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TUESDAY October 22 | 2013 | 16 Zul Hijjah 1434 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 3 | ISSUE NO: 264 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 PAISA)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&Khttp://www.zabarwantimes.com

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(TUESDAY)SUNRISE ON (WEDNESDAY)

05:50 pm06:44 am

05.9 0C26.0 0C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Forecast Valid For Next 24 Hrs: Weather will be mainly dry over the State.

Mainly Clear Sky. Maximum & Minimum temperatures will be around 24°C & 06°C respectively.

Omar receives Hajji’s, exchanges wishesSRINAGAR, OCTOBER 21- Chief Min-ister, Omar Abdullah, this afternoon received the 1st batch of Jammu and Kashmir Hajji’s who returned here after performing Hajj Baitullah in Saudi Arabia.Exchanging wishes with them and enquiring about their holy journey, the Chief Minister greeted them for successfully performing their reli-gious duties.The Hajji’s while interacting with the Chief Minister thanked him for receiving them and prayed for his good health and success and peace and prosperity in the State.Minister of State for Animal Hus-bandry, Nazir Ahmed Gurezi was also present on the occasion.

Tremor jolts valleySrinagar, Oct 21: An earth quake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Kashmir valley during the night.According to a spokesman of the Met department, tremors were felt at 1:16 am during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. People rushed out of their homes in panic and took shelter in open spaces. The epicenter of tremor was traced at Kashmir-China border. There were no reports of any loss of life or damage to property

3 year old boy mauled to death by leopardSrinagar, Oct 21 : A three-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leop-ard in Khaipora Handwara in north Kashmir.Police said that the incident oc-curred in the Kohipora village of Handwara area in Kupwara district. The victim has been identified as Mehraj-ud-din Bhat.Locals said that the leopard attacked the boy when he was kept outside his house on verandah. The leopard dragged the boy to a nearby forest police said and added that the body was retrieved from the forest Mon-day morning.

Youth commits suicide in Anantnag Srinagar, October 21: Zahoor Ah-mad Malik son of Ghulam Moham-mad resident of Traji Ahlan, Koker-nag, Anantnag committed suicide by hanging himself at his paternal uncle’s residence.Kokernag police has initiated an in-quest proceeding under section 174 CrPC in this regard.

1 dies, 06 Injured in road mishaps Srinagar, October 21: A girl dies while six other persons were in-jured in different road traffic acci-dents in the valley.A Truck bearing registration num-ber JK13A/1398 hit a pedestrian Zareena wife of Hafizullah resident of New Lite colony, Sopore at Ama-rgarh Sopore, in the jurisdiction of police station Tarzoo Sopore, re-sulting in her on spot death. Sopore Police has registered a case in this regard.A Tipper bearing registration num-ber JK04A/473 hit and injured a pedestrian Nusrat Akhter daughter of Mohammad Shafi Mir resident of Kalshepora at village Kalshepora, in the jurisdiction of police station Khansahib, Budgam. The

See Injured on pg 11...

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21

The Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister, Mr. Ab-dul Rahim Rather who is also the Chairman of the Empowered Committee of the State Finance Ministers has said that the State of Jammu and Kashmir en-joys a special status under the Constitution of India and its constitutional rela-tionship with the Union of India is governed by Article 370 of the Indian Constitu-tion. The division of powers between the Union of India and the State of Jammu and Kashmir is not at the same footing as it is in respect of other states of the Union, he added. Speaking at a meet-

ing of the Empowerment Committee of State Finance Ministers held at New Delhi today, Mr. Rather said that the Union List and the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India as applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir are not the same as the Union List and the Con-current List applicable to the rest of the States of the Union while making Sev-enth Schedule applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, certain entries of the Union List and the Concurrent List have been omitted. Likewise, while making Seventh Schedule applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, State

List has been omitted. As a corollary Article 246 and Article 248 of the Constitu-tion of India which govern the division of legislative powers between the Cen-

tre and the States apply in a modified form to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus Parliament is vested with the power to make

laws in respect of Jammu and Kashmir pertaining to the matters enumerated in entries 1 to 96 of the Union List. The residuary power vests with the State of Jam-mu and Kashmir. As a con-sequence except the law relating to entries 1 to 96 of the Union List, the Legisla-ture of the State of Jammu and Kashmir can legislate on every other matter i.e. even on the subjects which do not fall directly within the ambit of the State List or the Concurrent List. Mr. Rather said that while introducing Goods and Services Tax, the spe-cial status of J&K State guaranteed under the con-stitution of India has to be safeguarded at all costs.

“We cannot afford to tam-per with the autonomous position enjoyed by a po-litically sensitive State like Jammu and Kashmir”, Mr. Rather asserted. He said that some tax models are available at the inter-national level which can be conveniently applied to J&K State while introducing GST. That would ensure the protection of Special con-stitutional position as also the smooth implementa-tion of GST. Mr. Rather said that a Committee of experts is currently examining the whole issue and the State will soon come out with a well considered formula-tion in this regard.

See Rather on pg 11...

EC of State Finance Ministers meets in Delhi

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 21

Expressing deep concern over the ceasefire violation at LOC and International Border (IB), Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah ex-pressed astound over the breech despite the commitment to peaceful borders reit-erated by the PAK Prime Minister during his talks to Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. “I do not understand whether there is hand of PAK Prime Minister in the viola-tion of ceasefire or he has no control over it”, he said and vehemently asserted that the forces behind creating tension on bor-ders and disturbing peace and tranquility on LOC and IB, putting civil population to serious difficulties, will not be allowed to succeed “We will fail their attempts and designs”, he said while addressing the Po-lice Martyrs Commemoration function at Zewan near here on Monday. The Chief Minister said that the

shelling of PAK forces has made the life of people living on LOC and IB in Jammu and Kashmir miserable. “It has made them to leave their houses, abandon agricultural activities and flee to safer places”, he said adding that he would ask the Government of India to take up this issue with Pakistan strongly and in plain speaking terms. “Tell them that the answer to shelling cannot be given by words. We do not want to retali-ate the bullet with the bullet for the larger interests of the civilian living on LOC and IB but that does not mean that the answer to bullet is not the bullet”, he said and add-ed that shelling on Jammu and Kashmir borders and LOC has marred education, agriculture, economic activities and en-dangered the life of people who are fleeing from these areas. The Chief Minister said that he is sending a team of Ministers to the areas hit by PAK shelling in Samba, R. S. Pora

See Omar on pg 11...

Omar asks GOI to take up ceasefire violation with PAK vehemently

New Delhi Oct 21

In the wake of escalation in ceasefire vio-lations by Pakistan, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde will not be going to any forward post and confine himself to meeting BSF personnel in Sambha district in this region. The decision to keep the Home Minister away from the forward posts was taken in view of con-tinued shelling from across the International Border by Pakistani Rangers for last two days, official sources said. Earlier, Shinde was scheduled to visit three forward posts includ-ing Parahpur observation post but the plan was dropped after a fresh assessment of the situation by the Union Home Ministry, the sources said. The Home Minister will now be holding meeting with BSF personnel in Sambha

from where he would fly to Hira Nagar po-lice station area where four people, includ-ing a police official, were gunned down on September 26 by Militants. He may visit Army installation which had

also come under terror attack. A Lt Col and three jawans were killed while a Colonel was in-jured in the incident. Later, the Home Minister will jointly chair a meeting of Unified Headquarters with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during which review of the situation would be done, the sources said. The meeting will be attended by top brass of state police, Army,

BSF and CRPF besides officials from intelli-gence agencies and Union Home Ministry. 136 ceasefire violations have been report-ed so far this year, the highest in the

See Shinde on pg 11...

Shinde not to go to any for-ward post during border visit

Srinagar, Oct 21:

The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday observed that procedural lapses and non adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is the rea-son why militants were able to strike against army and others security forces agencies in the state this year. According to KNS, correspondent, while talking to reporters, on the side-lines of a police function here, Omar said almost in all incidents of big mili-tant strikes that took place this year in-cluding Bemina and Hyderpora, it was found that militants took advantage of minor or major lapses on part of the se-curity forces. “In all the incidents in which security forces were targeted this year, there was a minor or major lapse and the militants took advantage of that. I am

not just referring to Hiranagar and Samba incidents. I am referring to all the incidents in which the militants have got the better of the security forc-es,” the chief minister said, according to KNS correspondent. Omar said that he believed that at some point of time there has been relaxation of the SOPs that were put in place. “Had the SOPs been followed, I believe these incidents would not have taken place. I think it is important that the SOPs be followed and these militants be denied an opportunity to have successes like these,” the chief minister opined, ac-cording to Kashmir News Service Cor-respondent. Omar said that the security forces will have to remain vigilant as the militancy in the state has not waned sofar. “There is still some effect and influence

See Omar on pg 11...

Omar says relaxation in SOPs responsible for big

attacks by militants

CM’s important meeting of Task Force on health

reformsSrinagar, Oct 21: Amid the reports that the State gov-ernment’s Task Force on Health Reforms has failed to bring any change in the health-care delivery system, renowned health administrator and Convenor of the Task Force Dr A K Nagpal said the accomplishments of Task Force have been substantial and that its function-ing will be more visible in coming days. Dr Nagpal was in Srinagar to attend the important meeting of the Task Force called by the Chief Minister. Talking to KNS, Dr Nagpal said the recommendations and decisions of the Task Force so far have paved the way for major public policy initiatives in J&K. “To re-form the health sector and achieve universal and equi-table access to healthcare, we have been on the path of success. We have set some major targets to be achieved by the end of January following which the outcome of the reforms initiative will become visible,” he main-tained

See Force on pg 11...

‘It has been the longest confinement period throughout his life’

Srinagar, Oct 21

Expressing serious concern over the continu-ous house confinement of Huriyat (G) Chair-man Syed Ali Geelani, the family of the senior separatist today said that it is affecting his health badly. Dr. Nayeem Geelani, son of the senior sepa-ratist leader said that the continuous house detention of his father has affected his health on many grounds. He further stated that due to the continuous restrictions being imposed on Geelani’s movement, his feet and legs have

swollen and that it has become difficult for him even to walk properly.Dr. Nayeem further told KNS that the long time house arrest of Geelani has affected him psy-chologically also. “It is understood that when a person doesn’t interact with the society on regular basis, he develops a strange mental trauma due to which many diseases in that person emerge.” Dr Nayeem mentioned that when Geelani is not permitted to offer Eid prayers in congrega-tions, and to see the developments around, it is bound for him to remain physiologically ill. He further told KNS that it has become difficult for his family to counsel or mitigate Geelani on this issue. Pertinently, the movement of Huriyat (G) Chairman has been confined to his home since March this year. The Director Gen-eral of Police (DGP) Mr. Ashok Prasad

See Family on pg 11...

Continuous confinement affecting Geelani’s health: Family

New Delhi, October 21

The Delhi High Court on Monday granted a major re-lief to Power Development Department of J&K State by staying the order passed by the Central Electricity Regu-latory Commission New Delhi earlier directing the secretary Power Develop-ment Department to pay the unscheduled Interchange Charges of Rs. 75 crore by 25th of this month failing which the commission had warned that contempt pro-ceedings will be initiated against the secretary Power Development Department. The state, through its stand-ing counsel Suhail Malik

challenged the order in Delhi High court on the grounds that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has failed to adhere to the prin-ciple of natural justice and that the order was bad in the eyes of law as the Central Electricity Regulatory Act 2003 does not extend to the State of Jammu and Kashmir as per the Article 370 of the constitution of India. The court after hearing the submissions and the forceful argument advanced by the standing counsel Suhail Ma-lik stayed the order of Cen-tral Electricity Regulatory Commission, thus giving a major relief to the

See Delhi on pg 11...

