page1.qxd (Page 2) - Daily...
1
Excelsior daily REGD.NO.JK-71/15-17 RNI No. 28547/65 Vol No. 53 No. 346 JAMMU, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2017 18 Pages ` 5.00 Neeraj Rohmetra JAMMU, Dec 15: Tassaduq Hussain Mufti, Coordinator J&K Chief Minister's Grievance Cell and brother of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today sub- mitted his resignation ahead of his nomination as member of the Legislative Council, which was cleared by the Cabinet today through circulation among the Ministers. He is being nominated as the Member of Legislative Council against a vacancy that arose after the resignation of Vikramaditya Singh from the PDP as well as Upper House on a host of issues including non- declaration of holiday on birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh. PDP insiders told the Excelsior that while decks have been cleared for nomination of Tassaduq Mufti to the Legislative Council, few days before start of budget session of the Legislature on January 2 but they ruled out his immediate induction in the Council of Ministry on the ground that the PDP president and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti would like her brother to gain some experience before being made the Minister. Confirming his resignation, Tassaduq told the Excelsior that the CM's Grievance Cell, where he was working as Coordinator was doing very well and had been able to handle lot of prob- lems put forth by the people. "I enjoyed full support of the Chief Minister. We were not only engaged in addressing grievances of the people but were working to create better avenues for youth through the data base,'' Tassaduq, who had been appointed Coordinator of the CM's Grievance Cell on May 12 this year, said. Expressing confidence that the Grievance Cell would con- tinue to function with similar zeal, he said, " I owe success of the Cell to some brilliant offi- cers, who worked 24x7 to make working of the Cell a complete success by addressing problems projected by the people before it". "We made lot of efforts in various fields. Efforts were made to reduce traffic conges- tion, solve problems arising out of brick kilns and enter into col- laboration with several organi- zations to find solution to prob- lems voiced by the people. Various innovative measures were taken to simplify working of many Departments,'' Tassaduq said. Sources said Tassaduq's res- ignation was necessitated before his nomination to the Legislative Council as he can hold only one office at a time. However, even after his resignation, sources said, the Grievance Cell would continue to function and possi- bility about the appointment of new Coordinator hasn't been ruled out. On his nomination to the Upper House, Tassaduq would get only remaining tem of Vikramaditya i.e. about three and a half years. He submitted his resignation to the Chief Secretary. The State Cabinet today cleared the nomination of Tassaduq resigns as CM Grievance Cell Coordinator, to be nominated as MLC Gopal Sharma/ Fayaz Bukhari JAMMU/ SRINAGAR, Dec 15: While dense fog in Jammu and parts of northern region badly affected air and train traffic, the winter capital city recorded season's lowest temperature today whereas, ski-destination Gulmarg in Kashmir broke last 10 years' record of experiencing lowest night temperature. Entire northern region has gone in the grip of intense cold wave and the people have taken out heavy winter clothes. With clear sky during night hours for the last two days, the minimum temperature in Jammu has shown sharp fall. Today, Jammu recorded a minimum temperature of 5.7 degree Celsius while it was 12.5 degree C on December 12. On Thursday, the winter capital city recorded a temperature of 7.1 degree Celsius while a day earli- er, it was 8.8 degree Celsius. A sharp fall of nearly 7 degrees Celsius has been witnessed in Jammu's temperature in just past three days. A Met spokesman said that in Jammu region, sky will remain clear for next one week. But the night temperature will show gradual fall. He predicted similar dry weather in other two regions of the State. He dis- closed that foggy weather condi- tions will continue to affect air, train and vehicular traffic in the northern region including some Jammu areas for some time in coming days. The spokesman further disclosed that with the improvement in weather after rains, Jammu recorded a max- imum temperature of 15.5 degree Celsius, Katra 15.6 degree C, Bhaderwah maxi- mum 8.7 degree C and mini- mum minus 0.6 degree C, Banihal maximum 12.0 Sanjeev Pargal JAMMU, Dec 15: The State Government has put a sound mechanism in place for implementation of the announcements made by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti during her Public Outreach Programmes for addressing grievances of peo- ple in every district of the State. Through the mechanism, which has been put in place, the Government wants to ensure that announcements and promis- es made by the Chief Minister at her Grievance Redressal Camps are implemented expeditiously and the people don’t get a chance to complaint about the works. Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rohit Kansal, who also holds charge of Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, told the Excelsior that the two Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir divisions have been designated as Nodal Officers for their respective regions to implement works approved by the Chief Minister on spot on requests of the people and other announcements made at the pub- lic outreach programmes. “The Divisional Commissioners have been asked to regularly monitor implemen- tation of the decisions taken dur- ing the Grievance Redressal Programmes, held at the district headquarters and see to it that projects are taken up immediate- ly after the announcements and executed in time bound man- ner,’’ the Principal Secretary to CM said. Official sources said though the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, whose portfolio also lies with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, would be releasing funds promised for execution of works at the pro- grammes at district level, within a week’s time, the Divisional Commissioners and the District Development Commissioners have been asked to go ahead with the works without waiting for release of the funds. “The Divisional Commissioners and the District Development Commissioners have been briefed that they should go ahead with the works approved by the Chief Minister without waiting for release of the funds. They have been prom- ised that the funds would be released within a week and, therefore, they can complete other formalities by then to ensure completion of works at the earliest. A regular and proper moni- toring system has also been Mohinder Verma JAMMU, Dec 15: Taking serious note of disposal of solid waste in most unscientific manner and non-implementa- tion of Solid Waste Management Rules, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Kumar today directed the Commissioner Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development Department and Commissioner of Jammu Municipal Corporation to appear in person on next date of hearing to explain reasons behind non-serious approach towards the issue connected with the environment and health of the common masses. These directions were issued in a Public Interest Litigation titled Rajinder Singh Versus State of Jammu and Kashmir and Others. When the matter came up for hearing, Additional Advocate General Rohit Kapoor appearing for the Pollution Control Board made a power point presentation highlighting the mechanism to monitor ambi- ent air quality in Jammu. Through the power point presentation, light was also thrown on generation and dis- posal of solid waste and bio- medical waste and the areas of the concerns for the Pollution Control Board. The DB was apprised that Pollution Control Board has set- up three stations for monitoring ambient air quality at Jewel Chowk, Narwal and Bari Brahmana and 13 new ambient air quality monitoring stations have been proposed to the Central Pollution Control Board. It was also informed that three more stations will come up at Kachi Chawani, Janipur and Satwari Chowk. As far as solid waste man- agement is concerned, the power point presentation prepared by the Pollution Control Board revealed that a total of 653 met- ric ton of solid waste is generat- ed every day in Jammu region out of which 605 metric ton is collected and only 5.5 metric ton per day is treated. As far as Jammu city is con- cerned, a total of 380 TPD waste is generated out of which 350 TPD is collected. However, there is no mechanism for scien- tific disposal of waste and maxi- mum waste is either thrown in River Tawi or dumped in open at Bhagwati Nagar on about 60 kanals of land despite the fact that the dumping site is at a DB seeks personal appearance of H&UDD Secy, JMC Commissioner INSIDE WEATHER Regularizing daily wagers ...Page 8 * Power crisis in Birpur industries Govt regularizes services of 493 ReTs in Jammu division ....Page 3 Naeem asks students to be torch-bearers of peace, humanity ....Page 5 HC seeks report on foot bridges ....Page 7 Govt assign academic streams, faculty to 2 new Engineering Colleges ...Page 9 Sindhu trounces Akane, Srikanth loses again at Dubai Finals ...Page 16 JAMMU : Partly cloudy. TEMPERATURE Max: 15.5 Degree C Min: 