Zabarwan Times E-paper English 27 July

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SAturDAY

July 27 | 2013 | 17 ramzan 1434 AH | PAGES 12 |

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VOL NO: 3 | ISSuE NO: 182 | rS: 2/- (AIr SurCHArGE FOr JAMMu /DELHI/LEH 50 PAISA)

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Largely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&K

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http://www.zabarwantimes.com

1 die, 5 Injured in road mishaps Srinagar July 26, 2013: One person died while five other were injured in road traffic accidents across the valley.

Mohammad Ashraf Bhat son of Ghulam Mohammad resident of Kralpora, Budgam was severely injured when he had taken his head out from the window of a swift car bearing registration number JK01N/7077 while vomiting.

He was hit by an unknown load carrier at Kralpora, in the jurisdiction of police station Chadoora. He was shifted to hospital for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries. A case has been registered in this regard.

A Sumo bearing registration number JK01K/9969 hit and injured a cyclist Shabir Ahmad Zadoo son of Ghulam Mohudin resident of Bhat Mohalla Nowgam, Sumbal at Bus Stand Nowgam, in the jurisdiction of police station Sumbal, Bandipora. The injured was shifted to hospital for treatment. Sumbal Police has registered a case in this regard.

In another accident, an unknown vehicle hit and injured a pedestrian, Rehman Teeli son-in-law of Abdul Rehman Teeli resident of Waskura, Ganderbal at Panzinarah Sumbal, in the jurisdiction of police station Sumbal, Bandipora.

The injured was shifted to JVC Srinagar for treatment. Sumbal Police has registered a case in this regard.

In another accident, a Tata Sumo bearing registration See Mishaps on Pg. 11

Girl ends her life in Kulgam Srinagar July 26, 2013: A 19 years old girl (name withheld) resident of Lower Munda consumed some poisonous substance at her home. She was rushed to the District hospital, Anantnag where she breathed her last. Qazigund Police after conducting all legal formalities handed over the body of deceased girl to her relatives.

Inquest proceedings under section 174 CrPC has been initiated in this regard.

SKIMS employee invents machine Srinagar, July 26: In a significant achievement an employee of Bio Engineering Wing of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura has invented a machine which can be used for measuring blood pressure, sugar level in human body at a low cost. It can also detect the heart beat of baby in womb of a mother.

Director SKIMS, Dr Showkat Ali Zargar has congratulated the employee Sagir Ahmad Wani and said that such inventions can boost the research field of SKIMS. The Director has given a cash reward of Rs 20 thousand to Wani for his achievement.

According to KNS Wani invented the machine under the supervision of Dr Zargar, Dean Medical Faculty Dr Kursheed Iqbal, Hod CVT, Dr G N Lone and Dr Sunawallah Kuchay Hod Radiation Oncology SMHS hospital.

See Machine on Pg. 11

Market checkings at Srinagar, Anantnag Srinagar, July 26: The market checking squad headed by Assistant Director, Consumer Affair and Public Distribution conducted market checking at Natipora, Nowgam, Haft Chinar, Sanat Nagar, Goni Khan, Mahraj Bazar, Court Road, Lasjan etc. of Srinagar city here today. During the market checking, 48 business establishments were inspected and an amount of Rs. 12,800/- was recovered as fine from 19 erring shopkeepers for violation of Essential Commodities Act. Meanwhile, the market checking team comprising of See Checkings on Pg. 11

India,China trying to dev mechanism to prevent face-offs: Antony

New Delhi, July 26:

India and China are trying to develop effective mechanisms to prevent the embarrassing faceoffs between their troops along the disputed points of the Line of Actual Control, Defence Minister A K Antony said.

Terming the 21-day stand-off between the two sides in Depsang valley in Daulat Beg Oldi area as an "unusual" incident, the Defence Minister said the two countries will meet soon in Beijing to discuss issues and try to find a solution for such "unpleasant incidents".

"Till the final settlement of the border issue, we are trying to find out more effective mechanisms to prevent occasional incidents. There are many points in the LAC that are disputed and they are patrolled by both sides.

So, sometimes it leads to some face-off," he told reporters on the 14th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas in New Delhi on Friday.

The Minister was asked to comment on the rising incursions by the Chinese troops into the Indian territory along the LAC in Ladakh and Northeastern sectors.

Antony said, "There are disput-

ed points where both sides are going there which sometimes causes some embarrassing situations."

He said after the Depsang incident in April, India and China had "free and frank" talks and "we are trying to have more border personnel meeting places and have more effective mechanisms to prevent such unpleasant incidents."

"On the one side, both sides are trying to find a long term solution to the long pending border dispute. Till that time, our aim is to maintain peace and tranquillity at the border," Antony said.

On the recent third meeting of the Joint Working Group between the two sides, the Minister said free and frank discussions were held between both sides.

"We are going to have another round of this meeting in Beijing soon on this issue. So, I think we will be able to find out a solution to such unpleasant incidents on the border," he said.

In the recent past, there have been several incidents of incursions in Ladakh sector where Chinese troops have entered well within Indian side and

stayed there for long hours before returning to their areas.

In one such incident, Chinese troops had entered Chumar area in Ladakh on 16-17th July on horses and ponies and demand-

Army celebrates Operation Vijay Divas at Dras

Dras, July 26: The 14th ‘OPERATION VIJAY DIWAS’ celebrations culminated in Dras on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the See Vijay Divas on Pg. 11

Efforts on by govt to shield Gool firing guilty: PDP Srinagar, July 26: Showing displeasure and dissatisfaction over the report of Special DG BSF Dlip Trivedi on Gool killings, opposition Peoples Democratic Party Friday alleged that efforts are on by the government to shield the gulity rather than punish them.

“We were already aware that the brutal killers off Gool youth won’t be punished and will be shielded by the government as such case’s have already happen in the past whether it was Kunan Poshpora,Shopian

incident or others. If the guilty won’t be punished people of the state will lose all faith in the political system which will be the huge setback,” PDP chief spokesperson Nayeem Akhtar told KNS. Special Director General BSF Dilip Trivedi has submitted a report to the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and has maintained that the BSF along with Police had fired in self defence to save its men and weapons.

Lashing out at state government Akhtar said,

Sarpanch injured in Hizb attack in Sopore Srinagar, July 26: A Sarpanch was injured Friday when two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit fire upon him at Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said.

Superintendent of Police, Imtiyaz Hussain Mir told KNS that the pistol borne militant opened fire at the local panchayat member, Khazir Mohammad Parray soon after he came out after offering Friday prayers at a mosque near his residence at Krank-

shivan Colony Sopore around 2:30 p.m.

Parray, he said, was rushed to local hospital from where doctors referred him to SMHS hospital here for specialized treatment. Parray has sustained wound in his cheek, the police officer said.

“We have identified the attackers and they are local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit,” he said, adding, “A man hunt has been launched to arrest the attackers.”

Soon after the attack, See Sarpanch on Pg. 11

“if the government earlier had taken an action against those involved in killing of 120 youth in 2010 crisis it would have set an example for security forces. Unfortunately Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is trying to see on both sides one enjoying the government and second giving full powers to his forces to kill the innocent people.”

Condemning the indiscriminate arrest of youth in the aftermath of Gool killings he said, “Youth have become a soft target for the government.

See PDP on Pg. 11

Sopore, July 26: Police Friday arrested a Sarpanch and Panch for swindling money under Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) in North Kashmir’s Tarzoo area of Sopore.

Sub District Magistrate Sopore Hanief Balkhi told CNS that Auqaf Committee Akhoonpora in its complaint to the his office had alleged that the Sarpanch Abdul Rahim Ganaie and Panch Ghulam Mohammad Ganaie from Halka Rakh Haigam have recommended and enlisted some sixteen persons in the IAY list which otherwise are found to be fraud and not

‘It is since 1947 people resorted to stone pelting’ Srinagar, July 26:

Hurriyat Conference (G) Friday described statement of Director General Police as ridiculous wherein he had claimed that people did not support the call against Gool incident and stone pel-

ing as a sign of resistance was used against tyrant Dogra rulers” he said. The Hurriyat (G) made it clear that it is since 1947, people resorted to stone pelting. “It is a symbol of resistance and a means to express resentment in overall civilized world against foreign occupation and against mis-governance.

Even in developed countries where the roads are too modernized and this weapon is not easily available, people resort to eggs and tomatoes, See Hurriyat (G) on Pg. 11

Srinagar, July 26: A day after, Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq stated that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has become rubber-stamp of New Delhi and none of his suggestions are accepted, National Conference Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal Friday alleged that Mirwaiz has become an agent of Indian and Pakistani agencies and “everyone knows about his dual loyalties.”

“No doubt we had political relations with his family but he should not forget the role which they played after 1953, they joined hands with both India and Pakistan and became their agents for their petty interests. They have always instigated violence and have made people suffer badly and now Molvi Farooq’s son also wants to keep the pot boiling, “Kamal told KNS. “Mirwaiz and other separatist leaders only play politics of opposition. When-

ever situation becomes peaceful they get restless and disturb the peace and call strikes. They are the people responsible for the bloodshed that took place, during these strikes,” he alleged. “They play politics over the bloodshed of the innocent people.”

Kamal claimed that Mirwaiz and other separatist leaders are puppets and receive huge sums from various agencies to create instability in the valley.

“Everyone knows about their dual loyalties, it’s still time for them (separatists) to come forward and help the people to come out of their miseries, “he added.

Criticizing Mirwaiz for his rejection to the unity proposal with NC, Kamal said, “Mirwaz including other separatists are the real enemies of people as they oppose each and every good thing that comes from their benefit. Separatists are responsible for one lakh killings that took place during the turmoil now when so See Kamal on Pg. 11

Rescheduled Common Entrance Test begins Saturday

We’ve tried our level best to prevent mess up again: Chairman BOPEE Srinagar, July 26: After the recent fiasco leading to the cancellation of profession entrance examination last month, J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examination is all set to conduct the rescheduled test this weekend for the admission of the candidates to different Medical and Non-Medical courses in Government and Private Institutions in the state.

“We are on the job and are giving final touches to our preparations,” Prof R D

Sharma, chairman of the J&K BOPEE, told KNS when contacted at around 1700 hours.

Asked whether the board has ensured all measures to prevent recurrence of the last month’s mess-up, he said, “We have tried our level best to prevent it.”

