demoted but ‘elevated’ further to the post of the MD, superior to the post (Secretary) he had been found ineligible for.According to the insiders of the department, Sharma who still hasn’t improved his qualifica-tion from the 11th class, has been managing his ‘out of turn’ and ‘undue’ promotions by ‘bribing’ the influential politicians and bureaucrats from time to time.“How can you allow a matriculate hold the post of MD which is as per the government orders at par to that of the Chief Engineer of R&B depart-ment? This is not only a sheer injustice to the deserving officers but also a grave insult to the system in itself.” a senior bureaucrat pleading anonymity told this newspaper. He lashed out at certain Jammu based politicians for ‘dilut-ing’ the institutional integrity and promoting ‘corruption’ in the system.“This man has nearly 15 plots on his relatives

and his own name in various parts of Jammu. Wherefrom a typist turned PA turned MD has acquired such a huge property.” asked the bu-reaucrat.A senior officer of the board requesting not to be named while expressing similar apprehensions told this newspaper that Sharma is not only the ‘under qualified’ but was also junior to Romesh Chandra who had been appointed a year before Sharma on 09-06-1980 and that too with BA as his then qualification much higher than what Sharma possess even now when he is holding the MD post. The officer added that Chandra is still working in the grade of head assistant and has been ignored by the authorities’ altogether.Meanwhile officers in the department have raised a serious objection to the elevation of Sharma and have threatened to approach the High Court in case the order was not

See Housing Board on pg 11

Minister refutes allegationsShopian, Dec 10:

The much hyped implementation of ‘Na-tional Mission on Saffron’ (NSM) project funded by central government with an aim to improve the productivity of saffron culti-vation is proved a damp squib. According to the farmers, the Mission started by the Agriculture Department with great fanfare, is marred by scandals and frauds. Scores of farmers told CNS that the proj-ect is a damp squib to achieve the desired results and returns.

Reliable sources said that the Vigilance Organization Kashmir is currently verify-ing and probing various allegations with re-gard to NSM in respect of district Pulwama vide FIR number 26/2013 and a thorough enquiry is expected to be conducted by the concerned investigating agency to reach the bottom to unearth the bungling and to save the public exchequer from loot and plunder. According to reports saffron community have incurred huge losses while the present status of 49.00 hectors of Seed Multiplica-tion Farm, located at Allowpora of district Shopian presents grim situation which smacks of malfunctioning. According to farmers, the Farm Manager under whose supervision

See Saffron on pg 11

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

WEDNESDAY December 11 | 2013 | 06 Saffar 1435 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 3 | ISSUE NO: 313 | 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(WED)SUNRISE ON (THURSDAY)

05:23 pm07:28 am

-2.1 0C12.8 0C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Weather will be mainly dry over the state.

Mainly Clear Sky with Haze. Maximum & Minimum temperatures will be around 13°C & -2°C respectively.

Ensure empowerment of Panchayats

England will bounce back in Ashes

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Honey can be useful to

reduce weight

No Compromise on

fitness of Umar Gul/PCB

Inside story

On Edit Page

Rampant human rights violations – A worry for humanityThe observance of human rights day on international level is basi-cally aimed at creating awareness about the importance of human rights and their respect. However despite the observance of such day every year, the human rights viola-tions around the world are increas-ing day by

Jora for a vibrant theatre culture to preserve pastThe Minister for Urban Develop-ment and Urban Local Bodies, Mr. Nawang Rigzin Jora has un-derscored the need for promoting of theatre activities in a big way to preserve traditional art, cul-ture and language in the State.Speaking at the concluding

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FOCUS ON QUALITYEDUCATION: GOVERNORIt is very important to spread fa-cilities for higher education but equally important to ensuring that the education imparted is of an acceptable quality. This was stated by N.N.Vohra, Governor during the foundation laying cer-emony of the Ramnagar Univer-sity Campus at

Cold wave further grips Kashmir ValleySrinagar 10 December: There was no respite from dry weather conditions as cold wave further tightened its grip in Kashmir with the night temperatures in the Valley remaining several degrees below the freezing point. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a drop of over one degree in the night temperature with the mer-cury settling at a low of minus

‘Government pro-actively focusing this area’JAMMU, DECEMBER 10:

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Tuesday said that Kashmiri Pandits are integral part of Kashmirayat and their return is essentially significant to the resto-ration of the composite culture of the valley.“The loss of sense of security forced them leave their

homeland”, he said maintaining that their return to valley will not be by force but by creating conducive and favourable conditions and restoring back the sense of security in them.Addressing the Members of Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS) led by its President, R. K. Bhat who called on him here, the Chief Minister said that he

would continue to make efforts to create secure and peaceful atmosphere in the valley for the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits. He said a great number of KPs want to return to valley and become the similar part of the society which they used to be before the militancy.Omar said that the return of 1500 youth to the valley in connection with employment and their mingling with the majority community is a healthy sign and good omen for the mass return of KPs. He said Kashmiri Pandits were spread all across the state and lived in amity with the majority community before the mili-tancy. “My endeavour is to restore the same situation. I do not want to take Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu

and other parts of the country to the valley and make them live in camps. They are integral part of Kashmir and Kashmir’s composite culture. Their co-existence with majority community is essentially important for restoration of the composite culture of the valley”, he said and added that though, packages

See Omar on pg 11

Mirwaiz placed under house arrestSrinagar, Dec 10:

Resorting to traditional dictatorial tactics, authorities placed APHC Chairman Mir-waiz Umar Farooq under house arrest to prevent him from participating in the pro-posed peaceful sit-in in connection with International Day for Human Rights. Apart from Mirwaiz, a number of hurriyat leaders were either placed under house arrest or

locked up in police stations to foil the hur-riyat sit in programme thereby violating all the human and democratic rights of Kash-miris. The authorities left no stone unturned to stop hurriyat leaders and people from par-ticipating in the sit in to peacefully protest the human rights violation in Kashmir by means of share force and state sponsored terrorism.Senior hurriyat leader, Agha Syed Hassan Al Moosvi Al Safvi, Moulana Abbas Ansari, Bilal gani lone, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam, and Syed Salim geelani were

See Hurriyat on pg 11

Mulling to seek High Court intervention.From Our Special Correspondent

Srinagar, Dec. 06 : At a time when certain politi-cal big wigs in Jammu and Kashmir Government are facing severe criticism for their alleged role in promoting ‘corruption’ in the govt. machinery in the wake of recently exposed BOPEE Scandal which is considered as the biggest scandal of in-terference in the merit having brought disrepute to the entire recruiting system of the state, a simi-lar kind of scandal involving some top politicians and bureaucrats has come to fore in the Jammu and Kashmir Housing board, where not only the merit has taken a backseat but all the norms and even the cabinet orders have been violated and ignored simply to accommodate a blue eyed babu allegedly for financial gains. Sources in the establishment revealed that Ram Pal Sharma the incumbent Managing Director of the Jammu and Kashmir Housing board has been occupying the prestigious post against all the norms prescribed by the Govt. in this regard, thereby hampering not only the developmental projects in the department but has also been the main detriment for some of the senior and tal-ented officers in the board to perform in a better way .According to the official documents lying with this newspaper, Ram Pal Sharma has began his carrier in the department as Typist/ Junior as-sistant in 1981 with mere 11th class qualifica-tion however due to his influence in the political circles especially his proximity with the Jammu based Politicians, this blue eyed Babu has man-aged to reach all along to the highest office of MD in the board where he used to serve as PA a couple of years back. His elevation to MD has

not been the violation of rules only but also the violation of the directives passed by the Board of Directors of the JK Housing board vide its order number UO/03 dtd 24-05-210 which in its 40th An-nual meeting raised objection to the promotion of Sharma as Secretary of the board, thereby order-ing for its consequent withdrawal.“ It came to the notice of Board of Directors that one Sh. R.P.Sharma, Deputy Secretary , J&K Housing Board has been promoted to the level of secretary and orders to this effect have been is-sued by the outgoing Managing Director. It was decided that the said order be withdrawn forth-with and entire case be put to the establishment committee for its placement in the next meeting of the Board of Directors.” reads the order duly signed by the then chairman of the board and the Deputy Chief Minster Tara Chand, a copy of which lies with this newspaper. However to the surprise of many, the said officer was not

