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8 Pages Rs: 1.00 Jammu Edition www.thestudentage.com

STUdenT aGe
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 53

Uddhav slams Raj for speaking too high of Modi

Interview

There are many stake holders for effective traffic management: Saleem Beigh

Nepali Becomes First Woman to Climb Everest Twice in a Week

Page 6

Parliament passes bill for protection of women at workplace

IN BRIEF

Bansal presents first Rail Budget

NEW DELHI, FEB 26: No hike in passenger fare, thrust on safety and passenger amenities and introduction of 67 new Express trains, 500 kilometres of new railway lines and 750 kilometres doubling and corporate safety plan for a ten year period from 2014 to 2024, are some of the highlights of the railway budget for 2013-14 presented in the Lok Sabha today. Presenting his maiden budget, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the enhance reservation fee will be abolished and announced marginal increase in supplementary charges for super fast trains, reservation fee, clerkage, cancellation and tatkal charges. Mr. Bansal said, Fuel Adjustment Component (FAC) linked revision for freight tariff to be implemented from 1st of April this year. The Minister announced a series of measures for improving safety and security of the Indian Railways. He announced 67 new Express trains including an AC express from New Delhi to Katra which will run six days a week, 26 new passenger services, introduction of 72 additional services in Mumbai and 18 in Kolkata, introduction of first AC EMU rake on Mumbai suburban contd on page 2 rime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday described the railway budget as "reformist" and "forward looking" and said it will help in meeting competing demands. "It is a reformist and forward looking budget which presents a realistic picture of railway finances," said Mr Singh. He said Railway Minister P.K. Bansal had done "a commendable job" in meeting competing demands of improving services and controlling expenditure. "I compliment the minister for his innovations contd on page 2

NEW DELHI: Parliamentary approval was Tuesday accorded to a bill seeking to provide protection to women from sexual harassment at workplace, including millions of unorganisedworkers like the domestic help. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Wo r k p l a c e ( P r e v e n t i o n , Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 was passed by the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. It was approved contd on page 2

No fare hike; 67 new express & 26 passenger trains to be launched Railway budget is reformist: PM Highlights of Railway Budget 2013-14
* 67 new Express trains to be introduced * 26 new passenger services, 8 DEMU (diesel electric multiple unit) services and 5 MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) services to be introduced * Run of 57 trains to be extended * Frequency of 24 trains to be increased * First AC EMU rake to be introduced on Mumbai suburban network in 2013-14 * 72 additional services to be introduced in Mumbai and 18 in Kolkata * Rake length increased from 9 cars to 12 cars for 80 services in Kolkata and 30 services in Chennai * 500 km new lines, 750 km doubling, 450 km gauge conversion targeted in 2013-14 * First ever rail link to connect Arunachal Pradesh * Some Railway related activities to come under MGNREGA * For the first time 347 ongoing projects identified as priority projects with the committed funding * Highest ever plan outlay of Rs. 63,363 crore * Loan of Rs. 3000 crore repaid fully. * A new fund-Debt Service Fund set up to meet committed liabilities. * Freight loading of 1047 MT, 40 MT more than 2012-13 * Passenger growth 5.2% in 2013-14 * Gross Traffic Receipts Rs. 1,43,742 crore i.e. an increase of 18,062 crore over RE, 2012-13 * Dividend payment estimate d at Rs. 6,249 crore * Operating Ratio to be 87.8% in 2013-14 * Supplementary charges for super fast trains, reservation fee, clerkage charge, cancellation charge and tatkal charge marginally increased 2 * Fuel Adjustment Component linked re vision for freight tariff to be implemented from contd on page 2

One more swine flu death, 40 new cases in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A swine flu patient died while 40 more people tested positive Tuesday, taking the toll to 12 and the number of people infected by the Influenza A (H1N1) virus in the national capital to 834, an official said. "Forty more people tested positive for swine flu and one death has been reported today (Tuesday) from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital," a doctor contd on page 2

Reactions from political leaders

eactions from various political leaders and parties to the railway budget presented by Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday. MANMOHAN SINGH, prime minister: The Minister for Railways has done a commendable job in meeting competing demands of improving and increasing services for commuters and controlling expenditure of his department. It is a reformist and forward looking Budget which presents a realistic picture of Railway finances. I compliment him for his innovations in critical areas of Railway infrastructure and paving the way for capacity expansion. P. CHIDAMBARAM, finance contd on page 2

Jammuites' response to Rail budget lukewarm

APS Srinagar bags National Award

SRINAGAR: Army Pubic School Srinagar (APS) has won 1st prize in essay writing at the National level competition conducted by Dalhousie Public School, Dalhousie (HP). Navleen Singh of Class VII brought laurels to the school when his essay was adjudged best in the competition and was presented a cash award contd on page 2

he Rail budget presented in the Parliament on Tuesday has drawn lukewarm response by the Jammuites. Student Age correspondent met many people drawn from different strata of life in order to know their views on the rail budget. Barring the proposal to start the biweekly train from Katra to Kalika there is nothing

special for the Jammuite in this railway budget was the common sentiment of the people whom the Student Age correspondent met. Roshni Mehra, a house wife said that the main concern of the women in Jammu is to get tickets at the railway station in a hassle free manner. Adding further she said that it would have been

better had the Railway Minister thought over creating more women specific ticket booking windows in railway stations like Jammu which caters to lakhs of commuters especially women. Payal, a student said that in this budget the Railway Minister has ignored the up-gradation of Jammu Railway Station contd on page 2

Governor reviews arrangements for Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2013

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26: The arrangements being made for Amarnathji Yatra, which is scheduled to begin on 28th June 2013 and conclude on 21st August, 2013, were reviewed here Tuesday by Governor N. N. Vohra, who is also the Chairman of Amarnathji Shrine Board. Navin K. Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer, SASB; Preet Pal Singh, Additional Chief Executive Officer, SASB, R. K. Pandita, General Manager (Works), SASB, Rajneesh Kumar, Deputy CEO and other senior officers attended the meeting held in Raj Bhawan, Jammu. The CEO briefed the Chairman about the to-date Branches of State Bank of India, 100 Branches of Punjab National Bank and 50 Branches of HDFC Bank would be launching registration on 18th March 2013. The Chairman was informed that, for the convenience of the applicant-Yatris, the list of Bank Branches, format of the Application Form, and format of the Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC) have been uploaded on the Board's website: shriamarnathjishrine.com. The CEO also informed that state-wise list of Doctors/Institutes authorized to issue CHC in respect of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, contd on page 2

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JKNPP to corner Omar Govt on non performance

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today said it would corner the Omar Abdullah-led state government on a host of issues including non-performance and unemployment in the upcoming contd on page 2

Wakil appeals PCC Chief to call Executive leader meet

SRINAGAR, FEB26: Reacting to the Police Bill 2013, Senior Congress leader and former Minister Abdul Gani Wakil Tuesday said Jammu and Kashmir can't be allowed to become a police state. He appealed to State Congress President, Professor Saif-u-Din Soz to convene Executive Committee meeting of Congress to discuss this grave issue. "State Government should relieve people from miseries and it should not implement anti-people laws. I appeal to Soz to call a meeting of Congress leaders to discuss the issue," Wakil told local news gathering agency CNS and added that he is against any more powers for the police. He said there is need to call an All Party meeting on this issue as well because the interests of the people in general are involved with the Police Bill 2013. "There is a need to raise voice against this anti-people bill. I feel the Bill is a brazen attempt by the State Government to unleash a new era of suppression in the State," he said. He appealed to State Congress President, Professor Saif-uDin Soz to convene Executive Committee meeting of contd on page 2

Hideout busted in Handwara Forests

SRINAGAR, FEB 26: Handwara Police and 47RR in a joint search operation busted a hideout and recovered Arms and Ammunition in Kralsanger forest area of Handwara. Acting on specific information, Police Handwara along with 47 RR launched a search operation in the contd on page 2

Governor N. N. Vohra reviewing arrangements for Amarnathji Yatra 2013 at Jammu. measures taken to commence the registration of Yatris on 18th March 2013. He informed that arrangements have been made to registration counters 422 outlets for the Yatra as compared provide through ensuing to 276 outlets provided last year. He further stated that 121 Branches of J&K Bank, 50 Branches of YES Bank, 101

Remote sensing database to upgrade planning: Omar

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26 Underlining the harmonization of collection and reflection of real-time database essentially important for effective planning and better decision making, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday highlighted the importance of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) this regard in a State like Jammu and Kashmir presenting mosaic of geographical diversity, remoteness of areas and hilly terrains. "A real-time spatial database available to planners and decision making authorities would significantly help in improving governance and reaching out to people on development front according to their requirements and development needs in particular sectors", he said and added that collection, storage and usage of data acquired through latest technological interventions and its harmonization in a holistic manner would serve as a king-pin in decision making and planning process. Formally launching the State Spatial Data Infrastructure (SSDI) project and addressing the sensitization-cumdemonstration workshop in this regard organized by the Department of Environment and Remote Sensing here this morning, the Chief Minister said that Geographical Information Service (GIS) mapping of social sectors like health, education, road communication, forest conservation, etc is now a modern concept of basing schemes and infrastructure development programmes on the data collected through this method. The Chief Minister said that in a State like Jammu and Kashmir SSDI initiative to address forest denudation issues, construction plans in hilly-backward and remote areas, conservation of water bodies and protection of environment, is all the more essential and cost saving as the data collected and stored could be utilized by different departments in a harmonized manner without going for collecting the necessary information independently. "The information so available would help the government to make decisions more effectively and based on real-time database. This system would also depict real need and relieve the decision making bodies to depend on needs perceived", the Chief Minister said and added that SSDI would help in fine tuning the decisions of the government. He said the information contd on page 2

Ex-gratia, job to kin of slain sarpanch

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir government has announced an ex-gratia relief and job to the next of the kin of the Sarpanch Javed Ahmad Wani, who was recently killed by unidentified gunmen in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. "Instructions have been issued to the District Administration to process exgratia relief and job in favour of the next of kin of the deceased Sarpanch," an official spokesperson said after Minister of State for Home Sajad contd on page 2

Rajya Sabha approves President's rule in Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Tuesday extolled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's skills in running a coalition government as Rajya Sabha approved a resolution approving proclamation of president's rule in Jharkhand. Shinde, who moved the resolution, said there was perception that small states will see good governments but Jharkhand had not seen very stable governments. He denied suggestions that the decision to keep the state assembly under animated suspension during the president's rule was motivated by political considerations. Shinde said a government was formed in the state in 2010 which had Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) as major partners with the former's Arjun Munda heading it. The minister said Governor Syed Ahmed had waited for a few days to explore the possibility of formation of an alternative government after the JMM withdrew its support to the Munda government last month. He said running a coalition government was difficult task and the way Manmohan Singh was running coalition government of United Progressive Alliance was an example. "Difficulty crops up in five-five minutes (in coalition government)," he said. Shinde said the government will keep paying attention to development needs of Jharkhand. Participating in the debate, D. Bandyopadhyay of Trinamool Congress said the state contd on page 2

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BJP leader: This is not railway budget, this is Rae Bareli budget. This budget has not been presented with the whole country in mind. BALBIR PUNJ, BJP leader: The railways minister could have done better. It is very high on promises and as far as the performance of the railways is concerned, I think it's the ninth railway budget of the UPA I and II which the honourable minister has presented, and it's very low on performance, there is nothing to report. And all the promises which have been made in the budget today they are repetitive and if you look at the last eight budgets you will find that the same clichs have been repeated and there is nothing new, no initiative and absolutely no imagination in this budget. CPI-M: The railway minister has made the false claim that railway fares are not being increased. After increasing passenger fares by 20 percent just two months before the railway budget, the present budget provisions will definitely increase the fares further. A fuel surcharge has been imposed which will result in raising the fares twice a year. The five percent increase in freight charges across the board will have a cascading effect on inflation. The railway budget has made no serious effort to overcome the financial crisis affecting the Indian railways. LALU YADAV, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief: No other railway minister was in such a pathetic situation during budget. They are bankrupt. They have no money. cum-Brake Vans, AC Coaches and Pantry Cars in all trains * Pilot project on select trains to facilitate passengers to contact on board staff through SMS/phone call/e-mail for coach cleanliness and real time feedback * Provision of announcement facility and electronic display boards in trains * Providing free Wi-Fi facilities on several trains * Upgrading 60 stations as Adarsh Stations in addition to 980 already selected * Introduction of an 'Anubhuti' coach in select trains to provide excellent ambience and latest facilities and services * 179 escalators and 400 lifts at A-1 and other major stations to be installed facilitating elderly an d differentlyabled * Affixing Braille stickers with layout of coaches including toilets, provision of wheel chairs and battery operated vehicles at more stations and making coaches wheel-chair friendly *Centralized Catering Services Monitoring Cell set up with a toll free number (1800 111 321) 3 * Complimentary card passes to recipients of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna & Dhyan Chand Awards to be valid for travel by 1 st Class/2 nd AC * Complimentary card passes to Olympic Medalists and Dronacharya Awardees for travel in Rajdhani/Shatabadi Trains * Travel by Duronoto Trains permit ted on all card passes issued to sportspersons having facility of travel by Rajdhani/Shatabadi Trains * Facility of complimentary card passes valid in 1 st class/2 nd AC extended to parents of posthumous unmarried awardees of Mahavir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, President's Police Medal for Gallantry and policy medal for Gallantry * Policy Gallantry awardees to be granted one complimentary pass every year for travel along with one companion in 2nd AC in Rajdhani/Shatabadi Trains * Passes for freedom fighters to be re newed once in three years instead of every year. *Setting up of six more Rail Neer bottling plants at Vijayawada, Nagpur, Lalitpur, Bilaspur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad * Setting up of a multi-disciplinary training institute at Nagpur for training in rail related electronics technologies * Setting up of a centralized training institute at Secunderabad--Indian Railways Institute of Financial Management * Five fellowships in national universities to be instituted to motivate students to study and undertake research on Railway related issues at M.Phil and Ph.D. levels * Fund allocation for staff quarters enhanced to Rs. 300 crore * Provision of hostel facilities for single women railway employees at all divisional headquarters * Provision of water closets and air conditioners in the locomotive cabs to avoid stress being faced by loco pilots

Contd. from page 1...