The BOPEE has asked all the candidates to reach the examination centres by 9:25 am for morning session and 1:25 pm for afternoon session on each day of examination along with Photo ID Proofs in original besides

Sarpanch and Panch arrested for swindling money under IAY

Hurriyat (G) reacts to DGP’s assertions teres are being funded by pro-freedom parties.

In a statement a spokesperson of Hurriyat (G) termed DGP’s statement with regards to religious freedom baseless and a blatant lie. “People of Jammu and Kashmir are indeed peace loving people, but since decades they continue to express their resentment against repression and suppression. Stone pelting is not innovative thought propounded by Hurriyat and nor there arises any need to finance stone pelting. Even stone pelt-

ed that Indian troops leave the area staking claim over it.

In the last two weeks, there have been at least five incursions in the area and around 150 See Antony on Pg. 11

Mirwaiz agent of India, Pak agencies: Kamal

genuine.

He said that the complaint was referred to the Tehsildar Settlement Sopore vide order number 325/The/S/ Spr, dated 17-7-2013 and the spot verification proved that duo had committed fraud and swindled huge chunk ofmoney. “During investigation it came to fore that duo provided benefits to their relatives and blue-eyed persons under IAY programme.

“Duo has swindled huge chunk of money and both have been arrested and lodged in police station Tarzoo. Process of recovering swindled money has been initiated,” Balkhi

said adding that investigation is going on and all efforts are being made to provide benefits to the deserved ones under this programme.

Pertinently, Indira Awaas Yojana is one of the major flagship programs of the Rural Development Ministry to construct houses for BPL population in the villages. Under the scheme, financial assistance worth Rs.70000 in plain areas and Rs.75000 in difficult areas is provided for construction of houses. The houses are allotted in the name of the woman or jointly between husband and wife.

See Arrested on Pg. 11

the Admit Card.

The government has already ordered an inquiry into incident of cancellation of the test and has appointed Secretary Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department, as the inquiry officer.

He has been was directed to look into various aspects related to the conduct of CET 2013 by the BOPEE on June 22 and 23.

Last month, the BOPEE had to cancel the examination of Chemistry paper and postpone the Biology paper of the CET due to its

negligence which led to the leakage of the Biology paper a day ahead of its scheduled exam.

The BOPEE took the action after it was reported that invigilating staff at five of the centres in Srinagar on June 22 had distributed Biology paper instead of Chemistry paper.

Due to the mess up, thousands of candidates aspiring to get into various professional courses like MBBS, BDS, Engineering, BVSc and BSc (Agriculture) See Entrance on Pg. 11

Soz terms recent Budgam clashes as unfortunate Srinagar, July 26: State Congress President Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz Friday expressed concern over recent sectarian clashes in central Kashmir district of Budgam and termed it as unfortunate incidents.

Talking to KNS Soz said, “I visited the affected areas and appealed the people from both the sects to maintain peace and brotherhood. We all are Muslims and sectarian clashes are unfortunate incidents. We should jointly fight against those vested interests who are trying to harm the hun-

dreds of years old amity between the people of two sects.”

“Kashmiris have all along been known as people who love peace and never indulge in violence. Some vested interests tried to harm the relations between the two sects in Budgam. However, people of the district gave them a befitting reply by maintaining peace and brotherhood,” he added.

Prof Soz hoped that situation in Budgam will normalize soon. On the occasion people from both sects appealed Soz that the victims from both the sides See Soz on Pg. 11

Healthcare at DH Shopian goes messy Doctors, Para-medicos leave patients at mercy of God Shopian, July 26: Notwithstanding the claims of the authorities about the improvement in health care, the mess continues to rule the roost in District hospital Shopian.

With doctors busy in private clinics and patients being referred to private diagnostic centers for tests is all what one can witness in the hospital. Patients could be seen waiting for Para-medicos helplessly with no official available in the hospital to listen to them.

This reporter found several patients inside IPD wards crying in pain with no Para-medicos around to attend to them. “The dextrose of my patient got exhausted two hours back. Since then I have been making rounds of all the rooms and wards to get someone who could remove her needle. However, nobody seems to be present here. Putting the patients at glucose is what they call health care,” said an attendant to CNS. Another attendant wishing anonymity said that

this hospital is the epitome of messy state of health care. “Most of the doctors posted here remain busy at their private clinics and here they treat patients as animals. Patients have to move to private diagnostic centers for getting even the minor tests done, as there is nobody available in the laboratory. At times it is the doctors who refer the patients to the particular diagnostic center,” the attendant told CNS adding that the doctors and Paramedicos leave the patients at the mercy of God in

wards.

This reporter on seeing a patient, Ruqaya Akhter, crying called Chief Medical Officer, who refused to comment saying ‘You can talk to medical Superintendent,.

When contacted MS, Dr Mohammad Ibrahim, said that he was on some official work in Srinagar.

However, a doctor on the directions of the MS, came to the ward fuming on patients enquiring about the person who called CMO. “Go out from here. Go and See Healthcare on Pg. 11

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11 From Front Page........

Daily

Saturday, 27 July 2013

Antony..........

incidents in the last seven months. Meanwhile, commenting on the alleged "mistreatment" of armed forces personnel and the lack of accommodation for them, Antony said though the situation had improved in comparison with past but "a lot was still required to be done". "Under the married accommodation project, nearly 1.99 lakh houses are to be built for forces. Out of that, 50 per cent has been completed," he said. On the rank pay issue of the forces, the Defence Minister said the Government has referred it to the Attorney General for his "final advise" on the matter.

Vijay Divas.........

proceedings opened with a solemn wreath laying ceremony at the Dras War Memorial led by the Chief guest Lt Gen Sanjeev Chachra, GOC-in-C Northern Command and other serving and retired officers, gallantry award winners of the Kargil Conflict and next of kins of martyrs, amongst them the parents of Late Capt Vijayant Thapar. The martyrs were then paid an all-religion homage by priests of all major religions. The sombre mood at the ceremony brought home to many the losses borne so proudly by the families that lost their sons, husbands or brothers in that bloody summer of 1999.

Kamal.........

much of blood of innocent Kashmiri’s have already been shed they should at least unite for common Agenda which NC is fighting for the people of Kashmir,” he said.

Entrance...........

were left in great distress, even as the BOPEE rescheduled the examination of both the papers on July 27 and 28.

Pertinently, the BOPEE has ruled out leakage of any paper in the CET and attributed the mess up to “human error.”

“There is no leakage of any paper. The paper of Biology got opened because of human error only,” Secretary JKBOPEE has stated in a reply filed before the State Human Rights Commission.

Regarding examination of all papers afresh, the Secretary had told the Commission that as the BOPEE initiated action for preparation for conduct of the test for cancelled and postponed papers of Chemistry and Biology on July 5, there was an order by the government, directing that entire examination be cancelled and fresh dates be notified for all four papers afresh.

PDP.........

PDP Patron Mufti Mohammad Syed has already taken this issue with Prime Minster Dr Manmohan Singh and has asked him to take strong action against the culprits.” “PDP is always against the human rights violation and will fight issues like denial of justice, (AFSPA) and other issues,” he claimed. Commenting on the sectarian clashes in Budgam district the PDP chief spokesperson said, “National Conference for their vested interests has made situation worse in Budgam. To divert the attention from killings, mis-governance and corruption, National Conference is working on the Shia-Sunni front to divert attention of people.”

Sarpanch..........

sources said, police and paramilitary CRPF cordoned off the entire area and when reports last came in, no arrests were made. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Arrested.........

The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary and engagement of contractors is strictly prohibited.

Soz.........

who have suffered damages should be compensated. They also demanded release of youth who have been arrested by the police over the past one week.

Prof Soz assured the people that government will assess the losses and compensate the victims accordingly. He also assured them they will take steps for the release of arrested youth.

Prof Soz visited Wahabpora, Sahipora and Paymas villages and was accompanied by senior Congress leaders Aga Syed Mohsin, Ghulam Nabi Mir Lasjan, master Mohammad Maqbool and Farooq Andrabi.

Healthcare........

get the news published in all the papers. Nobody can touch me,” Dr Bilal yelled at patients.

When contacted, Minister for health, Shabir Ahmad Khan told CNS that he will seriously look into the matter. “I will look into it surely. You just wait and see what action I would take,” minister assured.

Hurriyat (G).........

viz,'Quran and Peace in the World'','' Quran the Complete Code of Life,'' Quran and contemporary issues,' human security and Holy Quran and Guidelines in Quran and our culture.

Mishaps..........

number JK04B/8007 and Innova vehicle bearing registration JK01T/0272 collided near Nilgrath National Highway, Sonamarg, in the jurisdiction of police station Sonamarg, resulting in injuries to the Sumo driver Irshad Ahmad Parry son of Bashir Ahmad resident of Check Kawoosa Magam, Budgam. The injured was shifted to Public Health Center Sonamarg.

Sonamarg Police case has registered a case in this regard.

In another accident, an unknown vehicle hit and injured a pedestrian near Fruit Mandi Parimpora, Srinagar. The injured was shifted to SKIMS, Soura for treatment.

Parimpora Police has registered a case in this regard.

In a similar accident, a Maruti Car bearing registration number Jko1D/2168 hit and injured a lady, Hadiya daughter of Ghulam Mohammad Dar resident of Hyderpora, in the jurisdiction of Police Station Sadder, Srinagar. The injured lady was shifted to Hospital for treatment. Sadder Police has registered a case in this regard.

Machine...........

Wani had recently presented this machine in the auditorium of SKIMS where the function was organized and all the senior doctors of the institute were present on the occasion. On the occasion senior doctors of the SKIMS said, that the machine will be very beneficial for the ailing people and the research will become easy with the help of this machine.

Checkings..........

Consumer Affair and Public Distribution, Municipal Council, Police headed by Assistant Director, Consumer Affair and Public Distribution today conducted market checking at Anantnag town. During the market checking, fine of Rs. 2,400 was imposed on 10 erring shopkeepers and 150 Kgs of rotten vegetables, 50 Kgs of sub-standard milk and 40 kg of rotten fruits were destroyed on spot.

Level of Chenab likely to rise Kishtwar, July 26: Chief Engineer (Civil) Dul Hasti Power Station DPS, Kishtwar, has appealed the people to restrict their movement along river Chenab in view of statutory periodical slit flushing from the reservoir of Dul Hasti Power Station.

During the flushing, the gates of the Dam shall be opened from 27-07-2013 (2200 Hours) to 28-072013 ( 20:00 Hours ) resulting an increase of two to three meters in the flow of water in the river Chenab.

