DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016 (PAGE 3)

Dr Karan Singh appoints Kundal as President of Dharmarth Trust Council

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 11: Followingthe footsteps of Maharaja HariSingh who, way back in 1929,had declared that all temples inJammu and Kashmir were openfor Harijans/Dalits, Dr KaranSingh has, for the first time,appointed an eminent Dalit andformer Chief Secretary of theState, B R Kundal as Presidentof the Dharmarth TrustCouncil.

According to the handoutissued by G D Sharma, JointSecretary, Dharmarth TrustCouncil, Mr Kundal, whoretired as Chief Secretary ofJ&K in 2008 after a distin-guished career in the 1AS, hasbeen appointed for the currentyear in place of Maj Gen (Retd)R S Jamwal, who sought to berelieved of his duties which hefulfilled meritoriously for fouryears.

The Dharmarth Trustwhich manages over a hundredtemples and shrines in J&K andone each in Himachal Pradeshand Haridwar was created byMaharaja Gulab Singh in themid 19th century along withthe foundation of the J&KState.

It manages such historictemples as the Sri RaghunathTemple complex and Sri

Ranbireshwar temple in Jammuand the Sri ShankaracharvaMata Khir Bhawani temples inKashmir.

Dr Karan Singh is theChairman Trustee whileVikramaditya Singh andAjatshatru Singh are theTrustees. The five memberDharrnarth Council consists ofeminent citizens drawn fromvarious walks of life.

Farooq asks cadre to intensifymass contact programme

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU Apr 11: A seniorPDP leader and candidate in the2014 Assembly elections, RiyazAhmed Zargar of Bhalessa oferstwhile Doda District todayjoined National Conferencealong with his 40 senior associ-ates and reposed his faith in thepolicies and programmes of theparty.

"National Conference is theonly party that can guaranteesingle entity of Jammu andKashmir and steer the State topeace, progress and prosperity",Mr Zargar said.

The joining took place at asimple function here this morn-ing in presence of NationalConference President Dr FarooqAbdullah.

Senior party leaders, AbdulRahim Rather, Mian AltafAhmed, Sheikh Mustafa Kamal,Devender Singh Rana, KhalidNajeeb Suharwardhy, Qazi

Jalal-ud-Din and MohammedIqbal Bhat were prominentamong those present on theoccasion.

Welcoming Mr Zargar andhis associates in the party fold,Dr Farooq Abdullah describedNational Conference as a massmovement which has stood forthe just cause of people ofJammu, Kashmir and Ladakhduring most testing times. Hesaid joining of public-spiritedactivists will strengthen theparty at grass root level and helpin meeting challenges confront-ed to the state resolutely.

Dr Abdullah urged the cadreto intensify further the masscontact programme and high-light problems faced to the peo-ple at appropriate forums andseek redressal.

Also present on the occasionwere Block Presidents AbdulKarim Rather, Omar-ud-Din,Choudhry Hanief besidesChoudhry Salam-ud-Din.

Workshop on cybercrime organized in

Vigilance OrganizationExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 11: Keepingin view the importance ofinternet and thrust on e-gover-nance, a workshop on cybercrime and cyber security washeld in Vigilance Organizationunder the aegis of Alok Puri,IGP Vigilance J&K, Jammu.

The subject was deliberatedupon by M Y Kichloo, SSP(PR) Vigilance OrganizationJammu and threadbare facilita-tive session was held onSpoofing, Phishing, Pharming,Doxing/Stenography/Trojans/Vi r u s / M a l w a r e s / S a l a m iattacks, Cyber security- Anti-Viruses /Firewall, UTMDevices Do’s & Don’ts, ATMFraud etc.

The other officers, whoattended workshop, wereDirector ProsecutionVigilance, Sayeed Muzaffer,AIG (Policy), Sameer Rekhi,AIG (Hqrs.), Altaf AhmadShah, SSP Vigilance Jammu,Dr Koshal Kumar, SSP(Central) and Shabir AhmadMalik.

Repeated accidentsmatter of serious

concern: AzadExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 11: SeniorCongress leader and Leader ofOpposition in Rajya Sabha,Ghulam Nabi Azad has expressedserious concern over repeatedtragic road accidents in the erst-while Doda district.

Drawing the attention ofChief Minister towards the fre-quent occurrence of road acci-dents leading to loss of preciouslives, Mr Azad said, "there is animmediate need to have a com-prehensive road safety actionplan to contain the rising numberof accidents".

"Road safety is a key concernin J&K due to geographical andother factors and keeping in viewthe loss incurred by the State, Ihad written to Prime Minister ear-lier underlining the need to for-mulate a coherent action plan forthe Chenab region", he said,adding "let us wake up now".