Bansal presents ....
network and increased frequency of 24 trains. For 2013-14, the Minister announced highest ever plan outlay of 63,363 crore rupees including gross budgetary support of 26,000 crore rupees and Railway safety fund of 2,000 crore rupees. The Minister said, a new Debt Service Fund will be set up to meet committed liablities and set a target to generate 30,000 crore rupees in the terminal year of the 12th plan. In the budget estimates for 201314, Mr Bansal said, fund balances to exceed 12,000 crore rupees and passenger growth will be 5.2 per cent. He said, freight loading of 1047 million tonnes is 40 million tonnes more than 2012-13. The Minister said, gross traffic receipts for 2013-14 is one lakh, forty three thousand, seven hundred forty two crore rupees, an increase of over 18,062 crore rupees more than last year. Stating the safety of the passengers is of the highest priority, Mr Bansal said, train protection warning system on automatic signalling systems and self propelled accident relief trains will be introduced. The Minister also said that 17 distressed bridges will be rehabilitated over next one year and measures will be taken to deal with elephant related accidents. Amidst thumping of desks, the Minister said, eight companies of women RPF personnel to be set up to strengthen the security of rail passengers, especially women. Mr Bansal said, in the RPF recruitment 10 per cent vaccancies will be reserved for women. The Minister said, One lakh fifty two thousand vacancies will be filled up this year, out of which 47,000 vacancies have been earmarked for weaker sections and physically challenged. Mr Bansal announced that a new forged wheel factory will be set up at Rae Bareli in collaboration with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and a Greeenfield Mainline Electrical Multiple units manufacturing facility at Bhilwara in Rajasthan in collaboration with state government and BHEL. He also announced that workshop for repair and rehabilitation of motorized bogies will be set up at Misrod in Madhya Pradesh. The Railway Minister said a new wagon maintenance workshop in Kalahandi in Odisha and a coach manufacturing unit in Haryana's Sonepat will be set up. Mr Bansal also said, a modern signaling equipment facility at Chandigarh through public-private partnership will be established. The Minister said, the Railways has identified 104 important stations for immediate attention to cleanliness and also provision of concrete aprons on platform with mechanised cleaning facilities. He added, another 60 stations will be upgraded as Adarsh stations besides 980 already selected. Services of associate volunatary organisations will be taken for providing first aid services at railway stations. For differently abled and elderly people, the minsiter said, 179 escalators and 400 lifts at major stations will be installed. Mr Bansal said Braille stickers will be affixed with layout of coaches including toilets. The Railway Minister said third party audit and tie up with food testing laboratories for food quality control and ISO certified state-of-the-art base kitchens will be set up in railway premises. He announced a centralised catering services monitoring cell with a toll free number 1800 111 321. Mr Bansal said six more Rail Neer bottling plants at Vijayawada, Nagpur, Lalitpur, Bilaspur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad will be set up. Mr. Bansal said, a multidisciplinary training institute at Nagpur for training in rail related electronics technologies and a centralised training institute at Secunderabad will be established. To reduce carbon footprint, the minister said a chair at TERI will be created to promote railway related research.

Jammuites' response.....
which is one of the busiest in the country. She rued that the Railway Minister despite many memoranda submitted to him to increase facilities at the Jammu Railway Station nothing has been done in this regard. Ramesh Arora, a student criticized the railway Minister for not paying attention to running of an additional train to Pune in view of thousands of students studying in the state of Maharashtra. Echoing the same sentiment Anil Bhat and Farzan Ahmed frequent rail users said that the Railway Minister is not serious about ensuring safe travel in the trains. Elaborating further they said that despite getting reservation four months earlier the rail user has no place to go to the toilet because the space near the toilets is occupied by persons along with their luggage. He added that the Railway Minister should have ensured in this railway budget that nobody other than the passengers with reservation tickets travel in the railway compartments. Meanwhile the rise in the hike of reservation charges has drawn a mixed response. Some were against the hike while others said that it was necessary to shore up the finances of railways Political parties other than the ruling ones have criticized the Railway Budget. The State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Jugal Kishore has described the budget as anti people and aimed at pleasing UPA ruled states. Similar views were echoed by other political parties.

Congress leaders. "All parties should convene a meeting and discuss this issue. It is a very grave issue and if this bill gets passed without any opposition then it will have serious repercussions," Wakil said. He also suggested that this matter should be discussed in NC-Congress Coordination Committee which is headed by Prof. Saif-u-Din Soz.

Remote sensing....
available through SSDI would be easily understandable, real-time and help upgrade the quality of governance and quality of decision making. The Chief Minister said that while reviewing the activities of Department of Environment and Remote Sensing at its Srinagar Campus he had assigned some projects to it. "I am glad that the department's one of these projects on healthcare accessibility has won the national e-governance award for the year 2012-13", he said. He expressed the hope that the department would strengthen its working to meet the growing planning needs of various departments. Omar Abdullah also wished success to the workshop and said that the interaction between various Central and State experts participating in the workshop would prove fruitful for strengthening the programmes and efforts of Department of Environment and Remote Sensing in making the SSDI project a success. Minister for Forests and Environment, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister of State for Cooperatives, Dr. Manohar Lal and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Feroz Ahmad Khan in their speeches on the occasion highlighted the importance of State Spatial Data Infrastructure project for Jammu and Kashmir. They expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for his keen interest in upgrading the planning and decision making process through modern technology utilization. Commissioner Secretary Forests and Environment, Ajaz Iqbal and Commissioner Secretary Science and Technology, Bipul Pathak also spoke on the occasion. The workshop will comprise two technical sessions. Dr. P. S. Roy, Dr. K. L. Rao, Geo-Spatial Chair Professor, Centre for Earth and Space Sciences, HCU, Hyderabad will chair the first session while Dr. P. S. Acharya Scientist-SF and Director NRDMS, Directorate of Science and Technology, Government of India will chair the second session. Renowned scientists and experts including Dr. S. N. Das from ISRO, Dr. Hemant Kumar form IIS Bangalore, Prof. P. K. Joshi from TERI University, New Delhi and Vinod Bothale, NRSC Hyderabad are taking part in the workshop.

sion of assets had been followed. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar during the rule of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal members blamed the BJP for political instability in the state. BJP member Jai Prakash Narayan Singh, however, said the state had seen cases of corruption during the rule of non-NDA parties. The proclamation was issued by President Pranab Mukherjee Jan 18.

the attainment is evidently praise worthy and commendable. It is pertinent to mention that APS Srinagar has also bagged No. 1 position and National Academic Excellence Award last year.

JKNPP to corner ....

Budget Assembly session. "We shall vigorously and vociferously highlight in the Assembly the issues of nongovernance, non-performance, regional bias, fractured work culture, lack of accountability and transparency, fiscal indiscipline and patronised corruption," JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh said here. Besides, the government will also be cornered on the issues of poor delivery of services, with failure on its part to address and redress the genuine urges and aspirations of the people of the state and to redeem its promises, he added.

Parliament passes.....
by the lower house in September 2012. The bill covers under its list of offences sexual remarks, demand for sexual favour, or any act of physical advance or an unwelcome touch. Moving the bill in the upper house, women and child empowerment minister Krishna Tirath said the bill will cover both organised and unorganised sectors and will include domestic workers. "The aim is that women are able to work freely whether it is workplace in organised or unorganised sector," Tirath said. The bill mandates an internal complaint committee for any organisation with 10 or more employees. For an employer not following this, the penalty will be Rs.50,000. Repeated violations may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business.

Railway budget ....

in critical areas of way infrastructure paving the way capacity expansion," prime minister said. railand for the

Hideout busted....
Kralsanger forest area in the jurisdiction of Police station Handwara. During the search a hideout was busted at Haran Top. One AK-47 rifle, one AK magazine, twenty AK rounds, one Chinese Pistol, One pistol magazine, five 9mm Rounds, one Radio Set with Antenna, and 3 UBGLs were recovered from the hideout. Police has registered a case in this regard.

Reactions from....
minister: (It is a) very responsible, practical and implementable budget. I think after many years he (Pawan Kumar Bansal) has candidly stated the state of finances of the railways and within the resources that the railways can mobilise I think he has done a remarkable job of providing new trains, new lines, extensions, capital works, and production facilities. I think it's a very commendable budget. RAJNATH SINGH, BJP chief: By making significant reduction in creating new rail track targets (proposes only 400 Kms for 2013-14) the UPA Government has shown its lack of vision to build rail infrastructure. With no positive outlook towards passenger safety and strengthening infrastructure the Railways is incurring huge losses. MAYAWATI, Bahujan Samaj Party chief: They have told us about the losses but the reasons behind the losses should be clarified. Railways is such a department that if run properly it cannot be in losses they are putting a load on the passengers and have also increased freight charges, but they don't think about providing facilities. Every year they talk big during the rail budget but passengers will not get any benefit from it. MULAYAM SINGH YADAV, Samajwadi Party chief: Since the time I have been in parliament, of all the rail budgets I have seen such an anti-people budget has never been presented I have no objection to providing for Rae Bareli and Amethi. But why is Kanauj, Badaun, Etawah, Bundelkhand, Farrukhabad left out? this budget is only for Congress party supporters. PRAFUL PATEL, Nationalist Congress Party leader: He (minister) has tried to extend help to all sections, has even held on to fares and has done much to increase railways income, to provide clean facilities to people, to reduce accidents he has done a lot of good work but the din in the assembly prevented a lot of good things from coming forth. GOPINATH MUNDE,

Ex-gratia, job to....

Ahmad Kitchloo visited the bereaved family yesterday. The sarpanch was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Sunday in Kreeri area of Baramulla district. The government had ordered a probe into the incident and asked DIG North Kashmir Region to conduct the inquiry within two days to find out the circumstances that led to the killing of the Sarpanch, even when he was provided a security cover. "I have asked the concerned senior officials of the district to submit a detailed report about the incident within two days," Kitchloo said.

One more swine....

at the Delhi Health Service (DHS) said. Tuesday's death takes the toll to 12 this month till Tuesday. In January, 39 cases were reported and one died. A spurt in cases of swine flu has been seen in the national capital this year. In 2012, only 78 swine flu cases and one death were reported in the capital. According to the Delhi government, 17 hospitals and five private hospitals are treating swine flu patients.

Highlights of.....
1 st April 2013 * Enhanced reservation fee abolished * Elimination of 10797 Level Crossings (LC) during the 12 th Plan and no addition of new LCs henceforth * Introduction of 160/200 kmph Self Propelled Accident Relief Trains * 'Aadhar' to be used for various passenger and staff related services * Internet ticketing from 0030 hours to 2330 hours * E-ticketing through mobile phones * Project of SMS alerts to passengers providing updates on reservation status * Next -Gen e-ticketing system to be rolled out : capable of handling 7200 tickets per minute against 2000 now, 1.20 lakh users simultaneously against 40,000 now * Introduction of executive lounge at 7 more stations: Bilaspur, Visakhapatnam, Patna, Nagpur, Agra, Jaipur and Bengaluru * Introduction of 'Azadi Express' to connect places associated with freedom movement * Four companies of women RPF personnel set up and another 8 to be set up to strengthen the security of rain passengers, especially women passengers * 10% RPF vacancies being reserved for women * 1.52 lakh vacancies being filled up this year out of which 47000 vacancies have been earmarked for weaker sections and physically challenged * Railways to impart skills to the youth in railway related trades in 25 locations *Provision of portable fire extinguishers in Guard-

Governor reviews...
Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh and Tripura has also been put on Board's website. To ensure wide publicity of all Yatra related matters, Chairman asked CEO, SASB, to issue very clear Advisories, from time to time, to inform all intending Yatris about the requirement of obtaining the prescribed Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC) from the State Government authorized doctors/ medical institutes. The Chairman also asked the CEO to address Health Secretaries of all those States/UTs which are yet to nominate authorised Doctors/Medical Institutes and ask them to send the lists by 28th February 2013, so that the Yatris hailing from these States/UTs do not have to face any avoidable hardships. The Chairman desired the CEO to meet the senior most officials of Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Doordarshan, and AIR this week to ensure the early launch of the awareness campaign regarding: (i) Registration procedure to be followed by Yatris; (ii) requirement on the part of every Yatri to furnish the prescribed Compulsory Health Certificate; (iii) details of the doctors/medical institutes who are authorized by various States/UTs to issue Compulsory Health Certificates; and (iv) Do's and Don'ts to be followed by the Yatris during the course of the Yatra.

APS Srinagar bags....

and a certificate at the International Centre, New Delhi where the award ceremony took place on Monday. The participants were from all the CBSE affiliated schools of the country, in which Army Public School Srinagar proved out to be the champion by attaining 1st position in junior category. The topic for the competition was: "character is a long standing habit". As per the directions of Dalhousie Public School, the competition was conducted in the school on 14th of Dec. 12, in which the best three essays from both senior as well as junior category were scrutinized for final selection, where in Navleen Singh of class VII was declared the best essay writer and he received a cash award of Rs. 3,000 at the India International Centre, New Delhi on 25th Jan 2012 and a visit to the Rashtrapati Bhawn being organized for the awardees. Applauding the award winner and other participants in the event, Principal, Sandeep Marhatta gave its credit to all the teaching faculty of the school. The school management appreciated the Principal and observed that

ADMISSION BOOKING 2013

12th Pass or 12th Class studying students who are interested in Engg. / Medical fields are informed to get their seats booked in reputed colleges of Northern India under Management seats without any donation securing 50% marks in Phy, Chem, Maths/Bio for the following courses, M.D.S, B.D.S, M. Tech, B. Tech, B. Sc Nursing, B. Pharmacy, Diploma in all streams G.N.M, M.Ed, B.Ed, MBA, LLB, Hotel Management, MCA, BBA etc.

