DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018 (PAGE 7)

Excelsior Correspondent

KISHTWAR, May 31: SeniorNational Conference (NC) leaderand former minister Sajjad AhmadKichloo expressed concern overthe continuous strike of Patwarisfrom the past 17 days resulting innumerous hardships to the peopleand held the PDP-BJPGovernment responsible for fail-ing in addressing their problems.

Kichloo referred to thedemands of the agitating Patwaris,which inter alia include enhance-ment of grade pay from Rs 2400 toRs 2800 for graduates, timelydepartmental promotion ofPatwaris and Girdawaris, creationof GQ circles, ban on directrecruitment of Naib Tehsildar,construction of Patwar Khanas,creation of New Patwar Halqasand suitable accommodation etc.He added that instead of lookinginto issues, the insensitive coali-tion dispensation is only makingpromises and giving assurances.

He strongly pitched for redressingthe grievances of the strikingPatwaris and said the Governmentcannot remain a mute spectator.

He said that due to the strikethe people are facing lot of prob-lems, especially on account ofstate subject certificates (PRC),category certificates and otherdocuments or information relatedto the land records or revenue doc-uments. He said the ongoing strikehas paralyzed the working of theRevenue Department at groundzero, putting the common peopleto inconvenience.

Kichloo urged theGovernment to initiate a dialoguewith the striking Patwaris, theirassociations and representatives inparticular, to have the issuessolved in a time bound manner.

He cautioned the Governmentagainst further delay, saying thatthe indefinite strike will leave theRevenue Department defunct,resulting in increased hardships tothe people.

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, May 31:Government will soon set up anunderground fish aquarium andaqua park at Botanical GardenSrinagar at a cost of Rs 100 crorewith an aim to provide anotherplace of leisure and knowledge forlocals and tourists alike.

This was stated by theMinister of State for Forest, PHE,I&FC and Fisheries Mir ZahoorAhmad, while chairing firstmeeting of officers convened todiscuss the measures for settingup the prestigious project.

The Minister said that thiswould be a first of its kind modernfish aquarium in Kashmir valleyon the banks of Dal Lake whichwill promote pisciculture besidesproviding an added tourist attrac-tion in the vicinity of the Dal Lake,Mughal Gardens and world-famous Tulip Garden in thefoothills of Zabarwan Mountain.

The Minister said that fishaquarium will be set up under-ground near Botanical Garden andon the surface, a beautiful aquapark will also be set up. He said

that an amount of Rs 35 crore willbe spent on the project in the firstphase. He said that it will be acentrally heated aquarium to with-stand extreme low temperatureduring the harsh winter.

Zahoor said the aquarium,once completed, will not onlyprovide employment opportuni-ties to local youth but will alsogenerate huge revenue for theState. He also directed theauthorities to conduct a visit ofthe site and start work to obtainno objection certificates fromthe concerned departmentsbefore the start of ground work.

The Director Fisheries, P. N.Pandita gave a detailed presenta-tion about the setting up ofaquarium and aqua park. Heapprised the meeting that thearea being green belt, it wasdecided to build the aquariumentirely underground so that theenvironment is not affected.

Commissioner/SecretaryFisheries, R K Bhagat, SecretaryFloriculture, Talat Parvez, DirectorFloriculture Mathoora Masoomand senior officers of concerneddepartments attended the meeting.

Bukhari reviews progressof Law Deptt projects

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, May 31:Minister for Law, Justice andParliamentary Affairs, SyedBasharat Bukhari today conveneda meeting to review the progressof various construction projects,schemes and works pertaining todepartment being executed acrossthe State.

Secretary Law Abdul MajidBhat, Managing Director JKPCC,MD Housing Board, ChiefEngineer R&B Kashmir &Jammu, besides concerned offi-cers from JKPHC, High Courtand Law Department attended themeeting.

During the meeting, theMinister took stock of the physi-cal and financial status of projectsand works of Law Departmentbeing taken-up across State byexecuting agencies viz HousingBoard, R&B, JKPCC. The worksinclude construction of DistrictCourt Complexes and MunisifCourt Complexes at various loca-tions, filling of ICT infrastructuregaps at High Court Srinagar andJammu, besides security infra-structure augmentation works forHigh Court Complexes.

Directing all executing agen-cies for time bound completion of

ongoing projects, the Ministerasked the Deputy Commissionersconcerned including DC Leh,Bandipora and Budgam for anearly resolution on land acquisi-tion, other disputes leading toundue delays in execution of theseprojects.

With regards to the pace ofwork on construction of newAssembly Complex, supportinginfra at Jammu, Bukhari directedfor constitution of a technicalcommittee to oversee the procure-ment and installation of electricsystems, PA systems at the com-plex.

Bukhari further said that hewill conduct visits at DistrictCourt Complex SrinagarMoominabad, Handwara CourtComplex in the coming days.

