "As
per initial reports, three youth
all from his native village were
waiting for him outside the
residence of the Minister. We
RS Budget
session cut
short for Land
Ordinance
New Delhi: The Budget
session of Rajya Sabha was
cut short today with the
House being prorogued to
pave the way for repromulgation of the
controversial Land
Acquisition Ordinance.
Swine flu claims 12
more lives, toll
reaches 2,023
New Delhi: Swine flu
deaths continued unabated
across the country as 12
more people perished to the
H1N1 virus taking the toll
to 2,023 while the number
of those affected stood at
33,625.
Rahul will be
back among
people 'very
soon': Sonia
Amethi: Rahul Gandhi will
be back among people
"very soon", Congress
President Sonia Gandhi said
here today about her son
who has been on a
mysterious "leave" for over
a month now.
Modi congratulates
scientists for
launch of IRNSS-1D
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi today
congratulated scientists for
the successful launch of
IRNSS-1D satellite, saying
"it is yet another
manifestation of their
exemplary efforts."
"Launch of satellite IRNSS1D is yet another
manifestation of the
exemplary efforts & utmost
brilliance of our scientists.
Congrats to them," he
tweeted.
Market Watch
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WEATHER
JAMMU
SRINAGAR
High | Low
High | Low
30°C | 16°C
21°C | 6°C
have launched a manhunt to
trace these four persons
including the cop," a police
official said and identified the
three absconding associates of
cop as Bilal Ahmed Bhat son of
Abdul Gani, Tariq Ahmed
Pandit son of Bashir Ahmed and
Afaq Ahmed Bhat son of Abdul
Rashid Bhat, all residents of
Karim Abad Pulwama.
Inspector General of Police
Kashmir Zone, Syed Javid
Mujtaba Geelani while
confirming the incident told that
the cop is from security wing
and some 15 to 20 days before
he was deployed to guard the
residence of Public Works
Minister. "There is no reason to
panic and no need to sound an
alert. We have registered a case
(FIR 20/2015 Under Section
380,409) and investigations are
on. We have constituted a
special team to trace him and
hopefully he will be nabbed," he
said.
Meanwhile, a special police
team rushed to the Karimabad,
Pulwama to question the family
members of the absconding cop.
A police official informed that
after questioning his family
members, neighbours and
relatives, they came to know a
lot about the recent activities of
the fugitive cop. "He will be
traced anyhow," he said.
Pertinently, last year in
August, an SPO Muhammad
Shafi Dar son of Muhammad
Maqbool Dar resident of
Nowpora, Sopore had gone
missing from SOG camp
Sopore along with his service
rifle to join militant outfit LeT.
Meanwhile, in Kashmir's
Apple town Sopore, unknown
warning
PDP-BJP Panel for Weather
time bound delivery 2 Western Disturbances to hit
of public service J&K, heavy rain-snow till April 4
NL Correspondent
Jammu Tawi | Mar | 28
A slew of measures to establish
efficient systems in the Jammu
and Kashmir Government were
announced at the first
coordination committee (CC)
meeting of ruling coalition
parties BJP and PDP.
"It was decided in the CC
meeting that tangible political
and administrative measures
would be taken by the PDPBJP coalition Government so
that people feel change at
cutting-edge level," an official
spokesman said here today.
These would include short,
medium and long-term
interventions at various levels
in the Government so that
initiatives enumerated in the
coalition's Agenda of Alliance
are implemented in time-bound
manner, he said.
The meeting decided that the
Government would
instantaneously do away with
red-tape in issuance of revenue
documents including State
subject certificates, which
would be issued in a time-
Separatists' campaign against
West Pak refugees illogical
NL Correspondent/KIP
Jammu | Mar | 28 :
The separatists plan to register
their presence in the valley by
staging massive protest
demonstrations against any plan
of the Government for granting
citizenship rights to the
refugees from West Pakistan.
The Hurriyat Conference (G),
which is headed by Syed Ali
Shah Geelani, has decided to
oppose tooth and nail any plan
to grant permanent resident
stature to the West Pakistan
refugees on the plea that these
refugees were non-state
subjects and hence, under state
subject law, they were debarred
from getting citizenship rights
in Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior Hurriyat leaders have
started smelling a rat in the
Government plan as the Chief
Minister, Mufti Mohd. Sayeed,
was yielding to the pressure
being mounted on him by the
BJP on the issue of grant of
Contd... on P2....
citizenship rights to the west
Pakistan refugees.
They said that since refugees
from Pakistan occupied
Kashmir were state subjects the
separatists had not objected to
the Government plan under
which they were enjoying full
state subject rights.
One senior Hurrayat (G)
leader alleged that had Mufti
Sayeed been opposed to the
grant of citizenship rights he
could have persuaded the
Government of India to settle
these West Pakistan refugees in
other
states,
including
Rajasthan, Haryana and UP.
In fact the main reason for the
separatists to oppose grant of
citizenship rights to the West
Pakistan refugees is that it could
alter the demographic character
of Jammu and Kashmir. They
believe, that too wrongly, that
the Muslim majority character
of Jammu and Kashmir could
get changed if these west
Pakistan refugees were given
citizenship rights.
Despite the f act that these
separatists have been told on a
number of times that granting
citizenship rights to one lakh
West Pakistan refugees could
hardly alter the Muslim
majority character of the state
these
Hurriyat
leaders
continued to stick to their stand.
The two regions out of three of
the state were Muslim majority
areas. While the Kashmir valley
had over 97 per cent Muslim
population the Ladakh province
had 47 per cent Muslim
population. It was only the
Jammu region which was Hindu
majority area with Hindu
comprising over 65 per cent
population followed by over 32
per cent Muslim population.
This the campaign against the
reported plan of the
Government to grant citizenship
rights to West Pakistan refugees
was aimed at helping the
separatists to resurface in the
valley.
NL Correspondent
Srinagar | Mar 28 :
Two fresh Western Disturbances
(WD) are likely to hit Jammu
and Kashmir and adjoining
areas from this evening, which
could result in rain or snow till
April 4, with occasional gaps.
The rain is likely preceding
cloudy and heavy thunderous
bound manner, he said.
sky over most parts of Jammu
"This would also apply to
and Kashmir valley.
issuance of rations cards, birth region
Director,
Meteorological
and death certificates,
Department
Kashmir
Sonam
university and board
Lotus
said
that
two
WD,
certificates, building
originating in Arabian Sea could
permissions and other such
the region through
documents, he said, adding, the enter
and Pakistan this
meeting called for issuance of Afghanistan
evening.
These
are likely
such documents in prescribed to affect JammuWDs
and
Kashmir
time-frame.
and
adjoining
areas
from
this
The PDP-BJP Coalition
evening
till
April
4,
he
warned.
Coordination Committee met
He said under the influence of
here last evening under the
chairmanship of the Deputy
Chief Minister Dr Nirmal
Singh.
"The first ever coordination
committee meeting of PDP and
BJP was held here. It went on
smoothly," State BJP party
Agencies
chief and Jammu MP Jugal
New Delhi | Mar | 28 :
Kishore said.
these weather systems,
moderate to heavy rain or snow,
particularly on hilly areas, will
occur at most places in the
valley and Jammu region and at
a few places in Ladakh region
as well. However, the isolated
places in Jammu and Kashmir
region may receive heavy rain
or snow mainly on March 29
and April 3.
The warning said accordingly,
farmers are also advised to
avoid spraying of orchards and
drain out excess water from
their fields during these days.
Mr Lotus said these weather
conditions have the potential to
trigger landslide and flash flood
in vulnerable areas of the state
like Srinagar-Jammu Highway.
It may disrupt surface and air
transport during above periods.
In a letter addressed to
Mizo Guv Aziz
Qureshi sacked
Vohra calls
for speedy
completion of
dev projects
at Katra
NL Correspondent
Jammu Tawi | Mar | 28:
Governor N N Vohra and
Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno
Devi Shrine Board today
visited the Holy Cave Shrine of
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and
reviewed the facilities for the
pilgrims and taking stock of the
various ongoing development
works in the Shrine area.
He also travelled on the new
Track from Adhkuwari to Katra
which is being built to enlarge
and upgrade the infrastructural
facilities for meeting the
emerging requirements of the
pilgrimage. On the auspicious
occasion of Ramanavami, the
Governor paid obeisance at the
Shrine and prayed for peace,
harmony and prosperity of the
State. He was accompanied by
H L Maini, Member and
Technical Consultant of the
Shrine Board, Dr M K
Mizoram Governor Aziz Qureshi, who has had a running feud
with the Centre and even
approached the Supreme Court
against attempts to ease him out,
was sacked today.
A brief statement issued by
the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that
"Qureshi shall cease to hold the
office of the Governor of
Mizoram." Governor of West
Bengal Keshari Nath Tripathi
has been asked to discharge the
functions of the Mizoram
Governor, in addition to his own
duties, until regular arrangements are made, it said.
Qureshi, who had tenure till
May 2017, is the second
Governor after Kamla Beniwal
to be sacked after having been
shifted to Mizoram months after
the Narendra Modi government
assumed office. Maharashtra
Governor K Sankaranarayanan,
who was also transferred to
Mizoram, had tendered his
resignation, refusing to take
charge of his new assignment.
Qureshi, who was among the
Governors appointed by the
UPA government and was told
Divisional Commissioners of
Kashmir and Jammu, Mr. Lotus,
Meteorological Department,
two Western Disturbances in
quick succession is likely to
affect J&K and adjoining area
from 28th evening to 4th April
2015 with occasional gaps.
Under the influence of these
weather systems, MODERATE
TO HEAVY RAIN/SNOW (on
hilly areas) will occur at most
places in Kashmir & Jammu
region and at a few places in
Ladakh region. Isolated places
in Jammu & Kashmir region
may receive heavy rain/snow
and mainly on 29th, 1st and 3rd.
Accordingly farmers are also
advised to avoid spraying of
orchards and drain out excess
water from the fields during
these periods. These weather
Contd... on P2....
AAP more
like other
parties: Omar
NL Correspondent
Srinagar | Mar | 28 :
Former Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
today said it seemed that AAP
"has decided to be more like
us" while many advised
traditional political parties to be
more like the Arvind Kejriwalled outfit.
The National Conference
working president was
commenting on the infighting
among AAP leaders, which
turned ugly at today's National
Council meeting in Delhi where
four dissident leaders including
Yogendra Yadav and Prashant
Bhushan were removed from its
powerful National Executive.
"To think that commentators
were actually advising older
J&K's begging bowl has
come crashing: Congress
NL Correspondent
Jammu Tawi | Mar | 28
Days after Haseeb Drabu said
that Jammu and Kashmir will no
longer go to Delhi with a
"begging bowl", Congress on
Saturday took a jibe at the
Finance Minister saying the
"bowl has come crashing so
Contd... on P2....
soon" while referring to Chief
Minister Mufti Mohmmad
Sayeed's demand of continuation
of 90:10 grant-loan ratio at NITI
AYOG. Mufti on Friday sought
continuation of existing funding
pattern for special category
states, saying any change in
90:10 grant-loan ratio for
Centrally Sponsored Schemes
Contd... on P2....
(CSS) will have serious
implications for the state.
"It is easy to talk of fiscal
autonomy,
economic
independence, quite another to
walk that talk. All the talk about
no longer going to Delhi with
begging bowl has come crashing
so soon (over the issue of 90:10
Mirwaiz urges for separatists’
for IGNOU degree holders
inclusion in Kashmir dialogue KUNightmare
bars them from pursuing higher studies
Contd... on P2....
NL Correspodent
Srinagar | Mar | 28 :
Days after the Centre rejected
any third party involvement on
Kashmir, Hurriyat Conference
(Mirwaiz faction) on Friday
announced a campaign to press
for inclusion of the separatists
in the dialogue process.
Addressing a Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid in
downtown Srinagar, moderate
Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq said no solution to
Kashmir issue was possible by
sidelining the wishes and
aspirations of Kashmiris.
"Hurriyat will shortly launch
a massive campaign -- 'Kashmir
First and Kashmiri First' -- with
regard to the resolution of
Kashmir issue," he said.
The Hurriyat chairman also
demanded change in the examination schedule announced
by State Board of Professional
Entrance Examination saying
the date-sheet coincides with
that of Aligarh Muslim University."Our students cannot
appear in both the exams
NL Correspondent
Srinagar | Mar | 28:
The refusal of Kashmir University to accept
degrees obtained from Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU) for
further studies has triggered resentment
among qualified youth in Valley.
A delegation of students with IGNOU
degrees told that this 'discriminatory' move
would ruin career of thousands of students
who had pursued studies through Indira
Gandhi National Open University.
According to the students, they were
surprised when Dean Academics Kashmir
University refused to entertain our forms
for further studies. "Any students with BCA
degree from IGNOU can't get admission in
Kashmir University for MCA and similarly
students with MCA degrees from IGNOU
can't do PhD from the varsity," the students
quoting Dean Academics Kashmir
University said. They said that all IGNOU
courses are UGC recommended and all
Contd... on P2....
universities across India except Kashmir
University provides scope for IGNOU
students to go for further studies.
"We were shocked when we were told
that our degrees are not valid. Why anyone
from the State Government was not coming
forward to close these study centres. Why
any action was not taken against the
persons who are running such centres in the
State," they questioned. The students said
that Kashmir University has been
contradicting its own circular that it has
issued recently. The Kashmir University
ISIS threatens Art of Living chief Srinagar Highway remains closed
Contd... on P2....
Agencies
New Delhi | Mar | 28:
NL Correspondent
Srinagar | Mar | 28 :
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the
founder of the Art of Living and
the International Association for
Human Values has received
death threats from the ISIS
during his visit to Malaysia.
In a press release issued via
mail, Art of Living and IAHV,
Malaysia, the alleged letter was
today issued to media.
Three threat letters were
received - one by Gavin
Weighthead, the general
The National Highway,
connecting Kashmir valley with
the rest of the country, remained
closed
since
yesterday
afternoon to allow repair of
road, damaged due to landslides
and collapse of a hill due to
heavy rains. Due to heavy rain
and snowfall, a portion of hill
near Udhampur collapsed and
there were major landslides
between Ramban and Ramsu
sector, causing damage to the
highway. However, the Border
manager at Hotel Jen in International Association for
Penang, Malaysia, second by Human Values, Malaysia and
Ambika Menon, the Director for another by Senior Art of Living
the Art of Living and the
Contd... on P2....
Roads Organisation (BRO)
pressed
into
service
sophisticated machines and men
to work to make one-way road
at avalanche-prone areas. Due
to damage to road, only oneway traffic is allowed for the
past about three months on the
highway, which often remained
closed for traffic.
The BRO has launched major
repair of the road since
yesterday in affected areas to
make the highway two way
because of heavy rush of
vehicles. No vehicle was
allowed from Jammu or
Contd... on P2....
Srinagar since yesterday
afternoon on the highway to
allow repair of the road, a traffic
police official told here. He
said vehicles will move from
Jammu to Srinagar tomorrow, if
a green signal is received from
the BRO and traffic police
officials posted at different
places on the highway.
However, there is a forecast
of heavy rains during the next
48 hours in Jammu and
Kashmir, which could trigger
fresh landslides. Meanwhile, a
large number of trucks, mostly
Contd... on P2....
2
CITY INFO
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
Chaos in AAP Council's meeting, Congress announces
Yadav on dharna outside
jumbo JKPCC
NEW DELHI, MAR 28 :
Setting the stage for a major
showdown, the AAP's crucial
National Council meet began
today to decide the fate of its
two founding members
Yogendra Yadav and Prashant
Bhushan amid high-drama and
chaos.
Ahead of the meeting, Yadav
sat on dharna outside the venue
for around 20 minutes alleging
that a section of the National
Council members opposed to
Arvind Kejriwal camp were not
being allowed inside the
meeting.
Hours before the meeting,
Yadav made public a letter,
written by AAP's internal
Lokpal Ramdas to the party
leadership, in which the former
Navy Chief expressed surprise
over the party asking him not to
attend the meet to "avoid
confrontation".
In the letter, Ramdas cited the
SMS he received from AAP
general secretary Pankaj Gupta,
in which several reasons were
stated by the party for its
decision to ask him to skip the
meeting.
A large number of AAP
volunteers from both camps
descended at the venue of the
meeting at Calista resort in
Kapahsera border and engaged
in incessant sloganeering
against each other.
Apart from the dissident duo Yadav and Bhushan, Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
arrived at around 9:30 AM and
later chaired the decisive
meeting.
Heavy contingents of police
and RAF have been deployed in
the vicinity of the resort, where
NC members were allowed
inside after registering at a
counter.
Members who failed to show
identification, mobile number,
and SMS invite were denied
entry.
A proposal to remove Yadav
and Bhushan from the party is
likely to be moved by the
Kejriwal camp on the allegation
that the two leaders were trying
to remove him from the post of
the party's National Convenor,
party sources said.
However, in the build-up to
the meeting, the Prashant
Bhushan-Yogendra Yadav camp
said that it won't be easy to
remove them from the party.
"They can remove us from
the National Executive but not
from the party. If we have to be
removed from the party, the
matter has to be referred to the
Lokpal or the disciplinary
committee," Bhushan said.
Ahead of the meeting, both
the groups claimed to have the
numbers with them.
The party's constitution states
that action cannot be taken by
the party unless the member is
given an opportunity to explain
his stand.
The National Council, the
third most important body of
AAP, has over 350 members.
The meeting will also be
attended by AAP MLAs and
MPs.
In the letter, Ramdas
mentioned that he was asked not
to attend the meeting as it was
the "party's internal affair" and
"as indicated earlier term of
Lokpal need to be renewed in
the next NE (National
Executive meet)".
Gupta also wrote that only
MLAs and MPs have been
invited apart from authorised
NC members to the meeting and
"no one else has been invited".
"So (we) request you to not
come to the meeting to avoid
any confrontation," he wrote.
This came days after a section
of AAP leaders expressed their
displeasure
over
his
continuance as the party
ombudsman for his letter last
month criticising the leadership.
In a letter to PAC, AAP's
highest decision making body,
ahead of the National Executive
meeting on February 26,
Ramdas noted that there were
two camps emerging within the
top leadership and had asked the
party to consider 'one man, one
post' arrangement.
Miffed over the snub,
Ramdas said he had come from
his village in Maharashtra to
attend the meet. However, he
would not attend the meet to
"honour" the party's request. "I
am quite aware that the NC is
the party's internal affair. I am
also aware that special
invitees/observers have been
invited to all bodies from PAC,
to NEC to NC in the past," he
said.
Taking umbrage to raising the
issue of renewing the term of
Lokpal, Ramdas said that the
party had "in effect" already
extended his initial term as
Lokpal when it had asked him to
investigate the credentials of
candidates from Uttar Pradesh
and Haryana prior to the filing
of nominations for Lok Sabha
elections in 2014.
The NORTHLINES
www.thenorthlines.com
NEW DELHI, MAR 28:
All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi today
announced jumbo J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC)
to revive the party in the state.
The new JKPCC comprises 19 general secretaries, 26
secretaries, 10 vice-presidents and 64 executive committee
members.
Former minister Sham Lal Sharma has been appointed as the
senior vice-president.
According to a handout issued by the party, all former JKPCC
presidents, MPs, ex-MPs, MLAs, MLCs shall be the permanent
invitees to the executive body of the party.
Similarly, all heads of the frontal organisations shall also be
permanent members of the executive body.
After appointing Ghulam Ahmed Mir as the new president,
the Congress high command has announced new JKPCC to give
a new shape to the party.
Abdul Majeed Wani, Usman Majid, Manohar Lal Sharma,
Nazir Khan Beerwa, Ghulam Raza, Shabir Khan, Manmohan
Singh, Choudhary Shah Mohammad, Manjeet Singh, Shoib
Nabi Lone, Thakur Balwan Singh, Chuodhary Shahnawaz
Hussain, Shamema Iqbal, Vikram Malhotra, Namrata Sharma,
Hilal Ahmad Shah, Fakir Nath, SS Chenni and Yogesh Swahney
have been appointed as the general secretaries.
Apart from this, the party has also appointed Krishna Kumar
Amla as the treasurer, Rajneed Sharma as the co-treasure,
Ravindra Sharma as the chief spokesman and Farooq Indrabi as
the spokesman.
All options open, can move court
against removal: AAP rebels
NEW DELHI, MAR 28: Commission or call another resign if we were not
Terming
as
"unconstitutional
and
illegal" AAP's National
Council meeting where they
were ousted from a key
panel, dissidents Yogendra
Yadav
and
Prashant
Bhushan on Saturday did
not rule out taking legal
recourse against their
removal.
Attacking Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal
for
his
"dictatorial"
tendencies
and
for
"ruthlessly stifling" voices
of dissent, Bhushan said
after the meeting that all
options were open to them
to challenge the decision.
"It is true that we can
move the court, Election
FROM PAGE 1...
ISIS threatens Art...
faculty Ms Ee Mei.
A Morning yoga program for over 10,000 people was
conducted by Art of Living in Penang this morning. He will be
addressing a gathering of an estimated 70,000 people at the Batu
Kawan Stadium in Penang this evening.
The Indian embassy and local authorities and police in
Malaysia were informed.
Srinagar Highway ....
empty, and oil tankers remained stranded at different places
on the highway after authorities decided to allow only LMVs
yesterday.
Similarly, large number of vehicles, including those carrying
essentials and passengers, are stranded at Jammu.
J&K's begging bowl .....
circular reads that, "degrees awarded by IGNOU and by other
Open and Distance learning universities/institutions duly
recognized by the UGC shall be considered as equivalent to the
corresponding degrees of this University."
"From time to time, Kashmir University is creating problems
for us. In recent past Service Selection Board (SSB) had issued
a notification for filling the vacant teacher post saying only
Kashmir University, Jammu University, IGNOU, Moulana Azad
National Urdu University and DOEACC degrees were valid.
When job is no issue for the IGNOU students why then they
can't pursue higher studies from Kashmir University," they said.