RAINA EDUCATION CONSULTANCY

(Opposite Sub Treasury Tirth Nagar Talab Tillo Jammu) Mob: 94191-37183

Rajya Sabha approves ....

should have an elected government at the earliest. JMM member Sanjiv Kumar said tribals in Jharkhand were poor and some of them came to work as labourers in cities. He said the state had not been able to derive benefit of its enormous mineral wealth. He said Jharkhand had been saddled with financial liability towards Bihar as a different formula for divi-

Wakil appeals PCC....

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STATE

JK National People Party APHC welcomes the new entrants

JAMMU 26 FEB: A large number of youth from Jammu City led by Nitin Singh Jamwal State Youth President JK National People Party APHC (Mirwaiz) joined National Conference tuesday in presence of Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal Addl. General Secretary & Rattan Lal Gupta (Advocate) State Vice-President J&K National Conference at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan, Jammu. While welcoming the new entrants into the party fold Dr. Kamaal hoped that their joining will strengthen the party in their respective areas. He appealed the new entrants to work for the upliftment of down-trodden & poor and take up the local issues with the concerned authorities for their redressal. He said that the coalition partners are working in close coordination for the betterment of the people of the state & has gained significant achievement in the various sectors of development in general and remote and hilly areas in particular. He said that some vested interests are hell bent to create confusion among the peace loving people on religious & regional basis by raising emotional slogans but, the secular forces in the state have to come together to give befitting reply to such nefarious elements. While addressing the gathering Rattan Lal Gupta appealed the youth of the state to take maximum benefit from the tourism potential of the state as a large number of tourists are visiting the state to see the natural beauty. He appealed the youth to strengthen the hands of young, dynamic and visionary Chief Minister Jb. Omar Abdullah who is very much concerned about the basic issues of youth of the state and he has launched many schemes in the state for their welfare.Mr Gupta demanded from the central government that a condusive industrial package should immediately be given to the state so that the industry of the state be florish and the problem of Unemployment also be eased

NEWS IN BOX

Rural Infrastructure getting focused attention: Dy CM

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26 Flagging up gradation of rural infrastructure as priority area, Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, said exemplary development initiatives have been taken for the purpose and focused attention is being paid to core areas of roads, energy, water supply, health and education. He said mega-projects have been launched all across the state to develop rural packets on modern lines and to take the development revolution to every nook and corner. "Exemplary development initiatives initiated by the

Concludes extensive tour of constituency

government clearly show seriousness of current dispensation towards all round development of the state", said Tara Chand. Continuing with the drive to reach out to people and bring administration to their doorsteps, Tara Chand conducted 2-day extensive tour to different areas of constituency and convened a series of public rallies and inspection of various ongoing development works. Lauding unprecedented support of the Central Government, the Deputy Chief Minister said that with the help of liberal funding, major development initiatives have been taken and the state government has launched mega projects for all round development of all the three regions of the State. "Completion of these prestigious projects would go a long way in addressing development aspirations of people of the state", he added. He said two cluster model villages have been sanctioned and work on the same is going on at fast pace. All the villages coming up under these clusters would be developed on modern lines with required infrastructure, he added. He said with completion of the cluster model village project, 31 villages of Pallanwala area would be facilitated with several specialized schemes in education, health, communication sewerage and drainage, agriculture and above all provision for a bus terminal and development of tourist attraction spots in the area. Asking executing agencies to speed up the pace of work on the project, Tara Chand said special package of Rs. 16 crore has been announced for the model village and no delay would be tolerated in its completion. He said work schedule of double shifts should be followed, so that works get completed within the stipulated time frame. "All those involved in the model village project should gear up their efforts and complete the works as per work calendar so as to fully utilize the funds

made available for this prestigious project," he directed. He inspected the pace and progress of various civil works and directed the executing agencies to ensure strict quality control in the works, adding that prestigious projects have been initiated to create durable assets and no laxity would be tolerated for under specification works. Responding to the demands projected by the people, the Deputy Chief Minister directed for constructing deep drain in the area and assured that all genuine demands would be met on priority.

Spiritual master interacts with Ladakhi students

JAMMU: The 9th Khabje Drukpa Choegon Rinpoche's visited Jammu and interacted with students from Ladakh. The visit of Rimpoche was in celebration of 2140 year of Tibetian calendar.On this occasion a function was organized which started with the recitation of the sacred chanting of 4th Mani recitation. A two day teaching cum spiritual workshop on 14th and 15th Choslza Tsangpo also commenced. It is pertinent to mention that All Ladakhi Students' Jammu University Association (ALSAJ) had organized this noble and spiritually uplifting programme for all Ladakhi stuthe expectation of their parents. The Honourable Rimpoche asked them to contribute to the nation building in a meaningful way and become agents of peace and goodwill. Thousands of students has got this noble teaching from the Holiness. Expounding further he stressed upon the students who attended the rare event in thousands that being Buddhists and we should respect for every religion. The importance of real understanding of religion has attained significance as we have not understood the true meaning of religion he emphasised upon to the students.

NC believes in constructive politics; wants to strengthen peace: Altaf

JAMMU FEBRUARY 25Saying that Jammu and Kashmir was passing through a crucial phase, Minister for Forests and Environment Mian Altaf Ahmed on Tuesday urged the people to maintain unity and help in steering the state to peace, progress and development. Addressing party workers and various delegations at Sher-i-Kashmir Bhavan here this afternoon, the Minister called for constructive approach for tackling the problems confronted to the state. The interaction was part of the series initiated by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in making his party's Minister available at the party headquarters for solving people's problems. Mian Altaf cautioned against machinations of vested interests saying they were hell bent upon creating wedge between the people and dividing the state for their political gains. He exuded confidence that people will frustrate their designs, as they have done in the past, and contribute in maintaining traditional bonds of brotherhood and amity. The Minister referred to the distinct identity of Jammu and Kashmir and said this will flourish as a single entity. Those trying to weakening its unity will meet their doom, he said, adding that the unity in diversity has been the strong point of the state. He said negative politics has proved detrimental to the interests of the state and disillusioned the people. "National Conference has been striving to restore the faith of the people in the system by making administration more responsive, transparent and accountable. Mian Altaf lauded the courage of National Conference workers in braving odds during most difficult times and hoped they will demonstrate similar resilience in serving the people. Speaking on the occasion, Provincial President Mr Devender Singh Rana stressed the need for galvanizing National Conference at grassroots and said the party has to become a catalyst of change with an avowed objective of transforming the economic and developmental profile of the state. Mr Rana visualized a big role for the workers and urged them to further expand activities in their respective areas so as to help people solve their problems. He asked the workers to ensure that the achievements in different spheres reach the people and provide credible feedback for devising policies and programmes for their overall good.Describing National Conference as a mass movement, Mr Rana reminded workers that they were inheritors of a legacy that is deeply rooted in the state because of its selfless service to people.

Madni chairs Press Advisory Committee meet

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26: The Deputy Speaker J&K Legislative Assembly, Mr Sartaj Madni, today chaired Press Advisory Committee meeting convened to review the facilities and arrangements made for the media persons for the coverage of Budget Session, commencing from February 28. The meeting was attended by IGP Traffic Munir Khan, ADGP Security Dr Ram Lubhaya, DIG Traffic Jammu Shakeel Beig, Director Information Mr Zaffar Ahmad, Secretary Legislative Assembly Mohammad Ramzan, Special Secretary Law Farhat Tasneem, Director Doordarshan Jammu, Shabir Mujahid, Director News Doordarshan, Bashir Malik, besides senior journalists representing various media organizations. Threadbare discussion was held with regard to the seating arrangements in the press gallery, issuance of media entry passes, parking facilities for the journalists and other related issues . The Deputy Speaker said that press is fourth pillar of the democracy and has an important role to highlight the public issues. He hoped that the media would report the session proceedings in right perspective and sought their cooperation in facilitating smooth coverage of the proceedings. The journalists from various organizations also gave their suggestions with regard to the arrangements for media fraternity, while Deputy Speaker assured them full support from the Assembly Secretariat and concerned departments.

dents living and studying in Jammu. The Kyabje Rinpoche delivered soul stirring discourse and especially stressed upon them to correctly recite holy Mantras which have a great spiritual

meaning. He said that these Mantras have appositive influence on the development of young minds. In addition to this he called upon the students to become positive in outlook, cultivate good values so that they come up to

Teenager crushed to death

Protesters blocked Highway for hours
SRINAGAR, FEB 26: Agitated protestors blocked the High Way at Litapora on Tuesday after police failed to locate the driver who had crushed to death a teenager on Monday evenining. According to CNS, a speedy vehicle crushed to death a teenager, namely Firdous Ahmed Dar of Khonibug, Litapora last evening. The driver had fled from the scene. People in large number assembled on Highway at Litapora and blocked the road which resulted in the stranding of vehicles for hours. Aghast over the in-action of police in this case, protestors raised anti-police slogans and demanded the immediate arrest of the driver. Administrative and police officials rushed to scene and pacified the protestors, assuring them that culprit will be soon located and booked. "We are trying to nab the culprit and certainly he will be arrested soon," a police official told CNS. After assurance from officials, protestors dispersed peacefully.

UMAP demand thorough, transparent probe in paper leak

POONCH FEB 27: A meeting of United Masters' Association District Poonch(UMAP) was held on Tuesday at Pritam Park, Poonch under the Chairmanship of Zulfiqar Ali Mir in which a number of masters participated. Mir while speaking in the meeting criticized the education depertment authorities for suspending the two superintendents of 8th class for the leakage of papers. He demanded that those involved in the leakage should be booked under law and strict action should be taken against the officials who are involved in it. But at the same time un-necessary harassment should not be done to other staff as the superintendents have not got the question papers in their custody. He appealed to the Education Minister and Director School Education, Jammu to go into the depth of the investigation then action be taken. Speaking in the meeting Jagjeet Singh demanded the transfers of all the masters of Distt. Poonch who are working in Distt. Rajouri as assurance was given to them by the Education Minister that this will be done at the earliest. The other demands raised in the meeting include transparent transfer policy, filling of vacant posts of all cadre by DPC, reorganization of education department, half yearly release of grants, transfer policy and inclusion of five years service in favour of RETs, release of pending six months' salary grants under SSA etc. those who address the meeting were Javid Haqani, Sajad Ahmed, Ghulam Ahmed, Abhay Sudan, Chander Mohan etc.

Father is Deputy Sarpanch, Son is Sarpanch and Daughter is Panch, all swindling money
SRINAGAR, FEB 26: A Sarpanch from Kutabal village in Chadoora block of Budgam remained in the news for quite some time last year when he was exposed of swindling lakhs of rupees by providing cheques worth Rs 13 lakh to his close relatives which included some minor children. People again came on roads on Tuesday against the mis-doings of the Sarpanch and his associates and demanded the resignation of Sarpanch, Panch and Deputy Sarpanch who are all from one family. People held protest in Press Enclave, Srinagar and accused Sarpanch Mohammad Aslam Thakar and his father Abdul Ahad Thakar (Dy Sarpanch) of committing fraud in allotment of money to ineligible persons. "Infact the Central Team had recommended dismissal of the Sarpanch but till date Government is yet to act as the Sarpanch is closely associated with ruling National Conference," a protestor Mushtaq Ahmed told CNS and added that out of the Rs 13 lakh the Sarpanch has paid back only Rs 3 lakh. The protestors said that despite swindling huge chunk of money the Sarpanch, and his father and sister have not mend their ways and are still looting the people in one way or the other. "I was told by Sarpanch that he will give me material under IAY for a shed and I paid him Rs 2000. Neither had I received my money back nor the material for shed," Ghulam Mohammad Pheira told CNS and added that whole population of Kutabal is demanding the resignation of father (Deputy Sarpanch), son (Sarpanch) and daughter (Panch).

Gurezi reviews achievements of Agri -dept

JAMMU FEBRUARY 26: Minister of State for Agriculture, Horticulture and Floriculture Nazir Ahmad Gurezi has called for launching awareness campaign at block level to aware farming community about latest farming techniques and through the camps being organized under ATMA Scheme from time to time. The Minister was chairing an officers' meeting of Agriculture Department, Division Jammu, here today, convened to review the physical and financial achievements of various centrally sponsored schemes and district plan besides over all functioning of the department. The Minister asked the Director Agriculture Jammu to gear up the field functionaries to ensure distribution of fertilizers and quality and hybrid seeds to the farmers well in time. He also asked the concerned to speed up the pace of work on all ongoing infrastructure development works and complete these by March 31. "Any negligence in this regard will not be tolerated adding that best performers will be rewarded", Mr. Gurezi said. Reviewing the achievements under 13 centrally sponsored schemes under implementation in the Jammu region, the Minister was informed that Rs 16.02 crore have been incurred under these programmes which include Rs 12.06 crore on Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), National Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters (NVIUC) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM). Taking serious note of slow pace on financial utilization, Mr. Gurezi directed them to use earmarked funds in full and judiously. He asked them to achieve all set targets by March 31 positively. The Minister directed the concerned to ensure issuance of 100 percent Kisan Credit Cards to the farmers. He also called for maintaining close coordination between the farmers and the department functionaries, adding that it will help improve economic condition of the farming community.