Reviews functioning of

deptts in Jammu divisionJAMMU, OCTOBER 21

Emphasizing close coordina-tion among different depart-ments to address the public grievances on priority, Minis-ter for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar today asked the officers to adopt a pro-active approach to streamline services and maintain public utilities. The Minister said this while

chairing a high level meeting of senior offi-cers of various departments convened to review their f u n c t i o n i n g here today.

The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Shantmanu, Commis-sioner JMC, Kiran Watal, Direc-tor Tourism, Soujanya Sharma, Vice Chairman, JDA, K.L. Kha-juria, ADC, Rehana BatulChief Engineer PDD, Shehnaz Goni, Chief Engineer PHE, K.K. Gup-ta, Director CAPD, G.S. Chib, SSP Traffic, S. Manmohan Singh, ARTO Jammu, Kuldeep

See Sagar on pg 11...

Delhi High Court gives major relief to J&K State

Sagar for proper maintenance of

public utilities, assets

Police arrests Mullah for

murdering youthSrinagar, Oct 21 : Srinagar police today ar-rested a Molvi of a local Masjid here for murdering a youth by pushing him in river Jehlum on the pretext of performing a sa-cred ritual in order to solve his family prob-lems of strained relation with his spouse.Giving details of the case, Senior Super-intendent of Police (SSP)Srinagar, S A H Bukhari stated that on 30-09-2013 Noor Mohammad Khanday resident of Bund Qa-marwari lodged a missing report at Police Post Qamarwari regarding his son-in-law Shah Nawaz Ahmad Dar son of Khazir Mo-hammad resident of Chewa, Budgam. He reported that his son-in law went to the lo-cal mosque to offer Isha prayers on 29-09-2013 and since then he has not returned back to his in laws home.“Police started a search for the missing person by collecting evidence to know his whereabouts. On 03- 10-2013, a body later identified as that of Shah Nawaz Ahmad Dar was fished out from the river

See Police on pg 11...

Addresses Police Martyrs Commemoration function

710

CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS

Taj asks India to solve the issue diplomatically

Srinagar, Oct 21, : Minister for Medical Education Taj Mohi-u-Din Monday said that ef-fective response from India to Pakistan’s cease-fire violations would make people of Border areas more vulnerable and there is a need to resolve the matter diplomatically. On the sidelines of All India Postal Cricket Tournament in Srinagar, Taj told reporters that people of Border areas suffer im-mensely due to ceasefire v io la t ions . “It is a grave concern that Pakistan is repeatedly violating the ceasefire but we must un-derstand

Rather for safeguarding J&K’s special status while introducing GST

E-Cigarattes are equally injurious to health

Halthy, Educated J&K my endeavour

India will never forget Russia’s friendship

8

Shinde.....past eight years. Even today, Pakistani Rangers opened fire at 10 border posts, injuring two persons.Omar.....present and to finish it off, it is our duty that we do not give them even one chance of success. Wherever the militants attack, they have to be dealt with an iron fist,” he observed. Saying that given the substantial success achieved by the secu-rity forces in tackling militancy, Omar said he was optimistic that ‘we be able to see its end’. Lauding the role of police in tackling militancy in the state, he said that the police personnel have sacrificed their lives for the people of the state. “We want to assure the families of the mar-tyrs that we are with them,” he assured. According to KNS correspondent, Omar warned militants that the more they attack; the more will the morale of security forces go up. “We have not given these sacrifices for nothing. We will ensure that these sacrifices will not go waste.”

Police.....Jehlum at Maloora. As such an inquest proceedings under 174 Cr. PC was initiated and accordingly, a special team was constituted to ascertain the cause of the suspicious death,” said SSP Srinagar.He further mentioned that the deceased was wearing a Pheran in which an ID card of Abdul Gani Naik resident of Chimmer, Kulgam who is working as an Imam of Masjid Abu-Turab at Band Qamarwari was retrieved. Later the Imam identified that the Pharen belonged to him. “During the course of investiga-tion the in-laws of deceased as well as other relatives were veri-fied who were put to questioning wherein it came to fore that the deceased and his wife mostly used to have a bitter relation with each other. It also came to fore front that Molvi Mohammad Amin Naik son of Gani resident of Chimmer Kulgam used to visit the house of in-laws of deceased number of times a day.”According to Police, the Call details of the Molvi and wife of the deceased were analyzed and it was noticed that Molvi had been in constant touch with the wife of the deceased in odd hours of the night for long time. Also, a Pharan of Molvi Mohammad Amin Naik and his identity card were recovered from the de-ceased. Then Molvi Amin was put to sustained questioning and he confessed that he has develop illicit relations with the wife of deceased and he was the hindrance in their relation.“Molvi plotted a conspiracy to eliminate the deceased, and on 29-9-2013 the deceased Shahnawaz Ahmad Dar visited the room of Molvi after Isha prayers and narrated before him the bitter relation between him and his wife and requested him to ease out the conflict. Since then Molvi had already plotted a conspiracy to eliminate him, he advised the deceased to recite some versus of Quran on a flowing river and provided him Tasbi with directions to recite these verses of Quran 313 times on a river and nobody should see. The Molvi on 29.09.2013 took him to nearby Cement bridge Qamarwari and asked him to close his eyes and recite of the verses of Quran the moment he started recite Wazefa. The Molvi from the behind pushed him and he was drowned in the Jehlum.”

The SSP further said that from evaluation of evidence in hand it transpire that the deceased has been killed by Molvi Mohammad Naik with the intention and motive to remove the hindrance in order to carry his ‘illicit’ relation with the wife of the deceased. A case FIR number 304/13 under section 302, 109 Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) was subsequently registered against the Molvi in po-lice station Parimpora.The SSP, Srinagar further requested all the Masjid Intizamia Committees to verify the antecedents before selecting Imams for their Mosques.

Taj....that Pakistan wants to internationalize the Kashmir issue and there is a need to take care of it and cool our tempers,” he said. He said that India must make positive use of its diplomatic channels and should persuade Pakistan to stop violating cease-fire. “In fact, Indian troopers are retaliating ferociously whenever Pakistani troopers resort to ceasefire violations. But the fact is that heat on the border makes people suffer heavily,” Taj said. While replying to a question, Taj said that Shimla Agreement is still viable and Government of India should all the measures to bring Pakistan on table so that ceasefire violations could be put to an end. “There are reports that Pakistan in coming days would resort to heavy ceasefire violations to internationalize the Kashmir issue. But we must be vigilant and cautious while dealing with these violations,” Taj said. Pertinently, a total of 136 ceasefire violations have been re-ported in 2013, the highest in the past 8 years. Sunday’s firing comes ahead of home minister Sushil kumar Shinde’s likely visit to areas along the international border to review the security situation.

Omar....and other areas to meet the affected families and take first hand appraisal of their difficulties so that immediate necessary ar-rangements are taken for their help and rehabilitation till the time their return to border areas become safe. Omar Abdullah cautioned against the attempts by vari-ous elements on peace and tranquility in Jammu and Kashmir and said that the security grid should be more vigilant, alert and careful so that no chance is given to militants to strike which he said they do it to lower the morale of security forces. “In fact the morale and bravery of J&K Police, Security Forces and Army gets more and more enhanced and strengthened by attaining martyrdom while protecting the people, the State and the Coun-try”, he said and paid rich tributes to the Police, Paramilitary and Army jawans and officers who have sacrificed their today to safeguard the tomorrow of the Nation and its people. The Chief Minister assured the families of martyrs that the State Government is with them through all thick and thin. He said while various measures have already been put in place to take care of martyrs’ families, his government would further strengthen and expand these measures. The Chief Minister said that the commemoration of Police and Paramilitary forces on 21st of October reminds us of their

bravery, commitment, patriotism and sacrifice. “I pay my rich tributes to them for giving their precious lives for the cause of the people and the Nation. I also express my solidarity with their families” he added. The Director General Police, Ashok Police also spoke on the occasion While Minister for Agriculture, G. H. Mir, Legislator, Javid Mustafa Mir, Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, senior civil and police officers, family members of police martyrs and others were present on the occasion.

Force..... Responding to questions about lack of co-ordination among various departments in the implementation of the Task Force, he said it has taken some time to sensitise the administrative hierarchy. “However there is total synergy between departments and we look forward to setting standards that other States will emulate,” he added. Dr Nagpal vowed that he is totally committed to this major ini-tiative and have full support from all the concerned in the gov-ernment and the administration. Pertinently Dr Nagpal is the founder director of the SKIMS Soura, under whose command the institution set standards of qual-ity tertiary care in the State particularly Valley. Presently he is heading various health and medical education institution of the country including being the Chairman Executive Council, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Center and the Amity University. The Task Force on health Reforms was set up by the govern-ment in May 2009 with an aim to assess the problems related to health and medical education sectors, which affect the health-care delivery system and also to suggest remedial measures for taking timely action in resolution of the problems for improv-ing the healthcare services in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare in J&K. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is Chairman of the Task Force with health and medical educations ministers, Chief Secretary, Directors of health Jammu and Srinagar and various administrative secretaries as the members. It may be mentioned that following the reports that some rec-ommendations of the Task Force were not implemented, CM called a meeting which took place in Srinagar today. (

Delhi.....state of Jammu and Kashmir.(KIP)

Family.....recently stated that Geelani could be allowed only if he doesn’t instigate people for violence. The police chief had further men-tioned that police has reports that wherever Geelani addresses people, the incidents of stone pelting take place and hence law and order in the state gets disturbed.

Rather.....The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers which met today under the Chairmanship of Mr. A. R. Rather in New Delhi held threadbare discussion on the proposed GST regime. The main issues discussed in the day long included the revised draft of the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amend-

ment) Bill, 2011 which has recently been referred by Govern-ment of India to the Empowered Committee.Many Finance Ministers expressed their views on the all-im-portant agenda points while others will be given opportunity in the next meeting of the Empowered Committee scheduled to be held in November, 2013.Prior to the regular meeting of the Empowered Committee, the Governing Body and Annual General Body Meetings were also held under the Chairmanship of J&K Finance Minister. In these meetings the annual report on the working of the Empowered Committee for the year, 2012-13 as also the accounts of the Committee for the said period were approved. In addition to Finance Ministers, these meetings were attended by Advisor to Union Finance Minister, Additional Sec-retary, Revenue, Government of India, Finance Secretaries and Commissioners of Commercial Taxes of various States as also the Member-Secretary and other officers of Empowered Committee Secretariat.

Sagar.....Singh besides other senior officers of concerned departments. The Minister asked the Chief Engineers PDD and PHE to ensure uninterrupted power and water supply in the region. He asked Chief Engineer PDD to repair damaged transformers im-mediately to further improve the power scenario. The Minister asked the CAPD authorities to be more accountable and make public distribution system effective and transparent. He directed the Commissioner JMC to ensure prop-er sanitation and remove illegal encroachments. He asked the Health Department to ensure enhanced health services to the people and take innovative steps to combat dengue.The Minister also took stock of law and order situation and other arrangements being made by the civil administration in Jammu Division for darbar move to winter capital.The Minister asked the officers to gear up their efforts to make foolproof arrangements for comfortable stay of move employees besides hassle free functioning of the government offices.The Minister also took stock of loss of public property due to heavy shelling at villages located near borders in Jammu region. He directed the administration to reach out to affected people to ensure timely rehabilitation measures.Reviewing the status of ongoing development projects espe-cially under Special Task Force (STF), the Minister asked the ex-ecuting agencies to expedite the ongoing projects for their time bound completion.

