Pir Ki Gali, August 31:

The ancient Mughal road's revival in J&K has turned out to be a treat for visitors, making a unique region covering pristine scenic locations besides places with immense heri-tage, eco, and adventure tourism value accessible for them.The region in the Himalayan Pir Panjal range is being promoted as a tourist circuit with diverse places of attraction including Mughal-era monuments, untouched forests, roll-ing meadows, springs, lakes, water-

falls and shrines.It is expected to emerge as the next big thing among the state's tourist sites and further boost its tourism industry that has begun to look up after years of conflict.Mughals built several monuments along the route after Emperor Akbar used it to conquer Kashmir in 1588. The road, with elevations of up to 130,000 feet, is currently motorable till Baflaiz in Poonch and connected Kashmir with Lahore. It promises to be its alternate, all-weather route to the outside world.

"It is a unique package and perhaps the first such circuit in India," said tourism (Kashmir) director Talat Parvez. He said they were also plan-ning caravan tourism along the route to recreate the journeys that the Mughals undertook along the route.Further, 12km stretch along the road passes through Hirapur Wildlife Sanctuary, home to rare and endan-gered Markhoor wild goat species. Kilometres away, untouched roll-ing Dubjan and Pir Ki Gali mead-ows have become the most popular

tourist destinations, a far cry from other commercialized resorts like Gulmarg. Pir Ki Gali, at an attitude of 11,500 feet, is also revered as a place where a famous Sufi saint stayed while Dubjan is famous for a spring said to have magical quali-ties. The important monuments along the road include Chingus Saria, where Emperor Jahangir's entails were buried after he died en route to Lahore in 1627. His entails were removed to preserve his body for burial in Lahore."Chingus is of immense significance

not for only being the place where the entails are buried but also for hiding the secret of Jahangir's death that could have sparked the succes-sion war,' 'said Saleem Beigh of The Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.Jahangir, known for his obsessive love for Kashmir, visited Kashmir along with his favourite queen, Noor Jahan, several times. He had built a glass castle for her to bathe under a waterfall at Noori Chamb along the route.

See Mughal Road on Pg. 11

Hundreds throng Pir Ki Gali and other places

Jammu, August 31:

The AICC General Sec-retary Ambika Soni and Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today called upon party cadres to work unitedly for strengthening the party at the grass root level. The AICC General Secre-tary Ambika Soni, Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and President JK-PCC Prof. Saif-ud-din Soz was addressing one Day Convention of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee held in Jammu on Saturday at Banquat Hall of Hotel Ashok Jammu.Ambika Soni in her ad-dress stressed for co-originated efforts of the party functionaries and ministers to reach out to the masses in every nook and corner of the state, in

order to mitigate the prob-lems of the people of dif-ferent sections. She said that a detailed programme shall be worked out with JKPCC to further gear up the activities of the party including members in the council of ministers. She appreciated the efforts of the PCC leadership, espe-cially on the issues of the

party like empowerment of Panchayat Raj System in the state. She also ap-preciates the develop-ment works done during congress led government headed by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad.She said that she would visit Kashmir also shortly and similarly interact

See Ambika on Pg. 11

Corporal punishment in School lands 8th class

student in hospital

Pattan, August 31:

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Saturday hit People’s Democratic Party (PDP) left, right and centre describing its politics a Pandora’s Box containing nothing but false promises, slogans, hoax, emotional black-mailing and bias to grab power.Addressing a public gathering at Pattan in Baramulla District of North Kashmir, the Chief Minister said that PDP’s tall claims have always fallen flat and people have understood its dubious characteris-

tic.The Chief Minister pooh-poohed the utterance of PDP leadership asking for 40 Assembly seats to solve the Kashmir is-sue. He challenged PDP by announcing the sup-port of his 28 Assembly

Members and asking it to come forward with a categorical solution to the Kashmir issue. “You have 21 Assembly Mem-bers. I will provide you the support of my 28 As-sembly Members. You will have 50 seats with

you. Let you come for-ward with a certain and categorical solution to Kashmir issue”, he told PDP adding that he is ready to relinquish the office in this regard.“What a lie you are

See Omar on Pg. 11

Infiltration bid foiled in Tanghdar

Tangdhar, August 31:

Indian army Saturday said five well armed mili-tants were killed in an encounter with soldiers along Line of Control (LoC), in Tanghdar sector of Kashmir.An Army spokesperson said that based on spe-cific intelligence about likelihood of infiltra-tion, troops deployed in Tangdhar Sector of Kup-wara District launched a counter infiltration op-eration over two nights, resulting into killing of five militants who were attempting to sneak into own side of Line of Con-

trol.“The alert troops who were guarding the Line of Control got intelligence inputs about likelihood of infiltration attempt on the night of Aug 29. At

approximately 11:30 PM, the intruders were spot-ted attempting infiltra-tion. Accordingly, troops established counter infil-tration posture to cover the route of infiltration,”

Defence spokesperson said. He said that the militant group was trapped at a location, approximately 1.5 kms on own side of the Line of Control. “Grid re-mained in place for next 24 hours despite difficult terrain and bad weather. On the night of Aug 30, the noose around the terror-ist group was tightened forcing them to attempt breaking out of the cor-don,” he said.“At 9.30 PM, two mili-tants were spotted at ap-proximately 50m from the troops. On being chal-lenged, the militants

See Infiltration on Pg. 11

Chandigarh, August 31:

An army expedition of Dogra Scouts of Western Command has recovered the mortal remains of Havildar Jagmail Singh on Dakka glacier after 45 years of AN-12 aircraft ac-cident.According to Western Command’s statement, the identity was established by an identity disk, an in-surance policy and a letter from his family retrieved from his pocket. The mor-tal remains, are being brought to Chandimandir Military Station, Panch-kula, from where it will be taken to his native place village Meerpur, Rewari,

for last rites with complete military honours. An AN-12 transport air-craft had taken off on a freezing February morn-ing in 1968 and was headed towards Leh.There 98 army personnel and four crew members onboard, on their way to join their duties. Halfway to Leh, the pilot, Flt Lt HK Singh, had decided to turn back due to the unfavour-able weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir. The aircraft had made last radio contact near the Rohtang Pass and thereaf-ter appeared to have van-ished into the thin air.The disappearance re-mained a mystery until

2003, when the debris of the ill-fated aircraft was accidentally discovered by an expedition team at the Dhakka Glacier, in the Chanderbhaga ranges of Lahaul and Spiti.Search operationsAs per Western Command press statement, since then three search missions till 2009 were carried out and four bodies had been recovered. On August 16, 2013, the Army embarked on another expedition to try and locate the mortal remains of its comrades as also to try and recover the Flight Data Recorder (Black Box).The Western Command

See Mortal Remains on Pg. 11

Srinagar, August 31:

In yet another instance of corporal punish-ment being used to discipline students, a student of class VIII had to be admitted to a hospital after he was punished by Principal for cracking a joke in the playground. Mehrab Mushtaq Wani, a fourteen-year-old student of a private school in Wazbagh, Hyderpora area of Sri-nagar, was punished by his Principal. Un-able to walk, he was admitted to Shri Ma-

haraja Hari Singh Hos-pital on Friday with a swollen right arm and neck.“The doctors have ad-vised Mehrab to use Collar for his neck as he is feeling too much pain. His left arm is fractured as well,” Mushtaq Ahmed, the father of the student told CNS.“We were playing in the playground crack-ing jokes which the Principal did not like and he thrashed me ruthlessly with stick and kicked me like