Manohar listens to people's demands at Pallan

KATHUA, FEBRUARY 26:- Minister of state for Cooperatives, Finance & Planning Dr Manohor Lal Sharma, Tuesday convened a Public Grievance Camp to listen to the problems and demands of the people here at Pallan Panchayat of tehsil Billawar. He also took stock of ongoing projects and schemes in the area. Panchs and Sarpanchs of Pallan, Dhralta, Parnala, Choi and adjoining areas apprised the minister about their problems & demands which were mainly related to provision for drinking water supply, payment of compensation to snow affected families, provision for animal dispensary, adequate ration supply, early completion of Beril Bridge, up-gradation of power infrastructure, including replacement of old electric wires, and installation of electric poles wherever required. The people of the area also demanded road between Snail and Kalna. Responding to the demands, the Minister passed on spot instructions to the concerned functionaries to look into the demands on priority. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sharma said that with the liberal funding from central Government, many welfare schemes have been launched for the upliftment of weaker section of the society. He said massive development activities have been launched under schemes like MNREGA, RGGVY, NRHM and IAY to provide all basic amenities to the rural populace. He called upon youth to avail employment opportunities under MNREGA, besides going for establishing income generating units under self-employment schemes launched by state and central governments . Dr Manohor Lal Sharma sought cooperation of the people in the implementation of development and welfare schemes to ensure that the benefits reach to the targeted lot. Listing the measures taken to overcome the water scarcity problem in the area, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma said 14 hand pumps and one water reservoir have been completed in the last few years to improve the availability of water. He announced 2 more hand pumps and a reservoir to meet to the water needs of the area. The Minister also sanctioned Rs 6 lakh for the Pallan Panchayat besides 10 Electric poles out of his CDF fund for the area. Minister assured that Road from Pallan to Beral, Pallan to Kalna would taken up shortly under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Youjna.( PMGSY), while assuring early start of work on Beril bridge . He also informed that the work on Balta- Palail and Dhralata - Salri road, taken up under NABARD, would be completed soon. Among others SDM Vikas Gupta, XEN PWD, Assistant Director, Fisheries, Kathua, Chief Project Officer, Fisheries, Kathua, Tehsildar, SHO Billawar, District and tehsil officers Panchs and Sarpanchs and a large number of people were present on the occasion. Earlier, Dr Sharma also witnessed final volleyball matches held at Inter Youth Clubs Sports Meet at Lakhri, organised by Nehru Yuva Kendra, Kathua. Over 30 youth clubs from various panchayats of the Billawar participated in the sports meet.

LC Chairman constitutes committees to nominate award recipients

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26: The Chairman, Legislative Council, Amrit Mhalotra has constituted two committees to select the nominee(s) for best legislator and Media awards for the year 2013. The committee with legislators Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy, Mr Ravinder Kumar Sharma and Sayed Asgar Ali as members will select nominees for media award, while the committee with former Deputy Chairman, J&K Legislative Council, S. Gurmukh Singh, former member, J&K Legislative Council A R Tukroo and Journalist, Neeraj Rohmetra as members would select the nominee for best Legislator award

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STATE

There are many stake holders for effective traffic management: Saleem Beigh
In its endeavor to elicit the views of the important persons in the corridors of power, Student Age has started a series of interviews in order to appraise its readers about the views of the administration in order to make Jammu a safe and better place to live in . In this series we present the excerpts of the interview with Deputy Inspector General Of Traffic (DIG) Sh.Saleem Ahmed Beigh.
Student Age: Mr. Beigh being appointed as new DIG Traffic in Jammu how you take to your new assignment? Mr. Beigh : Frankly speaking it is the prerogative of the government to post me where it wants my services. As an officer who is duty bound to follow the orders of the administration in letter and spirit it is bounden duty upon me to give my best shot to the job entrusted upon me. Student Age: Well Sir, that apart what problems you inherit when it comes to solving the traffic problems in Jammu? Mr. Beigh: Every officer inherits positives as well as negatives. But in the given circumstances it will be our commitment to see how the management of traffic in Jammu is managed well. Student Age: What are the peculiar problems in Jammu regarding traffic management that needs your immediate attention? Mr. Beigh : It is pertinent to mention that Jammu city has the largest concentration of vehicles in the country in respect to road length. We have about seven lakh vehicles in the city and every year about 54000 new vehicles are added. This is in addition to thousands of vehicles pouring into Jammu when Darbar shifts to the winter capital. It is an astonishing fact that in a road length of roughly about 3.5 kilometers to manage a traffic density of lakhs of vehicles is a daunting task for any Traffic Department given its various limitations. Student Age: What you have said is already known and the Traffic Department within its limited infrastructure has to deliver to its

Deputy Inspector General Of Traffic (DIG) Saleem Ahmed Beigh

optimum level. Frankly speaking the public perception about the working of Traffic Department is not up to the mark. What you want to say in this regard. Mr. Beigh: It is true that the perception of the public regarding the functioning of any department is not good. There is always room for improvement and we assure you that in the given constraints we will deliver to the best of ability. Student Age: Can you please elaborate on your assurance? Mr. Beigh : Since I took over as DIG Traffic I made it clear that there are some areas where we can work aggressively in order to make the lives of people safe on the roads. First we started with a campaign to impress upon the people to wear helmets. I stress on the two wheeler users through the columns of your newspaper that the two wheeler riders are mostly prone to accidents. If they wear quality helmets in place of cheap helmets and wear them properly then I assure you that will not only feel safe while driving on the roads but in case of any accident there is every possibility that they will save their lives and spare the lifelong agony of their parents. Student Age: In your effort to better manage traffic in the city what cooperation you seek from the people? Mr.Beigh : The people of the city are supreme . We desire to the utmost that they cooperate with us to make the flow of traffic orderly on the roads and to make the lives of people safe. We request the people to follow traffic rules. They should leave the left side of the road for other traffic to

Given the present scenario it is a remote possibility to make the roads of Jammu safe. Traffic Department may have some genuine problems regarding shortage of manpower as well as lack of better coordination and professional approach but it is the duty of the road user in Jammu whether he is a pedestrian, a car owner, a matador driver or a young two wheeler driver to adhere to the traffic rules and drive sensibly. The government too has to come out with a holistic plan to make the road space safe and available to the hapless Jammuite who is at the mercy of either the delinquent matador driver or at the mercy of a VIP cavalcade whose security staff brush him aside as if he does not have a right to use the road. The poor governance in terms of road and traffic management has to stop to give a much needed breather to the hapless Jammuite.
pass. We have been repeatedly saying this that the people should make a diligent, safe and secure use of roads especially at the roundabouts and at the rotaries. Over speeding is one of the main problems that are causing bloodletting on the roads. We request that they drive safe, use quality helmets and I have an earnest request for two wheeler users that they should not carry more than two persons on their motor cycles or scooter. Student Age: The number of private cars is rising manifold.What have you done in your short stint as DIG Traffic to ensure that car users too adhere to traffic rules? Mr. Beigh: The number of cars has increased manifold. Some months ago you would have noticed that nobody used seat belts while driving. You will probably appreciate that as a small measure we have given serious thought to ensure that people wear seat belts. And today you will see for yourself that about ninety percent of people have started using seat belts. Student Age: Despite your efforts the problem of traffic management is a big problem and is causing headache to the road users. The pedestrian is not safe. The road user is not safe. Traffic jams have become order of the day. The private matadors behave as if they are masters of the road and have a divine right to stop in the middle of the road to take passengers or offload them. In such a dismal scenario despite your sincere efforts things are not moving. Mr. Beigh: it is true to a large extent what you have said. Not only as DIG Traffic but as a common citizen I too feel that things are not going so well with regard to management of traffic in the city. You must understand that the Traffic Department has a role only in regulating traffic but when it comes to make the flow of traffic smooth and make our roads safe believe me we have a small role in it. There have to be new roads, new flyovers and new bridges which will help to reduce present the vehicle density on the roads. The RTO office will have to think whether it is feasible to allow huge number of new vehicle registration in the State. There has to be a plan to decongest roads by putting in place a metro in the city. One of the big problems that comes in way of decongesting roads in the lack of parking spaces. We have to create multistoried parking space so that people do not park cars on the roads. The government was planning to shift bus stands located in the middle of the city to peripheral areas. This needs an urgent attention Believe me that though the Traffic Department has to improve its functioning as there is always room for improvement but for a long term perspective planning to decongest roads in the city we need the tacit support of many stake holders without whose help and planning the things are not going to improve much. Student Age: Thanks Mr. Beigh for being very frank and candid in your approach. Despite the difficult task ahead we hope that being an upright officer you will deliver to the best of your ability and galvanize the Traffic Department to play a more proactive role. We from Student Age wish you well.

Deputations call on Health Minister

Opening of Sub-Health Centers in inaccessible areas, govt's priority: Shabir
JAMMU, FEBRUARY 23: Minister of State for Health (Independent Charge), Shabir Ahmed Khan, has said that Government has moved a proposal to the Centre for setting up of more Sub-health Centers in the state especially remote and hilly areas which still lacks this vital service. This was stated by the Minister during his interaction with several deputations who called on him here today and put forth their demands especially related with upgradation of health care facilities in their areas. A deputation from Badherwah led by J&K Youth Congress President, Badherwah, Nadeem Sharief Niaz demanded filling up of vacant posts of medicos and para-medicos in SDHs Badherwah, Gandoh, Thathri besides PHCs and Sub-Health Centers of the area. They also urged for deployment of more ambulances in the area. Another deputation from Turtuk, Leh led by Councilor, Abdul Ali, demanded opening of health centers in villages Chalungkha, Thung and Changmar besides requesting for posting of lady doctors at PHCs Turtuk and Bagdan. The deputation led by MLC Kargil, Aga Sayeed Mohd. Razvi also met the Minister and hailed release of Rs. 12.00 crore by the Government for upgradation of necessary health infrastructure in the district and requested for opening of more Sub-health Centers in far off and hilly terrain areas of the district. The deputation from Wagoora and Mangam of Baramulla district demanded establishment of health centers in these areas, with the plea that having over 5000 population of these villages no Health Center was set up till date due to which the people of the area faces inconvenience for their treatment. The deputations from Rajouri, Srinagar, Pulwama, Doda and Kathua also called the Minister and put forth their demands for upgradation of health care facilities in their areas.The Minister assured that all possible steps would be taken to upgrade health care facilities across the state. In this regard, the government has launched various innovative programmes like NRHM which have improved the medicare in the state to a great extent.

Khanday reviews Poonch essential services' restoration, directs immediate release of Rs 5 cr

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26 Chief Secretary, Muhammad Iqbal Khanday today reviewed the restoration of essential services and infrastructure in Poonch district, which was damaged due to recent snow storm in the Pir Panjal ranges, at a high level meeting on Disaster Management in the State. The Chief Secretary directed constitution of a verification committee headed by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu to critically evaluate the assistance plan submitted by the district administration. The assistance plan comprises financial assistance to sectors like PHE, PWD, power transmission and electric maintenance which were badly damaged in the snow storm. Khanday, as an interim assistance, directed release of Rs. Five crore to the District administration for restoration of essential services. He directed the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch to ensure this restoration under his own supervision. The Chief Secretary also asked the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu to furnish complete list of cases under SRO-43 so that the same are examined for ex gratia assistance. Khanday also directed immediate sanctioning of relief amount to the livestock owners of Leh whose cattle perished in a hailstorm in Changthang area of the district.

2-day Gojri Literary, Cultural meet takes off

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 26: Reaffirming the Government's resolve to promote Gojri language, the Minister for Forests and Environment, Mian Altaf has said that initiatives taken at Government level will provide budding writers, poets and artists of Gojri language an opportunity to contribute towards the development of this ancient language. The Minister was speaking at the inaugural function of 2-day Gojri Literary and Cultural Meet, held here at K L Sehgal hall. Minister for Housing and Culture, Mr. Raman Bhalla, Secretary J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages, Khalid Bashir, besides a galaxy of Gojri writers and poets were present on the occasion. Appreciating the efforts of the Academy, Mian Altaf said that such gatherings provide a platform to the writers

Mian Altaf, Bhalla release 9 Gojri language books

and poets to discuss and recommend the measure needed to be taken for promotion of this ancient language. "Schedule Tribe status granted to Gujjar and Bakerwall communities has increased their reservation share in Govt jobs and in other spheres, said the minister and asked participants to seek their reservation rights. He asked them to thoroughly discuss the measures required to be taken at Government level for promotion of Gojri language and come up with the recommendations so that requisite steps are taken in this regard. "Efforts are on to get Gojri language included in 8th schedule of Indian constitution" said the Minister, assuring that he will take up the demand at proper forums for early fulfillment. He said Gujjar and Bakerwal people form an important section of state population and asked participants to come forward and play their role in the best interest of both the communities. He also assured that the matter regarding opening of Gojri department in University of Jammu will be taken up with the Varsity authorities. Mian Altaf asked writers and poets to make consolidated efforts in sensitizing the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities about the welfare schemes and other programmes started by the Government at various levels. Raman Bhalla, while speaking on the occasion, said that the Government was committed to provide equal opportunities for promotion of every language being spoken in the State. He said the Government will do whatever felt necessary for promotion of Gojri language and asked the participants to play their role by way of giving suggestions to the Government to achieve the crucial goal. Bhalla said that the measures taken by the Cultural Academy for promotion of all languages being spoken in the State will go a long way in promotion of literary and cultural activities. "Academy is doing a lot in this regard but there is much more yet to be done" said the Minister, adding that Academy will take every measure to encourage Gojri writers. Raman Bhalla said Gujjars are identity of the State and the government would take every measure towards conservation of their culture and heritage , including Gojri which is one of the significant languages of India and is mother tongue of Rajasthanis, Marwaris and Gujaraties . He appreciated Academy for holding two-day Cultural Meet, while lauding the work done by Gojri section of the acade-

my. Earlier, welcoming the guests, Secretary Academy Khalid Bashir stated that the main objective of holding the Meet was to provide an opportunity to Gojri writers, poets artists and intellectuals to sit together and discuss various trends emerging in new global literature. He impressed upon the writers of Gojri language to publish their works and participate in Academy's competitions for Awards Dr. Javaid Rahi, Chief Editor, while presenting report on work of Gojri section stated that during last two years the section has published as many as 70 books, including some special numbers of Sheeraza Gojri and Maharo Adab. He said the Gojri section of the Academy was working on a high profile Translation project under which 30 books originally written in Persian, Sanskrit, English Urdu, Kashmiri and

other languages have been translated in Gojri language. "We have preserved the Folk-treasure of Gojri by publishing 22 volumes of Gojri Folk-Songs and 30 volumes of Folk-Tales" , he added. Earlier, nine latest Gojri Books published by Academy were released on the occasion.The inaugural session was followed by Paper reading Session which was presided over by reputed journalist , and analyst Zaffar Chowdhary, while Lalit Gupta prominent art historian and Iqbal Azeem, Central Committee Member of Academy were part of the presidium. Ch Hassan Parwaz, Ch Gulzar Khatana, Ch Amin Qammar, Ch Jahangeer Asghar Ch Abdul Ghani Arif , presented papers on the occasion. Later, prominent folk Artists, Ch Bashir Mastana and Party, Parvaiz Malik and Party, Noor un Nissa and Party, Razia Begum and Party Farid Khatna and party enthralled the audience .