Matriculate functioning as MD in JK Housing Board Officers blame Politicians for promoting ‘corruption’ in the system

Polices foils Hurriyat (M) sit-in on human rights day

Addresses YAIKS

Restoration of sense of security key to KPs return: Omar

National Saffron Mission:

Cops halt ambulance ferrying heart attack patient for half-an-hour

Delay in reaching hospital responsible for his deathSrinagar, Dec 10:

A patient suffering from serious cardiac ailment passed away at SKIMS due to inordinate delay created by ‘traffic’ cops keeping the ambulance halted for almost half-an-hour at Seelu Sopore on pretext of

using a wrong siren, attendants said.“I was ferrying the patient from Hand-wara to SKIMS. As I reached Seelu So-pore, the authorities stopped me and opened all the lights and siren of am-bulance. They kept the siren near am-bulance tyre and asked me to break the same,” Manzoor Ahmad, the ambulance driver working in Handwara district hos-pital told KNS on phone.He further stated that

See Cops on pg 11

Only PDP can protect aspirations of the people of J&KBhaderwah, Dec 10 :

With the support and mandate of the people Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been emerged as biggest political force in Jammu and Kashmir and people have been looking towards this party as only option to get them rid from the yoke of present corrupt regime.This was stated by PDP leaders while addressing series of public meetings in Bhaderwah assembly

segment in connection with the on-going campaign for the Lok Sabha elections Mehboob Iqbal, Arshad Malik, PDP candidate for Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, Choudhary Zulfikar MLA Darhal, Daman Bhasin and oth-ers addressed the meetings and sought support of the people for party candidates for Lok Sabha elections.They said that there was political vacuum after formation of NC-Congress alliance and PDP has

fulfilled this vacuum and this par-ty has become voice of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “Neither Congress nor BJP can represent aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir so PDP is the one and only party which is emerging as alternative to the National Conference”, they said and informed the people that NC has already wiped from the po-litical scenario of the State and in the coming days NC would

See PDP on pg 11

Bunglings at Allowpora Farm

Taj declares athletic C’ship closedJammu, Dec 10 : Minister for Medical Education, Youth Ser-vices & Sports, Mr. Taj Mohi ud Din today declared the J&K State Athletic Championship closed.The two day athletic cham-pionship was inaugurated yesterday. On the occasion, the Minister gave away prizes and commendations to participant athletes besides sports journal-ist who have been covering the championship. He appreciated

Housing Board ......

Omar......

Hurriyat......

PDP......

Cops......

Saffron......

Daily Zabarwan Tmes 11 Wednesday 11 December 2013

Owner, Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik, Editor n chief : Shahana Malik, RNI No.: JKBIL/2011/39764, Email: Zabarwantimes@gmail.com , Published from: Govt Quarters (M-13) Magarmal Bagh Srinagar-190001, J&K , Printed at: Sangarmal Offset Press Humhama Sheikhpora Tele/Fax: 2478370 Cell No. 09999964750, 9796787844

revoked immediately and an action taken against the poli-ticians and officers who helped him to hold such a presti-gious post.

and other facilities for return of Kashmiri Pandits are of crucial significance yet the restoration of sense of security in them is of primary importance.The Chief Minister thanked the Members of YAIKS for re-posing full faith in him and extending their support in his efforts for safe return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pan-dits. He said he views this issue as a human issue and its addressing completely apolitical.Earlier, expressing gratitude to Omar Abdullah for making a history by implementing the employment package and helping return of 1500 KP youth to the valley, the President, YAIKS, R. K. Bhat said that Omar Abdullah never made false promises to them but took historic steps towards re-habilitation and return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley. “We have seen your sincerity towards Kashmiri Pandits and the keen interest in our welfare and betterment”, he said and mentioned the practical work done at ground by Omar Abdullah to facilitate and encourage return of Kash-miri Pandits in a conducive and favourable atmosphere.

put under house arrest while Mukhtar Ahmad Waza was arrested in Police station Sher Bagh, islambad, Hilal Ah-mad War in Police station Kothi Bagh, and Ghulam Mo-hammad Nagoo at Police station Rainawari. The hurriyat headquarters at Rajbagh was surrounded by heavy contin-gent of police to restrict the movement of hurriyat leaders to reach the office.Meanwhile, hurriyat convened several peaceful protest programmes in length and breadth of Kashmir including Srinagar to divert the attention of international commu-nity and human rights organizations towards rights vio-lation in the state. The participants drew the attention of word community towards continuous bloodshed, torture, state sponsored terrorism, and restricting the political so-cial religious activities of Kashmiri leaders.A hurriyat delegation led by senior hurriyat leader Musadiq Adil including Zaffar Akbar Bhat, Hakim Abdul Rashid, Abdul Rashid untoo and others protested against the rights violations in Kashmir in Press colony Srinagar. Later, the police used forces against the peaceful protest-ers and arrested Zaffar Akbar Bhat and and Ghulam Mo-hammad Mir. Similarly, senior leaders including Javaid Ahmad Mira, GN Zaki and others were arrested police when they took out a protest march on the international day for human rights at Mirwaiz manzil at Rajouri kadal. Prof Habibbulah jeelani addressed a gathering at Khanq-e-Moula during which he condemned the house arrest of APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar farooq and other leaders.Meanwhile, in a statement, Mirwaiz stressed upon the defenders of human rights around the world and interna-tional community to pressurize India to stop rights viola-tions in Kashmir. He said India by virtue of militarization and imposing black laws was subjecting Kashmiris to worst rights violations which include death, torture, and restricting the political and religious activities of genuine leadership of Kashmir. He said that one lakh people have been killed, thousands have been orphaned and widowed, 8500 unmarked graves are dotting the Kashmir landscape, 9500 people have been subjected to enforced disappearance, hundreds of Kashmiris are lodged in jails and entire pop-ulation of Kashmir has been bruised by both mental and physical torture. “India is has violated all basic norms of humanity in Kash-mir. Rights violation commited by her would remain an ugly blot on humanity” Mirwaiz saidMirwaiz said due to Kashmir issue, south asia remains in-stable and the time has come that world community uses its influence to solve the issue for once and all to bring last-ing peace in the region.