When contacted Dean Academic Affairs Kashmir University,
Muhammad Ashraf Wani said that he is not at fault but a
decision not to allow IGNOU degree holders to pursue higher
studies was taken by Equivalence Committee at its meeting in
2014. "These students never do lab or practical work through
IGNOU, that is the reason Kashmir University barred them from
pursuing higher studies," he said.
Mirwaiz urges for
separatists...
simultaneously as a result of which many of the students will
miss their admission in the Aligarh Muslim University," he said.
Vohra
calls for speedy
K Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer, SMVDSB, Dr M K
Kumar and B Mohandaas, Additional CEOs, Sushma Chauhan,
Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, Sujit Kumar, SP Reasi and
officers of the Shrine Board.
While inspecting the work for the expansion of the Atka area,
the Governor issued instructions for this project being fully
completed on speedy basis.
He also requested Shri Maini to very early finalize the Master
Plan of the Shrine area which incorporates all the required
modern facilities for facilitating the visiting pilgrims.
Mizo Guv Aziz Qureshi
sacked
by the then Home Secretary Anil Goswami to quit after change
in Government, approached the Supreme Court against attempts
meeting of the NC. All
options are open," he added.
Providing "inside details"
of the meet, which
witnessed turbulent scenes,
the two leaders accused
Kejriwal of instigating the
NC members against the
dissident leaders in an
"orchestrated performance"
and of inaction when certain
members
were
being
heckled.
They
alleged
that
Kejriwal during his speech
threatened to resign if they
were not removed from the
national executive.
"He gave a dramatic
speech for around one hour
and it was full of allegations
against us. He threatened to
removed. He also accused
Shanti Bhushan of antiparty activities without
taking his name.
Then 10 people including
MLAs like Kapil Mishra
stood up and started
shouting slogans calling us
traitors. The drama went on
for 5-7 minutes during
which he (Kejriwal) stood
like a statue," Yadav said.
Yadav cited that the party
convenor left soon after the
speech, citing "official
engagements" after making
Delhi Transport Minister
Gopal Rai the chairman of
the meet. Within seconds
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia "moved the
resolution" to remove them.
to ease him out. He was then the Uttarakhand Governor.
In his petition, Qureshi, a veteran Congress leader, had claimed
that after the NDA government came to power, Goswami had
called him on July 30 and asked him to tender resignation and
made it clear that he will be removed from office if he does not
step down.
He alleged, in his petition, that Goswami again called him on
August 8 insisting that he resign.
Goswami had said in his reply to the Supreme Court that he
had, with authority and justification, "suggested" to Qureshi that
he should consider resigning on his own since his actions were not
"behoving the status of the Governor" and showed the
constitutional office in "very poor light" apart from "bringing it
into disrespect".
After the new Government took over, many governors
appointed by the previous UPA regime were eased out which
included Beniwal, 87, who had served in Gujarat earlier and had
a running battle with Modi when he was the state's chief minister.
Virendra Kataria, a former Congress leader, was also sacked as
Puducherry lieutenant governor.
Four other governors - MK Narayanan (West Bengal), Ashwani
Kumar (Nagaland), BL Joshi (UP), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh)
and B V Wanchoo (Goa) had put in their papers apparently after
they were telephoned by the Union Home secretary.
AAP
more like other ...
political parties to be more like #AAP, seems #AAP has
decided to be more like us," Omar wrote on twitter.
2 Western Disturbances ....
conditions have the potential to trigger land slide and flash
flood in vulnerable areas of the state like Srinagar-Jammu High
way.
Above weather system may disrupt surface and air transport
during above periods. During above period, there will be
significant decrease in day temperatures and slight rise in night
temperature.
During this period, there will be significant decrease in day
temperatures and slight rise in night temperatures, he added.
Manhunt launched....
gunmen reportedly fired some bullets at the house of a police
officer at Dangarpora, however, the police officer and his family
escaped unhurt.
Congress MLAs call off protest in
Madhya Pradesh Assembly
BHOPAL, MAR 28:
The Congress MLAs who were holding a sit-in protest in
the premises of Madhya Pradesh Assembly for the last four
days demanding relief to farmers affected by rain and
hailstorm, on Friday called off their agitation without getting
any assurance from the state BJP government. The Congress
MLAs pledged to go to the villages to mount pressure on the
BJP-led MP government and ensure that farmers whose crops
were hit by untimely rain as well as hailstorms recently get
compensated. The Congress MLAs possibly gave up their sitin protest and called off their indefinite hunger strike after two
of their colleagues namely Umang Singhar and Madhu Bhagat
fell ill and were hospitalised on Friday. All India Congress
Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh offered
lemon juice to Leader of Opposition Satyadev Katare.
Devotees participate with religious fervour in yatra being taken out through the main gate on the eve of Ramnavmi at Poonch
Bharat Ratna:
Vajpayee's ancestral
village Bateshwar
celebrates
AGRA, MAR 18: Residents
of Bateshwar, the ancestral
village of Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
burst into celebrations as the
former Prime Minister was
conferred with Bharat Ratna,
the country's highest civilian
award. The villagers in Bah
tehsil of Agra district offered
prayers and distributed sweets
on Friday evening as President
Pranab Mukherjee, in a rare
departure from protocol, drove
to Vajpayee's residence on
Krishna Menon Marg in New
Delhi to confer the honour on
him. Considered the moderate
face of BJP, Vajpayee, who was
Prime Minister from 1998 to
2004, has been credited with
taking bold initiatives for
forging good ties with Pakistan
which included the historic bus
journey to Lahore in 1999 when
he signed the landmark Lahore
Declaration with Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif with
both sides pledging to push for
peace and security.
Jagran Pehel sets up Bihar's first
ever bio-digester community toilet
NEW DELHI, MAR 28:
In a bid to end the trend of
open defecation, particularly in
rural areas, 'Jagran Pehel', in
association with 'Jagran
Prakashan Ltd' and Bihar
government, has set up state's
first
ever
'bio-digester
community toilet' at Nathnagar
block in Bhagalpur district.
The community toilet was
inaugurated by Congress Rajya
Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on
March 25 in the presence of SM
Sharma, Chairman, Pehel-The
Initiative and Anand Madhab,
CEO, Jagran Pehel among
others.
This initiative of Pehel to
support the cause of making
Bihar an open defecation free
state has been highly
appreciated.
''By setting up the biodigester unit, we intend to keep
cleanliness in the surroundings
and also re-use energy and
waste water produced in the
process to provide electricity
and other plantation/agricultural
activities,'' Madhab said in a
statement.
The community toilet
comprises 4 WCs, 1 washroom
and 1 wash basin for each
gender. The unit has been set up
in a covered premise of 50ft x
30ft to ensure safety.
Madhab said FRP Biodigester installed in the
community toilet was approved
by DRDO and also used in
Indian Railways.
Proper ventilation is also
provided in each toilet to
eliminate foul smell, while the
roof is tapered to avoid
accumulation of rain water, he
added.
''We at Jagran Pehel are
committed towards addressing
the critical issue of open
defecation, and assure our
continual efforts in improving
the current scenario and
gradually make the nation open
defection
free
through
awareness generation and
constriction of several such
toilets,'' he said.
According to a report, nearly
50 percent of India’s population
defecates in the open, with the
situation particularly acute in
impoverished rural areas.
The effects of open
defecation are serious; affecting
environment,
agriculture
produce, human health,
economic
and
social
development.
In the face of lack of
sanitation facilities that were
recognised across the political
spectrum, the efforts of Jagran
Pehal of setting up the Biodigester Sanitary Complex
would give much needed relief
and security to women who are
most vulnerable and exposed
during defecation in open.
AAP's National Council meeting
to decide fate of Bhushan, Yadav
NEW DELHI, MAR 28: reaching a point of no return, it constitution states that action Bhushan, Anand Kumar and
With talks between the warring
factions of Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) failing, the party's
National Council meeting is
expected to take a decision on
the fate of its defiant foundermembers Yogendra Yadav and
Prashant Bhushan whose
expulsion is being demanded by
Arvind Kejriwal loyalists.
A proposal to remove the duo
from the party is likely to be
moved by Kejriwal camp on the
allegation that the duo were
trying to remove him from the
post of the party's National
Convenor, sources said. Another
"grave" charge by Kejriwal
camp is that the duo also
worked to ensure AAP's defeat
in Delhi Assembly polls.
Sources in Kejriwal camp
said that with the situation
will now be "impossible" to
work with the duo. However,
the Prashant Bhushan-Yogendra
Yadav camp has said that it
won't be easy to remove them
from the party.
"They can remove us from
the National Executive but not
from the party. If we have to be
removed from the party, the
matter has to be referred to the
Lokpal or the discplinary
committee.
"In this case, we have
referred our own cases to the
Lokpal. The party has not
referred (the cases to the
Lokpal)," Bhushan said in
response to a question.
Both the groups claimed to
have the numbers with them,
ahead of the National Council
meeting.
The
party's
cannot be taken by the party
unless the member is given an
opportunity to explain his stand.
"Discplinary action may
result in penalties ranging from
warning, suspension or
expulsion from the party.
"No disciplinary action shall
be taken against the member
without giving an opportunity to
that member to explain and
answer the charges against
him/her,"
the
party's
constitution states.
The National Council, the
third most important body of
AAP, has over 350 members.
The meeting will also be
attended by AAP MLAs and
MPs.
Meanwhile, ahead of the
National Council meeting, a
joint letter written by Yadav,
Ajit Jha, have alleged that the
party has invited district
convenors of just four states.
"I understand that you have
invited the district and state
conveners of just four states
(UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan and
Haryana) for this NC meeting,
and no one from the other states.
This is totally illogical.
"In fact, according to our
constitution, district and state
convenors become members of
NC only after they are duly
elected by a bottom-up process.
This has not happened so far.
Therefore, going by the party's
constitution, only the foundermembers are members of NC as
of now," the letter, addressed to
the party's national secretary
Pankaj Gupta, said.
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3
The NORTHLINES
Jammu
City
BLSKS presents play
"Maa Sheranwali"
www.thenorthlines.com
WW Employees resent
non-payment of wages
JAMMU, MAR 28:
A meeting of PHE Division
South Unit ofWater Works
(PHE) Employees Association
was held on Thursday chaired
by Shiv Kumar Sharma the
State President of Indian
National Trade Union Congress
(INTUC).
Participants
expressed
concern over the nonpayment of
the over -due wages of daily
wagers, regularization of all the
daily wagers, convening of
DPC meeting etc.
The INTUC President Shiv
Kumar Sharma expressed
concern and dismay over the
apathetic attitude of the
concerned PHE authorities. He
said despite repeated pleas and
reminders. The authorizes have
shown a luke warm response to
the general demands of the
employees of the department.
Sharma urged upon the deptt.
To release the pending wages of
all the daily wagers and make
provision to release the wages
regularly by first week of every
month.
He also urged upon the state
Govt to enhance the minimum
wages limit to Rs. 350/- per day,
so that they may able to pull
through in this age of inflation.
And also frame the policy for
regularization of services of all
daily wagers.
JU to organize "NO MAN'S LAND"
to commemorate World Theatre Day
JAMMU, MARCH 28:
JAMMU, MAR. 28:
To Celebrate the Navratra
Festival Bhartiya Lok Sangeet
Kala Sansthan (BLSKS) staged
43rd Musical Play "MAA
SHERANWALI"
in
collaboration with Unison
Cultural Troupe , Sangam Tru
Art Production & ESRM as parts
of its regular feature at Durga
Bhawan, Janipur, Jammu.
The
programe
was
inaugurated by the Chief Guest
Dr.Tara Singh Charak , Former
Deputy Director ,Health
Department, J&K Government
and V.K.Magotra, Former
Regional Director, Directorate of
Field Publicity ,Government of
India, Dr. Anju Dogra from
Health Department, J&K
Government , Vinod Dogra Chief
Service Engineer, Exide &
Romesh Chander, President
Cultural Unison Troupe were the
Guests of honor. Speaking on the
occasion ,Chief Guest Charak
Lauded the role of Bhartiya Lok
Sangeet Kala Sansthan -(NGO)
for underlining the importance of
staging such plays in all parts of
the state in generating awareness
among the masses about various
social evils through Musical Play
/ Theatre /Drama which are still
very powerful medium of
communication."MAA
SHERANWALI" Musical Play
Written, Produced and Directed
by M.L.Dogra (Chairman
BLSKS) highlighted the
importance of the play , the
music was composed by
Renowned Singer Raju Bajgal.
The programme commenced
with welcome song"Jai Jai
Sheranwali " , Mayia he mahiya
meri Mahiya " , "Tum Durga
Tum Laxmi Tum Hi Maa
Sheranwali" presented by the
artists of BLSKS and lighting of
traditional lamp by the Chief
Guest along with Guest of
Honors.
Welcoming the dignitaries
V.K Magotra, MD, BLSKS
explained aims & objectives of
the programme . Besides above
artists participated in the
programme are Usha Handoo ,
JK Koul , Raju Bajgal ,
M.C.Kotwal, Hem Raj,Bodh Raj
, K.K.Joshi , Kuldeep Raj,
Neelam Gandotra, Kamli Devi,
Shivani Disgotra ,Ruksana
Kousar , Rajni Gupta , Sunil
Kumar, Ghanshyam Yadav ,
Deevam Jandiyal ,Sant Das,
Rakshit Sharma , Dhruv Pandit ,
Pranavi Khajuria, Rajanya
Khajuria, Samarth Gupta ,
Sanam Gupta , Vansh Raina ,
Megha Raina , Abhyud , Rajveer
, Vandana Gupta , Bhumika
Chib & the coordinator of the
programe Master Deepak Kumar
presented vote of thanks.
Natrang stages 'Entertainment Unlimited"
JAMMU, MAR 28:
On the second day of ongoing
Natrang Theatre Festival 2015,
hilarious comedy play in
Hindustani
'Entertainment
Unlimited' enthralled the jam
packed audience at Natrang
Studio Theatre. The play has
been written by Dr
Chandrasekhar Phansalkar and
directed by Anil Tickoo. Unlike
all comedies, 'Entertainment
unlimited' focuses on contrafactual thinking that leads to a
state of mind where negative
feelings lead to dark zone and
that feeling is sustained for a
moment only to feel the
immense relief of finding that
all the thoughts are unreal.
The role of the new blind
man was played by Pawan
Verma with professional ease.
Another blind was played by
Mahikshit Singh. Rajyan
Thakyal played the role of a
body builder. Mudassir Ali
played owner of the club. Panka
J Verma, another blind man
gave a special entry in the play.
The lights and music were
inner strength of the play and
was professionally done by
Neeraj Kant and Anil Tickoo
and the presentations were done
by Sachin Bamba. The hall
management was looked after
by Ankush Lakhnotra and
Shivam Singh. On Sunday, 29th
of March 2015 another comedy
play 'Hawa Hawai' under the
direction of Sumeet Sharma
would be staged at the same
venue at 3 pm.
Department of Hindi and Department of Students Welfare
University of Jammu is going to organize the performance of "NO
MAN'S LAND" - A Hindi Drama written by Narendra Mohan on
30th march 2015 at 4:30pm in General Zorawar Singh Auditorium
to commemorate the World Theatre Day.
The play is being Directed by Ms Ifra kak, first woman theatre
director of the state who is academically trained and presently is
working as the Cultural Officer in Department of Students Welfare
University of Jammu.
Prof Parmeshwari Sharma said that Hindi Natak aur
Rangmanch is compulsory and an important component of the
syllabus in PG Fourth semester, so in order to make the students
aware about the technicalities of the presentation of a written text
and theatre the performance of Plays has been organized before
also.
Last year department of Hindi performed famous play by
Asghar Wajahat "Jis Lahore nahin Vekheya,o jameya hi nahin""
which was witnessed by almost 1400 audience at Gen Zorawar
Singh Auditorium and Shanker Shesh's Ëk Aur Dhronacharya" in
hindi was also performed by Department of Hindi in 2013. As
theatre is live medium the impact on the audience is more active
rather than being passive.
A one week workshop on theatre will also being organised by
the department for the University students in the first week of the
April.
Empathizing with the old-age people, Shri Ram Sena, JammuKashmir under the presidentship of Rajiv Mahajan celebrated Ram
Navami at Vridh Ashram Ambphalla in Jammu today. Fruits and
sweets were distributed as ';prasad'; among the inmates of the
Ashram on the occasion.
Shri Ram Sena, Jammu-Kashmir celebrated Ram Navami, a
Hindu festival of worshiping Goddess Durga and Shri Ram
Chander Ji Birth anniversary with great zeal at Jammu's old age
home (Vridh Ashram). Members of the group also distributed
fruits and sweets as prasad among old age people.
Shri Ram Sena state President Rajiv Mahajan while addressing
the gathering said that it is natural that every child has to grown
young and then become an old man with the passage of time. One
must know that the old man of today was once a young and
dynamic personality of the past who sacrificed his everything for
laying a concrete foundation for his next generation. Among those
who served the fruits and sweets included Bal Krishan Arora
(Secretary), Ajay Gupta (Sr. Vice President), Sanjeev Sharma,
Shiv Kumar Sharma, Rakesh Badyal and others.
AIZAWL, MAR 28:
Three armed policemen were
killed and five others injured
when suspected militants
belonging to Hmar People's
Convention-Democracy (HPCD)attacked members of an
Assembly
panel
in
Zokhawthiang in Aizawl
district bordering Manipur,
police said.
Deputy Inspector General
(DIG) Northern Range, L T
Hrangchal informed that R L
Pianmawia, Chairman of the
'Mizoram
Assembly
Committee on Government
Assurances' and two other
members -- Lalthanliana and
lone woman legislator
Lawyers Annual Sports Meet 2015
JAMMU, MAR 28:
Lawyers Annual Sports Meet
started with the 1st match being
played between Fire Xi and
Stickers Xi, in which stickers
Xi after winning the toss batted
first and scored 152 in 12 overs.
Amulay was the highest scorer
with 77 runs while Amjad and
ravinder took 1 wicket each. In
reply fire Xi were bundled out
for 25 runs. Shan was the
highest wicket taker with 2
wickets.
The second match was
played between Paradise XI
and Great warriors, in which
Paradise Xi scored 123 runs in
10 overs. Guru paratp was the
highest scorer with 59 runs
while sahil aggarwal scored 44
runs. In reply great warriors
were bundled out for 65 runs
only. Guru partap and ajay
manhas took 2 wickets and 1
wickets respectively.
The next match was played
between Sachin Xi and Royal
XI, Sachin XI won the toss and
scored 85 runs, Sachin was the
highest scorer with 31 runs, in
reply Royal Xi chase the target
easily with Farhan remaining
not out on 32 runs.
Next match was played
between Pir Panjal XI and
Legal Stars XI, Legal Stars XI
won the toss and scored 130
runs in 10 overs. A.P. Singh
Scored 48 runs and Jahanzaib
scored 29 runs, in reply Pir
Panjal XI were all out for 50
runs. Parvesh Salaria was the
main wrecker-in-chief with 4
wickets.
In the next round, Ist match
was played between Paradies
XI and Dogra XI. Dogra XI
win the toss and elected to bat
first scored 56 runs in allotted
overs for Paradise XI Sahil
picked up four wickets Ravi
Abrol 2 wickets Ajay Manhas ,
Tarez and Ishan one wicket
each. Chasing the target
paradise XI scored 59 runs.
Main scorer was Amit Chadha
19 runs, Ravi Abrol and Sahil
scored 12 run each while
Ashwani , Ajeetpal and
Mansoor took one wicked
each.
The 2nd match was played in
between Strikers cricket hub v/s
Striking XI, Striking XI won
the toss and elected to bat first
scored 113 runs in allotted
overs for Striking XI, Main
scorer was Atul 58 and Sahil 22
runs, Rajeev took 2 wickets
and Rajesh 1 wicket. In reply
Strikers Cricket Hub chase the
target with 1 ball remining. Raj
Thakur scored 47 runs in the
chase.
Next match was played
between Kings Royal XI and
Kings XI, Kings Royal XI won
the toss and choose to bat first
scored 94 runs in allotted overs
for Kings XI, Main Scorer
Aditya Sharma 32 and Vikram
18 runs, Aamir took 1 wicket
and Pankaj took 2 wickets.
Chasing the target Royal XI
scored 95 runs. Main scorer
was Farhan 42 runs not out,
Aamir Awan scored with 21
runs, while Wasim and Ashim
took one wicket each
respectively.
The last match was played
between Pir Panjal XI and
Counsil XI, Pir Panjal XI won
the toss and choose to bat first
scored 64 runs, main scorer
Nadeem 15 runs, K.K. Pathan
scored 12 runs, Lovjeet Ashish,
Navdeep , Lokesh shared 1
wicket each. Chasing the target
Council XI scored 65 runs.
Main scorer was Sohail 30 runs,
Shashi scored 23 runs, while
H.A. farooqi took 2 wickets.
the designed capacity.
A large number of
applicants, who were otherwise
in a queue for appointments,
could submit their forms on the
same day.
Senior citizens, minors,
Govt. employees, PCC
applicants were given Walk-in.
Those who are eligible for No
Verification, shall be issued
Passport on Monday instant.
While speaking on this
occasion, Shri Rajinder Gupta,
SSP, Regional Passport Officer
stated that this was the last
Mela of this Financial Year.
However, the Office is now
planning to organize Passport
Camp(s) in rural districts in the
coming months, so as to take
the Passport services to the
citizens' doorstep.
It is pertinent to mention that
highest number of Passports
have been issued this year ever
since this Passport Office
stands established.
The committee ( Sevaks)
Jointly appealed to the people
of state from different walks of
life to participate
large
numbers to seek blessing of lord
Hanuman ji.
Committee also urged the
local administration to provide
necessary logistics like security,
cleanliness drinking water and
supply of uninterrupted power
supply.
Passport Mela : A Big Success
Mata Ki Chowki organised
JAMMU, MAR 28:
The Mata ki Chowki has been organised on "Navmi" to seek the
blessings of Maa Durga and it can be done for rescuing from pain
and misery or removing any kind obstacles in life etc. "Mata Ki
Chowki" started with Ganesh Poojan followed by "Jyoti
Prachanda" enlightment of Jyoti.