Injured.....injured was shifted to SMHS Hospital for treatment. Budgam Po-lice has registered a case in this regard. Meanwhile, in another accident, five persons were injured when a SRTC Bus bearing registration number JK01Y/435 and a Tata Sumo bearing registration number JK05/8473 collided at Nadihal, Bandipora, in the jurisdiction of police station Bandi-pora. All the injured have been shifted to hospital for treatment. Bandipora Police has registered a case in this regard.

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ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22 | 2013

FROM THE FRONT PAGE..................

11

SCINTILLATING FLAG IN CEREMONY AT MANASBAL FOR TOURING FARMERS

The scintillating flag in ceremony marked the welcoming of the Ganderbal framers who returned from their 10 days Jammu-Chandigarh and Lukhnow tour. During the tour the farmers were made aware of the development in the other states and how they can use the same ideas to transform their agriculture needs for better productivity. The touring farmers were also shown other historical value sites to broaden their knowledge base. “At Chandigarh we saw Rock Garden which is beautifully made out of scrap and throwaway materials” said Khurshid a touring participant and enthusiastically added, “This is an innovative idea which I would like to implement here in my village”. The farmers experienced the joy of boating in Shukhna Lake and subsequently visited Zakir Hussain Rose Garden. One of the farmers later specified the importance of this garden by stating, “It is a botanical garden spread over 30 acres of land, with 50,000 rose-bushes of 1600 different species. I had read about it but it is awesome to see and be part of the surround-ing in real”. The farmers thereafter visited Lukhnow where they saw Bara Imambara and Moti Mahal. Mr Aqib a farmer along with the tour was extremely happy to see such an old monument. He act-ing as a guide to farmers gave a brief of Bara Imambara, “Built by the fourth Nawab of Awadh known as Asaf-ud-Daula as part of a relief project for a major famine that took place in the year 1784 it is mainly known for its “incredible maze called “Bhulbhulaiya” which is located in the upper floor of the monument.” He also playfully added, “It is said that great treasures are hidden in the secret tunnels of this maze”.All these animated details of tour were given out by the partici-pants during the flag in ceremony where they also showcased the cultural song and dance of the states where they had visited. A poem relevant to the tour was read out by a performing partici-pant which said,

“Breaking the barriers of our mind, Banihal we all crossedBeauty beyond the valley, made us look lost.

Serpentine train from Chandigarh to Lukhnow, chugged on crisscrossedWith window showing, dazzling scenery without any cost.

“Rock garden’ and ‘Sukhna Lake’ along with the ‘Amazing Maze,’ were few of the visiting placeThese were the one, which showcased their own grace

Coming back to own place, made us introspect our own spaceNeed to contribute a lot here to make it an angel’s place”

The event was organised in the Manasbal Garrison under 13RR (KUMAON) which was attended by Commanding Officer of the unit, who stressed that farmers who were part of the tour should not keep the knowledge which they have gained from the tour to themselves but spread it as far as they can in their area. The attendees were important personalities of the area, parents and teach-ers of students, Sarpanch and Panches of the nearby villages from where the farmers belonged.

Srinagar, Oct 21:

Underscoring the need for time bound completion of ongoing tourism projects in the State, the Minister for Tourism Mr. Ghulam Ahmed Mir has stressed upon the concerned authorities for proper monitoring of the works to ensure utili-zation of quality building material and ju-

dicious use of funds. Reviewing physical and financial status of Naagarnagar–Wat-lab tourism circuit being developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 38.14 crore under Development of Mega Tourism Circuit programme at a meeting held here today, the Tourism Minister emphasized upon the concerned to submit utilization cer-tificates for release of next installment of

funds from the Centre for early comple-tion of the project. He also instructed for submitting composite report of different components of the project to the admin-istrative department for inspection of the works.Receiving the appraisal of the project components, the Minister was informed that against the Project cost of Rs 38.14 Crore, Centre has released Rs. 15 crore against which Rs. 13.17 crore have

been expended till date on the construc-tion of several works under the project. He was informed that development of Eco park at Pokhribal lake, conservation of various monuments, public conve-nience at Naagarnagar, development of land around Naraanag spring and tourist accommodation, Visitor interpretation center at Watlab have been completed

at the total cost of Rs. 5.89 crore while as the construction work on Rs. 1.7 crore visitors interpretation center, restaurant at Naagarnagar is at its final stage of com-pletion.The Minister was also apprised that development of Lake Discovery and Interpretation Park at Nagin Pokhribal would be executed through LAWDA at an estimated cost of Rs. 5.22 crore. He was informed that 75% work on restora-tion and repairs of Rampart wall around Hari Parbat Fort Srinagar have been com-pleted. While as development of Water Park along the Pokhribal Lake by way of construction of boat club, landscap-ing, construction of path and parking, besides jetties are apace at an estimated cost of Rs. 3.23 crore and so far Rs. 70 lakh have been incurred on these works.Meanwhile, the Minister also reviewed the status of construction of tourist ac-commodation at Cheshmashai, where 10 huts are to be constructed at the total cost of Rs. 3 crore to upgrade infrastruc-ture facilities for tourists.The Minister instructed the authorities of LAWDA and JKTDC to maintain close coordination and settle pending issues creating hurdles in timely completion of these huts.Com-missioner Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Atal Dulloo, Vice Chairman LAWDA, Mr. Irfan Yaseen, Director Tourism Kashmir, Mr. Ta-lat Parvez, Managing Director JKTDC were among other senior officers attended the meeting.

Work on Rs. 38 cr Naagarnagar- Watlab tourism circuit apace

G.A. Mir for time bound completion of ongoing tourism projects

SADHBHAVANA MELA HELD AT GOVT BOYS HIGHER

SECONDARY SCHOOL, TRALKar Irshad

Tral:In consonance with the long standing request of the popu-lace of Tral, a Sadbhavana Mela was organised by Rashtriya Rifles Battalion at Tral today. It was overwhelmingly enjoyed by over

2000 people from the area. The mela comprised of a number of events to cater for various needs of people from all sections of society and of all age groups.Firstly, it enthralled the audience by a mesmerising cultural extravaganza put up by the youth of Tral. This was followed by a dog show, presentation of Furniture and Books etc worth Rs one lakh each to four schools of Tral and to top it all a lucky draw with fascinating prizes.The mela complex housed 24 stalls which catered for everyones needs from eateries and hosiery to entertainment, youth guidance and medical aid. All the stalls were overwhelmingly subscribed and was enjoyed to the hilt by the populace. The people were deeply appreciative of the efforts put in by the Army to serve the people of Tral in a unique way.

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 21

Compensation cheques amounting to over Rs. 26 lakh were distributed among those whose ponies/horses were involved in accidental deaths during Shri Amarnathji Yatra this year at a function held at Raj Bhavan here today.As Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, who is Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, was away from the station, he had asked Mr. Navin K. Choud-hary, Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, to request Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister for Forests and Environment, to give away compensation cheques to the ponywallahs. Mian Altaf Ahmad gave away cheques to 87 ponywallahs, at Rs. 30,000 per every horse/pony lost in an accident. This amounted to an outgo of Rs. 26 lakh as compensation for the ponies/horses killed in accidents during Shri Amar-nathji Yatra this year.Speaking on the occasion, Mian Altaf Ahmad said that the provision of insurance cover for the ponies/horses in case of their accidental death during the Yatra is an extremely laudable welfare measure and provides strong relief to the economically weaker sections of the soci-

ety whose animals get killed in accidents. He thanked the Governor for taking keen in-terest in the welfare of the pony/horse owners and ob-served that there has been tremendous improvement in the management of Shri Amarnathji Yatra, particularly in the past five years, benefit-ing the Yatris as well as all the stakeholders and the people who earn their livelihood from this annual pilgrimage. He complimented the Gov-ernor and the management of the Shrine Board for tak-ing all the required initiatives for bringing about continuing improvements in the Yatra management. He particu-larly referred to the laudable measures taken by the Shrine Board for ensuring cleanliness and the protection of environ-ment of the entire Yatra area. He observed that it should be the endeavour of all of us to bring about further improve-ments in the Yatra manage-ment, wherever required, to facilitate the visiting Yatris. Mr. Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurezi), Minister of State for Animal and Sheep Husbandry, thanked the Governor for taking laudable initiative for putting in place the provision of insurance cover launched with the support of the State

Government for compensat-ing the loss suffered by the pony/horse owners on ac-count of the accidental deaths of their animals during the Yatra, benefiting the poor po-nywallahs. He put forth sev-eral suggestions for bringing about progressive improve-ments in the management of the Yatra. He also thanked the Governor and the manage-ment of the Shrine Board for expeditious settlement of the insurance claims of the pony-wallahs.Mr. Rafi Ahmad Mir, MLA, Pahalgam, thanked the Gov-ernor for appreciating the losses suffered by the pony/horse owners due to the ac-cidental deaths of their ani-mals during Shri Amarnathji Yatra and for the mechanism devised to compensate their losses by providing insurance cover to their animals. Putting forth various suggestions for brining about continuing im-provements in the manage-ment of the Yatra, he said that considerable economic ben-efits flow to the local popula-tion from this pilgrimage. Mr. Navin K. Choudhary, Prin-cipal Secretary to the Gover-nor and the CEO of the Shrine Board, said that ponywallahs are an important part of the Yatra and the Governor had

Governor directs all out efforts to ensure settlement of welfare measures for Yatra stakeholders

Fish farmers flagged off at Pulwama

PULWAMA, OCTOBER 21: As many as 20 progressive fish farm-ers of Pulwama district flagged off for Inter State tour under Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) here to-day.Assistant Director Fisheries, Pulwama flagged off the farm-ers. He said that the farmers will be taken to various Trout Fish Farms, Fish Seed Farms and Carp Fish Farms of the State under the ATMA scheme. He said the fish farmers shall be acquainted with the latest techniques being adopted for fish rearing during the tour. The tour will provide them express in order to improve the professional skills of fish production. He also wished in a success tour of these progressive farmers.

DC reviews Diwali arrangements

SAMBA, OCTOBER 21- To discuss arrangements for ensuring Di-wali festival a meeting of senior officers was convened by Dis-trict Development Commissioner Samba R.K Varma here today. The meeting discussed in detail the necessary arrange-ments of security, traffic regulation, drinking water and power supply, sanitation, sale of fire crackers, security, first aid and de-ployment of fire tenders etc. for smooth conduct of the festival. The DDC directed the concerned officers of different departments to put in best efforts in ensuring all necessary arrangements well in time.DDC directed the concerned au-thorities to keep a strict vigil on sale and storage of fire crack-ers besides ensuring that the shopkeepers are adhering to the guidelines laid down in this regard. He asked the concerned of-ficers for keeping a strict check on overcharging and profiteering and quality of food items. He directed the PDD and PHE to ensure un-interrupted power and water supply besides instructing the traffic authori-ties to prepare a comprehensive traffic plan for smooth flow of traffic during the festival days. He also discussed the security is-sues and directed the Police Department for necessary arrange-ments and deployment of force at important points.The DDC directed the municipal authorities to ensure cleanliness in the city.