be a history. “PDP is the voice of the people and party workers and leaders will fight for the cause of common masses”, they said and pointed out that it was all due to the pro-peo-ple policies of the party that PDP has already emerged as strong secular alternative in the state within a short span of time. In these meetings elected Panchayat mem-bers from Hadel and Mannu joined PDP and expressed faith in the leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti. Others who spoke on the occasion included Pritam Kotwal, Sajjad Malik, Nazir Ahmed Kitchloo, Iqbal Bhat and others.

saffron corms meant for distribution to the farming com-munity were sown in Allowpora Shopian has attributed the shortfall in seed production and multiplication to insuf-ficient inputs, non commissioning of sprinkle irrigation system, inhospitable weather conditions and texture of soil. The argument and claims have been negated by an of-ficial in his SOS vide MAF/2013-14/388-92 dated 26/07/2013 addressed to the Joint Director (inputs) mentioning that 19 hectares farm covered in 2010 and 2011 for development and multiplication of Saffron Corm production were com-prised of barren land and everything was done without proper planning raising eyebrows. The farmers have alleged that officials that were entrust-ed with this work and who supervised the task swindled huge chunk of money and thus looted the public wealth without getting trapped. Pertinently, for the revival of saffron production in Jam-mu and Kashmir, the Central government had approved a

plan of Rs 371.18 crore under National Saffron Mission Pro-gramme for four years which includes Rs 286.06 crore as government of India’s share and Rs 85.12 crore as farmers share. The main objective of the scheme was to extend sup-port for creation of irrigation facilities through tube wells and sprinklers which would help better crop in the area. Agriculture Minister, Ghulam Hassan Mir told CNS that last year due to lack of proper planning, saffron production decreased considerably. He however said that this year the production was good as the department adopted all the mea-sures to boost up the production. The Minister further said that all the allegations leveled with respect to Allowpora Farm are baseless and there is no truth in these allegations.

the authorities made the ambulance wait for more than 30 minutes and that he repeatedly requested the officials about the critical condition of the patient but to no avail. “I requested them several times that the patient is in a critical condition with a major cardiac attack but they made me to wait on the road side and smashed the si-ren.”The reports received by Kashmir News Service said that a 60-year-old Abdul Rahman Dar, resident of Yansoo Handwara was admitted at District hospital Handwara under MRD number 11408, dated Decem-ber 9, 2013. The doctors at the district hospital after diagnosing the patient of having suffered due to ma-jor cardiac arrest had referred him to SKIMS.The driver of ambulance bearing number JK05A 3402 was directed to ferry the patient to SKIMS on Monday afternoon. The ambulance was stopped by the author-ities at Seelu Sopore. A senior officer in traffic de-partment said the reason for stopping the ambulance was that the driver was using a wrong siren.However, the eye witnesses told KNS that the author-ities were busy in monitoring the traffic violations at Sopore and that the ambulance driver was stopped near Seelu by the officials on the ground of violating the traffic norms.The attendants of deceased told KNS that the authori-ties without any reason made them to wait on the road side for half an hour due to which the condition of the patient deteriorated further. “The doctors here in Sri-nagar told us that there has been inordinate delay in bringing the patient to the hospital but the main reason for this delay was the inappropriate attitude of the of-ficials at Sopore and we begged them to let us go but they didn’t pay any heed,” said Abdul Hamid (name changed), a close relative of the deceased attendant.When contacted, the Inspector General of Police (Traffic) Munir Ahmad Khan told KNS that he will verify the facts.

Sd/Executive Engineer R&B Division Baramulla DIPK : 11125

Government of Jammu and Kashmir,

Office of the Executive Engineer R&B Division BaramullaTender Notice No: 71 of 2013-14

For & on behalf of Governor of J&K State, the Executive Engineer R&B Division Baramulla invites sealed tenders affixed with two Revenue stamps from the approved PWD contractors of the classes shown on Annexure “A”.The tenders should be addressed to the Executive Engineer R&B Division Baramulla by registered post or by hand and should reach in his Office on or before 26.12.13, - A &I3 up to 2:00 P.M. In case the opening date being declared as Holiday/Hartal, the tenders shall be received on next working day.The tenders should be sealed in proper cover with name of work, name of the contractor, reference to CDR No. and date without which tender shall be rejected without assigning any reason thereof.The tender document can be had from the Office of the Executive Engineer R&B Division Baramulla against casji pay-ment on any working day during office hours uptoj 24-2-2013 only after receipt of the Valid TIN No. & PAN No. along with latest Sales Tax Clearance Certificate/ Acknowledgement receipt of sales Tax return fileThat the Service Tax on prescribed rates shall be deducted from the work done claims on total value of work which in-cludes departmental stores. The rates quoted/ allotted shall include all taxes.The departmental material shall be supplied “to the contractors on following rates from Divisional Store (i) Cement @ Rs. 395 /bag (ii). TMT (Bars) @ Rs 60.50/Kg (iii). Anglelron/ Flat Iron @ Rs 65/Kg. iv) CGI/PGI Sheets @Rs. 55/Kg. v) Bitu-men @ Rs 56000/MT (In case of non availability of stocks in Divisional Stores the contractor my purchase the required material of quality & specifications prescribed to be certified by Engineer incharge after getting non-availability certifi-cate from Executive Engineer & shall not be entitled for any type of excessive rates on this account.All other terms and conditions will be the same as laid down in the detailed NIT NO: 01/2013-14 issued under endst. No: 203-13 dated: 15.04.2013.

Annexure “A”This Office NIT Not” of 2013-14 issued under endorsement No:5528-38 dated: 6-11-2013

S.No Name of the work Approx. Earnest Class of Time of Cost of Head of Cost money contract completion tender Doc. account1

2

Providign & Fixing of Wooden (Poplar) Truss to ANM Building at Binner

Construction of Breast wall on Vizer Thindum Kriri Fresthar Road at Allapora

Rs3.54 lacs Rs7080/- DEE 20days Rs 200/- NRHM

Rs3.19 lacs Rs3190/- SHG 20days Rs 200/- Funds Demanded

Government of Jammu and KashmirOFFiCE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER

R&B SUB-DIVISION MAGAM . GULMARG DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, TANGMARG FRESH NO

FRESH NOTICE INVITING TENDERSFresh NIT No:49/R&B /GDA OF 2013-14` DATED: 07/12/2013For and on behalf of the Governor, J&K State, e-tenders (In Single Cover System) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligible contractors registered with J&K State Govt; CPWD, Railways and other State/ Central Governments for each of the following works:

S.No Name of Work Est. Cost (inlacs of Rs.)

Cost of T/Doc (in Rs.)