See Punishment on Pg. 11

CMYK

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SUNDAY September 01 | 2013 | 24 Shawal 1434 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 3 | ISSUE NO: 216 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 PAISA)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&K

Omar launches scathing attack on PDP, Centre

Srinagar, August 31:

Holding Government of India directly respon-sible for the slow death of Cross-LoC Trade, Sal-amabad Chakuti Traders Union (SCTU) Saturday said that it would bring LoC trade to grinding halt from September 3. They said that LoC trade is breathing its last due to callous approach of New Delhi.Addressing a press con-ference in Srinagar, SCTU said that authori-ties are treating the trad-ers as smugglers and

rather than facilitating trade they are acting as impediments.“Most of the traders are barred from the trade for the illogical reasons. They are being told that their relatives were in-volved in militancy re-lated incidents. This is the repeat of infamous ‘Passport policy’ which has been great embar-rassment for India,” the Union leaders said. The traders said that at the beginning of the trade, there were about more than 600 traders involved, but gradually

the number came down and today it is less than 50 traders. But now cus-tomers acting as Trade Facilitation Centre gave their own diktat that in the trade only Pakistan administered Kashmir products can arrive and not the products from the main parts of Pakistan.“This in a way tanta-mount to giving PaK a status of separate coun-try and negating India’s stand on it. This weird order and other discour-aging steps have left trade dead with only

See LoC Traders on Pg. 11

LoC traders accuse GoI of callous approach

http://www.zabarwantimes.com

Srinagar, August 31:

Maintaining that the Gov-ernment has already put in place a comprehensive plan for ensuring sustained de-velopment of the Srinagar city, the Minister for Rural Develop-ment and Pan-chayati Raj, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar has said that certain par-ties are trying to create misgivings in the minds of common people for their own ulterior mo-tives, in which they will not

succeed.The Minister was address-ing a huge public gathering after laying the foundation stones of Community Cen-tre, being constructed at a

cost of Rs. 2.20 crore at Sheeshi-gari Mohalla and Wazoo Kha-na with the cost of Rs.1.64 crore at Rayaztang, Miskeenbagh in Khanyar old city, Srinagar.

The Projects would be con-structed by R& B Depart-ment.

See Sagar on Pg. 11

Mortal remains of soldier recovered after 45 years from Dakka glacier

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(SUNDAY)SUNRISE ON (MONDAY)

06:59 pm06:06 am

16.3 0C30.3 0C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Light Rain/Thundershowers may occur at isolated places over J&K division.

Mainly Clear Sky. Maximum & Minimum temperatures will be around 31°C & 17°C respectively.

Seeks effective enforcement of laws for women

Govt. to promote horticulture on modern

lines7 8 10

Comprehensive plan for sustained dev. of Srinagar

under taken: Sagar

Veganism, ahead of Vegetarianism

Describes PDP politics a political gimmicks

Ambika & Azad call upon party cadres to work like one unit

Mughal road becomes a new tourist attraction

Threaten to halt cross border trade from Sep 3

‘Pakistan role in Kashmir issue established fact’ Says his Government on strong turf to face 2014 Elections

Five militants killed

2 die, 3 injured in road accidentsSrinagar, August 31: Two persons died and three others were injured in different road accidents across the valley.Bilal Ahmad Shah son of Ali Asgar resident of Grand Ashmuqam was critically injured when he fell from a Tractor bearing registration number Jk03/2687 and came un-der it. The injured was shifted to SKIMS, Soura Srinagar where he succumbed to his injuries. The body of deceased was handed over to his relatives for last rites. Ashmuqam Police has registered a case in this regard.Meanwhile, a five years old Mantaha daughter of Gulzar Ahmad resident of Mujgund was injured when a bus bearing registration number Jk13/3815 hit her near Mujgund, Srinagar. The injured girl was shifted to JVC, Srinagar where she succumbed to her injuries. The body of deceased was handed over to her relatives for last rites. Parimpora Police has reg-istered a case in this regard.In another accident, An Auto bearing registration number

See Accidents on Pg. 11

Ashok Arora meets GovernorSrinagar, August 31: Mr. Ashok Arora, author, social activist and former Secretary, Supreme Court Bar Association, called on Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, at the Raj Bhavan here today.During their meeting, the Gov-ernor and Mr. Arora discussed several important issues relat-ing to child development, child rights and education of youth.Mr. Arora presented to the Governor his two books “Meet Your Soul” and “Simple Tips for Sureshot Success”, besides a DVD. “Meet Your Soul” is a book for parents and teachers, while “Simple Tips for Sureshot Success” is for youth. The DVD contains “Kasoor Kiska”, which is an educational film for youth.The Governor wished Mr. Arora high success in all his devoted endeavours to guide youth to travel on the path of goodness and ethical values.

Bear injures man in AnantnagSrinagar, August 31: An aged person was injured by a bear in Mattan Area of Anantnag District last evening.A 60 years old Abdul Majeed Mir resident of Malpora Hut-murah, Anantnag was attacked and injured by a bear at Hut-murah. The injured was shifted District Hospital for treatment.

Girl dies mysteriously in AwantiporaSrinagar, August 31: A 15 years old girl died in suspicious cir-cumstances in Awantipora last evening.A girl (name with held) of Hatwara Lethpora, Awantipora was brought to the hospital by her parents where doctors declared her brought dead. Police Awantipora has initiated inquest proceedings under sec-tion 174 CrPC in this regard.

General Annual meeting of Red Cross Society held

SOPORE, AUGUST 31:

Minister for Transport and CA&PD, Ch. Mohammad Ramzan said that all the pos-sible resources and scientific innovations would be put in place to develop the Fruit Industry on modern lines. He said about 45% population the State is involved with the fruit industry followed by the trans-port and other activities related to the fruit trade in the valley. He assured the fruit growers and transporters that their genuine demands would be solved at an earliest. He said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is soon convening a high level meeting regarding development of fruit Industry.This was stated by the Minister at a largely attended gathering at fruit Mandi Sopore. The function was orga-nized by the All Kashmir Truck operators Association, Sopore in collaboration with different trade unions and Fruit Grow-ers Associations to apprise the Minister about the difficulties faced by the them due to spurious fungicides and fertilizers in the market which is damaging the fruit Industry. The Kashmir truck operators Association and Fruit growers Associa-tion presented charter of demands for re-

dressal of their grievances.The Minister also exhorted upon the

fruit growers to adopt modern technolo-gies, adding that the Government will provide all possible assistance to them for

developing post harvesting technology. He said that fruit production has reached up to Rs 5000 crore MTs. He assured to construct a modern of truck terminal near the fruit Mandi Sopore.

Div Com for setting up of Sub Divi-sional Red Cross branches in districts

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 31: To review functions of Regional Red Cross Society general annual meeting was convened Saturday with Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Shailender Kumar in chair.