As such, movement of men, vehicles and pets alongwith river bank during this period is not advisable. All the Concerned revenue

officers, Police Officers and the officers of Rural Development Department have been asked to coordinate with each other in this behalf and jointly monitor the situation along the Chenab River bank and inform the general public to take proper care and avoid their movement in the area to avoid any mishap.

The people also have been advised to avoid movement of their pets and vehicles near river bank during the above said period. The concerned officers have been directed to keep the District Administration informed about the situation in their areas of responsibility.

Legal Metrology for curbing overcharging, low weight of LPG cylinders S r i n a g a r, J u l y 2 6 : According to Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology, it is mandatory for LPG dealers to carry a digital weighing scale or mechanical scale of 50 Kg capacity with verification scale interval of 10 Kg and of accuracy class III at the time of home delivery of LPG cylinder to consumers to ensure supply of LPG cylinders with standard weight to the consumers.

It is as such informed that the consumers shall insist for on spot weighing of LPG cylinder during home delivery and shall not accept the delivery if

instead of stones,” he said. The spokesman, however, said people in J&K are killed with bullets and pallets for stone pelting and added that in entire civilized world the angry mob are controlled by harmless measures and techniques.

“Hundreds of youth were killed in 2008, 2010 and none among them had a gun in their hand. All of those killed were students and the killers were not even asked for their wrongdoings,” he claimed. The Hurriyat (G) while terming the DGP’s statement ‘senseless’ said that nobody would dare to put his life at risk for little money as stated by the DGP. Hurriyat lamented and expressed deep sorrow over the statement wherein he had said that people turned the back and not supported the pro-freedom leaders for their protest call against Gool tragedy and claimed that police Srinagar, July 26: The Speaker, Jammu and brought situation under control in just three days “Police chief ought to have apologized for loss of precious Kashmir Legislative lives and desecration of Holy Quran. However, they are Assembly Mr. Mubarak proud of that hundreds of innocents were injured in pellet Gul has said that the firing and arrested, and property worth millions ransacked. Government under the Even people were not allowed to mourn over the tragedy,” dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Omar he alleged.

Meanwhile, Tehreek e Hurriyat Jammu Kashmir is Abdullah is committed to organising a “revelation Quran Conference “on July 28 at provide basic amenities to its party headquarters Hyderpora. Seminar will commence the people of the State. He from 10.30 am in morning till 2.00 pm and noted religious said huge developmental scholars would deliver the lecture over important topics programmes under various

ZABARWAN TIMES

Mirwaiz condemns arrests, restrictions Demands impartial probe into Gool killings

S r i n a g a r, J u l y 2 6 : H u r r i y a t Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday said that the ‘wanton’ arrests of youth by police, imposing restrictions on the religious and political activities of pro-freedom leaders, and ‘unleashing oppression’ on Kashmiris in the ongoing sacred month of Ramzaan by the authorities was shameful and a highly condemnable act.

In a statement Mirwaiz said instead of bringing the erring trooper involved in the bloodshed of Kashmiris to justice, the government was targeting people specially youth for staging peaceful demonstrations and demanding punishment to the accused troopers.

After remaining house arrest for more than a month Mirwaiz was today allowed to go for Friday prayers at historic Jamia Masjid here. While addressing the gatherings, Mirwaiz said since 1931 to till date, political, religious and human rights of Kashmiris have being violated and there has been no change what so ever. He said in 1931 the despotic rule showered bullets on Kashmiris when they were protesting against the desecration of Quran.

“This time as well the despots repeated this tradition. Under the sham cloak of democracy, the tyrants opened fire on innocent Kashmiris

protesting the sacrilege of holy Quran, killing and injuring dozens,” he said.

As the whole Muslim Ummah beseeches for blessing in this sacred month of Ramzaan, Mirwaiz said the despotic rulers have usurped the religious and political rights of Kashmiris. He alleged the people are being stopped from offering prayers; pro-freedom leaders are placed under house arrest, youth who raise their voices against tyranny are given third degree torture and lodged in jails.

Besides, he said the entire rural and urban areas are being terrorized on gun point to prevent them from seeking justice and speaking truth.

Mirwaiz demanded an impartial probe into the Gool killings and immediate release of the youth who were detained following the incident. He said since 1990 countless such incidents have happened. He said not a single government appointed probe commission has bore any result which was called to investigate such cases.

The Hurriyat (M) chairman said it was highly regrettable that some “unfortunate” incidents have been reported from Budgam. Terming those incidents as shameful for the whole Islamic millat, he said that on one hand the government was indulging in bloodshed of Kashmiris, while on the

other Kashmiris are playing into the scheming of anti-people and antimovement forces who are hell bent to create division among Kashmiris.

Mirwaiz said it was highly unfortunate that instead of looking inwards and get united to fight a common enemy; some people were fighting amongst themselves for petty issues. He said it was important to create unison among our own ranks since nobody would come from outside to do it for Kashmiris.

He said there was no room for differences on petty issues among various sects in Islam. He appealed the ulema to expose the anti-Islamic divisive forces and work towards unifying the ranks Kashmiris.

Meanwhile, Hurriyat (M) spokesman has rejected the claims of the DGP that Hurriyat was paying for stone pelting.

He said the statement was completely misleading. “Cops are trying to shield the accesses which they are committing in the entire valley. Police have unleashed a reign of terror. Against this oppression the reaction from the youth was thus natural,” he said.

Soon after the Friday prayers, Mirwaiz led in absentia prayers for Gool martyrs. Thousands of people offered funeral prayers for the departed souls.

GMC Sgr to start diploma course in Gynae, Obst

Rs. 10 Cr distributed among 35 transporters at Anantnag

Taj directs immediate selection of candidates Srinagar, July 26: In a major academic achievement for Government Medical College, Srinagar, the Medical Council of India has accorded approval to the start of diploma course in Gynaecology and obstetrics (DGO) at the college. Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services and sports, Mr. Taj Mohi-ud-Din had been pleading for the start of the

course in view of the heavy rush and deficiency of trained staff in Gynaecology in the state.

The Minister today directed referring 12 vacancies to Board of Professional Entrance Examinations so that selection process of candidates gets a kick start and the course is started at the earlier.

The start of DGO at GMC

would help in overcoming the shortage of Gynaecologist’s and obstetrics in the state which are in huge demand particularly in rural and hilly areas. It may be recalled that due to the persistent efforts of Mr. Taj, the Centre recently increase the intake capacity of MBBS seats in the Government run medical colleges in the state by 150.

Anantnag, July 26: A Small Medical Enterprises Loan Mela was organised by Ellaqui Dehati Bank, Regional Office Anantnag at Dak Bungalow Khanabal. The function was inaugurated by District Development Commissioner, Anantnag alongwith Chairman of the Bank, General Manager Credit, General Manager General Banking and other senior functionaries. On this occasion, a loan amount of Rs. 10 crore was distributed among 35 transporters.

Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir

Office of the Executive Engineer R&B Division Handwara Gist of NIT No: 44/2012-13 Dated: 24-07-2013

For and on behalf of Governor Jammu & Kashmir state, the Executive Engineer R&B Division Handwara invites fresh tenders affixed with Rs. 2/- revenue stamp for the provide PWD contractors/firm for the work mentioned below, which should reach in the office of the Executive Engineer R&B Division Handwara on or before 03-082013 upto 2.00 PM and the tender documents can be purchased from the office of the Executive Engineer R&B Division Handwara upto 30-07-2013 during working hours on production of valid enlistment card against cash payment (Non-refundable).

S. No 1.

Name of Work Providing sanitary fitting to Bath Room of Ist floor of Meeting Hall at Dak Bunglows Handwara

Adv. Cost Rs. in Lacs

E/Money

Class of Contract

4.10

8200/-

DEE

Other details can be had from the office of the undersigned during working hours.

DIPJK: 5151

Sd/- Executive Engineer R&B Division Handwara

the cylinder is less in weight by more than 150 grams.

The cost of refill LPG cylinder on Home Delivery is Rs. 427/while if collected from godown a rebate of Rs. 15/- shall be ensured.

The Deputy Controller, L e g a l M e t r o l o g y, Kashmir has also advised the consumers to lodge the complaint with the concerned Inspector, Legal Metrology of the area in case the LPG cylinders with low weight are supplied or dial Phone No. 0194-2310753 to book the complaint for speedy redressal.

Several deputations called on Mubarak Gul sectors are apace in the State with the aim to upgrade the living standards of the people.

The Speaker was interacting with the various deputations coming across the valley who called him at his official residence this morning. These deputations put forth their individual and collective problems.

Owner, Printer, Publisher & Editor-n-Chief: Suhail Malik, RNI No: JKBIL/2011/39764, Email: zabarwantimes@gmail.com Published from: Govt. Quarters (M-13) Magarmal Bagh Srinagar -190001, J&K, Printed at: Sangarmal Offset Press Humhama Sheikhpora Tele/Fax: 2478370 Cell No: 09999964750, 9796787844

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Daily ZABARWAN TIMES

Srinagar |Saturday

J&K State Innovation Council setup to encourage talented youth: CS Interaction session held to discuss innovation road map

SRINAGAR, JULY 26:

Terming setting up of the J&K State Innovation Council as an important step towards encouraging new ideas and innovations among the talented youth in the State, Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khanday Friday said that Jammu and Kashmir Government has already set out on the path to scout for innovation in the State.

The Chief Secretary was speaking during the interaction session to discuss and exchange ideas for the formulation of State’s Innovation Road Map for creating an innovation ecosystem and its effective implementation.Experts from National Innovation Council and Confederation of Indian industries, NIF, CSIR, and members of J&K State innovation Council participated in the interaction session.

The Chief Secretary said that the State Innovation Council is keeping constant touch with the National Innovation Council to make use of its experience at the National Level to enable the State to crystalize the programme in an effective manner. He said that the State Innovation Council has already taken steps to put in place

an effective institutional mechanism to identify and support innovation in local Universities, Colleges, Schools,

MSME and R&D institutes adding that directions have already been issued to the Science and Technology Department along with School and Higher Education Department to give orientation to the Education System towards innovations.Chief Secretary also expressed gratitude to Ms Veena Upadhyay an expert from the National

Innovation Council and her team of experts for their presentations and sharing valuable experiences to sup-

port the State carry forward the work of encouraging and supporting innovations in various fields and to prepare an effective road map for future.