5.7 Degree C RELATIVE HUMIDITY RH-I (Morning): 97.0 per cent RH-II (Evening): 84.0 per cent Sunset on Saturday: 05.28 p.m. Sunrise on Sunday: 07.27 a.m. SRINAGAR: Possibility of light rain/thundershowers TEMPERATURE Max: 8.3 Degree C Min: -0.1 Degree C RELATIVE HUMIDITY RH-I (Morning): 84.0 per cent RH-II (Evening): 63.0 per cent LEH: TEMPERATURE Max: 3.9 Degree C Min: -5.7 Degree C Download Mobile Apps of Daily Excelsior for Android and IOS http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/apps/ Download on the Google Play Store Download on the App Store DB seeks ATR on ex-MD, DGM in Housing scam Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 15: In the much publicized Rs 27 crore scam in J&K Housing Board, Division Bench of the State High Court comprising Chief Justice Bader Durrez Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Kumar today directed Commissioner Secretary to Government Housing and Urban Development Department to file Action Taken Report (ATR) against Ram Paul Sharma, the Illegal brick kilns around Airport Excelsior Correspondent SRINAGAR, Dec 15: The High Court was informed today that the authorities have shut down the brick kilns in 8 kilo- meter radius around Srinagar Airport while they have failed to close down illegal brick kilns operating in the area. High Court has been informed that all those regis- tered brick kilns, which were within 8 kilometers of peripher- al limits of airport, have been closed as per Court directions. However, Court has been informed that some illegal kilns are still operating in the area which has also been brought into the notice of Deputy Commissioner Budgam but he is unable to take action. Police foils rally of separatists Excelsior Correspondent SRINAGAR, Dec 15: Authorities today foiled sepa- ratist public rally at Anantnag town by imposing restrictions in Anantnag town and parts of Srinagar while senior resistance separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was detained by police as he attempted to march towards Anantnag from his res- idence. Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) sealed off Anantnag town this morning to Sonia to retire from politics NEW DELHI, Dec 15: A day ahead of formally handing over the leadership of the Congress party to her son Rahul, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has indicated that she may retire from active politics. "My job is to retire," Sonia Gandhi told reporters on the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament when asked about her role after Rahul Gandhi for- mally takes over on Saturday. "I will retire," Sonia Gandhi told reporters on the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament when asked about her role after Rahul Gandhi formally takes over on Saturday. (Agencies) Triple talaq bill gets Cabinet nod NEW DELHI, Dec 15: A draft law which seeks to make the practice of instant triple talaq "illegal and void" and provides for a jail term for the husband was today cleared by the Union Cabinet. The nod paves the way for its introduction in Parliament during the Winter session which began today. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad confirmed that the 'Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill' has 3 officers transferred Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 15: The Government today issued orders of transfer and postings of three senior officers. Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Mohammed Afzal Bhat has been transferred and posted as Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Agriculture Production Department against an available vacancy. Cell did a lot of work, I hope it will be taken forward’ Various innovative steps were taken for youth (Contd on page 6 Col 1) Pic on page 6 (Contd on page 6 Col 5) (Contd on page 6 Col 3) (Contd on page 6 Col 1) (Contd on page 6 Col 6) (Contd on page 6 Col 5) Div Coms designated as NOs, release of funds in a week Braving thick fog and harsh cold, a horse-cart driver moves on a road in Jammu on Friday morning. More pics on page 6. -Excelsior/Rakesh Slackness of authorities compels courts to interfere: CJ Unscientific disposal of solid waste in Jammu (Contd on page 6 Col 5) (Contd on page 6 Col 7) (Contd on page 6 Col 3) Govt puts mechanism in place to implement CM’s announcements PANAJI, Dec 15: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today asked the media to get Kashmiris closer to the rest of India rather than adding “fuel to the fire”. She was speaking at the three-day-long “India Ideas Conclave 2017” organised by the India Foundation here. She said the media kept abusing and accusing separatists but at the same time kept getting