Among others, Secretary Red Cross, Srinagar, Abdul Jabar Cha-ket, Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir division, Director Social Welfare, Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, General Secretary, Red Cross Society State Branch, Mrs. Roma Wani par-ticipated in the meeting.On the occasion, a newsletter of the major activities undertaken by the Red Cross Society for the year 2012-13 was also released.It was given out in the meeting that as many as 29,439 patients were treated in OPD of Family Welfare Red Cross Dispensary, 40 medical camps were conducted and 20372 needy and poor patients were given free of cost medicines.

The meeting was also informed that 23 medical camps were conducted, 262 patients were provided ambulance services besides 30 blood donation camps were organised and 1964 units of blood were collected.

Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir urged for opening of Jung Aushadi Sale Outlets at all the districts and Associated Hospitals from October 02, 2013 besides stressed for setting up of Sub Divisional branches in all the districts. He also directed for imparting first aid training to 50 in each district volunteers, besides utilizing their services during emergency situation, road accidents to alleviate the sufferings of the needy persons. The proposed bud-get estimates for the year 2013-14 were also approved during the meeting.

Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS Srinagar | Sunday 01 .9 .2013

Govt. to promote horticulture on modern lines: Ramzan

JAMMU, AUGUST 31- Training programme on

“Management Competencies” organized by Indian Institute of Public Administration, J&K Regional Branch, Jammu was inaugurated by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shan-tmanu.

The programme was attended by 56 officers from various state government de-partments including Police, Civil Administration, SMVDSB, and J&K Bank.

On the occasion, Di-visional Commissioner Jammu emphasized that during the delivery of public service the active cooperation of public at large must be ensured for the desired results. He exhorted the young officers that ‘when-ever in doubt while decision making’ think of the common man’. He further laid stress

upon improving the manage-ment competencies by balanc-ing the personal, professional and social life to become an effective tool in the delivery of public service.

During the course of proceedings, Dr Ashok Bhan Chairman IIPA, J&K Regional Branch welcomed the chief guest, faculty and the partici-pants and impressed upon the significance of this programme in bringing the ‘practitioners’ and academicians at a common platform. He impressed upon the participants that while maintaining discipline in pub-lic service, the officers must try to think out –of- the- box solu-tions in order to encourage ini-tiative in the subordinate team members.

The resource persons for this programme were from The Business School, University

of Jammu comprising Prof Ver-sha Mehta, Director, The Busi-ness School, University of Jam-mu, Prof Alka Sharma, Dr Anil Gupta, Dr Komal Nagar, who deliberated and held interac-tive discussion on contempo-rary topics including Attitude for Excellence, Communication for Interpersonal Effectiveness, Service orientation, which was followed by a panel discussion on Leadership and Team Build-ing in which panelists were Dr Neelika Arora, Central Univer-sity of Jammu, Mrs. Smita Set-hi, Joint Director, Information, Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta, Joint Di-rector, Tourism and Dr Ashok Bhan acted as a moderator.

Prof Versha Mehta presented the formal vote of thanks and J.B.S. Johar, Secre-tary, IIPA, J&K Regional Branch was the organizing Secretary for the programme.

RAMBAN, AUGUST 31-

To review the progress of Education Department in District Ramban, Secretary Education, Hirdesh Singh con-vened a meeting of District,

Sectoral and Officer of Edu-cation Department at confer-ence hall DC office complex Ramban here on Saturday.Deputy Commissioner Ram-ban M.H.Malik Director School Education Jammu , P.K .Pole , Director SSA SK Sahani, Direc-tor RMSA ,HA Paray, ADDC Pardeep Kumar, ACR Dhanan-ter Singh, CPO, CEO, CMO ,Xen PWD ,CMO, ZEOs, ZEPO and officers of other depart-

ments attended the meeting.Mr. Hirdesh Kumar directed the officers of education and other concerned department to ensure proper implemen-tation of different schemes sponsored by the centre and

state government for uplift-ment of education standard in stateHe instructed the PWD and concerned Department for the completion of ongoing construction works of school buildings within prescribed time under various schemes.While reviewing the zone wise progress of SSA ,RMSA ,MDM, SBM,KGBV and state and Dis-trict sector schemes, he direct-ed the AD, CA and PD to pro-

vide ration for Mid day meal to school administration through nearest ration dealers.Mr. Ku-mar asked the DDC, Ramban to settle the issue of land for the construction of schools in the district. He directed the

CMO and CEO to ensure proper health check up of students and instructed the concerned au-thorities to complete the girls toilets construction work and drinking water supply schemes for schools within prescribed time.Deputy Commissioner gave instruction to the officer concern to monitor the dif-ferent construction works of education department for their timely completion.

Div Com inaugurates train-ing programme on Man-agement Competencies

Hirdesh reviews progress of education in Ramban Money matters are likely to be advanced today through

your intuition and inner power, Libra. You may get a hunch that your idea for bringing in some extra money just might work. At least look into it. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it until you know the facts. You might also rediscover a ne-glected talent that you could find quite useful at this time.

A surge of inner power could have you feeling like you can move mountains, Scorpio. If you’ve been contemplating a course of action that others believe impossible, this is the time to get it going. Career matters, romance, and creative projects could all be advanced considerably by careful effort on your part. Give it some thought, write down your ideas, consider all contingencies, and move ahead!

Memories from your past could resurface, Sagittarius. You might wonder why you’re suddenly thinking about them, but they probably represent a release of old emotional hang-ups that have been holding you back. By midafternoon you should feel more focused, determined, and ready to take on just about anything. This is definitely a great day to start new projects or complete old ones.

Today represents a beginning in many ways. A friend from the past could reappear in your life, Capricorn, and bring up memories both pleasant and disconcerting. Don’t worry too much about it. This probably represents a much-needed release. You might also become involved with a group that embodies goals about which you’re passionate. New friends could also come your way.

Emotions could be running high today, Aquarius. Some-one in your entourage may have a problem with an authority figure, and political issues could come up. You may feel pow-erful right now and tempted to throw your hat into the ring. However, it’s best to stay out of anything political and chan-nel that power and passion into your own project. That’s far more likely to bring positive results.

Heightened mental powers might have you spending a lot of time reading or doing research of some kind, Pisces. Your curiosity is especially high right now. You might even consider advancing your education in some way, especial-ly since new interests have been stimulating you for some time. New friends in fascinating fields might have started you thinking. This is a good time to look into this.

Information received from far away could excite your passion to learn more about a subject, Virgo. You might be inspired to use your new knowledge in a project that in-cludes a partner. Your mind is extremely insightful at this time, so if you face decisions, this is the day to follow your heart. Don’t be surprised if you find your telepathic abilities expanded as well!

Aries, your intuition is increased today to the point where you feel like a mind reader, like you could deduce the thoughts and motives of people you’ve never met before. Reading about news events might bring sudden insights as to how they’re going to turn out. You could decide to put this ability to work advancing your financial condition. Do this if you can, within reason. Your insights are probably correct!

You should be feeling especially passionate at this time, Taurus, especially regarding partnerships. Romantic partner-ships definitely call for an evening together! Professional and creative partnerships call for a new project that you believe in strongly. Look to events in other states or foreign countries for inspiration. Something begun in places far away could capture your imagination.

If you’ve been feeling less like yourself lately, Gemini, a surge of inner power could push you over the top and make you feel strong and healthy again. You could decide to finish the unfinished tasks around you today. You might get most of them done by day’s end. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself, however. You will want to make the most of your newfound energy.