Earlier, Ms Veena Upadhyay, while expressing her gratitude to the State Government for holding the interaction session said that the innovation road map should be inclusive cover-

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Lone News Agency Kangan Khan News Agency Ganderbal Gulzar News Agency Soura Zahid Book Depot Chadoora Tariq News Agency Hawal Bashir News Agency Nowhatta Muzaffar Ali News Agency Alamgari Bazar Budshah News Agency Lal Chowk Abdullah News Agency Lal Chowk Sikendar News Agency Lal Chowk Gupkari News Agency Lal Chowk Raina News Agency Gund Kangan Khan News Agency Regal Chowk Rashid News Agency Dalgate News Agencycum Hyderpora Hilal News Agency Budgam KISHWAR, JULY 26-Sheikh A one day orientation training programme for the field functionaries of Rural Tangmarg Development DeLone News Agency Bhat News Agency Chadoora partment of district Kishtwar was held today at TRC complex Bhat News Agency Magam Zargar News Agency Kunzar Kishtwar. District Development Commissioner Kishtwar Saleem Dar News Agency Beerwah Bashir News Agency Sumbal Mohammed presided over the function. While addressing the gathering the DDC stressed on News bringing about more transparency Reshi Agency Safapora Saleem News Agency Pattan and accountability to improve the News work culture to ensure benefits Basharat Agency Bandipora Reyaz News Agency Pampore of MGNREGA reach the masses . He said that it is the prime reAltaf News Agency Pulwama Javaid News Agency Qazigund sponsibility of VLW’s/Gram Seveks/ MPW’s/JE’s/BDO’s and ACD’s Jeelani News Agency Baramulla G.M News Agency Sopore to monitor the quantity and quality of developmental works at ground level. He said that anyNews laxityAgency on the part of any employe Shah Kupwara Sultan News Agency Handwara will be dealt severely. Younis News Agency Langate Sheikh News Agency Islamabad Akhtar Hussain ACD Kishtwar while speaking on the ocSRINAGAR, 26:-Agency Tral Reshi NewstoAgency Islamabad Three WayJULY News casion stressed upon the employees work with zeal and zest so Turray News Agency Tral Badru News Agency Bijbehara that the development target set by the government are achieved.

Minister for Agriculture, Mr Ghulam ACD asked the field functionaries have theKulgam clear vision of the Rahi NewstoAgency Malik Agency Arwani Hassan MirNews today said that the Agriculture scheme and strive hardRah to fulfil theAgency goals and objectives of the News Byepass News Agency Kargil andShaheen its associated departments have piv-

Orientation Programme on MGNREGA organised

Enrolment for Aadhaar project in full swing REASI, JULY 26 - The Aadhaar project, which issues 12-figure unified identity card to those above five years of age, has begun in Reasi district through a network of its 35 registration centers. The project is expected to be completed by November-end.

Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said that 35 technically qualified persons have been engaged to handle the sensitive biometric machine.

Choudhary said that the applications will be received and the biometric cards would be provided by Comtech Private Limited in the district.

detailed presentation touching various aspects of innovation and its significance, highlighting the need for multipronged, cross-sectoral and mutually benefitting strategy and setting achievable goals. She said that domain experts working in the area of innovation will be collaborating with the State in coming days and sharing their

otal role in the success of NABARD funding projects. He urged upon the officers to put in their efforts by taking proactive role in such projects so that GDP from Agriculture sector is increased besides the people associated with Agriculture, Horticulture and its allied sectors are benefited.

The Minister was addressing a high level meeting of officers convened to review NABARD funding in various projects in the Agriculture sector in J&K. Mir said that government has opened the doors of support by launching various schemes and projects for the welfare and development of the people related with agriculture sector.

The Minister emphasized for adopting latest scientific methods and techniques

for increased agriculture production besides improving quality. He also stressed for identifying the research fields in the agriculture sector.On the occasion, the Minister was apprised about various Agro based projects to be implemented with

Minister of State for Fisheries, Cooperatives, Finance and Planning Dr Manohar Lal Sharma conducted an extensive tour of tehsil Billawar.

Assistant Commissioner (Dev) Kathua, SDM Billawar, SDPO Basohli, Dy CEO Billawar also accompanied the Minister during the tour.

At Ghatt Dr Manohar Lal Sharma laid foundation of additional rooms at upgraded Government Middle School Ghatt and announced Rs 1 lakh for ground levelling and repair of the old school building.

Dr Sharma also inspected Billawar – Macchedi Road works to be taken up under PMGSY. Later Dr Sharma convened a public grievance redressal camp at Seroo Badola village of Lower Baggan Panchayat of block Billawar.

The people from Lower Baggan, Upper Baggan and other adjoining areas apprised the minister with their demands and problems. The main demands projected include a CAPD store in the area , lift irrigation scheme for Baggan, expansion of Baggan road under PMGSY, dispensary,

electric poles, opening of J&K bank branch and up gradation of High School Upper Baggan Dr Manohar Lal Sharma gave a patient hearing to the demands of the people

and assured them of timely disposal of their problems The minister said that government has initiated several steps to explore the tourism potential of Billawar and with

SRINAGAR, JULY 26: Controller, Drugs and Food Control Organisation J&K has impressed upon all stake holders dealing with retail meat shops to ensure that the mandatory sanitary and hygienic requirements for the retail meat shops as laid down under schedule 4 of the food safety and standards (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011 are being observed in letter and spirit for ensuring sale of safe and quality mutton to the consumers. All Food safety Officers responsible for the implementation of various provisions of the aforesaid Act, rule and regulations shall provide a copy of checklist to all such vendors operating within their respective jurisdiction for

self-assessment. The information so collected shall be utilized to evaluate extent of compliance by these vendors and further help to assess the extent of their preparedness for switching over to the requirement under new food law.The last date for securing compliance with the mandatory requirements of obtaining registration/licensing with respect to such establishments under the new food law has been fixed as 4th February 2014 by the FSSAI. A copy of checklist is also available on the websitewww.jkhealth.org.

Any Food Safety Officer who fails to comply with the requirements prescribed under the above said Act shall be liable for legal action and also such establishment shall cease to exist.

BUDGAM, JULY 26- On the instructions of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, Divisional Commissioner’s office through Regional Red Cross Society provided aid and assistance to the natives of Budgam who were affected by the recent violence, which started from a scuffle between two people near Khomeni Chowk but snowballed into violence engulfing large areas in the district.

Deputy Commissioner Budgam distributed 181 blankets, 45 sets of kitchenware, dress material and other things to around 100 affected people.

52 victims of violence from Sofipora, Shahpora and Allahpora were also given Rs 5000 each by the regional Red Cross society as a gesture of assistance.

You may feel like you’re being double-crossed by a loved one today, Aries. Maybe your words are being used against you in such a way that makes you look like the bad guy. When it comes to making a rebuttal on your behalf, let the other person know that you’re confronting them about their behavior and not their person.

Taurus April 20-May 20

You may say one thing one minute and the opposite the next, Taurus. Most of the time you jump from one issue to the next with no hassle, but today people probably will call you on it. Think about what you mean before you say it. Don’t do all your thinking aloud so others can hear. Your continuous thought process might be mistaken for your final analysis.

Gemini May 21-June 21

The tension in the air might be what you need in order to become more aware of subconscious issues that affect your behavior, Gemini. There’s a great deal that you need to get off your chest. The more honest you can be about the pain people have caused you, the more love will flow in the future. Open the communication channels.

Cancer June 22-July 22

Stop being an enabler to someone you care about, Cancer. You may let someone continue a dangerous addictive behavior simply because you want to avoid a confrontation. Realize that this behavior is doing neither of you any good. The more you continue to perpetrate the lie, the more it will hurt all parties involved. Be open and honest with your concerns.

Leo

Virgo

August 23-September 22

NABARD funding in various States of the country through PowerPoint presenta-

scapes of Ghatt, Sujjara, Machhedi has huge tourism potential and with the completion of Billawar – Machhedi road steps will be taken to establish tourism infrastructure in these areas.

DC Budgam distributed financial assistance

Aries

March 21-April 19

You may have some issues with food, Leo. Maybe your sense of self-worth isn’t at its highest, and you’re trying to make up for this by sabotaging your relationship with your body. Food is healthy nourishment that you need in order to survive. Your body deserves respect, and you need to give it the proper fuel it needs to be healthy.

coming up of Mata Sukrala Devi and Mata Bala Sundri Shrine Boards the development of the area will increase manifold in coming time.

Dr Sharma said the scenic land-

Meat Shops asked to maintain mandatory hygiene, sell quality mutton

tion.Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, Principal Secretary Finance, Commissioner Secretary Agriculture, Directors of Agriculture, Horticulture, MD Agro Departments, MD JKHPMC, Director Planning Agriculture, Director Research,

HOROSCOPE

July 23-August 22

Manohar Lal conducts extensive tour of Billawar KATHUA, JULY 26-

valuable experiences for successful implementation of the road map.

She said Universities and Technology Institutes can develop Technology Incubation Centers to help and nurture talented students to realise their potential for innovation. She said J&K State innovation council can create a separate fund to finance innovation projects which are identified and assessed as having considerable social benefit and impact. She said steps should also be taken towards fostering creativity in education, industries and other sectors, moreover, She suggested that the State Innovation Council can also include members of National Level bodies to facilitate greater exchange and benefits.

Representatives of Confederation of Indian industries, NIF, CSIR, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and others gave brief presentations on innovation and gave their valuable inputs.

Principal Secretary Planning and Development, Principal Secretary Higher Education, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, , Director Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Vice Chancellors of Kashmir University, Jammu University.

Mir reviews NABARD projects of Agriculture Deptt

Says Deptt has to play pro-active role for its successful implementation

flagship programme in letter and spirit.

ing high level to lower level technologies with maximum social benefit at minimum cost. Ms. Upadhyay gave a

27 .7.2013

SKUAST and other concerned officers were present in the meeting.

13 new WSSs in Gurez to be taken up at Rs.11.41 cr soon: Gurezi SRINAGAR, JULY 26: Minister of State for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Nazir Ahmad Gurezi today visited various areas in Tehsil Gurez including Budgam of Tuilal area and took stock of different developmental works under execution in these areas.

Interacting with the people at different places, the Minister said that the construction work on 13 new water supply schemes at an estimated cost of Rs.11.41 crore to be taken in hand in the Tehsil Gurez soon.