Earnest Money (in Rs)

Time of Completion inDays)

Time & Date of Bid Opening

Class of Maior Contractor

Major Head of Account

1 Up-gradation of additional accommodation double storied building for existing Middle School Katipora.

35.00 1100/= 70000/= 90 days 19/12/2013 A/B RMSA

Position of AAA/ TS Submitted

Position of Funds Demanded

The bidding documents containing qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Bill of quantities (BOQ), terms and condi-tions of contract and other relevant details can be seen/ downloaded from the departmental website www.iktenders.Qov.in as per schedule of dates given below:-

S.No Date of Issue of Tender Notice1 Date of Issue of Tender Notice 07-12-20132 Period of downloading of bidding documents From 09/12/2013 10 A.M to 15/12/2013 4.003 Bid Submission Start Date 09/12/2013 from 10.00 AM4 Bid Submission end Date 16/12/2013 upto 4.00 P.M5 Dead line for receiving the Hard Copy (orginal DD & FMD) 18/12/2013 at 4.00 P.M in the office of the Executive Engineer R&B Sub-

Division Magam / GDATangmarg.6 Date and time of opening of bids (online) 19/12/2013 at 11.00 AM in the office of the Executive Engineer R&B

Sub-Division Magam / GDATangmarg

Note:-TheTenderer are invited at the risk, cost and responsibility of the previous agency namely M/S BEE LIN DYNAMIC Prop. Mend. Afaq Baba S/O Mohd. Sy. d Baba R/O Iqbal Cciony Zanikote Srinagar as per the instructions of Superintending Engineer PW (R&B) Circle Baramuiia- Kupwara vide letter No. 104S3 Dated: 22-11-2013. For further terms and conditions log on www.jkte-nders.gov.in

Sd/ Executive Engineer R&B Sub-Division MagamDIPK: 11120

Govt committed to provide basic facilities to the rural masses: Vikar

Inaugurates medical camp at Batoo BanihalBANIHAL, DECEMBER 10:

Minister of State for Technical Education Power, CAPD, RDD and Information, Vikar Rasool Wani today said that Govt; is committed to provide all basic facilities to the rural people at their doorsteps. He announced 1 water tanker for Roori village and gave assurances to the people that soon 100-150 students from the Banihal area will be sent to outside states for undergoing ITI training.The Minister was today addressing Public meeting at Harwari, Banihal. The Public meeting was attended by district officers of the concerned works de-partments, Sarpanches, Panches and other dignitaries. While speaking on the occasion, Vikar said that the Co-alition Govt has ensured the all-round development of all the regions of the state on equitable basis, without giving preferential treatment to any particular area. He highlighted the achievements and developments

of his tenure which were taken for the welfare of the people of these far flung areas of Banihal, adding that several projects have been started for the overall and equitable development while others are in pipeline. He stressed that the Govt’s main focus remained on the upgradation of existing infrastructure to improve basic services for the people , which includes improve-ment in road connectivity, drinking water, education, health and social welfare. Minister appealed the people to positively contribute in the efforts of the Govt to car-ry forward its development agenda for speedy socio-economic transformation of the backward and remote areas. He further added that peace and tranquility is imperative for development . He exhorted upon the people to utilize maximum benefits from the various centrally sponsored schemes of the Central Govern-ment such as MGNREGA, PMGSY, NRHM, Food secu-rity bill etc

Mr. Vikar directed PDD,PHE, CAPD,PWD and other concerned authorities to ensure hassle free services to the people during winter and stressed upon them that people should not face any inconvenience with regard to getting ration, LPG, power, drinking water or health care facilities. Earlier, a medical camp was organized at Batoo , which was inaugurated by Vi-kar. In the camp, Doctors did free checkup of women, children, men and old people of Batoo. Minister also distributed free medicines of 1 lakh among the peo-pleof the area. Earlier, Sarpanches and panches of the Harwari area apprised him the local demands of the area which in-cludes more roads under PMGSY, Electric transform-ers, upgradation of schools, electricity to un-electrified villages, Health sub centre at Harwari, more anganwari centres in the area, and deployment of adequate staff to Schools.

BOPEE scamParent of alleged beneficiary arrested

Srinagar, Dec 10:

The Crime Branch of Police on Tuesday arrested a parent of one of the beneficiaries’ of Board of Pro-fessional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) scam involving selling of CET-2012 papers against hefty sums.Official sources told GNS that the crime branch arrested Farooq Ah-mad Shah, parent of one of the al-leged beneficiary for his involve-ment in buying the papers.A resident of Manghal in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Shah has been lodged in Crime Branch lockup here.

Shah is believed to have purchased the papers against whooping 15 lakh from one of the accused in the multi-million scam.Shah’s name surfaced during the questioning of the accused in the scam including BOPEE Chairman former Mushtaq Ahmad Peer, Fa-rooq Ahmad Ittoo, Haroon Rashid and Sajad Ahmad.Mushtaq Peer was arrested on No-vember 23 last month and is pres-ently lodged in central Jail Srinagar after a court sent him to 10-days judi-cial remand in connection with the sale of CET papers 2012, afterwhen he visited the headquarters of the

Crime Branch at Rajbagh here. He has been booked under sections 420 (cheating) 120B (criminal conspir-acy) and section 5(1) of the Preven-tion of Corruption Act, in an FIR (24/2013) registered by the Crime Branch.The scam surfaced in June this year when an anonymous complainant had accused Peer and his accomplic-es of selling papers to at least a dozen aspirants against hefty sums. Acting swiftly, Special Secretary to Govern-ment General Administration De-partment on July 26 last ordered an enquiry by the Crime Branch.

NC promoted rights abuses in Kashmir:

Srinagar, Dec 10:

Peoples Democratic Party Spokesperson Nayeem Akhtar came down heavily on National Conference on World Human Rights Day Tuesday, accusing it of act-ing as mute spectators to unabated rights abuses in Kashmir. “This Government has promoted rights abuses in Kashmir and it has adopted new tactics and strategies to trample and muzzle the voice of the people of Kash-mir,” Akhtar told CNS adding that there is no zero tolerance on human rights vio-lations. “Since from the day one when NC as-sumed Office, hundreds of youth have been killed and it is a shame that govern-ment has adopted a criminal silence over brazen violation of human rights,” said Akhtar. He said that PDP does not blame New Delhi for unabated rights violations in

Kashmir but holds present State Govern-ment responsible. “Law and Order is a State Subject and it is the present State Government which is arresting innocent youth and even minors on the one or the other pretext. Hundreds of youth are lan-guishing in different jails. Public Safety Act has been slapped on those people who follow a different ideology. Rights abuses have increased in a great way and peo-ple are deprived from justice,” Nayeem Akhtar said. “As head of the State, the CM is respon-sible for every killing and rights violation that takes place here. He had promised that no human rights violation will take place. Ironically, the promise is yet to be fulfilled. If he is sincere, he should inter-vene and put a bridle on these violations to restore sense of security among peo-ple,” Aktar said adding that this Govern-ment has break all the records of rights abuses.

Couple dies before marriage

ceremonySrinagar, Dec 10:

A missing couple was found dead Tuesday in Aru Pahalgam reportedly due to the road accident. The couple had gone for outing after they recently got engaged. Reports reaching KNS said that a recently en-gaged couple Sabhiya Jan daughter of Ali Moham-mad Mir of Kadi pora An-antnag and Irshad Ahmed Darzee son of Kaka Darzee resident of Nathi Pora Dooru Anantng on Sun-day went for outing.The couple went missing after they visited Pahal-gam. When they didn’t return home, their parents reported the matter to Police. After the investiga-tions and search opera-tions, the Police found dead bodies of the missing couple in gorge of Aru road.A senior Police official told KNS that both have died due to accident and their car has been rolled down nearly 700 feet down in river Lidder near Gurkhum-Aru in Pahal-gam.