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STUDENT AGE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

EDITORIAL

vents post Guru's hanging grimly suggest that we as a nation have lost the collective consciousness to promote national interests. Perhaps we have lost sight of things unfolding which have dangerous portents for the country. In either case those who manage the affairs of the country need to undergo a political MRI to ascertain what is going wrong in the country. With a waning patriotic fervor and a senseless proclivity to defend, promote and iconize those who are responsible for the murder and mayhem the whole country has to rise to show terror managers their right place. These merchants of hate and death are out instead to fan hatred and terror yet go away with it enjoying the bounties of lax Indian democracy and its largesse at the cost of poor tax payer's money. The disturbing factors are that these terror and hate mongers share stage with high and mighty of the country. Suffering from the selective amnesia the political leadership and brazen promoters of these people have cost the nation dearly. People like Yasin Malik have been given long rope by the Indian State despite being well known that he is the killer of four innocent Air force personnel who were standing at a bus stop to board a bus. The people who manage the security and administrative set up of the country have perhaps forgotten that Yasin Malik has admitted killing of four India Air force personnel. In 1987, he was arrested, taken to an interrogation center for twenty days and then imprisoned for a year under the Public Safety Act. It was during this period that the four core activist member of the JKLF, Ashfaq Majid Wani (The JKLF Chief), Hamid Sheikh, Javid Mir and Yasin Malik met to form the infamous HAJY group, an acronym formed of the first letters of their first names. Two members of the HAJY Group Hamid and Ashfaq, were killed during encounter with security forces. Yasin Malik and Javid Mir were caught and imprisoned until 1994. In any country serious to defend its people and punish the killers of innocent people such men should have been behind the bars or become history but in India such people who exhibit anti-national tendencies are not only free but are pampered to such a degree that instead of being accused they are projected as victims. It is not happening for the first time but is being repeated on and on to the detriment of the crucial national interest. The people demand answers from those who manage the affairs of this country and vehemently question what locus standi the persons like Yasin Malik had to pass judgement on the hanging of Afzal Guru. Guru was no saint to have been accorded the title of being the messiah of people. Guru was a cold and diabolical schemer who spared no effort to see that war is waged against the Indian State and its democratic Institutions. The surprising statement from Yasin Malik in a meeting organized by JKLFin Islamabad that " Guru's hanging was the murder of collective conscience of all Kashmiris" should amuse us. Any discernable pesron will chide over his statement. Yasin Malik needs to be told in clear terms that Guru did not represent the collective conscience of kashmiris . He represented the hate syndrome injected in the minds of some persons by Pakistani, Jihadi and Whabhi combine which see everything other than their vision of religion as anti-Islam. Fortunately these elements are still small in numbers and every effort is needed to wipe them out so that the real vision of Kashmiriat is restored. People like Yasin Malik, and those who promote them have to be told that the times have changed and the country will not take it lying down when it comes to deal with perpetrators of violence. Afzal Guru's last words before his hanging exhibit his commitment to terror and his complete brainwashing which turned him into a cold blooded murderer of nine innocent people. How can Almighty award him for his misdeeds as claimed by him in his last words? It is disgusting to hear on many television channels people like Yasin Malik compare themselves to Gandhi! The real culprits for inflating the egos of such killers of innocents is the lax Indian State and the host of so called delicate minded intellectuals including the likes of Arundati Roy who tolerate the inanities of these people and do nothing to bring them to justice. How sorry state of affairs that even after publically hobnobbing with international terrorists like Hafiz Sayeed government is yet undecided what to do with Yasin Malik.? In such scenario of indecision God can only save India.

Yasin Malik, Guru and docile response

Death or mercy, decide in time-bound manner

BY SANDHYA JAIN ndue delay on the part of the President to settle petitions seeking the commutation of death sentence has given the convicts an opportunity to approach the Supreme Court and ask for waiver of capital punishment By granting a six-week stay on the death sentence of four aides of ivory and sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, the Supreme Court has heightened emotions in Jammu & Kashmir over the hanging of Afzal Guru, and strengthened feelings in some quarters that the President did an injustice by rejecting the mercy petitions of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has also come under a shadow for not giving the two an opportunity to seek relief from the apex court. Given the sensitivity of the matter, Parliament should urgently finetune the law and settle whether the judicial mind should be applied afresh to cases where clemency petitions have been decided by the President, on any pretext. Currently, the court is hearing some high-profile cases which essentially involve reviewing its own judgements; the Union Home Ministry's recommendation to the President and the latter's decision; and perhaps overturning the same. This could have a potentially explosive impact on the judicial system, especially in cases unduly politicised by activists and politicians.

In the present case of Simon & Others versus State of Karnataka, in 2001, a Tada court in Mysore held four members of Veerappan's gang Simon, Gnana Prakash, Madhiah and Bilavendra - guilty of the killing of 22 persons in a landmine explosion on April 9, 1993. They were convicted under relevant sections of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act and Indian Arms Act, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life, besides fine and further imprisonment in default of payment of fine. It bears mentioning that the Veerappan gang is officially responsible for 120 murders at least, mostly of policemen and police informers. A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices YK Sabharwal and BN Agrawal decided their appeals on January 29, 2004. Examining the record of the case, the court noted that the special jungle patrol led by superintendent K Gopala krishnan was searching for the gang when one of the two buses in which they were travelling was hit by a landmine laid by the criminals. This shattered the first bus in which policemen, foresters and informants were sitting; in all, 22 persons died and several were injured. After the explosion, the gang fired upon the police party, but retreated when the latter returned the fire. Cases were filed against 121 persons; 50 were arrested and prose-

cuted, but all barring four were acquitted during trial. In the apex court, the convicts challenged their presence at the crime scene and involvement in the crime. The record, however, showed that several persons, including police officers in the second bus, and survivors in the first bus, identified the four men as present at the scene. The Supreme Court observed that the Veerappan gang had unleashed such a reign of terror in the area that even the police needed an escort party to move about. The crime was brutal, a 'rarest of the rare case'. Asserting that punishment must be commensurate with the crime committed, the Supreme Court held that, while ordinarily the Appellate Court does not enhance punishment, this was "such a gross case that nothing but maximum sentence stipulated in law deserves to be awarded". The Court said, "We are conscious of the fact that the power to enhance death sentence from life should be very rarely exercised and only for strongest possible reasonsThe question of enhancement of sentence to award death penalty can, however, be considered where the facts are such that to award any punishment less than maximum would shock the conscience of the court". In Machhi Singh & Others versus State of Punjab [(1983) 3 SCC 470], the Supreme Court observed that one of the categories of rarest of rare case may be when the collective

conscience of the community is so shocked that it will expect the holders of the judicial power to inflict death penalty irrespective of their personal opinion as regards desirability or otherwise of retaining death penalty. The community may entertain such a sentiment when the crime is committed in an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting or dastardly manner so as to arouse intense and extreme indignation of the community. The pre-meditated planting of landmines en route the police party, and firing after the blast at the State police personnel and Special Task Force, was diabolical. The Court ruled that the appellants were a grave danger to society and had made normal life impossible for those living in the area. Asserting that it would be mockery of justice if extreme punishment were not imposed, the Court dismissed the appeals, confirmed the convictions, and enhanced the sentence of each convict from life imprisonment to death penalty. President Pranab Mukherjee rejected the mercy petitions of all four on February 13. In the light of the quick executions of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru, the four men appealed to the Supreme Court on grounds of inordinate delay in executing their sentences. This is a valid irritant which has been upsetting citizens enraged by the depredations of such marauders. But can executions delayed for

political reasons (even Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit told the Union Home Ministry that Afzal Guru's hanging could pose law and order problems in the city), be overturned by invoking delay after the President has rejected the plea for clemency? The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Veerappan's aides to await the verdict by a bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi on the question of whether inordinate delay in deciding mercy petitions could entitle a convict to relief. Hearing the petition of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and Narender Nath Das, the bench sought records of all cases of death sentences that were pending for several years, and reserved judgement in April 2012. For ordinary citizens, a judicial verdict must satisfy their sense of justice. If the Supreme Court first upholds the death penalty and then goes into the merits of the President's giving or denying clemency, and overturns or undermines his decision on any count, it will make a travesty of justice and the judicial process itself. In the light of recent experiences, the Supreme Court should rule (and Parliament should enact into law) that clemency petitions must be forwarded to the President within six months of the award of death penalty, and decided within another six months. In no circumstances should there be an appeal after the President's decision.

The finance minister must show that he can take bold steps
BY BHASKAR DUTTA fter a few years of languishing in the home ministry - a period during which he did not quite distinguish himself - P. Chidambaram is back in charge of the finance ministry. This is perhaps his ideal position. This is where he earned applause from virtually everyone because of the 1997-98 "dream budget", which ushered in an era of low tax-rates with drastically reduced personal and corporate income tax rates as well as the removal of the surcharge on corporate taxes. Mr Chidambaram will soon need all his fiscal acumen when he presents the budget for 2013-14 in a few days' time. This has been labelled a "make or break budget", both for the United Progressive Alliance government as well as the Indian economy. This is going to be the last full year's budget before the next Lok Sabha elections, due sometime in 2014, if not earlier. Beset with various allegations of corruption and labels of "policy paralysis", it is imperative for the government to come up with a credible budget, which demonstrates that this is a government that can take bold steps when required. Paradoxically, it is particularly difficult to present a bold budget in a pre-election year. The temptation to pander to various vested interests, to pursue shortterm goals, all point in the direction of a populist budget. Fortunately, the drastic state of the economy counteracts the short run compulsions to present a populist budget. This may be one of the few occasions when good economics makes sound political sense. There are strong signs that the economy has slowed down drastically -

the latest figures show that the rate of growth of the economy has slowed down to just over 5 per cent. The slowdown has been practically across the board, with no sector being spared. The little growth that we have witnessed has come to be called "jobless growth" since there has been hardly any increase in organized sector employment. The level of inflation continues to be above comfortable levels, though it has come down slightly. Perhaps the most worrisome sign has been the continuing inability of the government to control the fiscal deficit. This is alarmingly large, and the country faces the very real danger that international credit rating agencies may pull the plug and downgrade the Indian economy. It is foolish and short-sighted beyond belief to claim that we should not care about a certificate issued by a rating agency because their downgrades can have potentially large adverse effects. In particular, foreign institutional investors are less likely to invest in Indian stocks if the economy receives a thumbs-down signal from these rating agencies. India cannot afford a drying up of portfolio investments because we need these dollars in order to pay for the yawning gap in the current account - we import much more than we export. So, the main requirements of the budget are clear enough. At the top of the list must be the need to slash the fiscal deficit. Mr Chidambaram must have a credible plan to bring down the deficit to below 5 per cent. He must also ensure that the growth process is revived. This will involve at least some increase in infrastructure investment and perhaps some stimuli to the capital goods industries. Finally, Mr Chidambaram will

The real test for Mr Chidambaram must be in what he proposes on the expenditure side of the budget. He cannot propose a uniform, across-the-board cut in expenditure since that would have a severe impact on growth. In fact, there may be a sizeable increase in social sector spending - surely, he has to make realistic provisions for the food security bill. But, he has to be ruthless in slashing expenditure in all non-productive spheres. And there is tremendous scope for that. One item that comes to mind immediately is the amount spent on travel. Why can't more meetings be through video-conferencing? How many foreign trips of government officials are actually necessary? And what are the perks enjoyed by these officials when they travel abroad?
have to cater to some minimal political compulsions and ensure that the overall "slant" of the budget is promiddle class. Of course, this is a formidable task-list because these objectives may conflict with one another in the short-run. For instance, tight control over expenditure - which is necessary to slash the fiscal deficit - makes it that much better to pursue pro-growth policies. Recent policy changes have made the finance minister's job considerably easier. The government seems determined to slash the subsidy bill. It has raised prices of petroleum products and has also announced that their prices will keep adjusting in line with international trends. This will have a huge positive impact in reducing the subsidy bill. Passenger fares on the railways, which were static for as long as one can remember, have also been increased. Mr Chidambaram has also made a conscious effort to control government expenditure. Newspaper reports suggest that he has succeeded in cutting back expenditure quite significantly. Finally, the government has announced that the much-hated General Anti-Avoidance Rules are being pushed back to 2016. This will appease the foreign institutional investors so that foreign exchange inflows will continue. Of course, the pre-budget moves can only be a small part of the required package. The budget must contain steps to reduce the gap between government revenue and expenditure. However, it is difficult to suggest obvious measures that will raise additional tax revenue. With the rate of growth being so sluggish, this is simply not the right time to impose new taxes on the corporate sector. Much has been written about raising the income tax rate for the "super rich". I would not be surprised if the finance minister does introduce such a tax. It will be more of a political statement to the effect that the UPA government is anti-rich and by implication propoor. However, the actual additional revenue raised through such a tax would be a minuscule amount, given the overall size of the government budget. In recent years, the government has tightened up the tax administration quite considerably - computerization, the increasing use of PAN in most financial transactions, have all helped to improve tax compliance. The flip side of the coin is that the government can no longer hope to get very large returns from greater tax compliance - all the low-hanging fruit have already been plucked. This means that the only source of additional revenue for the government can be through disinvestment of public sector enterprises. To the extent that the other measures help to improve the health of the stock exchange, the government can hope to raise a tidy sum through disinvestment. The real test for Mr Chidambaram must be in what he proposes on the expenditure side of the budget. He cannot propose a uniform, across-the-board cut in expenditure since that would have a severe impact on growth. In fact, there may be a sizeable increase in social sector spending - surely, he has to make realistic provisions for the food security bill. But, he has to be ruthless in slashing expenditure in all non-productive spheres. And there is tremendous scope for that. One item that comes to mind immediately is the amount spent on travel. Why can't more meetings be through video-conferencing? How many foreign trips of government officials are actually necessary? And what are the perks enjoyed by these officials when they travel abroad? In all probability, the budget may be boringly routine on the revenue side, with tax-rates remaining more or less unchanged. Hopefully, Mr Chidambaram will be merciless on the expenditure side of the budget.