them on television giving them TV time to spew venom. “I don’t know why do they do it. Is it because of TRPs? Media should help us to get Kashmir out of the present situ- ation and not add fuel to the fire,” she said. She said that some sections of the media pick up the “most rotten” person from the State who speaks against the country. “They pick up a guy who is not known to anyone, no Kashmiri knows him. They put him on television and then they get some- one to combat him. They give him that kind of space on tele- vision,” she said. “And these two are fighting and Kashmiris and other countrymen watch them. The other coun- trymen feel that this Kashmiri is talking bad about the country so Kashmiris are bad. And the Kashmiris feel that other fellow is accusing Kashmir,” she said. “Media should play a role in bringing Kashmiris and the rest of the country closer to each other. They should pick up peo- ple who talk nice things about the country,” she added. She said that Kashmiriyat is reflected in the acts of the peo- ple of Kashmir. “You can get the proof of Kashmiriyat in the acts of people who rushed to help Amarnath yatris (when they were attacked),” she said. “That time large number of people went to hospital to donate blood. Last year when there was an accident, people took passengers to their houses. This is what Kashmiris are basi- cally,” she said. The three-day conclave was inaugurated in presence of for- mer Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Union Minister of State for external Affairs M J Akbar, Minister of State from the United Arab Emirates Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Mehbooba said her Government was also helping ‘Helping Pandits who stayed back’ Bring Kashmiris closer to India: CM to media Jammu records season’s lowest temp, Gulmarg breaks record of past 10 yrs (Contd on page 6 Col 3) Dense fog affects train, air traffic
Transcript of page1.qxd (Page 2) - Daily...
Excelsiordaily
REGD.NO.JK-71/15-17RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 53 No. 346 JAMMU, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2017 18 Pages `̀ 5.00
Neeraj RohmetraJAMMU, Dec 15:
Tassaduq Hussain Mufti,Coordinator J&K ChiefMinister's Grievance Cell andbrother of Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti today sub-mitted his resignation ahead ofhis nomination as member ofthe Legislative Council, whichwas cleared by the Cabinettoday through circulationamong the Ministers.
He is being nominated as theMember of Legislative Councilagainst a vacancy that aroseafter the resignation ofVikramaditya Singh from thePDP as well as Upper House ona host of issues including non-
declaration of holiday on birthanniversary of Maharaja HariSingh.
PDP insiders told theExcelsior that while decks havebeen cleared for nomination ofTassaduq Mufti to theLegislative Council, few daysbefore start of budget session ofthe Legislature on January 2 butthey ruled out his immediateinduction in the Council ofMinistry on the ground that thePDP president and ChiefMinister Mehbooba Muftiwould like her brother to gain
some experience before beingmade the Minister.
Confirming his resignation,Tassaduq told the Excelsior thatthe CM's Grievance Cell, wherehe was working as Coordinatorwas doing very well and hadbeen able to handle lot of prob-lems put forth by the people.
"I enjoyed full support ofthe Chief Minister. We werenot only engaged in addressinggrievances of the people butwere working to create betteravenues for youth through thedata base,'' Tassaduq, whohad been appointedCoordinator of the CM'sGrievance Cell on May 12 thisyear, said.
Expressing confidence thatthe Grievance Cell would con-tinue to function with similarzeal, he said, " I owe success ofthe Cell to some brilliant offi-cers, who worked 24x7 to makeworking of the Cell a completesuccess by addressing problemsprojected by the people beforeit".
"We made lot of efforts invarious fields. Efforts were
made to reduce traffic conges-tion, solve problems arising outof brick kilns and enter into col-laboration with several organi-zations to find solution to prob-lems voiced by the people.Various innovative measureswere taken to simplify workingof many Departments,''Tassaduq said.
Sources said Tassaduq's res-ignation was necessitated beforehis nomination to the LegislativeCouncil as he can hold only oneoffice at a time. However, evenafter his resignation, sourcessaid, the Grievance Cell wouldcontinue to function and possi-bility about the appointment ofnew Coordinator hasn't beenruled out.
On his nomination to theUpper House, Tassaduq wouldget only remaining tem ofVikramaditya i.e. about threeand a half years.
He submitted his resignationto the Chief Secretary.