Introduced new laws to trample poeple

Army to settle all rent cases’: SozSrinagar, Dec 10, CNS: State Congress President Professor Saif-u-Din Soz Tues-day said that Government of India will settle down all the cases of landowners of South Kashmir to whom Army owes rent charges for using their land and concret-ed structures from past more than tow decades. In a statement issued to CNS, Soz said that during a meeting with De-

fence Minister A.K.Antony in New Delhi, the Minister assured him that all such cases will be settled down in due course of time.“I received an assurance from the Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Tues-day that all pending cases in respect of rent payable to the land owners of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district for the land under use of the Army will be settled.

Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS SRINAGAR | WEDNESDAY 11. 12 .2013

Girdhari Lal Dogra remembered

LAYS FOUN-DATION STONE OF UNIVERSITY

CAMPUS AT DALSAR; RAM-

NAGARJAMMU, DECEMBER 10:

It is very important to spread facilities for higher educa-tion but equally important to ensuring that the education imparted is of an acceptable quality. This was stated by N.N.Vohra, Governor during the foundation laying ceremo-ny of the Ramnagar University Campus at Dalsar in tehsil Ramnagar of district Udham-pur.Governor also stressed the need for ensuring that

the subjects to be taught at the off-site of the universities are relevant to the area and have the potential of opening up new opportunities for the all round development of the area and also help in the pres-ervation of its culture.

Observing that these off-site campuses were con-ceived to extend facilities of higher education to remote and far off areas, the Governor said that all efforts should be made for receiving a much larger enrolment of the locals in these campuses.Empha-sizing the importance of fre-quent interactions and discus-sions among the students and teachers, Governor said that all necessary efforts should be made towards strengthening tolerance and understanding contrary points of view, as this would lead to the balanced development of the students.

He called upon the teachers to imbue their students with cultural and moral values and ethical codes of conduct and teach the importance of brotherhood and communal harmony. He said that all con-flicting positions should be re-solved only through dialogue and discussion.

Governor observed that the teaching faculty of these campuses of the uni-versities should be also con-cerned in dealing with the deficiencies among the facul-ties of the nearby colleges and higher secondary schools.

M.P.S Isher ,Vice chancellor Jammu univer-sity emphasized the need of strengthening the infrastruc-ture at the campus by creat-ing more facilities for sports activities, provision of inter-net, and strengthening of staff position.

FOCUS ON QUALITY EDUCATION: GOVERNOR

Feed your mind today, Libra. The day’s energy supports growth and expansion, so why not see about learning about something you’re interested in? Challenge yourself by read-ing or taking a class. There are plenty of online subjects to engage you. Find something that interests you that you can do in your own time.

You’re more into socializing today than anything else, Scorpio. This could be great providing you don’t have a heavy workload. See who’s available and go for it. If you need to get something done, you’ll have to resist the temptation to chat too long. Use breaks for this and keep your focus on getting done what you’ve taken on. There’s always the evening to get together with friends.

You may find it hard to admit that you can’t do everything, Sagittarius. There are some jobs that you aren’t cut out to do. Why pretend when a better option would be to delegate the task to someone else? If you don’t feel a strong connection with something or someone, don’t force it. Pretending that you’re capable of something will only cause frustration for you and everyone else.

Don’t be surprised if you’re pensive, Capricorn. It’s one of those days when daydreaming can happen more readily. Your imagination may also be at a peak. Rather than fighting this so you can be more productive, jot your ideas down. It may be to your advantage, as better and innovative ways of doing things can pop into your mind. Take time to ponder. It can bring great results.

Chatting with your loved ones may be more appealing to you today than any other day, Aquarius. It may be important to curb this desire if there are many things that need your attention. If you’re at home, don’t spend all your time on the phone or loafing. Consider tending first to things that need to get done. Socializing will be far more enjoyable without guilty feelings about what you should be doing.

Pisces, you can expect to feel a little more energetic to-day. In fact, you may run circles around everyone. What a great way to start the day. Head out with the confidence that you can easily handle anything that comes your way. Take time to enjoy the company of others as much as possible. If there are meetings on the agenda, handle them right away.

Today may be a time of heightened reasoning and judg-ment for you, Virgo. What a great way to get things done! Pull out unfinished projects and get going. Tackle issues or problems that have surfaced recently by facing them di-rectly. Make the most of this day’s energy by thinking about ways to do things more efficiently. Be confident that you can handle anything.

You might feel like doing something different today, Ar-ies. Everyone needs a break from the regular grind and this is a good time to try something new. Perhaps you feel like vary-ing your routine. If this is your day off, you might spend the day doing whatever strikes your fancy. Try a new wardrobe style. Go to a movie. Do something to spice up your life today.

Start your day writing in a journal, Taurus. This provides an avenue to communicate and connect with your inner be-ing. Things you need to do, ambitions, and even challenges can appear while you’re writing, providing a map that you can follow. Even if starting is difficult, stick with it. The words will come if you give it a chance. It can make your day much easier.

You might find it hard to get going, Gemini. Taking di-rection could rub you the wrong way, especially if you’re set on doing something different. Communicate your ideas and how you want to approach things rather than let irritation get to you. Your approach will be better received if you leave emotions out of it. You may even get kudos for staying calm and collected.

You might feel cheerful and generous today, Cancer. Helping others will probably suit you, and matters will move along smoothly. If there are outstanding projects from ear-lier, tackle them first. It’s an opportune time to get caught up on challenges. Don’t hesitate to lend a hand if you’re ap-proached or notice someone in need. This will benefit them as well as you.

Make an effort to connect with someone you miss today, Leo. Even if it feels painful at first, you’ll feel a lot better once you do. Pick up the phone, write a note, or send an email. Let the person know you miss and care about him or her. Expressing yourself is often far better than stuffing your feel-ings. The person may be missing you just as much.

Jammu, December 10:

Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Mr. Ali Moham-mad Sagar has asked the officers to ensure that the orders of em-powerment of the Panchayati Raj representatives is implemented in toto maintaining that these repre-sentatives form a part of day to day governance.

The Minister was addressing a meeting convened to discuss the status of empowerment of the Panchayti Raj institutions here to-day.

Mr. Sagar said the govern-ment has already issued orders of empowering the Panchayati Raj institutions in respect of 14 vital departments, so that they can ef-fectively discharge their functions for undertaking sustained devel-opment of their respective areas and the need of the hour is to en-sure its full implementation. “The government has already nominat-ed the Additional District Develop-ment Commissioners as the nodal officers for every district for over-seeing that these orders are imple-mented fully. Now, the onus lies on the officers to ensure that these are followed in letter and spirit for the

smooth running of the Panchayati Raj System in the State “, he added.

The Minister directed the offi-cers to hold regular meetings with the officers of 14 departments and also with the Panch and Sarpanchs so that bottlenecks, if any are re-moved and the sustained develop-ment of rural and far flung areas is ensured on a fast pace basis.

Mr. Sagar also asked the ADDCs to submit monthly reports about the meetings taken and the is-sues so that they can be redressed within the shortest possible time. He said that due care should be taken to ensure that the Panchaya-ti Raj representatives and officers of various departments work in close coordination with each other

to formulate the plans of various developmental schemes besides also in the implementation as well.