Media can play effective role incurbing tobacco use: ManyalExcelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, May 31:

Expressing concern on the trend ofsmoking among youth, Ministerfor Health and Medical Education,Dr Davinder Kumar Manyaltoday said that smoking puts indi-vidual at multiple health risks andit not only affects active smokersbut passive smokers are equallyaffected.

Dr Manyal was speaking at anevent on World No Tobacco Dayorganized by State Health andMedical Education Departmentand JK Voluntary HealthAssociation, here today.

The Minister said that there isa need for public awareness andcommunity engagement to high-light the ill-effects of smoking.“So, it is moral and social respon-sibility of everyone to spread themessage in the society,” he added.

This year the theme of theWorld No Tobacco Day is“Tobacco and heart disease.” Onthe occasion, Dr Manyal called forconcerted efforts to sensitize peo-ple about the disastrous effects oftobacco consumption.

The Minister said that tobaccohas been clinically proved as themain cause of cancer which affectsmillions across the world, addingtobacco is considered as one of themajor threat to public health in21st century, Manyal said that

print and electronic media canplay a major role in curbing theconsumption of tobacco amongyouth.

During the function, GATS-2(Global Adult Tobacco Survey)Fact Sheet, Jammu and Kashmir,2016-17 was released- a globalstandard for systematic monitor-ing of adult tobacco use bothsmoking and smokeless.

Principal Secretary Health andMedical Education, Dr. PawanKotwal, Director General HealthServices, Kashmir Dr. Saleem urRehman, Principal GovernmentMedical College, Srinagar Dr.Saima Rashid, Mission DirectorNational Health Mission, Dr.Yashpal Sharma, Drug ControllerJ&K, Nazir Ahmed, ExecutiveDirector J&K Voluntary HealthAssociation A.M.Mir (IAS Retd),Project Director J&K State AidsControl Organisation, Dr.Mushtaq Ahmed, Director FamilyWelfare Dr. Samir Mattoo, StateNodal Officer FW, formerPrincipal GMC and renownedPhysician, Dr. GQ Allaqaband,Dean Tata Institute of SocialSciences Mumbai, Dr. T.Sundaraman, Director, DisasterManagement Aamir Ali, variousNGOs and other senior officersfrom various departments werepresent on the occasion.

Govt working to resolve SSAteachers’ problems: Zulfkar

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, May 31:Minister for School Education,Haj and Auqaf and Tribal AffairsChowdhary Zulfkar Ali todayassured that the Government isworking on a solution to resolvethe problems faced by the teachersworking under centrally sponsoredscheme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA).

The Minister expressed theseviews during a meeting held withthe representatives of employees’unions, including Employees JointAction Committee (EJAC), J&KRehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) Form,SSA Teachers Association Forum.

During the meeting, theemployees’ representativeexpressed their gratitude to theMinister for not only listening totheir problems but also forming acommittee to redress them.

The representatives acknowl-edged that this is for the first timea step in this direction to meet theirdemands has been taken.

Assuring the Government’sseriousness towards resolvingtheir issues, the Minister said,everyone from Chief Minister toFinance Minister and he himself isvery keen to resolve their issues atan earliest.

Giving the background of theproblem, the Minister said usuallyregularization is done against apost. However, in SSA teachers’case, they were hired under central

sponsored SSA scheme in a mis-sion mode.

Explaining the process, theMinister said to make the SSAteachers permanent theGovernment has to create around40,000 posts for equal number ofSSA teachers. He said regulariza-tion of such a large number ofteachers will have huge financialimplications on the State budget,so it needs to be thoroughly lookedinto by planning and financedepartments before taking anydecision.

He informed that his entirestaff is working tirelessly on all thepossibilities to find a workablesolution and he along with his sec-retary and other high-level officerswould soon be travelling to NewDelhi to meet the Ministry ofHuman Resource Development toseek all possible help from them inthis regard.

The Minister assured that theGovernment will take all thestakeholders, including employ-ees’ union representatives onboard before taking a final call.

Secretary School EducationFarooq Shah, Director SchoolEducation Kashmir (DESK) G NItoo, Director SSA A R War,Chairman EJAC Abdul QayoomWani, Chairman J&K ReTTeachers Association ForumFarooq Ahmad Tantray, presidentSSA, Teachers Association ShahFayaz, and other concerned werepresent in the meeting.

Anganwari workers and helpers staging a protest near DograChowk in Jammu.

Anganwari workers stage protest, block road at Dogra Chowk

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, May 31: Anganwari

workers and helpers who havebeen on a strike for around fourmonths in support of theirdemands which include release oftheir salaries and a hike in hono-rarium, today staged a dharna atDogra Chowk.

Under the banner of All J&KAnganwari Workers and helpers'Union (AWHU), hundreds ofAnganwari workers and Helpersdrawn from various districts ofJammu province, this morningassembled near Press Club fromwhere amid shouting of slogansagainst the Jammu and KashmirGovernment and ruling alliancepartners BJP and PDP, theymarched towards Dogra Chowkwhere they staged a sit-in protestand disrupted vehicular traffic foraround one hour.