The devotees sung devotional songs (mata ki bhente), prayers,
bhajans, mantras etc in glory of Goddess Durga. Devotees offer
maiya ka shingar chunari to mata ji. Sunali Dogra and Pinka Bali
sung the devotional songs, Rakesh Anand was on flute, Sunil
Sharma on Synth and Sahil Jasotra on Octopad and mesmerized
the devotees.
President of the Association Jenab Abdul Qayoom Manhas IPS
(Retd.) while addressing Mata Ki Chowki thanked the people who
attended such congregation.
General Secretary, Advocate Sampooran Singh also spoke on
the occasion and said it is special blessings of Mata Rani so that
such programme has taken place and said, it is said by saints that
the easiest way to get grace of god is Bhajans, japa, pooja,
aradhana with pure heart.
Prof. B. S. Bali, Former Principal, Institute of Music and Fine
Arts and Advocate Dogra Harish Kaila, President, Nami Dogri
Sanstha (Regd.) also attended the function.
At last the whole event was sampurna by offering bhent, aarti
and sampurna ardas.
Summer Leadership Program
at Doon School Opens
JAMMU, MARCH 28:
The Doon School, India's
pre eminent boarding school
has
announced
its
Residential Summer at Doon
Leadership Programme from
1stJune to 15thJune, 2015 at
The Doon School's beautiful
estate in Dehradun, India.
The programme is open for
Shri Ram Sena celebrates Ram Three policemen killed, Five injured
in militant attack in Aizawl
Navmi with old age inmates
JAMMU, MAR 28:
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu -accompanied by state assembly
officials were on official tour
to the area when the militants
ambushed their vehicle at
around 8.30 AM.
Three people, including SubInspector
Zoramthara
Khawlhring, driver Chuailova
and
constable
Hmangaihmawia, all belonging
to the First battalion of the
Mizoram Armed Police
(MAP), died, he added.
Five people including SubDivisional Police Officer of
Sakawrdai, Zarzoliana suffered
bullet injuries in the ambush.
Those injured were being
brought to Aizawl for medical
treatment by helicopter.
all aspiring young boys and
girls aged 14 - 18 years in
grades 9-12 from all over
India and across the globe.
Benchmarked with the
world's leading youth
leadership programmes, this
dynamic and thought
provoking course will be a
blend of Socratic dialogues,
experiential
learning,
motivational
lectures,
outdoor
activity
and
adventure
sports.
A
critically important element
will be social service and
social responsibility, and
their relationship with
leadership.
This program will ensure
that boys and girls receive a
profound understanding of
what successful leadership
is all about and what is
required to demonstrate it in
the twenty-first century in
the context to developing
society and an increasingly
globalized world.
The course will be taught
by specialist staff from
Aspire, in conjunction with
the teaching community
from The Doon School
JAMMU, MAR 28:
A Passport Mela was
conducted on Saturday, the
28th March'2015 in the Office
premises of Regional Passport
Office, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.
A huge number of applicants
availed
this
unique
opportunity.
Highest
number
of
applications have been
accepted in a single day. The
number of applications
accepted are around 200% of
Prachin Hanuman Mandir committee
organizes religious programs
JAMMU MARCH 28:
Religious programs are being
organized by Parbandhak
Committee of Prachin Hanuman
Mandir Sabji Mandi Moti Bazar
to celebrate Lord Hanuman
Jayanti with religious fervor and
gaiety.
Addressing
the press
conference spoke man of the
committee Rajiv Gupta told
that the religious programme
will commence on 2nd of
APRIL 2015 with Ramayan
Path at 10AM and the same
will conclude on 3rd April
2015 with the performance of
Aarati and Bhajan Sandhya will
also organized on 4th of April in
premises of Dogra Brahmin
Sabha Prade Ground Jammu
from 8 P.M. onwards in which
several renowned Singers
including Anita Sharma will
performed their talent.
While speaking on the
occasion B.S.Jamwal, Subash
Shastri,Kamal Sharma, Junior
Priest Asisih Sharma and Vinod
Gupta further said that 101
kilogramme Vishal Laddu will
be the special attraction of the
event.
Because of solar eolith falling
on 4th April, the day of
Hanuman Jayanti , Purna Ahuti
will be performed on 5th of
April 2015 at 10 AM after
Conclusion 4th days religious
functions followed by Vishal
Bhandara at 12 noon onward.
Rath Yatra held on
eve of Ramnavami
JAMMU, MAR 28:
An impressive and colourful 'Rath yatra' (religious process) was
today taken out to celebrate the festival of Ramnavami-marking
the incarnation day of Lord Rama-in the city. Hon'able Member
Parliament And Chairman Trustee Dr Karan Singh attended
Ramnavmi Rath Yatra Poojan at Shri Raghunath ji Temple. The
'Rath Yatra' was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Dharmarth
Trust. The procession started from Raghunathji Temple and it after
passing through City Chowk, Purani Mandi, Link Road, Jain
Bazar,Purani Mandi and City Chowk culminated back at
Raghunath Temple.
A special pooja was also performed by Dr Karan Singh
Chairman Trustee J&K Dharmarth Trust, and Trustees Yuvraj
Vikramaditya Singh and M K Ajastshatru Singh and Kumar
Martandh Singh at Raghunath Ji Temple Jammu before the
commencement of Rath Yatra. Hundreds of devotees comprising
prominent, citizens, politicians and heads of religious
organizations participated in the Yatra. Various heads of the nonHindu organizations also accorded a rousing reception to the Yatra
enroute.
Several prominent people including MOS Education Smt. Priya
Sethi, Rashesh Gupta MLA, Principal Secy. Health and medical
education Shant Manu, Director Doordarshan Smt. Anjali Sharma,
Yashpal Gupta, IG J&K Police Danish Rana, DIG Shakeel Beig,
Dr Deepak Abrol, President Dharmarth Trust Maj Gen (Retd.) R S
Jamwal, Shashi Khajuria Secy. Dharmarth Trust, Rama kant
dubey, and other prominent Citizen also joined the Shobha Yatra
procession, Muslim Federation also welcome the Rath Yatra at
Khatika Talab.
The NORTHLINES
www.thenorthlines.com
Water disaster awareness program organised
by Himalayan Xtreme Adventures
REASI, MAR 28:
Raft operators working on
River Chenab at Baradari near
Mata Vaishno Devi under the
aegis of Himalayan Xtreme
Adventures today organised a
program to aware locals and
students about water disaster
and rescue techniques.
Dozens of locals witnessed
the awareness program which
was hosted by Sachin-Vikaas
(directors of Himalayan
Xtreme Adventures) and
inaugurated by Z S Mirza
Dy.SP Headquarters Reasi.
A total no. 20 students from
degree
college
Reasi
participated in event. It
JKBOSE Chowkidar above
law, thrown all rules and
norms to winds
Entered Exam hall without
permission and used cell phone
BHADERWAH, MAR 28 phone with some one from
Despite strict directions
prohibiting cell-phones and
other electronic gadgets
inside the examination
centers established by
Jammu and Kashmir Board
of School Education
JKBOSE, in Bhaderwah
12th class examination
center established at Govt
Hr Sec School girls , a
Chowkidar of JKBOSE sub
office, Bhaderwah used
mobile in the exam center
which has raised a serious
question mark over security
provision made by JKBOSE
and has shaken the faith of
hardworking students and
their parents who feel
highly disappointed and
discouraged by such unholy
and immoral practice.
The video clip available
with this media person
revealed that no strict
measures were taken to
conduct JKBOSE 12th class
exam in Bhaderwah where a
JKBOSE Chowkidar during
the paper of Hindi ,Udru
and Physics entered in
exam center no 1402 on
24/03/ 2014 and with the
permission of inspection
from any authority and
according to reliable
sources when employees on
exam duty in the hall seek
permission letter for
inspection he started
misbehaving with them and
even threatened them of
consequences .
Sources in the condition
of anonymity also disclosed
he also talk on mobile
the exam hall which is
prohibited and when staff
on duty tell he to fill the
exam inspection form he
refused to do so and even
tell some one on mobile
that whole staff is involved
in cheating and staff on
exam duty was helpless .
The Chowkidar identified
as Rakesh Kumar who is
presently
posted
at
JKBOSE
sub
office
Bhaderwah
.Assistant
Supdtt many times says him
to fill the inspection form
but he refused and said he
is not on exam duty . In the
video JKBOSE Chowkidar
had been spotted with cell
phones inside exam hall
despite a ban on its use
The JKBOSE authorities
have clearly motioned in its
instructions in bold letters
that no phone and other
electronic gadgets are
allowed in the examination
centers but unfortunately
the rules were not adhered
by JKBOSE employees
their self and even
Chowkidar and peon are not
authorize to inspect the
examination center on its
own.
The ban on students and
staff from using cell phones
had been imposed several
years back."It is dangerous
for both students and
supervisors to carry mobile
phones to the exam hall, as
it could lead to cheating.
Although we have rules to
prevent it, they should be
stricter, said a student in
the condition of anonymity.
IN THE COURT OF ADDITIONAL MUNSIFF, SAMBA
Present: Madhu
1. Tara Chand S/o Shiv Ram
2. Sunita Rani W/o Tara Chand
R/o Nagrota, Tehsil Purmandal, District Samba. (Plaintiffs)
V/s
Soma Devi W/o Late Sh. Ram Lal
R/o Chack Doulat Tehsil Ramgarh, District Samba (Defendant)
In the matter of: Application for registration of date of Birth of:
In the matter of:
Suit for declaration to the effect that Master Vansh Kumar is real son of
the plaintiffs, correct name of said child is Vansh Kumar and said Vansh
Kumar being real son of the plaintiffs is fully entitled to inherit the
moveable and immoveable property of the plaintiffs and plaintiffs are
entitled to approach school authorities, ZEO concerned, for correction of
name of said child and for correction of parentage of said child and also
entitled to approach the Army Authorities of deceased Ram Lal
(Husband of defendant) for deleting the birth record/Part-II order of said
Vansh Kumar/Lal from Army records of said Ram Lal Ex-NK NO.
9084622X unit JAK LI, to be declared as such, with further relief of
injunction restrainging the defendant from claiming to be the mother of
said child.
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Whereas, above titled suit stands filed in this court for declaration, after
it was transferred to this court by worthy District Judge Samba and
through the medium of this publication, general public is hereby
informed if any body has /have any objection with respect to filing of
said suit, he/she/they may be file objection in this court within a period
of 15 days from the date of publication of this notice, failing which the
suit shall be dealt with in accordance with law.
Given under my hand and seal of this court on this 27 day of March 2015
at Samba.
Sd/Addl Munsiff
Samba
necessary to mention here
that rafters of Himalayan
Xtreme Adventures on 25th of
March rescued 2 laborers who
were trapped in chenab when
they were gone in river to
extract sand and stones.
Dy.SP Mirza appreciated the
initiatives taken by young
rafters.
HILL DISTRICTS
"Run for Peace event"
organized under CAP
by Doda Police
DODA, MAR 28
4
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
Bari Brahmana Emerges Overall Winners In District Indian Style Wrestling Association
2nd Samba District Indian Style Wrestling Championship Concluded
SANJAY SHARMA
Katra, March 28:
To
disseminate
the
significance of peace among
every strata of society for the
vertical and horizontal
development, tranquility and
prosperity of nation, District
Police Doda organized "Run for
Peace" event under the
supervision of SP Ops Doda,
Sh. Sanjay Bhagat and the
overall guidance of worthy SSP
Doda, Sh. Z.N. Manhas.
On the occasion, a rally of
peace runners of about 200
people from all walks of life
was flagged off by the Dy.
Commissioner, Doda Sh.
Bhupinder Kumar in presence
of SSP Doda and other
Civil/Police Officers of Doda
District, which started from Dak
Bungalow-via Tondowa, New
Hospital road, Nagri, Bharat
road, Old Bus stand, Dessa
Chowk and finally culminated
at DPL Doda.
Among the participants, Mr.
Mohd Shabir S/O Gh. Mohi-uldin R/O Naska Chinta Bhad.
clinched 1st position, Mr.
Jawaz-ul-Rehman, a std. of 12th
class from Boys Hr. Sec.
School, Doda bagged 2nd
position while Mr. Rakesh
Kumar S/O Omkar grabbed 3rd
position in the event.
2nd District Samba Indian
Style Wrestling Championship
was organized by Samba
District Indian Style Wrestling
Association
with
the
collaboration of J&K State
Sports Council under the aegis
of J&K Indian Style Wrestling
Association which concluded
at Bari Brahmana Stadium
under the overall supervision
of Shiv Kumar Sharma
President J&K Indian Style
wrestling Association and
Sarpanch Yogeshwar Singh.
Earlier, Shiv Kumar
Sharma, President J&K Indian
Style wrestling and Treasurer
Indian Style Wrestling
Association of India presented
Welcome address, while vote
of thanks was presented by
Bansi Lal Tidyal, General
Secretary J&K Indian Style
Wrestling Association.
The Championship was
inaugurated by chief guest
Shri Rajneesh Gupta SDM
Vijaypur in presence of
President J&K Indian Style
Wrestling Shiv Kumar Sharma
and Guest of Honour D.SP
Bari Brahmana Kulbir Handa.
Prominent among others
Yoga Center and removing
Traffic check posts from
National highway which was
main cause of harassment of
tourists and were our main
demands.
The association heads also
thanked Mr.Mufti for accepting
other
demands
like
announcement of Bani-BasohliBhaderwah-Jai as tourist
circuit, Suchetgarh as part of
Border tourism on the anology
of wagah Border,developing of
Mubarak Mandi as major
tourist attraction,re- developing
the
Sanasar
Golf
Course,,starting of work on
Patnitop ropeway,eco friendly
amusement park at various
resorts to attract children and
students,expansion of Jammu
Airport and developing the
jammu region as major tourism
hub.
The organization while
praising the visionary approach
of Mufti sahib further requested
him that other pending issued
like giving of industrial benefits
to tourism industry like
subsidized power tariffs,other
tax benefits and removing of
these traffic check posts from
Domail - Katra & KatraShivkhori stretch may also be
ordered.
They further requested that
all other demands made during
one day Tourism Conference of
Chief Minister at jammu in
which all industry people were
present may also be looked
upon at the earliest.
of the Pir Panjal Mountains.
The locals have to generally
travel large distances all the way
to Mahore for basic medical
facilities.
The teams of doctors,
medical staff and brave soldiers
reached-out to approximately
400 patients including 120
female and 100 children who
were rendered treatment and
free medicines on the occasion.
In another event, a medical
check-up camp was organised
for the students of Army
Goodwill School, Potha, by
Rashtriya Rifles Battalion,
under Romeo Force, today. The
medical camp was conducted to
provide free medical check-up
and medical advice to the
students who belong to remote
areas.
During the onset of summers,
due to change in weather,
children are prone to various
respiratory and viral infections.
The Army Doctor of the
Rashtriya Rifles Battalion
explained the causes, symptoms
and preventive measures of
such infections.
present on the occasion were
Naib Tehsildar Virender
Singh, Retd. SP & Treasurer
J&K Indian Style Wrestling
Association P.R.Sharma, Retd.
JE Surinder Kumar Sharma,
Kulbir Singh, Sarpanch
Gautam Singh, Captain Retd.
Karnail Singh, Om Parkash
Kapoor, Captain Retd. Boloch
Din,Sarbjeet Singh, Rajiv
Singh, Jai paul, Prem Kumar,
General Secretary District
Samba Indian Style Wrestling
Association.
Director Competition, NIS
Wrestling Coach Mulk Raj
Sharma conducted the
proceedings. The bouts were
officiated by Kulbir Singh and
Prem Kumar. SDM Rajneesh
Gupta and D.SP Kulbir Handa
also spoke on the occasion.
Mr. Shiv Kumar Sharma in
his speech informed that more
than 40 Wrestlers of the
Samba
District
are
participating in the said
District
Wrestling
championship. Mr. Sharma in
his speech said that our
association will give every
possible help for the
development of the game of
Wrestling in Samba District.
He Said possibility will be
also be explored for arranging
coaching camp for the
Wrestlers in near future.
photosynthetic efficiency
besides several other factors
including age of the orchard,
dense and intermingling
branches, neglected and
poor
management
of
orchards.
The participants (HDO's,
farmers and orchardists)
were educated about various
methods of rejuvenation of
old/unproductive trees that
are no longer in bearing or
bear very little. He
deliberated
on
the
importance of imparting
vigour to the plant so that
the plant can bear to its
maximum and the farmer in
return gets a good value per
unit of land.
The farmers/orchardists
were apprised about the
success story of rejuvenation
by Division of Fruit Science
in the mango orchards of
Jammu and the same work
will be taken up in guava
under this project. Dr.
Bakshi also responded to the
queries of the orchardists
and the farmers/orchardists
found
this
training
programme to be relevant to
their needs.
Dr. DeepJi Bhat briefed
the participants about the
importance of cultural
practices and pruning of
guava trees under Jammu
subtropics. He discussed
about the crop regulation of
guava so as to get good
quality fruit. The training
programme was highly
appreciated by the farmers
and they requested for more
such type of trainings in the
near future. The other
officials of university
present were Sh. B. N. Singh
(JTA), Pradeep Gupta, Anil
Chibber, Vinay Vilas, Ajitpal
Singh and Rafiq Ahmed. of
March, 2015 at Sarore,
Jammu under Mission for
Integrated.
Mufti will prove to be an asset SKUAST-J organizes one day training programme
for Tourism :Tourism Industry
SANJAY SHARMA
Jammu, Mar. 28
In a joint statement issued by
the heads of various tourism
related organizations including
Shyam Lal Kesar & Rakesh
Wazir President & Sr. Vice
President Hotel & Restaurant
Association
Katra,Ravi
Mahajan Chairman Jammu
Paryatan
Vikas
Mandal,Kuldeep
Wahi
President Hotel, Bar &
Restaurant
Association
Jammu,Inderjeet
Khajuria
President Hotel & Lodges
association Jammu while
thanking Mufti Mohd. Sayeed
for taking visionary step of
announcement of developing
Mantalai as major International
Army oganises medical camps
Jammu Mar 28:
A Medical Camp was
organised by the Bagga based
Rashtriya Rifles Battalion,
under Uniform Force, from 23
to 27 March 2015 for the
residents of remotely located
Villages Agsi, Chaladh and
Tuksan in Mahore Tehsil.
A team of Army doctor and
Nursing Assistants who along
with medicines and stores,
trekked to Agsi, Chaladh and
Tuksan Villages, of Mahore
Tehsil, situated on the foothills
IN THE COURT OF ADDITIONAL
MUNSIFF (JMIC) SAMBA
PRESENT: MADH KHAJURIA
JAMMU, MAR 28:
The Division of Fruit
Science, Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural
Sciences and Technology of
Jammu
(SKUAST-J)
organized one day training
cum awareness programme
on 28thDevelopment in
Horticulture (MIDH) project
on
"Training
and
demonstration
of
rejuvenation technology on
old and unproductive
orchards
in
Jammu
province". Dr. Parshant
Bakshi,
Principal
Investigator of the project
highlighted the importance
of
rejuvenation
of
old/unproductive
guava
orchards so that a
commercial and quality
produce could be harvested.
The decline in productivity
of old guava orchard could
largely be due to poor
canopy
management,
IN THE COURT OF ADDITIONAL
MUNSIFF (JMIC) SAMBA
PRESENT: MADH KHAJURIA
IN THE COURT OF ADDITIONAL
MOBILE MAGISTRATE (JMIC) SAMBA
PRESENT: SWATI GUPTA
Chhote Lal S/o Sh. Rajinder Kumar
R/o Ward No. 1, House No. 8, Bari Brahmana Distt Samba.
Vikram Singh Jamwal S/o Sh. Sardar Singh
R/o Ward No. 1, House No. 9, Bari Brahmana
Mohd Wasim S/o Sh. Mohd Tahir
R/o Kard, Teh & Distt. Samba
Executive Officer Municipal Committee Bari Brahmana.
In the matter of: Application for registration of date birth of: Pihu
Sharma, D.O.B. 17.4.2012, Father: Sh. Chhote Lal, Motsher: Smt. Jyoti
Sharma
Executive Officer Municipal Committee Bari Brahmana.
In the matter of: Application for registration of date birth of: Harshada
Jamwal D.O.B. 29.09.2013. Father: Vikram Singh Jamwal, Mother:
Smt. Neha Jasrotia
SHO, P/S Samba
Versus
Versus
Versus
In the matter of: Application for registration of date birth of:
Urfat Ahmed S/o Sh. Mohd Farooq D.O.B. 4.3.1997
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Whereas an application stand filed in this Court for registration of Birth
in respect of Pihu Sharma D/o Sh. Sh. Chhote Lal R/o Ward No. 1,
House No. 8, Tehsil Bari Brahmana, District Samba, Municipal
Committee Bari Brahmana. And through the publication of this notice,
public at large and any other interested person/s is/are informed,
he/she/they shall file their objections in the court on or before 04 April
2015, failing which aforesaid application will be dealt with in
accordance with law.
Given under my hand and seal of this court today, this 27.3.2015.
Sd/Addl Munsiff, Samba
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Whereas an application stand filed in this Court for registration of Birth
in respect of Harshada Jamwal D/o Sh. Vikram Singh Jamwal S/o Sh.
Sardar Singh R/o Ward No. 1, House No. 9, Tehsil Bari Brahmana,
District Samba, Municipal Committee Bari Brahmana. And through the
publication of this notice, public at large and any other interested
person/s is/are informed, he/she/they shall file their objections in the
court on or before 04 April 2015, failing which aforesaid application
will be dealt with in accordance with law.
Given under my hand and seal of this court today, this 27.3.2015.