READERS SPACE
VP for electoral reforms
Dear Sir, The country's Vice-President has proposed three changes in the electoral system to strengthen representative democracy. First, voting should be made compulsory. Second, the candidate who is declared the winner must secure more than 50 per cent of the votes. Third, there should be proportional representation in the legislature, representing all sections of society. As regards the first suggestion, the voting right is essentially an option and not a compulsion to elect a candidate by default. As such there must be a provision of neutral and negative voting. In a multi-party system like ours, there may be more than two candidates for a seat. In that case, the chances

of the winning candidate securing more than 50 per cent of the votes may not be possible in most seats. Re-election will, therefore, be necessary. A new form of rigging, such as forced withdrawal of nominations, cannot be ruled out. As for the third suggestion, a separate House on the lines of the Legislative Council, which has been abolished in many states, may be reintroduced. It is an expensive proposition. Can we afford it? At another remove, Mr M Ansari has referred to the problem of inflexibility and the working structure of our governance, saying that they impede proper implementation of sound policies and innovative ideas. Hopefully, this problem can be solved by the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers. Yours, etc. Jeewan Singh Bagh-e-Bahu, Jammu

New Police Bill in J&K

Dear Sir, A new law proposed to replace the archaic police act in Jammu and Kashmir has ragged a controversy. Not only the civil society activists and the champions of police reforms have taken an exception to its various provisions, the state bureaucracy is also up in arms, as the new law takes away crucial law and order control from district magistrates. Breaking any queue, defecating or urinating in a public place, carrying any article in a vehicle which projects more than five feet shall be punishable for a term of six months or with fine.Despite claims of decline in militancy and infiltration, the newpolice law has borrowed provisions from temporary laws like disturbed area act. Yours Etc Sanjay Kumar, Shiv Nagar, Jammu

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STUDENT AGE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

NATIONAL

Opposition attacks govt in LS over safety issue of women

NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of the Delhi gang-rape case, government Tuesday came under sharp attack from the opposition in the Lok Sabha over the safety of women in the national capital even as Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde rejected suggestions that the city has become "unsafe". Government also informed the House that Delhi Police has taken a number of steps for the safety and security of women in the city including intensive patrolling and creation of women help desks. In reply to a question on the status of 'Parivartan' community programme launched by Delhi Police in 2005 to check increasing incidents of rapes, Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that the campaign, which was launched by the North-West district police in 28 beats, has now been enhanced to 198 beats. He said 'Parivartan' is an ongoing scheme under which parents, teachers, students and youth are educated on issues related to safety of women. Ramachandran said in the wake of the gangrape case, the Home Ministry has recommended creation of 1950 posts of women constables in Delhi Police for which the Finance Ministry has been approached. He also said city police will also get 370 patrol vans and efforts were on to upgrade the police control room. He said as part of the 'safe city project', 5000 CCTV cameras would be installed to upgrade security. His remarks that after the 'Parivartan' scheme was launched, crime against women have come down evoked a strong reaction from opposition parties who termed his reply as "routine". Members from JD (U), SAD, BJP and other parties questioned his claims and said the minister was using figures to confuse the members. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said instead of giving a "routine reply", the Minister should have spelt out a plan with special schemes. "...Crime against women go unabated," she said. Swaraj claimed that Delhi has been declared "unsafe capital" for women. This prompted Shinde to intervene and reject the suggestion. He said it is not fair to make such accusations as the government has not declared the city "unsafe". He said after the gangrape, government had set up Justice Verma committee and Justice Mehra Commission to suggest changes in criminal laws and improve policing and a fresh bill to amend criminal law will be introduced in Parliament.

Govt stands firm behind Kurien, Tharoor defends police action

NEW DELHI: The government stood firmly behind Congress leader and Rajya Sabha deputy Chairman PJ Kurien as the Suryanelli rape case came up for debate in the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said that no evidence had been found Kurien by the investigating agencies and that the lawyer who represented the rape survivor in the Supreme Court had said that no case could be made against him. Minister of State for Human Resources and Development (HRD) Shashi Tharoor has come out in support of the Kerala Police, who have booked 111 Internet users for posting and sharing 'defamatory' comments on Facebook against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien in the Suryanelli gang-rape case. Kerala Mahila Congress leader Bindu Krishna had filed a complaint with the police, following which the Kerala Police Cyber Cell regassaulted her in 1996. The Supreme Court had exonerat-

Terror has no colour, religion: Govt

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday that terrorism has no colour or religion and if any case of prolonged incarceration of any individual belonging to any community without any charge sheet against him is brought to light, it will take appropriate action to ensure justice. The issue was raised by Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour who alleged that there were many youths from the Muslim community who were languishing in jails for 10-15 years. A section of them were released as they were found to be innocent, he said. In his reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh said, "Law does not discriminate on basis of colour or religion." It is extremely unfortunate if some youths were in jail without any charge sheet against them, he said. Singh assured the House years without any charge sheet against them. Acharia wanted to know if the government had taken any action against investigating agencies which had "falsely implicated" innocent youths from the minority community. The Minister said that Section 211 of IPC gave a person the right to seek compensation in case he had been falsely implicated in a case. He said under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act if a charge sheet is not filed within 180 days against an arrested person, he is entitled to bail. Yashwant Sinha (BJP) asked as to how many of those arrested in criminal cases were from other religions. He also referred to comments made by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his predecessor P Chidambaram.

Ram Setu issue rocks Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: The issue of Ram Setu rocked Rajya Sabha on Tuesday with BJP asking the government to withdraw its affidavit given in court on plans to dismantle it, leading to acrimonious exchanges and consequent adjournment of the House. The House witnessed uproarious scenes on the issue, with BJP and the government trading charges, accusing each other of playing politics and not having faith in God, as DMK and AIADMK members joined in. As BJP and the treasury benches traded charges against each other, E M S Natchiappan, who was in the Chair, adjourned the House till 2 PM amid acrimonious scenes. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Prakash Javadekar (BJP) asked the government to withdraw its affidavit given in court on its decision to dismantle the structure and said they will not allow this to happen. He also asked the government to agree to recommendations of the Pachauri expert committee's suggestion for a different alignment without dismantling the Ram Setu structure, to which the government is not agreeing. BJP members stood up after Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla accused the party of playing politics on the issue for votes and later trooped into the Well raising slogans for taking back the affidavit given by the Centre. "Affidavit wapas lo, wapas lo," (Take back the affidavit), they chanted even as AIADMK and DMK also raised slogans leading to the adjournment of the House. Javadekar accused government of not being concerned about public and religious sentiments as also of preserving ancient heritage and demanded withdrawal of the affidavit. He warned that an agitation would be launched if the government did not do so.

istered the case against 111 people. Krishna had claimed that she was also the target of several of those comments. Defending Kurien and the police, Tharoor said it was a case of defamation. The RS Deputy Chairman is not an accused in the Suryanelli rape case but was named by a survivor in a police complaint. No FIR has been registered against him so far. Kurien was named by the Suryanelli victim as one of those who had sexually

ed the Congress leader of the charges. The rape survivor had recently filed police complaint seeking that Kurien be named accused in the case. However, no FIR has been filed so far. Kurien even issued a defence statement just days before the Budget session was to begin, stating that he had been exonerated in the case. Meanwhile, the bail plea of 14 of the 36 accused in the case will be heard on March 4.

Akhilesh Yadav undertakes biggest reshuffle of bureaucracy

LUCKNOW: The 11-month-old Akhilesh Yadav government has undertaken the biggest reshuffle of the bureaucracy by transferring 51 Indian Administrative Service, 48 Provincial Civil Service, 88 Indian Police Service and 92 Provincial Police Service officials. Many of those shifted were considered close to the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) but were shown the door after almost a "year of dismal and poor performance", a close aide of the chief minister said. The transfer list was released midnight and caught many officials unaware as it was a holiday on Monday and the chief minister only recently had undertaken a major reshuffle. Officials inform that these en masse transfers were long overdue as the SP government was completing one year and its ratings among the people remained average or poor. "Old loyalists have been given an year in plum postings, those who failed to deliver have been cut to size as the chief minister does not want their lethargy to hit party's prospects in the Lok Sabha polls whenever they are held," a senior ruling party functionary told reporters. The state government had only recently affected a reshuffle by changing the district magistrates and police chiefs of almost 50 districts.

that if specific cases were brought to the notice of the government it would take appropriate action. He denied that no relief and rehabilitation had been provided to those found innocent after being kept in jails for long. Several members alleged that the government's claims were wrong and Muslim youths had been in jails for

Top Left leaders meet PM, demand steps to bring down prices
NEW DELHI: Top Left leaders on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here and demanded steps to bring down soaring prices of essential commodities and universalisation of public distribution system, among other things, to ensure food security to people. The leaders later submitted to the government, what they said, were over five crore signatures collected during a two-month long nationwide campaign on these demands. The signatures on the charter of demands were delivered on a truck. Those who met the Prime Minister at the Parliament House were Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Forward Bloc). Besides universalisation of PDS, the demands raised during the campaign include scrapping of cash transfer schemes and export of foodgrains which are out of stock, enlarging the rural employment guarantee scheme, introduction of an urban employment guarantee scheme in view of the widespread loss of employment and rise in poverty in urban areas, stopping of futures trading in foodgrains. Activists of the four Left parties also staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar to focus on these demands.

1984 riots case: CBI to make final arguments today

NEW DELHI: Twenty-nine years after the gruesome 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is expected, Tuesday, to make final arguments in the case against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar. The hearing is expected to conclude tomorrow, the CBI had commenced final arguments in the case in March, last year. Sajjan Kumar is facing trial for his alleged role in instigating the mob to kill Sikhs after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira the CBI, saying if the deliver its order. Sajjan Kumar is facing trial along with five others Balwan Khokkar, Kishan Khokkar, Mahender Yadav, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal - for allegedly inciting a mob against the Sikh community in Delhi Cantonment area. The Delhi High Court in February 2010 had ordered quick disposal of all pending 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, including that of Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, and had said that they should be concluded within six months in the lower courts. During the trial, Sajjan Kumar's counsel had questioned the conduct of complainant and key witness Jagdish Kaur, who had lost her family members during the riots in 1984. He argued that Jagdish Kaur in her statements to judicial commissions, set up to probe riot related cases, had said she did not take the name of Sajjan Kumar earlier as she was "scared and the situation was anti-Sikh" that time.

Karat and Tapan Sen (all CPIM), Sudhakar Reddy, D Raja (CPI), T J Chandrachoodan, Abani Roy (RSP) and Debabrata Biswas (All India

Gandhi on October 31, 1984. During the last hearing, the trial court had slammed

agency failed to conclude its arguments in the next hearing, the court would be forced to go ahead and

NIA set to take over Hyderabad Murder accused Patiala Mayor resigns blasts case probe: Report
NEW DELHI: National Investigation Agency (NIA) is expected to take over the probe in last week's serial blasts in Hyderabad in which over a dozen people died and several others were injured. It was reported on Tuesday that senior NIA officials yesterday briefed the Home Ministry on the leads obtained so far into the Hyderabad blasts and requested it to transfer the case to the apex probe agency. A senior MHA official was also quoted as saying that the Hyderabad blast case could be transferred through a notification in the next few days to NIA. The Hyderabad police is likely to assist the NIA in its investigations. The NIA team, which was rushed to the spot on the night of the blasts, has been probing the matter only in conjunction with the Hyderabad police. The local Hyderabad police has set up 15 Special Investigation Teams under an additional commissioner for the case. Despite claiming to have obtained vital leads in the case, the local investigators have failed to achieve any breakthrough in the case yet. The investigators have grilled the LeT and IM terrorists lodged in jails in Bangalore and Delhi but they have not revealed major leads that could help in taking the investigation forward. Meanwhile, the CCTV images of bicycle-borne suspects captured by a CCTV at Dilsukh Nagar are extremely grainy and faces of the suspects are not identifiable. If sources are to be believed, IM along with LeT support is the prime suspect in the Hyderabad blasts which seem to have a connection with the blasts in Pune last August. NIA has already been asked to conduct raids in various parts of the country to nab IM operations chief in India, Yasin Bhatkal, and his three key associates Asadullah Akhtar, alias Tabrez, from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Tahseen Shaikh from Samastipur in Bihar and Waqas. All four men have a reward of 10 lakh on their head declared by the Maharashtra Police for their involvement in the Pune blasts as well as the serial blasts in Mumbai on September 13, 2011. PATIALA: Under pressure from the SAD leadership, Patiala Mayor Jaspal Pardhan, who has been booked by police in the murder case of a woman, has resigned. Pardhan's son Preetinder Singh said that his father had late last night sent the resignation letter to party secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema after the ruling SAD asked him to resign on moral grounds. Earlier, Cheema had said that party president Sukhbir Singh Badal has asked Pardhan to resign on moral grounds. As the party high command could not contact him as his phone was switched off, the decision had been conveyed to the family of Pardhan, he said. SAD sources said that his resignation would be accepted from the post by the local Municipal Corporation. "He has faxed the resignation to party high command," Preeetinder said. Pardhan is a co-accused along with his accomplice Paramjeet Kaur and her son Harpreet Singh for allegedly killed Harpreet's wife Parampreet Kaur. The Punjab government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the murder of Parmpreet. According to sources, SAD was under pressure from the opposition and within the party even as his detractors were lobbying for his ouster.