Referring to yesterday's acci-dent, Mr Azad said, "My heartgoes out to the families of thosewho lost their dear ones in thefatal accident and I pray toAlmighty to give them strength tobear this loss. I also pray for thespeedy recovery of the injured".

Real efficiency lies in delivering projects on time, says Mehbooba*Reviews progress on CM's commitments

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 11: Chairing herfirst major review meeting afterassuming charge of the ChiefMinister, Mehbooba Mufti todayhinted at reorienting the Planning &Development Department so that itis able to professionally handlepreparation of quality DPRs(Detailed Project Reports), absenceof which she said was real bane ofproject delays.

She vouched for a mechanismwhere 'empanelled consultants'remove technical bottlenecks andfast-track DPR preparation whichwill enable the executing agenciesto deliver projects on time. "If fundcrunch was the problem in the past,nowadays it is the struggle over effi-ciently executing development proj-ects and achieving desired resultsthat hold us back," she stated.

The Chief Minister made theseobservations in a high-level meetingcalled to assess the progressachieved on the commitments madeby late Mufti Mohammad Sayeedon several development projectswhen he was the Chief Minister ofthe State.

Besides the Deputy ChiefMinister, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh,the meeting was also attended byMinister for Public Works &Parliamentary Affairs, A. R. Veeri,Minister for Finance, Culture,Labour & Employment, Dr. HaseebA. Drabu, Minister for H&ME, BaliBhagat, Minister for Education,Naeem Akhtar, Minister of State forHaj & Auqaf (IC), PHE, I&FC andI&C, Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabiand Minister of State, Finance &Planning, IT, Law, Justice &Parliamentary Affairs, CA&PD,Tribal Affairs, Relief &Rehabilitation and Labour &Employment, Ajay Nanda.

The meeting began with theChief Minister asking the officers toshow no laxity in completion ofprojects where time impacts areinevitable, because of the unique-ness of each project. She said thereal efficiency lies in delivering

public infrastructure within the stip-ulated timelines. "The officers arecustodians of development andtherein lay the huge expectations ofthe people on the developmentfront," the Chief Minister said whileexuding confidence that the officerswill put their best foot forward.

In the all-important R&B sector,Commissioner/Secretary, RohitKansal, briefed Mehbooba Muftiabout the present status of 12 majorcommitments of the Chief Minister

which include construction ofLakhanpur-Thein Road up to RanjitSagar Dam, emergency repairs ofBatote-Kishtwar Road, CircularRoads in Pulwama and Anantnagdistricts, maintenance of MughalRoad, macadamization of cities andtowns, construction of Pulwama-Lassipora Road and completion ofwork on Pantha Chowk-ZewanCrossing.

The Chief Minister stressedupon completion of all ongoingprojects within the set timelines.

Kansal also updated the ChiefMinister on the progress achievedon the 42 projects shortlisted inPHE, I&FC Departments.

While taking review of theworks in the Power DevelopmentDepartment, the Chief Ministerissued directions for ensuring regu-lar electricity supply in the wintercapital during upcoming summerseason.

Principal Secretary Power,Dheeraj Gupta, brought into thenotice of the Chief Minister themeasures taken for removal of bot-tlenecks in procurement of essentialitems as per standardized procure-ment procedure.

The Power Secretary informedthe meeting that power supply toJama Masjid Srinagar will be aug-mented by installation of 250 KVDG sets and the work will be com-pleted within the next two monthsat a cost of Rs.1.00 crore.

To ensure uninterrupted powersupply to the picturesque Pahalgamresort, 11 KV and 33 KV lines arebeing laid which will be completedby the end of July at a cost of

Rs.3.00 crore. The department has also started

the process for creation of trans-former bank at Rajouri and Poonchdistricts for which Rs.1.00 crorehave been released. The otherworks which are presently underexecution include establishment ofreceiving station at Sultanpora,Shranz in Baramulla, dedicatedpower supply to IT Park atRangreth, BGSBU in Rajouri,Ghani Stadium in Srinagar and

Civil Hospital at Pahalgam. The Chief Minister took a

detailed review on the forwardmovement achieved on cross-LoCTrade and Travel at two crossingpoints of Salamabad in Baramullaand Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch,which she said were described bylate Mufti Sayeed as the 'show-win-dow' for travellers from across theLoC.

Commissioner/Secretary, I&C,Shailendra Kumar, highlighted theprogress achieved in broadeningthe scope of cross-LoC trade. Hesaid a fresh list of additional itemsto be included in the alreadyapproved list of 21 items has beensent to the Ministry of Home Affairswhich will be taken up for approvalin the next meeting of the JointWorking Group between India andPakistan.