Secretary Flo-riculture visits Tulip, Mughal

gardens, takes stock of in-

frastructural facilities

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 21: Sec-retary, Floriculture and Public Enterprises Mr. Sanjeev Ver-ma accompanied by senior of-ficers of Floriculture Depart-ment visited Tulip Garden Cheshmashahi and Mughal Gardens and took stock of the pace of activities being car-ried out for developing infra-structural amenities in these gardens for the facility of the visitors.After receiving brief account of the activities being carried out in these gardens and arrangements made for procurement of Tulip bulbs and other allied material for the Tulip garden, the Secre-tary asked the concerned for putting all possible efforts in place for making the World famous and Asia’s largest Tu-lip garden more presentable and attractive for the visitors.During the visit to Mughal Gardens, the Secretary di-rected for carrying out devel-opmental activities especially in civil works in consultation with INTACH, J&K Chapter so that its pristine glory is main-tained.

Srinagar, October 21:

The government has an-nounced sops to the visiting tourists on the eve of 3-days Kashmir Saffron festival scheduled to commence from 29th of this month at Visoo, Pampore in Pulwama District.

The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corpo-ration would provide 50% re-bate on lodging and transport charges to the tourists visiting Kashmir besides private tour-ism players are also going to give concessions in boarding and lodging on Saffron and Di-wali festivals.

This announcement was made by Minister for Tourism, Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Mir while chairing a high level meeting of officers convened to review the arrangement being made by various Departments for celebrating the Saffron festival here on Monday.

Mir said that Tour and Trav-el Operators of Katra would

also organize a fame tour to encourage Mata Vaishno Devi Pilgrim Tourists to participate in the saffron festival. He said during the festival days several tourist attractions would be showcased including saffron run, cultural programmes, laughter shows, flower pluck-ing, painting competition be-sides setting up different stalls of agro-based products and traditional dresses for photog-raphy.

The Tourism Minister said that main objective of orga-nizing the festival is not only to promote the rare and world famous Saffron of Kashmir but also to encourage and support the educated youth in taking tourism related entrepreneur-ial activities.

The Minister directed the concerned Departments to make all arrangements for holding a successful festival. He directed for carrying out a mass publicity campaign re-garding the Festival through

print and electronic media especially outside the State to attract more and more tour-ists to the Festival. He also instructed for proper regula-tion of traffic on the National Highway near the festival site for smooth movement of ve-hicles.

Mir also stressed for close coordination between depart-ments for making the event a grand success, emphasizing that due care should be given to extend warm hospitality to the visitors.

Commissioner Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Mr. Atal Dulloo, Director Tourism, Kashmir, Mr. Talat Parvez, Managing Director, JKTDC, Mr. Shamim Wani, Additional Dis-trict Development Commis-sioner, Pulwama. Senior Of-ficers of Agriculture,SKAUST, Police besides representatives of various Tourism Associa-tions and Saffron Growers As-sociation attended the meet-ing.

Srinagar, October 21:

Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Monday re-viewed the arrangements to be made in connection with move of offices and employees from Srinagar to Jammu here in a meeting with officers. The Civil Secretariat and other move offices will close in Sri-nagar on October 25th and open in Jammu on November 4th. It was informed in the meet-ing that as many as 150 trucks and 50 mini buses have been deployed for ferrying official record and employees respec-tively on 26th and 27th Octo-ber and on 2nd and 3rd No-vember. In this connection, the Chief Secretary directed for putting in place all necessary measures to ensure smooth movement of darbar move ve-hicles. He directed that extra buses and trucks be kept avail-able during the move days

besides adequate number of cranes, mobile workshops, recovery vans, medical mobile teams, ambulances along with necessary equipment and staff deployed en-route to meet any exigency. It was also informed that dur-ing these four move days, army and other paramilitary convoys will halt their move-ment to facilitate smooth movement of darbar move vehicles. Arrangements have also been made for providing escort security to the employ-ees and convoy carrying the official record from Srinagar to Jammu. Chief Secretary directed CA&PD to issue temporary gas connections to move employ-ees for their Jammu stay be-sides opening a counter here at Srinagar by Thursday for issuance of temporary ration cards for the convenience of the move employees. Chief Secretary also directed

the IT department to ensure that LAN/Internet connections in the entire Jammu Secre-tariat are fully functional on the opening day on Novem-ber 4th. He also directed the concerned departments for ensuring complete sanitation besides ensuring electricity and potable drinking water in all residential colonies of em-ployees. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. B. B. Vyas, Principal Secretary PDD, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Com-missioner Secretary PHE, Commissioner Secretary IT, Secretary Health and Medi-cal Education, Secretary GAD, Secretary CA&PD, Secretary Transport, Secretary H&UD, IGP Traffic, J&K, MD JKSRTC, MD JKTDC, Director Health Services, SSP Control Room, Srinagar, besides other senior officers of Civil and Police ad-ministration.

Mir announces 50% sop on lodging, transportation by JKTDC

CS reviews darbar move arrangements

TUESDAY, OCTOBER | 22 | 2013Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWSLays foundation Degree College Bagh-i-Dilawar Khan building complex

Try to be careful of missing the forest for the trees to-day. You may be concentrating on a detail in your personal or professional life that isn’t as crucial to the big picture as you think. This kind of obsessive thinking is probably keep-ing you from progressing. Let it go. Sometimes it’s necessary to sacrifice a battle in order to win the war. Your mental acu-ity is high today.

Today you’ll feel inspired to express yourself in fun, cre-ative ways. Don’t be afraid to let loose with your wild sense of humor. You could play a prank on a friend that makes him or her laugh and creates good feelings. Or you could share some jokes with others that make them smile and feel better. You enjoy playing the clown, and you’re good at it!

Expect to hear from people you haven’t heard from in some time. Make a cup of tea and savor every correspon-dence. You could feel nostalgic for the “good old days” when life seemed simpler and more of your friends were nearby. Pick up the phone and give one of them a call. Your old pal will be delighted to hear from you.

Try to be extra patient and affectionate toward your loved ones today. A child, lover, or pet needs some of the special attention and reassurance that only you can provide. Try to make this a priority over professional obligations. Remem-ber that your loved ones are the most important things in your life. When you need them, they’ll always be there for you!

Your intuition is quite high right now, enabling you to ac-curately tune in to others’ hopes and dreams. This can be a bit tricky in a social situation, however. Someone could be saying one thing when you know they’re thinking some-thing else! Don’t dwell on other people’s thoughts too much. Instead, direct your thoughts to how happy you are now.

It’s likely that you’ve been feeling the urge to exercise your imagination. As much as you enjoy your profession, there isn’t much chance to stretch your mind and show your creative visual side. With some time off, you could pick up paints and brushes or pen and paper and begin an art project of some kind. With all the houseguests and visitors dropping by, expect encouragement!

Your creativity is at a peak, though you may not be aware of it due to your focus on your work and social life. But don’t be surprised if you have a vision, seemingly from out of the blue. You’ll likely feel inspired to stop what you’re doing and paint or write. Excuse yourself and spend some time alone with your muse. You’ll be delighted with the results.

This is a good day to let go. If someone has hurt or disap-pointed you, it’s time to forgive and move on. Holding a grudge isn’t going to get you anywhere. In fact, it’s prob-ably eating away at your heart and keeping you from mov-ing ahead in other areas. If things are meant to work out with this person, they will. If they don’t, it isn’t meant to be.

Resist the urge to go on a shopping spree today. You’re likely to make impulsive purchases. You may be trying to fill a void or compensate for another area of your life that isn’t going as well as you’d like. Try instead to do a little medi-tation and bring the real problem into clearer focus. Take a walk or do some yoga. It will do your spirit more good than the mall.

You’re feeling especially sensitive today. Your intuition is operating at a very high level. With people wearing their hearts on their sleeves now, it’s very easy to tap into others’ emotions. You and your mate are especially in sync, which will make for a wonderful evening. Take advantage of the aspects and broach a sensitive subject you’ve wanted to dis-cuss.

This is a day for good news, particularly regarding the home. It’s likely that some positive changes are occurring or are about to occur. You may be considering a move or a major renovation. Whatever it is, all signs indicate that the changes are for the better. One way or another, by this time next year you’ll be living in a bigger, better house.

This is a good day for meditation. You’ve probably been trying to distract yourself from unresolved issues through shopping or eating. Try taking some time today to think about what’s really bothering you. It would do you some good to get outside and connect with nature. Try taking a long walk in a park. You’re much more likely to find perspec-tive there than at the mall.

Anantnag, October 21:

District Development Commis-sioner Anantnag, Dr. Farooq Ahmad Lone today urged upon the officers for speedy implementation of District Development Board Decisions in let-ter and spirit so that the set targets are met well in time.

District Development Commis-sioner was taking review of the District Plan and centrally sponsored flagship programmes in a high level meeting in which all the District Officers and con-cerned District heads of Engineering Departments participated.

Chief Planning Officer Anantnag presented a PowerPoint presentation depicting the expenditure and devel-opment made so for in the district dur-ing 2013-14.

It was given out in the meet-ing that against an availability of Rs. 401.75 lakhs in R&B sector Rs. 187.66 lakhs have been expended resulting in macadamization of 78 kms road length, which is more than twice than the fixed target during 2013-14. Under PDD sector against an availability of Rs. 25.88 lakhs an expenditure of Rs.17.25 lakhs has been made till date.

Under MGNREGA against an avail-ability of Rs. 330.75 lakhs an expen-diture of Rs. 93.70 lakhs have been made while as under IAY component an amount of Rs. 252.38 lakhs have been received. Gujjar and Bakerwal as-sistance of Rs. 4.48 lakhs have been re-leased against availability of Rs.108.86 lakhs during 2013-14. On different Ir-rigation schemes expenditure of Rs. 47.64 lakhs has been made against an availability of Rs. 97.20 lakhs. In Health Sector an expenditure of Rs.153.37 lakhs have been made against avail-ability of Rs. 347.43 lakhs, while as an amount of Rs. 8.50 lakhs has been expended against an availability of Rs. 24.75 lakhs under Rural Sanita-tion (NBA). Under Urban Development against an availability of Rs.77.25 lakhs, Rs. 9.66 lakhs have been expended re-sulting in development of utilities in urban areas. Under PHE sector against an availability of Rs. 273.59 lakhs an expenditure of Rs.117.14 lakhs have been made till date during 2013-14.

District Development Commis-sioner directed the concerned to re-store the public utilities with regard to PHE, Irrigation and PDD damaged due to ongoing work of 4 lanning of

National Highway. The other impor-tant issues discussed during the re-view meeting included the installation of central heating system in District Hospital Anantnag, completion of de-velopment works on Bus Adda, Sumo Stand, Sports Stadium, different health and educational institutions, Bumzoo water supply schemes, improvement of LT/HT lines, water filtration plants shortage of teachers/masters, upgrada-tion of educational institutions, provi-sion for constructing residential ac-commodation for officers, renovation work at Ziyarat Sharief Aishmuqam, completion and handing over of com-puter labs to concerned authorities and different water supply schemes. The Developments under different central-ly sponsored schemes which include ATMA, SSA, RMSA, RJJVY and KVY were also reviewed. District Development Commissioner expressed satisfac-tion on the overall development and implementation of board decisions and said that nearly 50 percent of the district plan funds have been utilized. He urged upon all officers to gear-up their men and machinery for speeding up the pace of different developmental works.