A surge of passion could dominate your day unless you find an outlet for it, Cancer. An intimate evening with a lover would be a good idea. Creative passion is also strong, and you could be hit with sudden inspiration, perhaps influenced by distant places. Don’t be afraid to take time out from your mundane chores to pursue this inspiration. Creativity is as important as anything else.

A romantic evening at home with your partner could bring the two of you closer, Leo. Your emotions are intense right now, so you need to use your intuition to judge exactly how much of your feelings you should reveal. An intellec-tual passion could also come your way. You might discover a new field of interest and you’ll want to bury yourself at home studying it for hours.

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 31:

Minister of State for Floriculture, Animal Husbandry, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Nazir Ahmad Gurezi Sat-urday said that safeguarding of heritage

sites including world famous Mughal Gardens is prime concern of present gov-ernment. He said identity of any nation is correlated with its cultural, tradition, language and heritage, adding that gov-

ernment has taken various initiatives for the revival and conservation of heritage sites in the J&K.

The Minister said this during his visit to Shalimar Mughal garden to take stock of on-going renovation and development

works going on at a cost of Rs. 3.62 crore. He said executing agencies have been directed to preserve its antique charac-teristics so that its natural scenic beauty and imaginative attractiveness is not dis-

turbed or altered.The Minister was accompanied by

the Directors of Floriculture, Horticul-ture, Chief Engineer PHE, political and social activist, Sheikh IshfaqJabbar and other concerned officers.

Gurezi enjoined upon of-ficers to speed up the pace of work and complete all devel-opmental works in stipulated time. He called for judicious utilization of funds. He di-rected the concerned officers to keep the lighting system of the garden illuminated till late hours so that visitors can stay upto late hours and enjoy natural beauty.

The Minister also inter-acted with tourists and asked about the hospitality of J&K. He appealed the people in general and traders related with tour-ism industry to provide better

hospitality and services to all the tourists and greet them with love, brotherhood and compassion so that Kashmiri tradi-tion of humanity and harmony is ac-knowledged world over and sustained.

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 31: The vaccination of Hajj pilgrims of dis-trict Kupwara shall be conducted from September 01 to 03, 2013.

In this connection, the Hajj pilgrims belonging to Tehsil Karnah shall be administered the vaccination on September 01, 2013 at SDH, Tangdhar, while as Hajj pilgrims belonging to Block Handwara, Zach-aldara and Langate shall be vaccinated on September 02, 2013 at District Hospital, Handwara and the Hajj pilgrims of Block Kralpora, Sogam, Kupwara, Kalarooch, Vilgam, Keran & Machil shall be vacci-nated at ATM School Kupwara near SDH Kupwara on September 03, 2013.

Meanwhile, according to Chief Medical Officer, Shopian, the vac-cination of Hajj pilgrims 2013 of the district Shopian shall be con-ducted from September 02, 03 and 04, 2013.

In this connection, all the intending Hajj pilgrims of district Sho-pian shall be administered the vaccination on September 02, 03 and 04, 2013 at District Hospital, Shopian.

The pilgrims have been asked to ensure their presence on sched-uled dates and venue.

55 cases settled inPattan Lok Adalat

BARAMULLA, AUGUST 31: Tehsil Legal Services Committee Pat-tan convened a lok Adalat in court complex, Pattan, the lok adalat presided over by Sub Judge Pattan and Munsiff Dangiwachi.

All 95 cases of various natures were taken up, out of which 55 cases were settled amicably.An amount of Rs. 71,000/- were released as fine while Rs. 3,95,000/- were awarded among the parties.

All members of TLSE, Pattan and Bar Association representa-tives were present in the said lok Adalat.

Vaccination schedule for Hajj pilgrims of Kupwara and

Shopian notified

Cultural Heritage identity of nation

Safeguarding heritage sites prime concern of Govt: Gurezi

JAMMU, AUGUST 31:

The Centre for Women Studies of Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, in collaboration with J&K State Women’s Development Cor-poration, conducted an entre-preneurship awareness camp for the students.

The aim of conducting the camp was to empower the young women with entrepre-neur skills to motivate them to take up for self employment ventures in future .

Principal of the College, Dr. Kiran Bakshi welcomed Rifat Qamar from Women Development Corporation, staff and students and appre-ciated the efforts of Centre for Women Studies of the College to organise such kind of aware-ness generating camp for their future growth, self generating modes of income which in turn will build the self esteem

and dignity of the girl students in the years to come.

Dr. Manisha Kohli, HOD Psychology elaborated upon the motive of holding this camp for the students of the College.

Representative, WDC, Rifat Qamar apprised the stu-

dents about different schemes implemented by State Govern-ment for the improvement of their status.

These schemes will usher a new era of liberation amongst the women and de-velop their potential for entre-preneurship.

WDC aware GWC students about entrepreneurship

SWC allots 52 kanal land for 22 industrial units

JAMMU, AUGUST 31- The Single Window Commit-tee (SWC) of the Industries & Commerce Department, Jammu Saturday allotted 52 Kanal and 2 Marla land for setting of 22 units at various Industrial Estates across the region, including Kathua, Samba, Doda and Jam-muThe land was allotted at the 17th Divisional Level Single Window Committee meeting held under the chairmanship of director, I&C Jammu, Gulzar Ahmed Qureshi . The SWC has allotted 52 kanals and two marla of land among 22 units at various Industrial Estates at Kathua, Samba, Doda and Jammu.

The proposed units shall generate employment for 330 persons with capital investment of Rs.2005.24 lakh.

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 31

Three days long celebra-tions from 29th to 31st of August, 2013 were held on the eve of National Sports Day in Srinagar under the aegies of J&K National Sports Club and J&K Ball Hockey Associa-tion. The celebrations started from 29th of August, 2013 and continued for 3 days. Dur-ing these three days, semi-nars sports quiz and debates on various sports activities and sports quiz were held in which hundreds of sports per-sons participated. The experts shared their experience with the youth.

During the celebrations importance of sports were explained and highlighted by some of the prominent sports personalities of J&K State.

Some prominent sports persons of the Valley stressed

on the need for providing adequate infrastructure and other sports facilities to the youth of Kashmir, so that their sports talent is exploited at the national and international levels.

MLA, Dr. Mustafa Kamal the Chief guest on the con-cluding function.

While stressing the need for promotion of sports in-frastructure in the Valley, Dr. Mustafa Kamal congratulated various sports persons who have brought laurels to the J&K State during past few years in different fields of sports.

Dr. Mustafa Kamal stressed that time has come that we should revive the hockey sports in J&K State as hockey is our national game.He said in this part of the country, hockey has been neglected. He further added that a time was when our country used

to give tips to other coun-tries of the world regarding hockey, but now time has come that we have to import hockey coaches from other countries. He further added that all necessary steps will be initiated for revival of hockey in J&K. Dr. Mustafa Kamal also distributed prizes among some of the outstand-ing sports persons of the Val-ley.He alsothe distributed prizes among sports persons who participated in various debates, seminars and quiz during said National Sports Day Celebrations. Speaking on the occasion, the Organizing Secretary J&K National Sports Club, R.G.N. Wani informed that the Kashmir Gold Cup which was scheduled to be started from 31.08.2013 has been postponed upto 20th of September, 2013 for the play Ground being wet.