On the smooth navigation frompresent barter system of trade tobanking system for cross-LoCtrade, Kumar said RBI has agreed todiscuss the issue with Pakistan inthe meeting of the Joint WorkingGroup. He said for smooth move-ment of trucks in and out of the ter-minals at Chakan Da Bagh andSalamabad, tenders have been float-ed for procurement of full bodyscanners and the same shall beinstalled over the next 18 months.

In the Tourism sector, the ChiefMinister obtained first-handappraisal on developing Mantalai,in Udhampur district, as anInternational Yoga Centre andbringing several areas likeAbdullian and Chamlyal within theambit of border tourism, on pattern

of Suchetgarh. She also stressedupon outsourcing high-end assetslike Pahalgam Club, which willgenerate revenue that can beploughed back in developing thehighly-remunerative travel industryin the state.

On being enquired about thepresent status of the prestigiousJammu Ropeway Project, PrincipalSecretary, Tourism, SandeepNayak, informed the Chief Ministerthat on the instructions of late MuftiMohammad Sayeed, the hybrid sys-tem has been ordered to be replacedby imported system which matchesinternational benchmarks. Freshtenders have been floated and thework on the project will commencethereafter, he added.

On laying of new ropeways attourist and pilgrim destinations likeMantalai and Shiv Khori the ChiefMinister was informed that theseare currently under the active con-sideration of the department andsubject to clearance from ForestAdvisory Board.

While reviewing the perform-ance of the Education sector, theChief Minister issued instructionsfor removing impediments in mak-ing IITJammu functional as early aspossible.

Commissioner/SecretarySchool Education informed theChief Minister that 144 schoolshave been identified in the state forupgradation as Model Schoolswhere students will be taught withthe help of modern e-learning tools.

In the health sector, SecretaryH&ME, M. K. Bhandari briefed theChief Minister about the present sta-tus of setting up new medical col-

leges at Anantnag, Baramulla,Rajouri, Kathua and Doda. She wasalso informed about establishingnew nursing colleges in existing oldhospital buildings in 10 districts at acost of Rs.2.5 crore each. These dis-tricts include Baramulla, Sopore,Anantnag, Srinagar and Budgam inKashmir valley and Kathua,Udhampur, Poonch, Basohli andJammu in Jammu division.

For Model Health Centres andSDH Basohli and Dooru,Mehbooba Mufti directed theHealth Secretary to provide man-power and equipment so thatpatients are provided best possibletreatment.

While reviewing H&UD sector,the Chief Minister directed thedepartment to fast-track work onShopping Complexes at Chrar-e-Sharief, Anantnag, multi-tier park-ing at Panjtirthi and communityhalls at Bijbehara.

Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti charing a high-level meeting at Jammu on Monday.

Water in RanbirCanal to be

released todayExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 11: ChiefEngineer, Irrigation and FloodControl Department, Jammuhas informed the general publicthat water in the main RanbirCanal, New Partap Canal andKathua Canal will be releasedon April 12.

All the Superintending/Executive Engineers have beendirected to plan their activitiesto ensure completion of theongoing works well before therecharging of canals. They havebeen directed to ensure that thewater reaches up to tail endareas and there is no loss of lifeand property on scheduled dateof opening of canal.

SVC seeks records in passport verification case

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 11: In a signifi-cant order, the State VigilanceCommission has directed SP CIDSB Kashmir and SP HazratbalSrinagar for furnishing of recordsin alleged corruption by somepolice officials in a passport verifi-cation case.

The SVC, while considering acomplaint in this regard, observedthat the allegations levelled prima-facie reveal serious misconductand abuse of powers on the part ofthese officials, besides, resulting indelay in issuance of passports.

Earlier, a complaint waslodged before the Commission byone Adil Hassan regarding allegeddemand of bribe by some policeofficials posted at the offices ofCID SB Kashmir and SPHazratbal, Srinagar for mere for-warding of his passport verifica-tion to the passport office Srinagar.Being disappointed and aggrieved

by the alleged corrupt practice ofthe concerned police officials whootherwise are supposed to keepvigil and prevent corruption, thecomplainant prayed for strictaction against the officialsinvolved.

The SVC directed SP CID SBKashmir and SP Hazratbal to fur-nish all connected records includ-ing the date of receipt of verifica-tion from passport office by theirrespective offices and steps takenfor conducting verification after itsreceipt by a gazetted officer on18-04-2016 at Srinagar for inspectionand further orders by theCommission.

It is pertinent to mention thatthe State Vigilance Commissionhas already recommended to theGovernment to devise a mecha-nism for conducting verificationsso as to dispense with the practiceof policemen visiting individualsfor various verification matters tocurb the menace of corruption.