These schemes included Check Journiyal, Check Wali, Boola Mari Buglinder, Darthan Wanpora, Byant Burnia, Gujran New, Khutroon Buglinder, Mukhruf Shahpora Bala, Mehdoodat Shahpora Payeen, Thapa Achoora, Shokput Kanzalwan, Wazirthat and Kashpart. Gurezi said by commissioning these projects it will further augment the drinking water facility in the Tehsil and fulfil the long pending demand of the people of these areas.

The Minister said that the Government is committed to provide basic amenities to the people in all the three regions of the State. He said that the Government under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is committed to ensure to upgrade the living standard of the people especially the weaker and down trodden sections of the society. He said several State and Central welfare schemes have been launched in the State in this regard and appealed the people to come forward and take advantage of these schemes.

Wani conducts city tour, assesses peoples’ problems JAMMU, JULY 26Minister for Roads and Buildings Abdul Majid Wani today conducted an extensive tour of Jammu city and took stock of the problems of the people.

During the tour, the Minister visited Govind Nagar, Gol Gujral, Vikas Lane Talab Tillo and its adjoining areas.

Interacting with the people, the Minister said that government is making concrete efforts to redress their problems and various micro and mega developmental projects are underway for improving the core amenities and facilities for the people.

En-route, several deputations and individuals met the Minister and apprised him with their problems. Besides, uninterrupted water and pow-

er supply to the area, the locals also demanded black-topping

concerned officers for attending the peoples’ problem and

If there’s an issue with your partner that needs airing, this is a good time to do it, Virgo. Don’t hold back just to maintain the equilibrium in the relationship.

Don’t sacrifice your peace of mind just to keep from rocking the boat. Refusing to face reality just to keep up an easy facade isn’t doing anyone a bit of good. Be totally honest with yourself, your feelings, and other people.

Libra

September 23-October 23 The intensity of the day may bring unexpected opposition, Libra. Whether it’s verbalized or not, the confrontations are quite real. Don’t underestimate a loved one’s emotions. Stand up to these issues and be realistic about their solutions. No one expects you to have all the answers, so don’t pretend to. We’re all human and we all make mistakes.

Scorpio

October 24-November 21 Give your loved ones the attention they need today, Scorpio. Don’t let another day go by without saying you love them. Life is short and getting shorter with each passing day. Be confrontational about a serious issue that needs addressing. You’re responsible for your feelings. Don’t play the victim. You’ll only experience more pain and resentment later.

Sagittarius November 22-December 21

Don’t run away from the tension today. Any emotional stress you feel will be compounded if it isn’t dealt with right away. Be in the moment while the moment is here. The more you face the present, the less you will regret in the future. Clear up any sticky situation that arises and move forward. People may not understand your needs and concerns until you clearly verbalize them.

Capricorn December 22-January 19

Stop hiding behind your intellectual barrier, Capricorn. Playing games will get you nowhere. True strength is standing up and demonstrating that you can say what you feel in any situation, especially regarding a close loved one. If you feel the need to say something, say it.

Don’t wait until the situation escalates to an unhealthy argument before you finally get your feelings out.

Aquarius January 20-February 18

Stop trying to feel everyone else’s emotions and focus on yours, Aquarius. Being empathetic is certainly laudable, but at some point you need to face the music and look in the mirror. Make a clear distinction between your needs and those of others. Express your feelings. Ask for help if you need it. Other people aren’t mind readers.

Pisces

of the interior roads and widening of Revenue Complex road connecting the 4th Tawi Bridge to ease the traffic congestion in the area.

The Minister issued on-the-spot directions to the

to take steps for their early redressal. He also directed for constituting a joint team of officers of JMC, R&B, Revenue and PDD to assess the problems of the locals and suggest measures for their redressal.

February 19-March 20 It may seem like neither side of the bed is the right side to wake up on today, Pisces. The only solution may be is to just go back to dreamland if you can. If you can’t, focus on your heart, because it’s trying to tell you it needs some attention. Emotions may be running high, so be careful how you treat yourself and others.

Editorial/Opinion The Daily

Zabarwan Times Saturday, 27 July 2013

Govt. Hospitals also deserve attention

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he pathetic condition of govt. hospitals in the valley is deteriorating with every passing day.

These hospitals including SMHS Hospital, Lal Ded Hospital, Bone and Joint Hospital, Chest Disease Hospital and G. B. Panth Hospital certainly deserve the attention of state govt. in general and the minister of medical Education in particular who has contributed his bit in every ministry he headed so far. Keeping in view his reputation, of changing negativity in positivity he should put his total ability in tune to the reforms needed in these hospitals. The cell like rooms over crowded by patients and their attendants, the dirty bath rooms leaking from all sides with foul smell, intolerable dirty bed sheets on half broken beds, shabby flooring with cracked tiles and above all the unbearable behavior of the majority of the staff has made these hospitals more of slaughter house than Shafa Khanas. Of late funds have been pouring from centre for construction of new hospitals and also for renovation and up gradation of the present ones, but unfortunately the mis-management, bureaucratic hurdles, half hearted attempts of utilization and disinterests of the doctors who are interested only in private practice than saving their people who pay their salaries are the main reasons for depilated condition of our hospitals. The sanitation of these hospitals has never been prioritized by the hospital administration who is only interested to pass of their minimum duty hours and rush to their private hospitals and clinics. No doubt people are also responsible for making these hospitals look like den of garbage and use them like road-side Dhabas for cooking their meals, eating and then converting these hospitals in gossiping spots. Unless both govt. and general public realize their duties and make endless efforts to improve the condition of these hospitals, it will remain a dream which will never be realized. The first and foremost thing is to repair the leaking and stinking bathrooms, change the broken flooring, substitute the broken beds and dirty bed sheets with new ones, restrict the entry of the attendants, ban all eatables to be brought to hospitals, improve the drainage system, arrange a particular dumping place for medical wastes and last but not the least, convince medical and para-medical staff to change their behavior. The govt. should also impose blanket ban on the private practice by all the doctors and strictly implement it.

In addition to all this, the 24-hour cleaning and up-keeping of the hospitals should be totally privatized as is done outside the state. This will help in better conditioning of the hospitals. The security of the hospitals should also be privatized so that the discriminatory attitude of govt. appointed security persons who treat the poor patients with utmost distain and are always at the disposal of VIPs is done away with.

If these measures are not taken and if both govt. and public don’t work hand in hand, the condition of these hospitals will never improve, instead it will further touch the new lows. We fortunately have a minister at the helm of affairs who is always ready to take challenges. If he succeeds hurray it will be remembered for ages together. If he fails he will go down and enlist his name with those ministers who only contributed to the vows of the people.

Daily

ZABARWAN TIMES 9

Saturday, 27 July 2013

Improving Access to Justice- National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms

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he National Mission for Justice Delivery and legal Reforms was set up in June, 2011 to achieve the twin goals of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears; and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities.

The Mission has become fully functional from 2012-13 and is pursuing strategic initiatives: outlining policy and legislative changes; re-engineering of procedures and court processes; focussing on Human Resource Development; and leveraging Information and Communication Technology & tools for better justice delivery.

The Mission will adopt a coordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration which would, inter alia, involve better infrastructure for courts including computerisation, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, reengineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases.

Policy and Legislative Changes In short span of its existence, the Mission has taken several steps in each of the strategic areas towards fulfillment of its objectives. Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill has been prepared.

The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha and is now before the Rajya Sabha for consideration. Constitution amendment bill for raising the retirement age of High Court Judges is also before the Parliament. A comprehensive proposal has been formulated for constitution of All India Judicial Service and the proposal is before Committee of Secretaries. 25 States have formulated their Litigation Policies with a view to reduce the Governmental litigation.

Litigation Policy at the national level is also on the anvil. An Inter-Ministerial Group has been constituted to suggest necessary amendments to the Negotiable Instruments Act along with other policy and administrative measures to check increasing litigation relating to cheque bounce cases. First meeting of IMG was held on 30th, May 2012 and decisions

taken in the meeting are being pursued view to enhancing the resources of the early operationalisation of Gram for follow up action with Department of State Governments, the Government has Nyayalayas, a comprehensive proposal Financial Services, Reserve Bank of increased the central share by revising for merger of Gram Nyayalayas India and Indian Banks Association for the funding pattern from 50:50 to 75:25 scheme with the Centrally sponsored reducing the burden of cheque bouncing (for States other than North Eastern Scheme for development of infracases on our criminal justice system.

States) under modified Centrally structure facilities for the subordinate Re-Engineering Court Procedures and Sponsored Scheme for development of judiciary has been prepared. The infrastructure facilities for the judiciary norms for providing central assistance Court Processes An important aspect of the judicial from the year 2011-12 onwards. The towards recurring expenditure are also reforms relates to re-engineering court funding pattern for North-Eastern proposed to be revised upwards. The procedures and court processes for early States has been kept as 90:10 from proposal is presen tly awaiting disposal of cases. A National Court 2010-11. Central assistance amounting approval of Planning Commission and Management System has been recently to over two thousand crore has been Ministry of Finance. notified by the Supreme Court for released to States and Union Territories Pendency Reduction Drive addressing the issues of case manage- since inception of the scheme out of The Government had launched a ment, court management, setting which an amount of over ` two hundred pendency reduction drive from July measurable standards for performance of crore has been released so far during 2011 to December, 2011. Chief Justices the courts and the National System of current financial year. of the High Courts were requested by Judicial Statistics in the country. The Gram Nyayalayas the Minister of Law and Justice to National Mission would coordinate with The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has initiate a campaign mode approach towards clearing long pending cases and cases relating to marginalized Chief Justices of the High Courts were sections of the society. As per feedback received from various High Courts, total pendency was reduced by over 6 requested by the Minister of Law and lakh cases out of which about 1.36 lakh cases belonged to targeted groups such Justice to initiate a campaign mode as senior citizens, disabled, minors and marginalized sections of society. One approach towards clearing long pending of the important components of pendency reduction drive related to release of under-trial prisoners from cases and cases relating to marginalized jail. In terms of the extant provisions of Criminal Procedure Code, the undersections of the society. trials who have completed half of the maximum specified punishment for NCMS and would render necessary been enacted for establishment of Gram various offences in jail need to be assistance in achieving the goal of Nyayalayas at the grass roots level for released on personal bond. As per the reducing pendency in courts. providing access to justice to citizens at information received from various A Sub Group on improving the court their doorstep.The Central Government High Courts, around 3.16 lakh underprocedure and court processes for provides assistance to States for non- trial prisoners were released from the better criminal justice system has been recurring expenses for setting up of prisons during the campaign period. constituted under Chairman, Law Gram Nyayalayas and for meeting the A similar drive has been launched by Commission to suggest necessary cost of recurring expenses for running the Minister of Law and Justice this c h a n g e s i n t h i s r e g a r d . T h e these Gram Nyayalayas for the first three year as well from July, 2012 to Commission has already prepared a years. At the time of enactment of Gram December, 2012. The main focus of Report on inordinate delays in investi- Nyayalayas Act it was envisaged that pendency reduction drive this year is to gation and prosecution of criminal 5067 Gram Nyayalayas would be set up make our judicial system ‘five plus’ cases against influential persons and throughout the country for which Central free. Simultaneously emphasis is being measures needed to reform the criminal Government would provide recurring laid on increasing the number of judges and non-recurring assistance to States as in subordinate judiciary by filling the justice system. per prescribed norms. The progress of existing vacancies and creating Infrastructure Development Infrastructure development for the the Gram Nyayalayas Scheme has not additional posts so that disposal of subordinate judiciary is a major thrust been up to expectations so far. To further cases is expedited by setting up of area of the National Mission. With a incentivize the State Governments for additional courts.