Srinagar, October 21:

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Monday reaffirmed his endeavour to strive for healthy and educated Jammu and Kashmir underlining these sectors as imperative for the holistic development of any State or the Country.

“Unless the citizens of a State are healthy and educated, the develop-ment will be of no use”, he said and added that healthy and educated people depict the progress and de-velopment of a civilization. He said how much large economic growth may be there, whatever infrastruc-tural development may take place and how many basic amenities are available to people, their utilization is of no avail if they are not healthy. He said similarly education is essen-tially important to make the future of the State safe and secure.

Addressing a function after in-augurating Rs. 3 crore two blocks of Science and Academics in Gandhi Memorial College and laying foun-dation of Rs. 11.65 crore three-storey building complex of Government Degree College, Bagh-i-Dillawar

Khan at Shamaswari in Khanyar As-sembly Constituency here, the Chief Minister said that during the last over four and half years his govern-ment has given highest priority to strengthen the health and education sectors in the State. The Chief Minis-

ter said that in the higher education sector scores of new Degree Colleges, University Campuses and Technical Institutions have been established to make higher education accessible to the students throughout the State particularly in the remote and back-

ward areas. He said introduction of modern subjects and creation of befitting faculties have also received focused attention besides providing appropriate infrastructure and labo-ratories to the educational institu-tions. Referring to the development

of Srinagar, the Chief Minister said that the financial disparity in the Plan allocations for Srinagar District has been done away with by his gov-ernment and attention is focused to ameliorate the lot of people living in Shahr-e-Khas (Down Town). “You are always on receiving end when-ever there is law and order situation or any other trouble but you never got the due dividends of peace and development”, he told a large num-ber of people, who had come to hear Omar Abdullah at the function, and assured them that his government has taken necessary steps to restore the handicrafts glory and tourist po-tential of down town. In his speech, Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar who is also MLA of the area expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for his keen inter-est in the development of hitherto left under developed areas particu-larly Shahr-e-Khas. Sagar said that Shahr-e-Khas is a historic place and described it the heart of Srinagar City. He identified areas requiring special attention under different de-velopmental schemes to uplift the lot of people living in this area.

Kupwara, October 21: Out of Rs. 5.51 crores, an amount of Rs. 5.49 crores have been utilized under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) during current fiscal while under Non Commu-nicable Disease (NCD) Rs. 1.37 crores are being spent so far.

The meeting was chaired by the District Development Com-missioner, Kupwara, Mr. Itrat Hussain Rafique and reviewed the implementation of the NRHM in Kupwara district in the meet-ing. The Chief Medical Officer, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Chief Planning Officer, Chief Education Officer and Block Medical Officers were present.

The District Nodal Officer for NRHM discusses the progress achieved through the PowerPoint presentation.

The meeting disclosed that under Public-Private Investment Partnerships (PPIP) an amount of Rs. 8.78 lakhs have been ex-pended upto September of current financial year, 5450 Insti-tutional deliveries were registered, 4718 were benefited under Janani–Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK),495 children were benefited under JSSK, 5901 were provided financial incentives besides 4132 mothers and children excreted by the ASHAS were provided incentives. As many as 08 Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) meetings were conducted besides 250 doctors and para medical staff was provided skill trainings in the district.

It was further given out that one District Hospital, 07 Com-munity Health Centres, 14 New Type Primary Health Centres, 23 Primary Health Centres, 360 VMS/NSC are functioning in the dis-trict, 425 medical staff under NRHM besides 19 Hospital build-ings are nearing completion. The District Development Commis-sioner Kupwara impressed upon the Health officers to maintain hygienic system in their hospitals and the ongoing works should be completed within the stipulated timeframe.

DDC reviews implementation of NRHM in Kupwara

Panchayat Empowerment key to grass root development : Madan

Dy CM exhorts admn for prompt response towards peoples’ needs

DDC reviews District Plan at Anantnag

Healthy, educated J&K my endeavour: Omar

Jammu October 21 : Madan Lal Sharma Member Parliament Jammu Poonch Con-stituency said that Congress Party believes in gross root governance and central lead-ership has also given a clear cut message for the empowerment of Panchayats by implementing 73rd and 74 Amendments . Mr. Sharma while addressing a huge gathering at Purkhoo in Raipur Domana Constituency asked the coalition Gov-ernment to understand the gravity of the issue and implement 73rd and 74 Amendment for empowering Panchay-ats . He said that since we already have the acts which can empower Panchayats there is no need for any special act. The State Assembly should adopt 73rdAmend-ment in the best interest of the coalition and Panchayats .On the occasion BJP Sarpanch Sh. Jugal Mahajan Youth leader BJP Harshvardan Singh joined Congress and expressed his faith in the leader-ship of Shri Madan Lal Sharma MP and Congress Party . Mr. Sharma appealed the Jammu people to unite for the com-

mon cause of Jammu and Congress Party is the only Party which has the potential to form the Government on its own and watch the interest of Jammu Division at Large. He said that time has come when Jammu people should present a united face to counter the nefarious designs of Anti Jammu forces. Mr. Sharma felt that People residing in this Constituency are not benefitted from the ongoing develop-mental schemes launched by Union Gov-ernment, lack of drinking water, power supply and poor road connectivity bears testimony to this fact. Mr. Sharma asked the party workers to gear up for elections. He asked the party men to work for the poor and facilitate the transfer of benefit to the needy and poor. He also asked the local leaders to take-up day today issues of people with local Administration for their redressal and popularizes the pro poor decisions taken by the UPA Govern-ment at the centre in the shape of bring-ing food security bill, protection of street Vendors, Land reforms bill etc.

Jammu, October 21:

Emphasizing the need of prompt services towards affected people, Deputy Chief Minis-ter, Tara Chand on Monday directed the civil and police officers working in border areas to be stationed in their respective areas and prepare a comprehensive contingency plan to deal with any eventuality due to cross bor-der firing.

Deputy Chief Minister along with Min-ister for PHE, Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Planning, Ajay Sadhotra and Minister of Housing, Raman Bhalla today reviewed the security scenario in border areas of Chamli-yal, R S Pura and Suchetgarh area. The areas visited by the Ministers included Nanga, Na-rayanpur, Bandrai, Pargwal and Garhkhal.

The Deputy Minister interacted with the people of these areas and enquired them of their grievances in the wake of continu-ous shelling from across the border. He was informed that women and children of some affected villages have shifted to safer places.

About 25 families have been affected in Chamliyal while 15 villages in Ramgarh, Sam-ba are reeling under tension due to ceasefire

violation by Pakistan.Earlier, the Dy CM along with Ministers

convened meetings at Chamlyal and Suchet-garh Kullian to take stock of problems of people of these border areas due to cross border firing. Among others the meeting was attended by officers of various departments, panchayat representatives and locals.

The people highlighted their grievances and requirements as well like tents, identifi-cation of safer places in case of any eventu-ality and related services. Deputy Chief Min-ister directed the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shantmanu, to chalk out a compre-hensive contingency plan in accordance with the area specific needs to minimize loss of life and property in such mishaps. He main-tained that all loopholes in the contingency plan should be timely plugged in. He asked the district administration to demonstrate the villages in the radius of 5-6 km along the border and LoC to ensure secure and relief operation is carried out in an effective man-ner. Deputy Chief Minister also directed the health authorities to set up mobile health units besides asking the concerned to pro-vide mobile health unit for livestock as well.

Stresses for speedy implementation of Board decisions

HEALTH AND FITNESS

ZABARWAN TIMES Tuesday 22 October 2013

Asthma inhalers can stunt growth in kids

This is the finding from a comprehensive asthma study, which has Robert C. Strunk, MD, the Donald Strominger Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medi-cine in St. Louis as the se-nior author. The study involved more than 1,000 children ages 5-12 who were treated for mild to moderate asthma as part of the Childhood Asthma Management Pro-gram (CAMP) clinical trial. The children received treatment for more than four years at eight cen-ters, including Washing-ton University School of Medicine. They were di-vided into three groups: one received twice-daily budesonide, an inhaled

corticosteroid medication; a second group received nedocromil, an inhaled non-steroid medication; and a third group received a placebo. All children received alb-uterol, a fast-acting drug for relief of acute asthma symptoms, and oral cor-ticosteroids as needed for asthma symptoms. The researchers followed 943 participants in the tri-al at regular intervals until they reached adult height. Females were considered to be at adult height at age 18 or older and males at age 20 or older, Strunk said. In the first 4 1/2 years after the end of the trial, researchers took patients' height and weight every six months. Over the next

eight years, height and weight were measured once or twice a year. The mean adult height was about one-half inch, or 1.2 centimeters, shorter in the group that received budesonide than in the pa-tients who received nedo-cromil or placebo. The pa-tients who experienced the slower growth were pri-marily between 5-11 years old when they began using budesonide. The slower growth took place only in the first two years of the four-year study. As the study pro-gressed, the children who took the budesonide re-mained one-half inch shorter through adult-hood than the children who did not use the drug,

said Strunk, who treats children with asthma at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "This was surprising be-cause in previous studies, we found that the slower growth would be tempo-rary, not affecting adult height. But none of those studies followed patients from the time they en-tered the study until they had reached adult height," Strunk stated. Pediatric asthma special-ists at St. Louis Children's Hospital keep a close watch on the growth of their patients who use inhaled steroids, Strunk said. They are measured at every visit, and phy-sicians keep a growth curve. "If a child is not grow-ing as they should, we may reduce their steroid dose," he noted. "But we think that the half-inch of lowered adult height must be balanced against the well-estab-lished benefit of inhaled corticosteroids in control-ling persistent asthma. We will use the lowest effective dose to control symptoms to minimize concerns about effects on adult height," he added. The findings will be pre-sented at the European Respiratory Society meet-ing in Vienna, Austria, and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine

Study finds computer, television screen time directly linked to childhood obesity

SCREEN time has over-taken exercise as the most important factor in child-hood obesity and should be limited, a South Austra-lian study has found.The UniSA study looked at 2200 children aged be-tween nine and 16 years and found the length of time they spent in front of television and computer screens was a more likely indicator of being over-weight or obese than the amount of exercise they did.Study co-author and UniSA researcher Dr Carol Maher said screen time now made up about one quarter of waking time for the age group."In the past two decades, young

people's physical activ-ity behaviour has been the subject of scores of inter-ventions but, in compari-son, interventions aimed at reducing screen time have been relatively un-common," she said."Our findings suggest that screen-time reduction may be a more effective target behaviour for intervention studies aimed at reduc-ing overweight and obe-sity among children."The study found there were about two and a half times as many obese study sub-jects classed in the cat-egory of high-screen-time and low-exercise (10.7 per cent), as in the low-screen-time and high-exercise

category (4.3 per cent).Dr Maher said the value of physical activity also should not be underesti-mated."Increased likelihood of a young person being overweight or obese was more strongly and consis-tently associated with high screen-time than with low physical activity," she said."Findings underscore the need for interventions targeting screen behav-iour in young people."Dr Maher said the study, pub-lished in the latest edition of Acta Paediatrica, was carried out because there was debate in the scientific community about which factor had the stronger as-

sociation with obesity.The children's behaviour over 24-hour periods was studied and they were di-vided into groups based on high and low activity, as well as on high and low screen use, according to national guidelines.Low-activity children ex-ercised for less than 60 minutes each day and high screen-time children failed to meet national guide-lines."Increased likelihood of overweight or obese was often associated with high screen time, but only sometimes and less strongly associated with low ... physical activity," Dr Maher said.