Commissioner-Secretary, RDD, Mr. Farooq Ahmad Peer also spoke on the occasion and gave a brief of various initiatives under taken for capacity building of the panches and Sarpanches.

Director Panchayati Raj Mr. Fa-

rooq Ahmad Khan, Directors Rural Development, Jammu and Kash-mir, Mr. Shafiq Ahmad Raina and Mir Altaf Ahmad and all the ADDCs of the districts who have been des-ignated as nodal officer to oversee the implementation of empower-ing the Panchayati Raj institutions were also present.

Ensure empowerment of Panchayats: Sagar tells officers

KATHUA, DECEMBER 10:

Minister of State for Fisheries, Co-operatives, Finance and Planning, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma has called upon the rural youth to avail the benefits of ample opportunities of self employ-ment available under various state and centrally sponsored schemes.

Inaugurating the Khidmat Centre in Mangloor village of Kathua district, Dr. Sharma said that the objective of the opening of such khidamt centres is to felicitate the rural masses with internet facilities through which ac-cess to various government facilities and other utilities like bill payment, railway reservation, loan documenta-tion, examination forms and results, birth/ death certificates, photography, etc can be availed by one click under one roof.

Worthwhile to mention here that this was 57th Khidmat Centre in Kathua district.

Earlier, Dr Manohar Lal Shar-ma laid foundation stone of Three room building of Government Middle School Ladoli and Sanitory Complex

to be completed with an estimated cost of Rs. 8.55 lac under Sarva Shik-sha Abhiyan.

Dr. Sharma also held a public grievance camp in Ladoli and listened to the problems of the people.

Various deputations from Ladoli, Mangloor, Dhoud, Ghanyari etc appraised the Minister about their problem and demands.

The demands were mainly related to the provision of safe drinking wa-ter, electrical poles, road connectivity, ration for ST basti, recharging of pond, shortage of school staff, provision for hand pump and solar lights.

Responding to the demands of the people Dr. Manohar Lal Shar-ma said that over 40 tubewells were installed in kandi areas during the recent years which has catered the problem of drinking water to great extent.

He assured that more resources will be utilised to improve the water availability in kandi areas.

The Minister said that gov-ernment has sufficient stock of seed and fertilizer and the focus was given

to practice the seed replacement ratio for the farmers so that farmer will get more economical benefits from high yielding varieties of seeds.

He added that efforts were made to timely procure the crops of the farmers at reasonable rates.

He directed ACD to take up more MGNREGA works in kandi areas for the faster development of these isolated areas. He directed PDD de-partment to install 20 poles in the area.

He directed XEN PWD to take up black topping of Ladoli road work at an earliest and further directed to fin-ish the patch work of the link road immediately.

He directed ACD to clear the pen-dency of payments of local Labours. He also directed PHE department to make provision for water supply to SC mohalla of Ladoli.

Later Dr. Sharma also gave away cheques among 40 beneficiaries under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan. He also gave away cheques to the tune of 2.6 lacs among 2 beneficiaries of horti-culture schemes.

Manohar asks youth to avail self-employment opportunities

Sham asks women to avail benefits of welfare schemes

Distributes sewing ma-

chines among 110 beneficia-ries at Akhnoor

AKHNOOR, DEC 10:

Minister for PHE, Irriga-tion & Flood Control, Mr. Sham Lal Sharma today dis-tributed sewing machines amongst 110 SC/ST women and girls at a function orga-nized by the Social Welfare Department at Akhnoor.

These beneficiaries have also undergone train-ing in cutting and tailoring in the Centres sponsored by the Social Welfare Depart-ment at different places in

Akhnoor block. The initiative will help the beneficiaries to promote their skill and make them self-reliant.

Speaking on the oc-casion, the Minister said that Government was commit-

ted to empower the women folk, especially in the rural and far-flung areas and nu-merous programmes have been launched in this direc-tion. He asked the beneficia-ries to take full advantage to these initiatives and become self-dependent and lead a

dignified life. He asked the Sarpanchs/Panchs to mo-tivate the poor and down-trodden women beneficia-ries to avail benefits of such schemes and improve their living conditions.

He direct-ed the officers of Social Welfare Department to set up adequate number of Cen-tres of different trades for the rural women so that more and more women/

girls/destitute are trained in skill development. He also called for organizing fre-quent awareness camps to educate the rural beneficia-ries about the Government schemes so that the benefits of such programmes perco-late down to the needy.

Takes stock of fire suffers at DawarJammu December 10:

Minister of State for Animal & Sheep Husbandry, Mr. Nazir Ahmed Gurezi has said that the present government is working for the betterment and upliftment of the people of the far flung and weaker section of the society of the State.

Addressing a series of public meetings at different places dur-ing his visit to Tehsil Gurez, Mr. Gurezi said that government dur-ing last five years has implemented the welfare schemes meant for the people of hilly areas and weaker sections on ground so as to ensure the development of these areas.

He appealed the people to come forward and take benefits of welfare schemes launched by the State and Central governments.

During his visit several deputations met the Minister and ap-prised him about their individual and collective problems. He di-rected on the spot to the Tehsil officers to ensure basic amenities to the people of Gurez so that the people of the areas would not face any difficulties during winter months.

The Minister visited Budwon, Dawar and Wanpora villages. He also took stock of fire incidents which took place in Dawar village and directed the concerned for immediate measures for rehabili-tation of fire sufferers.

Govt working for upliftment of far flung, weaker section of the

society: Gurezi

JAMMU, DECEMBER 10:

Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture & Languages today or-ganized a day-long short story read-ing session in different languages spoken in the State.Prominent and upcoming short story writers of eight languages including Dogri, Gojri, Hindi, Kashmiri, Ladakhi, Pa-hari, Panjabi and Urdu presented their creative work before an invited audience comprising writers, poets and lovers of literature.The unique event was held to afford a platform to writers of different languages to listen to and appraise each other’s creative work and also give an idea to the participants of the contempo-rary short story written in Jammu & Kashmir.

The session was jointly

presided over by noted Dogri writer

and critic, Prof Lalit Magotra and famous Urdu poet, Arsh Sehbayee. Secretary Academy, Khalid Bashir Ahmad, was also present and wel-comed the participants.

The second session saw Dr. Kon-chok Rigzin reading his Ladakhi short story, Ma Nying pu, Iqbal Na-zish his Pahari short story,Jeni Jeine ji Mari Gayi, Mrs. Surinder Neer her Punjabi short story, Lavasay and Ghulam Nabi Shahid his Urdu short story, Madawa.In their speeches, both Dr. Lalit Magotra and Arsh Se-hbayee described the short stories read out by the participant writers as representative creative works of the respective languages and appre-ciated them for beautifully touch-ing upon contemporary issues with deft craftsmanship and treatment.

JAMMU, DECEMBER 10:

The Minister for Urban Devel-opment and Urban Local Bodies, Mr. Nawang Rigzin Jora has un-derscored the need for promoting of theatre activities in a big way to preserve traditional art, culture and language in the State.