Largest Solar Telescope in the World

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he sun’s atmosphere is an ideal place to study and test many magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD) processes controlling turbulent plasma.

Some of the finest solar features can be resolved with state-of-the-art telescope.

Ladakh, the cold desert in the country, will have the world’s largest state-of-theart solar telescope on the earth soon for this purpose. This National Largest Solar Telescope (NLST) will be set up at high altitude Pongong Tso Lake Merak near Line of Actual Control on the Sino-Indian divide. It will be unique globally because the largest solar telescope, the Mc-MathPierce Solar Telescope, in the world at present is 1.6 meters. It is situated in Kitt Peak national Observatory at Arizona in the United States. The NLST will have the reputation of being the world’s largest telescope till 2020. It is expected that a larger telescope may become operational in the US by 2020-2021.

NLST is a Gregorian multi-purpose open telescope. It will be on-axis with the provision of carrying out night time stellar observations using a spectrograph.

It will be able to study particles spread across 50 kilometers of the sun. It is expected to resolve features on the sun of the size of about 0.1 arcsec. The focal plane instruments are to include a high resolution polarimetric package to measure polarization with an accuracy of 0.01 %, a high spectral resolution spectrograph to obtain spectra in 5 widely separated absorption lines simultaneously and high spatial resolution narrow band image in various lines.

Modalities The telescope will be fitted with a 2 meter reflector which will enable scientists to carry out cutting edge research to understand the fundamental processes taking place on the earth. The design is by an international company which also designed the 1.5 meter telescope located at Tenarife Island in Spain. All the telescope’s instruments will be developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics

(IIA) and will be remotely operated through the master control facility at Bangalore. The link will be through a satellite which will be provided by the Indian Satellite Research Organisation (ISRO). Night-time observations will be made using an instrument which will be built in collaboration with the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Scientific Objectives Scientists will study the sun’s microscopic structure, and long term changes in the earth’s climate and environment.

This will provide useful data to carry out

may be responsible to transport the energy to upper atmosphere of the sun: · Dynamic evolution of small scale structures by making high cadence observations; · Evolution of active regions and their role in triggering solar flare, prominences filament eruptions, CMEs, etc; · Thermodynamics of the chromospheres by making the observations in the infrared wavelengths; and · Weak and turbulent magnetic field measurements using Hanle effect which are as important as strong magnetic fields.

Scientists will study the sun’s microscopic structure, and long term changes in the

earth’s climate and environment. This will provide useful data to carry out research

in order to minimize or remove disruptions to communication network and satellite due to periodic solar-winds.

research in order to minimize or remove disruptions to communication network and satellite due to periodic solar-winds.

The telescope will address the fundamental question about the nature of solar magnetism. It will aim to resolve flux tubes and measure their strength; address the development of magnetic fields on the sun which are responsible for almost all the observation phenomena on the sun. They include solar dynamo, solar cycle and solar variability that determine and control space weather.

Other scientific observations are: – Magnetohydrodynamics(MHD) waves by resolving small structures and determining periods of oscillations which

All these data will be gathered by making observations with high spatial resolution using adaptive optics, high spectral resolution, high temporal resolutions, multi-wave length capability of imaging and spectroscopy focal plane instruments, high photon flux and sensitivity of the detectors and using the infrared part of the spectrum for observations.

The telescope will utilize an innovative design with a low number of reflections to obtain a high throughput and low instrumental polarization. High order adaptive optics is integrated into the design that works with a modest Fried’s parameter of 7 cm to give diffraction limited performance. The telescope will be equipped with a suit of post focus

instruments including a high resolution spectrograph and a polarimeter.

Selection of the Site To install the telescope, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics studied two other sites-Hanle, Leh and Devasthal near Nainital in Uttarakhand but eventually opted for Merak in Ladakh.The cloudless skies and low atmospheric water vapour have made it one of the best sites in the world for optical, submilimeter and millimeter wavelengths.

The site has been selected after carefully studying various scientific and environmental aspects. The site characterization has been done using the sun photometer, S-DIMM and SHABAR techniques to determine the seeing condition.

SHABAR or Shadow Band Radiometer is a simple yet elegant way to probe the turbulence profile of the lower atmosphere. It observes scintillation of an extended object such as the sun or the Moon with an array of photo detectors. SDIMM is Solar Differential Image Motion Monitor.

The Himalayan regions provide certain atmospheric conditions required for such telescope functioning. It provides a large number of clear hours for making observations with very good visibility.

The water vapour in the field is also low which helps making observations in infrared wavelength for high accuracy of magnetic field and velocity measurements. The lake side provides better seeing condition. Because of lake water, there is extremely low water vapor content and this is unaffected by the monsoon.

The NLST project is a major multi-party initiative involving IIA, ISRO, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). The project will involve an investment of over Rs 250 crore, most of which will go in procuring equipment.

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer.

HE A L+H 58

ZABARWANTIMES ZABARWAN TIMES SATURDAY | 27 JULY 2013

Babies better at learning complex languages

Infants as young as three months of age are able to automatically detect and learn complex dependencies between syllables in spoken language, a new study has revealed.

In contrast, adults only recognised the same dependencies when asked to actively search for them.

The study by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig also highlights the important role of basic pitch discrimination abilities for early language development. The speed and apparent ease with which young infants learn the

basics of a language regularly astound parents and scientists alike. Of course, adults are usually assumed to have the edge in sophisticated language learning.

However, scientists Jutta Mueller, Angela D. Friederici and Claudia Maennel have now found that when it comes to extracting complex rules from spoken language, a threemonth-old outperforms adult learners.

For 20 minutes, the scientists played a stream of syllables to babies while measuring their brain responses using electroencephalography (EEG).

Pairs of syllables appeared together, but were separated by a third syllable.

Jutta Mueller, first author of the study, stresses that "such dependencies between non-neighbouring elements are typical for

natural languages and can be found in many grammatical constructions."

For instance, in the sentence "The boy always smiles", the third-personsuffix "s" of the verb is dependent on the noun "boy".

In the study, this was reflected in the use of combinations like "le" and "bu" in sequences like "le-wibu". From time to time, however, combinations like "le-wi-to" would appear, in which one of the syllables was out of place.

"EEG measurements showed us that the babies recognized this rule violation", Mueller said.

Additionally, the scientists would occasionally change the tone of one syllable to a higher pitch - with an interesting outcome: Only those infants whose brains reacted to pitch changes in

a more mature way could detect the syllable dependencies. When facing the same task as the babies, adults only showed a reaction to the rule violations when asked to explicitly look for dependencies between the syllables. Mueller and her colleagues conclude that, evidently, the automatic recognition ability is lost later on.

"What we found particularly interesting is that the small group of adults who did show evidence of rule learning also showed a stronger brain response to the pitch changes," she said. These findings not only help understand how children manage to learn language so quickly during early development, but also point to a strong link between very basic auditory skills and sophisticated rule learning abilities.

As experts deem fake tans 'dangerous', we look at other toiletries that might well be damaging your health, too.

Fake tan products are far from alone in containing chemicals that research suggests can have nasty side effects. Many cosmetics are formulated with a mixture of controversial synthetic ingredients that have been linked to health problems including breast cancer, hormone disruption, fertility issues, asthma, allergies, diabetes and

birth defects. And it's this socalled 'chemical cocktail' that has some experts worried especially when you consider the huge number of different lotions and potions most of us use each day.

"No one can say that if you use X, Y and Z you're going to develop cancer or diabetes," says Elizabeth SalterGreen, of a UK charity.

"But an increasing amount of research suggests that high levels of certain ingredients can affect our health."

"When you take into account the sheer number of products we now use, and the fact that we're also exposed to some of these chemicals through household cleaners, food pesticides, packaging and general industrial output," continues Elizabeth, "there's a concern that this collective onslaught could take us over the safety threshold."

"Our skin is not an impenetrable barrier," says author Dawn Mellowship.

Migraines do not hurt your brain

Migraines are not associated with cognitive decline, suggests new research even though previous studies have linked the disorder to increased stroke risk and structural brain lesions.

Migraines affect about 20 percent of the female population, and while these headaches are common, not much is known about this complex disease.

"Previous studies on migraines and cognitive decline were small and unable to identify a link between the two," said Pamela Rist, research fellow in preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), who led the study.

"Our study was large enough to draw the conclusion that migraines, while painful, are not strongly linked to cognitive decline," said Rist,

the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports.

The research team analysed data from the Women's Health Study, a cohort of nearly 40,000 women, 45 years and older.

In this study, researchers analysed data from 6,349 women who provided information about migraine status at baseline and then participated in cognitive testing during follow-up, according to a BWH statement.

Participants were classified into four groups: no history of migraine, migraine with aura (unpleasant smell, seeing flashing lights), migraine without aura, and past history of migraine. Cognitive testing was carried out in two-year intervals

up to three times. "Compared with women with no history of migraine, those who experienced migraine with or without aura did not have significantly different rates of cognitive decline," said Rist.

"This is an important finding for both physicians and patients.

Patients with migraine and their treating doctors should be reassured that migraine may not have long-term consequences on cognitive function.