High Blood Sugar Levels Linked to Brain Shrinkage

The Australian study of nearly 250 non-diabetic men and women found those with high blood sugar levels tended to have shrinking in brain areas linked to memory and emotional process-ing. The results held up even after controlling for lifestyle factors such as smoking and weight.“If replicated, this finding may contribute to a re-evaluation of the concept of normal blood glucose levels and the definition of diabetes,” wrote study author Dr. Nicolas Cher-buin, director of the Neu-roimaging and Brain Lab at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.Previous research has

linked diabetes, a disor-der in which blood sugar levels are abnormally high, to age-related cogni-tive decline. But the new study, published Monday in the journal Neurol-ogy, suggested controlling blood sugar levels could boost cognitive health in non-diabetics.How exactly? The jury’s still out.Some studies suggest blood sugar control can help regulate the body’s inflammatory response, which has been linked to brain shrinkage. Another theory is that high sugar levels make the blood stickier, raising the risk of clots that starve the brain.Either way, experts said, the study supports healthy

eating to keep blood sugar levels in check.“This in line with many other studies that have been published and adds to all of the data on dia-betes affecting brain health,” said Dr. R. Scott Turner, director of the Memory Disorders Pro-gram and a professor of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Cen-ter, who was not involved with this study.For non-diabetic patients with high blood sugar lev-els, Turner recommended adopting the American Diabetes Association diet, which is high in non-starchy vegetables and low in carbohydrates and protein.

Household chemicals can give you heart diseaseExposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a manmade chemical used in the manufacture of some common household products, may lead to cardiovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease, a new study has warned.Surveys have suggested that PFOA (widely used in the manufacture of products such as lubricants, pol-ishes, paper and textile coatings, and food packaging) is detectable in the blood of more than 98 per cent of the U.S. population.Some evidence has suggested that an association may be biologically plausible between PFOA exposure and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to the study back-ground.Anoop Shankar, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from the West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, examined the as-sociation between serum (blood) levels of PFOA and the presence of CVD and PAD, a marker of athero-sclerosis, in a nationally represen-tative group of adults. The study

used merged data from the 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).The study suggests that increasing serum PFOA levels were positively associated with the presence of CVD and PAD, and the associa-tion appeared to be independent of confounders such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, body mass index, diabetes mel-litus, hypertension and serum cholesterol level, the authors comment."Our results contribute to the emerging data on health effects of PFCs [perfluoroalkyl chemicals], suggesting for the first time that PFOA exposure is potentially re-lated to CVD and PAD. However, owing to the cross-sectional na-ture of the present study, we can-not conclude that the association is causal," the researchers said.Compared with the reference level of PFOA in quartile 1, the multivariable odds ratio among participants in quartile 4 was

2.01 for CVD and 1.78 for PAD, according to the results."In summary, in a represen-tative cross-sectional sample of the U.S. population, we found that higher PFOA lev-els are positively associated with self-reported CVD and objectively measured PAD. Our findings, however, should

be interpreted with caution be-cause of the possibility of residu-al confounding and reverse cau-sality. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm or refute our findings," the researchers concluded.The study was pub-lished online by Archives of In-ternal Medicine, a JAMA Net-work publication.

5 Teas that make you slim!The brew that energises can

also help you lose weight. Here's

how... It's widely known that just one cup of tea can prevent strokes, arthritis, tooth decay and even keep cancer at bay. While it's regarded as nature's tranquiliser for its soothing proper-ties, the brew also has another great benefit - it helps shed weight. Scien-tists have shown that tea has high levels of compounds that battle the absorption of fat.

Here are 5 teas that can result in a

slimmer you... Star anise tea: promotes digestion Star anise, the fruit of a small ever-green tree (Illicium verum) native to China, can be used in the treat-ment of digestive troubles such an upset stomach, diarrhea, nausea etc. One may drink a tea made from it by steeping a whole pod in one cup of

hot water for 10 minutes. Strain this and sweeten it if required. Sip on this slowly when an upset stomach oc-curs.

Peppermint tea: controls what you

eat If you like peppermint tea then try and rotate that with a green tea drink as both speed up digestion and thus help you burn more calories. The peppermint leaves can be used to make a light, refreshing tea, which can be drunk either hot or chilled. To prepare the tea, take a tablespoon of fresh or dried leaves and add them to boiling water and let it steep for four to five minutes. Strain and add honey, if needed.

Green tea: builds metabolism

Research says the chemical EGCG found in green tea that speeds up the body's metabolism, is responsible for helping people lose the kilos - it can burn a whopping 70 calories a day! Green tea also raises the level of antioxidants. It's believed the anti-

oxidant catechins in green tea boost metabolism and helps burn fat (can burn a whopping 70 calories a day!) Steeping time for the tea: two to three minutes at 85 Degrees Celsius.

Rose tea: prevents constipation

One of the oldest flavouring teas available, rose tea - made by mixing fresh roses and the bud of the tea - has a major therapeutic effect on the human body. Apart from clearing toxins and beautifying the skin, rose tea contains vitamins A, B3, C, D and E and is known to act against infec-tions. It also prevents constipation and helps one lose weight.

Oolong tea: guards against obesity

Research reveals that oolong, a semi-fermented tea may have a stronger effect than even green tea. It promotes fat burning is said to help reduce cholesterol and the concentration of fat in the body. About two cups per day is recommended. Steep oolong tea anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes, for a more full-bodied cup.

E-cigarettes are equally injurious to healthElectronic cigarettes are being marketed as a potentially safer alternative to normal cigarettes, but new research has shown that they are still causing harm to the lungs.The study has also added new evidence to the debate over the safety of alter-native nicotine-delivery products.Electronic cigarettes are devices that deliver nicotine through a vapour, rather than smoke. There is no combustion involved but the nicotine in the device is still derived from tobacco. There has been much debate over the safety and ef-ficiency of the products, but little scientific evidence to support either claim.Researchers from the University of Athens in Greece aimed to investigate the short-term effects of using e-cigarettes on different people, including people without any known health problems and smokers with and without exist-ing lung conditions.The study included 8 people who had never smoked and 24 smokers, 11 with normal lung function and 13 people with either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.Each person used an electronic cigarette for 10 minutes. The researchers then measured their airway resistance using a number of tests, including a spirometry test.The results showed that for all people included in the study, the e-cigarette caused an immediate increase in airway resistance, lasting for 10 minutes. In healthy subjects (never smokers) there was a statistically significant increase in airway resistance from a mean average of 182 per cent to 206 per cent.In smokers with normal spirometry there was a statistically significant increase from a mean average of 176 percent to 220 percent. In COPD and asthma patients the use of one e-cigarette seemed to have no immediate effect to airway resistance.Professor Christina Gratziou, one of the authors and Chair of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee, said: "We do not yet know whether unapproved nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, are safer than normal cigarettes, despite marketing claims that they are less harmful. This research helps us to understand how these products could be potentially harmful."We found an immediate rise in airway resistance in our group of participants, which suggests e-cigarettes can cause immediate harm after smoking the device. More research is needed to understand whether this harm also has lasting effects in the long-term."The ERS recommends following effective smoking cessation treatment guidelines based on clinical evidence which do not advocate the use of such products," Professor Gratziou added.The result was presented at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna.

New Delhi, October 21:

Sentenced to four year in jail in a corruption case, Con-gress MP Rasheed Maood was disqualified from the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Masood is the first legislator to lose his seat af-ter a landmark Supreme Court verdict recently removed immu-nity for convicted lawmakers.

The Lok Sabha has also begun the process to disqualify MPs Lalu Prasad and Jagdish Sharma, convicted in the multi-crore fodder scam. Masood was held guilty in September of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats allotted to Tri-pura from the central pool while he was health minister in the VP Singh-led National Front government of 1990. He was sentenced to four years in jail and fined Rs. 60,000.

The CBI had last week sent a formal communica-tion to Rajya Sabha about Masood's disqualification and attorney general GE Va-

hanvati had also given his opinion that an MP stands disqualified the day he or she is convicted by a court and the notification announcing vacancy in seat should be done immediately. The Su-

preme Court had on July 10 struck down a provision of the Representation of People Act that allows a convicted MP or a state legislature to continue membership for a three-month period for filing an appeal to a higher court and get a stay on the convic-tion. The 67-year-old leader is effectively out of the elec-toral arena for 10 years, as the SC says a legislator will remain disqualified for a fur-ther six years from the date of his release, unless a higher court overturns both his con-viction and sentencing.

Agencies

New Delhi, October 21: Two of the four death row convicts in the December 16 gangrape case on Monday moved an application before the Delhi High Court seeking Hindi translation of certain documents including the trial court’s conviction and sentence orders in the case.

The counsel for convicts Mukesh and Pawan told a bench of justices Reva Khet-rapal and Pratibha Rani, which is hearing the trial court’s reference for con-firming their death sentence, that he has filed the “pro-forma appeal” on behalf of his two clients but they are under objection as certain documents are yet to be an-nexed. Advocate M L Shar-ma, appearing for the two convicts, also told the court that he has moved an appli-cation seeking Hindi version of the FIR, charge sheet, evi-dence, September 10 judge-ment and September 13 sentence order. Seeking the

court to adjourn the case till the time he filed formal ap-peals, Mr. Sharma said as the documents are in English, he was seeking Hindi trans-lation of these papers. The bench said this court can-not hear the matter imme-diately as one of the judges is down with high fever and adjourned the matter for October 28. Mr. Sharma had on October 9 informed the bench that he would rep-resent Mukesh and Pawan as their counsel had with-drawn from the case. The bench had also directed the prosecution to supply the documents pertaining to convict Mukesh to Sharma. The counsel, who was ear-lier representing Pawan, had also handed over the paperbook pertaining to the convict to Sharma. Advocate V K Anand, who was earlier representing Mukesh, had informed the court that he intended to withdraw from the case as the family mem-bers of the convicts were interfering in his work to file

the appeal, at the instance of certain people, including ad-vocates. The bench was also informed by special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan that advocate Vivek Sharma, who represented convict Pawan, telephonically in-formed about his inten-tion to withdraw from the case. Two other convicts in the case, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, had on Oc-tober 7 filed their joint ap-peal against the trial court’s conviction and sentencing orders of Sep. 10 and 13, re-spectively. All four of them were convicted and awarded death penalty for raping the 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The trial court, while award-ing capital punishment to the convicts, had observed the case fell in the rarest of rare category as the crime was committed against the “defenceless” girl in a “beast-ly” manner and referred the case to high court for confir-mation of the sentence.

TUESDAY OCTOBER | 22 | 2013ZABARWAN TIMES 7

Jethmalani sues BJP parliamentary

board members New Delhi, October 21: Senior

lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Mon-day sued the BJP's parliamen-tary board members, barring former prime minister Atal Be-hari Vajpayee and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, for Rs. 50 lakh each for expelling him from the party, TV channels are reporting.

Jethmalani, a Rajya Sabha member, claimed his expulsion from the party for six years was driven by malice and the desire to defame him. He alleged the decision is unconstitutional and the conduct of BJP parliamentary members arbitrary. Jethmalani was expelled from the party in May for criticising the party and routinely criticising senior lead-ers.

He had openly criticised for-mer party president Nitin Gadkari over "business irregularities" in his Purti group. Jethmalani, one of country's top minds, is a sup-porter of Narendra Modi. The par-liamentary board of the party has 12 members.