Speaking at the concluding function of the five show series of Natrang’s famous play ‘mind games’ at Police Auditorium last evening Mr. Jora said that theatre plays a pivotal role in making the past live for the posterity, besides acquainting the people about the contemporary changes and devel-opments taking place in the soci-ety. He said Jammu has a vibrant theatre culture, its promotion in other parts of the State needs

focused attention of the stake holders. He appreciated the per-formances of the actors and com-mended the writer and director of the play for coming up with an in-teresting experimental play aimed at inculcating positivity among the masses. He also complimented J&K Police for facilitating Natrang in the presentation of this play.

The play has been conceived, written & directed by Sumeet Sharma, a Post Graduate in Dra-matics and recipient of SNA’s Bis-millah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Theatre Direction. Natrang Direc-tor, Balwant Thakur honored the Chief Guest Mr. Nawang Rigzin Jora and thanked Mr. Hilal Rather MD Simula Infra for supporting Natrang’s mission of spreading art and culture to the larger audience.

Jora for a vibrant theatre culture to preserve past

Contemporary short story of J&K: Academy holds day-long session

The function was divided into two sessions of four short stories each. In the first session, Dogri writer Chhatarpal read his short

story Sapkunj, M. K. Waqar presented his Gojri short

story titled Áadmi’, Mrs. Ki-ran Bakhshi her Hindi short story, Loat Aaao Aroo and

Mohi ud Din Reshi his Kash-miri short story, Wachh.

The Daily

Zabarwan TimesFriday, 29 November 2013Wednesday 11 December 2013

Food preservation by radiation processing

The observance of human rights day on international level is basi-cally aimed at creating awareness about the importance of human rights and their respect. However despite the observance of such day every year, the human rights violations around the world are increasing day by day. The con-flict areas like Somalia, Nigeria, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Afghani-stan and other places are experi-encing large scale human rights violations mostly on women and children. These two sections of the society become the first victims of all kinds of violations and are sub-jected to worst kind of torture, pain and agony. It is not only in the con-flict areas but even in the peaceful areas the violations continue un-abated as the rights of the people are suppressed with might and force. The victimization of wom-en on every level of society from their home to their place of work is rampant in every country. Even in Europe which considers itself the most advanced and progressed area, the women are discriminat-ed and even paid less wages in comparison to their male counter parts. Not only this the physical violence, the rapes and molesta-tion incidents which increase with every passing year show that the mentality and approach of the men dominated society towards wom-en has not changed. The dowry deaths and the ill treatment of the married women in the house of their in-laws is a bad spot on the face of so called developed soci-ety. The discrimination in educa-tion and employment also is a big way of the human rights violations which is going on since centuries together. It is not only the women and children even the poor classes of the society, in some cases reli-gious minorities and poor coun-tries face the worst kind of human rights violations. The resources of the world dominated by developed countries are not being allowed to be used for poor people and coun-tries and in this way their right to live is being bulldozed. The mere observance of the day for human rights will not help unless the world in totality changes its mind set and dispenses with exploitation and the tendency of crushing oth-ers by force.

Rampant human rights violations – A worry for humanity Food is vital for human existence.

Conservation and preservation of food is essential for food security and it provides economic stabil-ity and self-reliance to a nation.

The need to preserve food has been felt by mankind since time immemorial. The sea-sonal nature of production, long distances between production and consumption centres and rising gap between demand and supply have made this need even more relevant to-day. The hot and humid climate of a coun-try like India is quite favourable for growth

of numerous insects and microorganisms that destroy stored crops and cause spoilage of food every year. Spoilage can also occur due to chemical and physiological changes in stored foods. Sea-foods, meat and poultry may carry harmful microbes and parasitic organisms that cause illnesses associated with their consumption. As in other parts of the world, India has also practiced var-ious methods of food preservation such as sun drying, pickling and fermentation which were supplemented with more en-ergy consuming techniques such as re-

frigeration, freezing and canning. Each of these methods has its merits and limita-tions. Man has always been in the search for newer methods to preserve foods with least change in sensory qualities. Radia-tion processing of food is one of the lat-est methods developed for this purpose. Food Technology Division (FTD) of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is involved in the research on food preser-vation through radiation. Radiation processing of food involves expo-sure of food to short wave radiation energy

to achieve a specific purpose such as exten-sion of shelf-life, insect disinfestations and elimination of food borne pathogens and parasites. In comparison with heat or chemi-cal treatment, irradiation is considered a more effective and appropriate technology to destroy food borne pathogens. It offers a number of advantages to producers, pro-cessors, retailers and consumers. Though ir-radiation alone cannot solve all the problems of food preservation, it can play an important role in reducing post-harvest losses and use of chemical fumigants.

Know-How and Technology TransferExpertise and know-how for designing, fab-rication and commissioning of irradiators is available in the country with the Depart-ment of Atomic Energy (DAE) and BARC. In India commercial food irra-diation could be carried out in a facility licensed by the Atomic Energy Regula-tory Board (AERB). The DAE has set up

two technology demonstration units in India. The Radiation Processing Plant at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, mainly meant for treatment of spices, dry vegetable seasonings like onion flakes, and pet foods, is being operated by the Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT). KRUSHAK (Krushi Utpadan

Sanrakshan Kendra), Lasalgaon, was set up in 2002 by BARC, to demonstrate low dose applications of radiation such as control of sprouting, insect disin-festations, and quarantine treatment. KRUSHAK became the first Cobalt-60 gamma irradiation facility in the world, outside US, to be certified by USDA-

APHIS for phytosanitary treatment enabling export of mango from India to the US in 2007 after a gap of 18 years. The microbiological, nutritional and chemical aspects of radiation-processed foods have been studied in detail around the world. None of these studies have indicated any adverse effects of radiation on food quality.

Commercial Prospects in IndiaIn India radiation processing of food can be undertaken both for export and domes-tic markets. Food could be processed for shelf-life extension, hygienization and

for overcoming quarantine barriers. Huge quantities of cereals, pulses, their prod-ucts, fruits and vegetables, seafood and spices are procured, stored, and distrib-

uted throughout the length and breadth of the country. During storage and distribu-tion grains worth of thousand of crores of rupees are wasted due to insect infestation

and related problems. Radiation processing can be used for storage of bulk and consumer packed commodities for retail distribution and stocking.

Voting Right: Power of the Powerless

Power of the Powerless’ presup-poses the division of the society into two classes – Powerful and Powerless. The world ‘Power’ can be dissected into further clas-

sification such as political power, economic power and social power. The general be-lief or feeling is that the power – political, economic and social – is centered in the hands of a few who can be termed as pow-erful. But the moot question is whether the so-called powerless are really powerless. I do not think so – in so far as the sharing or enjoyment of political power in India is con-cerned, which, in my opinion, is the mother of all other powers and a really potent means to achieve those powers. In this Article, I propose to dilate on this aspect, namely, po-litical power of the Power of the Powerless.The Constitution of India proclaims that In-dia is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Demo-cratic Republic. Giving expression to the solemn resolve of the Constitution makers, the Preamble to the Constitution secures to all the citizens of India, among other things, Justice, Social, Economic and Political; and also Equality of status and of oppor-tunity. The ‘Objective Resolution’ moved by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on 13th De-cember, 1946 in the Constituent Assembly, which set out the agenda and goal of the Constituent Assembly, that Assembly de-clared its firm and solemn resolve, to in-ter alia, guarantee and secure to ‘all the people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status, of op-portunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality’ and to provide adequate safeguards ‘for minorities, back-ward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes’. The foundation for such resolve of the Constituent Assembly was laid down, much earlier in 1928, by a committee under the Chairmanship of Shri Moti Lal Nehru, ap-pointed at an all-party conference held in Bombay in May, 1928. Pandit Nehru in his inaugural address as the President of India National Congress at Lucknow session in 1936 further elaborated the point as under:-“I am convinced that the only key to the solution of world’s problems and of India’s problems lies in socialism. Socialism is, however, something even more than an eco-nomic doctrine; it is a philosophy of life. I see no way of ending the poverty, the vast unemployment, the degradation and the sub-jection of the Indian people except through socialism.”