London: Sleeping pills seldom worked for 40 percent of the poppers who suffer from insomnia, says a survey of 20,000 people, according to a British study.

Some 42 percent of the patients currently on medication have been sleeping badly for over 11 years or more. A further 22 percent had insomnia lasting two to five years, while one in six had suffered between six and 10 years, the survey revealed.Experts said the study suggested that sleeping pills were not combating long-term sleep problems and that cognitive behavioural therapy has been proven to be more effective.Around 10 million National Heath Service (MHS) prescriptions for sleeping pills are issued each year. But NHS guidelines say they should be for short-term use only - usually for two weeks

and up to a maximum of four weeks at a time.

Findings from The Great British Sleep Survey of more than 20,000 adults in Britain found we are a nation of poor sleepers.

The average score of sleep quality was only five out of 10. Long-term poor sleepers were twice as likely to have relationship problems, suffer from daytime fatigue and lack of concentration.

The survey also showed almost one in 10 with insomnia were on sleeping pills

prescribed by their doctor, with one in five using over the counter remedies.

American research this year found sleeping pills may significantly increase the risk of premature death.The latest survey was sponsored by Sleepio, an online sleep improvement programme which uses cognitive behavioural techniques. Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, has campaigned for the NHS to highlight the importance of sleep.

Grapes good for men's heart health

Toiletries that might damage your health

"It absorbs a significant amount of what we apply to it into the bloodstream and it can then be stored in the body, where it accumulates and has the potential to do harm."

How to reduce your levels of chemical exposure 1.Use fewer products to reduce your overall exposure.

2. Check the label and watch out for synthetic chemicals such as parabens, formaldehyde and triclosan.

3.Don't assume organic or natural is always best.

While many such products contain fewer toxic synthetic chemicals, it's still worth checking out the ingredients on a product to find out what is actually in there.

4.If there is a big long list of unpronounceable chemical names then it might be worth looking for something with fewer ingredients that you recognise.

5.Pay particular attention to the products that stay on your skin the longest, such as creams and lotions.

6. Swap dark hair dye for vegetable-based colours or those stating they're PPDfree.

Sleeping pills don`t work for 40 percent poppers

Consuming grapes may help protect heart health in people with metabolic syndrome, a new study has revealed. Researchers observed a reduction in key risk factors for heart disease in men with metabolic syndrome: reduced blood pressure, improved blood flow and reduced inflammation.

Natural components found in grapes, known as polyphenols, are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects.

The randomized, placebocontrolled, crossover study, led by principal investigator Dr. Maria Luz Fernandez and Jacqueline Barona, a PhD student in Dr. Fernandez' lab at the Department of Nutritional Sciences of the University of Connecticut, recruited men between 30 and 70 years of age with metabolic syndrome. The study is believed to be the first to look at the impact of grapes on metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together - increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or low HDL (the good cholesterol) and in-

The postpartum diet need not be complicated — just a mix of ageold remedies and home science The stork came and went, and left you multitudes of relatives who are telling you what to eat.

They are peddling age-old remedies, while you are clutching on to your doctor's advice of no green vegetables or fruits. Iron deficiency, constipation and soreness are some of the things you may suffer, while expending more energy and needing more calcium. The best path is to try out both sets of advice and see what works for you.

Ketaki Karpe-Kolgaonkar, new mother and clinical pharmacist found that 'the diet should be all about the mother's needs'. "The baby takes the nutrition it needs and doesn't need any help doing that," she says. "Watch out for bacteria from unwashed vegetables, unpasteurised milk, unfiltered water or uncooked meats."

Raise calorie intake Nutritionist Dr Shilpa Joshi emphasises on the importance of wholesome meals with no restrictions apart from oil and spice, unless the doctor says so specifically.

"The mother needs extra energy,

creased blood triglycerides - significantly increasing the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is a major public health concern, and is on the rise in the U.S. In this study, participants were randomly assigned to consume grapes, in the form of a freeze-dried whole grape powder, or a placebo powder, for four weeks. Then, following a 3-week "washout" period where neither grapes nor placebo were

at least in the first six months, because she will be nursing the baby more often," she says. "So she needs to eat more calories, which will come from small meals, which are rich in proteins — nuts, daals and legumes."

If you are a non-vegetarian, don't switch to a leafy vegetarian meal instantly. This will cause you more harm than good. Eat shredded meat in soups and broths without too much spice or oil.

Pump iron Since a new mother suffers from loss of blood, her iron levels could be precariously balanced. A little spinach can go a long way. Ketaki developed low iron levels in her second trimester, and panicked.

"So I started to incorporate spinach in everything such as daal, chappati dough and even in chicken curry." She continued this after the baby came, which steadied her iron levels.

Milk the calcium It goes without saying that you'll need lots of calcium so that the baby can use the cafeteria uninterrupted. "If you are lactose intolerant, and can't drink milk or eat milk products, go for curd," says Joshi. "Garden cress seeds (aleev

consumed, individuals were allocated to the alternate treatment.

This powerful study design allowed investigators to compare the response of each individual to consumption of both the placebo and grapes.

The study results showed that for each of the study's subjects, grape consumption resulted in significant decreases in blood pressure, improved blood flow (greater vasodilation), and

or haleem), are a rich source for calcium. Traditionally, these are made into sugar-rich ladoos.

If you are being careful about sugar, make a haleem kheer."

Water yourself There's not much you can do to artificially stimulate breast milk, other than drink lots of fluids. Also, new mothers tend to be a little scared of the pain and resist passing urine or stools, which can result in constipation.

Ordinarily, this can be resolved by medication, but because medicines will pass on the baby, it's better to take preventive action. "I used to keep a huge bottle of water and use a straw to sip it so as to not put pressure on a the C section incision," says Ketaki.

Joshi also suggests ingesting fluids by drinking lots of soup, coconut water, broths, whole fruits, fresh fruit juices and milkshakes that are also easier to eat for the harried mother. "I would drink strawberry milkshake so that it didn't feel like you are adding ten things to the plate. Even eating seems overwhelming to a new mom and

decreases in a compound associated with inflammation. "These results suggest that consuming grapes can improve important risk factors associated with heart disease, in a population that is already at higher risk," Fernandez said. This further supports the accumulating evidence that grapes can positively influence heart health, and extends it to men with metabolic syndrome," Fernandez added.

if she has to chew one thing less, it's a huge convenience," says Ketaki. "Fluids help flush out toxins and medication, and help stay oriented even with the lack of sleep that comes with parenting."

Yoghurt is not only a stool softener but also has the probiotics essential for keeping Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) away. Edible gum balls (dink ladoos) are a good laxative because of their combination of ghee, edible gum and nuts. "After the baby came, I would resist therapeutic Indian food without thinking about whether it was scientific," says Ketaki. "I eventually did eat one dinkache laadoo a day and that did me good. Sometimes, it pays to listen to your mother she may know best."

NATION

7 SRINAGAR Saturday, 27 July,2013

Kashmir Thunder Saturday 27 July2013

Uddhav Thackeray's advice to Amartya Sen: Don't poke your nose into politics

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena on Friday deprecated BJP MP Chandan Mitra's demand for stripping Nobel laureate Amartya Sen of Bharat Ratna over his comments on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi but advised the seasoned economist "not to poke his nose" into politics.

"Sen is an economist of international repute and such demands (stripping him of Bharat Ratna) shouldn't be made by his detractors," Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"Amartya Sen is an economist, but the poor of the country wonder what exactly he does. The economy

of the country is in a bad state, prices are soaring and poverty is on the rise. It is not Modi who has done this and despite being a Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen has no medicine for this," he said.

"If people ask Sen to first do his work properly and refrain from poking his nose in politics, what reply does he have," Uddhav said, adding, "Amartya Sen's greatness cannot be denied. The demand to strip him of Bharat Ratna is also not right. Everyone should maintain their limits."

Sen had recently said he does not want Modi to become India's prime minister as he did not have secular credentials. The prominent economist had also criticised Modi's model of governance.

Following this, BJP's Rajya Sabha member and journalist Mitra had demanded stripping Sen of the Bharat Ratna - the country's highest civilian honour.

"Amartya Sen says he doesn't want Modi to be India's PM. Is Sen even a voter in India? Next NDA government must strip him of Bharat Ratna," Mitra had tweeted, triggering a storm of protest from BJP's opponents. The BJP also distanced itself from Mitra's comment.

The Nobel laureate, while responding to Mitra's demand, said he was ready to return the award if former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had conferred it on him, asked him to.

Backing Modi, BJP's poll campaign committee

chief, on the American visa issue, Uddhav said, "Narendra Modi is not the head of a terror organisation like al-Qaida, Taliban or Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) but an elected chief minister of a state.

"The US gives visas to Kashmiri separatist leaders.

Pakistan is the den of terrorism. Despite the US forces killing Osama on Pakistani soil, Pakistani politicians still get US visa, but Modi is opposed," he said.

"Some Muslim leaders from Congress are speaking in support of Indian Mujahideen, but no one takes such an extreme stand against them. On the other hand, Modi is made to appear as if he is the biggest enemy of the nation," the editorial said.

In the eye of a storm over his remarks that Bharat Ratna should be taken back from Amartya Sen, BJP MP Chandan Mitra has expressed regret over them, saying he "oversaid it".

"I think I may have exaggerated. I do regret the part about taking away of Bharat Ratna from Dr Sen, I oversaid it," Mitra said.

BJP has distanced itself from Mitra's remarks. Mitra too maintained that his tweets on the issue reflect his personal views and not the party line.

But Mitra was critical of Sen's economics and described them as "outdated and one that needs to be discarded". He also advised Sen to not engage in politics.

"Dr Amartya Sen should behave like a Bharat Ratna does," he said.

DAILY ZABARWAN TIMES

Hectic activity in Delhi over Telangana

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: The political scene on July 26 shifted to Delhi from Andhra Pradesh with the chief minister, his deputy and the state Congress chief rushing to the national capital on the summons by the central leadership ahead of a final decision on statehood to Telangana region.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana reached Delhi for what is believed to be the final round of consultations by the leadership before the much-awaited meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to take a final call on the Telangana issue. The Congress Core Group is likely to meet later Friday to decide the date for the CWC meeting. The chief minister Friday morning called on Congress general secretary in-charge of party affairs in the state Digvijaya Singh. Before this meeting,

Congress leaders from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions) called on the chief minister and urged him to convey to the leadership their strong opposition to the state's division, party sources said.