National Sports Day celebrations in Srinagar

E ++HHEAAL L HH5 ZABARWAN TIMES

SUNDAY |01 SEPTEMBER 20138 ZABARWANTIMES

Veganism, ahead of vegetarianismImagine surviving on a diet that excludes chicken, cheese, milk and all your favourite food. Most of us would yell out 'no-way'. But going vegan is the new fad among the ordinary as well as the admired.Let's find out more...For some, it's the lat-est key to staying fit and toned and for the rest it's the new eco-friendly and animal-protection mantra. With vegan diet receiving a lot of response, vegan-ism has moved on to being something more than just a diet. It is a lifestyle that you choose to live. The old idea that only long-haired hippies nibble carrots and lettuce in their mountain homes no longer applies.Veganism — a step ahead of vegetarianismVegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. Veg-ans, in addition, do not consume any products that are derived from animals — eggs, dairy products, honey etc. Moreover, many vegans do not use leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products.Be a healthy veganThe key to a nutrition-

ally sound vegan diet is variety. For a healthy and varied vegan diet, opt for fruits, vegetables, plenty of leafy greens, whole grain products, nuts, seeds, and legumes. High-fat foods such as oils, margarine, nuts, nut butters, seed but-ters,avocado, and coconut should be eaten sparingly.Pros and consFruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts have protective char-

acteristics against major chronic diseases. At the same time, lower intake of calcium and vitamin D can lead to a higher risk of bone fractures in vegans. Eliminating dairy from the diet removes a good source of calcium. Hence, consume calcium-fortified foods. Also, iron and vita-min B12 deficiencies are a major concern among vegans. While a plant-based diet lowers the risk of age-related problems,

unwise selection of food can lead to adverse health outcomes.When eating out...Go for pizza without cheese, Chinese moo shu vegetables, Indian cur-ries and dal, eggplant dishes without cheese, bean tacos without lard and cheese, Middle East-ern hummus and tabou-li, Ethiopian injera (flat bread) and lentil stew and Thai vegetable cur-ries.

Five steps to stronger bones1. Eat properlyGetting 1,000mg of calcium a day is the first step — and you're much better off doing this through diet if you can.The best food sources are low-fat dairy such as semi-skimmed milk and yoghurt, as well as bony fish, such as tinned salmon and sar-dines.Leafy green veg such as kale, broccoli and spinach are also rich in calcium.Dried fruits such as figs and currants and breakfast cere-als fortified with calcium are also good sources. 2. Get more vitamin dVitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Although some is found in oily fish, our main source comes from the effect of sunlight on your skin.It's estimated that half of us have a deficiency because we don't get outside enough or because we always use sunblock. As part of its Sunlight Campaign, the Na-tional Osteoporosis Society is advising people to catch some rays between May and September to keep their vi-tamin D levels topped up.Just 10 minutes of sunlight a day on bare arms and your

face can cut your risk of bone fractures by a third. 3. The right movesAnother vital way to boost your bones is weight-bear-ing exercise —basically anything that has you up-right and stretching your muscles.Good choices include aero-bics, dancing or brisk walk-ing."Research shows that if you don't exercise you end up weeing out all the calcium you take in instead of stor-

ing it in your bones," warns Prof Skelton. "Ideally we should aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity per week."Put simply, the more hours we spend on our feet, the fewer bone breakages we should have in later life." 4. Quit the cigs and boozePeople who smoke have significantly lower bone density, while drinking more than seven alco-

holic drinks a week can prevent your bones from absorbing the maximum nutrients from your food. 5. Watch your stress levels"High levels of stress make the body produce the hormone cortisol, which causes bone loss," says Prof Skelton."Over a long period this can increase your risk of osteoporosis. Yoga, walking the dog or lis-tening to music can all help bust stress.

Snoring ups BP risk in pregnant womenWomen who begin snoring during pregnancy are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a new re-search from the University of Michigan has revealed. The research showed preg-nancy-onset snoring was strongly linked to gesta-tional hypertension and preeclampsia, said lead author Louise O'Brien, Ph.D., associate professor in U-M's Sleep Disorders Center. "We found that frequent snoring was playing a role in high blood pressure problems, even after we had accounted for other known risk factors. And we already know that high blood pressure in preg-nancy, particularly preec-lampsia, is associated with smaller babies, higher risks of pre-term birth or babies ending up in the ICU," said O'Brien. The study is believed to be the largest of its kind, with more than 1,700 partici-pants. It is the first study to demonstrate that pregnan-

cy-onset snoring confers significant risk to maternal cardiovascular health. Habitual snoring, the hall-mark symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, was defined as snoring three to four nights a week. About 25 per cent of women started snoring frequently during pregnancy and this doubled the risk for high

blood pressure compared to non-snoring women. O'Brien writes that these results suggest that up to 19 per cent of hyperten-sive disorders during preg-nancy might be mitigated through treatment of any underlying sleep-disor-dered breathing. Pregnant women can be treated for sleep-disordered

breathing using CPAP (con-tinuous positive airway pressure). It involves a ma-chine, worn during sleep, which uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open. It is possible that use of CPAP may decrease high blood pressure in pregnant wom-en, and O'Brien has such a study currently underway to test this hypothesis.

Even 5 year olds suffer heart damage

The study found that blood pressure of obese kids is 40 per cent higher than that of healthy youngsters and they have up to nine times more cholesterol in their blood, the Daily Mail reported.Oxford academics warned that even in children as young as five, their arter-ies have become lined with fatty deposits so their hearts have to work harder to pump blood.The study that involved nearly 50,000 five to 15-year-olds found the hearts of obese children were enlarged compared with those of youngsters who were a healthy weight.And the blood pressure and cholesterol of some was al-ready so high that unless they change their lifestyles, they could be 40 per cent more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke in adulthood."It's almost like a ticking time bomb of damage going on in their hearts and blood

vessels," the paper quoted Dr Matthew Thompson, one of the study's authors, as saying.Although researchers have long known that obese chil-dren tend to have slightly higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, they were shocked at the differ-ences compared with those of normal weight -particu-larly in obese girls, who had far higher blood pres-sure than healthy young-sters.The researchers also found cholesterol levels, measur-ing fatty deposits in the arteries, were between 7.5 and nine times higher than normal."The relationship between obesity in children and cardiovascular risk fac-tors such as blood pres-sure was much greater than we anticipated," said Researcher Dr Carl Heneghan, reader in evidence-based medi-cine at the University of Oxford.