Uddhav slams Raj for speaking too high of Modi

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has reportedly taken a sarcastic jibe at his younger cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief for speaking too high of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Reports, Tuesday, claimed that the Shiv Sena chief has taken the potshots at his cousin in an editorial published in party mouthpiece 'Samana' for praising Modi too much. The latlearn few things from that state's leaders need not learn anything from anyone. Uddhav even defended Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. Continuing his verbal attack on his younger cousin, Uddhav also termed Raj's public rallies as free entertainment shows. However, the Shiv Sena president said that if he would welcome if Raj changes his stance on Modi. Referring to the rivalry between Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Uddhav said the two leaders have been attacking each other, which is not good for the BJP-led NDA coalition. Uddhav further said that if anyone wants to follow Modi, he is free to do so, but then that applies to Nistish, Chhattisgrah Chief Minister Raman Singh and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chauhan as well.

est comments from the Shiv Sena chief have come in response to Raj's suggestion to Maharashtra leaders to

the Gujarat Chief Minister at a recent rally in Solapur district. Reacting to Raj's advice, Uddhav wrote

Shah panel in Odisha again to probe illegal mining

BHUBANESWAR: The Justice M.B. Shah Commission, which is investigating illegal mining in different states, is in Odisha again as part of its ongoing probe, an official said Tuesday. The commission is expected to begin hearings in Bhubaneswar after the arrival of Justice (retd.) Shah in the city Wednesday, a senior official of the state mines department said. Bureaucrat U.V. Singh, who is one of the investigators of the commission, said they will hear the state government and mining lease holders during the commission's stay of three to four days in the state. He said the commission has already received the required information from the state government and mainly expects to hear from the lease holders. He, however, did not specify when the commission will be able to complete its probe and submit a report to the central government. The Shah Commission, appointed by the union government in November 2010, has been investigating allegations of illegal mining in several mineral-rich states. It will be the second visit of Justice Shah to the state after December 2011. However, commission representatives also visited the state in October and November last year, and examined files related to over 100 mines. At that time, commission officials said they had found evidence of illegalities which would not have been possible without the connivance of bureaucrats.

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ing distrust of international troops and their desire to huge uncertainty about the future. The presidency accused armed individuals working with US Special Forces of "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people". Karzai's order was issued amid sensitive discussions over the size and role of a residual force that could remain in Afghanistan after 2014 to focus on training and counter-terrorism operations. Kabul and Washington are still negotiating an agreement on the legal status that could allow an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 American troops to remain. On February 16, Karzai also restricted Afghan forces from calling in NATO air strikes an important weapon in the fight against insurgents -- amid concern over civilian casualties. Some say the latest order exemplifies a conflict that many Afghans feel towards foreign troops -- that they are needed to counter the Taliban, but that civilian casualties and detentions can also make them part of the problem. A spokesman for Wardak's governor said local residents have complained for two and a half months about US Special Forces and "their illegal Afghan armed forces arresting, torturing and even killing villagers". In the neighboring province of Ghazni, dozens of protesters shut down the Kabul-Kandahar highway for around three hours, accusing the US-trained Afghan Local Police (ALP) of harassment and beatings, officials and witnesses said. BEIRUT: An international human rights organization says the Syrian military fired at least four ballistic missiles into the embattled northern city of Aleppo over the past week, killing more than 140 people, including 70 children. Human Rights Watch says the attacks by the regime of President Bashar Assad on residential areas of Aleppo mark an "escalation of unlawful attacks against Syria's civilian population.'' A researcher with the U.S. based group, who visited Aleppo last week to inspect the targeted sites, said up to 20 buildings

7
were destroyed in each area hit by a missile. There were no signs of any military targets in the residential districts, located in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, the group said on Tuesday. Aleppo has seen some of the heaviest fighting in Syria's nearly 2-year-old conflict.

Karzai tells US Special Forces to leave key Afghan province

KABUL: Afghanistan's president has ordered US Special Forces to leave a strategic province as he seeks tighter control over Afghan militia, exacerbating tensions before the 2014 withdrawal of NATO troops. Hamid Karzai on Sunday gave American Special Forces two weeks to pull out of Wardak, a hotbed of Taliban activity on the doorstep of Kabul, accusing Afghans they work with of torture and murder that has incited local hatred. It remained unclear what led Karzai to issue the order, two US officials said. "We're not aware of any incident that would have generated this kind of response," At a news conference, spokesman for the USled NATO mission Brigadier General Gunter Katz said "We're looking at those allegations, we didn't find any evidence and we will talk to

Syrian four ballistic missiles kill 140 in Aleppo

19 dead as tourist balloon explodes at Luxor

CAIRO: A hot air balloon exploded as it was flying over Egypt's ancient temple city of Luxor on Tuesday, killing 19 people including tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, France and Britain, a security official said. "The balloon which was carrying 21 people was flying at 300 meters (yards) over Qurna, in Luxor's West Bank, when it caught fire before exploding, the official said. The two survivors, including the balloon's pilot, have been taken to hospital, he said.

our colleagues and Afghan partners to find a solution." The Pentagon confirmed that a special panel of Afghan officials and officers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were looking into Karzai's allegations. Analysts said the order underscored Kabul's grow-

control local militia, who are trained by the Americans but operate without government control in the war against the Taliban. Relations between Karzai and Washington have long been troubled, and with the bulk of NATO's 100,000 combat soldiers due to leave and the Afghan president to step down next year, there is

S Korea Inaugurates first female president

SEOUL: Park Geun-Hye, the daughter of South Korea's late military ruler, has been sworn in as the country's first female president. As leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, Park, 61, faces significant challenges, including a nuclearised North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies. "North Korea's recent nuclear test is a challenge to the survival and future of the Korean people," Park said in her inauguration speech. "I urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions without delay and embark on the path to peace and shared development." Park had campaigned on a promise of greater, "trust-based" engagement with Pyongyang. Observers say her hands have been tied by the international outcry over Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, which will have emboldened members of her ruling conservative party who oppose closer engagement. John Delury, a professor of International Relations at Yonsei University in Seoul, said said North Korea "is notoriously a difficult country to engage with", but despite that "expectations are high" among the South Korean public. "But, she has to start by reopening the channels of dialogue directly with North Korea and through that find the steps to improve relations," he said.

Nepali Becomes First Woman to Climb Everest Twice in a Week

KATHMANDU (REUTERS) - A young Nepali sherpa climber has become the world's first woman to scale Mount Everest twice in a week, Guinness World Records has confirmed. Chhurim Sherpa, 29, climbed to the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) Everest summit on May 12 and 19 last year. "This is a big recognition for me," Chhurim, who like most Sherpas is known by her first name, Chhurim, who hails from the Solukhumbu region in northeastern Nepal that is home to Mount Everest and other notable peaks, returned to the base camp for some rest after her first ascent only to head back up the peak seven days later. "It was difficult and hard while climbing up a second time. But once I reached the top everything was fine," she said. "I was very happy that I could accomplish what I had always wanted to do." She said she wanted to return to Mount Everest sometime but had no immediate plans to do so. Mount Everest has been climbed by about 4,000 climbers since it was first scaled by New Zealand beekeeper Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. Apa Sherpa, a Nepali climber who lives in the United States, holds the record of 21 ascents of Mount Everest.

Kerry sees 'diplomatic path' on Iran nuclear issue

BERLIN: US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted on Tuesday there was a "diplomatic path" to be forged with Iran on its disputed nuclear programme, as world powers and Tehran held crunch talks. "There is a diplomatic path," said Kerry after meeting his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Berlin. He expressed his "hope" that "Iran itself will make its choice to move down the path of a diplomatic solution." The five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany the so-called P5+1 are meeting the Iranian team headed by top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Kazakhstan in a bid to break the deadlock over Iran's programme. Kerry said it "would really be a mistake in the middle of the talks for me to try to talk at any length about what the dynamics of those talks are." "I want these talks to have their chance to work through before I comment," added the secretary. Nevertheless, he urged Tehran to accept the offer of western powers, saying they included "reciprocal measures that encourage Iran to make concrete steps in order to begin addressing the international community's concerns." The world powers are offering Iran permission to resume its gold and precious metals trade as well as some international banking activity, which are currently under sanctions, Western officials told AFP. But in exchange, Iran will have to limit sensitive uranium enrichment operations that the world powers fear could be used to make a nuclear bomb, the sources added. The two-day meeting in the Kazakh city of Almaty comes as sanctions bite against the Islamic republic and Israel still refuses to rule out air strikes to knock out Iran's suspected nuclear weapons drive. Westerwelle for his part said the talks were "an opportunity that I really hope the Iranians will take." "Our goal is a diplomatic solution in the nuclear argument with Iran but there must be substantial progress because a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable to us," added the minister."It would endan ger not only the region but it would be a danger for the security architecture of the whole world."

ECONOMY

Anand Sinha to continue as RBI Deputy Governor till January 18, 2014
MUMBAI: The Government of India has extended the tenure of Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Anand Sinha till January 18, 2014, the RBI said in a statement. Sinha was due to retire on February 28 this year. "According to the notification issued by the Government of India dated February 25, 2013, Sinha will continue as the Deputy Governor Reserve Bank until January 18, 2014, when he completes his tenure of three years from the date on which he assumed office, that is, January 19, 2011, the RBI said. Sinha will continue to look after the Department of Banking Operations and Development, the Department of Non-Banking Supervision and Urban Banks Department as well as the Departments of Risk Monitoring, Information Bank in 1976 after his

Sensex closes 1.64% down; auto, Cable operators urged to oil and gas stocks plummet maintain subscribers' detail
NEW DELHI: Noting that real benefits of digitization were not reaching consumers, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked multi-system operators and local cable operators in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to maintain all details of subscribers, including their choice of services. Establishing a Subscriber Management System will bring more transparency as it enables the subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly, the TRAI said on Tuesday. As per the Quality of Service (QoS) regulations of TRAI, MSOs are required to establish a Subscriber Management System wherein all the details of the subscribers along with their choice of services (i.e. channels, bouquets etc) are required to be maintained, the TRAI said. "This would bring in addressability and consequently, complete transparency in the whole system. This system enables the subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly and also facilitates the MSOs to effectively manage their accounting and billing of the services rendered," it said. The regulator said that this feature has not been implemented effectively by many MSOs. "Also in many of the cases LCOs have not provided the completed subscriber application forms to their linked MSOs. Thus, the real benefits of digitization are not reaching to the subscribers," it added. TRAI directed all the registered MSOs and LCOs to ensure, in accordance with their mutually agreed roles, that the Subscriber Management System is made fully operational, as envisaged in the QoS regulations. Digitization is being implemented across the country in a phased manner, starting with the first phase from Nov 1, 2012 and the fourth and final phase completing by 31st Dec 2014. MUMBAI: A benchmark index for Indian equities markets on Tuesday closed more than one and a half percent lower in cautious trade in the run-up to the general budget and on negative global cues. This is the lowest level of the 30-scrip Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in the last three months. Automobile, oil and gas, capital goods, bank and metal scrips declined. However, information technology (IT) and media, entertainment and technology (TECk) stocks rallied. The 30-scrip Sensex, which opened at 19,290.66 points, closed at 19,015.14 points, down 316.55 points or 1.64 percent from its previous close at 19,331.69 points. The Sensex touched an intra-day high of 19,293.49 points and a low of 18,976.94 points. The midcap index closed down 115.21 points, while the small cap index closed 157.29 points lower. The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was trading 93.40 points or 1.60 percent lower at 5,761.35 points. The BSE automobile index, down 297.20 points, followed by the oil and gas index, down 274.81 points, the bank indexes down 232.19 points, the capital goods index, down 232.14 points, and the metal index, down 217.50 points. However, the BSE IT index was up 59.73 points and the TECk index closed 29.84 points higher. Only four out of 30 Sensex companies were gainers including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 1.56 percent at Rs.1, 494.30; Infosys, up 1.47 percent at Rs.2, 960.10; Bharti Airtel, up 1.38 percent at Rs.311.30; NTPC, up 0.73 percent at Rs.151.00; and Hindustan Unilever, up 0.22 percent at Rs.453.00.

Technology, Expenditure and Budgetary Control, Legal and Premises. Prior to being appointed as Deputy Governor, Sinha was Executive Director at the Reserve Bank of India and looked after the Department of Banking Operations and Development, the Financial Stability Unit and the Department of Expenditure and Budgetary Control. Sinha joined the Reserve

Masters in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He has been involved with the formulation of several major regulatory and supervisory policies for commercial banks. He has also been on several internal committees. He has handled, among others, foreign exchange, deposit insurance and regional office work during his stint with the RBI.