Sd/Addl Munsiff, Samba
Whereas an application stand filed in this Court for registration of Birth
of above mentioned person R/o Kaard, Tehsil and District Samba in P/S
Samba and through the the medium of this publication, general public or
any other interested person is hereby informed if any body has/have any
objection with respect to filing of said application, he/she/they may file
objection in this court within a period of 07 days, failing which the
application shall be dealt with in accordance with law.
Given under my hand and seal of this court on this 27th day of Mar
2015 at Samba.
Sd/Addl. Mobile Magistrate (JMIC)
Samba
IN THE COURT OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE
IST CLASS (ADDL MUNSIFF) SAMBA.
IN THE COURT OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE
IST CLASS (ADDL MUNSIFF) SAMBA.
IN THE COURT OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE
IST CLASS (ADDL MUNSIFF) SAMBA.
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Present: Madhu
Present: Madhu
Present: Madhu
Mohan Singh S/o Ram Singh
R/o Mandi Udh Gurha Slathia, Teh. Vijaypur, Distt. Samba
V/s
SHO Police Station Vijaypur
In the matter of: Application for registration of date of Birth of:
Samrat Slathia D.O.B. 5.1.2009
Rakesh Singh S/o Parveen Singh
R/o Mandi Kehli, Teh. & Distt Samba
V/s
SHO Police Station Samba
In the matter of: Application for registration of date of Birth of:
Janvi Sambyal - D.O.B. 18.03.2013
Jatender Singh S/o Sh. Kartar Singh
R/o Mandi Kehli, Teh. & Distt Samba
V/s
SHO Police Station Samba
In the matter of: Application for registration of date of Birth of:
Raghav Singh D.O.B. 13.02.2012
Whereas an application stand filed in this court for registration of birth
of Samrat Slathia Resident of Mandi Udh Gurha Teh & Distt. Samba in
Police Station Vijaypur and through the publication of this notice, public
at large and any other interested person/s is/are informed that in case,
any body has any objections in respect of aforementioned application,
then he/she/they shall file their objections in this court on or before
2.04.2015 failing which aforesaid application will be dealt with in
accordance with law.
Given under my hand and seal of the court today this 27.3.2015.
Whereas an application stand filed in this court for registration of birth
of Janvi Sambyal Resident of Mandi Kehli, Teh & Distt Samba in Police
Station Samba and through the publication of this notice, public at large
and any other interested person/s is/are informed that in case, any body
has any objections in respect of aforementioned application, then
he/she/they shall file their objections in this court on or before 4.04.2015
failing which aforesaid application will be dealt with in accordance with
law.
Given under my hand and seal of the court today this 27.3.2015.
Whereas an application stand filed in this court for registration of birth
of Raghav Singh Resident of Mandi Kehli, Teh & Distt Samba in Police
Station Samba and through the publication of this notice, public at large
and any other interested person/s is/are informed that in case, any body
has any objections in respect of aforementioned application, then
he/she/they shall file their objections in this court on or before 4.04.2015
failing which aforesaid application will be dealt with in accordance with
law.
Given under my hand and seal of the court today this 27.3.2015.
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Sd/Addl Munsiff
Judicial Magistrate Ist Class
Samba
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Sd/Addl Munsiff
Judicial Magistrate Ist Class
Samba
NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Sd/Addl Munsiff
Judicial Magistrate Ist Class
Samba
The NORTHLINES
5
KATHUA
www.thenorthlines.com
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
Ramnavami celebrated with fervor 2 injured in gas
cylinder explosion
KATHUA 28 MARCH:
Two women of a family were
burnt as LPG domestic gas
cylinder exploded in Rajbagh,
Kathua on Thursday.
Both were referred to Govt
Medical College Jammu after
being taken to District Hospital
Kathua last night. The incident
happened around 2:30 AM on
Thursday when both the women
were asleep, the electric heater
caught fire after getting in touch
with leaking LPG Gas from the
attached kitchen.
After that other family
members rushed to the spot and
taken them in District Hospital
Kathua where burnt were
further referred to GMC
Jammu.
SLC holds Langar on the
eve of Ramnavmi
JK RDD Employee Federation
resents
MPW's
suspension
KATHUA 28 MARCH:
newspaper.
Moreover
KATHUA, MAR 28:
"Ramnavami" (birthday of
lord Rama) was celebrated
with pomp and show at Town
Kathua on Friday. On the eve
of this occasion, multiple
programmes were organized
by the "Kathua Ram Navami
Utsav Committee" in which a
Shoba yatra was main central
activity which was taken out
from Ramleela ground to all
round the Kathua town with
chanting hymns and slogans
(Jai Siri Ram) with full music
system.
A big amount of devotees of
lord Rama was given their
graceful presence in Shoba
yatra and expressed their
religious excitement as prayer
to lord Rama for wanting a
peaceful and safe human
society.
On the occasion, MLA
Kathua Rajiv Jasrotia along
with other distinguished
citizens made their long
presence and graced the
function.
A large number of devotees
of lord Rama also rushed to the
different temples of district
Kathua and held prayers. Many
Shoba Yatras fairs, and langars
were also organized in
different temples of the
District Kathua where a large
number
of
devotees
participated
with
full
enthusiasm.
A meeting was held at
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park,
Kathua under the chairmanship
of Pardeep Bakshi Provincial
General Secretary, All J&K
RDD Employee Federation on
Friday. In connection with this
meeting held at park all
MPW/VLW's of District
Kathua were present in the
meeting. The main agenda of
the meeting was to show
resentment against the
suspension order of MPW few
days ago, as published in the
ReTA to protest against State Govt
according to the job chart of
Pyt. Secretary, it was not the
mere responsibility of MPW to
check the quality of material as
material (Cement and Tiles)
was supplied by the higher
authorities (BDO's and ACD's)
and to check quality of the
work
is
the
whole
responsibility of the technical
wing (JE/AEE). All Panchayat
secretaries requested the
minister for RDD to kindly
look into the matter again to
check the responsibilities fixed
to concerned employees. In the
meeting Vijay Kumar, Ankush
Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Vinay
Kumar, Karan Singh, and many
other were present.
KATHUA, MARCH 28:
Seeking god's blessings to
hold the human society as
more and more peaceful,
prosperous harmonious and
without of any evils, "Shiv
Langar Committee" Kathua
has celebrated the nine days
Navrataras and Ramnavami
REGIONAL
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8th limited Seats so hurry up..
KATHUA, MARCH, 28:
Rehabbere Taleem Teachers
Association threatened to
launch a massive statewide
protest demonstration against
the state Government if the
eleven months pending salary
will not be paid to the ReT
teachers in due course of time.
Highlighting their demand of
releasing due salary, the
Association held a massive
protest demonstration led by its
district President Veena Devi
and other teachers in Bhagat
Singh Park at Kathua and
warned the state government to
face the dire consequences if it
will not leave the practice of
harassing teachers.
The blocking salaries of
Farmers
call on ADC
KATHUA, MAR. 28:
Demanding
adequate
compensation of crop loss by
hailstorm, a deputation of
farmers under the banner of
"Kisaan Tehreek" called on
Additional DC and submitted a
memorandum
to
state
government at his chamber
office in DC complex at Kathua
on Thursday. Deputation was
led by leaders of Kisaan
Tehreek Dharam Singh,
Mohinder Singh and Sewa
Ram. While putting up the
farmers issues in front of
Additional DC Kathua, the
leaders demanded a rational
compensation of crop loss
which is come to happen with
the high influence of recent
rains and hails storm.
NOTICE
I S. Jagbir Singh S/o Late S.
Kirpal Singh R/o Mahant
Manjit Singh Nagar C/o Telco
Service Station Kathua have
lost my Permit of my vehicle
Truck Bearing Registration
No.JK08-5185 Now I am
applying for the duplicate
objection if any may be
conveyed to R.T.O Lakhanpur
within seven days from the
date of publication of this
notice.
NOTICE
I Nitish Mahajan S/o Kewal
Krishan Mahajan R/o Mission
Road Pathankot Prop. M/s
Chenab Agro Chemical R/o
Hatli Morh Tehsil & District
Kathua have lost my RC of my
vehicle Truck Bearing
Registration No.JK08A-4798 .
Now I am applying for the
duplicate objection if any may
be conveyed to R.T.O
Lakhanpur within seven days
from the date of publication of
this notice.
eleven months of RET teachers,
is a presentation an
undemocratic approach of the
state government which will be
openly answered by the RET
teachers Association. Eleven
months have been gone but not
even a singly of salaries of
teachers are given and forced
them to face the worst
consequences.
This level of high
insensitivity of the government
towards the critical surviving
condition the teachers, it means
the state government has lost all
limits of cruelty and even the
responsibility to address the
issues of teachers.
Association warned and said
doesn't instigate the ReT
teachers otherwise government
NOTICE
I Arpan Kumar S/o Sh. Kapil
Kumar R/o Barnoti Tehsil &
District Kathua have lost my
Form,22 Sale Certificate of
my
vehicle
Engine
No.1.4CRAILI0MVYSD2680,
Chassis
No.
MAT483154EYP16309 Now I
am applying for the duplicate
objection if any may be
conveyed
to
R.T.O
Lakhanpur within seven days
from the date of publication of
this notice.
NOTICE
I Mohd. Dilshad S/o Sh. Talab
Hussian R/o Umer Abad
Bhathindi Jammu have lost
my RC of my vehicle Taxi Cab
Sumo Bearing Registration
No.JK08A-5294 Now I am
applying for the duplicate
objection if any may be
conveyed
to
R.T.O
Lakhanpur within seven days
from the date of publication of
this notice.
will have to face the dire government will be responsible
consequences for which the at any cost.
Employment Fair concludes
KATHUA, MAR. 28:
Two Days Employment fair organized by the District
Administration Kathua on 25th & 26th March 2015 in the
premises of District Employment & Counseling Centre, Kathua
concluded on 26th of March 2015. In the Employment Fair thirty
departments of the district have installed the stall of different
products and schemes being implemented by them. Under Udaan
Drive 300 candidates came for the interview out of which 154
candidates registered and 175 selected by the leading Corporate.
Some candidates selected in more than one corporate. More than
10 corporate namely Accenture, Reliance HR, Mount Talent,
Manpower, IL&FS etc. from different sectors visited District
Employment & Counseling Centre Kathua under Udaan Drive
lead by Komal Kaul from NSDC. Deputy Director Employment,
Kathua Sunil Kumar, concluded the Employment Fair ceremony
with thanks to the participating departments, Udaan team and
unemployed youths and general public.
For more details contact 9 AM to 5 PM at
REGIONAL INSTITUTES
W.No. 1opp, Krishna Colony Kathua (J&K)
Ph. 9018912606, 9419141992, 238791
by holding a mega "Jagrata
and Langar" in ward. No.5 of
Kathua on Friday. In the
Langar, a large number people
tasted the Langar as parsaad.
While speaking to media,
the president of the
Committee, Amarnath (Ambi)
told that main objective of
organizing such programme is
to still alive our Hindu
Cultural values and the honors
of our gods and also prayed to
god for the welfare and well
being of every human being
on the planet earth.
The celebration of whole
Navratras and Ram Navami is
conducting by the committee
since long.
Seeking immediate roll back
of the toll tax by the National
Highway Authority of India in
the Jammu and Kashmir,
Provincial President National
Conference Mr Devender
Singh Rana on Saturday said
the decision depicts lack of
comprehension
and
imagination, as the highway is
still in the construction stage.
"The decision is highly
arbitrary and those bent upon
to implement it are showing
scant regard for public
sensitivity, as the toll tax will
not only impact the commuters,
both using public and private
transport, but manifest in price
rise of essentials due to
enhancement in freight of
consumer goods", Mr Rana
said while addressing a public
meeting at Padyari village of
Korgan Panchayat in the
Nagrota
Assembly
Constituency.
Rana made a particular
reference of the Nagorta,
saying the inhabitants of this
constituency are required to
visit Jammu quite frequently in
pursuit of jobs, education of
children and even the errands.
"Should we consider the move
as the begining of 'Ache Din'
promised by the BJP and
'healing touch' trumpeted by
the PDP", Rana said while
taking a jibe at the coalition for
working against the interests of
common people.
Rana raises pitch against
toll tax on NH1A
NAGROTA MARCH 28
The NORTHLINES
www.thenorthlines.com
ETOUQ
"All of the books in the world contain no
more information than is broadcast as
video in a single large American city in a
single year. Not all bits have equal
value."
- Carl Sagan
the NORTHLINES, Jammu
Not a zerosum game
W
ith his state visit to China just
weeks after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s trip to Sri Lanka,
President Maithripala Sirisena appears to be
trying to balance relations with the two
countries that have the greatest influence in
the island nation today: India and China.
Since taking charge, several decisions by Mr.
Sirisena’s government have given China
cause for concern, in particular the
suspension of the $1.4-billion Colombo port
project. His government has said it would reexamine Chinese projects signed by the
previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, while
on the strategic front Foreign Minister
Mangala Samaraweera announced that
Chinese nuclear submarines would no longer
be welcome to dock in Sri Lankan harbours,
even as Sri Lanka ups maritime cooperation
with India. Sri Lanka also signed its first
nuclear agreement with India, albeit one that
envisages nuclear safety operations and not
energy generation at present. All these
moves, capped by Mr. Modi’s visit to Sri
Lanka, sent out a clear message of India’s
importance in Sri Lanka’s external relations.
Having assuaged India’s concerns, Mr.
Sirisena seems to be shifting his focus to
China, and smoothing feathers ruffled by his
government’s actions there. If his decision to
suspend the Colombo port project was timed
days before Mr. Modi’s visit to Colombo, he
has chosen his meeting in Beijing to
announce that the suspension is “temporary”
and that the contract is expected to be
reinstated shortly.
However, the more important message from
President Sirisena’s meeting with President
Xi Jinping is on China’s future plans in the
region. At the Boao Forum, President Xi was
unveiling the road map for China’s Maritime
Silk Route and Silk Road initiatives, that
envision massive infrastructure projects in
India’s neighbourhood, along with help from
the China-led Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB), which he discussed
with Mr. Sirisena. Mr. Xi has also suggested
a possible ‘triangular’dialogue among India,
China and Sri Lanka. It would be a mistake
to assume, as some in India do, that these
talks could be viewed as a threat to India, or
a zero-sum game. Instead, each of these is an
acknowledgment that India is now the
‘elephant in the room’ when China engages
one of its closest neighbours. Furthermore,
India must welcome the offer of the trilateral
that has been suggested by both Colombo
and Beijing, while keeping its own bilateral
relations with both on a steady course of
progress. Such magnanimity may seem
naive to many, but will go a long way in
assuring Sri Lanka that it does not have to
choose between its natural affinity and
proximity to India, and China’s affluence and
interest in its progress. As a rising power,
India must also learn to be a secure one.
OPINION
6
JAMMU | THURSDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
India’s unrealised maternity
VANITA LEAH
FALCAO
JASMEET KHANUJA
T
he Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog
Yojana was introduced to provide
partial wage compensation during
pregnancy, but various issues plague its
implementation
The latest official figures indicate that
India is well short of meeting the Millennium
Development Goals that pledged to reduce
the country’s maternal mortality ratio
(MMR) by three quarters and the infant
mortality rate (IMR) by two-thirds. The
Sample Registration System (SRS), 2013,
records MMR at 167 per 1,00,000 live births
and IMR at 40 per 1,000 live births with a
majority of these infants dying within seven
days of birth. India’s high MMR and IMR are
partly due to delayed diagnosis and limited
access to health care. Additionally, rest
during or after pregnancy is not an option for
most women who are unorganised workers.
According to the District Level Household
Survey 3, nearly a quarter of women in India
do not receive any antenatal care and over 50
per cent do not receive any postnatal care for
up to two weeks. In 2010, the Ministry of
Women and Child Development (MWCD)
launched the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog
Yojana (IGMSY) to address this critical
situation. Leveraging the Integrated Child
Development Scheme’s (ICDS) platform, the
programme was piloted in 53 districts across
the country. The IGMSY provides partial
wage compensation to pregnant and lactating
women in order to promote rest and healthy
feeding practices, as well as increase
utilisation of healthcare services. Under the
scheme, all pregnant women of 19 years and
above, except those employed by the
government (Central or State) or Public
Sector Undertakings, for the first two live
births were entitled to Rs. 4,000 per live
birth, in three instalments. The scheme is
conditional on timely registration, complete
vaccination, attending counselling sessions
and exclusive breastfeeding of the child.
In September 2013, the IGMSY cash
incentive was increased from Rs. 4,000 to
Rs. 6,000 to comply with the minimum
maternity entitlement provision of the
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
Additionally the payment timeline was
revised to two instalments of Rs. 3,000.
However, the coverage and conditions were
unaltered.
Poor implementation
Implementation of the IGMSY has been
neglected since its launch. Official data show
that between the years 2010 and 2013,
approximately only 28 per cent of the
targeted beneficiaries were covered. At the
end of 2014, the MWCD announced a
proposed scale up of the IGMSY to 200
additional ‘high burden’ districts in 2015-16.
Though this expansion did not comply with
the NFSA’s mandate of maternal entitlements
for the entire country, the willingness of the
government to increase coverage of the
IGMSY was seen by civil society as a step in
the right direction.
However, the government’s lack of
commitment to expansion of the IGMSY is
betrayed through this year’s budget
allocation of Rs. 438 crore, an increase of Rs.
80 crore from 2014-15. Given the absence of
Centre-State cost sharing, this increased
allocation of approximately one-fifth of last
year’s budget is disproportionate to the
proposed expansion of nearly four times the
current coverage. This indicates the
government’s decision to not scale up the
IGMSY, which is a clear violation of the
NFSA.
A qualitative study of the IGMSY was
conducted by the Centre for Equity Studies,
New Delhi, in 2014, in Bihar, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The study
revealed widespread neglect of the scheme
over three years, with teething trouble still
being faced in some districts.
It was found that most beneficiaries were
unaware or misinformed about the scheme.
One mother in Jharkhand believed that she
was entitled to a maximum amount of Rs.
1,500. Without the government’s attention to
awareness building, women fail to demand
their entitlements. Several Anganwadi
workers stated that a three-year gap between
the first two children or sterilisation of the
mother was essential for receiving IGMSY
money for the second child. Such
misinformation is a result of inadequate and
improper counselling of women and training
of workers.
Under the IGMSY, cash is only deposited
into an account. Opening and accessing
accounts is often expensive and time
consuming because banks and post offices
are often far from villages. In Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, banks and post
offices were situated as far as 17-30
kilometres — a difficult terrain to traverse in
some areas — and some of them are
inefficient. IGMSY guidelines specify that
the accounts should have to be zero-balance
no-frill accounts. However, no woman
reported having such an account. Initial
deposits demanded from them ranged from
Rs. 50-200 in post offices and Rs. 500-1,000
in banks. Such costs disincentivise
participation in the programme.
The IGMSY guidelines recommend
creation of State and district implementation
cells. These cells were either absent or not
fully staffed at the time of the study. This
failure combined with no provisions for
block-level cells, and frequent transfer of
officials, negatively impacts IGMSY
implementation, monitoring and quality
record-keeping. The study also revealed that
no system of IGMSY-related complaint
filing, time-bound investigation or appeals
system exists in Bihar, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh.
Delayed payment was a trend across the
four States with no sampled beneficiary
receiving the first instalment of IGMSY cash
during pregnancy. In Bihar and Jharkhand,
the complete amount was generally received
when the child was around one-year-old.
Such delays undermine the objective of the
scheme — to provide partial wage
compensation during pregnancy to enable
adequate rest.
to injury, any complaints by aggrieved
parties on the state’s failure to follow due
process now require the prior consent of
the state, an ingenious twist to the
principle of ‘prior informed consent’ —
and a move more regressive than the
colonial 1894 Land Acquisition Act.
Manufacturing in India has stagnated for
over two decades at around 15 per cent of
the GDP. The case of SEZs is illustrative
— of the 377 notified SEZs in the country,
only 196 are operational (where
operational indicates at least one
functioning unit). According to the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India,
over 63 per cent of the land acquired for
SEZs is lying vacant. While slack global
markets may have to do with the slow pace
of investment in SEZs despite tax
concessions (the Minimum Alternate Tax
notwithstanding), this still does not
explain where productive investment is to
come from in infrastructure corridors and
new smart city urban enclaves. The 2013
law allowed for land lying unused for five
years after acquisition to be reverted to
either the original owners or the state, but
the Amendment bill extends this period to
years specified for the project and exempts
years spent in litigation.
‘Make in India’ seems a pipe dream
anticipating jobs in trickle-down effects of
infrastructure investment; latest figures
record a decline in the overall rate of
investment. The Amendment Bill is a foil
for land-and-resource acquisition by
global and domestic finance and real
estate investors that thrive on growing
land markets and the appreciation of the
price of land and property.
Indian economy, growing from 14.7 per
cent in 2000-01. More remarkably, in
2009-10, the construction sector formed
the second largest employer of workers in
India, employing 11 per cent of the
workforce after agriculture (36 per cent).
The rising price of land has made real
estate a high return investment. Today,
there are many private builders, and their
operations range from small-scale projects
in towns or ‘rururban’ areas to regional
and national projects. Regional and
national developers also cater to a variety
of commercial and retail real estate and
infrastructure-related construction, the
latter often through group or subsidiary
companies.
Indian real estate remains regulated.
Global finance is unable to directly invest
in housing, commercial and retail real
estate per se, but invests in them through
infrastructure projects like ‘smart cities’
and ‘industrial corridors.’ Smaller-scale,
regional, state and district level
developers and brokers are abundant in
India, and fly-by-night operators join their
ranks. It is in this mix of operators and
urbanisation projects backed by policy and
investment that we find the growing
consolidation of a Real Estate Economy in
India.
Growing differential rent from
‘conversion’ of agricultural land to real
estate is also reconfiguring the political
economy of land in urban peripheries.
Thus, with appreciation of land prices as
infrastructure and development projects
are announced, some farmers ‘give up’
land without resistance for immediate
returns, as agriculture is less profitable or
valuable. Growing agrarian distress
caused by market-led agrarian reforms that
entrench bigger and deeper land markets,
environmental stresses and the consequent
indebtedness of farmers is adding to the
pull away from agriculture.