Don't discount doctor's gut feeling'

Don't discount a doctor's gut feeling when it comes to serious illness, especially those affecting children, a new study suggests. A clinician's intuitive feeling that something is wrong, even after examination that suggests otherwise, seems to have even greater diagnostic value than most symp-toms and signs. Serious infection can easily be missed in young children and making a diagnosis has been described as "like find-ing a needle in a haystack." Studies have suggested it should be seen as highly important in its own right but there is lack of under-standing about whether it can be seen as useful, British Medical Journal reported. The gut feeling hinges on a doctors 'sense of reassurance or alarm,' bearing on their degree of certainty about the prognosis (future outcome) of the disease. Alarm implies that he perceives an uneasy feeling about a pos-sible adverse outcome, according to an Antwerp state-ment. The team of researchers which also included Paul Van Royen, University of Antwerp, Belgium, therefore carried out an observational study on 3,890 children aged between 0 and 16 years who reported for primary care in Flanders, Belgium in 2004. Out of the 3,369 children assessed as having a non-severe illness at the time of consultation, six were later hospitalised with a serious infection. Results show that acting on gut feeling had the potential to prevent two of the six cases being missed at the cost of 44 false alarms, but that these were not "unmanage-able." In fact, 21 out of the 3,890 children were eventu-ally admitted to hospital with a serious infection and nine were not referred at first contact. However, in four of the nine children, the doctor had a gut feeling that something serious was wrong. The feature most strongly associated with gut feeling was a history of convulsions and the child's overall ap-pearance and breathing. The authors also found that gut feeling is strongly influ-enced by parental concern that the illness is different. Finally, less experienced clinicians reported it more frequently than their more senior counterparts. How-ever, the diagnostic power of gut feeling was no better in experienced than non-experienced clinicians.

With a success rate of nearly 40 per cent, in- vitro fer-tilisation (IVF) has been steadily gain- ing pop-ularity among r u r a l couples suffer- ing from infertility, an expert said here Wednesday. "On an average, one out of every 14 couples suf fers f r o m infertil-ity in the country. With a success rate of nearly 40 percent, IVF has been a boon for in-fertile couples and the treatment has been steadily gaining popularity among the ru-ral population," said gynecologist and IVF expert Gautam Khastgir. Khastgir associated withthe city-based Bengal Infertility and Reproductive Ther-

apy Hospital (BIRTH) said that of all his patients nearly 60 percent came from ru-ral areas of the state. "With drastic life style changes, pollution and lack of hygiene, infertility has been on the rise in rural areas. However, the good thing is people are now

becoming m o r e

aware a n d

conscious and are opting for IVF to get rid of infertility. Rural population across the country suffering from infertility is now opting for IVF," said Khastgir. On the urban front also infertility has also been on the rise with obesity, strenuous life and drinking and smoking being the chief reasons for the malady.

Improve posture for a flat tummyAll of us wish for a washboard tummy but the very thought of all those sit-ups and stomach crunches put us off, right? Well, there are other means of reducing your paunch, or rather, of stopping it from getting bigger, without even stepping into the gym. Check them out:

Improve your posture If you spend long hours sitting at a desk, in front of a screen, chances are that you slouch, thus leaving the stomach loose and bulging. The first step towards a taut tummy is to nev-er slouch, whether sitting, standing or walk-ing. Says Merin, physiotherapist, Biorhythm fitness centre,"Weak back muscles affect the abs as well. Something you can do while at your desk is to maintain a straight back, yet comfortable position. A chin up, shoulders back, stomach in posture while walking not only makes you look fitter but makes your tummy look flatter."

Do stretch exercises at work While at your workseat, stretch your back and pull in the stomach. Hold your breath and re-lease. Sway from side to side a few times. Rest your arms on the armrest of the chair and lift

your feet, one at a time. Hold for a few seconds and release. Repeat every half hour or as of-ten as you can. There are also forced breath-ing techniques for the stomach which you can learn from a professional.

Walk to work "A common misconception is that stomach crunches are the only way to a flat stomach. Stomach fat is just one part of general body fat; only it shows more," points out Merin. She recommends walking or cycling instead of driving if your workplace is near, and tak-ing the stairs instead of the elevator wher-ever possible.

Low calorie cranberry juice may help cut BPDrinking low-calorie cranberry juice regularly may help get your blood pressure under con-trol , suggest new f indings. In a study that measured the effects of drink-ing low-calorie cranberry juice, participants drank either low-calorie juice or a placebo drink every day for eight weeks as part of a controlled diet . Blood pressure was measured at the begin-ning, mid-point and end of the study. After eight weeks, blood pressure values had sig-nif icantly dropped from an average of 121/73 mmHg to 118/70 mmHg for those drinking the low-calorie cranberry juice. The placebo group showed no change. Researchers noted that cranberry juice is r ich in anti-oxidants — naturally occurring molecules in fruit , tea, wine and other foods — which have been associated with lower blood pressure in other studies. The study was presented at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Re-search 2012 Scientif ic Sessions.

Why eat three bananas a dayBritish and Italian researchers have found that eating three ba-nanas cuts the risk of a stroke. They said that having one banana for breakfast, one for lunch and one in the evening would provide enough potassium to reduce the chances of suffering a blood clot on the brain by around 21 per cent. The findings suggest that

thousands of strokes could be prevented by the consumption of other potassium-rich foods such as spinach, nuts, milk, fish and lentils, reports the Daily Mail. Although some previous studies have suggested bananas could be important for controlling blood pressure and preventing strokes, results have not always been on-

sistent. In the latest research, sci-entists analysed data from eleven different studies - dating back to the mid-Sixties - and pooled the results to get an overall outcome. They found a daily potassium intake of around 1,600 mg, less than half the UK recommended daily amount for an adult of 3,500mg, were enough to lower

stroke risk by more than a fifth. The average banana contains around 500 milligrams of potas-sium, which helps to lower blood pressure and controls the bal-ance of fluids in the body. Too little potassium can lead to an irregular heartbeat, irritabil-ity, nausea and diarrhoea. Researchers from the University

of Warwick and the University of Naples said, "Potassium intake in most countries is well below the recommended daily amount." But if consumers ate more potas-sium-rich foods and also reduced their salt intake, the annual glob-al death toll from strokes could be cut by more than a million a year.

Sunday 01 Sep 2013

Kashmir ThunderSaturday 31 August 2013

Delhi gang-rape: juvenile gets 3 yrs in special home; victim's family says 'not happy

The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the attack, has been sentenced to three years in a reform home, the maximum sentence he could have faced, his lawyer Rajesh Tewari said. Indian law for-bids the publication of his name, though he has since turned 18.The braveheart's mother emerged from the court in tears, saying "he got just three years ... from De-

cember onwards he has been given three years".

related storyDelhi gang-rape: victim's brother tries to attack juvenile

Want more punishment for minor: braveheart's fa-therAttack the problem at its base: Rahul Bose"He should get an adult sentence," the emotional mother told report-ers.The perceived leniency of the sentence is likely to

spark further anger in India where the suspects, some of whom have been beaten up in jail, are public hate fig-ures.Outside the court, up to 20 protesters demanded a harsher punishment, scream-ing "Hang the juvenile too" and "We want justice."The attack, which left the victim with such extensive internal injuries that she died two weeks later, sparked protests across the country and led to reforms of India's antiquated sexual violence laws. The government, facing immense public pressure, had prom-ised swift justice in the case.The convicted defendant was one of six people accused of tricking a 23-year-old woman and her male companion into boarding an off-duty bus De-cember 16 after they had seen an afternoon showing of "Life of Pi" at a upscale shopping mall. Police say the men raped

the woman and used a metal bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her. They also beat her male companion. The vic-tims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died from her injuries in a Singapore hospital.Four of the other defendants are be-ing tried in a special fast-track court in New Delhi and face the death penalty. The sixth accused was found dead in his jail cell in March. The court is expected to hand down the rest of the verdicts next moth.The convicted defendant was tried as a minor on charges in-cluding murder and rape. The time he spent in a juvenile home since he was arrested in December will count as part of his three-year sentence, Tewari said.The attack set off furious protests across India about the treatment of women in the country and led to an overhaul of sexual assault

laws.The victim's family called

for the teenager to be tried as an adult, accusing him of being the most violent of the attackers.A government panel set to suggest reforms to sexual assault laws rejected calls to lower the age at which people can be tried as adults from 18 to 16.On July 17, In-dia's top court also refused to reduce the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16 years. However, it later agreed to hear a new petition seeking to take the "mental and intellectual ma-turity" of the defendant into account and not just age.