SC refuses to interfere in ASI’s gold hunt in Unnao

Agencies

New Delhi, October 21: The Su-preme Court on Monday refused to interfere in the ongoing Archaeo-logical Survey of India (ASI) excavation for gold sup-posed to be buried under the ruins of a 19th century fort in UP’s Unnao district, saying it cannot pass an or-der on the basis of assump-tion.

A bench of Chief Jus-tice P Sathasivam and Jus-tice Ranjan Gogoi, how-ever, kept pending the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking court moni-toring of the excavation process in Daundia Khera village after the petitioner pleaded that it should not be dismissed.

The bench said that the court cannot interfere in all sensational matters and there should be a basis to pass an order which can-not be done merely on the ground of assumption.

The court was hearing the PIL filed by advocate M L Sharma seek-

ing directions for ensuring proper arrangements for safety and protec-tion were made at the site so that any hidden treasure should not get into wrong hands.

The bench said that no order was required at this stage.

The petitioner had submitted that court monitoring was required

in the case as “the valuable resourc-es might vanish”.

The court had on October 18 said that the state government was there to take care of the process and had

agreed to hear the PIL only after the defects were removed in the petition.

The much-hyped excavation is being carried out by the ASI after a seer, Shobhan Sarkar, dreamt that 1,000 tonnes of gold were buried in the fort of Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh, a 1857 revolt martyr, in Daundia Khera village.

Sarkar has claimed that treasures were also hidden at many other places in UP.

His claim was not taken seriously by the local administration and the state government. However, a Union Min-

ister later visited the area and met Sarkar. The minister then directed ASI to work on it, which began on October 18.

Delhi gangrape case: Convicts move court

Congress MP disqualified from Rajya Sabha

Detained US ship engineer attempts

suicideChennai, October 21:

One of the 35 crew members of the detained American ship, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, has al-legedly tried to commit suicide, Tamil Nadu police said.

According to police sources, 60-year-old Dudnik Valentyn, a Ukrainian national, along with another crew member, was left on the ship while the police arrested the rest of the members on Friday.

The two crew members were left for the upkeep and mainte-nance of the vessel. The engineer, described by prison authorities as depressed and stressed, attempt-ed to hang himself on Saturday, following which the two seamen were later shifted to Palayam Cot-tai jail in Tirunelveli, 50 km from Tuticorin.

MV Seaman Guard Ohio, an armed ship operated by a US maritime security company Ad-vanFort, was detained on October 11 by the Coast Guard east off Tu-ticorin, around 600 km south of Chennai, for failing to produce pa-pers authorising it to carry weap-ons and ammunition in Indian waters.

Some reports said the engineer attempted to commit suicide in the prison as well. Jail authorities, however, have denied the report, saying that all crew members are

“hale and hearty”.“They have been eating a

proper breakfast of boiled eggs, potatoes etc. There’s nothing to worry,” a prison official said on Monday morning. He, however, didn’t wish to be named.

The crew and security guards included British, Estonian, Indian and Ukrainian nationals. Eight out of them were Indians.

Meanwhile, consular access to the six British nationals has been given to the United Kingdom.

AdvanFort International, a US-based firm that owns the ship detained off Tamil Nadu coast, earlier termed the arrest of its crew as "inappropriate" and said it is working diplomatically and through the judicial system to prove the innocence of 35 sailors to get them released. It is sched-uled to represent its case before an court on Monday.

"Our vessel Seaman Guard Ohio has been detained in Tu-ticorin and 35 of our crew and guards are being held. We be-lieve the entire issue is inappro-priate, because we were asked to come into Indian territorial wa-ters by the Indian Coast Guard, while we were outside the In-dian territorial waters where we were operating," William H Watson, president of AdvanFort, said.

India will never forget Russia's friendship: Manmohan Singh

Agencies

Moscow, October 21: India will never forget that Russia stood by it during international challenges, when India's resources were limited

and when it had few friends, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in Moscow today.

"Russia has stood by India at mo-ments of great international chal-lenge, when our own resources were limited, and our friends were few. Beyond all the assistance that we have received, it is this last fact that Indians will never forget," the prime

minister said."And it is for these reasons that

the people of India regard Russian friendship and support as something particularly precious," he said.

The PM said that over the past six

decades, no country has had closer relations with India than Russia and no other country inspires more admiration, trust and confidence among the people of India.

He noted that India has benefited enormously from Russian support in every aspect of India's national development efforts - like develop-ment of heavy industry, power sec-

tor, space programme or defence.At the beginning of the last decade

of the last century, both the countries went through a difficult period of po-litical and economic change, he said.

"While Russia showed great re-silience and resolve in regaining its place in the world, India opened itself and became more deeply in-tegrated with the world economy," said the prime minister.

Russia was the first country with which India signed a Declaration of Strategic Partnership in 2000, he said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Monday conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the prestigious Moscow State Insti-tute of International Relations.

Accepting the rare honour at a special ceremony here, Singh said he considered it a matter of "great honour" that the Institute decided to confer the doctorate on him.

"I am conscious of the rich history of this great institution and its enor-mous contribution to Russian and international diplomacy. During his speech he invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy, saying that one only has to glance at the rich correspon-dence between the two to get a sense of how formative the thinking of Tol-stoy was for Gandhi's practice of non-violence. "In the 20th century, which was an era of momentous change for both our countries, our political lead-ers, intellectuals and artists engaged with each other and influenced each other's thoughts and ideas," Singh said.

Agencies

Cairo, October 21: Thousands of stu-dents from Egypt's al-Azhar University staged a third day of protests on Monday, security sources said, in one of the bold-est challenges to the army since it toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July.

The demonstrations demanding Mursi's reinstatement are a delicate matter for the authorities because the administration at al-Azhar, the ancient seat of Sunni Muslim learning, has historically toed the govern-ment line.

In another sign of Egypt's struggle to impose stability since Mursi's ouster, the prime minister on Monday threatened tough measures against anyone who at-tempts to divide Egypt after gunmen killed four people in an attack on a church in Cairo.

The protests at al-Azhar campuses in Cairo and other cities are smaller than pre-vious rallies against the army-backed gov-ernment. Security sources said a total about 4,000 students were involved, of whom 44 had been arrested.

The unrest suggests Mursi supporters may have shifted tactics, focusing on sen-sitive sites rather than huge street protests which often lead to strong action by secu-rity forces.

Some clerics, officials and professors at al-Azhar are known to be supporters of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood.

It is not clear whether the protests re-

flect serious splits between them and their opponents at al-Azhar, or whether a group of students is simply trying to pressure the government.

Authorities have been cracking down hard on the Brotherhood, which has won every vote since a popular uprising toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but is now outlawed again.

Security forces have killed hundreds of people in protests. Brotherhood leaders, including Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected president, have been jailed on charges of in-citing violence - allegations they deny.

The student demonstrations erupted as a debate grows over a draft law that would severely restrict protests.

Human rights group say the law would only bring more bloodshed to Egypt, a U.S. ally which lies at the heart of the Middle East and controls the Suez Canal, a global trade route.

CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-PROTEST LAW"As well as placing restrictions on the

right to freedom of assembly the proposed law would give security forces a free rein to use excessive and lethal force against demonstrators - including supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty Interna-tional's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

After toppling Mursi in July, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appeared on state television to announce a political

roadmap that would lead to free and fair elections.

In an assertion of sectarian harmony, Sisi was flanked by a senior Muslim cleric and the Coptic Christian pope, but a bloody security crackdown on Mursi supporters on August 14 was followed by Egypt's worst attacks on churches and Christian property in years, most of them occurring outside Cairo.

The authorities have accused the Broth-erhood of being behind the violence, a charge it rejects.

Minority Coptic Christians fear an Is-lamist backlash against their community which is widely seen as backing Mursi's ouster.

On Sunday, gunmen on a motorcycle fired on wedding guests outside a Coptic church in a Cairo suburb. An eight-year-old child was among the four people killed. Six were wounded. "Christians are the target," said one church official, who asked not to be named. "Low security around churches has always been an issue...Still we know we are a target for Islamists."

Student protests at Egypt's al-Azhar challenge army

Modi does a U-turn on treasure hunt

Agencies

Ahmedabad, October 21: Days after criticising the treasure hunt in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Na-rendra Modi on Monday took a U-turn and praised seer Shobhan Sarkar based on whose dream the Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) is carrying out excavation in Unnao district.

“Sant Shobhan Sarkar ke prati anek varsho se lakho logo ki shraddha judi hui hai. Main unki tapasya aur tyag ko pranam karta hu (lakhs of peo-ple have reposed faith in seer Shobhan Sarkar over last many years. I salute his austerity and renuncia-tion),” Mr. Modi said in a tweet.

Stressing on the need of getting back black money stashed away abroad, Mr. Modi demanded that the Centre should come out with a white pa-per on it.

“Bharat sarkar se agrah karta hu ki woh videsho mein jama kale dhan ke sambandh main ek white paper prastut kar desh ki janta ko ashwast kare (I urge the Indian government to come out with white paper on black money deposited in other countries and assure the people of the nation),” Mr. Modi said in the second tweet.

Mr. Modi’s reconciliatory tone is being seen as a result of a reported letter written by followers of Sarkar castigating him on his remarks criticis-ing government’s action of digging a temple fort premises in Unnao district of UP based on the seer’s dreams.

Addressing a rally in Chennai on Friday, Mr. Modi had said, “The whole world is laughing at us over this bizarre exercise.

“Somebody dreamt and the government has launched an excavation...The money hidden by thieves and looters of India in foreign banks is much more than 1000 tonnes of gold. If you (gov-ernment) bring back that money, you won’t have to do digging for gold (in Unnao),” Mr. Modi had said.

Damascus, October 21: The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria says peace talks are in doubt unless a "credible opposition" takes part, overcoming rifts among its factions, as dozens are killed in a truck bombing in the Syrian city of Hama.

Lakhdar Brahimi refused to give a firm date for a new round of talks in Geneva as he spoke to reporters in Cairo on Sunday alongside Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, who had said preparations were under way for November 23.

Brahimi cautioned that the meeting would only go ahead in the presence of a "credible opposition representing an important segment of the Syrian people" opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

"There is an agreement to attempt to hold Geneva 2 in November, but the date has not been officially set," he said. "The final date of the conference will be announced at a later time... and we hope it will take place in November."

Both officials acknowledged the obstacles to a peace conference as Arab and Western diplomats – including US secretary of state John Kerry – were preparing for a Friends of Syria meeting with opposition leaders on Tuesday in London.

Syria peace talks in doubt over opposition rifts

Agencies

The contentious two-ball rule is here to stay. The conclave of the International Cricket Coun-cil (ICC), which concluded in London, chose not to tamper with the rule.

It means status quo remains on the playing conditions in one-day internationals, despite opposition from the Board of Control for Crick-et in India (BCCI).

Mirror reported last week that the rule is here to stay, for the time being at least, not-withstanding India's call for a change. The rule was given a go-ahead at the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) meeting in Dubai last month.

The ICC confirmed the status quo in as many words after the London conclave. "The ICC board was briefed on the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) meeting that was held in Dubai last month and noted the CEC's discus-

sions on a number of issues, including main-taining the current playing conditions for ODI cricket and bad light, and the Decision Review System (DRS)," the ICC said in a statement on Saturday.

During the course of the board meeting in London, BCCI president N Srinivasan and a few other directors of the ICC, including those from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, raised the issue, but they were explained in detail that the two-ball rule is not hampering spin bowling as has been thought.