According to the Ministry of
Agriculture, in 2007-11, the area of
cultivable land in India shrank by 7,90,000
hectares, largely attributed to diversion for
non-agricultural
purposes
like
construction, industries and other
development
activities.
Landless
Improving effectiveness
Despite various issues plaguing the
IGMSY, there is significant scope to improve
implementation and effectiveness of the
programme through compliance with the
guidelines. Instead of focussing on the
existing gaps, the MWCD around September
2014 proposed limiting the IGMSY to
Antyodaya Anna Yojana and priority
households i.e., the eligibility criteria for the
Public Distribution System (PDS) under the
NFSA. This proposal fails to account for the
fact that maternal and child health is not
merely an economic issue. It is as much a
matter of improper practices, misinformation
regarding care and delayed diagnosis. For
this reason, having initial eligibility criteria
that are largely economic are inadequate.
Additionally, identification of beneficiaries
for the PDS has been shrouded in
conversations on digitisation and delayed
verification of the Socio Economic and Caste
Census, resulting in only 11 States
implementing the NFSA till date. There is a
real danger of these delays being extended to
the IGMSY. Given the above, what is
required is a focus on the basics such as
awareness building, establishment of
implementation cells, a responsive grievance
redress mechanism and a publicly accessible
management information system. Most
importantly, the government needs to
commit to the realisation of the right to
maternal entitlements of all women as
defined in the NFSA.
(Vanita Leah Falcao and Jasmeet
Khanuja are Research Associates at the
Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi. The
views expressed are solely those of the
authors.)
Growth for a few, loss for many
PREETI SAMPAT
L
and-grabs for urban infrastructure
and real estate are being promoted
to bring investment and employment
for a few, at the cost of lives and
livelihoods of many
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley claims
that the Land Ordinance 2014 was
promulgated to bring 13 Acts within the
purview of the Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act,
2013, before the six- month deadline to
include them ran out on December 31,
2014. Despite controversy, the latest
Amendment Bill approved by the Lok
Sabha, and currently facing a logjam in the
Rajya Sabha, makes minor modifications
to the Ordinance. Both replace acquisition
for ‘private company’ with ‘private
entity,’ that includes a “proprietorship,
partnership, company, corporation, nonprofit organisation or other entity under
any law for the time being in force.”
Exemptions from social impact
assessments (SIAs) for all projects and
consent provisions for private companies
(80 per cent of land owners) and PublicPrivate Partnerships (70 per cent) include
projects undertaken by the state and
private entities for: i) national security; ii)
industrial
corridors;
iii)
rural
infrastructure; iv) ‘affordable’ housing and
housing for the poor and; v) infrastructure
and social infrastructure projects
including PPPs where the land vests with
the state. These projects run the entire
gamut of contemporary public and private
infrastructure, industrialisation and
urbanisation projects aspiring land and
resources in the country.
Worse, the provisions dangerously
reassert the power of the hand that gives
compensation. They represent an
ambitious assertion of sovereignty by the
state over citizens, recuse the state of
nominal accountability through removal of
SIAs, and render citizens ‘subjects’ liable
for compensation, no more. To add insult
The growing real estate economy
A recent report by Cushman &
Wakefield ranks India 20th among the
current top 20 real estate investment
markets globally, with an investment of
$3.4 billion in 2012. A study by Global
Construction Perspectives and Oxford
Economics further predicts that India will
become the world’s third largest
construction market by 2025, adding 11.5
million homes a year. In 2011-12, the
shares of real estate and construction
together accounted for 19 per cent of the
agricultural workers likely swell the ranks
of construction and other migrant workers
in dismal conditions, although official
data for this is hard to come by. As more
and more land gets diverted to real estate
from agriculture, there is concomitant
pauperisation of especially small and
marginal farmers, who are unable to buy
more land. With little by way of
productive job creation and growing loss
of agrarian livelihoods, where will this
dispossessed population go? And what
about the fundamental questions of food
security and participatory development?
If only agribusiness is to produce food
for all with the help of global finance, the
policy emphasis on urbanisation and
deeper land markets is nothing but a
capitalist attempt to take over large
sections of the domestic agrarian political
economy, with impoverished workers
adding to the low-wage reserve workforce
that capitalist profits thrive on. As global
capital looks for ways to recover from its
crises and domestic capital for greater
expansion, industrial corridors, housing,
urbanisation and infrastructure projects
offer attractive avenues of return. Landgrabs for urban infrastructure and real
estate facilitated through the state and
markets are being promoted to bring
investment, employment and growth for a
few, at the cost of dispossession of lives,
livelihoods and environments for many.
The lessons from conflicts over land and
resources in Nandigram, Raigad, Goa or
Chhattisgarh offer little to the ruling
establishment. Global and domestic
capital seek to assert sovereignty over
India’s land and resources through the
state — the Amendment Bill 2015
attempts to deliver. Will the Modi sarkar
unleash a fresh set of conflicts over land
and resources that marred the SEZ model
and beat it to a point of failure? The
proposed land acquisition framework is
likely to face deeper contestation in
villages and towns across India.
(Preeti Sampat is a public policy
scholar at the Hindu Centre for Politics
and Public Policy and teaches at the
Department of Sociology, Delhi School
of Economics.)
The NORTHLINES
www.thenorthlines.com
WB Guv bats for
centre-state coordination
to curb infiltration
AGENCIES
KOLKATA, MARCH 28
NATIONAL
AAP shouldnt waste opportunity
with immature politics: Jaitley
AGENCIES
In the backdrop of recent arrest of two Bangladeshi nationals VARANASI, MARCH 28
in connection with Ranaghat nun gangrape case, West Bengal
governor KN Tripathi today said that Centre and the state must
work together to curb infiltration.
"Look this is a very serious problem... And the Central
government and the state government must jointly look into it
and take all the necessary measures to stop infiltration of the
Bangladeshis," Tripathi told reporters on the sidelines of a
programme here today.
The CID has arrested two persons, both Bangladeshi nationals,
one from Habra in North 24 Parganas district and the other from
Mumbai, in connection with the gangrape of a 71-year-old nun
at a convent school in Ranaghat that caused a nationwide
outrage.
West Bengal figured prominently on the terror map in 2014
after a deep-rooted module of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB) was unearthed in the state following the
October 2 Burdwan blast in which two suspected terrorists were
killed.
With the AAP mired in a
bitter internal feud, Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley today said
it should fulfil the promises
made to the people of Delhi and
not fritter away the opportunity
with its "immature" politics.
He said people of Delhi had
high hopes when they voted for
Arvind Kejriwal government
and he never expected "such
politics" to emerge.
"This new kind of politics
which has emerged wherein
when a politician talks, the
conversation is recorded. Well! I
never expected this kind of
politics," Jaitley said at a press
conference. He was replying to
queries related to the turmoil in
AGENCIES
SRIHARIKOTA, MARCH 28
Govt
considering
airlifting of
Indians
stranded in
Yemen
Isro to launch latest
navigation satellite today
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch
India's latest navigation satellite, the Indian Regional
Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)-1D from the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota today.
The 1,425 kg satellite will be placed in the orbit by Isro's
workhorse launching vehicle PSLV C-27. The 59.5 hours
countdown for the launch began yesterday and is progressing
smoothly.
Isro chairman AS Kiran Kumar had earlier said that the
launch of the satellite would help a person on the ground locate
his geographical position in the Indian region.
"Once four satellites are up in space, using a receiver on
ground you can independently locate yourself, you can
determine your position in terms of latitude longitude and
height. So this will give us independent geographic positioning
system in the country," he had said.
The launch was originally scheduled for March 9 but was
later deferred due to an anomaly found in the telemetry
transmitter.
According to reports, IRNSS-1D is fourth in the series of
seven satellites, planned by Isro to put in place the Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite System. The first three satellites
in the IRNSS series were launched from Sriharikota on July 1,
2013, April 4, 2014 and October 16, 2014 respectively.
Woman dies days after
sterilisation surgery
AGENCIES
BHADOHI (UP), MARCH 28
A 32-year-old woman, who had undergone a surgery at a
sterilisation camp earlier this week, died today at a private
hospital here, triggering protest by her family members, district
officials said.
Sunita Yadav had undergone surgery at a sterilisation camp on
March 24 and was later admitted to community health centre
here as complications arose, they added.
Last night, as her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to the
private hospital of Dr Sushil Gupta, who had conducted the
operation in the camp, where she died today morning, officials
said.
The enraged family members who staged demonstration at the
community health centre and at the private hospital were
pacified and the body was sent for post-mortem, they added.
Chief Medical Officer Umakant Verma said the doctor
concerned has been take off duty and recommendation for his
suspension has also been made.
Verma said there were reports earlier too that Dr. Gupta had
shifted four women whose condition had deteriorated after
operation in such a camp to his private hospital.
A case for causing death by negligence under Section 304 of
the IPC has been lodged against the doctor, Circle Officer
Ayodhya Prasad Singh said, adding that family of the deceased
is being given an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh.
AGENCIES
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
MARCH 28
The central government was
considering the possibility of
airlifting stranded Indians
including Keralites from strifetorn Yemen, External Affairs
Minister Sushama Swaraj has
informed Chief Minister
Oommen Chandy. Swaraj has
informed the state that two
ships have been sent to Yemen
to rescue the Indians, including
Malayalees, who have been
stranded in that country.
But the ships would take five
days to reach its destination. In
such a situation, the possibility
of airlifting the people are also
being discussed, for which the
Saudi Government has been
approached, the Union Minister
said, according to an official
release issued here.
Chandy also spoke with
several families of Keralites in
Yemen over phone yesterday.
Passports of most of them were
being detained. The Indian
Embassy in Yemen has
intervened in this matter, the
release said.
"If they don't get their
passports, exit pass will be
issued to them and will be
brought back to India. They
will be given another passport.
Embassy has also intervened in
the matter related with release
of salary," the release said.
Quoting Chandy, the release
also said all Malayalee families
in Yemen were safe.
Aam Aadmi Party and the
alleged taped conversation of
AAP chief Arvind Kejrial in a
sting operation in which he is
heard purportedly using
expletives against dissident
leaders Yogendra Yadav and
Prashant Bhushan and even
threatening to form a new party.
Jaitley said that AAP should
fulfil the promises that it had
made with public during Delhi
assembly election and people of
the city had a lot of expectations
when they voted for this
government. "With a lot of
expectation and high hopes,
people of Delhi had chosen the
government. The promises
which AAP and its leaders have
made with public, they must
fulfil them," said Jaitley, adding
that "they should not let this
historical opportunity go waste
just because of their immature
politics."
?
The BJP leader along with
spiritual guru Morari Babu
today dedicated to public two
steam boats that will ferry dead
bodies to the cremation ghats of
Varanasi without any charge.
On the occasion, PM's
principal secretary Nripendra
Mishra along with other
officials was also present.
AGENCIES
NASHIK, MARCH 28
Mohammed?Ishak?alias Hamed
Lendi?(28) were arrested from
Munshi Nagar and Saban Nagar
localities respectively following a
tip, Azad Nagar police inspector
Masood Khan said.
They were later produced in a
local court and remanded to fiveday police custody till March 31,
he said.
Police had earlier this week
raided a shack in Azad Nagar area,
about 90 kms from here and
seized two heads of slaughtered
calves and 150 kg of beef.
The Maharashtra Animal
Preservation (Amendment) Act,
banning slaughter of bulls and
bullocks, was enforced by the
BJP-led Government on March 4.
Under the law, anyone found
selling beef or possessing it can be
jailed upto five years and fined Rs
10,000.
Offences have been registered
against the accused -Rashid alias
Pandya, Hamid alias Lendi and
Asif Talathi, under the
Maharashtra Animal Preservation
(Amendment) Act, police said.
Maha: 2 held for cow slaughter
under beef ban law
In the first case registered under
the beef ban law in Maharashtra,
two persons have been arrested by
police in Malegoan for allegedly
slaughtering calves.
A case was registered against
three persons, three days ago and
two of them were tracked down
and arrested yesterday, police
said.
The duo -- Mohammed Rashid
Akhtar (36) and Abdul Ahad
AGENCIES
CHENNAI, MARCH 28
AGENCIES
RAE BARELI, MARCH 28
Congress President Sonia
Gandhi today met the farmers
who have suffered losses due
untimely rains in her Rae Bareli
constituency and visited the
families of the victims of the
recent Bachrawan train accident
and assured them of all possible
assistance. The Congress
President, who represents Rae
Bareli in the Lok Sabha, drove
straight to Pachwar village after
landing at the Fursatganj airport
this morning to take stock of the
losses suffered by the farmers
because of the recent untimely
rains and hailstorm. The farmers
apprised Gandhi of their plight
and claimed that no
administrative official has visited
the village for conducting a
survey so that compensation
could be given to them. Gandhi
gave a patient hearing to the
Modi on three-nation trip
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said on Saturday the
"primary objective" of his visit
to France, Germany and Canada
from April 10-16 is supporting
India's national economic
agenda, especially job creation
for the youth.
In a series of tweets, linked to
his Facebook post, Modi wrote:
"My France, Germany and
Canada visit is centred around
supporting India's economic
agenda and creating jobs for our
youth."
"Will discuss strengthening
India-France economic cooperation and visit some hightech industrial units outside
Paris.
"In Germany, chancellor
Merkel and I will jointly
inaugurate Hannover Messe
where India is a partner country.
"Looking forward to
enhancing ties with Canada and
interacting with leaders,
captains of industry and
diaspora in Canada," Modi
tweeted.
He said through his visit, "I
am honouring long standing
invitations from three of our
most important partners who
have strong friendships with
India".
In Paris, Modi said that he
would "seek greater French
involvement in our Make in
India Programme, including in
the defence manufacturing
sector".
"France is one of our most
important strategic partners,
which has stood with us at
difficult
moments.
We
remember the understanding
and support extended by France
in 1998 after the Pokhran
(nuclear) tests. France was also
Atal-ji's first destination for a
bilateral visit thereafter."
He said India and France
have strong cooperation in the
defence sector. "This currently
includes construction of six
advanced submarines in India
with French collaboration."
He said France is also India's
most important international
partner in the area of Space.
France and India have also
entered into an agreement for
Civil Nuclear Energy cooperation. France has been a
consistent supporter of India's
Membership of the Nuclear
Suppliers Group.
He said there are "huge
opportunities for collaboration
in the manufacturing and
infrastructure with France,
including in the Railways
sector".
Modi said through the Make
in India Programme, India has
the potential to create thousands
of highly skilled and well paid
jobs in India.
"I also look forward to
discussing ways in which we
can deepen our security
cooperation include counterterrorism as well as space, cyber
and maritime security."
He said he would visit some
of the highly developed high
technology industries outside
Paris and as also pay respect at
the World War I memorial at
Neuve Chapelle, "especially to
honour, in the centenary year of
the tragic war, the supreme
sacrifice of thousands of Indian
soldiers, who fought valiantly
during World War I".
In Germany, the second leg of
his visit where he will be From
April 12-14, Modi said the main
focus would be to participate in
the Hannover Industrial Trade
Fair, which will kick off with an
inauguration ceremony on April
12. "India is the partner country
at the Hannover Trade Fair this
year. This gives India a special
place in the trade fair and a high
visibility to our business
sector," he said.
He said both he and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel
would jointly inaugurate the
Trade Fair.
He said India's participation
in the Hannover Trade Fair "will
be on an unprecedented scale.
We will not only showcase our
opportunities and capabilities in
the economic sector, we will
also use the occasion to project
our rich heritage to the world,
which, in turn, will also benefit
our tourism sector".
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
No truth in reports
claiming hijack scare
on Air India flight: Govt
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MARCH 28
Air India and aviation authorities on Saturday termed as false
claims of a security scare onboard a recent Delhi-bound Air
India flight from London.
Nothing unusual was reported on the flight AI-112, which had
departed from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) on March 17
for Indira Gandhi International airport here, officials said,
adding, "there is no truth" in the reports which have appeared
today about a hijack scare on the plane.
A section of media has reported that there was an aborted
hijack attempt on the national carrier's London-Delhi flight.
They said the crew had become suspicious about a passenger,
who "feigned" illness, and the other passengers, who claimed to
be doctors and offered to help him on the flight, as they were all
Pakistani and insisted on meeting the captain.
"There is no truth in it," Civil Aviation Secretary V
Somasundaram told a news agency here when contacted.
The Air India too issued a statement saying all such claims
were totally false and there were no Pakistani nationals as
mentioned in these reports.
"A section of the press has reported of an incident where a
passenger had reported sick on board an international flight and
more than one passenger claiming to be doctors, came forward
to help in the medical emergency case and wanted to see the
pilot."
"According to the report these doctors and the sick passengers
were Pakistani national and were trying to get access to the
cockpit." "Air India would like to clarify that the above reports
are totally false. During last week one of the passenger required
medical assistance on aboard a London-Delhi flight and he was
assisted by a lady passenger who came forward to help him."
"The passenger who require medical assistance was a British
passport holder and the nurse who assisted him was an Indian
origin. There were no Pakistani nationals as mentioned in these
reports," it said. According to officials, who refused to divulge
the identity of the passenger who fell sick, the commander was
informed of the developments onboard, as per the norms.
"The commander after consultation with the crew decided not
to call for emergency landing or divert the flight since the
patient was responding to treatment," he said.
Terming the reports in a section of media, which suggested a
"hijack attempt", as a "pure figment of imagination," the
officials said, "nothing unusual was reported on the flight by the
operating staff".
Sonia meets rain Rail, road rokos, protests
affected farmers mark TN farmers' bandh
in Rae Bareli
Will focus on job creation:
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MARCH 28
7
"I intent to use my visit to
substantially raise the level of
German investments in India,
especially in the manufacturing
sector, skill development and
clean energy."
Modi said he will also hold
extensive talks with Merkel
both in Hannover and in Berlin.
"Germany is the economic
leader in European Union,
which is the largest economic
grouping in the world and our
largest economic partner. I
would seek Germany's support
in expanding our exports to
European Union and attracting
higher level investments from
there."
In Canada , Modi said he will
be hosted by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper.
"Prime Minister Harper
played a key role in
transforming India-Canada
relations. He had visited India
twice, the last visit being in
November 2012".
"Soon after Independence,
Canada was one of our most
important developing partners.
Today, it has the potential to reemerge as one of a key
economic partner."
"Canada is also the first
country to have completed the
requirements of Civil Nuclear
cooperation, having concluded
the Civil Nuclear Agreement in
2010 and the Administrative
Arrangement in November
2012.
farmers. She also visited Bandipur
and Shivpuri villages where the
farmers showed her damages to
wheat and mustard crops in the
fields to stress the magnitude of
their losses. The farmers also
drew her attention to the poor
state of tube-wells in the area
because of which they were facing
immense hardship and alleged that
the administration was neither
cooperating nor listening to their
grievances. Gandhi assured the
farmers that she would take up the
issue with officials concerned and
exert pressure on the government
so as to help them get proper
compensation. Later, she went to
Sarvoday Nagar locality and met
kin of Shivendra Singh who was
killed in the railway accident. She
also visited Utarpara village where
three members of a family
including noted 'Kathak' exponent
Shitla Prasad Misra were killed in
the train accident.
The day-long state-wide bandh
in Tamil Nadu, called by farmers
and backed by opposition parties
and trade unions, protesting
Karnataka's move to build a new
dam across Cauvery in Mekedatu
today evoked good response in the
delta region of the state but life
remained largely unaffected in
TN. The bandh, called by
Coordination Committee of All
Farmers Associations, saw shops
and commercial outlets downing
their shutters in delta region,
where farmers depend on
Cauvery's water for irrigation.
Public and private transport
services operated as usual in most
parts of the state while peaceful
protests and road and rail rokos
marked the bandh across the state,
police said. A majority of shops
and offices in the city remained
open. Establishments and retail
outlets, however, downed shutters
in Cauvery delta districts,
including
Thanjavur,
Tiruchirappalli,
Thiruvarur,
Nagapattinam and Cuddalore.
Shops were shut in Karur,
Erode, Dharmapuri, Nilgiris and
areas close to Karnataka like
Hosur and Sathyamangalam.
Eight state-run transport
corporations operated buses as
usual though employees
belonging to opposition trade
unions refrained from work in
several locations, officials said.
Public transport operations
between Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka remained largely
suspended as buses were halted at
state borders in Hosur and
Satyamangalam.
Taxi and auto operators
affiliated to the Left trade unions
did not ply their vehicles. Sand
and tipper lorry operators too did
not operate their vehicles.
Farmers' outfits and parties,
including the DMK and MDMK,
resorted to rail blockade at
locations including Egmore and
Central railway stations here and
US supports India’s aspiration to
become leading power: Richard Verma
AGENCIES
WASHINGTON, MARCH 28
America welcomes India's
constructive leadership on global
challenges and supports its
aspiration to become a leading
power, a top US diplomat said.
"As India's strategic plus
partner, we support India's
aspiration to become a leading
power," US Ambassador to India
Richard Verma said here in his
maiden public appearance in the
city after becoming the top
American diplomat in New
Delhi.
"We also welcome India's
constructive leadership on global
challenges. We support greater
Indian
participation
in
multilateral
institutions,
including its candidacy for
permanent membership on a
reformed UN Security Council
and its eventual membership in
all four multilateral export
control regimes. We support its
robust engagement with ASEAN
and leadership role in the Indian
Ocean Rim Association," he
said.
In his address at the Carnegie
Endowment for International
Peace, Verma said that India can
be a valuable partner in
multilateral institutions.
"We can work towards civil
nuclear cooperation today
because India implemented
IAEA safeguards for their civil
nuclear programme, including
the Additional Protocol.
"India also demonstrated its
leadership by upholding and
supporting the July 2014 UN
Convention on the Law of the
Sea delimitation of the maritime
boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
These are the actions of a
constructive and responsible
global actor that respects a rulesbased system," he noted.