The 23-year-old physio-therapy student died of inter-nal injuries after being raped and assaulted with an iron bar allegedly by six men on the night of December 16. Her male companion was also beaten up before both were thrown from the bus.

Petrol price hiked by Rs 2.35 a litre, diesel by 50 paise

NEW DELHI: Petrol price was hiked by a steep Rs 2.35 per litre on Saturday, the sixth increase in rates in three months, and diesel by 50 paise per litre on falling rupee and firming interna-tional oil prices.

The increase in rates, which will be effective from midnight tonight, are excluding local sales tax or VAT, Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer, an-nounced. The actual hike will be higher and will vary from city to city. Petrol price in Delhi will go up by Rs 2.83 to Rs 74.10 per litre while it will cost Rs 81.57 per litre in Mumbai as against Rs 78.61 currently.

This is the sixth increase in rates since June and in all petrol prices have gone up by a massive Rs 9.17 per litre, excluding VAT. Price of petrol in Delhi has gone up by over Rs 11 per litre after including state tax since June 1.

In a parallel move, diesel price was hiked by 50 paise, excluding VAT, in line with the January decision of the government allowing oil compa-nies freedom to raise prices in small doses every month to wipe out mounting losses. Diesel price in Delhi has been hiked by 57 paise to Rs 51.97

per litre while it will cost Rs 58.86 in Mumbai from tomorrow as compared to Rs 58.23 cur-rently.

Today's hike in the eighth since the January 17 and most of the losses on diesel sales should have been wiped off by now to make the fuel market priced. But the fall in rupee, around 25 per cent since April, has worsened the situation and oil firms are losing Rs 12.12 per litre despite prices being raised by a cumulative Rs 4.75 this year. Oil firms had on June 1 raised petrol prices by 75 paise, excluding VAT, and followed it with a Rs 2 per litre increase on June 16, a Rs 1.82 increase on June 29, Rs 1.55 hike on July 15 and 70 paise increase from August 1.

PM has run out of ideas for reviving economy: Jaitley

The Hindu Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Prime Minister’s attitude was one of “anger” and “pessimism” and this shows he has “run out of ideas” for reviving the econ-omy. File photo

A day after their verbal jousting in Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attitude was one of “anger” and “pessimism” and this shows he has “run out of ideas” for reviving the economy.

Referring to the Prime Minister’s statement on Fri-day in the Upper House on the state of the economy and the subsequent debate, Mr. Jaitley said, “Instead of telling us about the roadmap to improve the economy he was angry and pessimistic. This attitude means you have no ideas on how to revive the economy. You have run out of ideas.”Mr. Jaitley was speaking at a conclave of BJP’s Legal and Legislative Cell in New Delhi.

In a rare combative mood, Dr. Singh had said on Friday that frequent disruptions by the opposition was responsible for the government not being able to pass important legislations.He had asked whether there is any other Parliament where the Opposition attacks the Prime Minister and does not even allow him to intro-duce his council of ministers.Mr. Jaitley had hit back at the government on corruption.“Till Friday he (PM) had been maintaining a silence. To be silent for a long time is not good. Silence is golden only when you cannot think of an answer,” Mr. Jaitley said at the BJP pro-gramme, adding, “It is extremely dangerous when the

head of the country becomes cynical, pessimistic and cannot suggest a roadmap.”Referring to his exchange of words with the Prime Minister, Mr. Jaitley said Dr. Singh’s attitude reminded him of the habit of lawyers of banging the desk “when they cannot bang the facts or bang the law as they are weak on both”.

Mr. Jaitley also lambasted the JD(U) government in Bihar for playing vote bank politics on the issue of ter-rorism and said in the case of IM founder Yasin Bhat-kal’s arrest, the state government refused to cooperate “because its vote bank will be affected”.

“State governments will also have to think of their responsibility in the fight against terrorism. Who lives if India dies?” Jaitley said.Commending the security

agencies, he said all facts about Bhatkal’s arrest at Rax-aul—Nepal border should come out to expose who performed his duty and who did not.

JD(U), which was an NDA ally for 17 years, broke off from the alliance after the elevation of Narendra Modi as BJP Election Campaign Committee Chief fearing it will lose the minority votes.

“In the Batla House encounter case, for five years we had been hearing that it was a false encounter. Such a stand is taken by political parties for vote bank poli-tics,” he said.

The BJP leader charged that POTA was repealed with this aim in mind. BJP, he maintained, has a firm belief in protecting the nation and to be united in all matters of national security.The fight against terror has to be fought by rising above caste and religion, he said.

Mr. Jaitley insisted that there is a strong anti-in-cumbency and claimed that corruption and slowdown in the economy will be prominent issues in the next general elections.“This government seems to have lost control over the economy and has completely failed to manage it,” he said.Noting that due to the falling Rupee our imports -- including petroleum, edible oil, coal and mobiles -- will become costlier, he said, “You are im-porting inflation into the country.”Referring to the GDP figures announced on Friday, MR. Jaitley said the fall in growth rate is a cause for concern and will impact employment.“For long the world has been warning us that there is a policy paralysis but the government is busy in trying to cultivate its vote bank.

Food, Land Bills have no parallels in history: Manish Tewari

Union Min-ister Manish Tewari on Satur-day said the Food Security and Land Acquisi-tion Bills are two landmark initia-tives taken by the UPA government, and have no par-allels in history.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Tewari, the Lok Sabha MP from Ludhiana, said it is for the first time in country's history that the poor will enjoy the right to highly subsidised food, and nobody will sleep hungry any more.

Tewari said although the opposition par-ties "tried their best to scuttle these bills as they thought the Congress will gain from them," the UPA ensured that these bills were passed as they were to benefit over 81 crore Indians.

Food, Land Bills have no parallels in history: Manish Tewari

Food, Land Bills have no parallels in his-tory: Manish Tewari"It is so shameful that for the petty partisan reasons, the opposition parties tried to scuttle these bills," Tewari, who addressed a number of party meetings in the Dakha assembly segment in Ludhiana, said.

The minister fur-ther added that over 81 crore people in the country will be ben-efited by the Food Security Bill, as they will be provided 35 kg of foodgrains ev-ery month at a highly subsidised price.

"It was the dream of Congress Presi-dent Sonia Gandhi that nobody in the country goes to bed

empty stomach, and today that dream is going to become a reality," he said.

Referring to the Land Acquisition Bill, Tewari pointed out "there will not be any forcible land acquisition in the country." He said wher-ever the land is needed for any private project, consent of 80 per cent of the people concerned will be mandatory.