The State Cabinet todaycleared the nomination of
Tassaduq resigns as CM Grievance CellCoordinator, to be nominated as MLC
Gopal Sharma/ Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/ SRINAGAR,Dec 15: While dense fog inJammu and parts of northernregion badly affected air andtrain traffic, the winter capitalcity recorded season's lowesttemperature today whereas,ski-destination Gulmarg inKashmir broke last 10 years'record of experiencing lowestnight temperature.
Entire northern region hasgone in the grip of intense coldwave and the people have takenout heavy winter clothes. Withclear sky during night hours forthe last two days, the minimumtemperature in Jammu hasshown sharp fall.
Today, Jammu recorded aminimum temperature of 5.7degree Celsius while it was 12.5
degree C on December 12. OnThursday, the winter capital cityrecorded a temperature of 7.1degree Celsius while a day earli-
er, it was 8.8 degree Celsius. Asharp fall of nearly 7 degreesCelsius has been witnessed inJammu's temperature in just
past three days. A Met spokesman said that
in Jammu region, sky willremain clear for next one week.But the night temperature willshow gradual fall. He predictedsimilar dry weather in other tworegions of the State. He dis-closed that foggy weather condi-tions will continue to affect air,train and vehicular traffic in thenorthern region including someJammu areas for some time incoming days.
The spokesman furtherdisclosed that with theimprovement in weather afterrains, Jammu recorded a max-imum temperature of 15.5degree Celsius, Katra 15.6degree C, Bhaderwah maxi-mum 8.7 degree C and mini-mum minus 0.6 degree C,Banihal maximum 12.0
Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, Dec 15: The
State Government has put asound mechanism in place forimplementation of theannouncements made byChief Minister MehboobaMufti during her PublicOutreach Programmes foraddressing grievances of peo-ple in every district of theState.
Through the mechanism,which has been put in place, theGovernment wants to ensurethat announcements and promis-es made by the Chief Minister ather Grievance Redressal Campsare implemented expeditiouslyand the people don’t get achance to complaint about theworks.
Principal Secretary to ChiefMinister, Rohit Kansal, whoalso holds charge of Planning,Development and MonitoringDepartment, told the Excelsior
that the two DivisionalCommissioners of Jammu andKashmir divisions have beendesignated as Nodal Officers fortheir respective regions toimplement works approved bythe Chief Minister on spot onrequests of the people and otherannouncements made at the pub-lic outreach programmes.
“The DivisionalCommissioners have been askedto regularly monitor implemen-tation of the decisions taken dur-ing the Grievance RedressalProgrammes, held at the districtheadquarters and see to it thatprojects are taken up immediate-ly after the announcements andexecuted in time bound man-ner,’’ the Principal Secretary toCM said.
Official sources saidthough the Planning,Development and MonitoringDepartment, whose portfolioalso lies with Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti, would be
releasing funds promised forexecution of works at the pro-grammes at district level,within a week’s time, theDivisional Commissioners andthe District DevelopmentCommissioners have beenasked to go ahead with theworks without waiting forrelease of the funds.
“The DivisionalCommissioners and the DistrictDevelopment Commissionershave been briefed that theyshould go ahead with the worksapproved by the Chief Ministerwithout waiting for release ofthe funds. They have been prom-ised that the funds would bereleased within a week and,therefore, they can completeother formalities by then toensure completion of works atthe earliest.
A regular and proper moni-toring system has also been
Mohinder VermaJAMMU, Dec 15: Taking
serious note of disposal of solidwaste in most unscientificmanner and non-implementa-tion of Solid WasteManagement Rules, DivisionBench of State High Courtcomprising Chief JusticeBadar Durrez Ahmed andJustice Sanjeev Kumar todaydirected the CommissionerSecretary to Government,Housing and UrbanDevelopment Department andCommissioner of JammuMunicipal Corporation toappear in person on next dateof hearing to explain reasonsbehind non-serious approachtowards the issue connectedwith the environment andhealth of the common masses.