Seemandhra leaders, who made a beeline to the national capital in a last-ditch attempt to stall a possible decision to carve out Telangana state, held a meeting to chalk out their strategy. The meeting was attended by state and central ministers and Congress MPs from Seemandhra. Hectic activity in Delhi began amid the continuing resignations of Seemandhra leaders to mount pressure on the centre. Two Congress legislators Friday submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker. As many as 16 legislators of YSR Congress party and one of Congress had Thursday announced their resignations. The three state leaders, earlier this month, had submitted their reports to the Congress Core Group.

Didn't intend to hurt party or oth- Digvijaya makes 'sexist' Modi’s visa application will be ers' sentiments: Raj Babbar clarifies remark on Congress MP considered if he applies: US

Washington: Amidst raging controversy in India over visa for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the US on Thursday refused to commit itself whether he would be granted permission to travel to America.The state department also parried questions on what the US would do if Modi becomes prime minister. It maintained that Modi was welcome to apply for a visa which would be considered, but its policy has not

changed.“If chief minister Modi applies for a visa, his application will be considered to determine whether he qualifies for a visa, in accordance with US immigration law and policy,” state department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday.“Our policy on this has not changed,” she said when asked about granting visa to Modi.The US has reservation over granting

visa to Modi because of human rights violations in 2002 post-Godhra riots under his watch as the chief minister.

An Indian journalist asked Psaki about the campaign of BJP president Rajnath Singh in the US for a visa to Modi and said that the UPA government was unpopular and Modi may become prime minister.“There are lots of speculation down the road.

We encourage democratic elections. We don’t take sides. We will be watching it closely,” she said.The journalist persisted with his question wanting to know how the US would treat Modi as the prime minister.“I think I just said we will consider his application if he applies, and I’m not going to get ahead of where we are at this time,” she said.

Anger in India must be cooled: Rahul Gandhi

Amethi: Congress VicePresident Rahul Gandhi today said there was a "lot of anger" in India which must be checked.

"India is a thought...youths make it, you make it. We have to include everyone and move forward," the Congress leader said as he inaugurated a new

training centre for para-military forces in Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Gandhi invoked the example of a man who once supported the separatist demand for Khalistan and later joined the political mainstream in Punjab after peace was restored in the state once wrecked by militancy.

"Like this person who came to my room, he used to be very angry. Today he is an MLA, he's working for us, for the people of Punjab. He had been blinded by anger. It wasn't his fault, people around him had filled him with anger," Mr Gandhi said.

This man, he said, became a state legislator.

The Congress leader said that the para-military Central Reserve Police Force played an important role in bringing normalcy in Punjab.

"That anger the CRPF curbed. And today the Congress and the Akali Dal in Punjab are promoting youth and that system gave him space in politics and helped (him) develop. Things that will help reduce anger - those are what we all must do," Mr Gandhi said

New Delhi: Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar today tried to stomp the controversy he spawned by professing that Rs. 12 can buy a complete meal in Mumbai, a statement that was pilloried for being insensitive and a desperate attempt to defend new data that claims poverty has been reduced to 22% in India.

"If my statement has pained someone then I regret

The mid-day meal supply was disrupted for the second day in many schools in Saran, Purnia, Sheohar and Araria districts among others.A student, undergoes treatment at Patna hospital after eating the contaminated meal given in the school in Dharmasti Gandaman village in Chhapra, Bihar.A student, undergoes treatment at Patna hospital after eating the contaminated meal given in the school in Dharmasti Gandaman village in Chhapra, Bihar. -

Mandsaur: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday made a somewhat 'sexist' remark at a rally in Madhya Pradesh. Speaking at a public rally in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, he called Congress MP and Rahul aide Meenakshi Natarajan a 'tanch maal' or a good product."Meenakshi Natarajan is kind-hearted, simple and honest. I have been noticing since yesterday she is concerned about everybody. I am an old jeweller in the field of politics and I know very well which jewel is genuine and which is a fake," Digvijaya said.However, Natarajan said the remark was not offensive. "There's nothing wrong with what Digvijaya Singh has said. He has appreciated my work, nothing offensive in it. He is a big leader and I invited him to my constituency," she said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at Digvijaya saying he's lost his 'mental balance'. "This is their party's internal matter but as I have said, Digvijaya Singh has lost his mental balance and he should be admitted to a mental hospital," said BJP leader Vinay Katiyar.

India, China developing mechanism to prevent face-offs: AK Antony New Delhi: India and China are trying to develop effective mechanisms to prevent the "embarrassing" face-offs between their troops along the "disputed" points of the Line of Actual Control, Defence Minister AK Antony said in New Delhi on Friday.

Terming the 21-day stand-off between the two sides in Depsang valley in Daulat Beg Oldi area as an "unusual" incident, the Defence Minister said the two countries will meet soon in Beijing to discuss issues and try to find a solution for such "unpleasant incidents".

"Till the final settlement of the border issue, we are trying to find out more effective mechanisms to prevent occasional incidents. There are many points in the LAC that are disputed and they are patrolled by both sides. So, sometimes it leads to some face-off," he said on the 14th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

India, China developing mechanism to prevent face-offs: Antony The Defence Minister said that there are disputed points where both sides are going and that causes some embarrassing situations.

The Minister was asked to comment on the rising incursions by the Chinese troops into the Indian

Mid-day meal tragedy: 10 lakh students deprived of meals in Bihar Manit Balmiki/DNAMid-day meals could not be served in over 4,600 schools affecting nearly 10 lakh students for the second consecutive day today in Bihar due to primary school teachers boycotting the duties.

"As per our reports, mid-day meals could not be served in over 4,600 schools across the state out of a total of 70,000 schools covered by the programme. About 10 lakh students have been deprived of the food due to boycott," Director Bihar mid-day meal scheme R Lakshamanan.Sources in the Education department said that mid-day meal supply was disrupted for the second day in many schools in Saran, Purnia, Sheohar and Araria districts among others.Dharmasati Gandaman primary school, where 23 children had died after eating poisonous mid-day meal on last Tuesday, is in Saran district.While the government figures

it," Mr Babbar said. "I don't want my statement to harm my party in any way," he added.

Yesterday, he had refused to recant his remark. The clarification today came after the Congress made it clear that it did not endorse his take."We do not agree with Rs. 15&Rs. 5 statement of some leaders," tweeted Ajay Maken, the head of the party's Communications Department.After Mr Babbar's

statement on Wednesday, his colleague, Rasheed Masood, topped him by declaring on Thursday that Rs. 5 is sufficient for a meal near Jama Masjid in Delhi. (Comment)Earlier this week, the Planning Commission said the percentage of Indians living below the poverty line has fallen to 22 per cent in just seven years (from 2004-05 to 2011-12). It also said that anyone with more than Rs. 33 to spend a day in urban areas and more than Rs. 27 a day in rural areas is counted as above the poverty line.The opposition alleges that the new math proves that the government has no solutions to raging inflation, and is engineering the math to deceive voters ahead of the national election when the Congress will ask for a third term in power.

claim that around 20 per cent schools are affected by boycott, Bihar Primary School Teachers Association, which is spearheading the boycott agitation, claimed the food is not served in almost 95 per cent of the schools of the state due to primary teachers agitation."Mid-day meal scheme has been launched in almost 95 per cent of the schools of Bihar as per our information," Association president Brajnandan Sharma said.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the teachers to cooperate in successful run of the midday meal scheme for which there has been directions from the Supreme Court too."The government agrees that basic job of the primary teachers is to teach and not supervise cooking of meals but till some alternative arrangements are made they should cooperate in successful run of the scheme," he told reporters in Assembly premises. A total of 70,000 schools of Bihar were covered under the mid-day meal scheme benefiting 1.40 crore children.

Sharma said.

territory along the LAC in Ladakh and Northeastern sectors.Antony said, "There are disputed points where both sides are going there which sometimes causes some embarrassing situations."

He said after the Depsang incident in April, India and China had "free and frank" talks and "we are trying to have more border personnel meeting places and have more effective mechanisms to prevent such unpleasant incidents.""On the one side, both sides are

trying to find a long term solution to the long pending border dispute. Till that time, our aim is to maintain peace and tranquillity at the border," Antony said.

On the recent third meeting of the Joint Working Group between the two sides, the Minister said free and frank discussions were held between both sides.

"We are going to have another round of this meeting in Beijing soon on this issue. So, I think we will be able to find out a solutions to such unpleasant incidents on the border," he said.In the recent past, there have been several incidents of incursions in Ladakh sector where Chinese troops have entered well within Indian side and stayed there for long hours before returning to their areas.In one such incident, Chinese troops had entered Chumar area in Ladakh on July 16-17 on horses and ponies and demanded that Indian troops leave the area staking claim over it.In the last two weeks, there have been at least five incursions in the area and around 150 incidents in the last seven months. Meanwhile, commenting on the alleged "mistreatment" of armed forces personnel and the lack of accommodation for them, Antony said though the situation had improved in comparison with past but "a lot was still required to be done".

Ishrat Jahan case: can't arrest PP Pandey for now, Supreme Court tells CBI The Supreme Court has said that senior Gujarat police officer, PP Pandey, should not be arrested till after his appeal is decided, most likely on Monday, against being made an accused in the Ishrat Jahan case.

Mr Pandey, who was Joint Commissioner, Crime Branch, when Ishrat was killed, has been missing for weeks. He disappeared after the CBI filed a case or FIR against him in a Gujarat court. The Supreme Court ordered that on Monday, he must appear in the court in Ahmedabad that's handling the Ishrat case.

Ishrat, a 19-year-old college student, was shot dead along with three men by senior members of the Ahmedabad crime branch in 2004 on the outskirts of the city.

Ishrat Jahan's family alleges threat to

their lives, writes to government In its first chargesheet filed last month, the CBI listed Mr Pandey as one of the seven policemen who allegedly murdered her in what it described as a "staged encounter" committed "in cold blood." (Read: How Ishrat Jahan, others were killed according to the CBI)

The policemen have said in their defence that they had been warned by the state's Intelligence Bureau that Ishrat and her companions were planning to assassinate chief minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the Lashkare-Taiba.

The CBI said yesterday that it will expand its inquiry to determine whether that is true. In its first chargesheet, it did not comment on the alleged terror links of the group, provoking fierce criticism from the BJP. The party said that the government is pressuring the CBI to suppress crucial information to undermine the administration of Mr Modi, who is widely seen as the front-runner for the BJP's prime ministerial nomination.