In the Indian scenario, it was Mahatma Gan-dhi who set the goal to wipe every tear from every eye. Gandhiji held that freedom is a mockery so long as men starved, were na-ked and pined away in voiceless anguish. Gandhiji’s fight for emancipation of Harijans will always be reckoned as the most glori-ous aspect of his fight for human rights and dignity.Apart from socialism as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the founding fathers of the Constitu-tion enshrined Democracy as one of the in-alienable basic features of the Constitution of India. Democracy has been best defined by Abraham Lincoln as ‘Government of the people, for the people and by the people’. Democracy is thus the real empowerment of the people – both powerful as well as power-less. In order that even the so-called powerless, who have been suffering for ages due to economic backwardness or social ex-ploitation, untouchability and other evils which have plagued the Indian society on the grounds of caste, creed, race, religion, etc., are ensured justice and equality as enshrined in the pream-ble to the Constitution, the Constitution mak-ers took the most historic step by providing in the Constitution, in Article 326, for ‘universal adult suffrage’ for choosing their representa-tives to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies. It was truly an his-toric decision and real empowerment of the powerless. By this decision, the Constitu-tion also gave equal rights to women in the matter of their democratic rights, whereas, even in the West, the women were still struggling for such equality in the matter of their right to franchise. The most notable feature in this truly historic decision was the fact that an overwhelming majority, nearly 84%, of the people in India at the time of the adoption of the Constitution in 1950 were still illiterate, and mostly living in villages, and had not yet tasted the fruits of scientific and techno-logical advancement. Quite paradoxically, in the present day political scenario, the socially backward and economically weak are looked upon as power-less and seen as ‘vote banks’. But the mere fact that they are rewarded by the political parties as vote banks shows their real strength to turn the fortunes of many a stalwarts. All political par-ties try to woo them in their favour by vari-ous sorts of inducements in the form of new employment guarantee schemes, housing projects, financial subsidy and other grants and concessions. The too frequent elections in recent times at various levels – parliamen-tary, state, local – have in fact proved to be a boon for them, as that has brought the power seekers to their doorsteps.

YEGN –

Mainstreaming the Youth

Unemployed youth are the most vulnerable lot to be misguided, exploited or lured into unlawful activities. It was to involve the youth in

constructive activities, enable them to get employment that a major initiative Youth Employment and Guidance Node (YEGN) programme was launched a few years back in border and remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir .The YEGN guidance and training to young men and women in various skills to equip them to either get a job or start their own enterprise , prepare them for recruitment in the army and other security agencies includ-ing paramilitary forces and help them ac-quire some expertise for self employment .Thanks to the YEGN under the Sadbhaw-na programme today many a youth have been recruited in army, paramilitary forces, railways, banks and many trained to earn a livelihood on their own. The YEGN centres have computer training facilities, facilities for training in different skills and competent personnel and expertees to guide the youth in getting gainful employment or seeking higher education or sitting for ex-ams for recruitment in bank, railways and other fields.The youth that include a large number of students have also access to mag-azines and journals on general knowledge and competitive exams in various sectors besides Employment News magazine. Naresh Kumar from Deeng village took training as a plumber for a month at YEGN at the border village of Sainth. He was given a certificate of Diploma in Plumbing by MSME after successful completion of the training. Today he is able to earn about 10,000 rupees a month He says that some-time he is engaged on a daily basis or he gets payment for the particular job done.Twenty years old Rohit Kumar who had taken training from a polytechnic college in Jammu in plumbing, is today an instructor and is paid 500 rupees on daily basis.Inderjit Mahi from Jhanghar village says that he took training in repairing electrical gadgets like irons, fans , motor wiring and has been given certificate for the same. By repairing the electronic gadgets, he is able to earn some money. Inderjit wants to open his own repairing shop with the help of a loan at concessional rates.Tenth pass San-jeev Kumar also from Jhangar village un-derwent similar training but wants further training in mechanics.Balwinder Kumar from a border village in Jammu division is a small farmer and is not able to earn enough to make both ends meet. In his 30’s Bal-winder said at his age it is difficult for him to acquire some skill and get a job. He at the same time wants to supplement his income. The army under Sadbhawana Programme is giving him training as a mason. He says that masons are getting 250 to 300 rupees a

day and he is hopeful that once his training is over; he too would be able to earn around 15,000 rupees a month.Many young men of Sainth Gram Panchay-at and nearby villages have got training as a hair dresser and are now able to earn 200 to 250 rupees a day. Training is being provided in mechanics, welding, poultry farming, hairdressing, tailoring. In order to expand the scope of self employment, train-ing in nursing and fisheries is also being included. Vivek from Sainth vil-lage has passed the physical fitness as well as medical test. When we met him he was to appear for the written test for which he was well prepared. He says that youth were told about what all is required for recruit-ment in the army and other services and professions. They were also taken to the recruitment center to give them an idea of the process involved. Today he is hopeful of joining the army and serving the nation like his father who too was in the army.Vishal who has also cleared all the tests is waiting for an appointment letter from the BSF. He says the young men in border village are passionate about joining the forces.Another youth expressed similar sentiments. He says the youth from villages have the required physique and toughness to clear physical fitness tests. He said he has learnt discipline from the army and they are great source of inspiration for serving the nation . He too has cleared all other tests and would be ap-pearing for a written test to join the Border Roads Organisation, BRO.Rakesh Kumar took admission in BA this year. He has benefitted a lot, he says from magazines and books on general knowl-edge and the employments news provided at the YEGN centre. He also takes computer classes provided by YEGN in the evening after college hours. Rakesh Kumar like many youth in the area wants to join army.Besides over sixty youth recruited in army, navy and other para military forces, many young men and women have acquired skills to enable them to start their own work. Many more have cleared the tests and are hopeful of being recruited soon.Teachers and students too are benefitting from the YEGN initiative. Vishal Sharma from Government High school Khairi vil-lage is a teacher. Although an MSc, he had absolutely no knowledge of computers. He underwent training by YEGN in Basics. He says the army provided the school with computers and then trained the teachers in using computers for about a month. They were guided about how they can make use of the computers to educate students and about related software.This is not all. In or-der to instill confidence in the youth, match-es in different games including football, basketball etc, are also organized besides competitions in debates, essay writing and other academics.

9Wednesday, 04 December 2013

ZABARWAN TIMESDaily

EDItOrIAL/OpInIOn Wednesday 11 December 2013