These directions were issuedin a Public Interest Litigation
titled Rajinder Singh VersusState of Jammu and Kashmirand Others. When the mattercame up for hearing, AdditionalAdvocate General Rohit Kapoorappearing for the PollutionControl Board made a powerpoint presentation highlightingthe mechanism to monitor ambi-ent air quality in Jammu.
Through the power pointpresentation, light was alsothrown on generation and dis-posal of solid waste and bio-medical waste and the areas ofthe concerns for the PollutionControl Board.
The DB was apprised thatPollution Control Board has set-up three stations for monitoringambient air quality at JewelChowk, Narwal and BariBrahmana and 13 new ambientair quality monitoring stationshave been proposed to theCentral Pollution Control Board.
It was also informed that threemore stations will come up atKachi Chawani, Janipur andSatwari Chowk.
As far as solid waste man-agement is concerned, the powerpoint presentation prepared bythe Pollution Control Boardrevealed that a total of 653 met-ric ton of solid waste is generat-ed every day in Jammu regionout of which 605 metric ton iscollected and only 5.5 metric tonper day is treated.
As far as Jammu city is con-cerned, a total of 380 TPD wasteis generated out of which 350TPD is collected. However,there is no mechanism for scien-tific disposal of waste and maxi-mum waste is either thrown inRiver Tawi or dumped in openat Bhagwati Nagar on about 60kanals of land despite the factthat the dumping site is at a
DB seeks personal appearance ofH&UDD Secy, JMC Commissioner
INSIDE WEATHERRegularizing daily wagers ...Page 8* Power crisis in Birpur industriesGovt regularizes services of493 ReTs in Jammudivision ....Page 3Naeem asks studentsto be torch-bearersof peace, humanity ....Page 5HC seeks report onfoot bridges ....Page 7Govt assign academic streams,faculty to 2 new EngineeringColleges ...Page 9Sindhu trounces Akane, Srikanth loses again at Dubai Finals ...Page 16
JAMMU : Partly cloudy.
TEMPERATUREMax: 15.5 Degree C Min: 5.7 Degree C
RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 97.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 84.0 per centSunset on Saturday: 05.28 p.m.Sunrise on Sunday: 07.27 a.m.
SRINAGAR:Possibility of light rain/thundershowers
TEMPERATUREMax: 8.3 Degree C Min: -0.1 Degree C
RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 84.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 63.0 per cent
LEH: TEMPERATURE
Max: 3.9 Degree C Min: -5.7 Degree C
Download Mobile Apps ofDaily Excelsior for Android and IOS
http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/apps/
Download on theGoogle Play Store
Download on the
App Store
DB seeks ATR onex-MD, DGM inHousing scam
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 15: In themuch publicized Rs 27 crorescam in J&K Housing Board,Division Bench of the StateHigh Court comprising ChiefJustice Bader Durrez Ahmedand Justice Sanjeev Kumartoday directed CommissionerSecretary to GovernmentHousing and UrbanDevelopment Department tofile Action Taken Report (ATR)against Ram Paul Sharma, the
Illegal brickkilns around
AirportExcelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 15: TheHigh Court was informed todaythat the authorities have shutdown the brick kilns in 8 kilo-meter radius around SrinagarAirport while they have failedto close down illegal brick kilnsoperating in the area.
High Court has beeninformed that all those regis-tered brick kilns, which werewithin 8 kilometers of peripher-al limits of airport, have beenclosed as per Court directions.However, Court has beeninformed that some illegal kilnsare still operating in the areawhich has also been broughtinto the notice of DeputyCommissioner Budgam but heis unable to take action.
Police foils rallyof separatists
Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Dec 15:
Authorities today foiled sepa-ratist public rally at Anantnagtown by imposing restrictionsin Anantnag town and parts of
Srinagar while senior resistanceseparatist leader Mirwaiz UmarFarooq was detained by policeas he attempted to marchtowards Anantnag from his res-idence.
Police and Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) sealed offAnantnag town this morning to
Sonia to retirefrom politics
NEW DELHI, Dec 15: A day ahead of formally
handing over the leadership ofthe Congress party to her sonRahul, Congress president SoniaGandhi has indicated that shemay retire from active politics.