The evidence that was put forth was the latest ICC ODI bowling rankings. Three spin-ners - Sunil Narine, Ravindra Jadeja and Saeed Ajmal - are in the top three positions and the myth that the two-ball rule is not helpful for the spinners was busted. It was also pointed out that among the top 10 international bowl-ers, four are spinners, with Mohammad Hafeez

ranked 10. Another point that was hammered upon by the board members was that the rule has actually enhanced the quality of ODIs, par-ticularly in the middle overs.

The ICC officials had prepared a chart show-ing the number of runs from 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40 and 41-50 overs. From the chart, it was concluded that more runs were being scored in the middle overs since the time the rule was introduced.

The rule came into existence in October 2011, and the chart containing the data before and after that date has established the fact that ODIs have become more exciting of late. There was an attempt to prove that middle overs in ODIs had become exciting.

It was also pointed out during the meeting that before the new rule was implemented, balls had to be changed twice in a game at times.

Agencies

Tamim Iqbal missed out on a cen-tury as New Zealand restricted Ban-gladesh to 5-228 on the first day of the second Test on Monday, before rain ended play early.

The dismissals of Tamim for 95 and Shakib Al Hasan for 20 just be-fore tea put the Black Caps on top, with bad weather preventing play in the final session.

"Yes, the momentum was with us, but we can't control the weath-er," said New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor.

"[The match] is probably still pretty evenly poised and the rain has given our fast bowlers an extra break.

"When we do come out tomor-row hopefully, weather permitting, we can strike early and get them seven, if not eight, down before the second new ball," he said.

Tamim edged Neil Wagner to Kane Williamson at slip, before leg-spinner Ish Sodhi trapped Shakib Al Hasan leg-before.

Before the twin blows, Bangla-desh had made steady progress after skipper Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bat in overcast

conditions at the Sher-e-Bangla Na-tional Stadium.

Tamim, who smashed 17 fours in

his entertaining 153-ball knock, put on 76 with Mominul Haque (47) for the third wicket and 67 with Mar-

shall Ayub (41) for the second.Trent Boult gave New Zealand

its first wicket when Anamul Haque (seven) miscued a pull shot and gave a catch to Williamson.

Ayub looked solid until Wagner, who replaced left-arm spinner Bruce Martin in New Zealand's line-up from the drawn first Test, bowled him. The right-handed Ayub struck six boundaries in his 62-ball innings.

"It would have been better if I was still at the crease," Ayub told report-ers after play. "Runs were there for the taking. "We were scoring freely. They were attacking us with deliv-eries bowled in the trajectory of the off-stump." Corey Anderson ended Mominul's innings by having him caught behind. Tamim prospered af-ter getting two lives at the start of his innings. Wicketkeeper Bradley-John Watling dropped the left-hander on five before skipper Brendon Mc-Cullum let him off at second slip at 10. Doug Bracewell was the unlucky bowler on both occasions. Bangla-desh made one change to the team that drew the first Test in Chittagong, bringing in uncapped paceman Al Amin Hossain for injured Robiul Is-lam.

Taj inaugurates 1st All India Postal Cricket Tournament

Srinagar, October 21:

Minister for Medical Edu-cation, Youth Services & Sports, Mr. Taj Mohi ud Din today inaugurated the first ever All India Postal Cricket Tournament orga-nized by Department of Posts, Jammu & Kashmir. Addressing the inaugu-ral function, the Minis-ter appreciated the J&K Postal Circle for organ-ising the event. He said cricket has a passionate appeal among youth and the game is very popular among the masses.Mr. Taj said the State Gov-ernment has taken up a massive programme of upgrading sports infra-structure in Jammu & Kashmir. He said under the programme sports com-plexes and stadia would be raised at every block and the facilities would also be strengthened.Asking the participant play-ers to see for themselves the changed situation on the ground, the Minis-ter asked them to act as ambassadors of peace for

Jammu & Kashmir and car-ry the message from here to their respective States. He said J&K is very eager

to host all such events in future also keeping in line with its highest tradition of hospitality.The tournament will last for 5 days and matches will be played at three grounds viz. Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadi-um, Kashmir University Cricket Stadium and Isla-mia College Cricket Sta-

dium. 19 matches will be played in the tournament which will concluded on October 25. Teams from

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Hi-machal Pradesh, Kerala, Odhisa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and host Jammu & Kashmir Postal Circles are participating in the tour-nament. More than 220 players and officials are participating in the tour-nament.

Agencies

The BCCI president N Srinivasan and his CSA counterpart Chris Nenzani have "in principle agreed" for India to play three ODIs, a warm-up game and two Tests in South Africa in Decem-ber, ESPNcricinfo understands. Although no formal statements have been released by the boards, some progress appears to have been made, two days after CSA offered to send "Lor-gat on long leave".

"Following the board meeting, all we have at this stage is that discussions are still ongoing between BCCI and CSA," said a spokesperson from CSA.

The fate of the series will be known when Srinivasan and BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel present the proposed tour itinerary to the BCCI working committee in Chennai on October 26. The two met with Nenzani on the sidelines of the ICC Board meeting in London on Saturday for finalising the solution to a three-month im-passe.

The working committee's decision is noth-

ing but a formal approval once Srinivasan and Nenzani have worked out a solution. As a result, India is likely to start the tour with one-dayers in the first week of December and end it with the Boxing Day Test.

It is unclear whether the BCCI and CSA have reached an agreement over the fate of David Becker, the former ICC Head of Legal and one of several lawyers offering CSA advice, who had criticised BCCI's stand on FTP in the wake of India's decision to prune the South Africa tour. However, the BCCI is likely to pursue the matter despite having agreed to tour South Africa.

The BCCI's troubled relationship with CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat is understood to be the central reason for the tour being in jeop-ardy. Becker denied Lorgat had played any role in his decision to release a statement last week. "For the avoidance of any doubt, Mr Lorgat had nothing to do with my comments. They were my own personal views and neither he nor any-one else at CSA had anything to do with them," Becker said on Sunday.

There is understood to be a split in the CSA

board which met on Sunday, with the dispute over over the conditions required for the tour to go ahead. Individuals in the know state that the split lies between the Cape Town based group of administrators and the rest, with the former backing Lorgat to stay and the latter not. CSA have not responded to any queries and the source believes if they are being this quiet they are "hiding something." The source also says the board is scrambling not to be "embarrassed by the Lorgat appointment."

The series between two of the most high-profile cricket nations has been hanging in balance since July 9, when the BCCI objected to the tour itinerary a day after it was an-nounced by CSA. Previously, it had raised "concerns" over Lorgat being in the running for the CSA top job.

While a meeting between Sanjay Patel and Lorgat in Dubai last month failed to resolve the contentious issues, the deadlock was broken when Nenzani was invited to India for a meet-ing after Srinivasan was reinstated as the BCCI chief earlier this month.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER | 22 | 2013ZABARWAN TIMES6

India's tour of South Africa likely in December

Agencies

Sydney, October 21: Indian captain MS Dhoni has said in a light-hearted manner after recent strug-gles faced by bowlers from both teams in the ODI se-ries against Australia that only two bowlers should play and part-timers should bowl.

According to the Syd-ney Morning Herald, after wowing the Mohali crowd with a devastating 139 not out off 121 balls on Satur-day, Dhoni discussed how recent rule changes are killing bowlers.

Fresh in his mind would`ve been the brutal,

match-winning 64 off 29 balls from Australian all-rounder James Faulkner,

which was key to the tour-ists chasing down the tar-get of 304 with three balls to spare for a 2-1 series lead, the report said.

The most significant change is the demand of having five fielders inside the 30-metre circle at all times, providing a maxi-mum of four on the bound-ary, the report added.

Targets of 300 or more have been set in each of the three matches to date and they`ve twice been chased down, breaking numerous records along the way, the report further said.

The dire scenario for bowlers even prompted India`s captain and preci-sion slogger MS Dhoni to joke that there might be no place for them in the future, according to the re-port.

Agencies

Chandigarh, October 21: During the vic-torious 2011 World Cup campaign, Indian team's batting order had a settled look to it. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag opening with Gautam Gambhir coming at one down. Then Virat Kohli batted at the cru-cial Number 4 position.

After Sachin's retirement from ODIs and the subsequent axing of Sehwag and Gamb-hir due to lack of form, Kohli moved up the batting order to make the No. 3 slot his own.

The crucial No. 4 position has become a cause of worry for MS Dhoni. The captain has tried several players at that slot including himself. Since April 2011, five players have strode out to occupy this prime slot.

For the better part of 2011 Yuvraj Singh was the preferred choice. But after his cancer and subsequent treatment, the position went to Rohit Sharma in 2012.

The stylish bat from Mumbai had the full backing of Dhoni and despite repeated failures he was persisted with. In the 2012

Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Australia, which featured the hosts and Sri Lanka, Rohit managed just 79 runs in five innings at a pal-try average of 15.93.

The selectors however kept their faith in Rohit and picked him for the Asia Cup. There too, Rohit scored 72 runs in three outings at an average of 24. Thereafter, he had a disas-trous run of form in the bilateral series in Sri Lanka scoring just 13 runs in five innings and subsequently he lost his place.

In the latter part of 2012 and early 2013, India played two bilateral series against Paki-stan and England where the team had a new No. 4 -- Suresh Raina was promoted from his usual No. 6 or 7 position.

The southpaw scored a 43 and an 18 in the two opportunities that he got against Pakistan. He came into his own against Eng-land with scores of 50, 55, 89 not out and 83, also bagging the Man of the Series award.

Then after briefly flirting with Dinesh Karthik as the new No. 4, the selectors brought back a rejuvenated Yuvraj Singh into the squad.

Dhoni reveals 'two bowler' mantra for ODI success

Indian batting still unsure at No. 4 position

ICC to persist with two-ball rule despite BCCI opposition

J&K beats Himachal by 8 wickets

Opener Tamim misses ton as New Zealand restricts Bangladesh

Srinagar, October 21:

In the first match played between Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal, the hosts beat Himachal by 8 wickets. After winning the toss Himachal decided to bat and scored 111 runs for the loss of six wickets. Ranjit Singh and Devinder scored 41 runs each while Sandeep, Anil Khanna, Tariq and Ajay Kumar from J&K clinched one wicket each whereas two were run outs during the innings of Himachal.

Chasing the target of 112 J&K lost one early wicket but later managed easily to meet the tar-get in 18.5 over. Manzoor Ahmad of J&K team scored 40 non out while Asif and Tariq score 37 and 29 runs. The captain was awarded Man of the Match.

In other two matches Odisha beat Bihar and Assam beat Gujrat. Playing first after winning the toss Bihar was bowled out on 97 runs in 19.1 overs by Odisha. The Odisha team reached the target in 12th over with SK Sirajudin, Man of the Match for 3 wickets in 3 overs and giving only 3 runs. In an-other clash Assam beat Gujrat by 7 wickets. Earli-er Gurjat scored 147 runs but failed to secure win as Assam team achieved the target in 19th over

with K Dass clinching Man of the Math for his 36 runs and 3 wickets. As per tomorrow fixture J&K will meet Bihar, Rajashthan- Tamil Nadu, Gujrat-Andra Pradesh, J&K-Odhisha, Rajasthan-UP and West Bengal will meet Delhi. The matches will be

played at Kashmir University and Islamia College. It is pertinent to mention here that J&K postal

Circle had successfully hosted the All India Postal Athletic Meet in the year 2011 and All India Postal Football Tournament in the year 2012.