During the protest, some of thewomen employees also fell uncon-scious due to blistering heat.Addressing the protesting work-ers, Suman Suri, president,

AWHU, said that the MissionICDS has become the biggest toolof gender discrimination andexploitation of women work forcein post independence period. Shealleged that Anganwari workersand helpers are being treated asbonded labourers in J&K.

"We are made to perform ahost of duties like that of a healthworker, pre-school teacher, doingsurveys and making preparation oflist of beneficiaries from 0 to 6years children and lactating as wellas pregnant women, immuniza-tion, referral services, etc but inturn a meager amount of Rs 3600and Rs 1800 per month is beingpaid to Anganwari workers andhelpers, respectively", Suri said.

She said that ICDS Missionhas become a tool of violation ofhuman rights of women workers,who are worst victims of this Statesponsored exploitation for pastabout 43 years. She requested allsocial organizations, NGOs andothers working in the field ofwomen emancipation to come for-ward in their support. She warnedto intensify the protest if theirdemands were not met.

HC dismisses plea of YousufNEW DELHI, May 31:

The Delhi High Court todayrejected a plea by Syed ShahidYousuf, son of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen founder and a ‘spe-cially designated global terrorist’Syed Salahuddin, challenging anorder dismissing his bail in a ter-ror funding case.

A bench of Justices SMuralidhar and I S Mehta upheldtwo orders of a trial court, includ-ing one by which his plea forstatutory bail was rejected, say-ing there was no illegality inthem.

“This court concurs with thetrial court that once the period forcompletion of investigation stoodextended up to April 21, 2018,the occasion for the appellant(Yousuf) to file an application forstatutory bail under Section 167CrPC did not arise unless therewas a failure by the NIA to file acharge sheet before April 21,2018,” the bench said.

42-year-old Yousuf was post-ed as agricultural assistant inBudgam of central Kashmirwhen he was arrested by the NIAon October 24 last year. The bail

plea of Yousuf, currently in judi-cial custody, was dismissed by thetrial court here on March 7.

The High Court was informedby the counsel for the accusedthat his application seeking regu-lar bail was pending before thespecial court here.

The bench clarified that noth-ing said in its today’s order willaffect the independent considera-tion of such bail application onits merits by the special court.

Yousuf had said he was enti-tled to statutory bail and the spe-cial court had erred in denyinghim the relief in its March 7order. He had also challenged thespecial court’s February 5 orderallowing the NIA’s plea forextension of time up to 180 daysto complete investigation andremanding the accused to judi-cial custody.

The NIA had earlier allegedthat the accused had links withproscribed terrorist organisationslike Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. It hadalleged that the case was regis-tered on the basis of informationabout funds from Pakistan beingsent to Jammu and Kashmirthrough hawala channels via

Delhi to spread terrorism.The NIA had in 2011 arrested

several persons, includingGhulam Mohd Bhat with Rs 21.2lakh, and alleged that Yousuf was“one of the several Indian con-tacts of Bhat” who had been intouch with him for receivingmoney transfer codes.

It had alleged that Yousuf’sinvolvement was found in collect-ing funds from a terrorist outfit inSaudi Arabia and from otheraccused on directions of his fatherMohd Yousuf Shah alias SyedSalahuddin, the self-styledsupreme commander of the Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen.

Salahuddin was declared aSpecially Designated GlobalTerrorist by the US Departmentof State in June last year.

The NIA has claimed thatYousuf has received a total ofnearly Rs 4.5 lakh through eightinternational wire transfers. It hadalso registered two other casesrelated to terror funding — one inNovember 2011 and the other inMay 2017. It had filed a chargesheet against 10 people includingSalahuddin in the April 2011case. (PTI)

Underground fish aquarium, aquapark coming up in Srinagar: Zahoor

Govt fails to address problemsof striking Patwaris: Kichloo

Director reviewsimplementation of

social welfare schemesExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 31: Director,Social Welfare Jammu Dr BharatBhushan today reviewed theimplementation of various socialwelfare schemes.

He took review in a meet-ing in which all the DistrictSocial Welfare officers of theJammu Province participated.He enquired about the physicaland financial achievements reg-istered under various schemeswhich are being implemented bythe department.

He said that Government hasalready released fifty percentbudgetary allocation for the cur-rent financial year and thereshould not be any problem in theimplementation of welfareschemes on the ground. Heasked that District SocialWelfare officers to immediatelycoordinate with respective ChiefEducation Officers so that thePre-Martic Scholarships are pro-vided to the needy students wellin time.

He exhorted the officers towork in a missionary mode sothat benefits of the departmentschemes aimed at uplifitment ofweaker sections, old and infirm,differently abled persons andstudents percolate down to themasses.

Deputy Director (Adminis-tration), Chief Accounts Officer,Senior Law officer, AssistantDirector (Administration),Assistant Director (Schemes)and all the District SocialWelfare officers of the provincewere present in the meeting.

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