Verma said the "strategic plus"
partnership is bigger, more
ambitious and it reflects the true
convergence of interests between
the two nations not only for
today, but for the years and
decades ahead.
"The
reinvigorated
relationship is built on a simple
premise:?if India and the US are
the closest of friends and
partners,
not
only will our two countries
benefit, but the world will be a
safer and more prosperous place.
That's the strategic bet we have
made on each other. It's a bet for
the future and one with huge
potential gains for our people
and their aspirations," he added.
Strategic plus, he argued, is
about an enhanced partnership, a
new way of operating and
thinking, a commitment to see
the larger objectives for global
peace and prosperity, even as
they may periodically get
bogged down in day to day
disputes.
"It is a way of describing and
visualising a relationship on the
ascent. Strategic plus does not
mean we will be free from
disputes or disagreements. But it
does mean that when we have
such conflicts or see situations
differently, perhaps rooted in our
historical perspectives or within
our own self-interests, that we
remain committed to our larger
goals and strategic interests," he
said. Strategic Plus Partnership,
he said, has six elements ?regional cooperation, including
the importance of coordinating
closely on Afghanistan, space
cooperation,
defense
relationship, economics and
trade; climate and clean energy;
and people to people ties.
At the same time, Verma said
the two countries need not
always agree. "We were
disappointed, for example, by
India's support this week for the
attempt to strip benefits from UN
staff
in
same-sex
relationships.?We will continue
to support the rights of LGBT
individuals in India, in
international institutions, and
around the world," he said.
Thanjavur while Viduthalai
Chiruthaigal Katchi cadres staged
similar protest in Coonoor in
Nilgiris
District
and
Tiruchirappalli. All the protesters
were detained, police said.
Similarly,
protest
demonstrations were held across
the state, including Thiruvarur,
where functionaries belonging to
farmers outfits and political
parties staged an agitation near the
bus stand. Protests were peaceful
and incident-free.
The bandh was called to protest
Karnataka's move to build a new
dam at Mekedatu across Cauvey
river. DMK, DMDK, PMK,
MDMK, Congress and left parties
are among those who are
supporting the bandh. Ruling
AIADMK neither supported the
shutdown nor opposed it.
The
state
Assembly
proceedings slated for today were
postponed to Monday in response
to views expressed by members of
the Business Advisory Committee
to Speaker P Dhanapal.
Visit to France,
Germany,
Canada aimed
at boosting
economy: PM
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MARCH 28
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi today said his upcoming
visit to France, Germany and
Canada was aimed at boosting
India's economy and creating
jobs.
"My France, Germany &
Canada visit is centred around
supporting India's economic
agenda & creating jobs for our
youth," he tweeted ahead of his
three-nation tour from April 9
to 16.
In the first leg of the tour, he
will visit France.
"Will discuss strengthening
India-France economic cooperation & visit some hightech industrial units outside
Paris," Modi said in another
tweet.
Talking about Germany, the
second country of his visit, the
Prime
Minister
said,
"Chancellor (Angela) Merkel &
I will jointly inaugurate
@Hannover_Messe (festival)
where India is a partner
country."
He will be visiting Canada in
the third and last leg of the
eight-day tour.
"Looking forward to
enhancing ties with Canada &
interacting with leaders,
captains of industry & diaspora
in Canada," he said.
The NORTHLINES
KASHMIR VALLEY
www.thenorthlines.com
JKGB opens financial
literacy centers
SSM College demands extra
KPs take out religious
fee from students
Ram Navmi:
procession
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28, CNS:
Ram Navmi was Sunday celebrated with religious fervor and
enthusiasm at Shri Ram Ji Mandir, Barbar Shah in Srinagar City
while devotees carried out a Janki procession from Kathleshwar
Mandir Habbakadal that passed through city centre Lal Chowk.
The Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir (HWSK) had organized
nine daylong celebrations at the Mandir.
"The welfare society also organized a special Puja Havan
(Maha Yagiya) as mark of the birthday of Lord Shri Ram Ji. The
nocturnal Puja started at 8:00 PM and continued till afternoon at
2:00 PM," HWSK spokesman told CNS.
Hundreds of devotees thronged the Mandir, where they
recited Bhajans and prayed for peace and prosperity.
"We proudly say that the Kashmiri Pandits who stayed in the
Valley in 1990 celebrate religious festivals with majority
community. We feel separations of our brothers, who are still
away from us," he said adding that they were overjoyed to see
the affection and positive responsive of Kashmiri Muslims
during their march towards city centre Lal Chowk.
JAMMU, MAR 28:
J&K Grameen Bank (JKGB)
today opened two financial
literacy centers first at HO
Narwal Jammu and second at
Baramulla District in Kashmir
Region with NABARD's
Support
and
financial
assistance.
Shankar A Pande, Chief
General Manager NABARD,
chief guest highlighted the role
of FLCs in the present day
scenario and spoke at length
about the benefits of financial
literacy drives.
Vagish Chander Sharma,
Chairman of the bank
welcomed the chief guest and
the participants and informed
that JKGB is among the few
Regional Rural Banks in the
country to have opened FLCs.
He also highlighted the role of
SHGs, JLGs and financial
literacy center and thanked
NABARD for its continuous
support.
S.S Batoa DGM FID
NABARD and S. Gurucharan
Singh General Manager JKGB
also spoke on the occasion.
VK Sharma, Sr. Manager
MFFI JKGB presented the vote
of thanks.
JK Bank commissions ATM in
Udhampur, convenes DLRC
SRINAGAR, MAR 28, CNS:
J&K Bank today pressed
one more ATM into public
service at Battal Ballian Road
in Udhampur taking the
number of such machines in
the district to 19.
Minister of State for
Finance and Information
Technology, Pawan Kumar
Gupta inaugurated the ATM in
presence of bank's VicePresident and Cluster Head
(Udhampur) S. Iqbal Singh,
scores of valuable customers,
traders and senior citizens of
the area. Pawan Kumar lauded
efforts of the bank for its
major contribution to financial
growth of the state.
Earlier,
Cluster
Head
informed the gathering that the
bank already has a network of
26 business units in the district
and is going to open 7 new
Business Units and 5 more
ATM's in the coming months.
The installation of ATM
opposite Women's College
will facilitate the local people
as well as commuters using
Battal Ballian Road, he said.
Head B.U Shakti Nagar
concluded the event with vote
of thanks.
Meanwhile, to review
achievements made under
Annual District Credit Plan
2014-15, the bank convened a
District
Level
Review
Committee meeting of district
Kupwara
under
the
Chairmanship
of
DDC
Kupwara Kumar Rajiv Ranjan.
Chief Planning Officer
Kupwara, Abdul Ahad Shah,
LDO RBI Dinesh Gupta,
DDM NABARD Rouf Ahmad
Zargar and bank's Cluster
Head Mohd Shafi Bhat were
also present in the meeting
besides District Coordinators
of financial institutions,
District
Heads
and
representatives of various
CONGRATULATION
ON RAMNAVMI
from Salman
Restaurant
government departments and
sponsoring agencies.
Chairman DLRC advised all
the banks and the sponsoring
agencies to work with with
coordination to achieve the set
developmental targets.
He also directed various
Agencies
to
conduct
awareness programmes at
village levels to generate
proper awareness among the
people and ensure speedy
credit dispensation. The
meeting concluded with a vote
of thanks from the LDM.
Jammu-Srinagar
national highway
closed for
vehicular moment
JAMMU, MAR 28: The
strategy
Jammu-Srinagar
national highway will remain
closed on Saturday for
vehicular traffic due to road
clearance and repair work,
authorities said.
A senior traffic police officer
has said here on Saturday,
"There will be no vehicular
traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar
highway today as the Border
Roads Organisation (BRO) is
undertaking landslide clearance
and repair work at some places
on the highway those had
suffered massive damage due
recent rainfall". The official
said on Monday one-way traffic
would be allowed to move on
the highway from Jammu to
Srinagar.
2 injured in road accidents
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28:
Two persons were injured in two separate road accidents in
Anantnag.
A Santro car bearing registration number JK03D-6731 driven
by Mohammad Iqbal Mir son of Abdul Ahad Mir resident of
Hardpora hit and injured a pedestrian Ghulam Hassan Lone
resident of Adigam at Zalangam, in the jurisdiction of Police
Station Kokernag. The injured was shifted to hospital for
treatment. Kokernag police has registered a case in this regard.
A Tata 407 vehicle bearing registration number JK13C-0413
hit and injured a pedestrian Ghulam Hassan Bhat resident of
Astanpora Panjpora, in the jurisdiction of Police Station
Bijbehara at National Highway Pujteng. The injured was shifted
to Sub District Hospital Bijbehara for treatment. Anantnag
police has registered a case in this regard.
Girl commits suicide in
Bandipora
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28:
A girl ended her life by consuming poisonous substance in
Bandipora.
A girl (name with held) resident of Palhallan consumed some
poisonous substance at Pushwari Naidkhai, jurisdiction of
Police Station Sumbal. She was shifted to PHC Sumbal for
treatment where from she was shifted to JVC Srinagar but
expired on way to hospital. The body of the deceased was
handed over to her relatives for last rites. Bandipora Police has
registered a case in this regard.
3 injured in fire incident
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28:
Three persons were injured in a fire incident in Kupwara.
Fire broke out in the residential house of Abdul Hamid Khan
resident of Gundi Sanah Hayhama, jurisdiction of Police Station
Kupwara, resulting in burn injuries to three inmates Abdul
Hamid Khan, Naseema Begum and Shamima.
All the injured were shifted to District Hospital Kupwara for
treatment, wherefrom they were shifted to SMHS hospital,
Srinagar for further treatment. Locals of the area brought fire
under control.
Protest in Press Enclave
SRINAGAR,
CNS:
MAR
28, education, the head of College
wants to fill her coffers.
The students displayed the
Accusing
College Kashmir University Circular
authorities of being harsh duly signed by Assistant
towards them, the students of Registrar Academic. The
SSM College of Engineering circular reads, "it is notified
and Technology Srinagar for information of all the
Saturday once again during a concerned that in absence of
protest march here said they the instructions of the
are forced to pay extra fee to government to the contrary, the
complete their semesters.
Vice Chancellor has authorized
The SSM B-Tech college that the tuition fee of Rs
students
from
Civil, 37,500 as prescribed for
Mechanical,
Electrical, B.Tech/B.E course be charged
Electronics and Computers from those students also as are
who assembled in media hub admitted to the same courses
said that there are clear-cut under lateral entry mode."
directions from Kashmir
"This is injustice towards
University to the said college us. Where from we can arrange
to collect Rs 37,800 per year such a heft amount. The
from each student but to their government and University
surprise and shock, "the must make the college
college has been demanding authorities accountable so that
Rs 75,000 per year from each they cannot loot us," protesting
student."
students told CNS and sought
The students alleged that the intervention of Higher
College authorities are looting Education Minister.
the students and in the name of
The students said that why
Advises farmers to avoid
spraying of orchards
SRINAGAR, MAR 28, CNS: quick succession are likely to
affect the hilly state and
The MeT department for adjoining areas from today
Jammu and Kashmir has evening until April 4.
issued a weather warning for
"Under the influence of
March 28 to April 4.
these
weather
systems,
In a statement to CNS, the moderate to heavy rain/snow
department
warned
of (on hilly areas) will occur at
landslides and flash floods in most places in Kashmir &
several parts of Kashmir Jammu region and at a few
valley, especially around the places in Ladakh region.
Srinagar-Jammu highway.
Isolated places in Jammu &
The MeT said that two Kashmir region may receive
Western Disturbances in heavy rain/snow and mainly
on March 29th and April 3rd,"
it said.
As such, the department
said, farmers should avoid
spraying of orchards and
drain out excess water from
the fields during these
periods.
"These weather conditions
has the potential to trigger
landslide and flash flood in
vulnerable areas of the state
like
Srinagar-Jammu
Highway," it added. (CNS)
Plantation drive launched
in Sopore
2 die, 5 injured in
road accidents
Search operation launched
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28:
Ganderbal Police has launched large scale search operation
for ASI Mohammad Shafi Parray resident of Wussan, Kangan
who went missing from his home on 26th evening.
A special investigation team (SIT) headed by a senior sub
Inspector has been constituted to search for the missing police
official. A large scale search operation by three teams of police
and a team from SDRF conducting search for the missing
person in the nearby forests, villages and river Sindh. Special
teams have also been deputed to adjoining villages to get the
information about the missing police official by all possible
means. Search operations will continue till the whereabouts of
the missing are not known.
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Girl commits
suicide
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28,
CNS:
A girl ended her life by
consuming
poisonous
substance in Bandipora.
A girl (name with held)
resident of Palhallan consumed
some poisonous substance at
Pushwari Naidkhai, jurisdiction
of Police Station Sumbal. She
was shifted to PHC Sumbal for
treatment where from she was
shifted to JVC Srinagar but
expired on way to hospital.
The body of the deceased
was handed over to her
relatives for last rites.
Bandipora Police has registered
a case in this regard. (CNS)
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28: Sopore police launched a
plantation drive in DPL Sopore today.
SP Sopore Sh. Abdul Qayoom today launched a plantation drive
in District Police Lines, Tulibal, Sopore. Over 100 saplings of
various trees were planted in the premises of DPL Tulibal Sopore.
The inaugural function was attended by SDPO Sopore, DySP DPL
Sopore, DySP Sopore, SHO police station Sopore and other
NGO’s of DPL Tulibal.
SP Sopore directed the official of District police to extend the
drive in all police establishments including police stations of the
district.
Seems AAP has decided to be more
like other parties: Omar Abdullah
SRINAGAR, MAR 28:
Former Jammu and Kashmir
chief minister Omar Abdullah
on Saturday said it seemed that
AAP "has decided to be more
like us" while many advised
traditional political parties to be
more like the Arvind Kejriwalled outfit. The National
Conference working president
was commenting on the
BUDGAM, MARCH 28:
LEARNING TEMPLE ENGLISH
MEDIUM HIGH SCHOOL
WARD 17, KATHUA
Contact: 01922-233344, 94191-50400
E-mail: [email protected]
infighting among AAP leaders,
which turned ugly at Saturday's
National Council meeting in
Delhi where four dissident
leaders including Yogendra
Yadav and Prashant Bhushan
were removed from its powerful
National Executive. "To think
that
commentators
were
actually advising older political
parties to be more like #AAP.
Red Cross reaches out to
displaced people of Nilnag
For more details:-
Parents/Wards are welcome with us at:
the SSM College is not
following the circular of
Kashmir University. "It is
irony that SSM College
authorities charge us on the
pattern of outside state college.
We fail to understand why Vice
Chairperson Dil Afroza Qazi
has taking her college at par
with outside colleges while the
fact is that SSM colleges lacks
infrastructure facilities in
toto," they siad adding that it is
affiliated
with
Kashmir
University and still it is
violating all norms of the
University.
Dean Colleges, Kashmir
University
Muhammad
Mustafa Shah that the matter
has been resolved during a
meeting yesterday. "We called
the SSM College authorities
and they agreed to revert their
decision. Now the students
have to pay only Rs 37,800
pa," he said and added that in
case of any complaint, any
student can contact him. (CNS)
MeT warns of flash floods, landslides
Police official missing:
M/S EXCEL PACKAGING PLOT NO 6
Estd.2003
8
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), J&K
distributed relief material to the 30 families
comprising of almost 200 people of Nilnag
village who were displaced due to landslides and
earthsliping in the area.
The distribution of relief material was carried
out by the officers and volunteers of the Red
Cross under the directions of General Secretary,
IRCS- JK, Roma Wani at Nagam town of
Budgam district where the displaced population
has been camped by the Civil Administration in a
concrete double storey private building. The
relief material included Blankets, Kerosene
Stoves, specially designed Hygiene kits, Kitchen
sets, bed covers and solar lamps.
The distribution was done by Red Cross
volunteers and team members in presence of
Panch and other senior citizens. Besides, other
senior citizens of the town were also present
during the distribution.
All the beneficiaries and the local citizens
welcomed and appreciated the much needed
humanitarian assistance to the affected
population by Red Cross, J&K.
SRINAGAR, MARCH 28:
Two person died while five
others were injured in different
road accidents in the valley.
A Motorcycle driven by
Shabir Ahmad Padder son of
Mohammad Rafiq hit and
injured a pedestrian Abdul
Gani Sofi resident of Naibasti,
Anantnag at K.P road,
Anantnag. In this accident, the
motorcyclist also got injured.
Both the injured were shifted to
District Hospital, Anantnag
where Abdul Gani succumbed
to his injures and motorcyclist
was shifted to SKIMS Soura,
Srinagar for further treatment.
Anantnag police has registered
a case in this regard.
Meanwhile, today morning a
Truck bearing registration
number JK13C/5411 hit a Ritz
Car
bearing
registration
number
JK15-0391
at
Lawaypora in the jurisdiction
of police station Parimpora
resulting in injuries to two
persons Hatam Lateef Zargar
and Momin Ahmad Pandith
residents of Umer Abad
boarding the car. Both the
injured were shifted to the
hospital where Hatam Lateef
succumbed to his injuries. A
case has been registered in this
regard.
A Tipper bearing registration
number driven by Zahoor
Ahmad Wani resident of Lower
Munda hit and injured a
pedestrian Ghulam Hassan
Bhat resident of Check-e-Imoh
at Kulgud in the jurisdiction of
Police Station Achabal. The
injured was shifted to District
Hospital
Anantnag
for
treatment. Anantnag police has
registered a case in this regard.
An Eco vehicle bearing
registration number JK05D7432 hit and injured a lady
Amena Begum resident of
Warpora at Warpora, in the
jurisdiction of Police Station
Sopore. The injured was shifted
to Sub District Hospital,
Sopore for treatment where
from she was shifted to SKIMS
Soura, Srinagar for further
treatment. Sopore police has
registered a case in this regard.
A Maruti car bearing
registration number JK01C0673 and a motorcycle bearing
registration number JK13C0673 collided at Wanbal in the
jurisdiction of Police Station
Nowgam, resulting in injuries
to the motorcyclist Zahid
Rasool Mir resident of
Kiramabad, Pulwama. The
injured was shifted to hospital
for treatment. Police has
registered a case in this regard.
9
The NORTHLINES
JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
www.thenorthlines.com
The NORTHLINES
BUSINESS
10
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JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
RBI moves to restrict bank
exposure to corporate loans
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MARCH 28
The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has proposed to lower the
ceiling on how much a bank can
lend to a single corporate group,
in a move to curb risks in the
banking sector at a time when
bad loans are on the rise.
Under the proposal, banks
would only be allowed to lend up
to 25 percent of their core capital,
down from the earlier ceiling of
up to 55 percent, starting Jan. 1,
2019.
The central bank also said late
on Friday it would consider
setting a minimum percentage of
capital
requirements
that
companies must raise from
corporate bond and commercial
paper markets, saying the
corporate sector had become too
dependent on banks for their
financial needs.
The RBI requested feedback
on its proposals by April 30. The
central bank regularly issues
discussion papers on proposals,
which are not final measures. The
RBI had said earlier that it
planned to review the lending cap
to companies to gradually align it
with a 25 percent ceiling set by
global standard-setter Basel
Committee
on
Banking
Supervision.
Analysts have said in the past
that this was more of a prudential
measure, as banks typically do
not breach current caps.
Infosys rolls out average salary increment
of 6.5%, dampening staff sentiment
AGENCIES
BENGALURU/NEW DELHI,
MARCH 28
Infosys announced its lowest
average wage increase in five
years late on Thursday, causing
widespread dampening of
sentiment among employees
and portending anaemic payraises for workers in India's
$146-billion
information
technology industry.
The average wage increase of
6.5% could set the tone for the
rest of the industry, but it may
not be such a bad thing after all
from the perspective of
investors keeping a wary eye on
margins. Shares of Infosys rose
by 2.6% on the National Stock
Exchange, outperforming the
benchmark Nifty index.
The news on salaries comes
at a time when CEO Vishal
Sikka
is
attempting
a
turnaround at India's secondlargest software exporter, and
an important part of that
assignment involves improving
morale at a firm that employs
1.65 lakh staff. While doing so,
Infosys is also putting a
Fed rate hike may Intel in talks to buy Altera, shares of firms surge
be warranted later
this year: Yellen
AGENCIES
SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 28
The US Federal Reserve is
giving "serious consideration" to
beginning to reduce its
accommodative monetary policy
and a rate hike may be warranted
later this year, although a
downturn in core inflation or
wage growth could force it to
hold off, the central bank`s chief
said on Friday.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said
that after the first rate increase a
further, gradual tightening in
monetary policy will likely be
warranted. If incoming data fails
to support the Fed`s forecast, the
path of policy will be adjusted,
she said.
"With continued improvement
in economic conditions, an
increase in the target range for
that rate may well be warranted
later this year," Yellen said in
prepared remarks at a monetary
policy conference at the Federal
Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Yellen added that the timing
and the path of a Fed hike would
depend on the incoming
economic data.
"The actual path of policy will
evolve as economic conditions
evolve, and policy tightening
could speed up, slow down,
pause, or even reverse course
depending on actual and
expected developments in real
activity and inflation," Yellen
said.
Intel Corp is in talks to buy
fellow chipmaker Altera Corp in
a deal likely to top $10 billion,
according to a source familiar
with the matter, making it Intel`s
biggest purchase ever and the
latest merger in the quickly
consolidating semiconductor
sector.
The acquisition of Altera,
which makes programmable
chips widely used in cellphone
towers, the military and other
industrial applications, would
underscore Intel Chief Executive
Officer
Brian
Krzanich`s
determination to expand into
new markets as the personal
computer industry loses steam.
Though dominant in the
market for chips used in PCs, the
world`s biggest chipmaker has
been slower than its rivals to
adjust in recent years to the
growing
popularity
of
smartphones.
Earlier this month, Intel
slashed nearly $1 billion from its
first-quarter revenue forecast to
$12.8 billion, plus or minus $300
million, as small businesses put
off upgrading their personal
computers.