"My job is to retire," SoniaGandhi told reporters on thefirst day of the Winter Sessionof Parliament when asked abouther role after Rahul Gandhi for-mally takes over on Saturday.
"I will retire," Sonia Gandhitold reporters on the first day ofthe Winter Session of Parliamentwhen asked about her role afterRahul Gandhi formally takesover on Saturday. (Agencies)
Triple talaq billgets Cabinet nod
NEW DELHI, Dec 15: A draft law which seeks to
make the practice of instanttriple talaq "illegal and void"and provides for a jail term forthe husband was today clearedby the Union Cabinet.
The nod paves the way forits introduction in Parliamentduring the Winter session whichbegan today.
Law Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad confirmed that the'Muslim Women Protection ofRights on Marriage Bill' has
3 officers transferred
Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Dec 15: The
Government today issuedorders of transfer and postingsof three senior officers.
Commissioner/ Secretary toGovernment, Department ofForest, Ecology andEnvironment, MohammedAfzal Bhat has been transferredand posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government,Agriculture ProductionDepartment against an availablevacancy.
Cell did a lot of work, I hope it will be taken forward’
Various innovative stepswere taken for
youth
(Contd on page 6 Col 1)
Pic on page 6
(Contd on page 6 Col 5)
(Contd on page 6 Col 3)
(Contd on page 6 Col 1)
(Contd on page 6 Col 6)
(Contd on page 6 Col 5)
Div Coms designated as NOs, release of funds in a week
Braving thick fog and harsh cold, a horse-cart driver moveson a road in Jammu on Friday morning. More pics on page 6.
-Excelsior/Rakesh
Slackness of authorities compels courts to interfere: CJ
Unscientific disposal of solid waste in Jammu
(Contd on page 6 Col 5)
(Contd on page 6 Col 7)
(Contd on page 6 Col 3)
Govt puts mechanism in place toimplement CM’s announcements
PANAJI, Dec 15: Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Mehbooba Muftitoday asked the media to getKashmiris closer to the rest ofIndia rather than adding “fuelto the fire”.
She was speaking at thethree-day-long “India IdeasConclave 2017” organised bythe India Foundation here.
She said the media keptabusing and accusing separatistsbut at the same time kept gettingthem on television giving themTV time to spew venom.
“I don’t know why do theydo it. Is it because of TRPs?Media should help us to getKashmir out of the present situ-ation and not add fuel to thefire,” she said.
She said that some sectionsof the media pick up the “most
rotten” person fromthe State who speaksagainst the country.
“They pick up aguy who is notknown to anyone, noKashmiri knowshim. They put himon television andthen they get some-one to combat him.They give him thatkind of space on tele-vision,” she said.
“And these twoare fighting andKashmiris and othercountrymen watchthem. The other coun-trymen feel that this Kashmiri istalking bad about the country soKashmiris are bad. And theKashmiris feel that other fellowis accusing Kashmir,” she said.
“Media should play a role in
bringing Kashmiris and the restof the country closer to eachother. They should pick up peo-ple who talk nice things aboutthe country,” she added.
She said that Kashmiriyat isreflected in the acts of the peo-
ple of Kashmir. “You can get theproof of Kashmiriyat in the actsof people who rushed to helpAmarnath yatris (when theywere attacked),” she said.
“That time large number ofpeople went to hospital todonate blood. Last year whenthere was an accident, peopletook passengers to their houses.This is what Kashmiris are basi-cally,” she said.
The three-day conclave wasinaugurated in presence of for-mer Sri Lankan PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga, UnionMinister of State for externalAffairs M J Akbar, Minister ofState from the United ArabEmirates Zaki Anwar Nusseibehand Goa Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar.
Mehbooba said herGovernment was also helping
‘Helping Pandits who stayed back’Bring Kashmiris closer to India: CM to media
Jammu records season’s lowest temp,Gulmarg breaks record of past 10 yrs
(Contd on page 6 Col 3)
Dense fog affects train, air traffic