DoT to permit Uninor asset transfer to Telenor's new firm

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom has agreed to allow transfer of Uninor's assets to Telenor's new entity Telewigs. But Telenor and Unitech will have to submit separate bonds which will indemnify the Government from any claims or disputes arising out of the transfer. The DoT has also given its nod to Telenor's proposed move to increase its stake in Telewigs to 74 per cent. The Department has, however, rejected the company's plea to adjust the entry fee paid in 2008 against the bid amount to be paid for spectrum won in the auctions held in November. Norway's Telenor had won spectrum in six circles (Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra) in the November auctions for Rs 4,018 crore. Earlier, the company had paid Rs 1,658 crore for pan-India licenses in 2008. These licenses, jointly owned with real estate major Unitech, have been quashed by the Supreme Court along with all the other licenses issued on or after January 10, 2008. Telenor had requested DoT to adjust the entry fee paid earlier with the bid amount. The company has paid 33 per cent of its bid price for spectrum under protest after the telecom department did not allow the company to offset the entry fee paid earlier. Telenor plans to continue operations in six circles under the new entity Telewigs, which it had floated as a 100 per cent subsidiary. But it dropped its stake to 49 per cent at the time of taking the new unified license to comply with the FDI norms.

Vodafone to drive growth through wireline service

NEW DELHI: Vodafone India on Tuesday unveiled its strategy to drive growth through a strong foray into wireline telephony services. The wire line services will be aimed at business customers through Vodafone Business Services (VBS). VBS is targeting approximately 20 per cent of its enterprise revenues coming from wire line services over the next five years. This puts Vodafone at par with other major telcos in the country including Airtel, Reliance Communications and BSNL. Vodafone's wireline service comprises 1,20,000 km of fiber backbone, over 350 point of presence across 130 cities and a Network three years, we are now looking at wireline services as a key revenue driver for Vodafone Business Services. With our suite of offerings in this space, we are now a total communication services provider in the true sense." Some of the key services offered by VBS under wireline umbrella include Private Leased Circuits (National and International), MPLS-based Virtual Private Network (VPN), Internet Leased Lines, Office Wireline Voice, Toll Free Services, Audio and Video Conferencing Services.

Gold, silver bounce back on firm global cues

NEW DELHI: Gold and silver bounced back in the national capital on Tuesday on brisk buying by stockiest, driven by a firming global trend. While gold rebounded by Rs 280 to Rs 30,180 per ten grams, silver surged by Rs 1,700 to Rs 55,450 per kg. Traders said brisk buying by stockists in tandem with a firming global trend mainly influenced the sentiment. Gold in global markets advanced 0.3 per cent to USD 1,598.55 an ounce while silver was up by 0.2 per cent to USD 29.07 an ounce in Singapore. In addition, shifting of funds from weakening equity to rising bullion also supported the uptrend. On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity rebounded by Rs 280 each to Rs 30,180 and Rs 29,980 per ten grams, respectively. It had lost Rs 160 yesterday. Sovereign remained steady at Rs 25,300 per piece of eight gram in limited deals. On the other hand, silver coins zoomed up by Rs 3,000 to Rs 82,000 for buying and Rs 83,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Operations Centre (NOC) for 24x7 performance management. Speaking to the media, Naveen Chopra, DirectorVodafone Business Services, said: "Having built a robust infrastructure over the last

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Santosh Trophy: J&K beat UP in QFs league round

India take 1-0 lead with 8 wickets win over Australia

CHENNAI: India clinched the first cricket Test against Australia with a comfortable eight-wicket victory to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series on Tuesday with their spinners taking all the 20 wickets for the third time in Test history. The Indians took about 25 minutes in the morning to finally bring an end to the stubborn last wicket partnership between Moises Hendriques (81 not out) and Nathan Lyon (11) as Australia folded up for 241 in their second innings, leaving the hosts a small victory target of 50. The hosts lost both their openers Murali Vijay (6) and Virender Sehwag (19) before overhauling the target with more than two full sessions to spare. Cheteshwar Pujara brought about the winning run off Nathan Lyon to trigger off scenes of celebrations in the galleries and the Indian dressing room as the players congratulated and hugged each other. It was a commendable show by the Indians, who have been under pressure of late following a series of indifferent performances in recent times, as they dominated the game right through at the M A Chidambaram stadium where the conditions suited the home team. While Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni expectedly got the man-of-the-match award for his game-changing knock of 224, off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scalped 12 wickets in the match to also play a stellar role. Resuming at the overnight score of 232 for nine, Australia could add just nine runs to their tally much to the relief of the Indians who had a frustrating time trying to dismiss the last-wicket pair. It took the Indians just nine overs this morning to put an end to Australia's resistance when Ravindra Jadeja broke the agonizingly long last-wicket partnership between Henriques and Lyon. Murali Vijay at short-leg. Henriques followed up his first innings half century with another gutsy unbeaten 81 India from recording an innings victory. Chasing the paltry 50-run target, India suffered two early blows in the form of openers Sehwag and Vijay, whose flop show with the bat continued. The opening duo of Sehwag and Vijay put on 16 runs before the former was the first one to depart. Vijay started his innings with a bang, smacking Lyon straight over his head for a six, his only scoring shot of the innings. But that was all the local boy could manage in the innings as he was caught by Henriques at mid-off off James Patinson when he tried to go a big drive in the next over. Cheteshwar Pujara joined the action after Vijay's dismissal and had to go through some torrid time in the first few deliveries he faced off off-spinner Lyon. Pujara gave a half chance to the Australians which the visitors failed to pounce on. The ball hit the top of Pujara's pad and then the glove before crashing into wicket-keeper Mathew Wade's mid-riff as the batsman tried to pad Lyon away in the fourth over. But there was more drama in store as Sehwag (19) also returned to the pavilion, edging a Lyon delivery to Michael Clarke at first slip in the second delivery of the ninth over. Sehwag's dismissal marked the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar at the crease and the champion seemed in a hurry to finish off the chase as he clobbered Lyon for two consecutive sixes in the first two deliveries he faced in the innings. Tendulkar seemed to be fine touch as he timed the ball perfectly and provided some entertainment to the few thousand spectators who had come to the stadium to watch India's victory. Pujara and Tendulkar ensured that there was no further damage for India as they got the required runs in 11.3 overs.

Medal winners of district wresting meet pose with Secretary, State Sports Council, Daleep Thusoo at Judo Hall, Indoor Complex, MA Stadium . JAMMU, FEB 26: Jammu and Kashmir today won their third and last league tie in the quarter finals league round of the ongoing Senior National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy at different venues in Kerala. As per the sources, J&K made it a 2-1 win against Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, in first league tie that took place on February 22, J&K drew a blank against Kerala losing the tie 0-2. In another league tie, played on February 24, Haryana defeated J&K by three goals to one. In all, there were four teams in J&K pool with Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh being the other sides. It is pertinent to mention here that J&K had qualified for the quarterfinals league of the prestigious Santosh Trophy after a long gap.

Lyon, who showed a lot of grit and temparament to hang on, was dismissed by leftarm spinner Jadeja, caught by

and together with Lyon added 66 runs for the final wicket to take the match into the fifth and final day and prevent

ZURICH: A third goal-line technology system has been approved and granted a license, making it eligible to be considered for use at the 2014 World Cup, FIFA said in a statement on Monday. The German-manufactured Cairos system uses magnetic fields set up around the goals to determine whether or not the ball has crossed the line in situations

FIFA issues third goal-line technology license Somdev beats Kunitsyn in Dubai first round
where it is not clear to the naked eye. A fourth system, also developed in Germany, is also under consideration. The systems previously approved are Hawk-Eye, which is used in tennis and cricket and is based on optical recognition with cameras, and GoalRef, which also uses a magnetic field with a special ball. F I FA approved the use of goal-line technology last year following a number of controversial incidents where teams had legitimate goals disallowed because officials wrongly decided the ball had not crossed the line. Last week FIFA confirmed the technology would be used in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup after a successful trial. European soccer's governing body UEFA has yet to adopt goal-line technology, preferring to employ an extra linesman behind each goal. DUBAI: India's Somdev Devvarman beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn for the first time in four meetings when he easily won his first round at the Dubai Duty Free tennis championships in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. Devvarman, using his protected ranking as he is returning from an injury break, got a direct entry here and continued his good form to outclass the Russian, who is presently ranked 167. The Indian, who was out with an injury for most part of last year and is currently ranked 315, looked far more impressive than the Russian who in 2009 had his best ranking at 35. Somdev, whose best ranking was 62 two years ago, raced through the first set dropping just one game and with an early break he looked on a cruise in the second set, too. But the Russian broke back to tie two games all. Somdev was back in the driver's seat by breaking Kunitsyn again in the seventh game and with his steady hitting from the back court he clinched his next two service games. The Indian will next take on the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the second round.

RCC Tawla enters quarters of KPL

KATHUA, FEB 26: The RCC Tawla today became the second team to qualify for the quarterfinals round with Wizard Club being the first in the ongoing Kathua Premier League Twenty20 Tournament at Sports Stadium. In the pre-quarterfinals match, played on Wednesday, RCC Tawla defeated the RCC by 43 runs. Earlier, batting first, RCC Tawla set a target of 169 runs for the loss of two wickets, which, in reply, RCC could not chase and lost all their wickets for 125 runs in 17.3 overs. Tonu remained top scorer with 54 runs while Mandeep contributed 35. From RCC, Askshay Gupta and Kirti shared wickets. Later, RCC bowled out for 125 runs in 17.3 overs with Sahil being highest scorer, who made 30 runs. Kirti and Akshay took three wickets each while Monty and Sandy shared two each. For his fifty, Tonu was named man of the match. Meanwhile, in another match of the day, Khan Cricket Club (KCC) registered a fine 63 runs win over Kharota Cricket Club (KCC). Batting first, Khan Club made 165 runs for eight wickets. Ricky made highest 41-bal 63 runs while Sadiq added 53 runs off as many deliveries. Dimple was most successful bowler from Kharota, who struck hat trick. Tinku took two wickets. In reply, Kharota Club could make 102 runs losing eight wickets in given 20 overs. Madan and Tinu were main scorers with 24 and 22 runs in their respective accounts. Kunal took most of three wickets from Khan Club, followed by Kail, who bagged one. For his superb innings of 63 runs, Ricky was declared man of the match. Today's matches were officiated by Arvind Bhardwaj and Dheeraj Andotra as umpires while Manu was scorer.

Ashwani wins 55 kg gold in district wrestling

JAMMU, FEB 26: Ashwani Kumar clinched the 55 kg gold after he defeated Omkar Singh in the final bout of the Jammu District Wrestling Championship held at Judo Hall of Indoor Complex, MA Stadium, on Tuesday. In the prize distribution function of the one-day event, Secretary, State Sports Council, Daleep Thusoo was chief, who gave away medals to the winners of different weight Categories. Prominent among others present were Sports Officer of State Sports Council, Ravi Singh, general secretary, J&K Wrestling Association, Dushyant Sharma, manager Indoor Complex, Satish Gupta, Satish Abrol, Narinder Mahajan, Ajay Vaid, Om Parkash, Dheeraj Sharma, Amit Sharma, Jai Bharat and Sahil Sharma. The Detailed Results: 55 kg: Ashwani Kumar, Ist; Omkar Singh, 2nd and Ajay Bharati, 3rd. 60 kg: Bhushan Mehra, Ist; Arif Khan, 2nd and Rustam Choudhary, 3rd. 66 kg: Lobkesh Singh, Ist; Sahil Singh, 2nd and Hussain Kumar, 3rd. 74 kg: Younis Khan, Ist; Dalbir Singh, 2nd and Reyzak Ahmed, 3rd. 84 kg: Bahadur Khan, Ist; Ranbir Singh, 2nd and Raj Kumar, 3rd. 96 kg: Javed Khan, Ist and Mohd Akram, 2nd. Plus 96 kg: Ishaq Ahmed, Ist and Vijay Kumar, 2nd.

Chand faces Gupta in badminton singles final

JAMMU, FEB 26: Chand Raina of Indian Institute of Integrative Medicines (IIIM) shall be playing against SK Gupta of Customs and Central Excise (CCE) in the final of badminton singles event in the Annual Sports Meet, organized by Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee (CGEWCC), at IIIM Sports Complex, on Wednesday. Earlier, in the semifinals, played today, S K Gupta defeated Sanjay Sharma of Principal Auditor General (PAG) while Chand Raina beat Mahesh Sharma of National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO). Around 32 shuttlers turned up for the badminton competition in both singles and doubles events from different Central Government departments. The doubles event shall start tomorrow. Today's matches were conducted by Ashok Chada of PAG and BS Bhan of NSSO. Earlier, the sports meet was declared open jointly by member of the Committee, BS Bhan, PS Jamwal, Shashi Jamwal, Sunil Chakoo and Anoop Magotra.

CHIEF-EDITOR, PUBLISHER, OWNER: Rohit Singh Rana, C.E.O.:Pawan Rathore, DY. CHIEF EDITOR : Vikram Singh Shan, Administrative Head Jammu: Vikram Singh Bhandari, Bureau Chief Kashmir: Allayee Faizan, LEGAL ADVISOR: Advocate Ashok Parihar PRINTED AT JK PRINTING & PUBLICATIONS, SUJWAN, JAMMU TAWI. For Contributing articles mail us at callme.ranasahib@gmail.com, editor.studentage@gmail.com. For Complaints, Querries or Advertisement Contact us: 0191-2580342.. Address: Sector-12, H.No-12 Nanak Nagar, Jammu (All disputes are subjected to the exclusive jursisdiction of Jammu District courts only.)