Shares of Altera shot up about
28 percent after the talks were
first reported by the Wall Street
Journal, closing at $44.39 per
share on the Nasdaq. Intel shares
also gained on the news, rising
6.4 percent to $32. Shares of
Xilinx, Altera`s main rival,
closed up 6 percent.
"On the surface, Altera is one
of the only semiconductor
companies with better gross
margins than Intel, and with
about two-thirds of its revenue
from
telecom,
wireless,
military/aerospace, it definitely
fits the bill of diversifying
revenue beyond Intel`s legacy
computer markets," said Cowen
& Co analyst Timothy Arcuri, in
a note to clients.
Intel declined to comment on
the report. An Altera spokesman
also declined to comment.
Any deal for Altera, valued at
$10.4 billion at Thursday`s close
and more than $13 billion after
trading ended on Friday, would
easily surpass Intel`s previous
biggest deal, its $7.7 billion
purchase of security software
maker McAfee in 2011.
Altera`s value to Intel is its
programmable chips, which are
increasingly being used in data
centres, where they are
customized for specialised
functions such as providing web-
search results or updating social
networks.
Intel, based in Santa Clara,
California, has already been
manufacturing chips on behalf of
the smaller company since 2013,
a major change for Intel, which
traditionally has been unwilling
to share its cutting-edge
technology.
Demand for cheaper chips and
new products to power Internetconnected gadgets is driving
consolidation in the industry.
Features such as WiFi or
Bluetooth that once required
chips sold by separate companies
can now be squeezed onto single
pieces of silicon.
Deals in the chip sector have
been expected after NXP
Semiconductors` $12 billion
purchase
of
Freescale
Semiconductor was announced
earlier this month.
Worldwide semiconductor
M&A reached $31 billion last
year, the most since 2011,
Thomson Reuters data show. In
the 12 months through March 2,
472 chip M&A deals were made
worldwide, up from 383 in the
previous year.
premium on skills in areas such
as data analytics and cloud
computing and performance.
Infosys announced the hikes
through the company's internal
intranet portal, Sparsh, on
Thursday evening. For the
2015-16
financial
year,
employees on an average have
been handed out hikes of
around 6.5%, while top
performers in the company will
get
about
9%.
Onsite
employees will receive a 2%
hike.
"Compensation revisions are
being rolled out in 55 countries
across the globe, effective April
1 2015. The average increment
in India is 6.5% and can go up
to 9% for high performers. The
letters will be rolled out for
those located in India starting
March 27, 2015," Infosys said
on its company intranet Sparsh,
before the link was taken down.
The average increment outside
India is 2%. In the last financial
year, Infosys had given out
single-digit hikes in April but
that was preceded by an offcycle hike across the company
in December that was aimed at
boosting employee morale.
Infosys did not respond
immediately to an email
seeking comment.
"The hikes are very, very
disappointing," said an Infosys
employee based in Hyderabad,
reflecting
a
sentiment
widespread in the organisation.
"We were definitely expecting
better hikes than this since
Sikka took over, given that he
has set out to boost employee
morale and made it one of his
top priorities since he took over.
Don't be surprised if attrition
rates go up after this."
Anshuman Das, cofounder
and chief operating officer at
recruitment firm CareerNet
Consulting, was of the view
that the increases are low and
employees will definitely see it
as a dampener. "But from the
company's perspective, the
message is clear - those that are
high performers worth retaining
are definitely going to be given
higher hikes. But they won't go
out of their way to retain the
rest."
According to at least half a
dozen employees at Infosys
who spoke on condition of
anonymity, employees on an
average are unhappy with the
quantum of hikes that have
been rolled out across the
company and were expecting
better salary raises since Sikka
took over.
The mood about Infosys,
which has forecast revenue
growth of 7-9% for the year
which ends in March 2015, has
been generally on the upswing
among analysts and investors
since Sikka took over from
founder N R Narayana Murthy
last year. Right after Sikka took
over, he made staff retention
one of his top priorities and
promoted about 5000 Infosys
employees across the company.
Later last year, Infosys gifted
3000 of its top performers with
the latest model of Apple's
flagship iPhone.
That in part could be
responsible for high staff
expectations on the hikes, a
company executive said on
conditions of anonymity.
A senior executive at a rival
software company said that
about 3-4 years ago, doubledigit pay-raises by Infosys put
pressure on others to match the
Bengaluru company. "Things
have obviously changed a lot
since then -- this gives us some
breathing room to keep things
more realistic with hikes this
year."
Vedanta slaps claims notice on govt Chipmaker deal helps Wall Street rebound
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MARCH 28
London-listed Vedanta group
of NRI metals-to-mining tycoon
Anil Agarwal has slapped a
'notice of claims' against the
government
of
India,
challenging a Rs 20,497 crore
tax claim against its Indian
subsidiary, Cairn India, using
retrospective law.
This is the second claim being
field against the government
over the tax notice. On Tuesday,
Cairn Energy plc, which had in
2011 sold a majority stake in
Cairn India to Vedanta group for
$8.67
billion,
sought
compensation for the loss in
value it suffered due to an
"unfair and arbitrary" demand
for Rs 10,247 crore.
Vedanta filed the notice
against the income tax
department's move to impose Rs
20,497 crore in taxes and
penalties on Cairn India for
allegedly failing to deduct tax
on capital gains made by its
former parent, Cairn Energy plc,
while doing a business
reorganization seven years
back.Cairn Energy had in 200607 transferred its India assets,
including the Barmer oilfields
in Rajasthan, to a new company
-- Cairn India -- and listed it on
the stock exchanges.
Finance ministry sources said
this was legacy issue it had
inherited from the UPA regime,
which imposed the retrospective
law in 2012 to tax share
transfers, and no new notices
were being issued under this
law. Vedanta said it would take
"all necessary steps" to protect
its interest against the tax notice
on Cairn India. "Vedanta's board
of directors has instructed
counsel to file a notice of claim
against the GoI under the UKIndia bilateral investment treaty
(BIT) in order to protect its legal
position
and
shareholder
interests," Vedanta said in a
filing to the London Stock
Exchange. Cairn India too has
informed the bourses of the
filing by Vedanta.
"If enforced, such tax demand
would
have
serious
consequences for Cairn India
and
therefore
Vedanta's
investment in Cairn India," the
metal, mining and oil major
said. Vedanta said the claim
notice was the first step required
prior to commencement of
international
arbitration
pursuant to the BIT. "Vedanta
and Cairn India will continue to
take all necessary steps to
protect their interest and the
interest of their shareholders."
The government has also
made a parallel tax demand on
Cairn UK Holdings, for which
the Edinburgh-based company
has sought arbitration and is
seeking compensation under the
UK-India investment treaty.
The company has been
advised by leading international
counsel that the retrospective
tax legislation passed is a
violation
of
protections
accorded to investors under the
BIT and constitutes a serious
impairment of the treaty rights
of Vedanta, it said.
Cairn Energy of the UK also
recently sought compensation
from the Government of India
for the loss in value it suffered
due to an "unfair and arbitrary"
Rs 10,247 crore tax demand
raised using a retrospective tax
law.
Cairn argued that the
imposition of capital gains tax
on transfer of its India assets to
Cairn India was not only
contrary to relevant legal
standards but unjust because it
was an internal transaction and
no shares or assets were sold to
any third party to make any
capital gains.
AGENCIES
NEW YORK, MARCH 28
Wall Street on Friday closed
higher for the first time in a
week, lifted by rising tech
stocks, while oil prices slumped
5 percent on receding fears
about Middle East fighting
disrupting supplies.
U.S. Treasury debt prices
jumped on government data
indicating U.S. economic
growth was slowing and the
dollar was down, while gold had
its first losing day after a sevensession rally.
The major U.S. stock indexes
snapped a four-day losing streak
after the Wall Street Journal
reported chipmaker Intel Corp
is in talks to buy rival Altera
Corp . Chipmakers bounced, led
by a 28 percent gain in Altera.
"We`ve seen a lot of M&A
news recently and it’s helping
the market," said Stephen
Massocca, chief investment
officer at Wedbush Equity
Management LLC in San
Francisco. "There is definitely
an M&A cycle going on, so that
is a good thing."
For the week, however, the
Dow lost 2.3 percent, the S&P
500 declined 2.2 percent, and
the Nasdaq was off 2.7 percent.
Oil
investors`
worries
diminished about the conflict in
Yemen, which is close to a
major chokepoint for oil
tankers, and focused on new
supplies possibly coming to
market after any Iranian nuclear
deal. U.S. crude closed off 5
percent at $48.87 a barrel while
Brent ended down 4.7 percent at
$56.41. [O/R]
But oil prices still notched
their second straight weekly
gain, boosted by the dollar`s
recent weakness after a yearlong rally.
Late in the trading day
Federal Reserve Chair Janet
Yellen told an audience in San
Francisco an interest rate hike
may be warranted later this year
although a downturn in core
inflation or wage growth could
force Fed policymakers to hold
off.
The Dow Jones industrial
average <.DJI> closed up 34.43
points, or 0.19 percent, to
17,712.66, the S&P 500 <.SPX>
added 4.87 points, or 0.24
percent, to 2,061.02 and the
Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC>
gained 27.86 points, or 0.57
percent, to 4,891.22.
Treasury yields fell on U.S.
gross domestic product data
which signalled slow fourthquarter growth and reinforced
opinions the Fed would push
back the launch of its first rate
hikes since 2006.
Investors covering short
positions along with month-end
demand also helped push
Treasury yields lower.
Benchmark 10-year notes
were last up 15/32 in price to
yield 1.95 percent, down from
2.00 percent late on Thursday.
The dollar index <.DXY>,
which tracks the greenback
versus a basket of six
currencies, edged down 0.05
percent to 97.383. The yen was
last up 0.01 percent against the
dollar at 119.17 yen and the
euro was at $1.0899, up 0.15
percent.
Gold fell, ending a seven-day
rally on investor caution ahead
of Yellen`s comments. Spot
gold eased 0.5 percent to
$1,198.30 an ounce.
Yoox, Net-a-Porter in merger talks again: Sources Takata sued for $1.9 bn in
AGENCIES
PARIS, MARCH 28
Online fashion retailers Yoox
and Richemont`s Net-a-Porter
are trying to resuscitate merger
talks that took place more than a
year ago to better fight cutthroat competition, industry
sources told Reuters.
UK-based
Net-a-Porter,
estimated to be worth between
1.3 billion and 1.5 billion euros
($1.42 billion to $1.64 billion),
is one of Richemont`s fastest
growing companies but it has
yet to make a profit because of
the significant investments it
made in the business.
Italy`s Yoox, which is also
enjoying double-digit growth, is
profitable and carries a similar
valuation to Net-a-Porter with a
market capitalisation of 1.32
billion euros.
"It might work this time
because Net-a-Porter is in better
shape today than it was a year
and a half ago and therefore it is
more amenable to do deal today
than back then," one of the
sources said. Richemont and
Yoox declined to comment.
The sources said a combined
Yoox and Net-a-Porter would be
better suited to take on rising
parcel delivery costs as well as
intensifying competition from
online rivals and upmarket
department stores such as
Bergdorf Goodman and Saks
Fifth Avenue, which have
invested significantly in online
trading and content.
The talks come as Net-aPorter founder Natalie Massenet
is in the final stretch of
negotiating her five-year payout
deal with Richemont which
could reach more than 100
million euros based on the value
of her online company.
[ID:nL6N0TB4G9]
The sources with knowledge
of the situation said Richemont
could use the payout as an
incentive to get Massenet to
accept a deal with Yoox which
she was reluctant to approve
back in 2013.
"It is normal that these deals
happen at a time when earn-outs
are being negotiated," one of the
sources said.
There have also been reports
that Richemont could be
exploring an outright sale to
U.S. online retailer Amazon .
[ID:nL3N0WT3ED]
Richemont, which makes the
bulk of its profits from jewellers
such as Cartier and Van Cleef &
Arpels, acquired control of Neta-Porter in 2010 in a deal that
valued it at 392 million euros.
Net-a-Porter`s sales are
forecast to have reached more
than 700 million euros in the
fiscal year ending this month
while Yoox`s net revenue last
year reached 524.3 million
euros, up 17.7 percent at
constant exchange rates.
Sources said that Richemont,
which financially supports
several struggling fashion
brands such as Lancel and
Dunhill, would be keen to
offload Net-a-Porter as it is not
regarded as core to the group
and requires further investment.
They also said that Richemont
would consider a deal involving
Yoox shares rather than cash
since the group had more than 4
billion euros of cash sitting on
its balance sheet.
This would explain why
Richemont would not be
contemplating an initial public
offering of Net-a-Porter, the
sources added.
The sources said a merger
with Yoox would also solve a
management issue for Net-aPorter as it has been without a
chief executive since the
departure of Mark Sebba last
year. They said Yoox Chief
Executive Federico Marchetti,
an industry veteran, could take
the reins of the combined entity.
Canada over faulty airbags
AGENCIES
OTTAWA, MARCH 28
Canadian drivers have
launched three class action
lawsuits against embattled
Japanese auto supplier
Takata over defective
airbags linked to at least five
fatalities worldwide, lawyers
confirmed Friday.
The plaintiffs are seeking
a total of Can$2.4 billion
(US$1.9 billion) for personal
injuries, car repairs and an
expected loss in value of
their vehicles included in a
massive global safety recall,
Merchant Law Group LLP
lead partner Tony Merchant
told AFP.
In addition to Merchant,
two other Canadian law
firms have launched suits,
and a fourth is considering
doing so.
If they are certified by a
judge, they would likely be
lumped into a single class
action lawsuit in the coming
months.
About 20 million vehicles
produced by some of the
world`s biggest automakers
are being recalled due to the
risk their Takata-made
airbags could deploy
with excessive explosive
power, spraying potentially
fatal shrapnel into the
vehicle.
The problem has been
linked to at least five deaths
globally, with a sixth death
under investigation.
"They`re making products
that are like grenades going
off," Merchant told AFP.
"These things are supposed
to bring safety and instead
they`re a danger."
The Canadian litigation
involves 400,000 vehicles
equipped with Takata
airbags.
Potentially affected
automakers include Acura,
BMW, Chrysler,
Dodge/Ram, Ford, Honda,
Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda,
Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontiac,
Subaru and Toyota.
The NORTHLINES
11
SPORTS
www.thenorthlines.com
JAMMU | MONDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
In-form Kiwis hope to take flight in MCG against mighty Australia
AGENCIES
SYDNEY, MARCH 28
There`s been no place like
home for Australia and New
Zealand on their respective
paths to the World Cup final but
just one of the co-hosts will
enjoy that particular advantage
when they meet in Sunday`s
title decider.
After
48
one-day
internationals played out over
six weeks between teams from
five continents, the 11th version
of
cricket`s
showpiece
tournament comes down to a
trans-Tasman tussle at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Australia, playing in their
seventh final, have all the
cricketing pedigree and their
four previous titles make them
by far the most successful
nation in World Cup history.
New
Zealand
have
indisputably been the form team
of the tournament, their eightmatch unbeaten romp to their
first World Cup final including a
victory over the Australians in
Auckland.
Now, though, they have left
New Zealand for the first time
in the tournament to play their
first one-dayer at the MCG in
six years in front of a hostile
crowd of up to 100,000.
In their last 12 one-dayers at
the MCG going back five years,
Australia have won all but two
and they are unbeaten at the
ground in their last six
encounters.
Crucial to New Zealand`s
chances of lifting a first World
Cup is, perhaps, how their
potent new ball attack of Trent
Boult and Tim Southee handle
the change of conditions on the
drop-in wicket.
Consensus has it they will get
less of the swing they have used
to such devastating effect back
home and will have to adjust the
length of their deliveries.
Australia expect that to play
to their advantage the same way
New Zealand benefited in the
one-wicket victory at Eden Park
-- the only defeat for Michael
Clarke`s side.
"I think the fact that the
conditions are different will
certainly help us, and we`ve
played a fair bit of cricket
throughout the summer at the
MCG as well," Clarke said after
the semi-final win at the Sydney
Cricket Ground on Thursday.
"Conditions are a lot different
to what New Zealand have been
playing in in New Zealand. But
in saying that, I think we`re
going to have to play our best
cricket, there`s no doubt about
it." Southee, though, thinks New
Zealand`s bowlers have shown
to it. We've played on grounds all
over the world. If you look at
Abu Dhabi, the Emirates stadium
is a big ground as well.
Obviously, it doesn't have the
same amphitheatre that
obviously the MCG presents, but
I think boundary size it's bigger.
"But in this day and age with
bigger bats as well it still brings
into play the fours and sixes. So
we'll adapt accordingly. It's
something that we'll relish, I
think. We'll look forward to the
opportunity to play in such a big
stadium and a different kind of
cricket ground, and we'll give it a
good shake."
Questioned on his team's
chances, the dashing opener said,
"We'll play well tomorrow but it
doesn't guarantee us anything. It
doesn't mean that Australia won't
beat us, but I'm very confident
we'll turn up and display our
skills just as we have done
throughout the tournament."
Asked if the once little kid
from South Dunedin ever
believed that playing a World
Cup final was reality, the softspoken McCullum had an
embarrassing smile.
"We've had some tremendous
support back home. I think the
brand of cricket that we've played
has really touched a lot of people
and endeared ourselves to a lot of
people who follow this game,"
McCullum answered the query
with all humility.
The skipper said his team will
give its everything.
"We've got one big hurdle
tomorrow. We'll give it
everything we've possibly got.
Hopefully if we play well, we'll
be smiling at the end of the day
and be able to look back on a
fantastic
campaign
and
something, which would
hopefully invigorate the game
and New Zealand," he said.
they can prosper even when
they do not get much
movement.
"It hasn`t swung for us in
every game but we`ve found
ways to take wickets so I think
that`s the beauty of our attack,"
he told reporters in Melbourne
on Friday.
"I think we`ve got variety to it
and if it does swing, obviously
we do become a bit more
dangerous. But we have found
ways to take wickets when it`s
not swinging."
Australia have a potent
bowling attack of their own in
the rampant Mitchell Starc and
Mitchell Johnson, with the older
Johnson looking close to his
best with two key Indian
wickets in the semi-final.
It has largely been a World
Cup more notable for batting,
though, and both sides have
quality all their way through
their line-ups.
The fearless aggression
shown by New Zealand openers
Brendon McCullum and Martin
Guptill has been a sight to
behold for cricket lovers
everywhere.
And if there was any doubt
about New Zealand`s ability to
deal with pressure, they can
point to two tight victories won
with sixes -- first Kane
Williamson against Australia
and then Grant Elliott in the
semi-final against South Africa.
For Australia, Steve Smith has
been calmly racking up runs all
season and in the likes of David
Warner and Glenn Maxwell
they also have the power hitters
to inflate a batting total in a few
short overs.
The Teams (From):
Australia: Michael Clarke
(captain), David Warner, Aaron
Finch, Steve Smith, Glenn
Maxwell, Brad Haddin (wk),
Shane Watson, James Faulkner,
Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc,
Mitchell Johnson, Xavier
Doherty, Pat Cummins, George
Bailey, Mitchell Marsh
New Zealand: Brendon
McCullum (captain), Martin
Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross
Australia captain Michael Clarke
to quit ODIs after World Cup final
AGENCIES
MELBOURNE, MARCH 28
Australia captain Michael Clarke
will quit one-day international
cricket after Sunday`s World Cup
final against New Zealand, bringing
the curtain down on a 12-year career.
"I think it`s the right time for me
and the Australian cricket team," the
33-year-old Clarke told reporters.
"I made the decision 48 hours ago
when I asked myself if I thought I
would be playing in the next World
Cup and I said to myself that I don`t
think I will be." Clarke has played
244 one-day internationals, scoring
7,907 runs with a highest score of
130. He intends to prolong his Test
career having already played 108 matches with 8,432 runs and a highest score of 329 not out.
"I think it`s the right time for me. A lot of it is giving the next captain and the team the opportunity
to prepare and the selectors to work out what they feel is their best squad for the next World Cup,"
Clarke said. "I leave the one-day team in a better place than when I took over the captaincy and it
gives me my best chance to prolong my Test career. They are the three main reasons why I have
decided to walk away from one-day cricket."
Clarke said it was not for him to go into who should be Australia`s next one-day captain, although
Steve Smith has been mentioned after he took over for the last three Tests against India in Clarke`s
recent absence following hamstring surgery.
"Smithy has certainly matured as a player and a person," Clarke said.
"His form is because of his hard work and I am not surprised that he is scoring as many runs as
he is because he`s training extremely hard and he`s worked hard on his game.
"He`s learnt a lot about his game. I don`t think it would be fair for me to say who`s going to be
the next captain, that`s not my place, that`s up to the selectors.
"Smithy is certainly someone who will be spoken about."
Taylor, Corey Anderson, Grant Mills, Nathan McCullum, and Richard Kettleborough.
Elliott, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell McClenaghan, Tom Match Referee: Ranjan
Daniel Vettori, Trent Boult, Tim Latham.
Madugalle
Southee, Matt Henry, Kyle Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena Match Starts: 9 am (IST).
We give ourselves a 50-50 Victoria Azarenka crushes It’s a team for the
Jelena Jankovic at Miami future, says MS Dhoni
chance: McCullum
AGENCIES
MELBOURNE, MARCH 28
New Zealand captain Brendon
McCullum on Saturday gave his
gritty side a 50-50 chance in the
World Cup summit clash against
Australia tomorrow and said the
Black Caps will relish the big
occasion and the big stadium that
awaits them here.
"...it's been the greatest time of
our lives. It's been an amazing
trip. We dreamt right from the
start and to now give ourselves a
50-50 chance in the final is an
amazing
achievement,"
McCullum said in a pre-match
press conference.
Unbeaten in the tournament so
far, New Zealand would be
playing outside home for the first
time in the mega-event's current
edition.
There has been a lot of talk
about the size of the Melbourne
Cricket Ground, which might
trouble the Black Caps, who have
played all their matches in
comparatively smaller New
Zealand ground.