Besides, he said, land will be acquired at a price that would be four times of the market price in the rural areas, and twice the market price in urban areas.Furthermore, those affected by the acquisition will get employment, rehabilitation and adequate compensation, he said. "There can-not be a better law on land acquisition than this," he said.

Sonia Gandhi seeks effective enforcement of laws for women

President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said making laws for the empowerment of women alone would not suffice un-less they were effectively enforced.

"We realise just making laws and an-nouncing policies would not be enough to empower women. Along with it, poli-cies and laws will have to be implement-ed properly on ground," she said at the

launch of 'Ahimsa Messenger Scheme', aimed at generating awareness amongst the people about the rights of women.

The Congress chief's call comes in the wake of spate of crimes against women across the country.

Sonia Gandhi seeks effective en-forcement of laws for womenSonia Gandhi seeks effective enforcement

of laws for womenUnder the scheme, volunteers would be trained to take the message of women's rights across the society.

Gandhi, who had a key role behind the campaign for awareness about wom-en's rights, called for ending all violence against the women and for taking steps for making women feel safe, fearless, empowered and getting the respect due to them.Describing as a "very big chal-lenge" the fight to secure same status for women as was being enjoyed by men, she called for "social revolution" by changing the mindset and thought of the society and demolishing the wall of discrimination that perpetuates uneven treatment of women.

Gandhi said the initiative for chang-ing the mindset of society has to come collectively from women themselves by according equal status to them in their own homes.

"We all know that the social outlook of our children is formed inside the four walls of our homes. The girl in the fam-

ily should be given the same status as that of her brother in a family. Girls too have a right to get education, develop-ment and employment as that of the boy in the family," she stressed.

Gandhi said the messenger is di-rectly related to the safety and empow-erment of women.

"They will spread awareness and knowledge about for their legal rights and their economic and social growth, their safety and dignity in the society. The Ahimsa 'doots' (messengers) will be trained to empower them," she said.

A unique feature of this programme is that adolescent boys have also been made an integral part of this programme, Gandhi added.

First some women from anganwadis will be trained to become Ahimsa mes-sengers, she added.

Speaking about the empowerment of women, Gandhi said due to 50 percent reservation for women in panchayats, lakhs of women have been able to make their voice heard.

Asaram supporters’ attack on journalists condemnedThe attack on two journalists by sup-

porters of Asaram Bapu in Jodhpur has re-ceived condemnation from several quarters even as the Jodhpur police arrested 13 of the supporters hours after the attack.

Among the first to condemn the attack were union information broadcasting min-ister Manish Tewari and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

"Assault on journalists by a religious preacher's followers extremely disturbing and condemnable. Is this what they teach & preach to their flock?" tweeted Mr. Tewari.

Also quick to react was Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot who called the act uncivilized and promised prompt action against those who did it.

"It was an uncivilised act and should be condemned by everyone. Action would be taken against the accused," said Mr. Gehlot suggesting involvement of “RSS and BJP supporters”, according to PTI."There have

been many such attacks on in Gujarat. Some politicians in Rajasthan say the Gu-jarat model should be implemented here. Is this the model they want to be implemented here?" he asked, hinting at the state's BJP leadership.“Camera broken and seized, jouralist bleeding, Asaram 'hides' in Indore ashram! Spiritual immunity??? Shame,” tweeted journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.

Later in a press conference held in In-dore, Asaram's son Narayan Sai apologised to the media.

“We respect the media and apologise if anyone's hurt,” he is reported to have said.

Earlier on Saturday morning, support-ers of Asaram Bapu started pouring into Jodhpur from different places.When a TV news crew tried to film their arrival, sup-porters of Asaram Bapu started beating them up. The reporter, Bhawani Deora of IBN7 and his cameraman were left with bleeding injuries after they were rescued

by local people.The police registered cases under sections 307 and 395 of the Indian Penal Code and arrested 13 persons, Ajay

Pal Lamba. DCP Jodhpur (West) told The Hindu.The police then sealed-off the bor-ders of the district, not allowing any more

supporters to enter the city and asking those that had already come, to leave.

The social media was abuzz with peo-ple taking jibes at the godman, some angry, some witty and some both, so much so that the hashtags “Indore” and “Jodhpur” con-tinued to trend on Twitter for hours, since most people believed the godman was hiding inside his Indore ashram with full knowledge of the police.Some even put up morphed photographs of the godman, showing him in running gear, with the cap-tion reading: Bhaag asaram Bhaag.

“I hope this police courtesy of delaying arrest for a "concrete defence" is extended to all our citizens,” tweeted Bangalore-based chef Madhu Menon.“When he was running at Bhopal airport yesterday didnt look he had Trigeminal neuralgia or a BP problem #Asaram,” tweeted journalist Mehran Zaidi.“Btw can't we hand over Asaram/Tamasharam/Jhansaram Bapu

to USA saying Saddaam Hussein is still alive? : #bloodydisgrace #Asaram,” tweet-ed another user.Supporters of Asaram Bapu tweeted: “Media harras,beat female devo-tees of #Asaram bapu & made false news 2 blame them![sic]”.The Indian Journalists Union (IJU), the premier organisation of the working journalists in the country also strongly condemned the attack.In a state-ment issued in New Delhi on Saturday, IJU president S N Sinha and secretary-general D. Amar said the unprovoked and brutal assault on journalists "was meant to scare away the media" and amounted to an attack on the freedom of the press.The IJU urged the Rajasthan government to "take stron-gest action against the culprits" to prevent any recurrence of such incidents, while also requesting the governments at the centre and in all states to ensure adequate security cover to scribes so that media could func-tion fearlessly.

Bihar DGP denies BJP’s allegationsRefuting the

Bharatiya Janata Party allegations the Bihar government played vote bank politics by not taking the custody of Yasin Bhatkal, Di-rector General of Po-lice Abhayanand said the police had acted as per the provisions of the law.“Everything was done according to what’s mandated in law. The Bihar police helped the National Investigation Agency in making the arrest and other central agencies by providing security, which was vital. The police also participated in the interrogations. These allegations are base-less,” Mr. Abhayanand said in a press confer-ence.On Friday, ex-Deputy Chief Minister Su-shil Kumar Modi tweeted, “Why bhatkal was not taken on remand by Bihar govt for interrogation? whereas 6 state govts are in Q for taking him on remand.”The DGP said for taking the custody of Yasin and his aide Asadhullah Akhtar, there had to be viable grounds for seeking remand. “The NIA has cases against him, so they took him into

custody.”It would have been incor-rect for the Bihar police to take full credit of the ar-rest, since the alerts had come from the Intelligence Bureau. “Without their intelligence, we would not have been possible. It is a commendable job for the Indian po-lice. The forces of several states were

involved in this operation,” he said.Interrogated in forestMr. Abhayanand said after apprehending Yasin and Asadullah in Raxaul, East Champaran district, around 8 a.m., the Bihar police took them to a thick forest in Bettiah in West Chamaparan district for interrogation, in a highly secret opera-tion. Even the forest officials were “information-ally isolated” from this operation. The duo were interrogated in the forest for about three hours and then taken to the Motihari court for remand.In Patna, the terror suspects were interrogated throughout the night at the high-security Bihar Military Police camp.