Asked if "size does matter" at
all, the skipper said, "Yeah,
obviously it's got a different look
Malaysian GP set for
three-year extension
Agencies
Sepang, Mar 28
Malaysia is set to sign a threeyear contract extension for its
Formula One grand prix, a top
official said on Saturday, in a
welcome piece of positive news
for
the
sport.Sepang
International Circuit chairman
Mokhzani Tun Mahathir said he
hoped to put pen to paper in the
next couple of weeks,
continuing a race which first ran
in 1999.
This month, the German
Grand Prix was removed from
the 2015 calendar and the
Korean and Indian races both
disappeared last season.
"We have made an
understanding
to
our
stakeholders that we extend by
three years and that doesn`t
seem to be an issue," Mokhzani
said at the Sepang circuit.
"It`s just to make sure the
legal language on those
documents are correct -- that`s
where we`re at. Hopefully it will
be resolved in the next couple of
weeks." F1 supremo Bernie
Ecclestone on Friday warned the
Italian Grand Prix could also fall
by the wayside and said there
was no guarantee that Germany
would return next year.
High costs and falling ticket
sales have been blamed for the
slump, and teams are also
feeling the pinch with both
Caterham and Marussia going
bust last year.
In an indication of the
problems, only 15 cars started
this month`s Australian Grand
Prix, the lowest number for a
season-opener since 1963.
Attendances at Sepang have
also been dropping but
Mokhzani said the race helped
raise Malaysia`s profile and lure
foreign tourists.
"Malaysia, and some of the
other newer F1 hosts, look at it
from a lot more angles
compared to where the
traditional races had been," he
said. "We have always looked at
it as a platform to promote
Malaysia, and attract foreign
tourists into Malaysia.
"So there`s still a reason for
the government to say yes to
hosting Formula One, as long as
all the prerequisites are there
and the internal investment is
still justifiable."
AGENCIES
MELBOURNE, MARCH 28
AGENCIES
KEY BISCAYNE, MAR 28
Two times Miami Open winner
Victoria Azarenka crushed
Serbia`s Jelena Jankovic 6-1 61 in the second round at Key
Biscayne on Friday.
The clash of two former
world number ones was
expected to be a close battle but
Azarenka, winner in Miami in
2009 and 2011, wrapped up the
first set in just 28 minutes.
Although Jankovic, runnerup at Indian Wells last week, put
up some late resistance and
forced a 12-deuce game as
Azarenka served for the match,
the Belarusian`s win was never
in doubt. "The score looks easy
but it is never easy to maintain
this kind of focus and quality
against a player like Jelena,"
said Azarenka.
Third seed Simona Halep,
who beat Jankovic in the Indian
Wells final, suffered a scare in
the second set against Nicole
Vaidisova but recovered to
progress to the third round.
Halep, whose win in the BNP
Paribas Open was her third title
of the year so far, triumphed 6-4
2-6 6-1 against the Czech.
Vaidisova was playing in her
first tournament in four years
after she said she was retiring
from the sport. Halep will next
face Camila Giorgi next after
the Italian beat Belgian Alison
Van Uytvanck 6-3 6-2.
It takes time to build teams
for World Cups. Bob Simpson
spent a few years with the
Australian team before it began
emerging as the new global
superpower in the game two
decades ago. Imran Khan and
Arjuna Ranatunga nurtured
sides with great care keeping
the game's biggest tournament
in mind. MS Dhoni got to lead
an Indian team that had been a
dominant force in the cricket
world for 10 years. None of
these champion teams got to
beat the rest of the world
overnight.
The Indian team that saw its
World Cup campaign come to
an end in Sydney on Thursday
was a side in the making for
three years and Dhoni says that
regardless of him being around
or not, this is the side that'll
continue to stay together for
the 2019 edition.
After the semifinal loss,
Dhoni hinted at playing the
2016 World Twenty20 but it's
unlikely if the skipper - 33
years of age now - will stick
around another four years. He
nevertheless is convinced that
the current lot will evolve in
due time. "This is a very young
team that has played together
for a few years now. There are
some very talented players who
have done well consistently
and they're still learning," the
skipper said.
The average age of this
Indian team is 27 and Dhoni is
the oldest at 33. The likes of
Suresh Raina and Shikhar
Dhawan, will be around 32
when it's time to tour England.
The loss to Australia in the
semifinal notwithstanding,
Dhoni feels this bunch will
improve as time flies by.
"This batting order that you
have seen will remain in the
coming years. So whatever
they have learnt, it will help
them in the coming tours
outside the sub-continent," he
says. At present, the skipper's
big and only concern is the
bowling unit and how it'll
sustain the pressures of injuries
and fatigue in the years to
come. He says it's time the
BCCI and the state associations
back in India start figuring out
a long term plan for India's
pace bowlers to avoid
burnouts.
Saina, Srikanth win; Prannoy, Guru lose in India Open
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MARCH 28
Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth
reached their maiden semifinals at
the India Open Super Series
badminton tournament but giantkiller H S Prannoy and RMV
Gurusaidutt failed to capitalise on
early advantages and went down
fighting in the quarterfinals here
on Friday. Five-time world
champion Lin Dan also made a
stunning exit from the tournament
as world number 10 Tommy
Sugiarto beat him 21-17 15-21 2117 in the men's singles at the Siri
Fort Sports Complex here.
Olympic bronze medallist,
Saina sailed past Indonesia's Hana
Ramadhini 21-15 21-12 in the
women's singles competition to
stay just one win away from
becoming the first Indian woman
to achieve the world number one
ranking. Reigning world and All
England champion, Carolina
Marin of Spain also eked out a 2115, 17-21, 21-15 win over sixth
seed Japanese Nozomi Okuhara to
set up a clash with former world
champion Ratchanok Intanon of
Thailand, seeded third. In men's
singles, world number four
Srikanth outwitted Japan's
Takuma Ueda 21-15 23-25 21-18
in a hard-fought battle that lasted
an hour an 19 minutes. Prannoy,
who had sent the top seed and
world number two Jan Jorgensen
of Denmark packing, also
conjured up hopes of another
upset before falling short against
world number six Viktor Axelsen
21-16
9-21
18-21.
Commonwealth Games bronze
medallist, Guru had started the
proceedings for India and despite
playing a compact game initially,
he too ran out of ideas in the end
to go down 21-15 18-21 13-21 to
China's Xue Song in a match that
lasted over an hour. The reigning
China Super Series premier
champions, Saina and Srikanth,
will next take on Japan's Yui
Hashimoto and China's Xue Song
respectively in the semifinals
tomorrow. Saina led 10-6 early on
but Hana blasted off four straight
points to catch up with the Indian.
However, Saina slowly increased
the gap with her rival to eventually
win the first game.
The Indian dished out a better
game in the second, as she entered
the break with a healthy 11-4 lead
and capitalised on the advantage
as her opponent crumbled.
After beating Hana, Saina said:
"I played her first time. She is
tricky player. Indonesians have
good wrist and they make you
work hard. All of them are very
talented, women's singles is all
about keep running." Asked about
her inching towrds world number
one spot, Saina said: "It is not
about the number one or number
two spot right now." "I am
concentrating on one match at a
time and on winning them," added
the world number two. Up against
a familiar foe, Takuma, whom he
had beaten at Swiss Open earlier
this month, Srikanth dished out
another superb performance. The
lad from Guntur registered five
straight games after enjoying a
narrow 7-5 lead to zoom ahead.
Takuma narrowed down the lead
to 11-14 but Srikanth held his fort.
The second game was a
rollercoaster ride as Srikanth
fought back from 5-12 down to
draw parity at 20-all but the
Japanese still managed to eke out
a win to bounce back in the
contest. In the decider, Srikanth
broke off from 5-5 to lead 15-9.
Takuma, however, managed to
claw his back to 18-19 but the
Indian had the last laugh.
"I am happy that I could play
such a long match. I had beaten
him in the quarterfinals of Swiss
Open. I should have finished the
match in the second game itself as
I had few match points but I
couldn't. I feel I have a realistic
chance to win this tournament,"
Srikanth said later. After plotting
an early exit for Jorgensen,
Prannoy was up against yet
another Dane and he used his
backhand and powerful smashes
to dominate the first game but
Viktor came back strongly in the
second and didn't allow the Indian
to play his game.Prannoy faltered
with his down-the-line smashes
which went wide and long as the
Dane roared into the contest.
In the decider, Prannoy
committed too many unforced
errors as Viktor went into the 11-6
lead with a smash. The Dane
falterd in the nets and also had a
service fault which allowed the
Indian to gather a few points.
However, the Dane still managed
a five-point lead reaching 19-14.
Prannoy tried his bit and saved a
few points but it was too late as
Viktor sealed the issue with a
smash. "I was making lot of
mistakes on the sideways,
smashes were not accurate and I
was not patient on the court. I am
not happy with my performance
today," Prannoy said later. Guru
started on a positive note and led
11-8 in the opener. He troubled
Song with his sharp angled strokes
and dominated the rallies before
earning the bragging rights when
the Chinese hit he shuttle out.
In the second game too, Guru
lead 11-9 at the break but Song
changed his tactics after the
interval to open up a slender 14-12
lead. The duo fought hard to move
to 14-14 and 17-17 beore the
Chinese changed gears and
bounced back when Guru found
the net. In the decider, Guru once
again led 7-3 but Song ensured
that he went into the interval with
a narrow 11-10 lead. The Chinese
started dominating the rallies and
rode on Guru's unforced errors to
increase the gap and soon earned
seven match points when the
Indian hit wide. Song then closed
the door on the Indian at the next
chance. "I was dominating
initially first game but then Song
didnt me a chance to drible and he
started attacking. I took too long to
switch to realise, and could not
switch to plan B. But i have a lot
of positives to take from this
game," Guru said.
Results:
Women's singles: Ratchanok
Intanon [3](THA) bt Yao
Xue(CHN) 21-14 21-8; Saina
Nehwal [1] (IND) bt Hana
Ramadhini (INA), 21-15 21-12;
Carolina Marin [2] (ESP) bt
Nozomi Okuhara [6] (JPN) 21-15,
17-21, 21-15.
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen
[6](DEN)bt HS Prannoy (IND)
16-21 21-9 21-18; Tommy
Sugiarto [8] (INA) bt Lin Dan [3]
(CHN) 21-17 15-21 21-17; Xue
Song (CHN) bt RMV Gurusaidutt
(IND) 15-21 21-18 21-13.
12 JAMMU | SUNDAY | MARCH 29 | 2015
Visit to France, Germany, Canada
aimed at boosting economy: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
today said his upcoming visit to
France, Germany and Canada was
aimed at boosting India’s
economy and creating jobs.
“My France, Germany &
Canada visit is centred around
supporting India’s economic
agenda & creating jobs for our
youth,” he tweeted ahead of his
three-nation tour from April 9 to
16.
In the first leg of the tour, he
will visit France.
“Will discuss strengthening
India-France economic co-
operation & visit some high-tech
industrial units outside Paris,”
Modi said in another tweet.
Talking about Germany, the
second country of his visit, the
Prime Minister said, “Chancellor
(Angela) Merkel & I will jointly
(festival) where India is a partner
country.”
He will be visiting Canada in
the third and last leg of the eightday tour.
“Looking forward to enhancing
ties with Canada & interacting
with leaders, captains of industry
& diaspora in Canada,” he said.
Modi also re-tweeted a tweet of
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper which said, “Happy to
announce Prime Minister of India,
@NarendraModi will be visiting
Canada this spring.”
Thanking Harper for this, Modi
wrote, “…Will be wonderful to
meet you in Canada.”
Budget session of Rajya Sabha
cut short for Land Ordinance
Agencies
New Delhi, Mar 28 :
The Budget session of Rajya
Sabha was cut short today with
the House being prorogued to
pave the way for re-promulgation
of the controversial Land
Acquisition Ordinance.
A statement from the Rajya
Sabha Secretariat said President
Pranab Mukherjee has prorogued
the 234th session of the Rajya
Sabha.
The Upper House of
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s ‘Art of
Living’ gets IS threat letters
Agencies
inaugurate @Hannover_Messe Kuala lampur, Mar 28 :
Agencies
New Delhi, Mar 28 :
Parliament was in the midst of
Budget session and it went into
recess from March 20 to meet
again on April 20. The Budget
session was to end on May 8 but
with Rajya Sabha being
prorogued, the session comes to
an end for it.
This paves way for the Union
Cabinet to recommend to the
President re-issuance of the Land
Ordinance which is otherwise
lapsing on April 5.
The bill on Land Acquisition,
which provides for amending the
Act of 2013, was passed by Lok
Sabha during the first half of
Budget session but it got stuck due
to opposition in Rajya Sabha
where the ruling NDA is woefully
short of numbers.
Under the Constitution, at least
one of the Houses has to be
prorogued to enable the
Government to issue an Ordinance. The Cabinet Committee on
Parliamentary Affairs had
yesterday decided to recommend
prorogation of the Upper House
with immediate effect.
The NORTHLINES
www.thenorthlines.com
The Malaysian chapter of Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living has
received threatening letters from
the Islamic State terror group, a
close aide of the spiritual leader
claimed today.
“Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is touring
some countries in the far east and
he landed in Malaysia yesterday
and few days ago while he was in
Cambodia, we received threat
letters from ISIS, one was
received by the hotel manager, one
was received by the director of Art
of Living and one by senior
Funny Photo
faculty and the content of the letter
is very threatening saying if you
go ahead with the programme
there will be consequences,” said
Nakul, an aide of Ravi Shankar.
“The authorities have immediately notified the local authorities.
We also contacted the Indian
Embassy and we also conducted
an investigation to find the source
of the letter. We are going ahead,”
he said. The Art of Living had a
yoga programme in the morning
which was attended by 10,000
people and there is a programme
underway in Penang attended by
70,000 people which Sri Sri will
be attending, he added.
Jurists must ensure justice
15 militants killed in Pak military operation
to all in terror cases: Prez Agencies
NEW DELHI: Jurists must play
an important role to ensure justice
to the victims of terror and to the
persons implicated in such crimes,
President Pranab Mukherjee has
said. “Jurists must play an
important role in ensuring that the
wheels of justice move faster —
both to give justice to the victims
of terrorism and to persons
wrongly accused of crimes they
may not have committed,” the
President said. In his message,
Mukherjee greeted the organisers
and the participants at the
‘International Conference of
Jurists and Writers on
International Terrorism’ which is
to be held tomorrow in Mumbai.
“Terrorism has no religion,
philosophy or ideology. There
should be zero tolerance towards
terrorism. All countries of the
world must get together and chalk
out a joint, effective strategy to
defeat terrorists. “Deploying stateof-art
information
and
communication technologies,
harnessing better intelligence and
drawing greater cooperation from
the people could be key measures
in this regard,” he said.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) H L
Dattu also extended his greetings
to the participants and said the
topic is of “utmost importance in
the contemporary world which
transcends national boundaries”.
Islamabad, Mar 28 :
At least 15 suspected militants were
killed today in a ground battle with
Pakistani soldiers in the country’s
volatile tribal region near the
Afghan border as part of a major
military offensive currently
underway. “15 terrorists were killed
in ground action by security forces
early morning today,” army said in
a statement. The offensive was part
of Khyber Two operation which
has been going on in the Khyber
district. A group of about 30-35
terrorists was observed near a post
in Mastak Sub Sector in Tirrah.
“Troops on post valiantly
engaged terrorists and surrounded
them. Intense gun battle took place.
Three soldiers were also injured in
action,” it said.
According to the statement, 10
bodies of Taliban rebels along with
their weapons and ammunition are
in custody of security forces.
Pakistan forces are involved in
intensive fight with militants in the
Tirah Valley of Khyber.
So far, more than 100 militants
have been killed in over two weeks
of fighting.
Environmental laws being reviewed to Indigenously built dredger ready
give more teeth: Prakash Javadekar to be inducted in Indian Navy
Hyderabad: The Centre is reviewing
all environmental laws with an aim to
give them more teeth and hand severe
punishment in cases of encroachment
and violation, Union Environment
Minister Prakash Javadekar said on
Saturday. Speaking to media here,
Javadekar said two Forest Acts, and one
each in environment protection, air,
water and bio-diversity govern the
whole environmental regime.
"We are reviewing all these laws to make people
participatory in it... Make them more meaningful and
give more teeth. Instances of violations and
encroachments will be severely
punished," he said.
The minister said the government
will come out with draft laws after
completing the review work, he said.
Earlier, interacting with joggers at
KBR Park here, Javadekar said India
is currently faced with the problem
of shrinking space and limited
resources. "We (India) are just 2.5
per cent of the world's land mass, and we are 17 per
cent of the (global) human population and 70 per cent
of cattle population. It's a huge pressure on land
resources," he added.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Agencies
Chennai, Mar 28
Tebma Shipyards on Saturday
said its indigenously built dredger
is ready to be inducted in the
Indian Navy. According to the
company, this is the Indian Navy's
'first Dredger'. "The dredger sailed
out on March 25, 2015, after
successfully completing all the
trials in ship builders yard to
Mumbai for its formal induction
to the Naval fleet under Western
Curiosity landing zone scars on Mars healing, but inconsistently
It has been observed that the
dark blast zone on Mars that was
created by the impact of landing of
NASA’s Curiosity rover has faded
– but not consistently.
The High Resolution Imaging
Science Experiment (HiRISE)
camera on NASA’s Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
has observed the scars multiple
times over past two years.
According to a press release from
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,
some of the scars faded while
others slowed and some even
darkened again. HiRISE is one of
six instruments used by NASA’s
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to
study Mars since 2006.
Dark blast zones are created
Offbeat
when Spacecraft like Curiosity
land, blowing away bright dust,
according to HiRISE team
scientist Ingrid Daubar. She says
“We expected to see them fade as
the wind moved the dust around
during the months and years after
landing, but we’ve been surprised
to see that the rate of change
doesn’t appear to be consistent.”
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity’s
landing on Gale Crater in August
2012 was in truly dramatic
fashion. During the final stages of
its descent, the rover’s sky crane
(rocket-powered
landing
Crocodile takes on three
lions at once in Kenya
Kenya : A man shooting wildlife footage at
Kenya's Samburu National Park captured a
brawl between three lions and a crocodile that
wandered too close to their meal.
The footage, uploaded to the Kruger
Sightings YouTube channel, shows the
curious croc being confronted by a lion after
wandering too close to a hippo carcass
claimed by the big cat.
The lion and crocodile scuffle for a time
before two other lions join in the fracas.
The crocodile manages to keep the lions
from being able to get behind it and is
eventually able to fight the felines to a
stalemate and sulk off without any serious
injury.
"The crocodile's focus is to keep facing the
lions. Should the crocodile turn his back on
the pride, they would be all over him and it
would be game-over. In the end you can see
the croc slowly retreats, whilst still
maintaining a watchful eye on the lions.
Facing them means that not only can he keep
an eye on them, but can also attack if the need
arises," wildlife expert Johan van Zyl told the
Latest Sightings blog.
Patrick Moore says Roundup
is safe but refuses to drink it
PARIS
Lobbyist Patrick Moore told a French TV
interviewer Monsanto's Roundup weed killer
is safe to drink -- but he subsequently
declined an offered glass. Moore told an
interviewer for French station Canal+ that
glysophate, the active ingredient in Roundup,
is not responsible for rising cancer rates in
Argentina. The World Health Organization's
International Agency for Research on Cancer
announced last week the results of a study
that concluded the chemical is "probably
carcinogenic to humans."
Moore countered the chemical is not
harmful, even when directly ingested. "You
can drink a whole quart of it and it won't hurt
you," he said. Moore balked, however, when
the interviewer offered him a glass of
Roundup and asked if he would drink it.
"I'm not stupid," Moore said, before again
saying the product is "not dangerous to
humans." Moore said people who "try to
commit suicide" by drinking the herbicide
"fail regularly." He then ended the interview.
The IARC news release said glyphosate
"currently has the highest global production
volume of all herbicides."
"The agricultural use of glyphosate has
increased sharply since the development of
crops that have been genetically modified to
make them resistant to glyphosate," the
release said.
platform), lit up and blasted the
dusty Martian surface, etching
darkened scars there before
detaching from the rover and
flying away. These follow-up
observations will prove to be of
help for NASA’s next Mars
mission, InSight, slated for launch
in 2016. The InSight lander will
be equipped with a probe which it
will deploy and send a few meters
into the Martian ground. The
probe will measure the heat in the
planet’s crust.
So scientists feel it is important
to understand such darkening of
the surface. Darker surface will
understandably absorb more light.
Brighter surface indicates that
more light is reflected, which
again means that less heating
Indonesian police get
residents high with
marijuana bonfire
naval command," a Tebma
Shipyards statement said.
The vessel is designed
indigenously and built at Tebma's
Malpe facility in Karnataka and it
is a self-propelled grab-hopper
dredger with capacity to hold 300
cubic metres of dredged material,
it said. It has been designed using
90 per cent of local materials "as a
part of Make in India efforts," it
said. The company had earlier
delivered various tugs and special
purposes barges to Indian Navy
and the dredger was its 22nd
vessel delivered to the latter, it
added.
Congratulation on Ramnavmi
Rajiv Jasrotia
MLA Kathua
Anurag Thakur
MP, Himachal Pradesh
WEST JAKARTA, INDONESIA :
Police in Indonesia set fire to more than
3 tons of marijuana, inadvertently
causing several witnesses and nearby
residents to get high from the smoke.
Palmerah police set fire to 3.6 tons of
marijuana in a field outside their West
Jakarta office March 11, and several
reporters and other witnesses reported
dizziness and other effects associated
with marijuana consumption.
Some residents living nearby the
station reported the smoke wafted into
their windows and caused intoxicating
effects.
The police officers tending the fire
wore protective masks.
A representative from Indonesia's
National Narcotics Agency said the
smoke inhalation would not lead to any
long-term health problems.
Police also disposed of thousands of
ecstasy pills and a large amount of
crystal meth -- but they chose to blend
those drugs rather than throw them on
the fire.
Narinder Sharma
Gen.Secy. BJYM